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Introduction to Modern Management Lindsay Bursar Aspen University Abstract Throughout history many different theories have been developed, researched, written about and put to the test in actual work place setting to see how well they work and how effective they are. Lower-level management, comprehensive analysis of management and human relations movement in management theory are Just a few of them. Each theory was and still is important in today’s modern business world.
Every theory has had some kind of impact on the new theories in management that eave come about since then and will still continue to have an impact in the future. It’s important that managers now and managers in the future are educated on these different management theories so that they can provide the support and education to their employees need and deserve. This will foster a positive work environment that will lead to increased productivity and success within companies. Every company must have good, competent managers in order to survive and be successful.
Module 1 Introduction to Modern Management Assignments: Essay Questions “Managers should be paid more than regular employees. ” Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer in scholarly detail. There are many reasons management should be paid more than a regular employee. One of the reasons being the workload managers take on and another being the necessary skills that a manager must possess to name Just a few. As a current member of management at the hospice agency I work for, I agree that management should be paid more.
However, I agreed with this before I became management as well. As a regular employee I saw everyday how different the workload was between a regular employee and management. According to a recent study an average manager is actually worth 1. 75 employees (Edwards, 2012). After being promoted into my current management position, I agree with this statement 100%. Now instead of doing the Job of one, I’m doing the Job of three and still manage to get everything done and in on time or ahead of a deadline while also managing my employees.
Employees in my old position who have the workload of only one sometimes struggle to meet the same deadlines. The expectation of productivity is much higher for a manager versus those of a regular employee. The importance of a good manager cannot be stressed enough. Management influences every aspect of an organization from top management to lower level management (Cert. & Cert., 012). If any organization or company intends on being successful then it is of the utmost importance that they hire good management because these people are the ones who lead the company towards their goals and towards success.
Good management must have the skills to carry out the four basic management functions; planning, organizing, influencing and controlling (Cert. & Cert., 2012). Without these skills any member of management would be ineffective and unsuccessful. Managers should be paid more than regular employees because not every employee in an organization possesses these skills. If every employee did, the need for management would be obsolete. “Discuss in scholarly detail why it is important for managers to be aware of cultural differences in their dealings with people. One of the biggest reasons it’s important for management to aware of cultural difference is because of the increase in multi-national businesses and business deals. In today’s business world an increasing number of companies have started doing business with people from different countries and cultures. Because of this trend of globalization, it is very important that managers understand and respect cultural differences. If differences in customs and culture are not known or not respected, business deals can quickly go south and be lost (Brown).
Managers must know what kind of behaviors would be inappropriate in situations where you are dealing with people from other cultures in order to avoid doing anything that would be deemed rude or disrespectful. They need to be able to teach their employees what is acceptable and prepare their employees and themselves for interactions where this knowledge is paramount. One of the best things managers can to do to prepare their staff for these interactions is cultural awareness training (Acculturates! Consulting, 2011).
By giving staff cultural awareness training they’re being given the tools to learn about the customs and cultures they’ll be interacting with. Employees will go to meetings for business deals or potential business deals armed with the cultural knowledge to ensure that they will not offend or come across as disrespectful. This training and knowledge that managers give to their employees will enable them to be culturally sensitive. This will make not only the employees, but also the company move forward and be successful in the international business world. How is lower-level management analysis different from comprehensive analysis of management? Is the latter approach suitable for an organization focusing on increasing productivity by concentrating on the ‘one best way to perform a task? Explain your answer in scholarly detail! ” According to Cert. & Cert. (2012), “lower-level management analysis concentrates on the ‘one best way to perform a task” (p. 28). This means each task a worker does is closely looked at and studied to come up with the most efficient way to complete the task that will yield the highest production.
This approach is also known as the scientific method of management (Cert. & Cert., 2012). Frederick W. Taylor has come commonly known as the creator of scientific management. While Taylor worked at Bethlehem Steel Co. His goal was to increase worker efficiency and productivity. He did this on the idea that “every Job had one best way to do it and that this way should be discovered and put into operation” (Cert. & Cert., 2012, p. 29). This approach differs from the comprehensive analysis of management because it looks at very specific tasks and simplifies each task as much as possible to create efficiency.
Comprehensive analysis of management focuses on “the entire range of managerial performance” (Cert. & Cert., 2012, p. 32). Whereas lower-level management analysis or scientific management focused more on the micro aspects of how to efficiently do a Job, comprehensive analysis of managements focuses on the macro aspects. Henry Payola was very influential in creating a management philosophy for the comprehensive analysis of management (Cert. & Cert., 2012). So much so that the general ideas and principles of management that he wrote about are still considered very useful in today’s management world.
Payola had 14 main principles of management that cover many different topics and believed that having managerial excellence is an ability that can be obtained (Summon, 2010). The three biggest principles that Payola focused on were “organizational efficiency, the handling of people, and appropriate management action” (Cert. & Cert., 2012, p. 33). These principles can be seen being used in modern management today. I believe that using the comprehensive analysis of management is suitable to use in an organization that is focusing on the “one best way’ to do a Job to increase the organizations productivity.
While Frederick W. Tailor’s contributions to the management world were very influential and important, they are also unpopular because of the extreme his ideas went to. In order to increase productivity the whole many should first be working towards a common goal or direction. If a company is focusing solely on the “one best way’ to complete a task, that is the goal there are focusing on first with increased productivity second. By focusing on the “one best way,” other aspects and employees in a company are being ignored which ultimately will not lead a company towards increased productivity.
Looking at a company and the company’s goal in a comprehensive view is what will help achieve the goal of increased productivity. Everything and everybody must work in conjunction with one other to reach their goals. Discuss in scholarly detail the human relations movement in management theory. How would you, as a manager in an organization, use the human relations approach to manage employees? ” According to Cert. & Cert. (2012), the human relations movement is “a people- oriented approach to management in which the interaction of people in organizations is studied to Judge its impact on organizational success” (p. 5). This movement was started because of the Hawthorne studies that were conducted from 1927 to 1932 by Professor Elton Mayo (Cert. & Cert., 2012). These studies gave managers a lot to think about and a new direction to start researching. The human relations movement focuses more on employees as individuals instead of focusing on procedures and policies in the workplace (Ziegler, 2014). Instead of a company environment that focuses on quotas and procedures, the environment focuses on communication between managers and employees.
With a better understanding of employees and an environment more focused on communication, production and success for a company can actually increase. If the workplace is negative, noncommittal and unproductive, then there are some big changes that would need to be made. As a manager I would use this knowledge o learn about my employees and find out what motivates them to work more efficiently and productively. I would figure what exactly would help create commitment to the company from employees and grow off of that.
I would start building relationships between management and employees to strengthen the unity within the company to continue working towards the common goal of success. If an attitude of commitment and high productivity can be grown and fostered within the employees then the manager is doing a good Job of creating an effective work environment. Good relationships with the employee’s means employees are titivated and will work harder and more productively. “Discuss in scholarly detail how a manager’s understanding of his employees’ physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs improve productivity? Managers must have human relations skills in order to be effective. Human relations skills are defined as “the ability to work with people in a way that enhances organizational success” according to Cert. & Cert. (2012). It’s important that managers understand Mascots Hierarchy of Needs to improve productivity within their employees. The five levels of Mascots Hierarchy of Needs are physiological, feet, social, esteem and self-actualization (Burton, 2012). In order for people to achieve the top level of self-actualization, each of the other levels must first be fulfilled starting with the lowest and then making the way up the hierarchy.
These five levels are not only pertinent to people’s lives outside of work but also their lives and well-being in the work place. The first level, physiological, is people’s need for air, food, sleep, etc. If an employee doesn’t have those basic needs met then they come to work tired or feeling sick and their productivity will be decreased. The second level, feet, has to do with people’s need to feel secure. Within the workplace, employees need to feel safe and secure in their Job on a daily basis to keep up their productivity. The third level, social, refers to peoples need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Within a company it’s important that employees feel valued and part of a team. The fourth level, esteem, is what will make employees feel confident. After an employee masters a skill and is recognized for it, their self-esteem will rise. This can lead to an increase in productivity because they are proud of themselves and what they’ve accomplished. The last level is self-actualization. An employee strives to the best that they can and be all that they can possibly be. Once that is reached, the employee will be satisfied within their Job. They’ll feel accomplished and part of a team.