An objective and critical characterization of the concept of Management

Abstract

This essay aims at an objective and critical characterization of management. It is objective because it is based on the barriers that the organizational situation puts up against the manager’s actions, which seek to achieve measurable results demanded by the stakeholders. It is critical because, without forgetting human subjectivity, it does not require the ideas of formalism or rationality in the construction of the concept of management. It is also critical because it reformulates the definition problem to one of characterization, overcomes limitations of previous good attempts, and leaves room for new contributions. The adopted method was the critical concept analysis. This means to examine the extant literature and then compare it to other relevant literature. Illustrative hypothetical situations also help to clarify issues in concept construction. The main contribution is to put together the managers’ responsibilities and his power over resources and stakeholders as means to achieve results essential to the very constitution and reproduction of the organization. From this network of social responsibilities would then come out the manager’s power and its limitations.