The Future of Business and Management - Case Study Example

The 2050s and Management in the 2050s I. The Business World of the 2050s Based on the works of several experts, the year 2050 will be marked by significant changes and challenges but business will be able to adjust in and survive in the future. America 2050: A Prospectus, produced by an association of development planning professionals of the United States, predicts the basic features of the new world 2050s (1-20): The world’s population is expected to have grown tremendously; even America’s population will have increased by almost 50% from its level in 2000. “Green building practices” is predicted to be enforced given a high population and a limited earth land space. Seventy percent of the US population and economic growth is expected to take place in metropolitan regions linked by environment systems and transportation networks. The energy crisis would become more severe and climate changes will be as severe. Traffic will be worse and mobility will be affected to a certain extent from today’s 45 minutes trip in heavy traffic for a 30-minute trip without the heavy traffic. On the other hand, the Rand Corporation, a renowned nonprofit research firm worldwide, predicts the following (xiii-xvii): The US workforce will grow but the growth will be slow and business firms will have constraints in recruiting workers during high growth. Technological change, whether in information technology or biotechnology, will be fast and this will trigger a demand for a highly skilled workforce that will also affect how businesses are organized and conducted. Rapid technological change will require workforce to be flexible and highly adaptable to the changing business environment and market changes given a deepening globalization. There will be a trend toward a decentralized business organization even with the globalization. Businesses, however, will be linked by electronic networks. Generally, there will be a shift away from permanent jobs. Campbell, an oil expert based in the Colorado School of Mines, predict that all hydrocarbon production, including oil production in the 2050s, will be about half of the level compared to 2010 (5). On the other hand, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) basically says that we need not worry because the technologies or sustainable resources known today can meet more than the doubling of energy demand of the 2050s (Executive Summary). The work of Wong and others even point out that there can be business opportunities as environmental measures are devised to address both climate change and tight energy supply (41). II. Management in the World of the 2050s Although acknowledging that the list of management styles is extensive, McGuire identified that the six most popular styles are the charismatic, persuasive, consultative, transactional, transactional, and delegating management styles (317-318). The charismatic management styles rely on personality and attempt to inspire others (McGuire 317). Persuasive management styles make decisions but invest time in persuading the organization that the management decision is the correct decision (McGuire 318). Consultative management styles solicit opinions, advice, and comments as well as consider feelings before making management decisions (McGuire 318). Transactional management styles primarily use rewards for compliance (McGuire 318). Transformational management styles use a lot of staff development and attitude transformation in the organization (McGuire 318). Finally, delegating management styles provide subordinates responsibilities for making decisions and solving problems (McGuire 318). According to McGuire, for a while it was thought that there were only two basic management styles: the autocratic and the democratic (317). Autocratic management styles instruct and command. The autocratic manager imposes his or her decisions on the staff and demands compliance (McGuire 317). In contrast, a democratic manager allows a decision to emerge from a consensus or a vote (McGuire 317). According to McGuire, managers choose a management style based on their personality (317). Meanwhile, Tutor2u, an online educational service organization, believes that there are only three basic management styles: autocratic, paternalistic, and democratic (1). According to Tutor2u, an autocratic manager makes all the important decisions; a paternalistic manager makes decision “in the best interest of workers” after consultation; and, finally, a democratic manager allows workers to make their decisions and some businesses run based on majority decisions (2). In contrast with the fundamental viewpoints expressed by McGuire and Tutor2u, the perspective of this writer is to be eclectic or not to choose only one particular style but to use instead a combination of all styles. The mere fact that McGuire’s six styles or Tutor2u’s three styles have existed for some long time is a proof that all of the styles have worked and probably all of the styles are effective for specific situations and contexts. It is also possible that each style have a set of strengths that allowed the management style to pass the test of time or to have persisted or survived as a particular management style that can work. This writer believes that the 2050s will bring new situations---some of which were anticipated but some were not. Technological changes can bring both the expected and unexpected surprises. Having an eclectic management style will allow one to survive a world marked by both anticipated and unanticipated changes. A deepening globalization or integration of economies implies that a business organization must be able to expand both its market and production organization in several territories. One management style may work in one culture but not in others. An eclectic management style will allow one to use that management style that is proven most likely to work best in a particular market or work setting. An authoritarian management will still be relevant in the new world of the 2050s because a global operation cannot be based only on what works well in a specific part of the globe. What may work well in the American or European market, for instance, may not be appropriate for the Asian, Indian, African, or Latin American markets. Allowing full democracy to work will not be appropriate because it can happen that the subordinates can be parochial. Some of the personnel may look at a particular tree but may forget the entire forest. Management decisions at the global level require internet speed and full democracy cannot always provide decisions at the same internet speed. At the same time, global operations imply that each market or production unit may have specific situations that require specific not canned solutions. Thus, some form of decentralization is required. In effect, we need a management style that combines both autocracy and democracy, utilizing elements that appear to be most appropriate in particular situations. We need management or leaders that possess a certain charisma. Yet, we cannot rely mainly on charisma as situation changes and a specific charisma may not be relevant for a particular situation. The new charisma that we need, however, is a charisma that works at the global level. It is charisma that works beyond national boundaries and not simply a charisma that works well in a small group. At the same time, communications technology can also build the charisma that we want. Management must be transformational: there must be attitude change in the whole organization. For an organization to be strong, our organizational culture and ethics must enable us to lead the world. We cannot be tied to the organizational culture and ethics of our former world; we have to build the organizational culture and ethics of our business to succeed in the new world. For instance, we must build a culture of professionalism, quality, and high standards of performance in the organization. This will be only possible if we have a continuous build-up or our capabilities. We can also describe this as a culture of excellence and something that is built up and not inherent in an organization. In this exposition, we highlighted only some of the more important points on the need for an eclectic management style. It is possible, of course, to elaborate further. Works Cited Campbell, Colin. “Forecasting Global Oil Supply 2000-2050”. Colorado: Colorado School of Mines King Hubert Center, 2002. McGuire, Ruth. “Which Management Style to Use.” The Pharmaceutical Journal 275 (2005): 317-320. Rand Corporation. The 21st Century at Work: Forces Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace in the United States. Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation, 2004. Regional Plan Association. America 2050: A Prospectus. New York: Regional Plan Association, 2006. Tutor2u. “Styles of Management.” Undated. 12 June 2010 . Wong, Karina, Andy White, Dennis Pamlin, and Rasmus Reinvang. Fund Management in the 21st Century: The Role of Sovereign Funds in Contributing to a Low Carbon Future. Oslo, Norway: World Wildlife Fund Norway and Innovest, 2000. World Wildlife Fund International. Climate Solutions: WWF Visions for 2050. Gland, Switzerland: WWF International, 2007. Read More