Meaning: - Professional management refers to the professional approach in managing the organisations. Professional management is vital in today’s competitive business world. The importance of professional management is explained as follows
Following are the important characteristics of professional management:
1. Formal Education: - professional managers are formally educated and trained to run the business organisation. They place great emphasis on training and development of managers. Most of the professional managers have either degree or diploma in management.
2. Merit the basis of promotion: - professionally managed companies follow merit as the basis of promotion at higher levels. Family neither ties, nor biased as the basis of promotions is normally not followed in such organisations.
3. Delegation of authority: - The senior managers delegate authority to the subordinate managers. Routine and repetitive activities are given in the charge of subordinates. Only important and crucial matters are decided by the superiors.
4. Social responsibility: - professional managers give the due consideration to the concept of social responsibility. In fact, they try to bring reconciliation or a balance between profit motive and social responsibility. They go for consumer oriented products. They try to improve the quality through research and development, and so on.
5. Employees Participation: - The top management not only secures the active participation of subordinate managers in planning and controlling activities, but they also encourage initiative and innovative ideas from the employees. Valuable suggestions are implemented and those who provide ideas are often rewarded.
6. Automation and Modernisation: - professional managers advocate the need for automation and modernisation. They recognise the change brought in by changing situations, and are ready to accept that change. They also encourage their subordinates to willingly accept the automation and modernisation plans of the organisation.
7. Decentralisation: - professional management believes in balance between centralisation and decentralisation. Important matters are centralised, and other matters are decentralised. The top management believes that involvement of lower level managers is vital to the success of the organisation.
8. Style of leadership: - professional managers follow the situational style in managing their business activities. They are more of democrats rather than autocrats.