A Critical Evaluation of Management Literature - Research Paper Example

Management Theory and Practice “A Critical Evaluation of Management Literature” Registration: Module Leader: Workshop Due Words: 2000 Introduction The field of management is awash with many theories and models which translate into effective or poorly coordinated practices. The management field is very dynamic, and as such it is synonymous with innovations that arrive and dissipate fast, while there are others that arrive and thrive throughout the field. In the build up to these theories there is often certain assumptions build to construct the models (Alvesson and Willmott, 1996). The reality is not often built on assumptions, and hence the assumptions have affected implementation of the theories and models in real and actual management practice. In management practices culture, communication and team work often form the cog of management, and the correct and positive interpretation and illustration of these translate into effective management. One could state factually that management is a vital human activity, and the fact that people through groups has pushed the increasing need for management. The major focus of this paper is to provide a critical discussion of the assumptions in management theories and models, and their implications in management practice. There are a number of reports showing certain managers who have achieved success in management without being privy to theoretical management knowledge, while on the other hand there are who have been to the highest class in management and even proposed theories in management, yet success in management practice eludes them. This is the paradox of the management theory and practice, underpinned by assumptions. In order to build a discussion on the thesis mentioned above the paper will proceed with an exploration of the assumptions that underpins management practice, but first it is important to understand the meaning of management, in a bid to build clarity in understanding. Definition of management Management is described as both an art and a science that is used in achieving goals through people, and it is a function that makes sure that people perform roles that have been assigned to them. Hence, managers must ensure productivity and continuous improvement in production or service delivery (Brocklehurst, Grey and Sturdy, 2010). Considered on a wider scale management could be aptly defined as the process of developing and sustaining the environment where people, work in groups, effectively surmount provided aims. In this considered definition, management could draw a variety of meanings. First, managers are individuals who carry on managerial roles of planning, organising, staffing, leading and controlling an organisation. Second, management refers to the sort of every manner of organisation. Third, management implies to people known as managers and in every level of organisational structure. Fourth, the impetus of every manager is similar, and this is to create a surplus. Fifth and finally management is concerned with productive functions, and this means that efficient and effective operations are within the realm of management. Hence, management implies the creation of bureaucracy that is important in planning, coordination, direction and control of large and complicated decision making processes. Fundamentally, management involves the Essentially, therefore, acquirement of managerial knowledge, and the efficiency in a number of crucial areas and these include: problem solving, administration, human resource management, leadership and organisational competency. Management is conceived as a problem solving and in organisations, this role keeps emerging throughout, and for organisations to attain their goals and objectives, then this role shall become even more important. Problem solving is attached to problem identification, analysis and implementation which in combination constitute a solution to managerial problems. At least this is the knowledge derived from a management class in the university. Administration on the other hand entails applications that are set necessary for carrying out, control, communication, assigning, and crisis management. Human resource a common feature in modern management literature, and it should be founded on strategic marriage of human resource appraisal of workers and sharing of information between organisations owners and employees. Finally, organizational leadership needs to be built on the paths of interpersonal relations, group work, personal motivation to perform, emotional potency and maturity to carry out situations, personal charisma and the management skills and knowledge. The Disconnect between Practice and Theory The central goals of management theories are often to solve pragmatic business problems; however, often their impractibility always leaves them glitter on publication and tenure documents. Management schools train academics to generate knowledge in the field as such not necessarily to solve management problems. Business institutions of higher learning are increasingly focusing on pragmatic research and the methodologies applicable in behavioral and hard sciences (Hofstede, 1993). However, it noticeable that these conditions do not provide the right atmosphere for extrapolation to the practical problems in management, and in fact recent literature tend to focus more on data than topic analysis in an empirical drive to draw a business solution to a problem (Dean & Bowen, 1994). A common translation of the deep divide separating theory and practice, particularly when referring to management refers to the dichotomy that exists between the two cultures; practitioners on one hand, and on the other theorists (Ghoshal, 2005). The theorists cum researchers are focused on the strenuous life of solid academic research work, but far from the continuing concerns of practice. Of concern to them, is that practitioners are increasingly side stepping their academic research results. Practitioners are more concerned with the improvement of their practice, and are disconnected from theoretical reasoning, and assert that research work are far remove from actual problems and cannot be relied upon to solve such actual problems (Huczynski, 1993). The disconnection between theory and practice could also be due to cultural differences between those two fields. Practitioners have been characterised as action oriented individuals who have been known to approach intergroup relations in a holistic way and find comfort with an environment of subjectivity. In contrast, the academic kinds as a result of their training tend to be more oriented towards quantitative in professional realms in which publications are theory focused and these are valued more than real application of theory. In academic work, research work is often split into either qualitative research or quantitative research (Pollitt, 2007). Impact of Assumptions in Theories for Management Management scholars much like other scholars theorise, and this entails a construction of a model on a kind of simplified parallel universe and this process involve making assumptions (Cornelissen and Thorpe, 2004). This is a conscious decision to make the model as real as possible, and in fact, assumptions care all over management research, and may include the behaviour of employees as motivationally driven, organisations have no need for conflict, resources are homogenous. The dynamism in management research revolves around the assumptions, and hence the lack of explicit attention to assumption in practice is surprising. It is important to declare from the onset that theories in management matter, and might be true is considered on the achievements in society, however their relevance to practice often appear doubtful, not only to a layman but even to scholars. Nonetheless, management theories are built on the premise of influencing reality, in many ways and can influence the manner in which people think and act. Within the broad theoretical development, lie the all important assumptions which are used to control the development of the models. It has been argued that management theories are self fulfilling prophesies, and it will not matter whether they are wrong or right. According to practitioners human behaviour is predictable and there they would not need theories founded on assumptions to assist them in building knowledge on people management (Alvesson and Willmott, 2003). On the other hand, theorists argue logically that practitioners need theories as before they declare human behavior to be predictable, they must base it on assumptions. Clearly, experimental research conditions the assumptions that are made, but practitioners have to build their knowledge on assumptions. Though there are disagreements among management professionals on the manner that best suits the study, but what may hold is that past studies have been finding more relevance in present studies and practice. In the world of academics, debates and discourses are built on the premise of making assumptions that render models on which they built worth. Models are constructed in a similar manner in which maps are developed, as they are objects that assist in developing from a state of ignorance to a point of knowledge. This statement does not imply that models and their associative assumptions are synonymous with knowledge growth. Assumptions in models need to be critisised for the breakdown in inter linkage between theory and practice (Alexander, 2005). However, they are vital in very many ways as there different models and theories even within the specific field in management. Nonetheless, it may be half true that assumptions often provide information that may be deliberately false, or distort the size of the management problem. Frequently, such problems can be accidental and not intended by the researchers. Generally models are constructed to generate testable hypotheses about the management world, however, theoretical models can serve other role, and in management if indeed it can be proved that Y leads to X as a result of K, L and M then a theoretical model that demonstrates that the assumptions K, L and M do not deductively show a causal relationship between two variables X and Y informs people a thing that should be explored. In theoretically modeling, assumptions are key components, and to assume nothing would imply living out for nothing, that is a meaningless life. In fact, a lack of assumptions might spell death to scholarly work. The benefits of assumptions in management modeling and theoretical work are therefore obvious. First, the assumptions provide a means for managers to simplify tough management processes and enable them simpler to research, study and understand. Second, assumptions allow managers to break down complex management processes so that they build theory within the sphere of understanding. Conclusions In management, culture, communication and team work form the cog of the scholarly work, and their correct translation forms the basis for effective management. Management is an important in modern life, as intense competition in business field has thrown more banter into its roles in society. Theoretical foundations are an obvious consequence to the practice, as the field needs more study for implicit and explicit information to be built around it. However, theoretical modelings have been accused to be far from the actual management needs. This is the irony facing management studies as there often carefully built theories life on the shelf collecting dusts away from the application in real life for which they were intended to perform. References Alexander, K. 2005. Facilities management: theory and practice. London [u.a.], Taylor & Francis. Alvesson, M., & Willmott, H. 1996. Making sense of management: a critical introduction. London, Sage Publications. Alvesson, M., & Willmott, H. 2003. Studying management critically. London, Sage Publications. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=254749. Brocklehurst, M., Grey, C., & Sturdy, A. 2010. Management: The work that dares not speak its name. Management Learning. 41, 7-19. Cornelissen, J. P., & Thorpe, R. 2004. The validity and usefulness of management theories: a review. Leeds, Leeds University Business School. Dean, J. W., & Bowen, D. E. 1994. Management Theory and Total Quality: Improving Research and Practice Through Theory Development. Academy of Management Review. 19, 392-418. Ghoshal, S. 2005. Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education. 4, 75-91. Hofstede, G. 1993. Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Perspectives. 7, 81-94. Huczynski, A. 1993. Management gurus: what makes them and how to become one. London, Routledge. Pollitt, C. 2007. Performance management in practice: A comparative study of executive agencies. SAGE Public Administration Abstracts. 33. Reflection This essay has illuminated a lot of knowledge that were hitherto unknown to me. In working through essay I became reliant on knowledge gathered from assessment 1. A summary of the four articles enabled to build analytical and critical perspectives when considering management theory I practice. The article by Sumantra Ghoshal was particularly helpful as in the paper he provided an interesting critique of the manner in which bad theories are hammering good management practices. I found out that article gave a fascinating analysis on the short comings of theories in real management life. The second article by the group of three authors had a long shot relationship to this essay I found out that it provided background knowledge in management. The critical article by Carey was another interesting article, that aided me in developing a critical and analytical perception to the essay and in the end the essay though did not resemble the article mentioned, I used his persuasive arguments to build my own arguments in my essay. Collectively after reading the papers I was left with a deep intellectual knowledge on management, particularly on the divide between theory and practice. Apart from these literature items, I resorted to other literature to deepen my understanding on the divide between theory and management and the role of assumptions in the divide. Through this critical and analytical exploration in the field of management I was able to arrive at a radical and seemingly well built appraisal on the relationship between theory in management practice, and if such application could be relevant is a mere propositional. Within the body text, I deciphered the outlying issues between theory and practice. I have realised that the study of the relationship between theories in management practice is a field that has been studied for quite a while, and a number of papers actually differentiate theory research and practice. Read More