Of what use are management ideas and concepts in the practice of management - Coursework Example

? Of what use are management ideas and concepts in the practice of management? BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Of what use are management ideas and concepts in the practice of management? Introduction The nature of the industry in which the manager is employed determines the most effective management style that will build motivation, establish control systems, build a positive organisational culture and ensure high performance from employees. Today’s business world is highly dynamic, meaning that change is constantly present and there are usually many competitors offering similar products and services that determine the business strategy. Managers must have knowledge of theories that will build the most effective teams whilst also maintaining authority. Description of theories Henri Fayol described his 14 principles of management that, when used in conjunction with other principles, build an effective team and develop a strong manager. Fayol’s 11th principle, equity, determines how to best motivate employees, creating fairness whilst blending authority and kindness. Equity is often determined by the justness of rewards, ensuring that all high-performing employees receive equal opportunities for additional remuneration or other appropriate rewards. Equity is important as a manager in the real-world business environment as it provides employees with a sense of affiliation. This is linked with Fayol’s 13th principle, initiative, that provides more autonomous working environments and opportunities to express employee innovations as become active in the decision-making process. Motivational theories indicate that employees must receive esteem and recognition from others in the organisation (Gambrel and Cianci, 2003). Affiliation establishes perceptions of prestige, control and self-esteem (Gambrel and Cianci). Wal-Mart, a major multi-national retailer, recognises the importance of Fayol’s guidelines for management, providing employees with stock options, incentive bonuses and even profit sharing as a means to build commitment, ownership and equity (Rodrigues, 2001). Wal-Mart is world-renowned for its high-commitment employees that are team-focused and therefore able to carry out strategic goals. These remuneration packages provide equity by establishing rewards for all employees throughout the organisation and inspires a sense of affiliation as valued contributors to the business model. Fayol’s theories, especially equity and initiative, are important concepts in the real-world. Managers establish strategic goals that determine the future position of the organisation related to profit, competitive advantage or other elements related to its market position. Multi-national companies, especially, require team-focused employees in order to achieve these goals. According to Reis and Pena (2008, p.674), “If the business is still using vertical hierarchies instead of self-directed teams, truly empowered to make changes, it is not ready for change”. This means that there will likely be resistance to change from different employees if the manager does not provide initiative in his or her efforts whilst promoting a sense of equity that there will be balanced rewards for achievement for all employees. Fayol’s concepts are highly relevant as the business will not be able to achieve without employee cooperation when teamwork is required to create new strategies and innovations. Mintzberg is another management guru who has established multiple theories of management that are classical in design. Mintzberg describes ten different management roles required to establish a successful management system, these being informational, interpersonal and decisional (LMC, 2008). Of most relevance is the interpersonal dynamic of the manager who takes on the role of a leader, or one who inspires others rather than establishing routine control systems to gain productivity and motivation. The difference between managers and leaders is in their approach to establishing interpersonal relationships. For example, a leader establishes a vision, develops others through coaching or mentoring, manages by commitment, ensures employees have a sense of purpose, and “are advocates of individual transformation; to champion a long-term vision” (Adams and Adams, 2009: 17). Mintzberg believes that the interpersonal dynamic, when blended with authoritarian values, ensures that employees are more motivated to achieve results and will model the behaviours of managers that they find inspiring. General Electric is an example where Mintzberg’s interpersonal theories are being utilised. GE operates in a highly diverse and competitive multi-national environment, therefore creating new innovations is necessary to stay competitive and maintain edge. The difficulty in this case is that employees all have differing knowledge and skills, each working in different divisions of the business. General Electric must create a knowledge transfer system so that tacit knowledge, the skills held by the individual, can be disseminated throughout the organisation to provide understanding to everyone. GE creates shared learning systems where employees interact in role-playing and scenario situations, thereby creating relationships. Through these knowledge exchange sessions, managers inspire others to become decision-makers and develop their competencies to become high-performing and motivated employees. This theory is highly useful in the real-world since there is so much need for a focus on human resources management in order to maximize productivity and gain cooperation from employees. Managers must lead others to realise their growth potential and provide an environment where they can build interpersonal relationships for a more cooperative organisational culture to achieve goals of innovation and knowledge transfer. Rowe and Mason describe their four decision styles as a manger, these being directive, conceptual, analytical and behavioural. Specifically, the decision-style of being directive provides more control in an organisation where quality, time and productivity are important to maintain competitive edge. Directive style solves problems through policies and regulations and the manager is motivated to perform more authoritarian posture (Jacoby, 2006). Technology companies that rely on production efficiency benefit most from directive style as it ensures that employees comply with quality guidelines and time efficiency to meet market deadlines or new product launches. Apple is one organisation utilising the directive style offered by Rowe and Mason. Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, maintained a very strict series of values as it related to performance. High-performing employees were rewarded with autonomy and recognition, whilst non-performing employees were dismissed through policies on efficiency and productivity. Jobs maintained a visible presence in the organisation and used low-performing employees as examples when they were dismissed for failing to meet quality, innovation and productivity guidelines. This maintained a sense of control by illustrating to employees that they would be measured against performance rules and policies and ensured they remained focused on their job roles effectively. This management style has given Apple an excellent reputation in key markets for quality and timely delivery of innovative products and services, accomplished through control tactics under directive decision-making in the management structure. There is also a theory in management known as the transformational manager that provides emphasis on charity and harmony and models these behaviours to inspire others to accept change and develop employee skills. This type of manager aligns the organisation by giving others decision power and also takes accountability when mistakes have occurred, thus inspiring others to commit through charisma and integrity (Adams and Adams, 2009). This type of manager acts much like a coach to help others become motivated, such as focusing on human psychology as a means to build interpersonal relationships. Bambacas and Bordia (2009, p.225), identify that when “training is provided that is perceived as non-transferrable to another organisation, it makes it too costly for employees to leave”. A transformational manager creates inspiring and unique training as a means to reduce turnover from dissatisfied employees and then promotes this training as being highly-exclusive to the organisation to make employees feel valued when they complete the training package. Southwest Airlines is a relevant example of transformational leadership, an organisation that inspires collaboration and social relationships immediately after hiring employees. The business devotes considerable labour and financial resources into training that is fun, people-focused and inspires career development. Southwest is a highly profitable organisation that finds the majority of its success through motivated team players that continue to provide excellence in customer service. Without transformational leadership style, Southwest would not be able to compete successfully against other, larger airline companies. The business consistently receives positive customer feedback about their in-flight experiences which is due to the innovative, people-centred training provided to employees with emphasis on their career growth. Transformational management is useful for managing businesses that rely on significant customer service and team relationships to maintain its competitive edge. Conclusion The four theories of management described each have their own merits and can be applied differently within the organisations depending on their market structure and strategic goals. Wal-Mart chooses to use theories from Henri Fayol to guarantee commitment, whilst Apple (as another example) requires stricter and more compliance-based management approaches to gain commitment and stay within quality and time guidelines. These theories are practical for managers, but only in certain industries depending on the outcomes demanded by strategic intention. General Electric and Southwest Airlines are very different companies offering widely different products and services, however they require their management teams to be more transformational and people-focused in order to guarantee results and teamwork. These two different examples show that theories that give employees more opportunity to socialize improves knowledge transfer and the production of a better customer service model, even though one company is technology-focused whilst the other provides domestic in-flight services. It is clear that all of these management theories have significant merits in the real-world business environment. References Adams, W. and Adams, C. (2009). Transform or reform?, Leadership Excellence, vol.26 (11), p.17 Bambacas, M. and Bordia, P. (2009). Predicting different commitment components: the relative effects of how career development HRM practices are perceived, Journal of Management and Organization, vol. 15 (2), pp.224-241. Gambrel, P. and Cianci, R. (2003). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Does it apply in a collectivist culture, Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, vol.8 (2), pp.143-165. Jacoby, J.M. (2006). Relationship between Principals’ Decision Making Styles and Technology Acceptance & Use, University of Pittsburgh. [online] Available at: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-01022007-223237/unrestricted/jacobyjm2_etdPitt2006.pdf [accessed November 30, 2011] LMC. (2008). Mintzberg’s ten management roles, London Management Centre. [online] Available at: http://www.lmcuk.com/management-tool/mintzberg-s-ten-management-roles [accessed November 30, 2011] Reis, D. and Pena, L. (2008). Focus on management history: re-engineering the motivation to work, Management Decision, vol.39 (8), pp.666-675. Rodrigues, C.A. (2001). Fayol’s 14 principles of management then and now: a framework for managing today’s organisations effectively, Management Decision, vol.39 (10), p.884. Read More