Why was American management criticised so much in the 1980s, so widely admired in the 1990s, and now so despised again - Essay Example

This made the practices of the world war come into place, which was further influenced by the presence of the cold war during this time. This only worked to facilitate further bureaucracy as then times was found to be trying (Hood 1990, p.3). This pushed bureaucracy to a new level in that there was a hierarchy of order in relation to the order of business and conducting of transactions. Therefore, management revolved around the authority figures in the business whose decisions were arbitral and impulsive creating further unfavourable decisions for business as the country itself was in a state of panic based on the cold war (Smith 190, p.8). As such, there was little stability in management as many things were uncertain creating further room for abuse of office in relation to decision making for an organization.

As a result, most of the administrative issues in businesses found in America came form decision making forms that were mainly centred on the manager. The manager in the institutions was the final authority in making decisions, where everything had to go through him or her. This explains the essence of bureaucracy in an organization, which led to the criticism of the management structures and their efficiency. In addition, American management was criticized much due to the antics employed by managers in running the business, where there was more talk than action to back the words in the business.

Tis raised questions over the ability of the management to meet the needs of an organization, as the hype that came with the turf of managerial positions did not produce any substance to show that the leader had any expertise to look after the company and drive it profitability. In this, there were only more attempts to make businesses look more profitable than they actually were, which translates to the emphasis on public relations than production of substance to speak for the business. The despicable conduct of management in this case was the use of unconventional means or military means such as propaganda to drive businesses and see that they were in a position to make profit or at least engage investors.

American management in the 1980s also faced criticism based on the failure of management to deliver on the promises it made on their products and services as is seen through the application of hyped products that were out of reach, showing how little management was doing to meet the needs of their consumers. This way, the competence of American management was in question as there were discrepancies that showed American management to be a fraud thriving on propaganda to drive its popularity through pricy products whose promises were not up to standard, in terms of price.

Technology in management also saw American management criticized in the 1980s as it provided businesses with opportunities to develop further, however, American management cut back on the application of technology in business to maximize the productivity of businesses, which saw significant criticism. In relation to this, American management was more intent on mass production methods and not on the desired quality of products. This proved to be poor management s there was mass failure in productivity and decision-making due to bureaucracy and integration of management with other professionals that did not have any expertise in the businesses they were managing.

This is generally a failure in the American management system of the 1980s as they were unable to handle business based on expertise, but based on status, which did not look at critical aspects of running a business. In the 1990s, things changed for the better for American manageme