Systems management theory
Introduction
Since the onset of the Industrial revolution, managers
have been embracing management theories to run their organizations effectively.
The management theories provide essential insights on decision making, the
motivation of employees, negotiation of deals and proper allocation of
resources. Different organizations have different organizational structures.
Organization structures then dictate the management theories to use. In this
paper, I will draw my own experiences while acting as a cashier at Best Food
Hotel. I will then compare the management practices exhibited while at my workplace.
Best Food Hotel being a service industry, the management was so much concerned
with work efficiency. Management theory was the most applicable management
style for this organization.
I had a chance to work at the Best Food Hotel as a
cashier. I was responsible mainly for collecting lodging accommodations fee,
parking and charges incurred by the customers for the use of organization’s
computers. After five to six weeks, I could shift to be handling financial
transactions at the front desk. I could prepare and submit bank deposits and
complete the sales tax forms. At times I could assist my boss to process the
guests’ credit cards and debit card transactions. The rotational nature of the
duties helped me to interact with many of the department heads. This
interaction helped me to understand their management styles broadly.
Scientific management
theory in the Best Food Hotel
Fredrick Taylor established the scientific management
theory. His guiding principles changed the way organizations could relate to their
workers. Taylor founded this theory when managers saw workers as lazy and whose
sole intention was to protect their jobs by working sluggishly. He, therefore,
proposed that worker productivity would increase if the work is made simpler to
workers. One best way of making the book more straightforward is by managers cooperating and
coordinating with the workers and workers themselves as well (Tenaja, 2011,
60). He found out that money was the best motivating factor for the employees.
He, therefore, advocated for equitable pay of the workers. He summed up his
research in 6 management principles.
The first principle aims at finding one best
way of working. Scientific methods were to be used to identify this best way of
solving a problem. The work is first analyzed, then different methods of doing
it are experimented to find the best method of all. The best method should take
the least steps and time. Division of labour and specialization is the second
principle. A big project s broken down into manageable segments. Employees are
then assigned specific tasks under their abilities. Matching of job
requirements and employees’ skills increases their efficiency. The third
principle aims at recognizing the high-performing employees. The managers
should identify employees who meet the set goals and provide incentives for
them. The last principle is the establishment of a hierarchy. Hierarchies
provide efficient ways of managing employees by providing a unity of command
(Tenaja, 2011, 60). The fifth principle harmony and not discord. This principle
targets for the mental revolution that ensures a good relationship between the
workers and the management. The last principle ensures that employees are
selected scientifically for recruitment and training. The right workers guarantee
the provision of quality services.
The distinguishing features of the scientific management
theory are the six guiding principles of scientific management. Bell identified
them as; Division of labour and specialization, best scientific methods of
accomplishing tasks, recognition of high-performing employees and adherence to
organizational hierarchy. Best Food Hotel strictly adhered to those
distinguishing features. Upon identification of a new job, the head of the
department finding the best way to
solve it. Existing methods could first be experimented before trying other
methods. Having the right training and tools for
work increases workers’ productivity (Bell and Martin, 2012, 17). Workshops and
organized seminars train the workers on the identified best way to
solve some problem.
Division of labour and specialization was embraced to
segment the big projects into manageable units. Organizational tasks then legally
distributed according to the employee’s qualifications (Bell and Martin, 2012,
17). The Best Food Hotel had different departments, each with its unique role
to play. Every department has a pool of talented best suited for the numerous
departmental tasks. In my department, there was a need to further fragment it
functions. The predominant job was a collection of lodging accommodation fee,
but at times we could make daily bank deposits. The fragmentation improved our
efficiencies as we could concentrate on a particular task. I chose to
specialize in the collection of lodging accommodation fees, issuance of
receipts and attending to customer complaints. With the rotational duties I
had had earlier on, I had known much of the organizational operations. I was,
therefore, ale to provide useful guidance on the complaints raised by the
customers.
Workers’ motivation is key to ensuring that they remain
productive at all time. Organizations set goals which workers strive to attain.
The managers of the respective departments are then mandated to identify and
recognize the high performing employees (Bell and Martin, 2012, 17).
Recognition encourages the employees to fully exploit their abilities, thus
increasing productivity. Best Food Hotel had developed numerous ways of
recognizing its employees. Bell (2012) realized the power of word of mouth is giving
praises to the workers. It was a norm among the Best Food Hotel managers to
give verbal credits to all employees, mostly when we had gatherings or as they
supervised our works. Employees who also perform exemplarily well were recognized
by receiving promotions and presents. I received two awards for providing
exemplary responses as indicated by the customers on the suggestion box of the
help desk where I served.
The Best Food Hotel also realized the need to have a
hierarchy in the organization. Scale denotes how power flows in an
organization, ensuring unity in command. The complex nature of the Best Food
Hotel organization requires a precise scale to avoid contradicting on the
employees in deciding whose order to follow. The numerous services offered,
including the provision of food, accommodation, parking, banking and recreation
activities like swimming, require their unique hierarchies. Hierarchy promotes
accountability in the organization. Responses thus ensured as. Good performing
managers can also be identified quickly and be advanced (Taylor, 2004, 59). The
hotel had a general manager with five assistant managers, each representing the
five departments. Supervisors worked under the assistant managers, and the
workers expected to submit to the supervisors.
Having the right employees with the right job skills
provides a competent workforce that effectively delivers its services. The Best
Food Hotel scientifically recruits and trains its employees—scientific research
to be done to identify a needed position in the organization. The job
requirements are transformed into the skills required. This matching
ensured that only the right candidates could apply for the advertised jobs.
The employees are provided with hands-on training and manuals (Taylor, 2004, 59). The new
employees could thus access to the guidelines required to effectively discharge
their duties.
The organization ensured harmony and understanding at all
times. All employees should conform to the laid principles of good
governance. Immediate solving of conflicts provides balance and smooth running
of the organization (Taylor, 2004, 59). An open-door policy ensures that employees could seek help at any time convenient to them. Helpline
numbers were also issued to us for us to report any kind of harassment to the
management without revealing our identity. Group leaders could as well solve
the majority of the conflicts as employees feared their supervisors. During the
weekly meetings, the managers and supervisors also encouraged teamwork as the
ideas generated by the employees yield more fruits than the orders from the
supervisors.
Even though the scientific management theory has proven
to be the right approach taken by the organization, it has got some limitations. The complexity of the organization structure cannot be adequately covered by
embracing a single management theory (Tenaja, 2011, 60). Different problems
require different solutions which may not
From experience I had at the Best Food Hotel, scientific management theory is
applicable for big organizations that deal with the provision of a few
specialized services. The Best Food Hotel is an amalgamation of many service
providers, and they ought to have used a systems management theory.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy proposed the systems management theory.
His works involved analyzing how best systems can work. In the 1940s, he
offered this theory and argued that for continual evolution, systems must
constructively interact. Being a biologist, he argued that businesses, just
like the human body, are made up different components. For optimal functioning,
these components must work harmoniously. Synergy, interdependency and
interrelations are the essential elements of this theory (Nankervis and
Compton, 206, 95). The concept of synergy argues that when two or more business
units work together, they can reap maximum profits. The images of
independence and interrelations show how businesses share resources.
The Best Food Hotel was a big organization with numerous
departments. The countless tasks accomplished by the department were independent
of other departments’ influence. I analyzed and concluded they ought to have
embraced a means of workers together. Since the customers are common to all the
three departments, they could be reaping huge profits. The general manager
seemed not to coordinate the five departments effectively due to the
limitations of the scientific approach theory. He was so rigid on adhering to
the organizational hierarchy. Employees never had a chance to make suggestions
on any improvement. The scale made the employees slaves whose role was to
only take orders from their superiors. The systems management theory advocates
for collaborative working in the organization. (Tanuja, 2018, 4). his creates
confidence in the workers. They will thus be more likely to give suggestions
for improvement.
The interdependency and interrelations increase the
creativity and innovation among workers. This theory ensures that organizations
don’t view themselves as a single entity and so has to strive to achieve all
the goals and objectives by itself (Tanuja, 2018, 7). There were ways of doing
some tasks that I felt like they were the best. Workers had no choice but to
use them since the management sees them as the best.ined by the administration.
Interdependency provides a better way of interacting with the employees. The
interaction apart from ensuring harmony, it makes it easier for the employees
to exchange ideas. The exchange fosters good relationships and improves their
efficiencies. It also ensures that the organization excels not just an
individual department or business unit. For instance, if the departments work
jointly, it would be easier for a customer to come for food, seek recreation
and parking services and then accommodation. The entire business could have
benefited, unlike when a customer visited a single department.
Employees are more likely to feel discouraged as few get promotions. The scientific management theory seeks to identify
high-performing employees and provide incentives. However, the method of
selecting and awarding the employees the best-performing employees may not be
equitable. The system is also inhumane. It does not consider the well-being of
the employees. The course is structured to minimize expenses and maximize
costs. It is even more likely to create unemployment as all the adopted methods
nare geared towards saving on labour costs. The profits realized as a result of
employee hard work and commitment are all directed to the employees, and the
employers never benefit. The workers are trade union rights and benefits. They
cannot bargain for better wages and woodworking conditions as they are
determined scientifically. The system management approach is equitable (Tanuja,
2018, 4). All departments equal regard.
In conclusion, the classical management theories have
improved management efficiencies when compared with the traditional approaches.
Even though the management theories apply to different organization structures,
they have brought about the industrial revolution. The management is in a
position to modify their organization structure. After creating the
organization structure, they can then find the best management theory. The
scientific management was satisfactorily good for the Best Food Hotel. Incorporating
some aspects of system management theory will add benefits to the organization.
References