Learning Activity #1 - Theme 1 This week, students learn about organizational th

ID: 347844 • Letter: L

Question

Learning Activity #1 - Theme 1

This week, students learn about organizational theory and the relationship to the role of 21stcentury manager. A manager is a person whose job it is to direct the implementation and achievement of a subset of organizational goals. Organizational theory is a field of study that has evolved in the last one hundred years to offer assistance to managers in the way they approach their job in an effort to accomplish the organization’s vision and mission and goals and objectives.

The 21st century manager is a person who organizes, executes, and plans the process and production or services of an organization. Traditionally, the role of the manager, as defined by organizational theory, has been the person who sets short term goals for the organization to execute and perform tasks that include the process, procedure, and production of the organization’s purpose or vision. The modern role of the manager still includes these tasks but has evolved to include the role of facilitator in the way the manager accomplishes the organizational goals assigned to his or her control.

1)Compare and contrast the role of management, as reflected by management theory, in the 20thcentury organization with the role of management in the 21st century. Include in your discussion the theoretical Schools of Thought that speak to the manager’s role in the business environment as well as definition of the environment itself.

With these ideas in mind, consider the two Biotech managers mentioned below and the Schools of Thought and theorists they represent... Explain how the Schools of Thought and the theorists reflect the changes in role and business environment shift.

James West is the Department Head of Production for Biotech Germany. He has been with the company since 1974 when he came aboard at age 18 as a line worker. He has fashioned the department from his personal experience. He stresses numbers, quality control and meeting goals. He is proud of his success in meeting goals efficiently and with minimal cost to the company thereby maximizing profit. He is known as a strict taskmaster but not unreasonable.

Artemus Gordon, West’s assistant, is 29 years old and has been with Biotech for 4 years. Gordon has been concerned that West is not willing to move with the times. He sees the other production departments around the globe meeting goals efficiently but with lower employee turnover. These companies use new technology.

Germany now has a strict work law that requires that employees must be let go by 5 pm, and overtime is only permissible if the employee agrees. West makes employees work overtime to meet departmental goals and seldom asks the workers about his or her interest in overtime. Gordon also knows that new technology might make the work more efficient.

Explanation / Answer

Compare and contrast the role of management, as reflected by management theory, in the 20thcentury organization with the role of management in the 21st century. Include in your discussion the theoretical Schools of Thought that speak to the manager’s role in the business environment as well as the definition of the environment itself.

With these ideas in mind, consider the two Biotech managers mentioned below and the Schools of Thought and theorists they represent... Explain how the Schools of Thought and the theorists reflect the changes in role and business environment shift.

Let us discuss the role of management, as reflected by management theory, in the 20th-century organization with the role of management in the 21st century.

The 20th Century manager had a style and charisma of leaders who defined goals, strategies and led the team in a hierarchical style of management.

In contrast, the 21st-century the manager is a visionary, works as a team in collaboration with peers brainstorming and discussing ideas to make business more cost effective and competitive.

Discussing various management theories and the shift through the 20th to 21st century we will discuss the following theories.

Management schools of thought

Timeframe

The style of working

Classical School Of Management

Scientific & Administrative Management

Theorists: Fredrick Taylor

Frank Gilbreth, Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt

1880-1920

The management and workers were seen as two separate group. The management would set the goals and money was seen as the only motivating factor. Early 1900’s saw an introduction to scientific methods of operation which linked performance to pays. The workers were trained to perform the task efficiently to maximize profits. Then further administrative management concept was introduced to divide work into many function and division of labor based on activity was introduced. The system was considered inflexible but was the basis of today’s management segmentation of work. It narrowed the scope of work of individual and trained them for specific skills like operations, accounts, purchase etc.

The Behavioral School-

Human relations & Behavioral Science

Theorists: Clair Turner, Fritz J. Roethlisberger, and Elton Mayo

1930-1950

The behavioral school focused on human resources and motivating of manpower. The mid-1900's saw an increased involvement in understanding beyond the business processes and getting involved in how to get employees more motivated and involved. The needs of workers were understood and addressed. The behavior science focused on understanding workplace behavior. There was a huge focus on human values, attitudes, behavior, commitment, motivation, conflict understanding etc.

The Quantitative School-

MIS & Production and operations management

Theorists: George Dantzig developed linear programming.

1940-1970

The quantitative school of thought went back to the scientific method of management with number crunching and MIS systems. It focused on managing productivity, increasing efficiency, optimum resource allocation. Operations management with quality control systems optimizes processes and systematic way of production. Decision support systems, Management information systems and Optimal allocation of resources in the quantitative analysis were the key focus.

The Systems School

Theorists: Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Richard Johnson, Fremont Kast, and James Rosenzweig

1950

It was a Systematic coordination of different work activities and how they relate to each other. The organization was seen as many systems put together. It discussed inputs and outputs and how external environment impacted it.

The Contingency School

Theorists: Joan Woodward, Paul Lawrence, Jay Lorsch, and Fred Fiedler

1960

The contingency style of functioning propagated that the management style would differ according to the situation at hand, it had a different style of handling different aspects of the business. It focused on organizational design, job design, motivation, and leadership style.

The Contemporary School (Gordon school of thought)

Theorist: Edwards Deming

Current

The TQM system of management, systematic analysis of data, research, customer feedback, innovative approach to work. Most decision making is based on concrete data and feedbacks. All work is monitored and measured and ways discussed and propounded to increase efficiency. Continual improvement is the code word. The environment and technology have to be continuously upgraded. The manpower has to be trained and groomed as an ongoing integral process. The organization focuses on becoming a learning organization and ensures change management to meet the competitive pressures.

The three keywords are open communication, teamwork, and empowered employees.

To sum it up the today’s style management is a combination of system-oriented, process-based, involves total coordination and cohesiveness of the team unlike the 20th-century approach of make targets, assign goals and lead.