Trends in Management

Early management practitioners - Historical Evolution - OB

Henry Ford, Alfred P. Sloan, Henri Fayol and Frederick W. Taylor Emphasized more of the role of hierarchical structure, specialization, managerial functions planning & controlling; Recognized behavioral side of mgt. but gave a minor role In the past preoccupations were - Restructuring

organizations to improve productivity to face the competitive challenges (internal and domestic) in the marketplace. Resulted in lean orgs & in the short run benefits

like lowered costs and improved productivity.

Recent challenge

    

Downsizing, diversity, knowledge and information explosion, global competition, and total quality - the latest buzzwords, as well as representative of the harsh reality facing managers now and in the future. Managing new workforce (knowledge workers) and the emerging new workplaces (Knowledge organizations) & New environment - for new understanding & new people oriented

solutions.   Giving appropriate responses: No Response,

Reactive, Proactive, and Integrative

Environmental Changes:

»Globalization»Information Technology»Total Quality & »Diversity and Ethics

       

Environmental Changes:Globalization• Starting point – Changes are Global /one-world

economy. Global domination & competitiveness e.g. Golden Triangle - the trade region of North

America (US, Canada and Mexico)The Pacific Rim (Japan and the now established

“Four Tigers” South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore)

European Union - EU (Western and now Central and Eastern European countries) &

Global players like China & the export driven Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam

Environmental Changes: Information Technology

• Changes in the information technology - range

From cellular phones to staying in touch with people anywhere

To computers that handle inventory control & electronic mail that help employees communicate &

Compact disks that store and retrieve billions of pieces of information.

Impact of the Info. Tech. Flattening and downsizing of

organizations - org. structure, carried down to the redesigning of individual jobs.

E-mail facilitates everyone to be in touch with everyone else - so the need for levels of bureaucracy and long chain of command is eliminated.

Immediate transmission of messages - no need for more number of people leading to downsizing.

Impact of the info.tech.EDI (electronic data interchange) - a process by

which customers, suppliers, and manufacturers communicate directly - computer-to-computer basis

Therefore, Paperless revolution - written sales and order forms eliminated,

Information entered into computers (Neural Networks - capable of mimicking brain functions) help making faster decisions

Elimination of some jobs, reduced operating time, empowered employees, increased both productivity and profit.

Total Quality Management• Def. Many, yet a comprehensive one is “TQM is an organizational strategy with

accompanying techniques that deliver quality products and/or services to customers”.Focus - Trying to meet or exceed customer expectations.

• Characteristics of TQM: an organizational strategy not just another

technique; the way the org. is managed not just something

in addition to everything else.

Total Quality Management“Total” differentiates the approach from the traditional

inspection, quality control, or quality assurance approach.

An overall organizational strategy formulated at the top & diffused throughout the organization. Everyone top to the last man involved in the process.

Encompasses external end users/ purchasers of the product or service/ suppliers/ support personnel as well as internal customers

Total Quality Management• Both external customers as well as the internal

customers such as coworkers or other departments are the kings. “Everyone who gives or passes on anything in the organization is a supplier, & anyone who receives anything from anyone in the organization is an internal customer”.

Note: The basic understanding is that if suppliers and external support personnel do not deliver quality, then the organization cannot deliver quality to its customers.

Cultural Elements / Core values in the total

quality organization: (Luthans, 1995, p31)

  Make it right for the customer at any cost. Internal customers are as important as external

customers. Respond to every customer inquiry or

complaint by the end of the day.  Answer the phone within two rings.  The customer is always right. Not only meet customers’ expectations,

but delight the customers in the process.

Cultural Elements / Core values - TQM (Luthans, 1995, p31)

Teamwork & cooperation are more important than individual action and gamesmanship.

  Everyone is involved in the quality effort; no exceptions or bench sitting is allowed.

Respond to every employee suggestion for quality improvement within one week.

  Never be satisfied with the level of quality; always strive for continuous improvement – KAIZEN.

• Key: Cultural values for quality (not just empty slogans) must be accepted by all & drive their behaviour to deliver quality to customers.

“Quality”• Operationally defined as

“Meeting or exceeding customer expectations.” Thus quality is defined by the customer not by

the organization, or the manager or the quality control / assurance department.

customer expectations are highly individualized by age, gender, personality, occupation, location, socioeconomic class, past experience & many other variables. - The challenge is deliver quality to all customers.

Quality Service Revolution More concerned with quality service than it is

with quality product. The emphasis on service - the service sector. People conjure up an image of defect-free

products & more. Price, brand loyalty, attractive design, & technical

innovation important to consumers, & Quality of products has surged ahead

The challenge is to have the HR deliver quality products - especially - service to each other (internal customers) & to customers and clients.

Management• This is a management approach, not just a

narrow quality control or quality assurance function.

• It is a people-oriented approach & has many implications for the study and application of behavioral science.

• Three popular TQM techniques - especially relevant to behavioral science:

ReengineeringBenchmarking, & Empowerment.

Reengineering

“is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business process to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed.” (Hammer Michael and Champy James (1993), Reengineering The Corporation : A Manifesto for Business Revolution. New York, Harper Collines, p.32.).

Reengineering Involves a total redesign of operations by

analyzing jobs and asking, how can this work be done most efficiently?

Rather than modifying current work procedures, as a process it begins with a clean slate and plans the job from the beginning to end.

  Allows the organization to eliminate inefficiencies and increase productivity.

  Under reengineered process, employees must become part of and must be trained in the

new way of carrying out tasks.

Reengineering Processes

• First begins with the top management’s rethinking the basic mission of the organization & clearly deciding what business they are really in and what they want to be in. ( This provides direction for the reengineering effort and ensures that the effort is not wasted on operations that will soon be discarded since they do not fit with the organization’s mission).

• Second top management plays an active role in leading the process, ensuring overall cooperation from all the personnel.

Reengineering Processes

• Third - Management creates a sense of urgency regarding the need for reengineering, thus ensuring their commitment & effort.

• Fourth - Operations are designed from the outside in by first finding out what the customer wants or needs and then creating the structure and teamwork for providing it.

• Fifth - Involves top-down & bottom-up initiatives, to extend the reengineering process the length and breadth of the organization.

Benchmarking“is the process of comparing work and service methods against the best practices and outcomes for the purpose of identifying changes that will result in higher-quality output.” (Luthans, 1995, p.35).

• Benchmarking incorporates the use of human resources techniques such as goal setting to set targets that are pursued, identified, & then used as a basis for future action;

• involves looking both inside and outside the organization for ways of improving the operation.

Benchmarking: Benefits to the organization

as a technique helps organizations compare themselves against successful

companies for the purpose of identifying improvement strategies.

enables organizations to learn from others.

  helps create a need for change by showing the organization how procedures and work assumptions should be altered and resources reallocated.

strategies adapted for Benchmarking

Some of the companies which are cited as examples are :

• Xerox - for benchmarking process as a whole; • Motorola - for reducing quality defects; • Hewlett-Packard - for the effective use of service

representatives; • Japanese firms - for the just-in-time inventory; • Magnavox - for benchmarking applied to HRD

activities.

Empowerment“ is the authority to make decisions within one’s areas of operations without having to get approval from anyone else” ( Luthans, 1995, p.36).

• Though appears similar to delegated authority, two characteristics that make empowerment unique : (i) personnel are encouraged to use their initiative “just do it”;

(ii) employees are given not just authority but resources as well, so that they are able to make a decision and see that it is implemented.

Operationalizing Empowerment - culture

• Participation, Innovation, Access to information and Accountability (Dobbs John H., 1993)Participation –

Helps in reducing the bureaucratic red tape that prevents the employee from seizing the initiative.

Assumes that employees are willing to improve their daily work processes & relationships.

Training in empowerment help employees participate more actively & make things happen.

Embed Empowerment….contd Innovation

Empowerment encourages innovation because employees have the authority to try out new ideas and make decisions that result in new ways of doing things.

Access to Information When given access to information, willingness to cooperate & use of empowerment is enhanced. e.g. self managed teams given information they need to do their jobs & improve their productivity - profit and loss statements, manufacturing processes, & purchasing procedures.

Embed Empowerment….contd

Accountability – Employees held accountable for results.

• Intended to ensure employees give their best efforts, work toward agreed-upon goals

Behave responsibly toward each otherNot to punish or generate immediate short-

term results  

To put Empowerment into Action(a) Discard conventional, fixed ideas about doing work; (b) Think about how to do it, rather than why it

cannot be done; (c) Start by questioning current practices; (d) Begin to make improvements immediately,

even if only 50 per cent of them can be completed; &

(e) Correct mistakes immediately (Taylor and Ramsey, 1991)

For e.g. Cummins Engine provides a five-day training programme that combines empowerment with kaizen (continuous improvement) and a series of what Cummins calls “just do it principles”.

Learning Organizations• To become successful and gain a competitive

advantage Organizations must become learning organizations (Luthans, 1995, p.41).

• Portraying organizations as learning systems is

not new Frederick W. Taylor, at the turn of the century - learning on scientific management were said to be transferable to workers to make the organization more efficient.

The beginning of today’s use of the term “learning organization” is usually attributed to the work of Chris Argyris and his colleagues (Argyris and Schon, 1978 and Argyris, 1990).

Made the distinction between first order/ “single-loop,” & second-order (ordentero)/ “double-loop,” learning

Learning Organization

Single Loop Learning• involves improving org’s

capacity to achieve known objectives.

• associated with routine & behavioral learning.

• Org. learns without significant change in its basic assumptions.

Double Loop Learning • reevaluates the nature of

the org’s objectives & values/ beliefs

• involves changing the org’s culture

• consists of the org’s learning how to learn. (Ulrich el. al., 1993).

Single-loop & Double-loop

Peter Senge’s from a systems theory perspective

Adaptive Learning • Simpler & only the

first stage of the learning org.

• Adapts environmental changes.

Generative learning • involves creativity &

innovation • Moves beyond just

adaptation to change to being ahead of change

• leads to a total reframing of an org’s experiences & learning

Peter Senge’s Org.Learning – OB/HR IMPLICATIONS Taken to a more individual employee

Adaptive learning Org.

employees respond to changes in the environment with routine & standard way result in only short-run solutions.

Generative learning Org. continuous feedback &

experimentation affect the way people go about defining & solving problems.

Employees are taught how to examine the effect of their decisions & to change their behaviours as needed.

Peter Senge’s: Fifth Discipline: The art and Practice of Learning Organization. N.Y:Double Day

Senge identified 5 disciplines:• Critical to development of learning organizations• They define the characteristics of L.Orgs. that

separate them from traditional organizations.• The Five Disciplines are as follows:

Personal MasteryMental ModelsShared VisionTeam LearningSystems Thinking

5 DICIPLINES OF O.L• Personal Mastery

Involves acquisition of individual expertise & proficiency through education, formal learning activities and work experience (Clifton D.O & Nelson P.1992. Soar with Your Stregth. New York: Delacorte. Refer to this as Total Performance Excellence).

• Mental ModelDescribes one’s fundamental world view which is

reinforced by structures, experiences, cultures and belief systems.

Guides and directs people as they make decisionsUsed to filter ideas and possibilitiesVery difficult to change because they encompass one’s

values, beliefs, attitudes, & assumptions

Boyett, J.H., and J.T.Boyett. 1995. Beyond Workplace 2000 – Essential

Strategies for the New American Corporation. N.Y:Dublin. – Shared mental models, such as those relayed through story telling & cooperative exchanges, support org. Learning by helping employees make sense out of seemingly random events.

• Shared VisionCollective perspective of employees & evolves from

their understanding of the Org. mission.Cornerstone of learning orgs. since leaders, managers

& employees embrace a common perception of learning in order for it to become the paramount importance within the firm

Helps orgs. Allocate financial, physical, & human resources because they are being used to accomplish the same end

5 DICIPLINES OF O.L• Team Learning

Helps improve collaboration, communication & Cooperation as well as view other members as learning resources.

Allows people to experience things from a myriad of vantage points – enabling them to expand their horizons, deepen their understandings, amplify their perspectives & develop a better sense of self.

• Systems Thinking – requires leaders, managers, & employees to think strategically about all aspects of organizational life, which include the organization’s role in achieving its business goals & objectives, its mission & strategy & its structure, culture & managerial practices.

What is A Learning Organization?

“ is an institution that learns powerfully and collectively, continually transforming itself to better manage and use knowledge for corporate success, empowering people within and outside the organization to learn as they work and to utilize technology to maximize learning and production.”(*)

Marqardt,M.J., 1996. Building the Learning Organization. New York: McGraw Hill. P.229

Characteristics of A Learning Organization…

Learning is accomplished by organizational systems as a whole, almost as if the organization were a single brain

Members recognize the critical importance of ongoing organization-wide learning for the current and future success.

Learning is a continuous, strategically used process, integrated with and running parallel to work.

Characteristics of A Learning Organization…

Focus is on creativity and generative learning Systems thinking is fundamental People have continuous access to information

and data resources that are important to the company’s success.

The corporate climate encourages, rewards, and accelerates individual and group learning

Workers network in an innovative, community-like manner inside and outside the organization

Characteristics of A Learning Organization…

Change is embraced, whereas unexpected surprises and even failures are viewed as opportunities to learn

The organization is agile and flexibleEveryone is driven by a desire for quality

and continuous improvementActivities are characterized by aspirations,

reflections, and conceptualization.

Characteristics of A Learning Organization…

Well developed core competencies serve as taking-off points for new products and services

The organization can continuously adapt, renew, and revitalize itself in response to the changing environment (*)

Marqardt,M.J., 1996. Building the Learning Organization. New York: McGraw Hill. P.19 – 20.

Learning Org.- characterized by Human-oriented cultural values (Kramlinger, 1992)

• Everyone a source of useful ideas – Give Access to information that can be of value to them

• People closest to the problem have the best ideas to solve it – Empower people throughout the structure;

• Learning should flow up and down the hierarchy, so managers as well as employees can benefit from it – Enhance Communication

ew ideas important – Encourage & Reward • Mistakes are learning opportunities. - Encourage

Taking Initiative & Risk Taking

Characteristics of Learning Organization

Presence of Creative Tension

Systems Thinking

Culture Facilitating Learning

Learning Occurs

Learning Organization taken to a more individual employee, organizational behaviour level – Implications for

the study of HR/OB/OD

The Adaptive learning

Employees would react to environmental changes

Would react with routine, standard responses that often result in only short-run solutions.

The Generative learning, Emphasis -on continuous

experimentatn & feedback,

Will have direct affect on the way personnel go about defining & solving problems.

Employees are taught how to examine the effect of their decisions & to change their behaviours as needed.

Operationalize learning organization :

• Managers - Be receptive to new ideas & overcome the desire to closely control operations.

• To break the old mold of keeping close controls, teach people to look at things differently. e.g. openness promoted through an upward appraisal system; 360 degree appraisals to help rethink leadership styles & modify to meet the changing demands of the workplace.

Operationalizing L.O

• Develop systemic thinking : involves the ability to see connections between

issues, events, and data as a whole rather than a series of unconnected parts.

Teach people to identify the sources of conflict they may have with other personnel, units and departments & negotiate & make astute trade-offs both skillfully and quickly.

Learn, to encourage people to redirect their energies toward the substance of disagreements rather than toward personality clashes or political infighting.  

Steps to Operationalize learning organization : Managers’ Responsibilities

• Develop creativity among the personnel. “Creativity is the ability to formulate unique approaches to problem solving and decision making. In generative learning organizations creativity is important requisite skill & ability.

• Two dimensions which help unleash creativity are: Personal Flexibility and willingness to take risks

Operationalize LEARN. ORG. Teach people how to review their current work

habits & change behaviors that limit their thinking.

Focus on new ways to use old thinking & to break the operating habits & think “outside the box.”

• Creativity also includes willingness to accept failures : seeing failure as feedback to future creativity,

• Encourage & Support this behaviour. A cultural value - “ready, fire, aim” depicts such an environment.

Operationalize learning organization : Managers’ Responsibilities

• Develop a sense of personal efficacy Characterized by an awareness of personal & organizational values and a proactive approach to problem solving.

• For e.g., Harley-Davidson clearly spells out its sense of mission and values. Then the personnel are given the opportunity to identify and examine their own values which helps employees better understand and work into the linkages between the two. Besides, the personnel are taught to evaluate the effects of their behaviour on others so as to maximize their own effectiveness - in the process each one learns how to solve problems before critical situations develop.

Operationalize learning organization : Managers’ Responsibilities

• Instill a sense of empathy and sensitivity. Personnel look at the interpersonal relations

over a long time dimension - when managers or departments have disagreements, this conflict can result in continual problems.

Teach people to repair these relationships quickly through discussion of the sources of misunderstanding, refusal to assign individual blame, mutual problem solving, and the maintenance of confidence and trust in the other party.

Function Traditional Org Learning Org.

Determination of over all direction

Vision is provided by top mgt.

shared vision - can emerge from any place - top magt. ensures this vision exists & is natural

Formulation & implementation of ideas

Top mgt.decides what is to be done, & the rest act on these ideas.

Take place at all levels of the organization

Nature of organizational thinking

Each is responsible for one’s own job & focus on developing individual competence

Each understands one’s own jobs as well as how it interrelates & influences that of others.

Senge (1993, p. 9)

Function Traditional Org Learning Org.

Conflict Resolution Conflicts resolved through the use of power & hierarchical influence.

Conflicts resolved through the use of collaborative learning & the integration of diverse viewpoints throughout the org.

Leadership & motivation

The role is to establish the org.’s vision,, reward / punish as appropriate,maintain overall control of activities.

Build shared vision, empower, inspire commitment, &encourage effective decision making in the enterprise through empowerment & charismatic leadership

Emerging Trends of the Knowledge Organizations that reshape the workplace

include:

• Traditional hierarchical organization

• Technicians/ knowledge workers as worker elites

• Horizontal division of labor

• Maintain status quo.• The paradigm of doing

business shifts from making a product

• Variety of org.forms, Virtual Org., network of specialists

• Replace Manuf.ring operatives

• Replace Vertical division • Work itself is redefined:

constant learning, more high-order thinking, less of a routine nine-to-five configuration.

• To providing a service.

Emerging Trends

• Changes represent not an evolutionary, but revolutionary in organizations & in the way they are managed.

Peter Senge (*) “ We are in the midst of a worldwide, fundamental shift in management philosophy and practice. The traditional resource-based organization of the past is rapidly giving way to the emerging knowledge-based organizations.”

(*) Transforming the Practice of Management, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Spring 1993, p.5.