Class 12 business studies chapter 1 ncert solutions: Nature and Significance of Management class 12 questions and answers
| Textbook | Ncert |
| Class | Class 12 |
| Subject | Business Studies |
| Chapter | Chapter 1 |
| Chapter Name | Nature and Significance of Management class 12 ncert solutions |
| Category | Ncert Solutions |
| Medium | English |
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Very Short Answer Type:
Question 1: What is meant by management?
Answer 1: Management refers to the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources, including human, financial, and material resources, to achieve organizational goals effectively and efficiently. It involves decision-making, coordinating activities, and utilizing resources to ensure that objectives are met.
Question 2: Name any two important characteristics of management.
Answer 2: Two important characteristics of management are:
1. Goal-Oriented Process: Management is focused on achieving specific objectives. All activities and efforts are directed toward accomplishing the organizational goals efficiently and effectively.
Example: A company aims to increase market share by 15% within a year, and management organizes resources and plans activities to achieve this target.
2. Continuous Process: Management is an ongoing activity that involves planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. It adapts to changes in the environment, ensuring that organizational goals are met consistently over time.
Example: A manager regularly reviews employee performance and adjusts strategies to align with market changes or new challenges.
Question 3: Identify and state the force that binds all the other functions of management.
Answer 3: Coordination binds all the other functions of management. It is also considered as the essence of management. Coordination as a process begins from the first step of management i.e planning. This is the process through which all the activities are lined up and put to action.
Question 4: List any two indicators of growth of an organisation.
Answer 4: the two indicators of growth of an organization are:
- Profit: If an organization earns a profit on a regular basis, it can be said that it is growing.
- Expansion: Expansion leads to more employees and turnover which is a good indicator of growth.
Question 5: Indian Railways has launched a new broad gauge solar power train which is going to be a path breaking leap towards making trains greener and more environment friendly. The solar power DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) has 6 trailer coaches and is expected to save about 21,000 liters of diesel and ensure a cost saving of Rs 12, 00,000 per year. Name the objectives of management achieved by Indian Railways in the above case.
Answer 5: The objective achieved by the Indian Railways in the given case is Social objective. Social objectives involve creation of benefit by assuring health, safety and price control to the society. This involves creating economic value consistently for the society as a whole.
Short Answer Type:
Question 1: Ritu is the manager of the northern division of a large corporate house. At what level does she work in the organisation? What are her basic functions?
Answer 1: Ritu is the manager of the northern division of a large corporate house working at the middle-level division. She is a link between the top management and lower management. The basic functions are:
- To interpret the policies formulated by the top management.
- To encourage the workers to achieve the goals.
- To coordinate among the division heads of various departments,
- To ensure that all workers under her department carry out the functions in the best possible way.
- To assign the duties to the workers.
Question 2: State the basic features of management as a profession.
Answer 2: Basic features of management as a profession management as a profession has the following features which are as follows
(i) Well-defined Body of Knowledge All professionals are based on a well-defined body of knowledge that can be acquired through instruction.
(ii) Professional Association There are several associations of practicing managers in India, like the AIMA (All India Management Association) that has laid the code of conduct to regulate the activities of their members.
(iii) Service Motive All business organisations aim to provide good quality product or service at a reasonable price thus serving the society.
Thus, we can say management does not meet the exact criteria of a profession but it has some features as a profession.
Question 3: Why is management considered to be a multi-dimensional concept?
Answer 3: Management is considered to be a multi-dimensional concept because it involves:
Management of Work: Each and every organisation has some work to perform. The management translates the work into goals to achieve and also the means used to achieve it.
Management of People: Human Resource is an organisation’s greatest asset. The task of management involves making people work, dealing and communicating with them, strengthening their positive aspects, and working upon their weaknesses
Management of Operations: Each and every organisation has some basic products to serve and some services to provide for survival. This requires a process through which the input materials are transformed into desired output.
Question 4: Company X is facing a lot of problems these days. It manufactures white goods like washing machines, microwave ovens, refrigerators and air conditioners. The company’s margins are under pressure and the profits and market share are declining. The production department blames marketing for not meeting sales targets and marketing blames production department for producing goods, which are not of good quality meeting customers’ expectations. The finance department blames both production and marketing for declining return on investment and bad marketing. State the quality of management that the company is lacking? What quality of management do you think the company is lacking? Explain briefly. What steps should the company management take to bring the company back on track?
Answer 4: Coordination is missing in the management.The production, marketing, and finance department are not working together to achieve the goals of the organizations.This has led to a fall in market share and investment.
The organization must improve its coordination. It would help to bind together different department’s activities.The goals could be met more efficiently.
Question 5: Coordination is the essence of management. Do you agree? Give reasons.
Answer 5: Coordination is essential in management as it helps in binding together all other functions of the management. All the activities, such as sales, purchase and production, are based on coordination with management. The following points will help establish coordination as the essence of management:
1. The combination of efforts of all the groups increases productivity and also provides a common focus to all the group efforts.
2. It is a continuous process and is not a one-time effort. Coordination begins at the planning stage and is concluded at the controlling stage.
3. Coordination is a pervasive function, as it is required at all levels of management. As all management activities are interdependent, coordination improves the efforts at various levels among all departments.
4. It ensures that all the combined efforts of the departments act as a unity which binds all actions together and helps an organisation achieve goals in a better way.
5. It is a deliberate function, as everyone is performing it deliberately. The tasks are done with the objective of achieving the objectives and goals of the organisation.
6. All the departments come together and communicate regarding the work to be done in an organisation. This communication requires coordination among employees.
Question 6: Ashita and Lakshita are employees working in Dazzling enterprises dealing in costume jewellery. The firm secured an urgent order for 1,000 bracelets that were to be delivered within 4 days. They were assigned the responsibility of producing 500 bracelets each at a cost of ₹100 per bracelet. Ashita was able to produce the required number within the stipulated time at the cost of ₹55,000 whereas, Lakshita was able to produce only 450 units at a cost of ₹90 per unit. State whether Ashita and Lakshita are efficient and effective. Give reasons to justify your answer.
Answer 6: Ashita is effective, but not efficient because Ashita completed the task on time but at a higher cost. Effectiveness involves completing a given work in the required time with a focus on the end results.
Whereas, Lakshita is neither efficient nor effective because Lakshita did not complete the target at all. Even though she produced the units at a lower cost, but not achieving the target will make her inefficient and ineffective.
Long Answer Type:
Question 1: Management is considered to be both an art and science. Explain.
Answer 1: Management is considered both an art and a science because it integrates creativity and systematic knowledge. As an art, management requires personal skills, intuition, and creativity to effectively handle people and situations. It involves the application of personalized approaches, experience, and innovative thinking to achieve organizational goals.
Managers often use their interpersonal skills, motivation techniques, and leadership qualities to inspire and guide teams. On the other hand, management is also a science because it is based on systematic principles, theories, and processes.
It relies on data analysis, experimentation, and established frameworks to make informed decisions and achieve predictable outcomes. By combining the art of managing people with the scientific methods of problem-solving and decision-making, management achieves a balance that drives organizational success.
Question 2: Do you think management has the characteristics of a fullfledged profession?
Answer 2: Management does not fully meet the characteristics of a traditional profession, although it exhibits some features that align with professional qualities. Here’s an explanation based on the given points:
Well-defined body of knowledge: Management has a systematic body of knowledge that includes theories, principles, and concepts, which can be learned through education and training. This aligns with the characteristic of a profession that requires specialized knowledge.
Restricted entry: Unlike professions such as law or medicine, there is no formal restriction on entering management. Anyone can become a manager without mandatory qualifications or examinations. This limits management’s status as a full-fledged profession.
Professional Association: Most professions are regulated by professional associations, which oversee entry, certification, and ethical practices. Management lacks a unified regulatory body, and it is not mandatory for managers to be part of a professional association, which weakens its claim to being a profession.
Ethical code of conduct: Many professions are governed by strict ethical codes. However, management lacks a universal code of conduct, which means that ethical standards are often left to individual organizations or cultures, further differentiating it from established professions.
Service motive: Unlike traditional professions that aim to serve society (e.g., medicine, teaching), management’s primary goal is often to fulfill organizational objectives, primarily profit maximization. While management does contribute to society, its service motive is not as pronounced.
Question 3: “A successful enterprise has to achieve its goals effectively and efficiently.” Explain.
Answer 3: “A successful enterprise has to achieve its goals effectively and efficiently.” This statement is explained below:
- Management is the process of getting a task done with the aim of achieving the goals of the organization in an effective and efficient manner.
- The different functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
- The term effective means completing the given task and efficient means completing the task with minimum cost and time.
- It is important for an organisation to be both effective and efficient in its working.
- Being effective implies that the goals are being achieved and being efficient means that the goals are being achieved with minimum cost. It leads to an increase in profit.
- Often a company has to compromise with either of the two.
- For example, a firm has set a goal to produce a thousand boxes of cookies in a month. But due to frequent power failure, the workers work on double shifts and extra wages are been given to achieve the target.
- In this case, the firm is effective but not efficient. So it is important to maintain a balance between the two.
Question 4: Management is a series of continuous interrelated functions. Comment.
Answer 4: Management is an ongoing series of various functions that are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. Though they are independent, most of the time they are simultaneously performed.
Planning: It involves establishing organisational goals, setting business targets and planning the process to achieve the same most effectively and efficiently. Planning entails deciding what to accomplish and how to do it ahead of time. It is a fundamental managerial function.
Organising: It involves organising human and physical resources to implement decisions taken at the planning stage.Organising refers to the process of the identification, classification and coordination of work to be performed by establishing reporting relationships between the people, setting up their responsibilities and authorities so as to collectively integrate the human efforts for the successful achievement of organisational objectives.
Staffing: Staffing is a management function that entails hiring candidates who are a good fit for the organization by evaluating their skills and knowledge and assigning them specific roles based on their skill set. It is involved in meeting an organization’s human resource requirements.
Directing: Directing is the process in which a superior provides instructions, guidance and counselling to its subordinate so as to motivate and lead them for the successful achievement of objectives
Controlling: Controlling is a process that entails comparing actual performance to the desired outcome, so as to ensure the successful achievement of objectives. Setting standards, measuring actual performance, and taking corrective action in case of deviations are all part of the managerial role of controlling function.
Question 5: A company wants to modify its existing product in the market due to decreasing sales. You can imagine any product about which you are familiar. What decisions/steps should each level of management take to give effect to this decision?
Answer 5: The decision taken at each step of management to increase the sales are:
- Top management: To study the product carefully, and to formulate policies to increase sales.
- Middle management: To interpret the policies formulated by the top management, to encourage the workers to achieve the goals and assign them duties. To coordinate among the division heads of various departments.
- Lower management: To ensure the quality of the product, to give periodic reports to the above levels of management, and to assign duties to the employees.
Question 6: A firm plans in advance and has a sound organisation structure with efficient supervisory staff and control system but on several occasion it finds that plans are not being adhered to. It leads to confusion and duplication of work. Advise remedy
Answer 6: The main aspect that needs to be worked upon in the organisation is coordination. Coordination is the force which synchronise all the functions of management and activities of different departments.
Coordination means linking the functions of groups and individuals. It binds the activities of employees to ensure the smooth functioning of the organisation.
- The various management functions must be linked with strong coordination to avoid any confusion in the work.
- Every level of management from the planning stage, where the objectives are set must be coordinated with each other. Next, it is required between the planning stage and the staffing stage, so that the right people are hired. After that, functions of directing and controlling must be coordinated with each other.
- It must be ensured that interdepartmental conflicts are avoided. The wok of each of the departments, must be synchronised.
- It must be ensured that the proper direction and motivation are being given to the workforce to avoid any chaos and duplication of the work.
- It must be focused that the personal goals of the individuals are synchronised with the overall objectives of the organisation and the plans are properly adhered to or not.