PM Week 2 slides CB edit (2)21.pdf

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Approaches to Management Dr Chris Blunkell, 3 October 2023 Interplay between theory and practice Why should we care? Isn't all just common sense? What about instincts and hunches? Can't we just pick it up as we go along? The importance of management theory • It helps to view...

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Approaches to Management Dr Chris Blunkell, 3 October 2023 Interplay between theory and practice Why should we care? Isn't all just common sense? What about instincts and hunches? Can't we just pick it up as we go along? The importance of management theory • It helps to view the interrelationships between theory, behaviour and management practice. • It helps understand the principles underlying the process of management. • Management theories evolve as the organisational environment changes. • Earlier ideas are often incorporated into new ones and so are of continuing importance to the manager. History of management – main approaches Classical Approach to Management One universal best way, standardisation, efficiency, control Henry Fayol: five functions of management - a French mining engineer (1841-1925) who developed a general theory of management - based on his own management experience, he developed his concept of administration. - management/administration becomes a profession From small to large scale organisations • Personal control – easy with a small group of people to manage • But how to carry out Fayol’s five functions of management as an organisation grows in size? • From personal and direct control to impersonal and indirect control • Rational organisational design through bureaucracy Bureaucracy • Max Weber, 1864–1920 • Concept arose from his sociological studies of power and authority. • Belief in the superiority of an organisational structure which can survive changes in individual personnel. • Introducing order and rationality into social life. Rational organisational design: Bureaucracy Three aspects of bureaucratic control: • Hierarchy/organisational structure • Rules, procedures and policies • Paperwork and records • The formal structures and procedures that facilitate the management of an organisation, in particular as a solution to the problem of diminishing control as an organisation outgrows personal, face-toface management A double-edged sword? • Fairness, clarity, efficiency, standardisation and control • Iron cage, dehumanisation, disenchantment (Weber) • Red tape, jobsworth • Ubiquitous and inevitable? Public sector organisations The importance of: • Uniformity of treatment • Regularity of procedures • Public accountability for operations... BUT...what about increasing drive for individualisation of services? • Does it mean that bureaucracy remains relevant in the public sector? • What about private sector? Rational work design: efficiency and control Frederick Winslow Taylor “Scientific Management” Henry Ford and the assembly line Work is… • designed in a scientific manner, using measurement and calculation – as if designing a machine • broken down into simplistic, repetitive tasks requiring little or no skill – division of labour Critique of Taylorism • Leads to hostility and suspicion among workers. • The ‘rationalisation’ of work results in the de-skilling of workers. • Creates excessive levels of managerial control which can endanger organisational purpose. • Views workers as ‘machines’ rather than social beings Rational work design: efficiency and control Critique: • Dehumanising, • Deskilling • Alienating • Inflexible Is it suited to today’s organisational world? Rationalisation and the contemporary organisations • McDonaldisation: “the extension of rationalised techniques from Weber and Taylor onwards” (Ritzer, 2011) • Efficiency and control in the fast-food restaurant • Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Control • The McDonaldisation of Society: "The process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world.” (George Ritzer 2011, page 1) Other contemporary models of rationalisation • ‘No frills’ – airlines, hotels • ‘Value engineering’ – hotels, e.g., Travelodge • Flatpack manufacturing – e.g., Ikea • Bar code technology – supermarkets, warehouses… Rational design conundrum But with these consequences: • Efficiency • Productivity • Management control • Employee satisfaction • Dehumanising jobs • Employer/employee conflict Hawthorne Studies leading to Human Relations Approach Overview of the Hawthorne Studies: 19 Key discovery: the social being • Work is a primarily social unit • Social interaction • Safety in numbers • Sense of belonging • Work shapes norms, perceptions and forms identity Key Discovery: Power of informal organisation • The social organisation has more power than anything that management did • It has social control over work habits and attitudes of the individual worker • Major factor in the group’s productivity • Belonging to the group • Managers role in changing group norms • Social relations a resource for managers 21 Neo-human relations • Dates from the 1950s to 1960s • Psychological in background • Concerned with human personality and motivation • Maslow; the hierarchy of needs • Herzberg; the two-factor motivation theory • McGregor; Theory X and Theory Y managers Systems approach • An organisation is made up of interdependent parts. • A system interacts with its environment by way of inputs, throughputs, and outputs. • It considers the impact of environment on the organisation and vice versa. Contingency approach: flexibility and adaptation The contingency approach • Rejects the idea of ‘one best form or structure’ or ‘optimum state’ for an organisation. • Focus placed on examining situational variables. • ‘If and ‘then ‘approach to management • Successful design is dependent (i.e., contingent) upon organisational: ✓Purpose ✓Culture ✓Size ✓Technology ✓Environment. Does it provide theoretical foundation though? Postmodernism 'Organisation (is) less the expression of planned thought and calculative action and more a defensive reaction to forces intrinsic to the social body which constantly threaten the stability of organised life’ (Cooper and Burrell) Innovative Management Thinking The Learning Organisation: • organisation in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organisation to continuously experiment, improve and increase its capability. Relevance to management and organisational behaviour • Different categorisations of theory illustrate the complex nature of the study and practice of management. • They provide a setting in which to view the field of management and organisational behaviour. • They assist in organisational analysis and the identification of problem areas. • They enable managers to select ideas from a range of approaches which best suit the requirement of the job. The importance of cultural contexts • Traditionally, the greatest aspiration of researchers is to discover objective, universalistic principles of behaviour. • Hofstede (1993) stresses the importance of cultural context see article on Blackboard. Activity (10 mins) In your journal, write a short piece on... ...the benefits of understanding how management theory and practice has changed over the past 100 years. How could you use this information as a manager? References Hofstede, G. 1993. Cultural constraints in management theories, Academy of Management 7(1), pp. 81-94. Cooper, R. and Burrell, G. 1988. Modernism, postmodernism and organizational analysis: An introduction, Organizational Studies 9(1), p.91-112.