Organizational Theories and Management - Term Paper Example

Discuss the ways in which contemporary organizational theories can be read as a criticism of organizational theories developed in the course of the 20th century Introduction to Organizational Theories and Management The present day organizational theories have shown the way for the theories that were employed back in the 20th century organizational domains. These organizational theories have taken into account all the different facets of the organization no matter how small or petty it is. What this has emphasized is a need to understand the different issues which carry on within the realms of an organization – big or small, one-dimensional or multi-purpose. The organizational theories of the past used to focus more on the placing of tasks and activities on the middle and lower tiers within the organization’s echelon. It centered its attention more on carrying out the tasks at the lower levels and as such there was less accountability and answering when it came to the top management hierarchy present within the organization and indeed running the whole show. (Monin, 2004) This seems like a joke in the present day organizational theories since the same present a changed stance as the times have moved on. The organizational theories of the past thus have completely faded out and the contemporary management perspective with the new organizational theories has superseded it on all counts. At the present, the work is supposed to be carried out by a basis of sharing and caring within the organization’s regimes which was not the case in the 20th century settings of the organizational settings. Changing Organizational Theories and Management Regimes With the changing times, the organizational theories and management regimes have presented a whole new face when one compares the same in line with the organizational undertakings of the 20th century. It is a fact that the changing times have seen that these theories have seemed to become obsolete and bogus as the business world has evolved and so have the different methodologies and the means through which business operations are carried day in day out. (Casson, 2001) One needs to realize the fact that business is a consistently changing world and in this world only the people who are ready to change are successful. Thus to put it in the related context, change is the only constant in the world and in the business scheme of things. Organizations that have stagnated over a period of time and which did not change because of one pressure or the other have usually died out pretty quickly. (Cummings, 2002) Similarly, the old organizational theories and management hierarchies did not focus on the prerogatives which were important in the related settings and hence the gaps have been plugged in the present times, so much so that the current organizational theories and management perspectives look like a piece of sheer criticism on the preceding theories. The changing organizational theories have thus pinpointed areas of changing strategies and different lines of action that would target the people for whom the product is actually designed as well as the competitors with whom the clutter is being broken in the environs of the marketplace. Thus competition brings in more and more quality at the company’s end. Every big business or multinational that is existent in present times and which comes directly under the working regimes of the present day organizational theories credits itself on to the vision of an exemplary personality which started it all when the going was tough and when there was a huge competition in the related market. Where does the Criticism arise then? The criticism between the present day organizational theories and the ones which existed in the past seems to come from the ways under which business processes have shaped up, more so with the advent of technology and improvements in infrastructural capabilities. The 20th century perhaps lacked the very essence which is present today and thus the difference becomes a joke than anything else, if seen in the proper frame of things. From an organizational standpoint, its structure impacts the manner in which work is basically carried out. More than anything else it adheres to the different purposes of the discrete services and the related achievements with the passage of time. This brings to light the notion of discussing the structural basis of the organizations themselves as one pinpoints the notion of the organizational theories. For starters, these organizations might not be that easy to understand at the very beginning. These can encompass a variety of different aspects, features and traditional mindsets which make up their structures. Speaking from a true organizational theories’ perspective, one should see that an organization can either be formally aligned in its ways and means of doing things and different processes or the same might just be in a way informal in quite a few of its activities and tasks. The manner in which it runs across this paradigm is something that needs to be studied in depth before we reach further consensus on their purposes and the kind of achievements that they have had. (Stumpf, 1998) This could either relate with the historical or classical management approach and the related organizational theories or the present day organizational theories which are all about focusing on the knowledge organization that exists, brought forward by facilitation of the middle cadre within the management contexts. Organizational Behavior Theories Impacting the Working Basis Now speaking from a generally known notion, organizational behavior theories look at the human resource, manufacturing, sales, industrial and environmental departments when one specifically talks about an organization. These theories look to pinpoint the areas of strength and find out where the shortcomings and weaknesses usually exist and where the same could arise again, say at any point in time in the future. The themes related with organizational behavior address the problems that are encountered not only by the customers who are at the mercy of the organization itself through its multi-faceted dealings but also the internal people, usually the employees and the workers. (Randall, 2004) These people derive motivation from the numerous areas of strength that actually exist within the workplace and if the same are missing at some instance, then the need is to plug the gaps which have been thus created so as to effectively address the needs and wants of the internal public. (Childers, 2005) What the change of the organizational theories has thus brought forward is the step under which the behavior regimes have taken a nose dive in the current circumstances, when one compares the old with the new. Contemporary Organizational Theories bringing in the ever-changing role of workers, employees and staff Within the same discussion, the workers’ behavior also echoes the strong likes and dislikes on the part of the organization’s employees and workers and the same goes in line with our discussion on the theories of organizational behavior and the like. Industrial psychology is regarded as a close term along with the theories of organizational behavior and thus we must look at both of them in pretty much the same manner. All said and done, organizational behavior plays a pivotal role in the development and the eventual success of any organization and thus emphasis needs to be placed on the role of the managers, top level employees and the middle management in much the same way. The organizational behavior concepts seem to work best when they are applied top-to-bottom level within an organization. The employees are judged for their behaviors and reactions when the chain of command is set firmly on them and when they are examined for each and every movement of theirs. However one point seems amiss here when we find that there is a notion of bias related with the very same and the aspect of human values and emotions seems to fall out in the whole context. The organizational behavior concept must understand that people are human beings and they must not be always kept a check in the strict sense of the word. Everyone commits mistakes and indeed no one is an exception to this rule hence the subject of leniency must prevail at the very end. The contemporary organizational theories have focused more on differentiating itself from those organizational theories which existed in the 20th century and which were primarily based on getting the work done rather than providing incentives to the brains behind carrying out the very same. Changing role of Managers from the 20th Century Organizational Theories to the Contemporary Organizational Theories Within the domains of an organization, the theories have accounted for the changing role of the managers as well. The managers are now more accountable for their decisions and are answerable for the shortfalls which happen from time to time in the related contexts. (Engel, 1997) It is indeed significant to realize the importance of having a proper and sound organizational behavior pattern in place, brought forward by the contemporary organizational theories and negated in essence by the ones which were applicable in the 20th century. The new one suggests that the employees should adhere to the policies that have been implemented in the regimes of the organization which was not the case in the yesteryears. Thus the new and current organizational theories could only sustain if there are concerted efforts by all concerned within the realms of the organizations but with proper dedication nonetheless. Changing role of Leadership under the Contemporary Organizational Theories’ Frameworks Continuing with the same discussion, it is a reality that organizations win and lose due to different strategies and policies that they adopt. This means that the long term as well as the short-term basis owes strongly on the part of the leaders that are leading the team within an organization. However there are certain instances where problems do arise and hiccups are created due to mismanagement or lack of leadership qualities. (Austin, 2002) One of the biggest problems that the organizational theories of present day regimes show is that they try to be over complex in nature and attempt at doing many tasks at the same time. What this does is to make sure that there is a lot of trouble with regards to various processes and activities working within the realms of the different strategies and tactics employed by the organization in the first place. In the present day settings, the organizational theories should adopt more and more on the buzzword of simplicity and they should attempt at doing things as and when they come. From the contemporary organizational theories discussion, management is an art and it needs to be practiced in a manner that the company’s different departments work in a cohesive and unified fashion than the other way round. The organizations that are falling way behind their expected marks that they had set for their own selves have started to realize that over-management is not an art rather the same comes to haunt them at some point in time. Leadership is also a skill which is not present everywhere since being under-led means that the leader lacks in more than one quality and this can come as a huge surprise for the organization itself as the leader has to deliver when the need is to deliver, speaking from the settings of the contemporary organizational theories that are being addressed in this discourse. Conclusion and the Way Forward In the concluding remarks, the contemporary organizational theories have really touched the weaknesses which the 20th century organizational theories had within them and the shortcomings are worked upon in a manner that looks critical more than anything else. The criticism is thus pretty apparent for one and all to fathom and it is with the changing times that these contemporary and modern day organizational theories would flourish more and more. (Ferlie, 1996) All said and done, there must be effort on the part of the organizations to understand their management perspectives and under what code they are following the different theories into practice since these form the major part of the undertakings that the organizations carry out in their day to day tasks and activities. Success is ensured if the organizations get hooked on to the bandwagon of the contemporary organizational theories nonetheless. (Lowery, 1997) BIBLIOGRAPHY Austin, David M. (2002). Human Services Management: Organizational Leadership in Social Work Practice. Columbia University Press Casson, Mark. (2001). Information and Organization: A New Perspective on the Theory of the Firm. Oxford University Press Childers, J Stephen. (2005). The Engagement of Employees in the Strategy Process and Firm Performance: The Role of Strategic Goals and Environment. Journal of Business Strategies, Vol. 22 Cummings, Annette. (2002). Achieve Diversity through Change Management. Black Enterprise, Vol. 32 Engel, Michael V. (1997). The New Non-Manager Managers. Management Quarterly, Vol. 38 Ferlie, Ewan. (1996). The New Public Management in Action. Oxford University Press Lowery, Martin. (1997). A Strategic Perspective for the Future. Management Quarterly, Vol. 37 Monin, Nanette. (2004). Management Theory: A Critical Reading. Routledge Randall, Julian. (2004). Managing Change, Changing Managers. Routledge Stumpf, Stephen A. (1998). Learning Theory in the Practice of Management Development: Evolution and Applications. Quorum Books Word Count: 2,037 Read More