mismanagement

UK: ˌmɪsˈmænɪdʒmənt | US: ˌmɪsˈmænɪdʒmənt

Definition

  1. n. the process or act of managing something poorly or incompetently

  2. n. the failure to control or administer something effectively

Structure
mis <wrongly/badly>manage <control>ment <noun suffix>
Etymology

The word "mismanagement" combines three morphemes:

  1. "Mis-" (from Old English "mis-," meaning "wrongly" or "badly"), a prefix indicating error or fault.
  2. "Manage" (from Italian "maneggiare," meaning "to handle," derived from Latin "manus" (hand)), referring to control or administration.
  3. "-ment" (from Latin "-mentum"), a suffix forming nouns denoting an action or resulting state.
    The term evolved in English to describe the act of handling affairs incompetently, emphasizing the negative outcome implied by "mis-."
Examples

  1. The company's financial losses were due to gross mismanagement.

  2. Mismanagement of natural resources can lead to ecological disasters.

  3. The project failed because of chronic mismanagement by the leadership.

  4. Public outrage grew over the mismanagement of taxpayer funds.

  5. The report highlighted years of mismanagement in the healthcare system.