Is management art or science?

Management and managers have emerged because people working together are not selfsufficient. Many different researchers gave different meaning to word management. Although
there is no definition universally accepted, its widely accepted that management is social
process. However, there are always debate on whether management is are or science. Some
people like Luther Gulick, a management educator regards management as the scientific field,
since then theories of management formed discipline and have to grasp particular skills and
technique to make decisions. However, people like Henry Boettinger, a corporate officer, argue
that management is art of getting along with different people having different knowledge and
skillset.

Management can be a kind of science like something that is experimented ,tested and proved.
The purpose of science is to predict theories and prove different laws. Research in management
is somewhat similar to that in science. There are several research done in management field too.
When researchers conduct the experiment they come to conclusion. Hawthrone plant
experiment is one of the famous example which can prove management as science. Some
hypothetical situations where created to observe different reactions.

Secondly, the development of scientific principles of management by Frederick Taylor was a

kind of application of science to management. In his production line experiment he divided every
work into small parts and developed the most efficient way of doing work. He also concluded
that those people who do manage workers must know the task properly in a way to optimize it.

However, management can also be considered as art. Art is combination of known principles and
experience . Management needs to be more flexible due to human aspect involved in it. The
people involved in organization are clients, workers, subordinates and bosses therefore you need

skills for organizing, directing and coordinating. It is impossible to manage people by some fixed
theories. Decision made are in terms of situation.
Secondly, managers need to be innovative they need to grasp the working of the organization and
bring in some creative ideas which will profit the organization.
Therefore management is blend of science as well as art. Science is required for setting up the
procedures and develop various work methods which has impact on productivity of organization.
But art is required in management when dealing with people who work in organization and
creative ideas need to applied.