Different Management Theories used by the 20-th and 21st Century Managers

The Changing Role of Leaders

The style and job of leaders and their impact on the workers have been changing during a few centuries. The management philosophies of the board of the XXI century have significant contrast from the philosophies during the 1960s-1980s. One of the significant contrasts is that modern leaders are faced with more difficulties. Moreover, workers feel more relaxed under the direction of the good old leaders or managers. In the current paper the discussion of the analysis is introduced. This analysis exhibits how the method of overseeing individuals has changed over hundreds of years.

Outline of the Galaxy Toys Inc.

The analysis to be studied deals with the analysis of the firm Galaxy Toys Inc. George and Nan Jepson established the organization in 1956 by, after they have noticed that their son Rusty had become keen on the idea of traveling to the moon. Fortunately, prior to starting the business, both George and Nan were very experienced in toy production industry. Since the 1950s, the company has been producing over 2500 different toys for people of all ages. The company used to be the leader in the market, however, due to the increased popularity of new technologies, galaxy Toys is working to use new ways of production and innovation. In addition, George and Nan are considering the possibility of the use of the “greenfriendly” materials and toy recycling programs in order to add sustainability into its major driver of business.

Part I

The managers of the company work in a perfect way. One of the brightest representatives is Bart Aldrin, who has been taking his position in Galaxy Toys since 1969. Bart was focused on the quality of performance of each employee and tried to make the working process as quick and optimized as possible. Although, the style of Bart’s management was justifies by high results of the company and each employee in particular, employees often criticized Bart. They say he had sometimes repeated: "It's my way or the highway" or "Just do your individual task the way you were trained and don't worry about what others are doing."Thus, he wanted to underline that each employee is responsible for his own work. If to attribute Bart’s management style to a school of management thought, the classical school of management thought is the most appropriate. This is the oldest school for management thought found in the industrial revolution period to manage the flow of labor power, control and guidance of every person and groups of employees (Tripathi and Reddy, 1991). Frederick Winslow Taylor was the founder and supporter of this school (Lewis, Goodman and Fandt, 1998). Taylor taught managers to make decisions only after consideration of the problem and evaluate the abilities of all employees to specify the type of job for each one. Taylor taught the managers to augment the company’s profits, distribute tasks among employees and organize their training and education.

After the famous shift, occurred in the company in 1980s, Bart had to change his management style in order to reorganize his way of leading personnel and become able to meet new needs of Galaxy Toys. He decided to switch to the principles of the behavioral school of thoughts, focusing on the employees, their ideas, the organizational culture and company’s spirit (Tripathi and Reddy, 1991). According to this school of management though, managers are asked to approach their employees from the psychological perspective and consider their desires and ideas in order to motivate them more to participate in the life of the company. Douglas McGregor is rightfully regarded one of the best proponents and contributors, advancing and promoting the behavioral approach in management (Lewis, Goodman and Fandt, 1998). He asserted that when employees are treated properly and given the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and share ideas, they are able to perform better (Lewis, Goodman and Fandt, 1998). As a result, according to the behavioral approach, managers should willingly accept the desire of their employees for self-realization and demonstration of thoughts. When Galaxy Toys required changes, Bart decided to use these methods of management and, it is necessary to admit that it worked and the ides of this school, applied by Bart, were winning for the company. With their help the company managed to adapt to the uncertainly easily and overcame the increased competition in the market.

If to compare the ideas and effectiveness of the teachings of schools, it is necessary to admit that both were extremely successful for the Galaxy Toys, but in different periods of its work. Classical school principles maximized profits of company in the beginning of its activity and Bart, being the experienced manager, perfectly applied the principles of control, teaching and training of employees. He organized his work in the way that each employee had his own task, and was guided and controlled. Everything went smoothly, until the changes were required and Bart decided try brand new approach, based in the teachings of the behavior school, which placed values and ideas of employees on the first place. Despite the novelty of approach, it was fruitful for the organization and demonstrated positive changes in Galaxy Toys, which resulted in the quick response to competition.

Part II

Bart announced about his plans to retire. His place was taken by young and ambitious Joyce Barnhart. She was young and represented the ideas of the modern managers of the 21st century, considering that she was the best candidate for this position. As the 21st century manager Ms. Barnhart put emphasis on the technological advances and new trends in business and management. As the 21st century manager, Ms Barnhart will find application to approaches in management, which is based on globalization and corporate social responsibility, which are the major competencies and central ideas of modern business (Wren, 1987). Therefore, Ms. Barnhart decided to adhere the employees to new tendencies of business. The first step, which Ms. Barnhart will take is introduction of technologically advanced devices in the company and to each employees. For example, each worker will be supplied with computer to make his work faster and more effective. In addition, the process of control will be simplified. The social responsibility is another important aspect. Although, modern managerial views dictate that the only social responsibility of management is to augment the profit of the company, indeed, it is far more than that (Wren, 1987). Social responsibility is about increasing welfare and protecting the employees (Wren, 1987). Therefore, Barnhart considers employees, as a major source of prosperity of the Galaxy Toys. Joyce’s understanding of new approaches to management will positively improve the shipping department and production process. Considering popular ecological concerns, Joyce plans to call for use of the green raw materials in the process of production of toys. It will increase popularity of the company and motivate employees, improving their performance.

References

Lewis, P. S., Goodman, S and Fandt, P.(1998). Management.2nd ed. Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing.

Tripathi, P C and Reddy, P N . (1991) Principles of Management 2nd ed. New Delhi : Tata MacGraw Hill

Wren, D.(1987).The Evolution of Management Thought. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons