Foundations Of Management: Critical Analysis

Discuss about the Foundations of Management for Critical Analysis.

 

Introduction

Organisational management is not an individual aspect but can be recognized as a set of practices which aims to manage the business and the organization in an effective manner. In the previous decades, there was a single meaning of management which applies of all sorts of the organisation (Omotayo, 2015).  This kind of views and opinions was supported by several threats. But with the changing time and diverse needs of the organization and the employees, the researchers have developed diverse ways of managing people in an organisation. In several literatures, there has been a vast discussion on the statement that, “There is only one best way to manage”. Some of the researchers support the statement with some theoretical concepts and on the other hand the modern and contemporary theorists oppose this with newly developed frameworks and theories of management. The essay will present the favors as well as arguments in respect with the statement by the means of various theoretical approaches and critical analysis and literature (Choi, Poon and Davis, 2008).

“There is only one Best way to Manage”

According to the administrative management theory and the theorists Henry Fayol, Luther Gulick and James Mooney, there is a set and rational way for designing the organisation as a whole. As per these theorist and their respective management theories, there is a formalized structure in which the organizations are administered (Noe, et al., 2006). There is a clear and set delegation of authorities, power and division of labor and all the responsibilities of the individuals are predetermined.  This shows that earlier, all the managers were used to take a similar approach in managing the organisation without diversifying the strategies and policies as per the diverse needs of the businesses, organisations and the employees (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014).

Another theory which supported the concept that, all the organizations are managed by a single way is the theory of bureaucracy by Weber. As per this theory, for managing the organisation, there is a need of bureaucratic rule or management (Jones, 2010). The bureaucracy is the form of organizational structure where all the things are characterized by clear hierarchies, thorough division of responsibilities and labor, standardized requirements, procedures, processes and number of rules. As per the bureaucratic theory, all the organizations are required to follow a similar approach in managing the workforce and the activities. Weber explained that there is an essential need of such structure as the approach of bureaucratic structure is highly crucial in large organisation for managing the operations and the employees (Cole, 2004).

The next theory is the scientific theory in management that has its support in the statement by its various aspects. The scientific theory also well known as Taylorism, because of the fact that it was developed by Frederick Taylor offers improved understanding of the industrial and organisational management (Suddaby, Hardy and Huy, 2011). Fredrick Taylor believed that in all the organisations there are few common elements that includes mass production, standardized products and efficiency. It is essential for the organisations to have standardized products as well as there must a permanent efficiency level in the output and the functions. Thus, the scientific management theory believes that for achieving such standardization, there is only a single way of managing things (Waring, 2016).

If the organisations are managed in a different way, then there will be diverse level of efficiency as well as no standardization will be maintained, thus, as per eth views of the theorists and the theoretical concepts, there is only a one way of managing the organisation. The next theory that offers its supports to the aspect of managing organizations in a single way is the legitimacy theory. As per this theory, the actions and the practices of the organisations are bounded by some specific rules, laws and regulations (Jokipii, 2010). It is a general perception that the activities of an organization are appropriate and go with some socially developed beliefs, values and norms. This depicts and argues that, all the organizations are managed and regulated in one singly way. There is no need of diversification or specifications in the activities and because of this concept, there is a single approach which is followed in all the organisations for managing functions (Mikes and Kaplan, 2013).

Opposing to the concepts of one way manage, there are theories and theorists in the modern world who have focused on the increasing diversity issues in the organizations. In present time, there are diverse organisational culture which demands for specific rules, regulations and managing approaches for having an effective organisational management. In the 21^st century, the maximum focus is laid on the management of the organisation and the workforce as they are the critical success factors for any organisation. Because of globalization and increased industrialization, there are enormous number of entities which have developed their specific and individual managerial practices for attaining higher employee satisfaction and effective organisational management (Smith and Lewis, 2011). In today’s organizations, there is formation of a team and then the tasks are accomplished. For the faster and rapid achievement of the organizational goals and objectives, there is a vital role of the teams in the organisational culture.

As per the contingency theory, it is explained that in the organizational world there is no single or best way of managing an organization, for leading a corporation or for making the decisions. This theory explains that the decisions and strategies are based upon the internal and external situations of an organisation. There is application of a specific and appropriate style of leadership by the contingent leader depending upon the situation and the circumstances. The business environment of every organization is different from each other (Jones, 2010). There are several external and internal factors which affects the business environment of the organisations. Thus, it is not feasible to manage all the organisations with one single way. The arrangement or the structure is another important aspect of the organizations which impacts the way it is managed. There are diverse factors in the organisations such as the scale at which it operations, number of workforce, operations, types of functions, domestic or globalised etc. All these factors are helpful in determining the organizational structure or the arrangement (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). And depending upon the organizational structure, there are designed and implemented management practices and strategies. As the organizational structure cannot be same for all the organisations, in a similar way, there management approaches and practices cannot be similar.

The one if the most vital factor which demonstrates that there are diverse ways of managing g the organization is the employees. Due to increased level of globalization, there is enhanced cultural diversity among the organisational workforce. Because of increased diversity, the employees are from various groups and cultures, which require additional efforts by the organizations for managing them in an effective manner (Noe, et al., 2006). Depending upon the types of employees, the organisations plan their strategies and the management practices so that the diversity issues do not arise and there is effective and increased organisational productivity. If all the different types of employees are managed by a single way just like other organisations then it will not be able to satisfy the needs of the employees. This will result in employee dissatisfaction which ultimately results in decreased level of efficiency and productivity of the employees. Therefore, in the highly diversified organizations it is essential that appropriate ways of organisational management must be there (Danese, 2011).

In present times, there is vital and significant importance of flexibility paradigms. Earlier there were used to implement rigid organisational structures for managing the organisations, but with high emphasis upon the workforce, there requires flexibility to be offered to the employees for their motivation and satisfaction. As per the flexibility paradigm, the employees are offered with high flexibility in the organisations. There are no strict rules or policies which bind them as well as them also have an opportunity to manage themselves and evaluate their performance on their own. Therefore, such approaches and flexibility are essential for the organisation for long term sustainability, employee engagements and effective management (Dalkir and Liebowitz, 2011).

Conclusion

With the changing needs of the markets and the environment, there are also numerous changes taking place in the organisations. There are several organizations which resist growth and development because of the paradox management practices. The old and traditional concept that, there is only one best way to manage is now replacing with the concept of right way to manage. From this essay it can b e concluded that, there are various theorists who have supported the concept of one best way in the past decades but with increased globalization and development, the organisation are switching to the contingency theory and are having modifications in their management practices and strategies as per the situations and the impact of the internal and external environments. Therefore, for having continuous growth, increased employee motivation and high organisational efficiency, it is necessary that the organisations must have the use of most appropriate way of management rather than sticking with the old and traditional ways. 

References

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Choi, B., Poon, S.K. and Davis, J.G., 2008. Effects of knowledge management strategy on organizational performance: A complementarity theory-based approach. Omega, 36(2), pp.235-251.

Cole, G.A., 2004. Management theory and practice. Cengage Learning EMEA.

Dalkir, K. and Liebowitz, J., 2011. Knowledge management in theory and practice. MIT press.

Danese, P., 2011. Towards a contingency theory of collaborative planning initiatives in supply networks. International Journal of Production Research, 49(4), pp.1081-1103.

Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.

Jokipii, A., 2010. Determinants and consequences of internal control in firms: a contingency theory based analysis. Journal of Management & Governance, 14(2), pp.115-144.

Jones, G.R., 2010. Organizational theory, design, and change.

Mikes, A. and Kaplan, R.S., 2013. Towards a contingency theory of enterprise risk management.

Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2006. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.

Omotayo, F.O., 2015. Knowledge Management as an important tool in Organisational Management: A Review of Literature. Library Philosophy and Practice, p.1.

Smith, W.K. and Lewis, M.W., 2011. Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), pp.381-403.

Suddaby, R., Hardy, C. and Huy, Q.N., 2011. Introduction to special topic forum: where are the new theories of organization?.

Waring, S.P., 2016. Taylorism transformed: Scientific management theory since 1945. UNC Press Books.