CORPS 5068: Critical Perspectives on Management Theories Essay

This essay critically examines management theories, leadership roles, and employee resistance within a global context. It discusses the importance of employees as assets, referencing examples like Target and Euro Disney to illustrate the consequences of poor employee treatment. The essay also explores the role of leadership in fostering a positive work environment, using Nestle as a case study. Furthermore, it addresses employee resistance to change, emphasizing the need for effective communication and stakeholder engagement. The analysis draws upon both mainstream and critical perspectives, offering a comprehensive evaluation of management practices and their impact on organizational success and societal well-being. Desklib offers access to similar past papers and solved assignments.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Answer 1..........................................................................................................................................1
Answer 2..........................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3..........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
In this paper the discussion will be made on the various concepts that are useful for the company
in managing the entire activities in the highly competitive market. The discussion will be on the
employees, leadership and on the employee resistance. So, the paper will be based on the three
questions which will be related with employees, leadership and also employee’s resistance in
which various examples will also be discussed.
Answer 1
It can be said that Yes, employees are considered as an essential asset for the business. Without
employees it would not be possible for the company to maintain the entire activities in the highly
competitive market. But there are many companies who do not treat well with their employees.
There are many companies that are appointing the employees at low wages to enhance their
profits and just due to this they do not treat their employees as an asset. Also, the companies
think that the employees will work according their directions because they give wages for the
work done. So, they will do what will be ordered to them (Helpap and Bekmeier-Feuerhahn,
2016).
“Target Company” can be one of the best examples”. It can be examined that from last many
years the company has considered illegal activities to stop its workers from unionizing. Target
forced its employees to attend the training days which only teach them about the anti- union
propaganda (Morris, 2015). These sessions were also followed by the veiled threats against the
union organizers. It can be noted that when the company opened a store in Valley Stream in New
York with a motive of Unionize. The company shut the place for approximately 7 months and
the employees were suspended without any pay. Also, it is claimed that the managers at Valley
Stream had considered the unlawfully practices which threaten the employees. In this case the
employees of the company are not treated like as asset and it has impacted the overall working
pattern (Morris, 2015). According to this case, it is important for the company to focus on
bureaucratic management in which various principles are considered. In this there should be
proper division of labor so that the power and responsibilities can be balanced. Also proper chain
of command should be maintained so that information can be communicated from top
management to the subordinates in a proper way. To maintain the issue it is important for the
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company make the rules and regulations related to training in a proper manner. It can help to
boost the overall productivity and also sales of the company in the highly competitive market
(Sturdy, Wright and Wylie, 2016).
Scientific management is the approach of management in which proper evaluation is made of
the workflows. The main concept is to maintain the productivity of the labor in the workplace as
it helps to enhance the profits in the competitive market. In 2013, the workers of Wal-Mart held
mass demonstrations and they demanded $25000 a year and also for more wages (Morris, 2015).
So, at this time the company does not focus on maintaining the overall productivity of labor and
it has led to dissatisfaction among the workers. So, at this time it is important to consider this
approach so that workflow can be maintained. In workflow can only be analyzed in a proper
manner if there is proper approach considered by the company. In this it is necessary for the
WalMart to consider the scientific approach so that growth can be attained in the competitive
market (Steingold, 2017).
One of the practical examples is also of Euro Disney. It has been noted that Disneyland Paris
workers hated their workplace and also there are many employees who committed suicides and
are harassed. The Disneyland Paris also suffered from 1500 industrial accidents and there are
many injurious which took place. On December 2013, the employee tried to commit suicide by
taking gasoline and also by setting himself on the fire in the park (Morris, 2015). This is just
because of the value which was not given by the company to its employees. The wages given to
the workers were not according to their expectation level. They do not consider the employees as
their own asset and due to this the employees are not satisfied with the activities (Wagner, 2016).
So, in this case it is important for the company to focus on maintaining the human relations. The
theory of human relation should be considered so that relation between social factors and
productivity can be maintained. Also, according to this theory the managers of the company
should interact with the employees and should know their concern so that activities can be
managed effectively. If management emphasizes on maintaining the interaction with the
employees then it can be seen that production can be boosted with higher motivation level
among the employees (Vidyarthi et al., 2016). So, it is important for the company to consider the
employees as an asset and if they do not consider them as an asset then it can impact the growth
and productivity level of the company.
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Answer 2
There is a major role of leadership within companies and society as it helps to manage the entire
activities. Leadership is considered as a concept in which the guidance is given to the followers
and it is one of the essential factors that should be there to achieve success by the company. In
the company the leaders give guidance to their employees and tell them how to manage the
activities in the workplace. It is considered as one of the essential functions of management
which should be there so that growth can be attained (Bolman and Deal, 2017).
Leadership in the workplace is necessary as it impact the goals and objectives of the company in
the highly competitive market. The leadership helps to maintain the effectiveness of the
employees and also it motivates the leaders to consider the right decision which is beneficial for
the company. By considering the effective leadership it can be simple to motivate the people and
also it enhance the productivity level of the company in the highly competitive market. This can
also boost the growth and profits of the company in the business environment. It is necessary for
the company to maintain the leadership so that performance can be boosted (Northouse, 2017).
It can be said that without effective leadership in the workplace it will not be possible for the
employees to give their best towards the activities. Leaders with their leadership traits assist in
reconciling the overall goals of the workers. The leader focuses on coordinating the activities
which can directly impact the overall performance of the employees and also profits of the
company. For example: In Nestle, Ulf Mark Schneider boosted the overall confidence level of
the employees and also the focused on the customers with maintaining their personal health and
well-being. The company is considered as one of the largest companies in maintaining the health
and wellness of the employees. The focused on maintaining the large market share by offering
effective services to the customers and also they motivated the workers in the workplace (Heifetz
and Linsky, 2017).
In Nestle, there is effective leadership which boosted the growth of the company and also
enhanced the market share. In Nestle, the leader considered democratic leadership style that
focused on maintaining flexibility in the working and also the leader focused on maintaining the
results which boosted the talent of the employees in the workplace. Due to effective leadership
style considered by the company the large market share has been attained by the company. It can
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be seen that leaders in Nestle focused on maintaining the overall recruitment process which
helped the company to select the right candidate for the right job and also it has maintained the
overall productivity level in the highly competitive market (Ramesh, 2018). So, it can be stated
that role of leadership in the workplace plays a great role as it helps in maintaining the large
market share and also boost the productivity in the highly competitive market. Leadership is
linked with the success of the company and if proper leadership is not there then it can impact
the growth of the company in the highly competitive market. Leadership can also help in
maintaining the goodwill of the company which can lead to the attainment in the large market
share in the highly competitive market (Sanders, 2017).
Leadership also has a great role in context to the society. It has been seen that a society with the
absence of leadership will lead to chaos. In the present situation states that the Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat dies and this has affected their followers to be in disarray. The followers in
Palestine are trying to maintain their life and the people who will be replaced is Arafat. Without
the absence of leadership the followers were in panic and it has led to confusion in the routine
activities. It has been noted that if the leader in the society are noncommittal then it can be
difficult for the people to survive in the society (Shields et al., 2015). Leadership should be
effective in the society as it helps the people of the society to take the decisions which will help
in maintaining their life structure. So, it can be stated that effective leadership can lead to growth
in the workplace and also it can boost the productivity level in the highly competitive market. In
reference to the society leadership should be there so that the living standard of the people who
are living in the society can be maintained. If the leaders possess right skills and attitude towards
work then it can be easy to attain success in the highly competitive market (Sosik and Jung,
2018).
Answer 3
Employee resistance in the workplace should not be there as it negatively impacts the overall
growth of the company. In companies, employee resistance takes place at the time of change.
When the change takes place employee do not accept it and it can sometime impact the overall
productivity level and also profitability. Resistance to change is considered as a natural process
when the employees are asked to accept the change that takes place in the workplace. Change is
considered as uncomfortable for the employees and it needs new ways of thinking and doing.
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There are many cases when the employees lose their sense of security and also it can be known
as the status quo. The change in the reaction of the employees can take place when the change is
introduced. There are many employees who are left unaffected by the changes that are taking
place and also it can lead to the changes that are introduced. The changes that are made by the
company should be communicated in a proper manner so that employee resistance can be
reduced and also it will help in accomplishing the set goals and objectives of the company in the
highly competitive market (Fraser, 2016).
The resistance to change can be best when it is viewed as the normal reaction. At the time of
introducing the change it is important for the employees to consider it in a positive manner so
that the changes can be accepted. Employee also resists when there is no proper communication
channel with the employees. It can be noted that companies have the opportunity to interact with
the employees and they should also communicate their views and opinions so that employees can
accept the change in the workplace. The views and opinions should be considered of the
employees so that it can be easy to implement the changes in the competitive market (Georgalis
et al., 2015).
There are many stakeholders and they have different reactions. It has been seen that employees
and management are also considered as the stakeholders. At the time of implementing the change
the management has the positive mindset and also it is important to boost the motivation level
related to change of the employees so that positive outcome can be attained. But employees are
not happy with the changes in many cases; there are only few cases in which the employees are
happy. So, it can be seen that it is the responsibility of the management to focus on maintaining
resistance to change so that it can be simple for the employees to give their best towards the
activities. The employee resistance is necessary to be maintained as it can help the employees to
give their best and also profits can be maximized easily (Li, Liu and Liu, 2016).
For example: Nestle is one of the largest food and pharmaceutical company that manages the
activities on the global platform. It has been observed that the change in the management style
created the issues for Nestle so the overall management of the company considered centralizing
the system and they implemented SAP’S ERP system in 1998 with the overall completion in the
deadline. When the changes are made in the system it has been seen that employees are
comfortable with the old system so they resisted the change because of the fear of being
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developing the skills to run the overall activities smoothly. The implementation also needs the
changes in the overall corporate structure which is not possible in the short span of time. But the
stakeholder of the Nestle failed to realize the overall significance of the change management so
the majority of the employees want that the change should not be implemented or the system
should not be installed for the employees. So, leaders in the Nestle do not have the knowledge
about the changes that are taking place in the management (Raza, Khan and Mujtaba, 2018).
By considering the constraints the company restructured the overall implementation process so
that growth can be maintained in the highly competitive market. In this also the employee
resisted the change as it is not according to them and they do not want to work on the new
system. So, it can be stated that it is important for the company to maintain employee resistance
so that growth can be attained in the market and also it will boost the overall productivity in the
highly competitive market. Resistance to change should not be there as it can help in maintaining
the entire process of the company in the highly competitive market (Petrou, Demerouti and
Schaufeli, 2018).
Conclusion
So, it can be concluded that these factors should be considered by the company to manage the
entire operations.
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References
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons.
Fraser, A., 2016. Global Foodscapes: Oppression and resistance in the life of food. Routledge.
Georgalis, J., Samaratunge, R., Kimberley, N. and Lu, Y., 2015. Change process characteristics
and resistance to organisational change: The role of employee perceptions of justice. Australian
Journal of Management, 40(1), pp.89-113.
Heifetz, R. and Linsky, M., 2017. Leadership on the Line, With a New Preface: Staying Alive
Through the Dangers of Change. Harvard Business Press.
Helpap, S. and Bekmeier-Feuerhahn, S., 2016. Employees’ emotions in change: Advancing the
sensemaking approach. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(6), pp.903-916.
Li, J., Liu, M. and Liu, X., 2016. Why do employees resist knowledge management systems? An
empirical study from the status quo bias and inertia perspectives. Computers in Human
Behavior, 65(8), pp.189-200.
Morris,M., 2015. 10 Companies That Treat Their Employees Even Worse Than Amazon.
[Online]. Available at https://listverse.com/2015/08/24/10-companies-that-treat-their-employees-
even-worse-than-amazon/. [Accessed on 20 January 2019].
Northouse, P.G., 2017. Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage Publications.
Petrou, P., Demerouti, E. and Schaufeli, W.B., 2018. Crafting the change: The role of employee
job crafting behaviors for successful organizational change. Journal of Management, 44(5),
pp.1766-1792.
Ramesh, R., 2018. Case Analysis III: Challenges MNCs Face in Emerging Markets: The Nestlé
Experience. Vision, 22(2), pp.237-238.
Raza, M.A., Khan, M.M. and Mujtaba, B.G., 2018. The Impact of Organizational Change on
Employee Turnover Intention: Does Stress Play a Mediating Role?. Public Organization
Review, 18(3), pp.313-327.
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Sanders, J.O., 2017. Spiritual leadership: Principles of excellence for every believer. Moody
Publishers.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns,
R., O'Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing employee performance &
reward: Concepts, practices, strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Sosik, J.J. and Jung, D., 2018. Full range leadership development: Pathways for people, profit,
and planet. Routledge.
Steingold, F.S., 2017. The employer's legal handbook: Manage your employees & workplace
effectively. Nolo.
Sturdy, A., Wright, C. and Wylie, N., 2016. Managers as consultants: The hybridity and tensions
of neo-bureaucratic management. Organization, 23(2), pp.184-205.
Vidyarthi, P.R., Singh, S., Erdogan, B., Chaudhry, A., Posthuma, R. and Anand, S., 2016.
Individual deals within teams: Investigating the role of relative i-deals for employee
performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(11), p.1536.
Wagner, W.E., 2016. Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of
leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.
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