Management Theories and Their Application in Business Operations

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Managing people and
Organisations
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Executive summary
Management theory initiated with "scientific" and "bureaucratic" controlling that
involves dimension and processes as the root for operations. The management
theories help the organisation to properly function and organise all the activities of
the business. The report covers an incident which is based on the components of
planning, organising, leadership and controlling. The report covers an overview of
the management theory and the examples of the organisation which utilise these
theories.
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Contents
Executive summary............................................................................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Management functions (incident).........................................................................................................4
Management Theories.......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................7
References..........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Management theory aims at improving overall productivity and the functioning of the
business organisation. These theory involves complex planning and staffing them.
There are four types of management theories these are a scientific theory,
Bureaucratic management theory, human relations theories and system theory. The
report defines the management theories and their application in the organisations.
The report covers reflective incident which is about the concepts of planning,
organising, controlling and leadership.
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Management functions (incident)
I was working in a Bank. The work of the team was to transfer the deceased estate
into the account of executor or Next of kin. In the Queue a lot of cases were pending.
Due to heavy volume and late response, the reputation of the Bank was going down.
Day by day the numbers of complaining letters were increasing. One day my
manager held a meeting and he said we need to churn the volume otherwise
because the brand value of the bank is in danger. He asked the employees to come
on Sunday and churn all the volume with the help of each other without
compromising the quality of the work. My manager made me a leader and he said on
a Sunday you will solve all the queries of the people and it is your responsibility to
get the work done. I accepted the responsibility.
My first step to churn all the volume was planning. Firstly I divided all the cases
need to be churned into the number of employees and assigned the cases to all the
team. According to the capacity of the employees, I assigned the work to each and
every employee. All the team members have different ideas to get the volume
churned.
Secondly, I divided all the employees into small groups and assigned the task to be
performed such as quality checking transferring money. I organised the team
properly and divided them into small groups to perform the task correctly.
Thirdly I took the leadership of the work so that the teams do not face any challenge
and issue. I guided them properly to churn the heavy volume in only one day.
Lastly, I monitored each and every activity of the employees. I was checking that the
employees are worming or not. I was controlling them by checking and evaluating
every activity of them.
At the end of the day, all the volume churned out by the application of functions of
management appropriately. Next day when my manager came he appreciated us
and we received a lot of emails for our great work from the top management. By the
application of management functions our heavy volume churned out and our volume
queue got Zero. Customers were very happy because they were receiving the
response on the same day and the same they used to mention in the emails.
Management functions assisted me to take the lead and complete the work on time
with perfection. I applied all the function appropriately and I got positive results and
appreciation. Management functions should be applied carefully to get the positive
and correct responses.
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Management Theories
Scientific management theory
It is developed by Fredric Taylor. This theory involves the usage of data to measure
the performance of the organisation (Bell & Martin, 2012). This theory is most
suitable for business operations as it measures every activity in the numerical form.
All the processes running out in the organisation this theory monitors and evaluate in
the arithmetical form.
Strength of scientific management theory
Improved production
By applying the concepts of scientific management theory a business organisation
can find the areas which require improvement. This theory assists the companies to
improve the production and uphold that. This theory describes that a manager
should build good relations with the workers and appreciate the excellent works of
the workers to enhance the productivity of both workers and the organisation.
Dwindled autocracy
This theory aims to build and maintenance of positive relationships with the workers
hence it decreases autocracy. The autocracy draws a line between leader and
managers (Kitana, 2016). An organisation only can attain the goals by the
collaboration of leader and workers. Through the application of scientific
management theory, good liaison between leader and manager can be built.
Reduction in the production cost
Management theory is the theory which measures the performance in algebraic form
and it gives the most accurate result. Through the application of these theories a
company can find the areas of wastage and can do strategic planning to remove the
wastage. This will reduce the overall cost of production.
Limitation
Involves huge capital: Application of the concepts of scientific management theory
is very costly. Small organisations cannot afford it. It requires a huge investment. It is
a very costly system as training, planning evaluation requires more money.
Time-consuming: Execution of scientific management theory involves is very time
consuming and it requires changes in the existing policies and procedures of the
company (Bell & Martin, 2012). For making familiar the employees with the new
policies training needs to be given to them hence it implicates a lot of planning and
time.
Example of Organisation
Microsoft established in 1975. It is a multinational company. It delivers a lot of
services and product to the customers and business organisation including windows
operating system and software. The company applies scientific theory for improving
the quality of the production. The quality of the services and product of micro soft is
remarkable. The company provides standardised products by applying the concepts
of this theory. Hence it can be said that up to some extent the company apply the
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scientific management theory and provide the best quality of services to its
customers.
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Bureaucratic management theory
This theory is developed by Max Webber. This theory is also known as Weberian
bureaucracy. It based on the principles of proper segregation of labour into the
teams, chain of command, hiring and promotion on the qualification and so on. This
theory is designed with the aim of improving the overall functioning of the business.
This theory focuses on the proper structuring of the organisation.
Strengths of Bureaucratic management theory
Properly described chain of command: This theory emphasises that the chain of
command should be properly defined. Who will report to whom should be clearly
described, so that all the tasks can be completed timely (Moraru, 2017). Clarification
of the chain of command is very necessary.
Well defined rules and regulation: This theory says that all the rules and policies
should be clear so that every employee in the organisation can resolve the dilemma.
Rules and regulation are framed to guide people to take or make the right decisions
or actions.
Selection is based on the skills and qualification: According to this theory
selection and promotion n of the employees should be only based on the
qualification and talent (Bogdanovic, 2012). All the employees must be educated
enough to function the operation of the business.
Limitation
No importance to informal groups: This theory focus on only on the formal groups
and the information should be circulated according to the hierarchy (Singh, 2013).
Informal groups are very necessary to complete the work on time and to attain the
aims of the organisation on time.
Dedication of the employees not considered: In accordance with this theory only
qualified people should be promoted. This theory totally relies on the qualification it
does not consider the hard work of the employees.
Involvement of a lot of paper works: Application of this theory involves a lot of
paperwork and formalities. It is very complex to adopt all the concepts and principles
of this theory.
Example of Organisation
Delta Airlines follows bureaucratic management theory. In this company, the power
flows from the top of the organisation. The company has formal operating rules and
cartelised power. This company follows a hierarchy to flow information and decision.
In the company, power is used appropriately. All the operations of the organisation
flow set of rules. All the problems and issues of the employees are resolved on time.
The power flow from top to bottom in the company.
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Conclusion
From the report, it has been concluded that management theories are designed to
assist the business organisation in the management of the operation of the business.
Management theories provide guidance to the organisation to properly design all the
activity for improving profitability and production. In the report, the strength and
weakness of the management theories have been covered. A reflective incident
which covers concepts of planning, organising, leadership and controlling, has been
described. Organisations which apply the management theories have also been
described in the report.
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References
Bell, R.L. & Martin, J.S. 2012, "The Relevance of Scientific Management and Equity Theory in
Everyday Managerial Communication Situations", Journal of Management Policy and Practice, vol.
13, no. 3, pp. 106-115.
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Huang, K., Tung, J., Lo, S.C. & Chou, M. 2013, "A REVIEW AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT", International Journal of Organizational Innovation
(Online), vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 78-85.
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Moraru, A. 2017, "Management Functions Particularities In The Competitive Intelligence
Process", Manager, , no. 26, pp. 25-34.
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countries' productivity growth", Applied Economics, vol. 45, no. 17, pp. 2349.
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Singh, P. 2013, "Transforming Traditional Bureaucratic Management Practices By Employing The
Collegial Leadership Model Of Emancipation", The International Business & Economics Research
Journal (Online), vol. 12, no. 8, pp. 953-n/a.
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Kitana, A. 2016, "OVERVIEW OF THE MANAGERIAL THOUGHTS AND THEORIES FROM THE HISTORY:
CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORY TO MODERN MANAGEMENT THEORY", Indian Journal of
Management Science, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 16-21.
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Harvey, M., Meredith, J.R., Söderlund, J. & Browning, T. 2018, "Old theories, new contexts:
extending operations management theories to projects", International Journal of Operations &
Production Management, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1274-1288.
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Bogdanovic, M. 2012, In A Search Of Integral Management Theory: The Need For The Balance Of
Hard And Soft Management Approaches, Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency
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