Characteristics of Management:

(a) Management is a goal-oriented process: An organisation has a set of basic goals which are the reason for its existence. These should be simple and clearly stated. Different organisations have different goals. For example, the goal of a retail store may be to increase sales, but the goal of the Spastics Society of India is to impart education to children with special needs. Management unites the efforts of different individuals in the organisation towards achieving these goals.

(b) Management is all pervasive: The activities involved in managing an enterprise are common to all the organisations whether economic, social or political.

(c) Management is multidimensional: Management is a complex activity that has three main dimensions. These are:

(i) Management of work

(ii) Management of people

(iii) Management of operations

(d) Management is a continuous process: The process of management is a series of continuous, composite, but separate functions. These functions are simultaneously performed by all managers all the time. The task of a manager consists of an ongoing series of functions.