Preview

Management Fads: Only Novel, Not Practical

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
932 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Management Fads: Only Novel, Not Practical
MANAGEMENT FADS
Only novel, not practical

HasanKazmi

Many organizations are in a constant search for a simple solution that can maximize employee productivity in congruence with greater profits and happy customers. In search for the ‘quick fix’, popular administrative ideas and trends of one organization are embraced religiously by others – becoming a fad. Like fashion trends, fads also have a life cycle where it enjoys a period of fame and subsequently becomes supplanted. To figure out, a characteristic study of 2 fads, old and recent has been conducted that details performance trajectory. MBO – Management by Objective – first outlined by Peter Drucker in his book “The Practice of Management” became popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The process outlines setting objectives for the employees so as to get involved in their tasks; achieve targets and deliver the level best performance in a given time frame. MBO received a boost when it was declared to be an integral part of ‘The HP Way’, the widely acclaimed management style of Hewlett-Packard. At every level within Hewlett-Packard, managers had to develop objectives and integrate them with those of other managers and of the company as a whole. This was done by producing written plans showing what people needed to achieve if they were to reach those objectives. The plans were then shared with others in the corporation and coordinated. The widespread adoption and popularity of MBO was because it was antonymous of ‘management by control’ – an autocratic and military style controlled system of management. MBO urged the planning process to be delegated to all the members of the organization instead of the handful of high-level corporate executives. One of the founders of Hewlett-Packard, Bill Packard, credited MBO as the most successful operating policy for the company and expanded the policy to all its other sectors. MBO became popular with the advent of diversified business that demanded

coordination and



References: "10 Worst Products for Greenwashing." CBC News, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. . Horiuchi, Rina, and Lucy Shea. "Understanding and Preventing Greenwash." BSR (2009): N. pag. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. . James, Geoffery, ed. "The 8 Stupidest Management Fads of All Time." (2010): N. pag. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. . "Management by Objectives." It May Seem Obvious That Managers Must Have Somewhere to Go Before They Set Out on a Journey (2009): N. pag. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. . Miller, Danny, and Jon Hartwick. "Fore Thought." Spotting Management Fads (2002): 1-2. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Kittyhawk

    • 2354 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “HP employed a management by objective process to focus its businesses on financial goals and its people on the potential paths of innovation and strategy to achieve such goals. HP favored a decentralized organizational structure so as to allow its businesses freedom of decision-making and movement” (Christensen).…

    • 2354 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mgt 300 Study Guide - Exam 2

    • 2694 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Chapter 2: The classical approaches (scientific management, administrative principles, and bureaucratic organization) share a common assumption: people at work act in a rational manner that is primarily driven by economic concerns. Scientific Management: in 1911, Fredrick W. Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management, in which he made the following statement: “The principle object of management should be to secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for the employee. He noticed that many workers did their jobs their own ways and without clear and uniform specifications. He believed this caused them to lose efficiency and underperform. He believed the problem would be fixed by scientific management: emphasizes careful selection and training of workers and supervisory support. Principles of Scientific Management: 1. Develop for every job a “science” that includes rules of motion, standardized work implements, and proper working conditions. (Gilbreths motion study- the science of reducing a task to its basic physical motions)2. Carefully select workers with the right abilities for the job. 3. Carefully train workers to do the job and give them the proper incentives to cooperate with the job “science.” 4. Support workers by carefully planning their work and by smoothing the way as they go about their jobs. An example of its present day influence can be seen at United Parcel Service where many workers are guided by carefully calibrated productivity standards. The point is that savings of seconds on individual stops adds up to significant increases in productivity. Administrative Principles: in 1916, Henri Fayol published Administrative Industrielle et Generale, a book that identifies 5 “duties” of mgmt, which closely resemble the 4 functions of mgmt we talk about today: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Administrative Principles: 1.foresight- to compete a plan of action for the future 2.Organization- to…

    • 2694 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Manager Manifesto MAN3353

    • 1246 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An organization’s management roles can be quite different and diverse, depending on the industry, its culture and the ultimate goals of the organization. Managers on different levels of an organization play several roles and exercise multiple skills as they effectively and efficiently, integrate the work of people through planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Historically, there are three key management viewpoints: classical, behavioral and quantitative. To be an exceptional manager, it is essential to embrace a viewpoint that works best in utilizing resources and motivating employees to achieve goals successfully and deliver results.…

    • 1246 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The early success of Hewlett and Packard can be attributed to lessons learned from observation and learning; this is evident from the fact that David Packard drew heavily from his observation of the management at General Electric to draft a management style unique to Hewlett and Packard-a management style that was priceless in terms of success to the company. Parallels can be drawn to the lesson Louis Agassiz imparted to his students that observation is a powerful teacher; in fact he encouraged his students not to be content with just what they saw but to proactively discover as much as possible on a given subject. By keenly observing the effect of the GE control-oriented management style from the top-level down to the factory floor, and observing the difference in results by proactively engaging in a different management style with the same employees, Packard gained invaluable insight on how to manage his staff at his own company to reap innovative results.…

    • 633 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2 It is key that Intersect use the management style that will most effectively encourage and motivate the employees to not only believe in the companies continuing success, but also in there own. Management by objectives will allow for employee feed back to be gained allowing management to work on any of the concerns and also consider ideas that may have not been brought up.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Management has been discovered since 3000 BC in city of Ur (Iraq) where written records as a means of recording business transactions was found (Wolfgang, et al. 1995). Management was essential for every company to run their business efficiently. Without a management, businesses can’t control their workers effectively, there will be a lot of wasted motion and the outcome of the products is not very satisfying. The beginning of the twentieth century businesses were expanding and capital was available. However, labour was in short supply (Ryan, 2008). Management began looking at methods to improve efficiency. Frederick W. Taylor of the Midvale Steel Company recognized the need for scientific methods to management in order to increase productivity. He concerned to find a perfect management that can produce more products in less time and effort, and then he came up with an idea that called scientific management or often called Taylorism.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The diverse approaches to management have been fine tuned. Changed and discarded above the years. In this paper we will take a glance at the contemporary approaches. We will scrutinize how they evaluate to each other in addition to if they can be employed in the 3 sorts of environments; competitive, internal, and macro environment.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The classical school of management is thought to of originated around the turn of the current century and dominated management thinking into the 1920 's. It had one main focus and this was on the efficiency of work processes, either through bureaucratic management that focuses on rules and procedures, or scientific management which concentrates on the one best way in which a job can be done. It is now commonly considered by modern theorists that these ways of management are outdated and not completely relevant to organisations in this day and age. This essay will look to examine wether this is actually the case, through the use of personal experiences and case studies of other people and companies. Traditionally these theorists saw employees and their needs or wants as being secondary to the needs of the business, this has been seen as one of the main reasons for these theories to become outdated. However they can still be argued as useful because they introduced the theory of management and provided ideas for the development of future management.…

    • 2174 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the past companies placed a great deal of emphasis on the numbers produced and how to achieve those numbers with disregard for employees, they were moneymaking machines and how numbers were achieved was not a concern to their managers as long as the numbers were being met. Organisational behaviour studies have become more important today than in previous years because of rapidly changing business cultures that have derived from a competitive post-industrial market. A positive organisational behaviour is important for businesses because it gives them a good reputation, which therefore attracts customers. If everyone within an organisation has a shared understanding as to what the businesses organisational behaviour is then there is no confusion as to what the company’s goals and expectations are and consequently everyone is efficiently working towards the same goal of organisational success.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gomez-Mejia, L.R. & Balkin, D.B. (2002). Management and Its Evolution, 8e. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.…

    • 1840 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Michael T. Matteson and John M. Ivancevich, Management Classics, 2 ed, Goodyear Publishing Co., Inc, California, 1981, p2…

    • 2419 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Value of Flexible Management

    • 3755 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Now that there is a foundation for what management is, why is this process important? Management has the ability to realize potential and direct resources in such a way that will optimize the return on the invested resources. Managers can create opportunities of advantage and promote successful goal attainment. Herein lays the importance of this role. Effective management ensures that with the application of minimal resources, there will be a return of maximum benefits. Since there are such benefits of good management, it is helpful to explore the variety of styles. This paper will, first, outline the major styles of management. While there are many different names and classifications of management styles; there are three main types. These include autocratic, participatory, and laissez-faire. The major difference of the three styles is the degree to which the manager directs the given resources.…

    • 3755 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article When the Problem is Management, author Lawrence Sawyer takes a look at the different styles that managers have in their practice, how they can better perform their functions and how they relate to the four basic functions of management. As an internal auditor, Mr. Sawyer provides some insight to these managers in helping them and their departments make better use of the tools they have and points out what basic function they are violating. This article and its basic points relate directly to the assigned 1st week 's reading in our Management 330 textbook and is an excellent example in how to relate the reading to a real life example. Ways to improve one 's own organization or their specific department in their own organization can be taken and applied as well, as this article is an excellent review on the functions of management and how they put their practices into effect.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kaleb Nielsen

    • 1663 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Greenwood, R. (1981). Management by Objectives: As developed by Peter Drucker, Assisted by Harold Smiddy. Academy of Management. Retrieved August 9, 2009 From http://www.jstor.org/stable/257878…

    • 1663 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics