Previous Year Long Questions With Answers - Nature and Significance of Management | Business Studies (BST) Class 12 - Commerce PDF Download

Q.1. Give the meaning of Management and explain how it ‘creates a dynamic organisation’ and ‘helps in the development of society’. [Delhi Set II 2012]

OR

Explain how Management ‘increases efficiency’ and ‘helps in the development of society’.
Ans. According to Trewelly and Newport “Management is defined as the process of planning, organising, actuating and controlling an organisation’s operations in order to achieve Coordination of the human and material resources essential in the effective and efficient attainment of objectives.”
(i) Management creates a dynamic organisation: An organisation operates in a consistently changing environment. In order to survive and grow, the organisation has to adapt itself as per the environment. Employees generally resist to changes. Management helps in implementing such changes by convincing the employees that such changes will benefit their future prospects.
(ii) Management helps in the development of society: While achieving the development of organisation, management also aims to develop the society by giving due importance to social obligations. Efficient management improves living standard of people in the society by creating employment opportunities, by providing good quality products and by using latest technology. It leads the path towards growth and development through optimum utilisation of available resources.
(iii) Management increases Efficiency: Management always enhances the efficiency as the work is done in a systematic manner and decreases the cost of production.

Q.2. “Management is termed as an Art by some, as a Science or as an inexact Science by others. The truth seems to be somewhere in between.” In the light of this statement, explain the true nature of Management.

OR

Management is considered to be both an Art and a Science. Explain. [NCERT]
Ans. 
(i) Management is an art as well as a science though an inexact science.
(ii) Art is the skillful and personal application of existing knowledge to achieve desired results. Management is an art because like any other art, it is existence of theoretical knowledge and personalised application based on continuous practice.
(iii) Science is a systematised body of knowledge that explains certain general truths. Like science, management principles are derived through observation and repeated experiments. Since management deals with human beings the outcome of these experiments cannot be accurately predicted. Moreover, they have to be modified according to the given situation. Hence, it is an inexact science.

Q.3. Aman, Ahmad and Ally are partners in a firm engaged in the distribution of dairy products in Maharashtra state. Aman is a holder of Senior Secondary School Certificate from Central Board of Secondary Education with Business Studies as one of his elective subjects. Ahmad had done his post graduation in History and Ally in Dairy Farming. One day there was a serious discussion between Ahmad and Ally regarding the nature of management. Ahmad argued that management is a profession whereas Ally argued against it saying that the legal and medical profession are the only professions because they fulfill all the conditions of a profession. Aman, on the basis of his knowledge of business studies, explained the nature of management as a profession to Ahmad and Ally.
Explain, how Aman would have satisfied both Ahmad and Ally. [Delhi Comptt. Set I, II, III 2015]
Ans. Aman would have satisfied both Ahmed and Ally by explaining the following features of Management as a Profession:
(i) Well-defined body of knowledge: All professions are based on a well-defined body of knowledge that can be acquired through instructions. Management too is based on a systematic body of knowledge comprising well defined principles. This feature of profession is present in the management.
(ii) Restricted entry: The entry to the above stated profession is restricted through a prescribed qualification. But there is no restriction on anyone being appointed as a manager in any business enterprise. So, presently this feature of profession is not present in the management.
(iii) Professional association: Legal and medical professions are affiliated to a professional association like bar council and medical council which regulates entry, grants certificate of practice and formulates and enforces a code of conduct. There are several associations of practicing managers in India, like the AIIMA that has laid down a code of conduct to regulate the activities of their members. There is, however, no compulsion for managers to be members of such an association. So, presently this feature of profession is not present in the management.
(iv) Ethical code of conduct: Legal and medical professions are bound by a code of conduct which guides the behaviour of its members. AIIMA has devised a code of conduct for Indian managers but there is no statutory backing for this code. So, presently this feature of profession is not present in the management.
(v) Service motive: The motive of legal and medical profession is to serve their client’s interests by rendering dedicated and committed service. The basic purpose of management to help the organisation achieve its goals by providing good quality products at reasonable prices, thereby serving the society is being increasingly recognised. So, presently this feature of profession is not fully present in the management. The above discussion shows that management satisfies some and not all the criteria of a profession. Through the above discussion Aman would have been able to satisfy both Ahmed and Ally by making them understand that management is a profession but not a full fledged or a true profession.

Q.4. Kamal, Khan and David are partners in a firm engaged in the distribution of dairy products in Madhya Pradesh. Kamal is a holder of Senior Secondary School Certificate from Central Board of Secondary Education with Business Studies as one of his elective subjects. Khan had done his post-graduation in Hindi literature and David in Dairy Farming. One day there was a serious discussion between Khan and David regarding the nature of ‘Management as a Science’. Khan argued that Management was not a science whereas David was of the opinion that Management was a science. Kamal intervened and corrected both Khan and David about the nature of Management as a Science with the help of his knowledge of Business Studies. Explain, how Kamal would have been able to satisfy both Khan and David. [Outside Delhi Comptt. Set I, II, III 2015]
Ans. Kamal would have been able to satisfy both Khan and David by explaining the following features of Management as a Science:
(i) Systematised body of knowledge: Like science, management is a systematic body of knowledge with its own theories and principles that have been developed over a period of time. So, this feature of science is present in the management.
(ii) Principles based on observation and experimentation: Like science, management principles are derived through observation and repeated experimentation. So, this feature of science is present in management. However since management deals with human beings the outcome of these experiments cannot be accurately predicted.
(iii) Universal validity: Principles of management like principles of pure science provide managers with certain standardised techniques that can be used in different situations. Since they have to be modified according to a given situation, their application and use is not universal. So, this feature of science is not fully present in the management. Through the above discussion Kamal would have been able to satisfy both Khan and David by making them understand that management is a science but not an exact science.

Q.5. Management is a series of continuous interrelated functions. Comment. [NCERT]

OR

"Management includes number of functions which are interrelated." Are you agree with this statement? Present comment for your answer.
Ans. Management is described as the process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling the efforts of an organisation and utilisation of resources to achieve specific goals.
(i) Planning: Planning refers to deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who has to do it. Planning bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to go.
(ii) Organising: It is the process of defining and grouping the activities of an enterprise and to establish organisational authority relationships.
(iii) Staffing: Finding the right person for the right job is known as staffing. Staffing as a function of management pertains to recruitment, selection, training, development, appraisal and remuneration.
(iv) Directing: Directing is telling people what to do and to monitor that they do it to the best of their abilities.
There are four elements of directing:
(a) Supervision,
(b) Motivation,
(c) Leadership,
(d) Communication.
(v) Controlling: Management control implies the measurement of actual performance against the predetermined standards and correcting deviations, if any, to assure attainment of objectives according to the plans.