MANAGEMENT THEORY

Management Theory

Management Theory

Flexibility is an important skill for managers. This essay will provide a critical evaluation of this hypothesis by examining six articles from academic journals on that topic to demonstrate how managers' flexibility can contribute positively towards the organizational goals and mission. For the purpose of this task, such reflection and analysis will concentrate on the areas of 'managing groups and communication', 'leadership' and 'planning', whereby the practical experience will inform and be contrasted to the theory. The first discussion challenges the typical understanding of sequenced stages of group development. The second section on leadership concentrates on the managerial communication and ethics. The third and fourth sections discuss management planning and decision making. The last discussion outlines the quality leadership skills needed for flexible management.

1. Managing groups

Development and sustenance of teamwork calls for team managers to maintain an appropriate balance between directive and nondirective styles. If a manager takes a highly directive approach, as seen in some traditional hierarchies, team members may react by becoming passive and dependent. If, in contrast, a manager takes a completely nondirective or hands-off approach, team members may experience ambiguity about their responsibilities and might respond with unwelcome initiatives or with confusion and indecision. A manager can promote teamwork by providing a moderate amount of structure and support for self-management, including clearly defining roles and responsibilities, helping define team performance measures, providing assistance in obtaining training and resources, helping with conflict and diversity, and encouraging independent handling of the details of the work (LaFasto, F. M. J., 2001).

2. Managerial communication and Ethics

Most work places today are becoming increasingly diverse as people of different genders, races, cultures, ethnic origins, and life styles find themselves working together. As a result, the workplace is becoming increasingly multicultural. Some organizations are just now encountering the effects of a diverse workforce, while others are trying to overcome the challenges created by diversity. However, no matter where an organization is in its development, the challenge is to ensure the workforce's diversity is a source of strength, not one of conflict. Effectively managing this diversity, then, is a critical component of success for today's employer (Collins, 2005).

Organizational justice embraces a realm of possibilities for effectively managing diversity. One of the sub systems of organizational justice is procedural justice. An article explains "Interpersonal communication tactics are not related directly to workers uncertainty of their career stability but to perceived procedural justice, and perceived procedural justice influenced their uncertainty" (Yamaguchi, 2005, p.168). This means the individuals were not worried about loosing their jobs because of a lack of communication or an inability to communicate with one another, but the uncertainty stemmed from perceptions of the employees. The employees saw management enforcing policies in an inconsistent manner. The employees were uncertain, because they were unsure when or how they would be reprimanded for not abiding by the company's rules. The employees felt the rules were not enforced consistently throughout the company.

They did not find the company's procedures to be fair and ...