This approach to motivation has been pioneered in the USA by Edwin Locke and his associates in 1960s and refined in 1980s. Goal-setting theory of motivation suggests that managers and subordinates should set goals for an individual on a regular basis, as suggested by Management by Objectives (MBO). These goals should be moderately difficult and very specific and of type that an employee will accept and make a commitment to accomplishing them. Rewards should be tied directly to accomplished goals. When involved in goal-settings, employees see how their effort will lead to performance, rewards and personal satisfaction. Salient features of Goal-setting theory of motivation are as follows: Specific goal fixes the needs of resources and efforts. It increases performance. Difficult goals result higher performance than easy job. Better feedback of results leads to better performances than lack of feedback. Participation of employees in goal has mixed result. Participation of Continue reading
Management Theories
Contingency Approach to Management
The contingency approach to management emerged from the real life experience of managers who found that no single approach worked consistently in every situation. The basic idea of this approach is that number management technique or theory is appropriate in all situations. The main determinants of a contingency are related to the external and internal environment of an organisation. The process, quantitative, behavioral, and systems approaches to management did not integrate the environment. The often assumed that their concepts and techniques have universal applicability. For example the process theorists often assumes that strategic planning applies to all situations; the quantitative experts generally feel that linear programming can be used under all conditions; the behavioral theorist usually advocates participative goal setting for all superior-subordinate pairs; and the system advocates tend to emphasize the need for computerized information flows in all situations. On the other hand practicing managers find out that a Continue reading
Five Sources of Power Used by a Leader
A leader is a person who can influence the behavior of others without using force. Leadership also means that the process of influencing a group to achieve goals. There are three main types of leadership style, they are autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. Besides the three main types of leadership styles, there are also five sources of power that used by a leader, they are coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent. First, the autocratic style of leadership, it is also called the leader centered style. This type of style described a leader who tended to centralize authority, make unilateral decisions and limit employee participation. An autocratic leader always tells the people that what should be done, the employees have to perform the work without changing any of the orders. There are three main characteristics of autocratic leadership style, they are formal relations, centralized authorities and single man decision. Formal relations Continue reading
Participative Management – Concept, Principles, Implementation, Benefits, and Challenges
Participative management is a management approach that involves employees in decision-making processes and encourages them to take an active role in the organization. It is also known as employee involvement, employee participation, or democratic management. Participative management is a form of empowerment that enables employees to contribute their ideas, knowledge, and skills to improve the organization’s performance. This article will discuss the concept of participative management, its benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies. Concept of Participative Management Participative management is a management style that aims to involve employees in the decision-making process. It is based on the principle that employees who are directly involved in the work processes are best suited to make decisions that affect their work. Participative management recognizes that employees have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be tapped to improve organizational performance. By involving employees in decision-making, organizations can harness the creativity and innovative potential Continue reading
The Cultural Web – Johnson and Scholes’s Model of Organizational Culture
Organizational culture can be simply identified as the own unique personality that the respective organization practices. The group of people who works for the organization shares a system of Assumptions, Beliefs, and Values which governs them both individually and with the organizational needs. The cultural web model developed by Johnson and Scholes in 1993 is an important one, in which six dimensions of the organization culture are defined. The corporate culture consists of six major components, as structure, power structure, symbols, stories, rituals and control systems. They provide clear guidelines for the employees, about how things are performed within the organizational context; providing influences for the better change management. Cultural elements can be organized in the company to achieve productivity is described accordingly. Structure – Mainly refers to the structure of the company, in terms of the management layers and supervisory control. Modern organizations is thereby advised in adjusting to more flat type organization, Continue reading
Management Control in Services Organizations
The type of control which would be suitable for a particular firm depends upon the nature and complexities of its operations. A suitable control system has to be designed to suit the specific requirements of a particular firm. Service organizations are those organizations that provide intangible services. Service organizations include hotels, restaurants, and other lodging and eating establishments; barbershops, beauty parlors and other personal service; repair services; motion picture, television and other amusement and recreation services; legal services; and accounting, engineering, research/development, architecture and other professional service organizations. Characteristics of Service Organizations 1. Absence of Inventory: Services cannot be stored. If the services available today are not sold today, the revenue from these services is lost forever. In addition the resources available for sale in many service organizations are essentially fixed in the short run. A key variable in most service organizations therefore is the extent to which current capacity Continue reading