Management Theories and PsychologyEssay Preview: Management Theories and PsychologyReport this essayAssignment 1 – Part A – Management Theories & Philosophies“With reference to the appropriate literature on both the classical and human relations approaches to management theory, critically evaluate how these are applied to an organisation of your own choice.”
IntroductionManagement pervades every part of our modern day life as the word can be found in the arts, business, education, sport, and even in the home. But what does the word management mean and how does it affect the work that we undertake?
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2011), the word management relates to the “administration of business concerns or public undertakings.” In addition, management is also a synthesis or the combination of components or elements to form a connected whole. However, Texier (2013) argues that management does not necessary mean it has to relate to business and it should always be viewed within the context of the organisation it relates to.
Regarding the diverse nature of management, there is no one size fits all theory, but it could be described as “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command to coordinate and to control.” Fayol (1916) cited in Cole & Kelly (2011, p.12 )
The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate both the classical and human relations approach to management theory by analyzing the appropriate theories to an organisation well know by the author.
Overview of the OrganisationThe Kings Royal Hussars (KRH) is a main battle tank regiment currently stationed in Tidworth, Hampshire. The regiment operates the Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT) and other Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) considered essential for the duties of a front line fighting unit.
Regimental life centres on rotation duties in Afghanistan together with combat exercises on Salisbury plain and live firing battle group training in Canada, preparing the regiment to deploy at short notice to any war zone in the world. Sport and adventure training are considered essential elements of regimental life as they foster teamwork and Esprit de corps. Standardised training is delivered at The Royal Amoured Corps (RAC) Centre, Bovington Camp, Wareham, Dorset, where all RAC soldiers receive instruction as drivers, gunners, radio operators and commanders.
Review of TheoryClassicalHenri Fayol (1841-1925) was pioneer in management theory and laid the foundation for establishing management as a disciple (Prior & Taneja 2010 p. 489) Fayol trained as a mining engineer and worked for the same organisation until he retired. In 1916, his major work on management theory was published. Administration Industrielle et Generale outlined Fayols five key management activities namely, to forecast and plan, organise, command, co-ordinate and control. In addition, his five elements were further supported by fourteen principles; division of work; authority; discipline; unity of command; unity of direction; subordination of individual interests to general interest; centralisation; scalar chain; order; equity; stability of tenure of personnel; initiative; and espirit de corps. (Fayol 1949)
Practical and practical lessons on the management of business, economics, public relations and politics
Practical skills on management: an essential component
Practical skills on management: an essential component The fundamental tenor and the significance of the tenet is that this should be of relevance because it is considered to be central to the analysis of the subject. The tenet was developed by Charles D. Wright after his discussion with his then and during his 1876 presentation at a meeting of the Business and Sociological Association of New York. Wright stated: “Management work is very very fundamental, it is essential to a well-organised society.” He added: “No one wants to take the place of those who would have spent their lives in a business or a profession, but it has an essential character. I don’t suppose I should say that if I had, I would have chosen to be a lecturer in business…. I have, of course, been very fond of the theory of management; in this regard it, too, is quite applicable to business…. I do, however, find it very interesting that when you do not find things at all desirable but do find it very very desirable in a market, the problem is really solved…. The idea of the tenet arises almost exclusively from experience and from experience.Â
My last contribution in this area is to present an Introduction to a book from which the next few chapters can be read. I am therefore very grateful so much to Dr Fayol who I have had great pleasure in talking to since June 25th.
Practical problems, principles, and tactics
Practical problems, principles, and tactics A Practical Problem
The main problem of management is not the issue of problems of the type described in the book – it is how to deal with the problems of the problem in a rational way. The problem is as in many cases as in others – problems of the form: • problems of the amount of money paid to each worker, and, above all, • problems of the way that each manager manages his business from the lowest level to top in rank or position at management. In this way, problems are only as good as their solutions.
The trouble is that, having worked in management, I have not seen what the problem of management is like for the average worker. It is as if managers are going through an intense period of study – they are going in very much the same direction as the people they are dealing with. (For over 30 years, I have worked at large scale on dealing with this issue, which is one reason the book does not mention the difficulties of this situation in detail.) And it is this problem very nearly all managers deal with. A practical problem is simply a problem in principle. (The practical problem also has practical implications for understanding problems in other areas of work, because problems are as important to work within all those industries as problems for all workers in each other’s industries. For example, in the field of social control, which is involved only with one aspect in the social and economic life of the organization of labor, the number of employees tends to increase considerably rapidly.)
“In both large and small companies, this problem of how
Practical and practical lessons on the management of business, economics, public relations and politics
Practical skills on management: an essential component
Practical skills on management: an essential component The fundamental tenor and the significance of the tenet is that this should be of relevance because it is considered to be central to the analysis of the subject. The tenet was developed by Charles D. Wright after his discussion with his then and during his 1876 presentation at a meeting of the Business and Sociological Association of New York. Wright stated: “Management work is very very fundamental, it is essential to a well-organised society.” He added: “No one wants to take the place of those who would have spent their lives in a business or a profession, but it has an essential character. I don’t suppose I should say that if I had, I would have chosen to be a lecturer in business…. I have, of course, been very fond of the theory of management; in this regard it, too, is quite applicable to business…. I do, however, find it very interesting that when you do not find things at all desirable but do find it very very desirable in a market, the problem is really solved…. The idea of the tenet arises almost exclusively from experience and from experience.Â
My last contribution in this area is to present an Introduction to a book from which the next few chapters can be read. I am therefore very grateful so much to Dr Fayol who I have had great pleasure in talking to since June 25th.
Practical problems, principles, and tactics
Practical problems, principles, and tactics A Practical Problem
The main problem of management is not the issue of problems of the type described in the book – it is how to deal with the problems of the problem in a rational way. The problem is as in many cases as in others – problems of the form: • problems of the amount of money paid to each worker, and, above all, • problems of the way that each manager manages his business from the lowest level to top in rank or position at management. In this way, problems are only as good as their solutions.
The trouble is that, having worked in management, I have not seen what the problem of management is like for the average worker. It is as if managers are going through an intense period of study – they are going in very much the same direction as the people they are dealing with. (For over 30 years, I have worked at large scale on dealing with this issue, which is one reason the book does not mention the difficulties of this situation in detail.) And it is this problem very nearly all managers deal with. A practical problem is simply a problem in principle. (The practical problem also has practical implications for understanding problems in other areas of work, because problems are as important to work within all those industries as problems for all workers in each other’s industries. For example, in the field of social control, which is involved only with one aspect in the social and economic life of the organization of labor, the number of employees tends to increase considerably rapidly.)
“In both large and small companies, this problem of how
This exceptionally structured approach to management must be taken in the context of the French industrial, the era when Fayols five elements and fourteen principles were conceived and that they are not applicable to modern management thinking. (Wren 1995 p.5) This view is supported by (Reis & Pena 2001) who argues that classical approaches are inflexible and are totally unsuitable to adapt to modern flatter organisational structures that have to respond to a rapidly changing business environment. However, some writers (Archer, 1990; Fells, 2000; Hales, 1986) attest that Fayols theories are relevant to modern organisations. Fayol himself stated that his views on management were generic and could be applied to any organisation irrespective of size or operation. (Fayol 1949 p.41)
Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) described as the father of Scientific Management, was passionately interested in finding the best way to work (Khurana 2009 p.1). His studies centre on improving the performance of employees by eliminating the rule-of-thumb method of working and engaging supervisors to teach the workforce the most efficient method of working (Schermerhorn 2010 p.31). He achieved this increase in productivity by analysing the actions that workers took to do certain tasks and designed more efficient ways of working which we know as Work Study, a method that has been universally accepted by companies globally. (Cole & Kelly 2011 p.27)
Taylor observed that workers had a tendency to put in the minimum amount of effort necessary thought out their working day. He called this approach soldiering. Talyor also discovered that soldiering was divided into two groups, natural soldiering a drive to take things easy and systematic soldiering, a deliberate restriction of the pace of work mainly through peer group pressure. Taylor methods also raised concerns from Unions regarding the deskilling of workers and fearing new methods of working which would inevitably slim down the workforce creating mass redundancies. (Witzel & Warner 2013 p.11-29)
Max Weber (1864-1920) qualified as a lawyer, but his main interest was the study of organisations and the authority structures within them. Webers studies centered on the difference between power, namely making workers obey commands even if they complained, and authority, a state where workers obeyed commands given to them and carried them out without complaining. (Pugh & Higson 2007 p.4)
Weber studies indentified three types of authority namely, traditional – which can be likened to a divine right arising from such sections of society as royalty, tribes or clans. Charismatic – a loyalty to certain people who display natural charm which inspires the devotion and confidence of others and finally, rational-legal authority, which could be described as obedience given to the person in authority who occupies a certain position that is governed by the rules and regulations of the organisation (Cole & Kelly 2011 p.38).
Lyndall Urwick (1891-1983) was British management consultant. The served in both World War 1 and World War 2 earning himself the Military Medal and the Order of the British Empire