The Managerial Revolution

Running Head: THE MANAGERIAL REVOLUTION 1

The Managerial Revolution

Individual Assignment: Class 5

Emmalie Beaman

Medaille College

Author Note:

This paper was prepared on 10 April 2016 for MOL623X

MOL18RA, taught by Professor Ann Horn-Jeddy

THE MANAGERIAL REVOLUTION 2

The Managerial Revolution

Introduction

A paradigm is defined as “a framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of

thinking, and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community”

(Dictionary.com, 2016). This definition runs closely parallel to that presented by Peter Senge

(2006) of mental models, most closely in that mental models are shared assumptions ingrained in

the very culture of an organization that are rarely questioned. Mental models lay deep in the

workings of organizations and include symptomatic solutions, rigid hierarchal assumptions, as

well as heuristics that guide daily decision making that are strongly imbedded and questioning

such aspects is strongly discouraged. In his published work The Structure of Scientific

Revolutions (1962), Thomas Kuhn attempts to describe the transition into new ideas and theories

that replace these paradigms or mental models and this can be closely related to how successful

learning organizations operate on a daily basis.

Thomas Kuhn is regarded as an academic in the history of science, particularly in the

realm of how scientific theories build on each other and are replaced by new theories through

scientific revolutions (Thomas Kuhn, 2004). Basically, a paradigm is a mental model of how to

experiment and create new theories in science, when those paradigms become obsolete or unable

to solve new puzzles, “anomalies” arise causing “crisis”, and this crisis is followed by a

scientific revolution that breaks the mold of the traditional paradigms to further propel science

into the future. If this crisis was not resolved by scientists questioning and revising traditional

theories and paradigms then science would never move forward and new discoveries would

never come to fruition. These kinds of methods and questioning are the basis of any new


invention or discovery in the history of time. If Galileo had never questioned the church who

upheld the power over every aspect of life, he would have never discovered the true nature of the

celestial bodies, that indeed the earth was not the center of the universe but the sun

(Biography.com, 2016).

Scientific revolutions not only exist in the theoretical and biological sciences but can also

be applied to the ever changing business world and theories of management and leadership. The

theories related to managerial leadership and employee relations are undergoing an evolution in

which employees expect and require a certain amount of emotional security and feeling of worth.

The same could not be said at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in America that Frederick

Winslow Taylor inhabited. Taylor is known as the “Father of Scientific Management” (Alanis

Business Academy, 2013), his theories were centered on factories and how to manipulate

workers in order to increase industrial efficiency. It can be argued that Taylor’s theories were a

mental model that the purpose of employees is to produce as much as possible with little

questioning of supervisors. During the Industrial Revolution there was a wave of new

immigrants from Europe arriving all the time which made jobs scarce and replacing easy. There

were few educated and skilled workers and the need for money to survive was a constant concern

of immigrants. Fast forward to today, these same principles are not as existent; education is

more of a right then a privilege in the United States and the number of college graduates is vast.

The dialogue has shifted that the manager is more dependent on employees in order to keep the

business operating, rather than workers being at the mercy of their supervisors in a factory.

Employees have shifted the power and at the same time claimed some of the responsibility and

praise for the organization as a whole. This shift is mirrored by the evolution in society; these

paradigms ran parallel but if no crisis had been acknowledged the employee power may have


never shifted. The Taylorist managers could have pressed to keep employees down and without

new mental models and revolutions by those who were brave to stand up for employees such as

unions and strikes, this paradigm could be a reality to this day.

Presently, the theories of Peter Senge (2006) and the learning organization model are

striving to evolve with the new expectations of employees. The leader owes more to the

employee then job security, which has of late become a thing of the past. The leader has a

nurturing responsibility to coach, mentor, and encourage their employees to strive to improve

and be a central part of the entire process and operations of the organization. It is almost as if

Taylor was looking at the wrong part of the assembly line floor, seeing the workers as faceless

robotic producers when in reality he should have opened up the machine and seen the gears in

motion, and how they all work together to produce results that are the basis of success for the

whole business. Peter Senge does peer into the parts and gears that make the organization work,

every employee is a part of the greater whole, his systems thinking model stresses the importance

that employees realize their role in the larger vision. Senge also analyzes the archetypes that are

reinforcing vicious cycles that cause the same symptomatic solutions to be used time and time

again. These archetypes are related to the mental models or paradigms that actually hinder

performance instead of improving it. For example, a CEO may see a drop in revenue and recall

that previously instituting layoffs resulted in cutting costs which saved money, and use that same

answer to his current problem, over time he may find this step only quelled his issue temporarily

or will have unintended consequences, basically “taking the easy way out”. In a learning

organization the CEO would look into the present issue based on seemingly unrelated events that

have led up to the current issue and will find a specific answer that will have more longevity and

that will have more analysis and future consequences will have been considered. The vicious


cycle that arises from knee jerk decisions that “have worked in the past” are unfortunately

repeated over and over because no one has questioned the basic assumptions the latter CEO

employed. These archetypes proposed by Senge are related to Kuhn’s “incommensurability

thesis” which argues that theories from “differing periods suffer from certain deep kinds of

failure comparability” (Thomas Kuhn, 2004), in that going by the rule of thumb hinders

development and can cause what Ben Franklin called insanity “doing the same thing over and

over and expecting a different result” (QuotationReference.com, 2016), the revolutionaries and

“whistleblowers” are necessary in all aspects of life in order to foster innovation and future

knowledge and discovery.

In a recently published online article, journalist Abigail Pesta interviews author of the

book Vital Voices, Alyse Nelson regarding the role women are playing in the current revolution

of global leadership. Women seem to be bursting through the glass ceiling with an attitude that

combines emotional consideration and boldness that is propagating the new era of learning

organizations. In the past, women were regarded as too emotional and unintelligent to manage

business affairs but in the recent decades, they have come out of the woodwork with a vengeance

and are ready to bust up the boys club. Pesta proclaims “Leadership—global women’s

leadership—is a force that accelerates development and promotes the common good. This

paradigm of leadership we are putting forward is exemplified by women but not exclusive to

women” (Pesta, 2012). Women in leadership positions are harnessing the traits of a learning

organization and are adapting to the new competitive job market. They are destroying the

previously held beliefs and mental models of the Taylorist era that stress submissive faceless

workers with few who hold the power being at the top far from the ground level. After years of

oppression in the business world women are claiming leadership roles worldwide and even


teaching men a thing or two about self-reflection, problem-solving, and compassion for

employees, these traits could leave stuffy uptight traditional businessmen in the dust.

St. John’s Home is in the process of revolutionizing nursing home care by following the

Eden Alternative small homes model. They are leading the charge in a drastic change to the

paradigms that are ingrained in traditional nursing homes currently. The paradigm of a nursing

home as an institution that operates as a hospital is being transformed into a living space for

elders in need of 24/7 medical care that operates as if the elder were being cared for at home.

The Eden Alternative turns the traditional nursing home connotations, stereotypes, and

assumptions inside out in order to make them less of daunting and fearful transition for elderly

individuals and their families. The mental model of nursing homes looked much like a hospital

set up, however what may have been missing was the notion that to these elders, this is their

home, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Emotionally nurturing patient centered care was missing

from the equation and the institutional rigid model of tight schedules and overmedicated

residents has led to nursing homes being given a bad name. Dr. Bill Thomas, the pioneer of the

Eden Alternative witnessed elders in a nursing home who longed for compassion, relationships,

and the comforts of home and of love (Peterson, 2016). Currently St. John’s Home, a well-

known skilled nursing home that has operated for 100 years is seeking to go back to its roots,

when it was a small home operated by German nuns that cared for a small manageable number

of elders (Lehr, 2002). The small homes model encourages training of each staff member in all

aspects of an elders life and for the staff to remain loyal and assigned to a small number of elders

in order to nurture close familial relationships and make the elders feel emotionally as well as

medically cared for (Peterson, 2016). Thomas Kuhn would refer to this shift as a scientific

revolution in which the paradigm of the institutional nursing home is presented with an anomaly,


or the negative stereotypes that lead to fear and avoidance by elders and their families, this

creates a crisis which leads to the need to revolutionize the traditional model in order to reshape

the nursing home and create a more positive reputation. This revolution is apparent in many

nursing homes throughout the country and it is strongly believed those who do not follow due to

their lack of creative tension or view of reality will be left behind and collapse. Much like the

employee of today demands emotional support over job security, elders and their families of

today demand nurturing staff and skilled nursing homes that serve the mind, body, and spirit.

Thomas Kuhn’s notion of paradigms and scientific revolution can be applied to any

mental model in life, business, or physical science being abolished in place of new innovative

ideas that more accurately fit the ever changing reality. Peter Senge has restructured these

paradigms to suite the organizational world in to what he calls mental models (Senge, 2006).

Mental models are the assumptions and culture in organizations that causes managers to look at

instant cause and effect and make quick fast paced decisions. In order to move forward in the

new business world leaders are expected to use systems thinking, strive for personal mastery, and

lay a spiritual foundation for the employees, not just operational. In order to break away from

traditional values there must be a paradigm shift that allows for new innovative knowledge to be

practiced and a new culture to be adapted that benefits the organization as a whole.


References

Alanis Business Academy (2013). Episode 143: Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific

management. Retrieved from: http://youtu.be/dsnMjVBYNE8

Biography.com Editors (2016). Galileo Biography. Retrieved from:

http://www.biography.com/people/galileo-9305220#related-video-gallery

Dictionary.com (2016). Dictionary.com LLC. Retrieved from: http://www.dictionary.com/.

Lehr, T.K. (2002). Lighting the way: A history of the first one hundred years of St. John’s Home

Rochester, New York. Franklin, VA: Q Publishing, LLC.

Peterson, K. (2016). Exploring life beyond adulthood with Dr. Bill Thomas. Retrieved from:

http://changingaging.org/about/

QuotationReference.com (2016). Benjamin Franklin Quotes. Retrieved from:

http://www.quotationreference.com/quotefinder.php?

byax=1&strt=1&subj=Benjamin+Frankl


Senge, P.M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New

York: Doubleday.

Thomas Kuhn (2004). Retrieved from: https://medaille.dcollege.net/bbcswebdav/pid-382762-dt-

content-rid-1349358_1/courses/20807.201520/Thomas%20Kuhn%20Background.pdf

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The Managerial Revolution