Management theory and practice - Essay Example

? Analytical Essay Analytical Essay Human beings have been managing organizations, people and themselves since thebeginning of the economic activities and formation of organizations. Managing refers to the process that involves, planning, organizing, controlling and directing individuals in order to achieve organizational goals (Lorenzana, 1993). Many people have described management as an art while others have described it as a science. However, all these perspectives management are true with respect to the past writings by those described as managerial pioneers. While others have argued that the management thought began in the early days of industrial revolution while others have argued that it begun well before industrial revolution. However for this discussion, the focus would mainly be based on the patterns and the themes in historical management practices and theory that have existed for quite a long time and evolution of management theory. Diamond (2005), explains that the society has to learn from the past and hence restructure, otherwise it faces threats of collapse. The major developments in research and theory have been very important in the development of the organizations and their management over the last century. First it should be acknowledged that the researchers as well as the developers of the theory and practice in management have often treated the organizations as being similar in all perspectives. The managers should therefore be very much aware of the developments in the management practices in the historical perspective since they give insights for better management and continual improvements in management. This paper therefore holds the view that the different theories of management practiced in the past have been influenced by the behaviors of the mangers and the organizations (Rainey, 2009). The development of one management theory is vital for the development of the other since ones a theory is practiced, the behaviors of the organizations and how the managers react with respect to effeteness would be crucial for improvement of a particular theory. The study of the management theory and practice therefore shows that it has evolved over time. This has however been mediated by the impacts and challenges from internal process such as motivations, values as well as the capacity of individuals in an organization. This evolvement in the development of management practices is important for the managers. The managers can look at how the workers behave and the behavior of the organizations and hence innovatively come up with a unique management system. In this perspective the understanding of the evolution with respect to the management practices is important for the organization. For example the nature of human motivation was not recognized in the development of management theory and management practices in the early development of management theory (Lorenzana, 1993). The development of the organizational theory of management in the history timeline also shows that the organizations have to develop new management tactics based on the complexity and diversity. This includes the rapid changes in the organizational internal and the external environment that influence the way people and managers relate in the organization. The demand for changes is often seen in an organization and hence the changes in the management practice in an organization are important (Rainey, 2009). This is because an organization is growing and hence is likely to face challenges that have to be managed by the managers. This concept is therefore important to the managers since it helps the managers not only to be innovative but also to be able to identify and manage the managerial challenges effectively. It is therefore important for the managers to note that the management system in an organization is constantly evolving due to the dynamicity and the complexity that it gains from time to time. The development and evolution in the theory of management has evolved from the bureaucratic system of management to a more flexible, decentralized and adaptive systems of organizational management. The bureaucratic system of management was found to have several problems with regard to strong chains of command, strong controls of the individuals, unchanging and specific job activities and a horizontal and way communication system. However, the new system that is being embraced by the new theorists is that of flexible organizations, empowerment, and horizontal communication and increased participation all individuals in the development of an organization (Lorenzana, 1993). These developments in theory of management are important for the managers of organizations since it gives them an insight of how communication system in an organization and the team work is important. The managers can therefore apply this in their organizations by integrating communication systems. This level of evolution can be applied in the management of organization by the managers to identify the loopholes and weaknesses in an organization. This is because these loopholes and weaknesses of the structures play a vital role in the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization. This in general affects the organizational performance and prosperity. The managers should therefore be very keen on the nature of interaction in the organization and review the structures of communication if they affect in any way communication processes in an organization. The impacts of the environmental; factors in business organizations should therefore be analyzed keenly to ensure that they do not affect the business. A change in the management system just like in the evolution of the management theory is important since it helps the managers to be more innovative in their strategies. Then strategies that are adopted by an organization would also be relevant to the problem or to the challenge that an organization is facing. As observed by Clegg & Kornberg (2005), theories in management and practice are not impractical abstractions but consist of the framework of ideas that are important in the management practice. It therefore shows several advancements in the field over a long time in history. In the past history in the development of theory in management, the researchers mainly developed management strategies that are diverse. The increasing complexity and diversity in the needs of the organizations and the emerging trends in management of organization has resulted into the development of new management approaches (Wren & Bedeian, 2008). The single appropriate form of an organization that was embraced by many in the past has now been rejected by many researchers and theorists. This has therefore resulted into the development of diverse forms of organizational management approaches. This has been attributed to by the recent focus on the variety of forms of organizations that are effectively managed under different conditions or contingencies that are faced by the organization (Wren & Bedeian, 2008). As a result of this development, the managers now understand that they do not need the traditional forms of organization but should focus on the organizational structure that best describes their organization. The development of the variety in this respect can be applied by the managers to restructure their organization into the form that best describe the organization itself. As observed by Diamond (2005), lack of this response may lead to the collapse of the organization. He actually emphasizes that the society has to learn from the past In organizational theory this trend has been seen over the historical development of theories of management. In this context, it is believed that there are various systems in nature that have certain things in common. Analyzing these systems is therefore very important for the development of a common language for specialists in different fields. As defined by Rainey (2009), “a system is an ongoing process that transforms certain specified inputs into outputs; these in turn influence subsequent inputs into the system in a way that supports the continuing operation of the process.” In this way, the evolution processes and the restructuring of these systems are very important. This is because the outputs provide outcomes that act as the feedback for the initiation of the transformation process. As a result, the development of the new ideas mainly to improve the subsystems can be taken into consideration for the betterment of the subsystem. This forms the basis for the evolution and the development of the new management processes. According to Rainey (2009), it is these systems that the management theorists have analyzed in order to identify the problems and hence work on the problems to improve on the systems. This is a modern approach to management though has been applied by the management theorist in their research and the development of theories in management. The modern approach that defines systems in an organization as either closed or open systems is important for the development management theory. For example, the realization by the management theorists that the human beings can be described as adaptive is important. This is because the environmental impacts have ballot of influence on human beings since they can adapt to it. However, while some organizations found system theory as important, others have argued that it is not important. The evolution of management theory as a concept is important for the managers of organizations and businesses. This is because the management theorist identified the diverse challenges to management ad as they passed through the challenges; they developed new theories in management that were practical. This can be applied also in the management of organizations and businesses to restructure and modify systems in the organizations to improve effectiveness and efficiency. Generally, the managers can apply this idea to develop innovative solutions to the challenges in both internal and external business environment. References Clegg, S. & Kornberg, M. (2005). “Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice.” London: Sage Publications. Diamond, J. (2005). “Collapse how societies choose to fail or succeed.” New York: Viking Books. Lorenzana, C. (1993). “Management: theory and practice.” New York: Rex Books store. Rainey, H. G. (2009). “Understanding and managing Public Organizations.” New York: John Wiley and Sons. Wren, D.A. & Bedeian, A. (2008). “The evolution of management thought (6th Ed.).” New York: Wiley & Sons. Read More