Management for the 21st century.

Essay by anacondaUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, November 2005

download word file, 14 pages 4.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.Introduction..........................................................................................3

2.The methods of management development ......................................................4

a) Formal methods..............................................................................4

b) Informal methods............................................................................6

3.Is it appropriate to use methods appropriate to develop effective management program?.8

a) The features of the methods used..........................................................8

b) Effective program of management development .....................................10

4.Alternative theories of management.............................................................12

a)Management by Wandering Around (WBWA).......................................12

b)Micromanagement........................................................................13

c)Management by Objective...............................................................13

d)Management by Exception...............................................................14

e)Leadership...................................................................................14

5.Conclusion...........................................................................................15

6.Bibliography.........................................................................................17

Introduction

It is rather difficult to define what management is and the best method of its application. Actually, management is not just something that we commonly learn and afterwards apply. It is a mix of both formal and informal methods of people management. However, also it is something that is more sensitive; you need to have some personal skills, some feelings or instincts which can not be taught. (Crawshaw, 2003)

This can emerge from past experiences as well because we learn more from our experiences (not only from work experiences but from life experiences as well) than from taught knowledge.

"I learn to be a manager from experience". (Mumford, 2000)

Then, why is it so complicated to manage people? The reason is there is not only one way to manage people but a multitude of ways. Everybody is different; he/she acts and reacts differently to the same situation. There are a lot of variables which intervene like character, knowledge, past experience, etc.

Moreover, the environment of the work very much influences the form and the efficiency of the management which is applied. Indeed, there were a lot of changes in the way of managing people, because the structure of the company has changed (restructuring, re-engineering, downsizing...), the market has changed as well (globalization, decentralization, deregulation), the culture has changed (feminization; psychological contract). The manager has to internalize all these variables...