Reasons behind Organisations Seeking Control on Its Various Operational Dimensions - Essay Example

‘Organisations seek to control’: Critically evaluate this statement in relation to the mechanistic and cultural perspectives. Using relevant theories analyse your own personal experience and/or illustrate your arguments and answers with relevant examples. Table of Contents Introduction 2 Literature Review 3 Mechanistic Perspectives 3 Cultural Perspectives 4 Usefulness of Understanding the Reasons behind Organisation Seeking Control 7 Summary of Key Theoretical Issues 10 Advantages, Problems and Pitfalls of Mechanistic and Cultural Perspectives 14 Conclusion 15 References 17 Introduction The organisations of the present day context can be observed as highly focused on developing business strategies which can facilitate the achievement of substantial benefits from the business market. According to the modern trend of competitive business environment, organisations seek to possess effective control of their business performances ensuring higher productivity and sustainability in the business market. The organisations have thereby attempted to render greater interests in order to control their internal business activities and obtain advantageous competitive benefits identified in the external environment of the business. Moreover, it can be observed that the modern business organisations are highly focused on evaluating a range of useful mechanistic processes in order to enhance their power of controlling and obtaining greater competitive advantages in the global market (Stahl & Voigt, 2006). Emphasising upon the current day context of the business environment, this essay will intend to critically discuss upon the reasons owing to which organizations seek to obtain control on its various operational dimensions. With this aim, the essay will take into account the identification as well as the evaluation of a wide range of mechanistic and cultural perspectives which is further expected to reveal certain crucial reasons behind organizations seeking control. In order to obtain a critical understanding of the current day scenario, the various aspects associated with the accomplishment of the organizational goal, i.e. to seek control in different situations, will be evaluated. Additionally, to provide the discussion with firm evidences, the illustration of Marks & Spencer plc (M&S) strategies will be taken into account. Literature Review Mechanistic Perspectives According to Jensen (2003), human communication is recognised as a transmission method, through which the conversation conveys one location to another and is possible only when the messages are transferred from a mechanistic perspective. It is in this context that analysts who adopt mechanistic perspective believe that the concepts of communications are causally associated. Specifically, the mechanistic perspective in the communication process involves a linear relationship between the communicator and the channels through which the message is delivered (Jansen, 2003). Moreover, Sarokin (2013) has also mentioned that a mechanistic perspective model possesses the capacity of understanding any complex system through the investigation of its particular characteristics as well as the interrelation persisting between the variables. The model is usually integrated with physical aspects where the system elements are identified as real and visible. With reference to the notion of mechanistic models, it can be observed as based on elements which are incorporated in a discrete manner that cannot be physically observed (Sarokin, 2013). In addition, Velde (2001) has also portrayed certain major considerations concerning mechanistic structure with reference to the theory of Kolb (1984) describing various mechanistic influences which tend to have significant affects over organisational performances. The model developed by Kolb (1984) has incorporated an experimental learning which demonstrated that the mechanistic perspectives exclude areas concerning values, beliefs and attitudes which are fundamentally identified as the behavioural aspects of a working environment having an indirect impact on its performance. In order to mitigate this particular limitation, an alternative and more constructive process of learning could be considered for controlling the organisational activities involving multidimensional and complex aspects of individual activities (Velde, 2001). Attainment of effective control by the organisation can be regarded as an imperative practice for the management to overcome challenges in terms of conflicts within its different processes which can be identified as a common phenomenon in the current day context. With this concern, Aula & Siira (2010) mentioned that the mechanistic model play a significant role in order to effectively control the organisational processes. The mechanistic model in the communication process involves effective conflict management components which have been examined to be considerably beneficial for an organisation to address and resolve various communication gaps among the workforces. The mechanistic communication formation, especially exists within the Conflict Management System (CMS), which plays an imperative role to resolve challenges identified in terms of conflict of interests, differing viewpoints and similar other issues during the obtainment of control by the organisation (Aula & Siira, 2010). Cultural Perspectives When analysing the cultural perspectives to identify the reasons behind organisations seeking control, , it has often been observed that such viewpoints exist in correspondence with the psychological aspects including values, attitudes, beliefs as well as ideas which emphasizes particularly upon the cultural practices of a particular community or society. These cultural practices can be identified as involving certain primary characteristics such as people orientation, team orientation as well as outcome orientation among others. Based on this context, Alvesson (1995) stated that the organisations of present day context tend to be highly interested in adopting cultural variations within the business process owing to the fact that such strategic considerations significantly assists in clearly identifying the customers’ needs and buying behaviour belonging from different cultures (Alvesson, 1995). Contextually, Schein (1997) developed three major cultural segments commonly identifiable within an organisation concerning its various operational activities. These segments can be identified as the ‘operator culture’, the ‘engineering culture’ and the ‘executive culture’. Contextually, the ‘operator culture’ in organisations fundamentally involves attributes related with the way of communication, teamwork as well as cooperation within the operational segments of an organisation (Schein, 1997). Correspondingly, the ‘engineering culture’ within the organisational process includes the operational elements in relation to its structural design which ensures the business operations to be performed through a more secured and successful manner. For instance, designing of complex operational systems, such as in case of designing nuclear plant technology or jet aircraft manufacturing technology, organisations prefer rendering greater significance to mechanistic perspectives in order to ensure safety, quality and other issues which can be identified particularly in these sectors deciphering a machine metaphor attitude. Ultimately, the ‘executive culture’ in the organisation comprises the higher level management groups or individuals who are responsible for the operations to be conducted (Schein, 1997). Moreover, the cultural perspectives also concentrate upon the efficient management of a mix of individuals belonging to diverse backgrounds in terms of age, race, gender and linguistic skills among others. These factors can be further regarded as quite imperative for an organisation to achieve competitive success in the global business practice gaining better control on the performances of its workforce. Contextually, limitations and challenges arising due to underestimated human dimension in the business process can be considered as one of the major concerns of the modern organisations which are often examined to obstruct the efficient achievement of competitive advantages. Based on these assumptions and understandings, the cultural perspective model considers the existing organisational management structure and its internal culture in the business process as two most crucial factors to build an effective working environment specifying the employees with respect to their roles and responsibilities within the organisation. In addition, it has also been recognised that the cultural aspects are the key elements when it comes to enhancing the control level of the organisation (Alvesson, 1995). In this regard, the theory presented by Mintzberg (1994) further revealed that the organisational strategy is considerably relying upon the culture of its working environment. According to the theory of cultural perspectives developed by Mintzberg, it has been observed that the behavioural patterns of each individual contribute largely in the development of effective strategies within an organisational context. Moreover, the behavioural or cultural patterns of the workforce tend to assist the organisation to shape or build effective and competitive business strategies which may facilitate the firm to sustain a long-term sustainability and profitability accordingly (Mintzberg, 1994). Furthermore, Stahl & Voigt (2006) affirmed that the intercultural communication can be determined as the most efficient method for the organisation in terms of controlling its entire process as well as workforces comprising of employees belonging to different cultures. The intercultural communication within the organisation is also regarded as a crucial facet in relation to the attainment of increasing control by the organisations facilitating enhanced flow of information between their employees along with increased productivity of the organisation (Stahl & Voigt, 2006). Usefulness of Understanding the Reasons behind Organisation Seeking Control In the recent day context, the management control system has rapidly evolved with time and with the revolution of the environment as well as the circumstances in which the organisations practice their business operations. In this context, the organisational control can be recognised as one of the major tools which intend to render benefits particularly when the organisation is focused on the effective implementation of its strategy for the attainment of the determined goal. A good and well-built control mechanism of an organisation can facilitate the firm to obtain a better control of its cost elements, productivity drivers, employee performances and quality of products and/or services. The significance of organisational control and its various benefits can be categorised as greater management control, improve cost as well as productivity control and superior ability to manage complexity as well as uncertainty. Notably, from a mechanistic perspective, all these variables can be identified as imperative elements for the organisation in order to achieve the intended competitive advantages (Web Books Publishing, n.d.). Greater Management Control Obtaining adequate managerial control is widely regarded as an imperative practice for the organisation to build a better control process throughout its operational functions. The management control clearly defines the overall processes including how the workforces of the organisation tend to perform their tasks for the successful accomplishment of the organisational objectives. Management control can also be recognised as the process by which the organisation assures to effectively and efficiently use the resources in order to accomplish the overall objectives of the organisation. Moreover, an effective management control system of an organisation also intends to provide an effective support to the entire process, by motivating employees to make decisions which may facilitate the organisation to achieve its objectives successfully. Furthermore, an effective practice of management control further attempts to facilitate the organisation to effectively address various issues concerning productivity, cost as well as quality of services and thereby ensures to achieve long-run sustainability in the business market (Simons, 1990). For instance, the strategies practiced by M&S primarily aim at obtaining an effective control of its management while performing its global business operations in varied cultural contexts. With this concern, the management system of the organisation largely focuses on performing effective communication processes to interact directly with its employees. In this regard the organisation focuses on operating through democratically selected ‘works councils’ and ‘Different Business Involvement Groups’ across its global operating regions (Marks & Spencer, 2012). According to the business control process of M&S it can be identified that the organisation carefully controls its costs related to its capital investments in different processes of its global business operations (Marks & Spencer plc, 2013). Improve Cost as well as Productivity Control An efficient organisational control can deliver an imperative support to the organisation’s processes in order to manage a sustainable productivity level as well as costs of the organisation. The organisational cost can be managed through a proper budgeting process where the managers attempt to justify the actual cost of expenses with the forecasted cost of the products or services. In the similar context, the productivity of the organisation can also be managed by evaluating the performance level of each individual in terms of producing products and/or services. With this concern, M&S tends to practice strategies ensuring a well-built control of costs concerning the operational and maintenance related efficiencies in its entire organisational process. Moreover, the management of the organisation also strives to maintain a balance of its staffing, occupancy level as well as distribution costs incurred in its regular business operations (Web Books Publishing, n.d.). Superior Ability to Control Complexity and Uncertainty The organisational control also assists substantial support for the management to control complexities and possible uncertainties within the organisational performances. It is in this context that a well-built control system of the organisation can be efficient for the organisation to stay focused on its strategy and also to provide beneficial assistance for the organisation to recognise all the possible constraints which may hinder the overall performance of the organisation (Web Books Publishing, n.d.). Summary of Key Theoretical Issues Although organisational control plays an imperative role for the organisation to achieve substantial benefits and competitive advantage, Fredrick Winslow Taylor has argued that different difficulties lay in this context, which can hinder the practice of organisational control. According to the description of Taylor in the context of ‘Principles of Scientific Management’, it has been found that in particular, three major reasons restrict the workers to protect their interests to deliberately perform within the organisation. These three reasons can be identified as misleading notion, imperfect systems of management and incompetent rule-of-thumb method (National Humanities Center, 2005). For instance, McDonald’s, the dominant fast-food chain organisation, focuses on incorporating effective business strategies where the management seek to control its operations through effectively deal with conflicts arising within its internal business environment and other similar aspects which may hinder in its global operations which can be regarded as a rational practice. Presenting a similar perspective, it has further observed from the argument made by the theory of Littler (1978) that the ideologies concerning managerial perspectives can be better understood from a multidimensional view point rather than focusing on the recognition of one particular dimension. Hence, this particular can be observed as criticizing Taylorism which concentrates on the identification one particular dimension regarding managerial concerns (Dunkerley & Salaman, 1980). Apart from Taylor’s model, Weber's Ideal Bureaucracy Model also provides a comprehensive theoretical framework to the aspect of control seeking behaviour deciphered by modern day organisations. In this context, the Weber's Ideal Bureaucracy Model recognised six major principles to affect the control seeking behaviour of organisations which are as follows. Formal Hierarchy of Organisational Structure Management by Rule Promoting Functional Speciality An up-focused or in-focused mission Purposely Impersonal Employment Based upon the Technical Capabilities Source: (IITK, n.d.) For instance, based on the Weber's Ideal Bureaucracy Model, it can be affirmed that in case of a bureaucratic organisation, such as McDonald’s, the operational process can be observed to focus on formalizing its employees through an open communication system between the individual employees between every hierarchical dimension of the organisation. In relation to McDonald’s, it can be observed that the organisation tends to comply with a bureaucratic structure where the culture is strictly farmed upon the specified operational guidelines developed by the management applying the concept of machine metaphor and simultaneously rendering due significance towards shared values among the workforce steering them for the ultimate organisational objectives. Apart from the described cultural perspectives, the organisation also focuses on incorporating mechanistic perspectives whereby the employment guidelines of McDonald’s emphasises on the technical skills possessed by each individual while engaging them in its global restaurant chain operations. In relation to the cultural perspectives, another key issue in this context can be regarded as the psychological contract. The concept of psychological contract fundamentally focuses on the shared values and common perceptions deciphered by the employers and their employees, which is further believed to enhance the employee-employer relationship by a large extent (McInnis, 2012). Owing to its virtues to assist the organizational managers in designing the workplace culture efficiently, the concept of psychological contracts has gained considerable importance in the current phenomenon as an integral part of human resource management. The notion behind the concepts elaborates upon the importance as well as influence of augmented employer-employee relationship to ensure long-run productivity and sustainability (Sonnenberg, 2006). Since its development, the concept has gained increasing significance in researches, wherein various studies have revealed that effective psychological contract can lead to better effectiveness of the organizational process and subsequently, ensure productivity through competitive human resource management (Cullinane & Dundon, 2006). However, managing psychological contract within the modern day organizations can prove to be quite challenging, majorly owing to the influences caused by continuously altering cultural perspectives, increasing diversity within the labour market environment of world economies and changes in the socio-economic dimensions (Maguire, 1998). Recent studies have further revealed that modern day organizations need to overcome these challenges by focusing on the implementation of effective human resource policies and well-defined organizational norms, values and mission so as to gain competency through psychological contract (Cullinane & Dundon, 2006). Therefore, it can be stated that practicing psychological contract is quite significant for organizations, fundamentally because it is examined to enhance the organizational competencies to manage its human resources with greater efficiency. Psychological contracts have also been studied to reward enhanced flexibility in the managerial practices of the organizations with the virtues of augmented employee morale and commitment in the contemporary employment relationship, which in turn increases the organizations’ risk managing capacity (Ven, n.d.). Stating precisely, organizations should focus on practicing the concept of psychological contracts to gain internal strengths and competencies through better employer-employee relationship. Advantages, Problems and Pitfalls of Mechanistic and Cultural Perspectives In organisations which seek to minimise cost and maximise the level of efficiency, the mechanistic structure can be advantageous. The advantage of mechanistic perspectives can be apparently observed when the organisational environment is in a stable position (Web Book Publishing, n.d.). In contrast, the mechanistic structures of organisational control are considerably centralised and formalised where the communication is likely to pursue formal ways and employees of the organisation are provided with particular job descriptions defining their roles as well as responsibilities. The organisations that follow a mechanistic structure fundamentally possess a rigid organisational formation where changes are refused to be accepted, which further limits its access and scope for creativity and innovation. According to the increasing competitiveness of the global business environment, creativity and innovativeness play major roles for the organisations to achieve competitive success. Therefore, the mechanistic structure of the organisation tends to considerably restrict the adoption of changes required for developing better control (Web Books Publishing, n.d.). Additionally, in the year 2006, Morgan also developed a theory mentioning certain considerations regarding the mechanistic model for an organisation while it tend to adopt better control of its performance. According to Morgan’s theory, the mechanistic model assists managers to build a fundamental concept based on the practice of the organisation. The mechanistic perspective in the organisational control directly focuses on the overall outcome of the organisational process rather to involve the environment, working culture as well as the level of capability of the employees within the organisational process. Therefore, the organisations which tend to incorporate a mechanistic model in order to control its operations have to witness a range of complexities and problems that may hinder its productivity both in the short-run and long-run (Morgan, 2006). From the perspective of the cultural dimension, it can be regarded as an important consideration for the organisation to attain continuous benefits in terms operating business performance in a global context. The major advantage of culture in the organisation can be identified in various ways such as, increased productivity, motivated employees, effective recognition and understanding of consumer needs and desires. Additionally, it also attempts to improve the quality as well as the performance of each individual in the organisation. An effective practice of maintaining cultural differences can further be expected to facilitate the organisation towards the achievement of competitive advantages through the recognition of the market demand and accordingly, rewarding it with substantial ability to resolve different operational as well as managerial issues identified in the ongoing mechanistic process (Madu, n.d.). Conclusion According to the present competitive business world, the organisations seek to invest an extended amount of wealth and business efforts on controlling and managing the business processes in order to transform the business activities as more competitive in the market. According to the present day context, taking greater control of the organisation’s internal and external environment can be considered as one of the primary functions for the modern day management in order to attain a long-term sustainability in the business market. It is in this context that the organisational control of the business processes, activities as well as resources are closely harmonized and directed towards the accomplishment of the organisational objectives and goals with the virtues of better control. It is worth mentioning in this context that a well-built control system of an organisation provides effective support to enhance its management control system. The management control system of an organisation is not only intended to monitor the process of strategic implementation, but is also designed to motivate the overall mechanism to address various future uncertainties which might affect its performances in the short-run as well as in the long-run. Moreover, an effective control system of organisation also tends to ensure the minimisation of the cost and maximisation of the overall productivity. 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