Management
Every person that has worked for a company with poor management -- where a lack of communication or a failure to motivate employees is the norm rather than the exception -- can benefit from the readings in this assignment. There are quality companies where employees are encouraged and treated as valuable assets, and then there are companies that rely on threats of punishment and intimidation to get the most out of their workers.
In this paper, the critiques of six readings from the book The Manager's Bookshelf are presented, and each of the readings has value because it is good information based on experienced, highly intelligent authors that have had direct experience in the workplace. What is important to realize is that a great number of people go to work in places where they are thought of as nothing more than machines, and they do not get respect based on their potential to help the company meet the bottom line. But there are also companies that care about employees and have innovative strategies in place to motivate employees. The readings in this paper cover both of those scenarios, and offer solutions for managers that want to have their companies be profitable but understand there are steps that must be taken in order to inspire their workers.
ONE: Highlight Management Theories in Each Reading
Understanding and Using the Best-Sellers
Jon L. Pierce and John W. Newstrom discuss in detail books about management -- including theories and experiences successful managers detail in those books -- that have made the "best sellers" list. The books that they allude to communicate management philosophies that work for the authors; they provide "an optimistic message" to managers; they offer "an easy cure" for organizational problems; and they provide new approaches to success. The challenge for readers of these books is to find aspects that could be helpful and to "challenge" and to "question" the pros and cons and the philosophies presented. Was it for profit? Was it for publicity? And are some of the authors "self-serving egotists" who write with flair and passion?
Flawed Advice and the Management Trap
Put simply, this reading implores managers to first define a vision, define a strategy that goes hand-in-hand with that vision, relate to how management can carry out the strategy, and finally, make sure employees understand and can produce given the strategy that has been laid out. But if employees get inconsistent advice and information, management will fail to accomplish the goals set forth in the vision and strategy.
The Practice of Management
Management is both the "disciplined and integrated practice" of handling workers, work, managers and the business itself, Peter Drucker insisted. Management is also the "creative process" that brings innovation and entrepreneurship into a company's strategy. When managers have vision, when the company contributes to society and has more goals than just earnings, and when managers are innovative, focused, and spirited, success will follow.
Out of the Crisis
William B. Gartner and M. James Naughton write about how and why management styles have changed in America. In the 1980s Japan was an economic engine running well on all cylinders. And when NBC produced a white paper called "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" It gave exposure to the theories of management by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who identified the surge for "short-term profits" as one of the flaws in organizations. Managers are "prisoners of some structural characteristics" that hold their companies back, Deming asserted. Managers need to be able to predict how systems and people will perform, and create systems that allow workers to thrive and be productive.
The Human Side of Enterprise
Douglas McGregor believed that his Theory X should be adopted by managers because basically employees have "an inherent dislike of work" and hence they must be "coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment" if they don't toe the line. The attitude in McGregor's Theory X seems condescending and cruel, but his Theory Y is far more positive. Theory Y suggests that committed employees seek responsibility and knowledge, and it is a manager's duty to bring the best out of people; hence, managers should not follow Theory X
Maslow on Management
Abraham H. Maslow is considered a giant in the field of psychology; and his approach to management begins with his reflections on people, who generally speaking want to achieve, have the capacity to be trusted, to grow, to improve,...
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