Classical and Contemporary Management Theories - Essay Example

CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT THEORIES Student Name Institution Date Introduction The most significant determining factor for the success of an organization is its management strategy. The concept of management has existed in various parts of the world since the onset of civilization. Management entails getting things done through people. World over, managers are mandated with such tasks as; the recruitment of staff, organizational decision making, planning the activities of an organization as well as exercising control over the organization. This way, the management function becomes the core of organizations’ success. The field of management has, however, experience several changes over the years. These changes are attributed to the changes in the organizational issues over the years. In several organizations, these changes have been driven by the need to take into account the various needs of the employees as well as the changes in the global business environments. At the core of the changes in management practices in the world, today is globalization. Coupled with the increased technological changes, globalization has led to an ever-evolving business environment. Technological effects such as the internet and social media have revolutionized the business environment, putting pressure on management and leading to increased changes in the management field. Moreover, due to technological changes, many organizations today are influenced by the eternal factors rather than the internal factors. Therefore, organizations have to act fast to adapt to the external changes or risk being phased out, hence, the changes in management. The aim of this paper is to analyze the contemporary and the classical theories of management. More specifically, the paper attempts to explain the difference between the current management practices and those of the past based on the classical and the contemporary theories of management. Management Theories Various theories have been formulated to explain the concept of management over the years. The theories are categorized into classical and contemporary theories. The classical theories of management were developed by the traditional scholars and were based on organizational philosophy as well as the organizational official features. Moreover, the classical theories of management provided recommendations to be exercised by organization officials should they be interested in efficient management. One example of the classical theories of management is the scientific management theory. Formulated by Fredrick Taylor, the theory mainly focused on the lack of cooperation, lack of productivity and the ill focused activities of men that resulted in state loss in the later part of the nineteenth. Taylor wanted management to be performed by the rule of the thumb and turned into a good exercise. His theory mainly focused on the training of the workers as a priority rather than assigning duties according to their capabilities. Moreover, he advocated for the sharing of assignments by the workforce as an important way of ensuring efficiency. To support his theory, Taylor developed four principles of scientific management which included; replacement of the old rule of the thumb method with scientific development for every man’s work, collaboration with the workforce to accomplish tasks scientifically, selection, training and workforce improvement through scientific methods and the equal division of responsibilities and work concerning the management and the workers. Another classical theory that explains management is the administrative management theory proposed by Henry Fayol (Ferdous, 2016). The theory of administrative management was developed from his personal reflection and understanding of management. According to Fayol, the success of an organization depends on its administrative capability which is characterized by the definite talents and understandings. The administrative management theory gives the roles of management like planning, staffing, commanding, forecasting, coordinating and monitoring. Moreover, the theory is based on fourteen principles which include; unity of direction, authority, discipline, subordination, unity of command, remuneration, division of work, centralization, team spirit, initiative, equity, order, the stability of tenure of personnel and scalar chain. The administrative theory provides a means for the managers of the time to easily cooperate with their subordinates. The other traditional theory of management is the bureaucratic management. The bureaucratic management theory was developed by Max Webber and termed as one of the as through which organizations could achieve their goals. Webber viewed authority from different perspectives. Traditional authority was centered on the traditional lawfulness in which authority is inherited and exercised on the subordinates. The rational-legal authority was based on the requirements of work and chain of command while the charismatic authority was pegged on the seduction, thus dedication of followers. Moreover, the theory is defined by several characteristics such as; the selection of bureaucrats on the basis of qualifications, the hierarchical structure of bureaucratic organizations, career progress in which promotions are given on the basis of qualifications and regulation of behavior by bureaucrats among others. The Contemporary Management Theories. The changes in organizational issues over the years has resulted in the development of modern management theories. The contemporary management theories are formulated to help in understanding the changing organizational atmospheres due to globalization and technological developments. One such theory of contemporary management is the systems theory. The systems theory of management views organizations as an assemblage of parts used to accomplish goals. The theory views organizations as having inputs such as the raw materials, people, and finances, processes such as controlling, planning, organizing and controlling, outputs such as services and products as well as outcomes such as improved productivity and enhance quality of time. Moreover, the theory argues that there exists feedback mechanisms between the various components of an organization. The systems approach to management is considered useful by today’s managers because it enables them to understand the relationships between various parts of an organization. Another contemporary theory of management is the situational or contingency theory. According to the theory, there is the need for the decisions made by the organizational managers to take into account all the elements of a situation and address all those elements. According to the theory, the effectiveness of a leader is determined by two elements; these are; the motivational structure or leadership style of the manager as well as the extent to which a situation in an organization gives the manager the ability to control the outcomes. The theory recognizes that different situations call for different leadership styles. For instance, in managing the students in a university, there is the need for the managers to be more engaging. Thus the participatory approach is deemed best. Other situations such as dealing with troops may require autocracy. The other modern form of management applied by organizations is the chaos management theory. Developed by Tom Peters, the chaos theory focuses on the rarity with which events that take place in organizations can be controlled. According to the theory, the chaos experienced in the global events today spill over to the organizations. For several years, there has been the notion by the managers that such chaos can be controlled. However, in most cases, the managers are overwhelmed by the events in their organizations to an extent they fail to control them. The formulation of the chaos theory serves as a basis through which the problems that arise in organizations can be controlled. The chaos theory suggests that the systems, organizations included, become more complex as time passes by. The complexity of the organizations results in increased volatility, thus, causing the managers to use more energy in tackling the complexities in the organizations. This makes it difficult for managers to maintain the stability of systems which eventually split and join other complex systems or result in the total failure of the system. Differences in management practices Following the changes in the management of organizations over the years, it is true that a 1960 CEO is likely to notice changes in management practices in today’s organizations. One such practice is the provision of meaningful feedback in the required manner. The classical theories of management do not advocate for the need of developing feedback mechanisms amount the different sectors of an organization to provide the management with the required knowledge of the interrelationship. In modern management, this issue is addressed by the systems approach which views organizations as complex systems in which there are inputs, outputs and processes which are interrelated, hence the need for the provision of feedback among these systems. Another change associated with the management of organizations today is the organizational situation. The classical management theories tend to focus more on the employees and other aspects of the organization that tend to bring out the best practices in management. However, there is the need to realize that not all organizations have the same prevailing conditions. Consequently, the contemporary theory of contingency comes into play. In several organizations around the globe, managers apply the appropriate leadership skills based on the prevailing circumstances rather than the required managerial procedures. Moreover, the management of today’s organizations is not only pegged on the managers but on the other employees within the organization. Today, several organizations realize the role of the employees in ensuring the success of an organization rather than focusing on the top management. Henry Fayol’s theory of administrative management, for instance, focuses only on the top level management of an organization. The theory gives the various roles of the management of an organization as planning, forecasting, organizing and coordinating. Moreover, the theory gives the various principles that guide the management functions. The contemporary theories focus on the various aspects of an organization rather than the management. The systems theory for example, looks at the different systems that make up an organization rather than focusing on the management alone. In fact the theory addresses the interrelationships between the various organizational aspects. In a similar manner, the contingency theory focuses on the prevailing situations in an organization rather than the top management of the organization. Conclusion. With regards to the above discussion, it is evident that the contemporary and contingency theories of management differ in various ways. More specifically, there is the likelihood of the 1960 CEO to notice various changes in the management of organizations today. The reason for these changes in management is the increased globalization and technological developments. Additionally, the organizational environment is influenced by several changes that occur in the world today. Consequently, organizations have to change their management practices to be able to fit in the increasingly competitive global environment. Furthermore, there is the realization that management is does not only concern the top managers of an organization but also the employees of the organizations at different levels. For this reason, today’s managers, as opposed to managers of the last decades, embrace the need to involve all the workers in an organization in the decision-making process. Reference Ferdous, J (2016). Organizational Theories: From a Classical Perspective. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law. Vol 9, Issue 2, p. 1-6. Read More