UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION

MEDIA MANAGEMENT (MC 412)

MANAGEMENT THEORIES: IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATION IN MASS MEDIA

BYIGBODO ODOMERO REX

2007/149254

LECTURER: PROF. I. NDOLO

MAY 2011.

INTRODUCTION

Management has as many definitions as there are managers. The

multiplicity of definitions depends largely on the viewpoint and background of the

various authors.

According to Ibekwe(1984), management means achieving stated

objectives (usually to produce certain goods and services) by directing human and

other resources towards those ends. Management also means the process of

utilizing the resources of the firm to accomplish designated objective.

Sina (2002:2-3) presented some definitions of management given by

scholars as: “the art of getting things done through others” (Mary Parker) an

outstanding management scholar who adds that management means “making

sensible working arrangements.

Henri Fayol (1916) provides a classical description of management by

saying that: to manage is to forecast and plan to organize, to command, to

coordinate and to control.

However, Williams et al (1985), define management as “the process of

utilizing organizational resources to achieve specific objective through the

functions of planning, organizing, deciding and controlling.

One of the most durable contributions of administrative theorists is the

study of management as a set of functions. Fayol was an early advocate of this

approach in his idea that the best way to understand an organization is to study its

administrative apparatus-its management. (Norbert, 2001).

DUTIES OF MANAGERS IN MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

For proper understanding of the duties of a manager, it is imperative to know

that management does not take place only at the top level in a media organization

where the board of directives initiates corporate policies. It manifests at any level.

While the first line managers like shift editors, senior producers, senior presenters

and news editors engage in direct supervision of staff, their roles are as important

as those of the top and middle level management. Generally, managers in a media

organization perform the following duties:

They are involved in decision making on how to make the organization

realize its objective. They do this by being broadminded enough to

consider all available alternatives before deciding on staff recruitment,

expansion and contraction of activities and the introduction of new

publications, programmes, and specialized pages.

They engage in periodic review and evaluation, reporters, producers,

presenters, photojournalists, e.t.c are assessed periodically for efficient

discharge of duties by the immediate boss.

Media managers engage in policy formulation for the organization. The

top management performs this task. For example, policies on staff

welfare, recruitment and training are initiated and approved by it.

Policies on new fund generation initiatives and new focus to

publications, programmes and other media output are also formulated

for implementation down the line.

Media managers engage in short-term, medium-term and long term

planning. For example, they decided in advance what to do, how to do

it, when to do it and who to do it after examining all alternative courses

of action.

They communicate information on new policies and developments

within the organization to their subordinates.

PURPOSE OF MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Although the purpose of media management varies with ownership (whether

government-owned or privately-owned) there are certain motives common to them

in this era of commercialization.

i. To make profit for the organization by tapping the abundant opportunities

in the business environment.

ii. To build and head a virile team of dedicated workers that can make

information available at affordable cost for public good.

iii. To make it possible for individuals to read not just the word, but also the

world in which they live in their era of globalization.

iv. To study, predict and forecast changes in the organizations macro-

environment and to adapt to such changes.

v. To set out the main objectives of the organization and provide resource

necessary for their accomplishment.

vi. To plan, organize, lead and direct the efforts of others towards the

accomplishment of organizational goals.

vii. To facilitate the realisation of the organizations objectives with the least

amount of input e.g. man, money, time, materials, effort and discomfort.

viii. To assist the organization in achieving growth and reputation as

information provider.

MANAGEMENT THORIES

Management theories are attempts to isolate and explain the key elements

in the practice of management, in order to identify the most effective methods.

WHAT IS A THEORY?

Gordon Marshall (1996) defines a theory as: an account of the world which

goes beyond what we can see and measure. Just as Sellitz, C. Wrightman, L.S.,

and Cook, S.W. (1976) define theory as: a set of concepts and rules for defining

and measuring the concepts and the relation”. It embraces a set of interrelated

definitions and relationships that organizes our concept of and understanding of

the empirical world in the systematic way”.

2.2 CLASSICAL THEORIES

The theories in this category focus on the efficient production of goods and

services. They are mainly concerned with profit maximization by entrenching

efficient work-methods. Classical theory views humans as either machine tools or

cogs in the machine. (Ogungameru, 2004). Major theorists in this class were

practical managers who had theorized about their experiences in management

principles applicable in various situations. Some well know exponent of classical

approach are Frederick Taylor, (1856-1915) and Henri Fayol, (1941-1925).

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

Frederick Taylor: (1856-1915).

Frederi`ck Taylor, who was one of the early practical manager-theorists

called for the application of principles of science to the study of work and

management He said, work should be broken down into small, efficient,

measurable units and that workers should be paid a certain amount per unit of

work done. Each operation, he advocated, should be noted and timed with a stop

watch.

In applying scientific approach to management, Taylor suggested the

developing a science for each operation to replace opinion and rule of thumb,

determining accurately the correct time and method for each job as well as setting

up a suitable organization to take all responsibility from the workers except that of

actual job performance (i.e. separation of management from implementation),

selecting and training workers for jobs they are well suited.

Taylor’s major contributions to management include the following:

a) Taylor was the first person to establish a correction between income and

productivity for example; he says that workers performance will improve if

it is tied to monetary compensation.

b) He de-emphasized the former practice whereby workers randomly selected

their own work methods, and give the management the function of planning

how work should be done.

c) Certain personal management techniques like performance appraisal,

employee selection tests , job evaluation and identification of training needs

widely used today originated from Tailor’s scientific management

principles.

Although Taylor’s contributions were great, being the first person to introduce

scientific principles into management, his principles have been criticized for

treating workers like machines. In addition, the principle regards money as the

only motivator of workers thus under rating other variables. Moreover, his

successive concern with division of labour said to have fragmented jobs, leading

to gradual loss of skills.

ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY OF MANAGEMENT

Henri Fayol (1841-1925)

Fayol was a celebrated French industrialist. In his theory, he emphasized

the major activities of an industrial concern, the elements of operations and some

general principles of management which have been adopted in various forms all

over the world. He gave the major activities of any industrial concern.

Technical activities e.g. production

Commercial activities e.g. buying raw materials and selling products.

Financial activities e.g. securing capital and using same to finance its

operation.

Security activities e.g. protecting prosperity and employees

Accounting activities e.g. compiling statistics, recording profit and taking

stock of cost.

Managerial activities e.g. forecasting and planning, organizing, controlling,

commanding, coordinating and forecasting.

Before the above activities can be carried out successfully, Fayol gave fourteen

principles of management, which must be adopted as guidelines for managerial

action as aptly captured by (Ogbuoshi, 2010:308,310; Aina, 2002:18-20),

Ogunbamerru, 2004: 44-46). Fayol, however, pointed out that they are not

absolute and should be adopted according to needs.

They are:

1) Division of work: Work should be divided into division, department, and

sections with an employee specializing in one aspect for increased

productivity.

2) Authority: Fayol also believed that official authority should be legitimized

by personal authority and aligned with responsibility.

3) Discipline: Managers and employees must follow laid-down rules and

procedures for the success of the business

4) Unity of Command: For any action whatsoever, an employee should

receive others from one of the superior.

5) Unity of Direction: Fayol consistently uses the biological analogy, seeing

the organization as an organization which should not have tow heads

6) Subordination of Individual Interests to general interest: The interest of

an individual or a group should not prevail over that of an organization he

works for.

7) Remuneration: Fayol argued that remuneration should be fair and should

be enough to motivate but should not be excessive.

8) Centralization: Each organization must find the level of centralization of

authority needed to maximize employee productivity.

9) Scalar Chain: There is a line of authority in an organization usually from

top to bottom.

10) Order: Everyone and everything must have its appointed place, although,

this may be seen as an ideal rather than an injunction to organize every last

detail.

11) Equity: All levels should treat their staff equitably. Here, Fayol is clearly

thinking in terms of employees’ perceptions rather than any hard and fast

statutes.

12) Stability of Tenure of Personnel: Allow adequate time for employees to

adjust to new work and skills demanded.

13) Initiative: People should be allowed the freedom to propose and execute

ideas at the level of an enterprise. Managers are expected to allow this at

the expense of their vanity.

14)Expirit de corps: Fayol was an advocate of what might be termed an

integrated culture. The management should encourage the spirit of

teamwork and co-operation. This will lead to harmony within the

organization.

Behavioral and Human Relations Theories.

The theorists in this school of managers unlike their classical counterparts

who were mainly interested in the structure and mechanics of organization showed

keen interest in the human factors. They believed that people are important in an

organization and that good human relation and liberal leadership can increase

output. They also stressed that groups within an organization have certain social

needs and that interaction on these informal groups often affect workers

motivation and productivity. Notable theorists in this school are Hugo

Mustenberg, Elton Mayo, Douglas Mcgregor, Lilian Gilbreth Mary Parker Follet,

Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and William Ouchi. Some of the theories

are discussed below.

Hugo Munstenberg (1963-1918) He is widely regarded as the father of

industrial psychology. His main concern was how to use psychology to raise the

level of productivity in an organization. To achieve this, he said, management

should match individuals abilities with job. He also advocated that management

should find out under what psychological conditions are the greatest and most

satisfaction output can be obtain from each worker. He conducted many

experiments to support his views, which result in the development of aptitude test

to select qualified personnel. Modern vocational guidance techniques used to

identify skills needed on job and to measure applicants skills are Mustenberg

ideas.

The Hawthorne Studies:

The term Hawthorne effect is used to describe the impact management of

attention on employee productivity. Perhaps, the greatest influence in the

development of the human relations approach to management was the work of

Harvard business profession, Elton Mayo. Elton who investigated the impact of

illumination on productivity in Hawthorne, Illinois, in the United States concluded

that productivity of workers is affected more by the human aspect of their worker

than the physical condition of the organization. The studies discovered as follows:

a) That an organization comprises both formal and informal sectors and that

the informal or unofficial groups in an organization exercise greater

influence.

b) That the need to belong to a group and have status within i.e. (social

relations at work is more important than monetary incentives or good

physical working conditions.

c) That supervisors and managers must be aware of these social needs and

cater for them to ensure co-operation between workers and management.

d) That individual employee should be regarded as a member of a work group

and as such should not be treated in isolation.

e) That special attention given to workers by the management during the

experiment raised workers output in spite of variation of physical

conditions.

f) That management must attempt to humanize the workplace by encouraging

multi-directional communication, workers participation in decision making

and flexible work procedures.

g) Mayo’s work represents an important benchmark in the development of

management through recognizing that employees have social as well as

physical and monetary needs. This era established insights into ways

management could identify and meet employee needs as well as methods to

motivate worker. Meanwhile, Mayo’s theory has been criticized for having

over-emphasized emotional and social need of employees.

Douglas McGregor (Theory X and Y): McGregor, in his book: ‘The Human

side of the enterprise’ contrasted two sets of assumptions by management about

human behaviour. The first set is called Theory X, corroborates the classical

belief that an average worker is inherently lazy and requires coercion, control and

other manipulations to work. It adds that the worker always wants to dodge

responsibility and is only interested in economic security for work not done. This

belief is similar to that of Fredrick Taylor who says an average worker indulges in

soldiering (i.e. he is naturally lazy and slows down productivity) and so requires

strict management control. Theory X also fits into Edgar Scheins view of man as

a rational economic, willing to pursue self-interest and maximizing economic gain.

However, McGregor offered a different approach to management. This he

called Theory Y. Under Theory Y, managers did not rely on control and fear but

instead integrated the needs of the workers and those of the organization.

To implement Theory Y, he advocates the use of minimum supervision, and

controls by managers and the discovery and development of each employee

potential by introducing operation methods that can lead to achievement of

organizational objectives.

Theory Z

About 25 years after McGregor came out with his Theory Y, a fellow

American W.G. Ouchi, came out with Theory Z emphasizing the need for

management to develop the ability to coordinate people, and not technology, in

their attempt to increase productivity. The theory calls for greater job security for

workers, more mutual respect between managers and subordinates and finally, a

greater decentralization of decision making.

Nevertheless, critics observed that Theory Z failed to recognize the vast

cultural differences between the two countries studied, how these differences were

manifested in business organizations and management efforts.

ABRAHAM MASLOW HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs comprises five areas of needs: physiological,

safety, social, esteem and self-actualization.

Physiological needs are for the essentials of physical survival such as food,

water, shelter and clothing. Safety and security needs can be satisfied only after

the basic physiological needs are met. Safety needs includes the need to be free of

the threat of physical danger and to live in a predictable environment. Social needs

include the need to belong and be accepted by others, while esteem needs consist

of both self-esteem and the esteem of others. They are needs for recognition.

Finally, self-actualization needs also called the fulfillment needs comprise the

needs to make fullest use of ones capabilities to develop oneself and to be creative.

In the working environment self-actualization need are satisfied through

challenging work assignments, and opportunities for advancement based upon the

principles of meritocracy.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

This is another modern approach to management theory. The origins of

TQM are usually traced to Japan where the search for improvements has led to the

production of quality products. Total quality managements can be described as a

series of approaches to emphasizing quality in organization, especially in regard to

producing products and serving both external and internal customers. A famous

scholar of TQM is Weaver (1991). Advocates of TQM agree that managers

combine strategic approaches to deliver the best products and services

continuously improving every parts of an organization. As Hand (1992) notes,

while management implements and leads total quality management in an

organization every employee must be responsible for quality. An effective use of

TQM helps an organization to ensure and maintain competitive edge over other

organizations in similar ventures.

The elements of the concept can be itemised as follows:

a) Definition of the customer and meeting customer’s requirements.

b) Continuous improvement

c) Prevention not cure

d) Zero defects

e) Contribution to profit

It must be pointed out that TQM can only be applied in an organization where

the management shows greater commitment to it. For example, the management

must encourage team work among its staff, must make cross-functional planning,

must do self-inspection, must expose employees to customers and recruit first

class people as its work force, since only quality minds can produce quality goods

and services.

MANAGEMENT THORIES AND MEDIA MANAGERS

Implication:

Since media managers are in business for success, of which profit on

investment, growth and reputation are paramount, they must adhere to some time-

tested theories and principles which sustain other organization.

Although, profit on investment in media business is not immediate,

managers need to ensure that the huge capital outlay does not go down the train.

Therefore, a good knowledge of management theories is imperative for successful

application as the need may be on the media environment. Major benefits, of

studying and practicing management theories provided by scholars are:

a) Theory trains the mind to think in an abstract and analytical fashion.

Successful managers are those who learn and abstract from their previous

experience and are able to formulate a principle applicable to the general

case, thus arming themselves with a new work tool.

b) Theory is the channel through which an accepted body of knowledge is

communicated. Without theoretical concept, managers would be left only

with their personal experiences, though a theory also provides systematic

method by which experiences can be communicated.

c) A manager who can abstract, learn and reason has advantage over one who

must inefficiently experience all management principles before they are

learned.

d) While a specific theory may not provide solutions to a problem, the

analytical process that must occur in using it will teach the manager to think

scientifically.

Application of Management Theories to Media Management:

Media managers in Nigeria are currently making use of the ideas in all the

management theories and technique that have been discoursed one way or the

other, despite the obsolescence and incompatibility of some.

The concept of division of labour advocated in the scientific management

principle and the administrative approach to management by Henri Fayol is a

time-tested concept in rise in all media organizations. Though it extent of use

depends on the size of the media and its scale of operation specialized beat

coverage is a common phenomenon in all the media today and reporter often pride

themselves as experts of information about developments on their beats. Fayol

provides a solid foundation for today’s editors who seek constructive direction for

administering their staff and newsroom. Journalism unlike other profession,

cannot operate a closed-shop, it therefore absorbs professionals from other fields

who are now performing creditably on various specialized desks in our media

houses.

In addition, print media editors and their counterparts leading programmes,

presentation and current affairs units in the electronic media always match

individuals with assigned duties and beats at recruitment and post recruitment

stages in line with Fredrick Taylor and Hugo Munstenberg’s prescriptions. Since

journalists and broadcasters are professional, they are also encouraged to attend in-

house training services and other training forums organization by external

consultants and even organizations whose beats are covered by reporters. Some

newspaper organizations often encourage the reporters to earn additional

qualification through flexible posting of staff nearest to universities and

polytechnics offering Mass Communication and other relevant programmes.

Certain personnel management techniques like periodic finance appraisal,

selection tests, job evaluation and identification of workers training needs are

Frederick Taylor’s ideas on how to improve job performance, regularly used by

editors in consultation with personnel officers in media houses, to monitor

workers’ performance and to offer rewards and punishments.

Also, only few, if any of the fourteen principles of management given by

Henri Fayol are inapplicable in media organization. Their applications however,

vary, since Fayol himself had said that they are not absolutes and are subjected to

situational variations.

As regard Elton Mayo’s Human Relations approach, its adaptation is

essential in all media houses except those where authoritarian practices are still the

norm. Media managers at all levels should try to recognize the human factors by

realizing that media professional have socio-psychological needs. Reporters,

newscasters, presenters and producers like challenging tasks whose outcome will

be openly credited to them. Reporters want their by-lines to be associated with

good stories, while presenters cherish association of their names with well

presented programmes. Newscasters equally want recognition and self-fulfillment.

In addition, their membership of informal groups within the organization should

be recognized and considered for positive awareness unlike, Fredrick Tailor’s

recognition of financial rewards as the only true motivation for increased

production. Other non-financial rewards as just mentioned are highly valued by

media professionals.

Today, total quality management is used in variety of ways to encourage

and demand high quality by media organizations. TQM has many areas of

potential application in the broadcast media, from the actual production of media

content and advertising to the use of mission statements and public relations

activities.

The TQM techniques still presents substantial application problems. This is

because most media organizations are not TQM-friendly in some areas. Although

there is a continuous attempt to meet readers, listeners and viewers taste as

exemplified by the nature of audience oriented stories and programmes being

offered, one problem that still bothers scholars is whether the media, because of

their sensitive roles, should continue to nourish audience taste for stories about

violence.

In addition, news are gathered processed and packaged under pressure and

this often makes the production of Zero-defects news products impossible.

Journalists obtain information from human and non-human sources and since

human behaviour is complex, errors of inaccuracy and falsehood are often

traceable to mischievous human resources. However, it is appropriate to note that

the preserve of gatekeepers (i.e. editors) in the news room often serves as quality

maintenance device. Also, the review of past efforts on assignment coverage and

the usual planning of strategies to cover future events done regularly at editorial

meeting are part of devices to avoid mistakes in news products. However the

continuous use of absolute equipment in news gathering and processing, poor

condition of service for workers, recruitment of staff based on subjective criterion

delay in the delivery of packaged news products, frequent errors of grammar and

semantics in stories and headlines, unnecessary proprietorial intervention with

news judgment and non-release of funds for urgent assignments by the

management are TQM-unfriendly. Moreover, the adoption of what Okoye (1998)

calls “next of kin”, “job for the boys” and “federal character” recruitment policy

by some media organizations will continue to make the employment of first class

individuals into media jobs a tall dream in the Nigeria media environment.

There are traits of Theory X and Theory Y in most media organizations.

Theory Z can be found in many electronic media organizations in such areas as

employee training, various types of fringe benefits, programmes and more direct

lines of communication with managers.

CONCLUSION

The knowledge of and application of relevant management theories guides

the working of every organization. It therefore behooves on media managers to not

only be specialists in media matters, but should equally familiarize themselves

with the principles of management.

No one management theory can solve the gamut of management problems

thus a proper and thorough blend of the relevant ones that fit into the media

environment would suffice.

REFERENCES

Aina, S. (2002). Modern media management. Nigeria: Ebensun Publishers.

ILE, M.N. (2001). Management: A functional approach. Enugu: Chumba Publishing Co. Ltd.

Ogbuoshi, L. I. (2010).Understanding newspaper management and production. Enugu: Linco Enterprises Ltd.

Ogunbameru, O.A. (2004) Organisational dynamics. Ibandan: Spectrum Books Limited.

Nwogbunyama, E. (2006). Media organisation and management. Enugu: Benalice Int. Publications