Arti, an employee, is working towards achieving her goal of becoming a manager. She believes that basic knowledge varies from individual to individual in an organization. Also, a good employee applies creative knowledge.

Which of the following describes the nature of management here?

Management as an art

The correct answer is option 2- Management as an art.

Management as an art is highlighted in the given lines.

Arti believes knowledge varies from person to person (which shows individual skill and personal style), and A good employee uses creative knowledge, meaning personal experience and intuition play a role. These qualities reflect “art”, because art involves personal skill, creativity, and practice. Like an artist, a manager develops their ability through experience and learning.

Art is the skillful and personal application of existing knowledge to achieve desired results. It can be acquired through study, observation and experience. Since art is concerned with personal application of knowledge some kind of ingenuity and creativity is required to practice the basic principles learnt. The basic features of an art are as follows:

(i) Existence of theoretical knowledge: Art presupposes the existence of certain theoretical knowledge. Experts in their respective areas have derived certain basic principles which are applicable to a particular form of art.  A successful manager practices the art of management in the day-to-day job of managing an enterprise based on study, observation and experience. There is a lot of literature available in various areas of management like marketing, finance and human resources which the manager has to specialise in. There is existence of theoretical knowledge.

(ii) Personalised application: The use of this basic knowledge varies from individual to individual. Art, therefore, is a very personalised concept. A manager applies this acquired knowledge in a personalised and skillful manner in the light of the realities of a given situation. He is involved in the activities of the organisation, studies critical situations and formulates his own theories for use in a given situation.

(iii) Based on practice and creativity: All art is practical. Art involves the creative practice of existing theoretical knowledge. A manager applies the scientific methods and body of knowledge to a given situation, an issue or a problem, in his own unique manner. A good manager works through a combination of practice, creativity, imagination, initiative and innovation. A manager achieves perfection after long practice.