Management in simple terms means the act of getting people together to
accomplish desired goals. It comprises planning, organising, Resourcing,
leading or directing, and controlling an organisation (a group of one
or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a
goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human
resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural
resources. Different meanings have according to Nwachukwu (2000) been
attributed to the word “managementâ€. Some people see it as referring to a
group of people. They think of management team or a group of
individuals in an organisation. Management is also seen as a process
demanding the performance of a specific function. Here, management is a
profession. According to the American institute of management, it is
used to designate either a group of functions or the personnel who carry
them out; to describe either an organization’s official hierarchy or
the activities of men who compose it: to provide autonomy to either
labour or ownership.
The Wikipedia (2009) also observed that
management can also be referred to as the person or people who perform
the act of management. Talking about the act of management, the Nigerian
Institute of management (NIM) opined that management is a comprehensive
activity, involving the combination and co-ordination of human,
physical and financial resources, in a way which produce a commodity or a
service which is both wanted and can be offered at a price which will
be paid, while making the working environment for those involved
agreeable and acceptable.
According to Yalokwu (2002) defined “management can be defined as the process of planning, organising leading and controlling the efforts of organizational members and using all other organisational resources to achieve set goalsâ€. Furthermore, management involves the achievement of goals set for the organisation. This means that managers of any organization a commercial bank, a university, or the stock Exchange-try to attain specific ends. These ends are unique to each organisation. The set goals, whatever it maybe to the organisations concerned. management is the process by which the goals can be attained. The foregoing definitions of management are in with Bedeian (2003) that “management is a process by which we achieve desired results through efficient utilisation of human and material resourcesâ€
Looking at the overview of the concept of “managementâ€, the Wikipedia (2009) espoused that the verb “manage†comes from the Italian maneggiare (tospecially a horse), which in turn derives from the latinmanus (hand). The French word management (later management) influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th. Its theoretical scope heralds thus, Mary Parker Follet (1868-1933), who wrote on the topic in the early 20th century, defined management as “the art of getting things done through peopleâ€. One can also think of management functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan; or as the actions taken to reach one’s intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, Frenchman, Henri Fayol considers management to consist of five functions (1) Planning (2) organising (3) Leading (4) Coordinating and (5) Controlling.
Personnel /Human Resource Management
The personnel of an organisation comprises of men and women, young and old who engage in the production of goods and services and who are the greatest assets of the organisation as observed Ndiomu (2002). The ability of any organisation to achieve its goals depends, to a large extent, on the caliber, organisation and motivation of its human resources. These and other statements by human resources management experts and practitioners alike, point to the importance and critical role of the human element in organization. But the personnel of an organisation have to be properly managed for them to make maximum contribution to the organisation. That, according to Ezeani (2005), opined that “of all the tasks of management, managing the human components is central and most important task because all else depends on how well it is doneâ€.
Amber (2009) in agreement with Likert observed that in any organisation there is a system which is responsible to increase the welfare and performance of the employees. This system implements policies which aim to achieve all the objectives regarding the personnel of the organisation. This system is known as personnel management. Nowadays, of personnel management has increased and thus referred to as human resource management.
The function of personnel management starts with the staffing process, screening and interviewing process and selection process. In addition, personnel management also develops such policies which are beneficial for the employees. Harry (2009) averred that personnel management is basically a form of Human Resource management. This area of management is concerned with everything about the staff and workers of the organisation. It is fundamentally responsible for the hiring and staffing of employee in an organisation. It also suggests the job description as well as the skills required for a particular job. Once a person is on job, the personnel management function looks after appropriate training and development of the individual. Along with this, the personnel management what benefits and perks to give to a certain employee. It establishes operational policies and procedures, employment requirements, discipline procedure etc.
