Management Principles - Case Study Example

Management principles Name Institution Tutor Course Date Introduction The principles of management are the means by organizational leaders manage, that is, get things done (Graham, 2006, p. 3). Businesses today require active and effective leaders who have an idea and comprehend to the difficulties in the rapidly changing the global business environment. Leadership is the moral and intellectual capability to visualize and work out what is best for the organization and its workers. Furthermore, effective leadership and good management assist to improve teamwork and integration of individuals and group goals. Achieving organizational success, goals and objectives depends on the leader of the organization and the leadership style being adopted by the leader. Similarly, when companies adopt suitable leadership styles, it enables leaders to affect the job productivity and satisfaction of employees. A good leader can be seen as someone who has a direction and leads the employees to achieve efficient and effective organizational goals and objectives. DGL International new manager, John Terrill, understood this simple fundamental principle of management. Before John Terrill took over, DGL international was faced with a number of challenges that hindered its growth and development. On his appointment as a technical manager, John Terrill has steered the organization to greater heights. John Terrill Leadership style Leadership involves changing the minds of people in a bid to move forward, while, at the same time, accomplishing the laid out goals and objectives of an organization/ facility. It shapes the perceptions of workers, their responses to the organizational change and their acceptance of innovations. The topic of leadership has attracted massive interest over the years prompting scholars to come up with theories that explain the distinction between leaders and their followers, as well as other variables such as skill levels and situational factors (Daft & Marcic 2004, p. 14). John Terrill practiced effective leadership by getting the Engineers perform duties their own way. He ensured the credit of work accomplished is attributed to the engineers. He achieved this kind of leadership by withdrawing his presence and the presence of the top management in the daily routine of work done by the engineers. He ensured that all daily reports were submitted in his office and not in the top management. John Terrill Role as General Manager A general manager is someone who is responsible for managing a unit which mostly generates income, such as a store. General Managers take advice from their executives, like a chief executive officer. They read the business plan of the organization, and use that knowledge to formulate their business plans which will be used to govern their department (Graham 2006, p. 4). According to the case study, the top management (executives) at DGL International acted like the general manager in the management. They demanded that the engineers submit the daily reports to them. However, John Terrill discovered that these daily reports were not of much use to them. The top management collected the reports and kept them without even reading them. John Terrill found out that the top management needed only the monthly report of the work done by the engineers. Therefore, John Terrill played a big role in ensuring that the engineers did the right thing at the right time to serve the right purpose. According to Fayol’s 14 principles of management, executives should allow employees to be involved in decision making because they will become motivated by realizing that their potential is recognized in the organization. This will motivate employees and increase the productivity of the department, and the entire unit. Workers do not feel like the executives are being dictatorial by making their own decisions which must be followed by everybody in the organization. This, in turn, makes employees feel appreciated and respected. Taylor also agreed with this principle of initiative. He commented that when work was manual, general managers should observe the working of the employees and the efficiency of machines being used. This familiarizes them with whatever is happening in the field (Fincham 2002, p. 21). John Terrill practiced these principles by both Fayol and Taylor. He empowered the engineers to perform their daily work without much disturbance by the management. He achieved this by directing the engineers to give him all the daily reports instead of submitting them to the management. This initiative gave room for the engineers to be creative in their work by doing it the best way they knew. This also motivated the engineers to work more than before because they realized that John Terrill, who was an executive, recognized their potential and also involved them in the running of the organization. John Terrill management principle based on Hersey-Blanchard theory Hersey-Blanchard Theory was created by Dr. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. According this theory, managers should engage their employees in the unit’s functions so as to keep them motivated (Blanchard & Hersey 2008, p. 3). John Terrill put into practice this type of leadership where the emphasis of management is put on the relationships with the employees so as to motivate them and increase the company’s productivity. Upon employment to DGL International, John Terrill called for a meeting with the engineers and showed concern for their personal welfare and asked what challenges they faced, why they were not producing and why the division had such high turnover. The engineers launched a handful of problems they were facing in the company and especially with the management. John Terrill made a resolution to help the engineers achieve their goals and objectives minus the interference by the management (Hersey 2007, p. 5). The result of this management principle was high performance by the engineers. Their production increased tremendously having got the freedom to practice their talents and skills without intense supervision by the management. The Leadership Styles used by John Terrill Based on Hersey-Blanchard Theory According to Hersey and Blanchard there are four main leadership styles: Telling – Leaders tell their people what to do and how to do it. Selling – Leaders provide direction to followers, and communicate with them to hence involving everybody in the unit. Leaders "sell" their message to get people on board. Participating– Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with employees, and shares decision-making responsibilities. Delegating – Leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower or group. The leaders still monitor the progress, but they're less involved in decisions (Blanchard & Hersey 2008, p. 3). John Terrill used the both Participating and Delegating styles of leadership. Participating calls for organization leaders to focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with the team, and share decision-making responsibilities. Delegating, on the other hand, is where leaders pass most of the responsibility onto the follower or group. The leaders still monitor the progress, but they're less involved in decisions. John Terrill understood that the engineers at DGL International needed less direction in their work because of their experience. Therefore, he chose Participating style of leadership. However, he did not abandon being their leader completely. Alternative Leadership Approach Proposed The leadership styles used by John Terrill were effective for the management of DGL International employees. However, he did not compare the weight of choosing to remove all the management from managing the engineers with other alternatives. Therefore, even though his management skills were effective, they may fail to work in the long run. Therefore, I suggest contingency theory of leadership. According to the case study, DGL International was characterized by low production and high employee turnover. This situation was highly contributed with lack of motivation to the employees and over supervision. Therefore, using the contingency theory, I would enhance motivation using Maslow Hierarchy of needs (Martin & Joomis 2007, p. 75). At the peak of the hierarchy is self-actualization. According to Maslow Hierarchy of needs, an individual who has attained the level of self actualization pursue what he wants to achieve (Cherry 2006, p. 4). This explains the capability a person has, and thus, one can achieve his objectives if he puts much effort. The engineers were at the level of self actualization. They wanted to be creative in their own way. They wanted to practice their skills and talents without the interference of the management (Martin & Joomis 2007, p. 75). Also based on the contingency theory of leadership I would suggest the following six step model for problem solving according to basic Management Principles (Fincham 2002, p. 5): Define the problem: In DGL international, what is the main problem that causes low production and high employee turnover? Though John Terrill used this technique to identify the reason for low performance, structured questionnaires would have done much better. This will provide a wide number of problems facing the employees and the solutions to solve the problems. Identify the criteria: Find a suitable criterion to solve the current problems and other emerging problems in the future. This will suggest a wide range of solutions to problems facing the employees of DGL International. Weigh the criteria: Identify if the new criteria will be more effective in increasing productivity and reduce employee turnover or it will make no difference. This alternative weighs current versus the suggested criteria. Rate each alternative on each criterion: Provide marks for each criterion when matched with the expected results. Compute the optimal decision: After weighing the criteria and having rated them. The best alternative is determined that will be effective and long lasting. Conclusion The relationship between leaders and employees in a firm determines how effective and productive the organization would be. The connection between leaders and employees in the enterprise grows overtime through a series of conversations, try-outs and interactions. Leadership styles can be described in various ways. It refers to the fundamental requirements of a leader that motivates his/her actions. Leadership styles can be seen as the manifestation of the dominant pattern of behavior of a leader. It can also be referred to as a procedure, through which individuals or groups influence others in order to achieve group goals and objectives. The case study of DGL International shows the impact of management principles on the employees’ performance and satisfaction. John Terrill used both participating mode of leadership and delegating mode leadership to achieve the performance needed. The result of this management principle was high performance by the engineers. Their production increased tremendously having got the freedom to practice their talents and skills without intense supervision by the management. Although this leadership style by John Terrill bared fruits, the contingency leadership theory could have been more effective. This is because it uses various modes of leadership to achieve the performance needed. References Blanchard & Hersey, P. K. (2008). Management and Organizational Behavior. Retrieved 05 20, 2014, from www.learningdomain.com/Situational.pdf Cherry, K. (2006). Leadership Theories. Daft & Marcic, R. L. (2004). Principles of Management. Fincham, J. E. (2002). Basic Management Principles. Graham, P. (2006). Introduction to Principles of Management. Hersey, P. (2007). The Situational Leader. Retrieved 05 20, 2014, from www.mc.edu/.../MSL_202_L09b_Situational_Leaders Kurt, D. (2005). Introduction to Management and Leadership Concepts, Principles and Practices. Retrieved 05 20, 2014, from Jones and Barlet Learning: www.jonesand barlet learning/introduction to management/html. Martin & Joomis, K. D. (2007). Maslow's Hierarcy of Needs. In K. D. Martin & Joomis, Building Teachers: A Constructivist Approach to Introducing Education (pp. 72-75). Read More