General Overview Of Management

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

This report is prepared in response to a request by a senior executive at a construction company in the process of a merger. The report was commission to review management, its theories and factions as well as an organisational structure, motivation and leadership style.

Most importantly, this report is written in order to make suggestion, recommendations and proposal for the merger of the two companies for the purpose of smooth transition, better management and increased productivity.

1.0 General overview of management

Management is the combination and coordination of processes that are used by organisations in handling available resources in order to achieve predetermined goals in an effective and efficient manner. Management comprises of all the efforts made either individually or collectively by members of an organisation in achieving an organisations objectives. Mullins (2005, pp34) states that "Management is an integral part of, and fundamental to, the successful operations of the organisation. Management is therefore the cornerstone of organisational effectiveness, and is concerned with arrangements for the carrying out of organisational processes and the execution of work".

Many authors have made an attempt at defining the meaning of management and some of the universally accepted definitions are:

"Management is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control" (H. Fayol, 1916)

"Management is a social process. The process consists of planning, control, coordinate and motivation" (E.F.L. Brech, 1975)

"Management is an operational process initially best deserted by analysing the managerial functions. The five managerial functions are: planning, organising, staffing, directing and leading and controlling." (Koontz and O’donnell, 1984)

"Management is active not theoretical. It is about changing behaviour and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them and achieving results. Indeed, all research into how managers spend their time reveals that they are the creatures of the moment, perpetually immersed in the nitty-gritty of making things happen." (Crainer, S, 1998)

1.2 Functions of management

Management is essential to the success of organisations and as such every organisation has in some way developed and implemented managerial concepts that suit its size and type of work in achieving their goals. In making strategic, tactical and operational decisions, organisations usually use four basic functions of management which are: planning, organising, leading, and controlling.

1.2.1 Planning

Planning is the most fundamental part of all management processes and activities. It is the foundational core of management onto which other parts are built upon. It involves the evaluation of an organisations status and resources and identification of the potential and future prospects of the company.

Planning requires the evaluation and definition of organisations short term and long term goals and objectives. It also entails the identification of appropriate strategies and methods of achieving the set goals.

Planning is an ongoing dynamic process that is continually modified as necessary to adjust to internal and external factors that affect the organisation in a strategic way. During planning management makes a realistic and comprehensive analysis that determines the organisation strengths and weaknesses as well as the treats and opportunities.

1.2.2 Organising

Organising is a management process in which the human, material and financial resources of an organisation is synchronised and coordinated in implementing the organisations objectives and goals determined in the planning process. It involves the identification of all the activities and the assignment of duties to appropriate departments and workers. Through the process of organising, management would set up the internal structure of the organisation and delegate responsibilities, resources and roles to each department. Additionally, authority and power are classified and delegated to appropriate positions and channels of coordination and interdepartmental relationship is set up.

1.2.3 Leading

Leading is a process in management through which the staff behaviour is moulded towards a high level of commitment and motivation in order for employees to go above and beyond their job performance in achieving the organisational goals and objectives. Good leadership is important in maintaining a productive work environment and maintaining efficiency. Leadership deals with the interpersonal aspect of management that involves the use of power, persuasion, supervision, motivation and communication with staff in efficiently carrying out day to day activities of an organisation.

1.2.4 Controlling

This aspect of management entails the continuous evaluation of the performance and progress of the organisational task and activities which are then compared to preset standards in order to determine any drop in standards.

It is in this process that ongoing and potential problems are identified and corrective and preventative measures are made. Controlling requires creative problem solving in efficient and effective yet economically viable manner.

2.0 Management theory

Management theory is a set of ideas that form the general rules on how organisations and businesses are managed. It addresses the relationship between staff, the organisational goals and the way these goals are achieved.

Management has being in existence since the dawn of communal societies of the stone age where men organised themselves according to intelligence, physical and mental attributes in carrying out tasks. The use of more complex and well recognised management principles have being recorded Greece, the Catholic Church and military forces where there are well defined organisational structures.

The foundations of modern managerial theories can be found in the period of industrial revolution during which the pioneers of management theories shaped the world of management forever with the creation of management theories and practices that solved the complex and chaotic problems of industrial management. The theorist attempted to find the best way to organise and handle staff in an industrial scale for the first time in history.

There are many authors that shaped management but the key contributors are:

Different period of management:

1. Scientific Management:

(i)Fredrick Taylor.

(ii)Henry L.Gantt.

(iii)Frank and Lillian Gilberth.

2. Administrative/Operational Management

Henri Fayol.

3. Behavioral Science:

Munster berg.

4. System Theory.

Chester Barnard

5. Modern Management /Recent contribution to management thoughts.

Peter F.Drucker 1974.

Edwards.

Thomas Peter & Robert Waterman.1982

2.1 School of management thought

The concept of management has been practiced for thousands of years and it is important to have a basic knowledge and understanding of important historical developments in the field of management so as to have a deep appreciation of management and the recognition of how historical developments have contributed to current practices. The review of past and present approaches to management enables a manager to identify the strengths and weakness of managerial practices and help in choosing the appropriate management style.

School of management thought is the theoretical framework that is used to classify and organise the voluminous information about management in a sensible manner. The present concept of management is a product of long and complicated evolutionary process that resulted in the emergence of schools of management thought. There are still disagreements as to the number of management schools and for the sake of staying on point, this report would discuss the three basic approaches; classical approach, behavioural approach and management approach.

2.1.1 The classical school

The classical school of management thought emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of the industrial revolution in response to the rapid growth of manufacturing by handicrafts to large factories. Even though the classical approach to management is the oldest formal school of management, it is still accepted and practiced by some managers in the modern era. The classical approach to management is subdivided into three subgroups:

Scientific management

Administrative management

Bureaucratic management

Scientific management

Scientific management emerged in the late 19th century to attempt to create new and revolutionary management thinking due to the fact there were no systemic management practices and staff productivity was very low. This approach was introduced so as to improve productivity through the efficient use of resources. It is describes as a systemic study of work methods in order to improve efficiency. Frederick W. Taylor was the pioneer and main proponent of scientific management along with major contributors like Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry Gantt, and Harrington Emerson.

The basic principles of scientific management are:

The use of scientific methods to determine the best method for accomplishing each element of a workers tasks as opposed to the general use of rule of thumb

The scientific selection of workers based on qualification and to ensure proper training, development and specialisation of workers to perform optimally on a task.

The encouragement of cooperation between workers and managers so those tasks are performed in the designed manner.

The organisation of staff into specific roles where managers create and supervise plans and workers carry out the plan.

The use of wage incentive as a way to increase performance

These basic principles became basic guidelines for management in the 20th century and it had tremendous influence on management practice to the extent that some mangers still use some of these principles. Scientific management has greatly influenced the study of management and organisations.

Administrative management

Administrative management is the systemic study of management process and principle at an organisational level. Unlike scientific management which deals with productivity at an individual level, administrative management focuses on the productivity of the entire organisation. The major contributor to this theory was Henry Fayol who argued that management was a universal process consisting of functions of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Fayol also developed a set of fourteen general principles of management. These are:

Division of labour

Authority and responsibility

Discipline

Unity of command

Unity of direction

Subordination of individual interests to the general interest to the common goal

Remuneration

Centralisation

Scalar chain

Order equity stability of personnel

Equity

Stability of personnel

Initiative

Esprit de corps

Bureaucratic management

Bureaucracy is a form of organisational management characterised by fixed rules, hierarchy, impersonal relationships, rigid adherence to procedures, and a highly specialized division of labour. Bureaucracy was developed by by a German Sociologist and political economist Max Weber (1864-1920). It focuses on the ideal form of organization where there are precise definition and role and procedures which help in eliminating conflicting duties reducing waste and improving efficiency. Bureaucracy forms the basis of modern organisation theory and organisations that use it are criticised for being inflexible.

3.0 Organisational structure

Organisational structure is the formal framework that describes the function, task and authorities of departments and individuals within an organisation. It also outlines the relationship between departments and employees through the use of a line of command, communication and procedures.

Organisational structure used to facilitate and enhance the progress of different processes in an organisation by providing a proper framework and coordination mechanism.

Organisational design is the process of developing an organisations formal structure, informal attitude, decision making and culture in order to achieve the most successful possible performance. There are six key elements in organisational design and they include:

Division of work or work specialisation

Departmentalization

Chain of command

Span of control

Centralisation and decentralisation

Formalisation

3.2 types of organisation structure

Organisations are structured in different ways to accomplish specific goals. The level of success and profit of a company can be high or low depending on how well an organisation is structured. There are three main types of organisational structures: functional, divisional and matrix.

3.2.1 Functional structure

This is a type of organisational structure in which the organisation is divided into groups according to tasks and activities. For instance the marketing department would be involved with advertising and the production department would be involved in the production process. This type of organisational structure is extremely beneficial to small businesses in which each department can rely on the talent and knowledge of its workers and support itself. On the other hand the coordination and communication between departments can be restricted by the organizational boundaries of having the various departments working separately.

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3.2.2 Divisional structure

Divisional organizational structure organizes the activities of a company around geographical, market, or product and service groups. This type of structure is typically used by large companies that operate in a large geographic area or a company that has several separate smaller organizations within the umbrella group to cover different types of products or market areas.

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Divisional structure

3.2.3 Matrix structure

Matrix structure classifies the activities and staff of a company by both product and function. It is a hybrid system that combines the benefits of divisional and functional structure and it is typically used in large multinational companies.

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4.0 leadership style

Leadership is the process of influencing people to accomplish an objective and directing an organisation in a more cohesive and coherent way. Leaders on the other hand, are individuals that influence others through their actions to achieve a common goal. In simple words, leadership is an influence process.

The process of leadership is carried out by the use of attributes and traits including beliefs, values, ethics, character knowledge and skills.

4.1 characteristics of leadership

Scholars have made countless theories about the skills and traits in an attempt t to define an effective leader. The most widely accepted traits of leaders are mentioned below.

Ambition and drive

Motivation

Integrity

Cognitive ability

Self confidence

Knowledge

4.2 Leadership style

Leadership style is the manner in which a leader directs, influences and inspires people in implementing and accomplishing a common task. There are several types of leadership styles and some studies have suggested that a manager’s leadership style was responsible for 30% of the company’s bottom-line profitability.

The common leadership styles are as follows:

Autocratic – in autocratic leadership, the manager retains power and decision making authority. Subordinates are required to follow orders without question and motivation is provided through structured reward and punishment. Autocratic leadership is usually used when there is limited time for decision making or when there are inexperienced employees.

Bureaucratic – this is a type of leadership where everything is done according to preset policies and procedure. The use of good judgment or discretion is discouraged. Bureaucratic leadership is usually used where the use of cash is involved or where there is the use of dangerous and delicate equipment.

Democratic – it is a participatory style of leadership where decision making and problem solving responsibilities are shared by employees. This type of leadership is used when there are complex problems that require a lot of input

Coercive – coercion usually comes from the ability of a leader to punish staff in order to force compliance. The use of coercive power usually discouraged and leaders only use it as a last resort in times of crisis.

Transactional – is leadership process that focuses on the motivation of staff by appealing to their self-interest. It is a form of an exchange process where workers rewarded for high achievement with desirable rewards.

Transformational – it is an inspirational leadership style where the workers are inspired to transcend there self interest for the organisation. It is usually used to motivate workers by instilling a sense of purpose to the workers.

Laissez-faire – this is a hands-off approach to leadership where the employees are given a lot of authority and power. It is used when the employees are highly skilled and professionals in there line of duty.

5.0 Motivation

Motivation is the force that drives an individual to behave in a certain way or engage in a specified activity. Motivation is an important element of effective management that determines how diligently staffs dedicate themselves to their work. A highly motivated worker would work harder while an unmotivated worker would be less enthusiastic which leads to less productivity.

Motivation is a complex and variable phenomenon that is broadly classified into three set of needs and expectations: economic reward, intrinsic satisfaction and social relationship. The extent to which these set if needs and approach are met determines the job satisfaction and work performance.

5.1 motivational theories

Mangers need highly motivated workers for efficient and effective output thus, motivation and the cause of human behaviour have been the focus of a lot of researchers and theorist. A lot of motivational theories have been postulated and motivational theories provide a framework for the best way to motivate workers.

There are two basic classifications of motivational theories: The content theories and the process theories. Content theories focus on the nature of needs and what motivates whereas process theories focus on the dynamic variables that make up motivation and the actions required to influence the behaviour.

5.1 CONTENT THEORIES

5.1.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model

The basic premise of this theory is that people are driven by need and once they satisfy that need, they move on to another need so serve as motivation. Maslow identified those needs and arranged them in a hierarchical order as follows.C:\Users\AWBULAMA\Desktop\Maslow's_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png

5.1.2 Alderfer’s modified need hierarchy model

Alderfer’s theory is a modification of maslow’s theory from 5 to three. It also argues that needs are not hierarchical rather they are continuum. It also suggest that more than one need can be activated unlike Maslow’s theory where only one need is activated.

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5.1.3 Herzberg’s two factor theory

Herzberg provides another theory in which he postulates that there are two factors impact motivation:

Hygiene factors- these are job factors related to job context and environment that causes dissatisfaction if absent. They include salary job security organisational policies etc.

Motivators or growth factors- these are factors that are related to job content which include achievement, responsibility etc.

5.1.4 McClelland’s achievement motivation theory

McClelland’s theory is based on the premise that everyone priotizes needs differently and thus he identified four specific needs:

Achievement motive

Power motive

Affiliative motive

Avoidance motive

He further characterised people into high achievers and low achievers and suggested ways to improve achievement drive.

5.2 PROCESS THEORIES

5.2.1 Expectancy theory

This theory was introduced by Victor Vroom as a widely accepted theory of motivation. Expectancy theory says that staffs are heavily influenced by the expected outcome of their actions. Motivation is a function of the relationship between:

Effort expended and perceived level of performance.

The expectation that rewards will be related to performance.

The expectations that rewards are available.

Thus, the level of performance of employees is greatly dependent on the perceived expectation regarding effort expended and achieving the desired outcome.

Other process theories are Equity theory, goal theory and reinforcement theory.

6.0 Quality

6.1 Quality

Quality is a very topical and subjective concept that is very difficult to define in a concise manner. Many people define quality in many dimensions and perspectives. Harvard professor David Garvin, in his book Managing Quality, summarized five principal approaches to defining quality: transcendent, product based, user based, manufacturing based, and value based. Crosby (1986) defines quality as "conformance to requirement. Juran (1995) meanwhile defines quality as fitness of purpose. A more expansive definition of quality is stated by Feigenbaum (1991) as "the total composite product and service characteristics of marketing, engineering, manufacture and maintenance through which the product and service in use will meet the expectation by the customer".

Construction quality is defined by Leon (1995) by stating that " in the construction realm, quality is directly linked to the formal contract requirement, specs, agreement, client preferences and instruction that undoubtedly influence every technical and commercial decision made from the boardroom to the project site". The standard used to asses quality of workmanship in construction is the quality assessment system in construction or QLASSIC.

There are also 8 quality management principles which include:

Customer-Focused Organisation

Leadership

Involvement of People

Process Approach

System Approach to Management

Continual Improvement

Factual approach to decision making

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

6.2 TQM

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy that says that uniform commitment to quality in all areas of an organization promotes an organizational culture that meets consumers' perceptions of quality.( CliffsNotes.com)

Mullins 2005 describes the principles of TQM as:

"The key elements of TQM have been identified by Pentecost as:

â–  a total process involving all operations and management units in the organisation,

and led from the top;

â–  the customer as king with every strategy, process and action directly related to satisfying

customers’ needs;

â–  a greater emphasis on rational information collection and analysis using modern

technology where appropriate;

â–  an emphasis on a different approach to looking at the costs of poor quality by

examining all processes in the organisation which add to costs;

â–  a greater involvement of people, recognising that they are a great untapped

resource in most companies;

â–  teamwork as crucially important, involving multi-discipline and multi-level working

to solve problems and to meet customers’ needs; and

â–  the requirements for creative thinking and the ability to think beyond the immediate

job or work environment."

6.3 ISO

ISO (international organisation for standardization) is an international organisation that sets international standards in industrial, commercial and proprietary organisations. It develops international standards in various aspects of technology and business which organisations voluntary sign up to so as to make their organisations effective and efficient. It publishes the international standard for quality for systems which is a technical document that sets out the minimum requirement of safety and quality. In some cases, ISO standards are made to be mandatory with relevant laws and regulation in some countries.

7.0 Recommendations

7.1 Management theories adopted

A construction company is a complex organisation that involves a lot of activities and as such management at a personal level would be difficult. Rather, Management an organisational level would suit the construction company because all the activities and employees would focus on productivity at an organisational level thus, an administrative management process is recommended.

7.2 Organisational structure

Despite the fact that construction can be a chaotic process, it is important that all the processes and individuals work in harmony in order to archive organisational objectives in effective and efficient manner. Construction companies are usually departmentalized and sub grouped into separate entities. But it doesn’t have to be this way the new Raine and Horne properties; they should adopt the matrix structure of organisational structure in order to benefit from the advantages of both functional and divisional structure. This would allow for a harmonious and cooperative work environment for the workers.

7.3 leadership style

Leadership is an important component in running a successful organisation. As discussed earlier a manager’s leadership style can responsible for 30% of the company’s bottom-line profitability. As a general policy, transformational leadership style should be adopted in order to inspire workers to transcend self interest for the greater good of the organisation. However, there are times that would create the necessity for other leadership styles to be adopted and it is recommended that some leadership styles should be used temporarily for instance in the case of an emergency.

7.4 strategies for motivation

Motivation is an important element of effective management that improves the productivity of workers and affects job satisfaction. There are several theories of motivation but the carrot and stick of approach of reinforcement theory is recommended. This is due to the fact that reinforcement theory reward hard work and diligence and discourage bad performance and bad behaviour of workers by the use of penalties.

7.5 ISO applied

It is recommended that 2 ISO should be adopted:

ISO 9001:2008 – quality management systems

ISO 14001:2004 – environmental management systems

These ISO are recommended they help the company archive customer satisfaction and quality standards with minimal effect on the environment.

Quality policy

The company should be steadfast in the struggle to meet customer needs at the highest quality and committed to constructing buildings and infrastructure at the best quality, time and cost. They should strive to keep the motivation of workers high and adopt the principle of continual improvement.

Conclusion

This report is a comprehensive essay that critically reviews management in the hope of giving an opinion and making recommendation for the merger of two companies. It was successful in formulating salient recommendation and strategies for the company merger. It overviews the principles of management and its factions and then goes on to discuss the theories of management. Additionally, organisational structure, leadership style, motivation and quality are examined.

Using constructive reasoning and arguments, this report was able to justify the recommendations offered to the merging companies in order for a smooth transition into a bigger and better organisation.