part 2 history & evolution of management

8/2/2019 PART 2 History & Evolution of Management

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PART 2 | HISTORY & EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT

A.)Historical Background of ManagementDifficulties arise in tracing the history of management. Some see it (by definition) as a late

modern (in the sense of late modernity) conceptualization. On those terms it cannot have a pre-modern

history, only harbingers (such as stewards).

Others, however, detect management-like-thought back to Sumerian traders and to the builders of

the pyramids ofancient Egypt. Slave-owners through the centuries faced the problems ofexploiting/motivating a dependent but sometimes unenthusiastic or recalcitrant workforce, but many pre-

industrial enterprises, given their small scale, did not feel compelled to face the issues of management

systematically.

However, innovations such as the spread ofArabic numerals (5th to 15th centuries) and the

codification ofdouble-entry book-keeping (1494) provided tools for management assessment, planning

and control.

Given the scale of most commercial operations and the lack of mechanized record-keeping and

recording before the industrial revolution, it made sense for most owners of enterprises in those times tocarry out management functions by and for themselves. But with growing size and complexity of

organizations, the split between owners (individuals, industrial dynasties or groups ofshareholders) and

day-to-day managers (independent specialists in planning and control) gradually became more common.

Readings 2.1:

History of Management (This page was last modified on 20 March 2012 at 15:34. URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steward_%28office%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numeralshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Management_tool&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ownershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ownershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Management_tool&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numeralshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steward_%28office%29


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B.) Current trends and Issues in Management

B.1: Employee engagement

The notion of employee engagement is causing a big buzz in management circles at the moment.

It's a topic that employers and employees alike think they understand, yet often can't articulate very

easily.

Motivation is fire lit from within. You can't light that fire, but you can create the conditions for

that fire to burn brightly. Managers' behaviour has a huge impact on the work climate and is a critical

component in employee engagement and motivation. Yet too many reward programmes simply focus on

money and ignore this human factor.

Keeping your employees engaged really isn't rocket science - it's just a matter of listening,

learning and leading by example.

B.2: Workplace bullying

Bullying is the persistent devaluing demeaning or harassing of someone at work - seems to be on

the rise. But modern workplace culture, with its unhealthy emphasis on 'doing whatever it takes', actuallyseems to be unwittingly encouraging bullies.

All too often, bad bosses bully others to hide their own inadequacies and incompetence and theirorganizations - either through fear, ignorance or disinterest - fail to tackle them head-on.

The cost to firms through absenteeism and lost staff is astronomical. But the cost to the victims ofbullying can be incalculable. Workplace bullying is a global problem affecting all professions and sectors.

This overview examines the range of legislation already in place to address bullying as well as laws we

can expect to see enacted in the near future.

Bullies use a wide range of subtle tactics and behaviour to intimidate colleagues at work, but

victims' torment is being made worse by endless rounds of organisational change as well as ineffective

action by employers.

B.3: Work-life balance

Once slammed as being "anti-business", the work-life balance agenda is now firmly in the

mainstream and on the political agenda. But better work-life balance comes at a cost to both employers

and the government, and some are arguing that this is all going too far.But across the world, most of us would jump at the chance to work more flexible hours with only

one in five keen to stick to the traditional nine-to-five. Such enlighted 'compressed hours' policies are still

rare. Until employers and employees can find a common ground this issue is unlikely to be resolve

If you want to do more than just dream about having a completely different type of life, you need

to start with a well-crafted vision that brings your dream into focus and under your control.


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B.4: Women in the workplace

Is discrimination and lesser opportunity for women as deeply ingrained in our society as manylobby groups claim or is it a simple fact of life that men and women are different and have differing

priorities in life and at work?

But while many talented women feel sidelined by the rigidity of traditional career paths, is the

plethora of legislation aimed at helping and promoting women in the workplace.

Even professional women with discretion over the amount they charge for their work tend to askfor less than men. But while this might suggest that they are doing themselves a disservice, new research

suggests that the opposite may be true.

B.5: Leadership

Leadership is intellectually simple, but behaviourally complex. Successful people are oftenintuitive and what they do from moment to moment really cannot be written down. In a rapidly changingenvironment they constantly diagnose, respond to what is happening and make judgments with choices

and trade-off.

But this intuitive or instinctive leadership is really based on accumulated wisdom that has been

shaped by experience, knowledge and a set of core values. A raft of evidence now exists to prove that

management and leadership development works. But are organisations taking it seriously? How much

preparation are they giving their future leaders?

B.6: Change management

What is it with change? Why do so many co-called business leaders seem to think that 'change'

automatically leads to 'improvement'? And why do they implement it so badly?

Very often, the answer is that they simply forget that "Consultation = Smart" or "the worker

knows best". Trying to implement change without consulting with the people who know most about the

work is a recipe for disaster - so is change that reverses something that already works well.

Individuals and groups that are able to adapt well to new demands seem to be more successful

than those that resist and accept the inevitable slowly. But change is so difficult and is almost always

resisted, so how can we best embrace it?

B.7: Corporate social responsibility

Is CSR (corporate social responsibility) just another management acronym that gets mentally

filed away along with all the other corporate spiel trotted out by internal communications departments?


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High performing businesses show a strong correlation between CSR activities and strongerperformance in terms of productivity and profitability than other businesses, according to research.

Ethical criteria are also becoming manifestly more significant in both purchasing and brand

loyalty decisions among a growing proportion of consumers. The message to businesses is clear ethical

practice, CSR performance and the "bottom line" are more closely linked than ever.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also often referred to as business responsibility and anorganisation's action on environmental, ethical, social and economic issues. The terms in the area can

seem confusing if you don't know the jargon - but don't be put off by this.

Readings 2.2:

Management Issues (Copyright 2000-2012, Management-Issues Ltd.)URL:http://www.management-issues.com/topics.asp
http://www.management-issues.com/topics.asphttp://www.management-issues.com/topics.asphttp://www.management-issues.com/topics.asphttp://www.management-issues.com/topics.asp

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