Unit IB: Management Theories

Why study management?

The study of management is important for several reasons:

• It provides skills that make it more likely you will have opportunities to become a manager.

• It improves the working relationships you will have with your own bosses.

• It allows you to better understand how organizations operate.

• It facilitates a better understanding of who you are and what your life ambitions are.

Dyck and Neubert Management View

• Mainstream Management - effectiveness comes from maximizing materialist - individualist outcomes (ex. productivity, competitiveness, profitability) — conventional.

  • Like a traditional boss

    • For Mainstream Managers, the four functions are being performed effectively when organizational efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness are maximized. The mainstream approach tends to emphasize.

      • Planning - via measurable goals and rationally designed strategies

      • Organizing - via standardization, specialization, and centralization.

      • Leading - via motivating others to achieve organizational goals.

      • Controlling - via vigilant monitoring of organizational performance.

      • This style is all about efficiency, productivity, and winning in the business world.

• Multi stream Management - effectiveness comes from finding a balance among multiple forms of well-being (ex. material, individual, social, ecological, intellectual, physical, and spiritual) for multiple stakeholders (ex. owners, members, customers, suppliers, competitors, and neighbors). — sustainable.

  • Like a caring leader

    • For Multi stream Managers, the four functions are being performed effectively when virtues are practices in community and happiness is achieved. The Multi stream approach tends to emphasize.

      • Planning - via practical wisdom, participation, and higher - order goals.

      • Organizing - via courage and experimentation.

      • Leading - via relational self - control and treating members with dignity

      • Controlling - via fairness and being sensitive to suboptimal conditions.

      • This style is all about balance, happiness, and doing what’s right for people and the planet.

Mainstream vs. Multi-stream in Kid Terms

• Mainstream Management is like a coach who just wants to win the game, no matter what. They focus on scoring points and beating the other team.

• Multi-stream Management is like a coach who wants everyone to have fun, play fair, and make sure everyone on the team feels good—even if they don’t win every game.

• Goal Setting

  • Specific - Who and What?

  • Measurable - By how much?

  • Achievable - How?

  • Relevant - Why?

  • Time - Bound - When?

  • Significant - What impact will it make?

  • Meaningful - How much impact will it make?

  • Agreed - upon - How can a consensus be made?

  • Relevant - Why will this make an impact?

  • Timely - When is the best time considering every aspect?

Management by Objectives (MBO)

• System whereby managers and employees define goals for every department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance.

• Focuses manager and employee efforts on activities that will lead to goal attainment.

• Can improve performance at all company levels.

• Improves employee motivation

• Aligns individual and departmental goals with company goals.

  • Step 1: Set Goals

    • Corporate Strategic Goals

    • Departmental Goals

    • Individual Goals

  • Step 2: Develop Action Plans

  • Step 3: Review Progress

    • Review Progress

    • Take Corrective Action

  • Step 4: Appraise Overall Performance

Shewhart Cycle

• A planning cycle used in organizations that have instituted quality management - also called PDCA.

• PDCA stands for:

  1. Plan: Think about what you want to improve or fix. Make a plan with clear goals and steps to achieve them.

  2. Do: Try out your plan on a small scale to see if it works.

  3. Check: Look at the results and see if your plan worked. Did it solve the problem or improve things?

  4. Act: If it worked, make it a permanent change. If it didn’t, figure out what went wrong and start the cycle again with a better plan.

• Why it’s useful:

  • It helps organizations continuously improve by testing ideas before fully committing to them.

  • It’s a cycle, so you keep using it over and over to make things better and better.

  In short, the Shewhart Cycle (PDCA) is like a never-ending loop of planning, testing, checking, and improving to make sure things keep getting better!

Decision - Making

• Process of choosing a specific course of action from several possible alternatives, whether is has been planned or is yet to be planned.