Organization and Management Analysis
Classical Theory
There are various organizational theories emerged by the time. One of the theories is classical theory that provides an insight of the merger of scientific management as well as bureaucratic and administrative theory. In 1917, Fredrick Taylor introduced scientific management theory (Taylorism) with four principles, such as recruiting best human capital to perform tasks, matching worker’s capability with tasks, close supervision of workers and use of rewards and punishment as motivational tool, and management of tasks in terms of planning and controlling (Agarwal, 1982). Max Weber in 1947 prolonged Taylor’s theories and put emphasis on the need of reduction of diversity and ambiguity in the companies. He focused on the clear lines of authority as well as control. Bureaucratic theory presented by Weber focused on the hierarchal power structure, division of labor and specialization. In addition, administrative theory was developed by Mooney (1930) and Reiley (1931). They focused on the universal set of principles of management to apply all companies (Raju & Parthasarathy, 2004).
Neoclassical Theory
In relation to Neoclassical Organizational theory, human relations developed as a result of authoritative structure of classical theory. It overcame the issues related to classical theory like overconformity and rigidity and focused on the creativeness, personal growth and motivation. Along with Mayo and Roethlisberger in 1920s, Barnard in 1968 challenged the classical theory. Barnard defined an organization as system of coordinated activities based on conscious. Simon in 1945 introduced model of limited rationality (Baker & Filbeck, 2013).
Contingency Theory
Contingency theory has evolved due to the fact that classical and neoclassical theorists studied conflict as an avoidable thing. Contingency theory focused on the conflict as inescapable, but at the same time manageable factor. Chandler in 1962 introduced that a company would develop naturally to align the needs and strategy. Lawrance and Lorsch in 1969 studied the way organizations make adjustments to fit their environment (Burton, Eriksen, Håkonsson & Snow, 2006).
Systems Theory
System theory was developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1928 and its foundation is that all elements of a company are interconnected to each other and change in one leads to change in other components. Senge in 1990 stated the mechanism of system thinking as he described that system thinking refers to an understanding of how actions are shaped with reality. System thinking enables actions to be shaped by current reality that give confidence to develop a different reality in future. The key to systems theory is that nonlinear arrangements exists among variables and minor change in one variable contributes to major changes in other variables. On the other hand, major changes in one variable put nominal effect on the other variable (Ziegler, 2005)
Comparison of Management Theories and Styles
Source: Ghoshal (2005), Pizam (2005), Agarwal (1982), Ghuman (2010), and Hatch and Cunliffe (2012)
Organizational Theory resembles the Organization
The organizational theory that resembles the organization in which I work is neoclassical theory as I work in a restaurant and the success depends on the employees’ behavior and fulfilment of responsibilities. The management in the organization focuses on employee-centered approach and that’s why emphasize on the decentralization, participative decision making, teamwork, high level communication and to motivate employees through meeting their physiological, social and psychological needs. The management provides training to employees and focus on group dynamics.
Management Theories and Styles resembles Management in the Organization
The management theory and style that resembles management in the organization (restaurant) I work is the human relations theory to management as described earlier and participative management style. As the management involves employees in the decision making process and in making strategies. In addition, the management believes on team work and top-down and down-top communication. However, there is an issue faced by the management in the organization I work for. The issue is that the style management follows does not work in all business situations and create problems between employees and management. The employees get confused and are not able to perform as expected that in turn put negative effects on the achievement of desired individual and organizational goals.
Recommendation to make the Organization Better
In order to make organization effective and to be reactive to every situation, it is recommended that the management should use mixed management approaches and styles. It is recommended that the management should use contingency model with the combination of human relations management theory. It would enable the management to use advantages of both management models like decentralization, teamwork, and high level communication, etc. Moreover, it would enable the management to change its style, according to situation and business needs. For instance, with respect to business needs and situation the management can use participative management style to involve employees or authoritative style to reduce ambiguities and for accuracy.
References
Agarwal, R. D. (1982). Organization and management. India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Baker, H. K., & Filbeck, G. (2013). Portfolio Theory and Management. USA: Oxford University Press.
Burton, R. M., Eriksen, B., Håkonsson, D. D., & Snow, C. C. (2006).Organization design: the evolving state-of-the-art (Vol. 6). USA: Springer Science & Business Media.
Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management learning & education, 4(1), 75-91.
Ghuman, K. (2010). Management: Concepts, practice & cases. India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2012). Organization theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives. USA: Oxford university press.
Pizam, A. (2005). International encyclopedia of hospitality management. USA: Routledge.
Raju, S., & Parthasarathy, R. (2004). Management: Text and Cases. India: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Ziegler, S. M. (2005). Theory-directed nursing practice. USA: Springer Publishing Company.
