Democratic Decision-Making Undermines Successful Management
Democratic decision-making undermines successful management.
Management, as defined by Meyer et al. (2007, p.638), is ‘The planning, organising, leading and controlling of human and other resources to achieve organisational goals efficiently and effectively’. This definition portrays management as a set of process and actions, rather than an individual and their role as a manager. Management is a broad term, as there are different management styles that are used across different types of organisations and contexts. A mechanistic structure of management can be implemented in a stable organisational environment, where authority is centralised at the top of the hierarchy and more senior members control subordinates, an example of this being in Mcdonalds’ restaurants. In contrast, in an ever-changing environment such as the Google Corporation, an organic structure can be used where management is decentralized and responsibility is given to first and middle managers. Authority rests with departments best suited to the problem at hand. (Burns and Stalker Cited in Meyer et al. 2007).
Different countries and societies have different expectations of management. A study by Kawar (2012) shows that cross-cultural differences exist in management and that as a result barriers may occur in communication between cultures. In some cultures, the importance of power is emphasised in management, where the manager’s key role is to take decisions and distribute work and employees follow all directions given by managers. In contrast, in some cultures, inequality is undesirable and the manager is expected to be involved in the work itself rather than to be responsible for delegation between employees.
Decision-making is a significant part of management – whether through planning, organising, leading or controlling people or processes in a business or organisation (Meyer et al., 2007). In management, it is essential that productive decisions are made at every opportunity. Boddy et al.
Management, as defined by Meyer et al. (2007, p.638), is ‘The planning, organising, leading and controlling of human and other resources to achieve organisational goals efficiently and effectively’. This definition portrays management as a set of process and actions, rather than an individual and their role as a manager. Management is a broad term, as there are different management styles that are used across different types of organisations and contexts. A mechanistic structure of management can be implemented in a stable organisational environment, where authority is centralised at the top of the hierarchy and more senior members control subordinates, an example of this being in Mcdonalds’ restaurants. In contrast, in an ever-changing environment such as the Google Corporation, an organic structure can be used where management is decentralized and responsibility is given to first and middle managers. Authority rests with departments best suited to the problem at hand. (Burns and Stalker Cited in Meyer et al. 2007).
Different countries and societies have different expectations of management. A study by Kawar (2012) shows that cross-cultural differences exist in management and that as a result barriers may occur in communication between cultures. In some cultures, the importance of power is emphasised in management, where the manager’s key role is to take decisions and distribute work and employees follow all directions given by managers. In contrast, in some cultures, inequality is undesirable and the manager is expected to be involved in the work itself rather than to be responsible for delegation between employees.
Decision-making is a significant part of management – whether through planning, organising, leading or controlling people or processes in a business or organisation (Meyer et al., 2007). In management, it is essential that productive decisions are made at every opportunity. Boddy et al.
References: 1. Anon. (2012). ‘Keep negativity out of customer service’, Teller Vision, Vol. June 2012, No. 1418, pp.5. Academic Search Complete [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com (Accessed 9 December 2012) 2 3. Boddy, D., and Paton, S. (2011) Management An Introduction. 5th edition. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. 4 7. Kawar, T. I., (2012) Cross-Cultural Differences in Management. International Journal of Business & Social Science, Vol.3, Issue 6, pp.105-111. Academic Search Complete [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com (Accessed 11 December 2012) 8 9. Meyer, E., Ashleigh, M., George, J. M. and Jones, G. R. (2007) Contemporary Management. European Edition. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. 10. Moneyzine (2012) Democratic Leadership [Online]. Retrieved From: http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Leadership-Skill/Democratic-Leadership [Accessed 22 November 2012]. 11. Prentice, W. C. H. (2004) Understanding Leadership. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, No. 1, pp. 102-109. Academic Search Complete [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com (Accessed 9 December 2012)