The Evolution of Management - Coursework Example

The Evolution of Management Introduction The classical management perspective relied heavily on the placing of tasks and activities on the middle and lower tiers within the organization’s echelon. It focused 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. The same has changed and that too for the better so to speak. The classical management theory has completely faded out and the contemporary management perspective has superseded it on all counts. [Monin, 2004] 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 say two decades down the road. Changing Management Regimes The changing times have seen that the business world has evolved and so have the different methodologies and the ways and means through which it is carried day in day out. 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, changing to suit the will and desire of the customers and/or the stakeholders as well as doing one last bit to bring in more revenues and profits for the company just plays the right trick for the business to succeed both in the short term as well as in the long run. [Casson, 2001] Organizations which stagnate over a period of time and do not change because of one pressure or the other usually die out quickly. The ones that have existed thus far have relied a great deal on the phenomenon attached with change and consistent upgrading of the needs as put forward by the business and its norms. The changing market structure might call for changing strategies and lines of action that would all 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 end of the company with regards to its products as well as more sales in the form of its varied and changed stance on focusing towards the customers rather than the product itself. Every big business or multinational that is existent in present times 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. Thus to withstand pressure and competition is the hallmark of any successful and long lasting business, company or enterprise, whichever term we might quote it as. Impact on Organizational Structure Organization 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. [Ferlie, 1996] 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. To start with, we 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. The communication within an organization can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. Effects on Organizational Behavior 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. [Stumpf, 1998] 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. Role of Workers and Employees 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. 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. [Childers, 2005] 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. Leadership Capacities 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. One of the biggest problems that the organizations of present times face is the fact that they try to be over complex in nature and try their hands at doing many tasks all at the same time. [Austin, 2002] 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. These problems stem from the fact that there is a complete misunderstanding on the part of the company heads to devise proper and adequate mission and vision statements and the lack thereof suggests a thing or two concerning the enormous predicaments that have thus come up with the passage of time and a major loss of resources on the part of this organization that we are talking about here, in the general sense. Making it Simple Organizations have forgotten the buzzword of simplicity and doing things as and when they come. What this zig-zag motion of doing many activities at the same time has done is to ensure that there is complete lack of sequence within the organization’s activities and tasks as well as cohesiveness seems to have been lost in all this muddle. On the part of the company, this is an entirely negative picture that we are discussing here. 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. [Cummings, 2002] 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, all said and done. The Change Factor The managers need to look at several different angles which are related with the business itself. [Randall, 2004] This means that there is a general sense of negativity attached with the way in which managers perform their tasks. It also gives air to the notion that managers know nothing about what the requirements of the stakeholders are in the whole equation but then again this assumption might just not be correct as well. The managers might just be thinking about the long-term scenarios and therefore have to sacrifice the short-term interests of the stakeholders for their long term ones. However this is all pretty confusing to understanding and more so within the business circles and the related processes in which managers perform their duties and tasks. Conclusion In the present times, organizations are doing their utmost in order to know more and more about their valued customers and stakeholders. For this, they have devised certain strategies which are in line with the values that their business has set for itself. These values are thus deeply intrinsic within the mission and vision statements of the company. In order to gain further knowledge about the customers, research is being given proper emphasis which would eventually discern the exact basis for the customers to come and make that vital purchase. It is a fact that the business world of present times can have a lot of improvement within their ranks if they adopt the policy of working towards the establishment of a performance management system. This would guarantee them a lot of success as their employees and workers would dedicate their whole hearted efforts towards the well being of the company as well as towards their own individual capacities. The usage of sound planning on the part of the managers is very imperative as it ensures that the same is not only important to the whole well being and the actual basis of the business but also the manner in which it invites the short term gains and incentives that come along all this while. References 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 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 STUMPF, Stephen A. (1998). Learning Theory in the Practice of Management Development: Evolution and Applications. Quorum Books Word Count: 1,832 Read More