Management Theory:
Current Status and Future Direction
This chapter has examines the so-called
systems school or management. attention was first focused on general systems
theory because of the importance assigned to it by systems school advocates.
Then the applied concepts of the systems approach, likewise presented from its
advocates' point of view, were reviewed. Finally, the question of whether the
systems approach is a new school or a subsystem of a current one was examined.
Although it is difficult to deny the existence of a systems body of knowledge,
it appears that the systems school is actually part of the quantitative school.
Attention was then focused on the general
value of understanding the systems concept, beginning with the organization as
an open, adaptive system. Since business organizations are contrived systems,
they can survive the onset of entropy and, unlike their biological
counterparts, exist indefinitely, depending, of course, on how well they are
managed. On the one hand, they must be responsive to change (adaptive
mechanisms); on the other hand, they must not change so quickly that they are
seriously thrown out of equilibrium (maintenance mechanisms). Finding the right
balance is one of the keys to indefinite survival.
The systems concept was next used to
examine managerial systems. Three levels exist in the managerial system of a
complex organization: technical, organizational, and institutional. The
technical level is concerned with producing the goods or services. The organizational
level coordinates and integrates the technical and institutional levels. The
institutional level relates the activities of the organization to the
environmental system. Within this system are three types of managers, one for
each of the levels. Within this system are three types of managers, one for
each of the levels. The technical manager is a nuts-and-bolts individual; the
organization manager is more like a political mediator; and the institutional
manager is a conceptual-philosophical decision maker. Yet, although there are
different levels and interests within the structure, all three must combine
their talents and energies in the attainment of overall organizational
objectives.
In order to achieve this blending of
talent and energy, managers must plan, organize, and control. They must also
make decisions and employ the latest quantitative methods where applicable; and
they must understand and utilize the abilities of their subordinates through
effective communication, motivation, and leadership. In short, the management
process, quantitative, and behavioral schools are all still important to modern
managers. In fact, managers today draw on the concepts of all three in carrying
out their duties. The systems approach encourages this.
The last section of the chapter examined
management theory in the future, noting
that some synthesis among the schools of management thought appears to be going
on. Ten specific reasons were cited. However, it was also noted that this
synthesis is unlikely to result in a major change in the three schools of
thought explored in this textbook. The management process school, the
quantitative school, and the behavioral school of management thought will
continue to endure into the indefinite future.
