Organization Behavior – Professor Joe Chevarlley
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Personal Application Assignment– Theories of Managing People
A. What is your own theory of management? You can describe it in words or draw it as a model. First, I would like to define theory as “perspectives with which people make sense of their world experiences” and as “a systematic grouping of interdependent concepts (mental images of anything formed by generalization from particulars) and principles (generalizations or hypotheses that are tested for accuracy and appear to be true reflections or explanations of reality) that give a framework to, or tie together, a significant area of knowledge. (Stoner et. al. 1995, pp. 31-2)”. That said, I believe that a manager who makes an effort to translate theory into reality is assured to increase productivity more than a manager who chooses the “trial and error” approach. My own theory of management would be focused on: 1. Motivation. Everyone has a talent. A good manager needs to match the talent of the employee with the tasks in which the employee will utilize their talent, a competitive advantage. I believe that each individual using his/her best talent will feel motivated to do a good job, to achieve his/her personal goals, and to perform their best every day. A good manager provides, and makes sure that, every employee is provided with the guidance and support to achieve their full potential. 2. Development. Development is concerned with encouraging employees to identify ways in which they want to improve their careers and other aspects of their working lives and is concerned with helping people to fulfill themselves at work. 3. Responsibility. A manager must encourage his co-workers to take extra responsibilities within an existing job role to make the work more rewarding and to give a broader range of responsibility, plus extra knowledge as well as skills development. 4. Division of Work and Specialization. Specialization