Gap between Management Theory and Practice - Essay Example

Gap between Management Theory and Practice Introduction Management is a binding force for almost all aspects of a company. Managers are not only responsible for the management of resources and operations, but also perform people management in the organization. Olum (2004) described a diverse range of functions that come under the flag of management; ranging from planning to monitoring, from hiring to employee development. Many management theories have been developed that guide the managers about the art of managing effectively. However, there lies a gap between the actual practices of managers in an organization and the guidelines in the theories of management. 2. Management Theories Vs. Practice The evolution of the concept of management dates back to the early civilization. It is due to the art of effective management that those early civilizations produced marvelous wonders that are admired to date. There are many management theories that explain the different styles of management and their impact on the organization. Mason (2010) supported the argument and stated that there has always been a clash of opinions between the academicians, who develop theories of management, with actual professionals in the organizations. The basic difference has been described by Grayson (1973); Management Scientists or researchers: develop management theories which guide the managers to become more organized and structured in their policies and procedures. They are expected to utilize scientific methodology, sociology for organizational decisions as well as people management. Managers: manage the operations and employees by their rule of thumb and need of the hour. They feel that standard theories of management cannot be applied to all instances and issues in a professional life. At times, the fast paced nature of modern business does not give leverage for standard policies and procedures to be developed and thus followed in a strict manner. The main factors that cause a gap in these contrasting schools of thoughts are as follows: 2.1 Intensity of the Problems The academicians tend to oversimplify the problems since they are usually hypothetical. They are not able to address the intensity and seriousness of the issues that might be prevalent in real life organizations. Fowler (1993) stated that the real impact of organizational issues is far more than what is explained in academic context. For example, in the context of hospitality industry, if two front desk officers resign without any prior notice from a total of four front desk officers then it will create a serious problem for the hotel or restaurant. These kinds of workers usually work in shifts i.e. daytime and nighttime shifts. The loss of daytime workers will create a vacuum for the service at daytime therefore the nighttime workers would be split and each one would have to work alone at their respective shifts. The availability of only one officer at front desk will slow the pace of the service and hence dissatisfy the customers. 2.1.1 Theoretical Point of View F.W Taylor has contributed to a great deal in the field of scientific management; he believed that a production process can be improved and man-hours can be reduced if the resources that is appointed for the job is an expert at his work. One of the presentations on SlideShare.net (2008) explained the principles that have been developed by Taylor; The information about the knowledge domains of the employee should be collected alongside the way he performs his tasks. All of this information should be maintained so that future tasks can be appointed to the most suitable employee and thus processes can be improved. If new methods of performing tasks are developed by the availability of the above information then codify these new modes of operations into written rules i.e. standard ways of performing tasks. Assign the tasks to the most suitable employee and train him to perform the task according to the standard rules and procedures. Establish a fair level of expectation and quality from the output of the task. The level of expectation is established so that the employee can be rewarded with respect to the level of output of the task. 2.1.2 Actual Practice The actual practice of the assignment and evaluation of tasks differs from the principles given by Taylor. The HR department hires individuals according to the need at a specific position. Hannagn (2005) pointed out that the individuals who have the required skill set are hired for the job but the nature of their job at the firm might not strictly lie under the skill set that they are expert at. The above stated scenario compels the manager to replace the front desk officers with existing employees who might have some experience for the respective position but it might not be their area of expertise. These replacements will be assigned new job descriptions till the time other suitable resources are hired. The time limit for such an objective matter (of finding the suitable candidates) cannot be fixed. The manager cannot risk the quality of the service of the restaurant therefore he will need to have urgent replacements to attend the customers. Brownlie, Hewer and Wagner (2008) pointed out that the managers need to take fast decisions in the real world therefore cannot rely on theories and principles to dictate them. This strategy contradicts the theory of Taylor since he promotes the notion of employees working in their area of expertise only. With reference to the above example, it can be stated that Taylor was not able to predict the situations that might arise in an organization. Managers need to analyze the real life situations at hand and perform timely actions to solve matters. 2.2 Unforeseen instances The problems and instances that are stated in case studies or journal articles are products of planned scenarios. They do not involve the unforeseen circumstances that might become apparent in the middle of projects or different ventures. McKenna and Roberts (1999) pointed out that these unforeseen scenarios are not taken under consideration by researchers and thus tackling them is not even covered in the theories. The conditions under which the theory can be applied may differ from the real life situations. Let’s consider an incident of a fire in the kitchen of the restaurant that aggravates and burns some of the section in the dining area. This can serve to be a real setback in the sales of the restaurant and can give the competitors to take advantage of such an incident. 2.2.1 Theoretical Point of View The empirical approach to management advertises the study of management as analysis of experiences and case studies. This approach generalizes instances and decisions on the basis of successful ventures and strategies by managers. The basic assumption that underlies this school of thought is that the study and comprehension of the successful strategies and failures of managers will provide the necessary skills for effective management. One of the articles in FAO Corporate Document Repository (n.d) explained that this approach does not cater the differentiating and unforeseen incidents that might not be present in any case study. The above stated example is most likely not to be mentioned in case studies. It would probably be considered as a matter of disaster recovery planning. But managers also have a great role to play in such unforeseen instances. The researchers would fail to provide any effective guidance regarding management in such circumstances. It is the art of practical management that will play its role here (discussed in the proceeding section). 2.2.2 Actual Practice Managers do not agree with this management school of thought since there are never same instances in different organizations. Gabriel (2007) did not agree with the usage of case studies as the basis for decision making and stated that there are numerous variable aspects present in every organization that would make the case study different from the real life scenario therefore this school of thought cannot be accepted in practical life. Managers solve matters after considering all possible solutions and their unique impacts on the organization. A case study might be helpful in providing some guidance but cannot be used as the only solution to the matter. With reference to the above example; a good manager will realize the impact of such a disaster with respect to his market position, strategic actions from competitors, morale of his employees etc. Restaurants are usually equipped with insurances therefore finances would not be a major topic of discussion in the organization. The manager will assure his employees of quick recovery from the setback and urge them to reopen the restaurant with a more appealing menu and ambience. Reopening date is advertised everywhere alongside attractive deals. The deals will attract more customers and hence make up for the loss of revenues. Discounts and deals will nullify the efforts of the competitors and will be helpful to get the customers back. It is generally noticed that management theories (like any other theory) are aimed to be proven by the researcher with the objective of getting his work recognized. According to Duft (n.d.); they are not concerned about improving the field of management because of which they have minimal regard for practical scenarios and instances in a workplace. It is also witnessed that academicians tend to serve lot of their efforts in downgrading the work of others to make their work seem more creditable. 2.3 Decision Making There even lies a gap in the way decisions are taken by managers and the mode which is supported by researchers. The academicians want every decision to be based on rational thoughts whereas in real life, managers have to look at a broad perspective of things to make correct decision. Let’s consider an example; the top management wants to install latest machines in the kitchen of a restaurant like dishwashers. Their purpose of such a change is to improve the efficiency and quality of work. Both the academicians and real life managers shall handle this matter differently. 2.3.1 Theoretical Point of view The supporters of decision theory state that decisions should be based on systematic reasoning. Few alternatives should be searched and then the best course of action should be chosen from the alternatives. Decision theory is based on the collection of relevant data on the basis of which alternatives should be considered. With respect to the above example; top management will analyze information regarding different vendors who can supply the equipment at a better price. They shall also be looking at the number of machines that will be feasible for them to deploy in the initial phase. 2.3.2 Actual Practice The decision theory promotes the usage of reasons and systematic thinking, which is a good approach to make decisions. However, decision theory tends to look at the keyhole view of the matter. All the reasoning and logic of alternatives is collected in a narrow perspective of the problem. The company wide impacts of the decisions are not covered in this approach. Managers need to analyze and weigh the pros and cons of alternatives with respect to a broader perspective since decisions have an impact on more people than just a few ones (who would be directly involved in the matter). As stated earlier, decision theory involves a narrower perspective of things. Whereas, in real life, managers need to look at the organization wide impact of decisions. In the above stated example, managers will evaluate the impact of the introduction of such machines on the morale of the employees, technical ability of the employees to operate such machines, reduction in the need for employees that might bring about circumstances for layoffs etc. The introduction of machines in the restaurant will create a certain level of job insecurity among the employees since the work of the dishwashing staff will be reduced to almost half. The change might face some resistance from the employees as they might find it technically hard to operate the machines. Some other employees might resist the change due to general hostility towards the change. All of these aspects will be noticed and analyzed by managers to make the change successful for the organization. Some decisions might be taken to train the staff to operate the machines to make the transition easy for them. 2.4 Mathematical School of Management One of the newer approaches in the field of management is the mathematical school of management. This concept has emerged in the field of management with the titles of operations management or operations research. The supporters of the mathematical approach justify their notions with the logic that if management is considered to be a logical process then it can be defined in terms of mathematical symbols and notations. Relationships can be established with variables and hence organizations can be managed in a more systematic manner. Relationships are considered to be quantifiable in this approach. They hold the opinion that managers should base their decisions on the relationship of the symbols and notations. 2.4.1 Actual Practice Managers do not apply the mathematical approach of management in their organizations since they feel that it lacks the human element of management. Management does not involve structured and standard steps that would require mathematical logic to govern it. On the contrary, it involves decision making that might be unique for even similar instances since every individual has a different way of perceiving things. Different individuals will have different reactions for the same instances. Management is dependent on the individual’s judgment regarding a certain thing therefore mathematical relations cannot dictate the decisions at any level. Mathematical relations will induce standardization in the process of management which cannot prevail in the respective field. Humans, finances, operations etc are all factors involving variability therefore standardization of decision cannot be helpful. 3. Conclusion Managers consider management as a collection of unrelated events therefore no theory or principle can govern the way in which decisions are made. There are several aspects on the basis on which the gap between the academic theories and actual implementation can be explained. Management theories tend to oversimplify the problems in the literature and are not able to portray the same intensity as witnessed in real life. The researchers are also not able to analyze the impact on a certain thing in the organization. Managers need to analyze the impact of their decisions on the employees, finances etc and management theories do not seem capable of such analysis. Management theories promote the standardization of decision making on the basis of mathematical symbols and their relationships with each other. However, managers do not agree with this concept and argue that management decisions can never be treated as constant for everyone because each manager has a different way of resolving matters and different way to perceive things in the environment. References Brownlie, D., Hewer, P., Wagner, B 2008, ‘Management Theory and Practice: Bridging the Gap through Multidisciplinary Lenses’, Special Issue of European Business Review, 2008, Vol. 20, No. 6, pages: 461 – 470 Duft, KD, n.d., ‘Agri Business Management’, Washington State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating, viewed 23 October 2010, FAO Corporate Document Repository n.d., ‘Management: Thought and processes’, viewed 23 October 2010, Fowler, AR 1993, ‘Differences in management theory and practice: are authors and journals contributing factors?’ Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business Gabriel, 2007, The wide gap between theory and practice in human resource management, viewed 25 October 2010, Grayson, CJ 1973, ‘Management Science and Business Practice’, Harvard Business Review, 51(4), 42-48. Hannagan, T. (2005), Management: Concepts and Practices (4th Ed.), Financial ‎Times/Prentice Hall ISBN 0-273-68768-9‎ Mason, A 2010, ‘Management Bridge’, viewed 24 October 2010, McKenna B, Roberts R 1999, ‘Bridging the theory-practice gap’, NCBI, Mar; 5(2):14-6., viewed 25 October 2010, Olum, Y 2004, Modern Management Theories and Practices, viewed 15 October 2010, SlideShare.net 2008, ‘The evolution of management theory’, viewed 26 October 2010, Read More