Contingency Theories in Management
This essay sets out to show where the four popular management contingency variables of organisational size, routineness of task technology, environmental uncertainty and individual differences are reflected in the work of the manager that was interviewed. Using classical theories of Fayol, Mintzberg and Katz along practical examples from the managers’ day-to-day routine, this essay sets out to explain how these theories and functions impact upon how the manager applies the situational approach to management using the contemporary and widely accepted contingency theories.
The manager that was interviewed was Mr. Luke Jecks, the Director of Sales and Marketing within an Australian-based organisation in the private sector, Cellarmaster Wines. With over three hundred staff, the organisation is Australia’s largest selling direct retailer of wines, selling over one million cases of wine per annum to in excess of three hundred thousand club members a year, as well as exporting to international markets, namely the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Cellarmaster Wines uses various forms of direct marketing, but predominantly focuses on Internet, print media and telemarketing to sell to their club members.
Being a top-level manager, Mr. Jecks, performs an extremely diversified number of roles within his position, but Mr. Jecks’ main focus is defining marketing strategies, allocating advertising activities and budgets, motivating sales staff and other members of the organisation and monitoring the external sales environment. In applying the situational approach to the dynamic and ever-changing organisational environment, Mr. Jecks applies various roles and functions outlined by the classical management theorists, Fayol, Katz and Mintzberg, in order to co-ordinate the organisation using the contemporary contingency approach.
The contingency approach to management is based on the idea that there is no one best way to best way to manage and in order to be effective,
The manager that was interviewed was Mr. Luke Jecks, the Director of Sales and Marketing within an Australian-based organisation in the private sector, Cellarmaster Wines. With over three hundred staff, the organisation is Australia’s largest selling direct retailer of wines, selling over one million cases of wine per annum to in excess of three hundred thousand club members a year, as well as exporting to international markets, namely the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Cellarmaster Wines uses various forms of direct marketing, but predominantly focuses on Internet, print media and telemarketing to sell to their club members.
Being a top-level manager, Mr. Jecks, performs an extremely diversified number of roles within his position, but Mr. Jecks’ main focus is defining marketing strategies, allocating advertising activities and budgets, motivating sales staff and other members of the organisation and monitoring the external sales environment. In applying the situational approach to the dynamic and ever-changing organisational environment, Mr. Jecks applies various roles and functions outlined by the classical management theorists, Fayol, Katz and Mintzberg, in order to co-ordinate the organisation using the contemporary contingency approach.
The contingency approach to management is based on the idea that there is no one best way to best way to manage and in order to be effective,
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