Management Principles (Essay Sample)

Management Principles
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Management Principles
Introduction
The guidelines for actions and decisions of managers are management principles. Over time, management professionals have derived these principles through in-depth analysis and observation of events that businesses face in actual practices. They constitute the underlying and essential factors that form successful management foundations. These management principles are used in initiation as well as aiding of change, decision-making, organization, and skill management principles (Mullins, 2005). Management principles provide the framework that guide organizations in improving their performance. Customer focus is important since organizations usually depend on customers to understand future and current customer needs in meeting customer requirement. It constitutes a major principle utilized by the management in striving to exceed their customers’ expectations. Management principles help in enhancing effectiveness of organizational resources as far as customer satisfaction, corporate goals, and management as a whole is concerned.
To assist inform research related to management principles especially, a review on literature is integral. This literature review will primarily focus the postulation that Taylorism as a fundamental system premeditated to make best use of management control over employees. This paper will examine how this position has been in use to-date. However, recent systems of management are focusing especially on promoting and empowering employee initiatives. This paper will seek to examine what management professionals and consultants have come to consider as significant management principles. This will provide a conceptual framework in the examination of the key benefits accruing from management principles. Further, this paper will examine the relevance of management principles in increasing market share and revenue through fast and flexible responses towards market opportunities.
The Changing Role of Management
According to David McHugh and Paul Thomson (1995), it is incontestable that coherent managerial principles are a fundamental element in conscious patterning and planning using design processes. Donaldson supports McHugh and Thomson (1995) by postulating that coordination, integration, standardization, differentiation, and specialization are important elements in management of organizations. The management can manipulate cultures, tasks, or structures to achieve corporate goals. Managers aim at dividing role and responsibilities of their human resources. This ensures that skills are optimally used (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). Creating specific professional and personal development within any labor force in increasing productivity is central. This bolsters dexterity and specialization. Technical and managerial work should be divided appropriately. There are extensive rules and regulations coupled with clear organizational goals that constitute an essential element in management principles (Witzel, 2014). McHugh and Thomson (1995) are in support of Taylor’s emphasizes on division of labor. However, Cooke perceives this as a form of slave.
The consolidation and origin of bureaucracy is a dominant organizational design and work form through Weber, Taylorism, and classical management. Most organizations are organized in a manner that clearly outlines the responsibility and authority bestowed upon every employee and the entire workforce. In modern management theory, it is important to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. According to Max Weber (2004), bureaucracy is that push towards fairness, openness, and democracy. Bureaucracies are complex and thus hierarchical. In some instances, people in top leadership up in the hierarchy use their expertise and position to favor other people undemocratically. He perceives bureaucracy as a rational and efficient way through which human activity is organized due to the presence of organized hierarchies and systematic processes. Bureaucracy enhances professionalism and efficiency. This is because recruitment and promotion is on merit, regular pensions and salaries.
Discipline and Bureaucracy
Discipline remains an important management principle in any organization. It is important that the bureaucracy observe proper conduct and obedience while relating with each other. Discipline is thus essential in smooth functioning in all organizations. Discipline ensures that work is divided among groups and individuals in ensuring that attention and effort focuses on some special portions of every task. Discipline in work relations facilitate specialization and efficiency in human resources used within organizations. McHugh and Thomson (1995) emphasize the role of managers as both decision-makers and leaders who have a role in inculcating discipline as an integral element of the organizational culture. McGregor in his Theory X supports Taylor (1911) who posits that employees dislike initiatives and work. Managers have the singular role of directing and coercing them. McGregor’s Theory Y (Kopelman, Prottas, and Davis, 2008) advances the notion that self-control and self-direction are important elements that show commitment by employees towards discipline, which are important in realizing organizational goals. Thus, managers should involve employees in decision-making (Weber, and Kalberg, 2005).
Managers should ensure that employees who work in analogous activity line comprehend and pursue similar objectives. This helps facilitate directional unity. Managers should control the employees. This ensures that unity of actions exists. Efforts focusing and strengths coordination is important. Towards this end, managers should design appropriate decentralized or centralized structures. Identification of stages within processes such as evaluation, follow-through, implementation, choice, and generation is central. Unity of direction is achieved when employees and other stakeholders are involved in decision-making. This enables managers to focus on strategic goals of the organization. This is because management is primarily a labor process.
Taylorism or scientific theory synthesizes and analyzes workflows. Fundamentally, Taylorism aims at bolstering economic efficiency, mostly the productivity of labor. To improve economic efficiency of an organization through improving productivity of labor, individual interests should be subordinated in place of group interests. Company objectives come first in place of personal considerations. Taylor (1911) gave premium to waste elimination, work ethic, rationality, analysis, logic, efficiency, and application of best business practices. When individual interests are subordinated, craft production is transformed into mass production. In furtherance of economic efficiency, knowledge transfer amongst workers is possible. Taylor (1911) saw the manager as responsible in establishing unity of direction and purpose within organizations. When personal whims are subordinated, employees will be motivated and understand organizational objectives and goals.
When workers are remunerated sufficiently, it becomes the primarily source of motivation for them to work (Jaffee, 2000). This should be done by taking consideration of certain variables like qualified personnel supply, living cost, business success, and current business conditions. Taylor (1911) observed that some workers are more talented as compared to others. Smart employees are sometimes unmotivated. Workers performing repetitive should not go unpunished when they work slowly. Malingering workers should be punished as suggested by Taylor (1911). In most wok environments, economic efficiency is never achieved since labor productivity is never optimized. Taylor (1911) suggested that labor productivity is correlated with their compensation. He argued that compensation plans should encompass piece rates. Managers should ensure that labor should involve rest breaks to avert fatigue and monotony (Drucker, 2008). They should treat human resources as their greatest assets.
McDonald Model
McDonald Model emphasizes on efficiency. Moreover, calculability delves into a product’s quantitative aspects. In McDonaldized systems, quality is as important as quantity (Pfeiffer, 2000). Workers in such McDonaldized systems emphasize the quantitative aspects of their work as opposed to qualitative aspects. Employees focus on how quickly tasks should be accomplished. Workers are thus supposed to work hard and quickly for lower payments. Workers follow certain corporate rules. The manager’s dictates are followed to the letter. Workers are trained to do fewer tasks precisely. George Ritzer (2008) postulates that most McDonaldized institutions emphasizes on financial costs and time. This eventually enhances service delivery. People get what they need instantaneously and conveniently. Even universities and other institutions are becoming moderately McDonaldized. Decision-making is often centralized. Ordinarily, the centralization degree depends mostly on the size of the company. McDonald Theory flaunts certain Taylorism elements such as good pay and breaks. It does not recognize that individuals are different.
Henry Fayol supports Taylor (1911) by arguing that managers should encourage harmony among employees. Every employee should be treated justly and kindly. It is upon the managers to ensure that fairness and impartiality reigns in their organizations. Management has evolved into an inextricable element in running of organizations (Schermerhorn, 2005). It has become important in creating social order that ensures fluid operation in a company. This is often done through some authoritative procedure. More importantly, manageme...