59919611 History of Management

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History of Management



Definition of Management Traditionally, the term "management" refers to the activities

(and often the group of people) involved in the four generalfunctions: planning, organizing, leading and coordinating of resources. Note that the four functions recur throughout theorganization and are highly integrated. Emerging trends inmanagement include assertions that leading is different thanmanaging, and that the nature of how the four functions arecarried out must change to accommodate a "new paradigm" inmanagement. This topic in the library helps the reader

accomplish broad understanding of management (includingtraditional and emerging views), and the areas of knowledgeand skills required to carry out the major functions of management.



Traditional Interpretations of

Management There are a variety of views about this term.

Traditionally, the term "management" refers

to the activities (and often the group of people) involved in the four general functions

listed below. (Note that the four functions

recur throughout the organization and arehighly integrated):



Interpretations of Management Another common view is that "management" is getting things

done through others. Yet another view, quite apart from thetraditional view, asserts that the job of management is to

support employee's efforts to be fully productive members of the organizations and citizens of the community.

To most employees, the term "management" probably meansthe group of people (executives and other managers) who are

primarily responsible for making decisions in the

organization. In a nonprofit, the term "management" mightrefer to all or any of the activities of the board, executivedirector and/or program directors.



Interpretations of Management Some writers, teachers and practitioners assert that

the above view is rather outmoded and thatmanagement needs to focus more on leadership

skills, e.g., establishing vision and goals,communicating the vision and goals, and guidingothers to accomplish them. They also assert thatleadership must be more facilitative, participativeand empowering in how visions and goals are

established and carried out. Some people assert thatthis really isn't a change in the managementfunctions, rather it's re-emphasizing certain aspectsof management.





Bureaucratic Management Theory

(1930-1950) Max Weber embellished the scientific

management theory with his bureaucratic

theory. Weber focused on dividingorganizations into hierarchies, establishing

strong lines of authority and control. He

suggested organizations developcomprehensive and detailed standard

operating procedures for all routinized tasks.



Human Relations Movement

(1930-today) Eventually, unions and government regulations

reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of thesetheories. More attention was given to individuals and

their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resourcedepartments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to

understand the needs of workers and how the needsof the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had namelike theory ³X´, ³Y´ and ³Z´).



Contemporary Theories in

Management Contingency Theory

Basically, contingency theory asserts that when managersmake a decision, they must take into account all aspects of the

current situation and act on those aspects that are key to thesituation at hand. Basically, it¶s the approach that ³itdepends.´ For example, the continuing effort to identify the

best leadership or management style might now conclude thatthe best style depends on the situation. If one is leading

troops in the Persian Gulf, an autocratic style is probably best(of course, many might argue here, too). If one is leading ahospital or university, a more participative and facilitativeleadership style is probably best.



Systems Theory

Systems theory has had a significant effect on managementscience and understanding organizations. First, let¶s look at

³what is a system?´ A system is a collection of part unified toaccomplish an overall goal. If one part of the system isremoved, the nature of the system is changed as well. For example, a pile of sand is not a system. If one removes a sand

particle, you¶ve still got a pile of sand. However, afunctioning car is a system. Remove the carburetor and

you¶ve no longer got a working car. A system can be lookedat as having inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Systemsshare feedback among each of these four aspects of thesystems.



Systems Theory The effect of systems theory in management is that writers,

educators, consultants, etc. are helping managers to look atthe organization from a broader perspective. Systems theoryhas brought a new perspective for managers to interpret

patterns and events in the workplace. They recognize thevarious parts of the organization, and, in particular, theinterrelations of the parts, e.g., the coordination of centraladministration with its programs, engineering withmanufacturing, supervisors with workers, etc. This is a major

development. In the past, managers typically took one partand focused on that. Then they moved all attention to another part. The problem was that an organization could, e.g., have awonderful central administration and wonderful set of teachers, but the departments didn¶t synchronize at all.



Chaos Theory

As chaotic and random as world events seem today, they seem aschaotic in organizations, too. Yet for decades, managers have actedon the basis that organizational events can always be controlled. Anew theory (or some say ³science´), chaos theory, recognizes thatevents indeed are rarely controlled. Many chaos theorists (as dosystems theorists) refer to biological systems when explaining their theory. They suggest that systems naturally go to more complexity,and as they do so, these systems become more volatile (or susceptible to cataclysmic events) and must expend more energy tomaintain that complexity. As they expend more energy, they seek more structure to maintain stability. This trend continues until thesystem splits, combines with another complex system or falls apartentirely. Sound familiar? This trend is what many see as the trendin life, in organizations and the world in general.



4 Functions of Management Planning, including identifying goals,

objectives, methods, resources needed to

carry out methods, responsibilities and datesfor completion of tasks. Examples of planning

are strategic planning, business planning,

project planning, staffing planning,

advertising and promotions planning, etc.



4 Functions of Management Organizing resources to achieve the goals in an

optimum fashion. Examples are organizing newdepartments, human resources, office and file

systems, re-organizing businesses, etc Leading, including to set direction for the

organization, groups and individuals and alsoinfluence people to follow that direction. Examplesare establishing strategic direction (vision, values,

mission and / or goals) and championing methods of organizational performance management to pursuethat direction.



4 Functions of Management Controlling, or coordinating, the organization's

systems, processes and structures to reach effectively

and efficiently reach goals and objectives. Thisincludes ongoing collection of feedback, and

monitoring and adjustment of systems, processes and

structures accordingly. Examples include use of

financial controls, policies and procedures, performance management processes, measures to

avoid risks etc.



Management Styles Managers have to perform many roles in an

organization and how they handle various situations

will depend on their style of management. Amanagement style is an overall method of leadership

used by a manager. There are two sharply

contrasting styles that will be broken down into

smaller subsets later: Autocratic

Permissive



Characteristics of Management Styles Autocratic: Leader makes all decisions unilaterally.

Permissive: Leader permits subordinates to take partin decision making and also gives them aconsiderable degree of autonomy in completingroutine work activities.

Combining these categories with democratic(subordinates are allowed to participate in decisionmaking) and directive (subordinates are told exactlyhow to do their jobs) styles gives us four distinctways to manage:



Characteristics of Management Styles Directive Democrat: Makes decisions

participatively; closely supervises subordinates.

Directive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally;closely supervises subordinates.

Permissive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; gives subordinates latitude incarrying out their work.

Permissive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.



In what situations would each style

be appropriate? Inappropriate? Managers must also adjust their styles

according to the situation that they are

presented with. Below are four quadrants of situational leadership that depend on the

amount of support and guidance needed:

T

elling: Works best when employees areneither willing nor able to do the job (high

need of support and high need of guidance).



In what situations would each style

be appropriate? Inappropriate? Delegating: Works best when the employees are willing to do

the job and know how to go about it (low need of support and low need of guidance).

Participating: Works best when employees have the ability todo the job, but need a high amount of support (low need of

guidance but high need of support).

Selling: Works best when employees are willing to do the job,but don¶t know how to do it (low need of support but high

need of guidance).T he different styles depend on the situation and the relationship

behavior (amount of support required) and task behavior (amount of guidance required).



Decide NOW Below are a few situations and options for

what you would do. Try to decide which of

the four situational styles would work best ineach situation. Then pick the option that best

fits that style.



Situation 1 The employees in your program appear to be having serious

problems getting the job done. Their performance has beengoing downhill rapidly. They have not responded to your

efforts to be friendly or to your expressions of concern for their welfare. Which style would you pick? What wouldyou do?

Reestablish the need for following program procedures andmeeting the expectations for task accomplishment.

Be sure that staff members know you are available for discussion, but don¶t pressure them.

Talk with your employees and then set performance goals.

Wait and see what happens.



Situation 2 During the past few months, the quality of work done by staff

members has been increasing. Record keeping is accurate andup to date. You have been careful to make sure that the staff

members are aware of your performance expectations.W

hichstyle would you pick? What would you do?

Stay uninvolved.

Continue to emphasize the importance of completing tasksand meeting deadlines.

Be supportive and provide clear feedback. Continue to makesure that staff members are aware of performanceexpectations.

Make every effort to let staff members feel important andinvolved in the decision making process.



Situation 3 Performance and interpersonal relations among your staff

have been good. You have normally left them alone.However, a new situation has developed, and it appears thatstaff members are unable to solve the problem themselves.

Which style would you pick? What would you do? Bring the group together and work as a team to solve the

problem.

Continue to leave them alone to work it out.

Act quickly and firmly to identify the problem and establish

procedures to correct it Encourage the staff to work on the problem, letting them

know you are available as a resource and for discussion if they need you.



Situation 4 You are considering a major change in your program. Your

staff has a fine record of accomplishment and a strongcommitment to excellence. They are supportive of the need for

change and have been involved in the planning.W

hich stylewould you pick? What would you do?

Continue to involve the staff in the planning, but direct thechange.

Announce the changes and then implement them with close

supervision. Allow the group to be involved in developing the change, but

don¶t push the process.

Let the staff manage the change process.



Organizational Life Cycles and

Management Styles Based on the book "Barbarians to Bureaucrats"

by Lawrence Miller, published by C.N. Potter: New York.Edited by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

In this very enlightening book, Miller suggests there is a strong relationship between the life-cycle stage of an organization and the nature of its leadership. Heasserts this evolutionary life-cycle is typical to cultures as well as organizations.His work shows powerful insights to the nature of organizations and their management and matches the experiences of many practitioners. His work can bereferenced to explain much of the wide variation in management styles, yet closeassociation between styles of management and stages of an organization's life.

Miller suggests that the life of an organization is similar to the shape of a bellcurve, that is, the organization experiences a rise of health, it peaks, and thengradually declines. The life-cycle stages of Prophet, Barbarian, Builder, Explorer stages are on the way up the curve of health, the Synergist is at the peak, and theAdministrator, Bureaucrat, and Aristocrat stages are on the way back down thecurve of health.





Synergist Miller says a synergist is "... a leader who has

escaped his or her own conditioned tendencies

toward one style and incorporated,appreciated and unified each of the styles of leadership on the life-cycle curve. The bestmanaged companies are synergistic." Miller

asserts that the synergist is a synergy of theother management styles, and therefore, is best described by a set of principles.



Synergist 1. Spirit - Corporations are both spiritual and material in nature. In their youth,

they possess spiritual rather than material assets. In decline, this is reverse. Healthis maintained by unifying the spiritual and material assets.

2. P ur pose - The purpose of the business organization is to create real wealth byserving its [stakeholder!]. It is a function of leadership to instill and reinforce social purpose.

3. C r eativity - The first and most important act of business is the creative act: thecreation of new and improve products, services, selling and means of production.Change, youthfulness and energy are requirements until death. (Those who lean

toward creativity will be required to sacrifice for the sake of administrative sanity.)

4. Chall enge and r es ponse - The task of leaders is to create or recognize thecurrent challenge, respond creatively, and avoid a condition of ease. Reliance onyesterday's successful response in the face of new challenges leads to decline. (It isan irony of life that satisfaction and security are the enemies of excellence.)



Synergist 5. P lanned ur gency - The urgency to decide and act promptly leads to expansion

and advance. Prompt action must be balanced by deliberate planning. There willalways be conflict between promptness and planning.

6. U nity and d iversity - Advancing cultures are socially unifying and become

diverse in character. Leaders must act to unify diverse talents and traits. Leadersmust actively resist the tendency to attract and promote like personalities andskills.

7. Specializ ed com pet ence - Specialized knowledge and skills and the integrationof those competencies must be pursued vigorously. Efficient methods are derivedfrom specialized competence; however, specialized competence leads toinefficient methods.

8. Eff ici ent ad mi nistration - Efficient administration is required to achieveintegration and performance as differentiation increases. Uncheckedadministration inevitably leads to bureaucracy and the decline of creativity andwealth creation.

9. On-t he- Spot Decisions - Decisions should be made by those on-the-spot,close to the customer, product or service. The further decisions are removedfrom the point of action and knowledge, the worse the quality and the higher thecost. Consensus is a sign of maturity and health.

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59919611 History of Management