Management, Science or Art?

Is Management a Science or an Art?

Management as a Science:

Science is a systematic body of knowledge acquired through rigorous method of collecting data, classifying and measuring it, setting up hypothesis and testing those. If the criteria for science is applied to management, it may be observed that:

* It is a systematic body of knowledge that deals with people.
* Its principles have been evolved over the years on the basis of continuous careful observations and experimentation.
* Its principles have universal application in every branch of human activity of a profit making as well as a non-profit making organisation.
* Its principles may not yield identical results or desired results when applied to different organizations at different times simply because human behaviour is ever changing and most unpredictable.

Therefore, management is not a exact science but some aspects of management are scientific.

Management as an Art:

The basic characteristics of Art are:

* Art is an application of theoretical knowledge gained.
* It involves deliberate and conscious effort on the part of the user to achieve goals.
* It requires some special skills on the part of the user.

If the above criteria are applied to management, it may be noted that:

* Management is the application of that human knowledge which deals with people.
* It applies deliberate and conscious efforts to achieve its objectives
* Management is creative. A manager like an artist needs to depend on his own experience, inner senses, intuition and judgement while taking decisions on any managerial problem.

Therefore, management is an art.