Management Challenges in the 21st Century
Management Challenges in the 21st Century
Introduction
The traditional management education and training relies heavily on left-brain thinking, deductive reasoning and analytical thinking. The managers of the future require a different set of skills based on the functioning of the right-brain like holistic or systems thinking, intuitive problem-solving and value-driven decision-making.
While state parastatals could benefit from a number of these corporate lessons, readers should be clear about the many ways in which government agencies differ from corporate entities. In the corporate world, a single metric – profits – surpasses all others in importance. By contrast, a government organization must achieve success across a wide spectrum of activities. There is no equivalent to the simplifying discipline of a corporate balance sheet. Corporations must adapt or risk bankruptcy, and publicly held companies are accountable to shareholders who scrutinize their performance and profitability each quarter. These factors present strong incentives for corporations to invest in and drive change. The government organisations, in contrast, adapts only because of the will of its leaders and staff. If it dawdles, it does not come under threat of bankruptcy or risk the ire of shareholders. However, the consequences of strategic failure at the parastatals can be far greater than that of a corporation. The Evolutionary Context
The best minds in management were thoughtful and precise in identifying the management challenges of the 21st century. However there is nothing entirely new in the list of challenges. Most of them are part of the new and emerging paradigm in management, discussed and debated in the growing management literature on this subject. However what is lacking in the discussion is a clear and precise understanding of the change or evolutionary transition which humanity as a whole is going through. In other words, first we have to understand and identify
Introduction
The traditional management education and training relies heavily on left-brain thinking, deductive reasoning and analytical thinking. The managers of the future require a different set of skills based on the functioning of the right-brain like holistic or systems thinking, intuitive problem-solving and value-driven decision-making.
While state parastatals could benefit from a number of these corporate lessons, readers should be clear about the many ways in which government agencies differ from corporate entities. In the corporate world, a single metric – profits – surpasses all others in importance. By contrast, a government organization must achieve success across a wide spectrum of activities. There is no equivalent to the simplifying discipline of a corporate balance sheet. Corporations must adapt or risk bankruptcy, and publicly held companies are accountable to shareholders who scrutinize their performance and profitability each quarter. These factors present strong incentives for corporations to invest in and drive change. The government organisations, in contrast, adapts only because of the will of its leaders and staff. If it dawdles, it does not come under threat of bankruptcy or risk the ire of shareholders. However, the consequences of strategic failure at the parastatals can be far greater than that of a corporation. The Evolutionary Context
The best minds in management were thoughtful and precise in identifying the management challenges of the 21st century. However there is nothing entirely new in the list of challenges. Most of them are part of the new and emerging paradigm in management, discussed and debated in the growing management literature on this subject. However what is lacking in the discussion is a clear and precise understanding of the change or evolutionary transition which humanity as a whole is going through. In other words, first we have to understand and identify