How can PHP beginners effectively integrate shell commands into their PHP scripts for server management tasks?

PHP beginners can effectively integrate shell commands into their PHP scripts for server management tasks by using the `shell_exec()` function. This function allows PHP to execute shell commands and capture the output. By using this function, beginners can easily run commands like restarting a server, checking disk space, or managing user permissions directly from their PHP scripts.

// Example of using shell_exec() to list files in a directory
$directory = '/path/to/directory';
$command = 'ls ' . $directory;
$output = shell_exec($command);

echo "<pre>$output</pre>";