24-07-2014, 10:04 AM
Management and Organizations
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Introduction
The 21st century has brought with it a new workplace, one in which everyone must
adapt to a rapidly hanging society with constantly shifting demands and opportunities.
The economy has become global and is driven by innovations and technology and
organizations have to transform themselves to serve new customer expectations.
Today’s economy presents challenging opportunities as well as dramatic uncertainty.
The new economy has become knowledge based and is performance driven. The
themes in the present context area ‘respect’, participation, empowerment, teamwork and
self management. In the light of the above challenges a new kind of leader is needed to
guide business through turbulence. Managers in organizations do this task.
Management Skills
Managers need certain skills to perform the challenging duties and activities associated
with being a manager. Robert L. Katz found through his research in the early 1970s that
managers need three essential skills
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
Scientific management is defined as the use of the scientific method to
determine the “one best way” for a job to be done. The most important
contributor in this field was Frederick W. Taylor who is known as the “father”
of scientific management. Using his principles of scientific management,
Taylor was able to define the “one best way” for doing each job.
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were inspired by Taylor’s work and proceeded to
study and develop their own methods of scientific management. They devised a
classification scheme to label 17 basic hand motions called therbligs in order to
eliminate wasteful motions
Guidelines devised by Taylor and others to improve production efficiency are
still used in today’s organizations. However, current management practice is not
restricted to scientific management practices alone. Elements of scientific
management still used include:
1. Using time and motion studies
2. Hiring best qualified workers
3. Designing incentive systems based on output
QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT
The quantitative approach to management, sometimes known as operations
research or management science, uses quantitative techniques to improve
decision making. This approach includes applications of statistics, optimization
models, information models, and computer simulations. The quantitative approach originated during World War II as mathematical and statistical
solutions to military problems were developed for wartime use.
The relevance of quantitative approach today is that it has contributed most
directly to managerial decision making, particularly in planning and controlling.
The availability of sophisticated computer software programs has made the use
of quantitative techniques more feasible for managers.
THE SYSTEMS APPROACH
During the 1960s researchers began to analyze organizations from a systems
perspective based on the physical sciences. A system is a set of interrelated and
interdependent parts arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole. The
two basic types of systems are open and closed. A closed system is not
influenced by and does not interact with its environment. An open system
interacts with its environment.
Using the systems approach, managers envision an organization as a body with
many interdependent parts, each of which is important to the well-being of the
organization as a whole. Managers coordinate the work activities of the various
parts of the organization, realizing that decisions and actions taken in one
organizational area will affect other areas.
The systems approach recognizes that organizations are not self-contained; they
rely on and are affected by factors in their external environmen
CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES
The following are the current concepts and practices are changing the way managers do
their jobs today.
Globalization: Organizational operations are no longer limited by national borders.
Managers throughout the world must deal with new opportunities and challenges
inherent in the globalization of business.
Ethics: Cases of corporate lying, misrepresentations, and financial manipulations have
been widespread in recent years. Managers of firms such as Enron, ImClone, Global
Crossing, and Tyco International have placed their own self-interest ahead of other
stakeholders’ welfare. While most managers continue to behave in a highly ethical
manner, abuses suggest a need to “upgrade” ethical standards. Ethics education is
increasingly emphasized in college curricula today. Organizations are taking a more
active role in creating and using codes of ethics, ethics training programs, and ethical
hiring procedures.
Workforce diversity: It refers to a workforce that is heterogeneous in terms of gender,
race, ethnicity, age, and other characteristics that reflect differences. Accommodating
diverse groups of people by addressing different lifestyles, family needs, and work
styles is a major challenge for today’s managers.