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wizzkid4ev
wizzkid4ev
Student

Is Management a science or an art?

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Posted by wizzkid4ev on Monday March 9, 2009 at 6:16 AM and tagged with arts, science or art.

Answers:

  1. mandyvirgo
    mandyvirgo Teacher
    College - Freshman

    Art. 

    Considering management to be a science would suggest that there is a formula for management through which the same ends can be achieved time and again. In reality, management is too subjective to be so predictable. 

    Art would seem closer to the truth. Management styles differ from person to person, and preferences among these styles aren't the same for all employees. (Just as all painters don't prefer the same tools or canvases, and all art-viewers don't have the same opinions on the same pieces.) 

    But, really, this question is subjective, too. This is just my educated opinion.

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    Posted by mandyvirgo on Monday March 9, 2009 at 8:51 AM


  2. playsthething Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    If it's GOOD management, it needs to be both.  Some of the tasks of management are quantitative - making it more a science.  Those tasks include budgeting, organizing, marketing, planning, etc.  Other tasks are more qualitative - making it more of an art.  Those tasks are more elusive - leadership, managing people, etc.  The best managers are able to do both sides of the job equally well.  You can't just be a "people person" with charisma to inspire and lead, and not deal with the more mundane tasks of balancing a budget.  Conversely, you can't be just a number-cruncher, and not have the personality to draw people into your plan and mission.

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    Posted by playsthething on Monday March 9, 2009 at 9:30 AM

  3. wonde
    wonde Student
    College - Freshman

    Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.

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    Posted by wonde on Sunday December 6, 2009 at 1:15 PM

  4. elfgirl
    elfgirl Student
    College - Freshman

    Management is definitely not a science; it does not test its actions using scientific method; it does not seek to rationally explain observed phenomena; it does not undergo the rigours of peer review.

    And it is not an art. The Arts are the expression of human experience. The Arts communicate 'the human condition'. Management does not do this.

    Management is just a job. It is part of commerce and business. It is mostly administration, not science or art.

    Your question, to be honest, is meaningless. I could ask the question, "Are emails a science or an art?" or "Is a gym workout a science or an art?"

    Your question seems to imply that all things must be either art or science. But management is neither of these things; it is a mundane business process. It does not have the intellectual dedication of science nor the human importance of art.

    'Management' is just a business tool.

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    Posted by elfgirl on Sunday December 6, 2009 at 2:54 PM