Leadership and the New Science by Margaret J Wheatley - Book Report/Review Example

? Leadership and the New Science by Margaret J Wheatley Contents Contents 2 Background 3 Key Issues 3 Application of the Theory to Management 5Finding Value from the above Concepts 6 Conclusions 7 References 9 Background The book ‘Leadership and the new science: discovering order in a chaotic world’ written by Margaret J Wheatley endeavors to bring about a relationship between the nature and the organization. Wheatley shows that natural entities like streams being subjected to large amount of changes while passing through the annals of time do not forget their personal objective or mission that is to mingle with the ocean. Business organizations like natural entities are also required not to fear alterations but must have clarity of their philosophy and business mission. Further the book shows that chaos or disorder gives birth to a new system or order and hence debates over issues must not be suppressed within business organizations. The book in order to reflect chaos as the mother of new orders divulges in various theories and concepts both scientific and natural and reflects how it helped to stand the test of times. Again the author regards that organizations must not become fragmented by dividing the entire organizational responsibility into certain specific departments. Rather the organizational managers must endeavor to bring about a relationship between the different organizational entities such that their work helps the concern progress into the future. The author also stated that some changes cannot be predicted and determined. Rather they happen through the effect of invisible force acting upon the different entities subjecting them to alter. In that the author states that to understand the process of such changes it is much required to get involved with the alterations in question rather than being isolated entity to it (Wheatley, 2006, p.1-38). Key Issues The book written by Wheatley covers some key issues which can be highlighted as follows. Firstly it is observed that order sets within organizations and also in the natural context emerge from chaotic activities and events. Secondly the organizations better thrive through the sharing of potential information amongst the internal people of the concern. In the manner of sharing of potential information in the third case the organizational people tend to create effective relationships within them to help the organization counter productivity in the future. Fourthly the organizations like the natural elements must proceed forward based on visionary and missionary objectives that must remain uncompromised to the external and internal organizational changes. Thus focusing on the above issues the business organizations are required to incorporate the views of the different people based along different hierarchies and match them to the objectives underlined in the mission and vision statements. Such ongoing interaction between the members would help the concern progress in a fruitful manner to achieve new paradigms. The key issues also reflect that the author requires the business organizations to be free from the fear of changes and alterations which in the initial stage are felt to create chaos. Such chaotic atmosphere in the organizations in turn result in bringing about innovations and in rendering the power of creativity run in the organizational veins. These elements of innovation and spontaneous creativity help the organization to stand the test of times. However such changes brought about in the organizational process or business structure earns effectiveness if the same is percolated along the several departments and business hierarchies to help create an informative sphere in the business concerns. Through such sharing of potential information the organizational members can better interrelate with them to help counter holistic productivity of the concern. Henceforth the business managers are required not to be stringent with the framing of rules through which they tend to create a drift between the organizational forces. Rather the human resource teams working along different departments and hierarchies must be endeavored to share both informal and formal meets to help in exploring newer ideas that would eventually help the business concern. Changes or alterations must be welcomed by the business managers as natural sets of action and the organizational people must not stand in isolation to such changing events. Rather they must endeavor to forget the fear and get imbued with the changing events in order to understand the nature of such. Getting involved with such change movements is essential for alterations by virtue of their nature are highly unpredictable in nature and thus cannot be determined in a mathematical or statistical fashion. The author further discusses that based on the chaotic models the new theories or tenets of organizational leadership emerge. New tenets of organizational leadership focus on the enactment of the change process in an effective manner to help the concern gain productivity in the long run (Wheatley, 2006, p.1-38). Application of the Theory to Management Class The new theory of organizational leadership rendered by Margaret Wheatley helps one to better understand the art of managing the change process to achieve productivity in the future. Wheatley observes that based on the chaotic theory new set of orders and structures emerge which in turn stand the test of times. Thus orders continually emerge from disorders helping the organization to become effective to external and internal changes. However in that the theory of new leadership makes the business organizations shift to a democratic structure. Business organizations in a generalist fashion are held to function based on autocratic philosophy wherein the command to alter is transmitted from the top to the bottom line mangers and thereby to the workers. A kind of dictatorship follows in regards to the business organizations wherein the lower level teams find it difficult to share in their views with the upper level teams. This happens owing to the dearth of proper communication and networking between the human resources teams in the organization where each operates in isolation from the other. Thus the new theory of management leadership requires stronger interrelation between the different pools of people in the concern so as to render all round productivity. In regards to focusing on creation of better organizational relationships the new age management of the business concerns needs to operate in a democratic environment rather than an autocratic one. The new age management models in regards to focusing on democratic principles reflect that feedback from the external environment of business flows through the help of lower level staff to the upper management teams of the concern. This flow of feedback from the lower to the upper organizational hierarchies is only possible in an atmosphere of interrelatedness of the different people in the concern. Such matters of interrelation help in the development of democratic framework in the concern or a shift from the autocratic systems. Thus the management learning derived from the study of the book reflects that organizations to thrive better in a chaotic and changing environment need to work in a democratic fashion. Drift from the autocratic system thus helps the business concern help in the development of loyalty of the organizational people to help the concern gain more amounts of productivity, profitability and rise in market share in the near future. Finding Value from the above Concepts The book on management leadership through the discovery of order structures in chaotic or disturbing climates helps the reader to gain specific values. The book helps the reader in understanding the importance of gaining knowledge in the current day business organizations. Such knowledge helps in the value addition through creating managerial consciousness about appreciating the change process which in turn helps in the projection of new discoveries pertaining to the realm of technology and business processes. Further value additions are created through the encouragement of the managerial people to get involved in the change process and derive knowledge based on cognitive understandings. Value addition to the business further happens through the encouragement of business organizations to develop more enhanced networks by involving the people pertaining to different departments to work as a unified whole. In another case of value addition the author observes the business organizations as machinery involved in the operational process. A breakdown of some parts of the machine makes it unproductive for business or operational use for which it is put in the unproductive business corners. Business organizations like the machines also become unproductive owing to the unproductive nature of certain business units. However value additions made through the literature rendered by Margaret Wheatley require the business organizations to redress and revive the fallen units. This fact would help the business organization to regain their productive potential in the near future. Value additions generated in the above cases are made by the author through comparison of the business situations to natural and other scientific cases. This comparison reflects that business organizations are also governed by the same laws which in turn govern the natural and other scientific actions of the world. Thus in regards to value addition it is quite evident that business organizations need to cultivate an effective knowledge base to help counter changes both in the external and internal business environment. Value addition studied in regards to the above discussion shows that from the occurrences of chaotic events new sets of order and structures emerge which needs to be imbued by the business concerns through the modification of visionary and other objectives based on organizational mission. Knowledge management through the art of governing the change philosophy as reflected in the book under observation reflects that business organizations by the dint of such actions would certainly become highly productive in the long run (Wheatley, 2006, p.1-38). Conclusions Margaret Wheatley in her book focuses on the development of effective management and organizational leadership through the scientific management of the change process. The author observes that the emergence of chaos related to the need to change the existing business process leads to causing disruption in the existing fabric. However the author states that from the disruptive process new set of orders and structures emerge in the society and business organizations. Thus through the help of the given literature value creation would be rendered in regards to the organizational managers who must endeavor to engulf them to the change process in order to observe such changes quite closely and profusely. In turn the value enhancements made of the business managers would help them to counter external changes while working on business productivity. The author also stressed on the creation of interconnected relationships among the people belonging to the different organizational tiers. Development of interconnected relationships focuses on the democratization of organizational relationships where the changes brought about in the organizational philosophy and governance is percolated among the different people through effective collaborations. Such enhancements made to globally assimilate the productivity of the total organizational workforce help in the increasing of loyalty of the employees to the concern. In turn the organization gains more profit and productivity. References Wheatley, M. (2006). Leadership and the new science: discovering order in a chaotic world. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Read More