Management theory and environmental forces Free Essay Example

Division of labor is a type of management principle that is widely used by so many companies in their day-to-day operations for purposes of ensuring that work is done as expected. As a management principle, it basically deals with the partitioning of work at the workplace or company is such a way that each specific employee is responsible for a particular part of work at the company. The employee only does all that they are supposed to do and the expectations are that the employees do their best so as to produce the best for the company.

Microsoft is a respected market leader in the world of computer software. It is one of the companies in the world where the principle of division of labor is held in high esteem and heavily applied in its administration. The work available in the company is distributed to the workers and each worker only does all that he or she has been asked to do and perfection is always expected.

It is likely that some management analysts may credit this strictly observed system of division of labor for the wild success that Microsoft has attained.

Scientific management has division of labor as applied at Microsoft as on of its key tenets (Aitken, 1985). This is because it stresses in training a set of workers in handling a certain piece of work and then the trained human resources go a ahead to receive the required motivation to do that particular work for which they have been given training (Thomas, 2004).

Literature Review on the evolution of management theories There are quite a number of management practices that have been suggested by great scholars who have spent a great deal of their precious time digging into the issue of management in organizations.

These principles include scientific management, administrative management, behavioral management, management science and organizational management. Scientific management is a case in which careful ways of dealing with pieces of work are devised after a thoughtful study of the piece of work. The man behind the principle or system of scientific management is Frederic Taylor and most of his ideas on this system of management were captured in his works such as the Shop management of 1905 and the principles of scientific management of 1901(Taylor, 1911).

The basic tenets or stand points for the system of scientific management are the picking or identification of a certain type of work, the development of the best possible ways of handling the work, the identification of workers with the best skills to do the work and the training of the workers on the recently developed methods of doing that piece of work. After training of the workers on the best ways or methods of doing this piece of work, they are given proper support through the adequate planning of their work places or a station as well as work schedules (Simon, 2005).

This assists in the elimination of interruptions and disruptions thus allowing the workers to work smoothly result of a workstation without interruptions or disruptions is maximum production. The remaining bits after the best people for the job have been given sufficient support is the provision of the required motivational elements to these workers (Kanigel, 1999). These motivational; elements are meant to ensure that the workers have the necessary drive to apply or use the acquired skills to produce the best quality work for the firm, company or organization.

It is also vital to note that it is not only quality but also quantity of the output. Besides the above, scientific management has some key elements that define its outlook. Normally, the managers have the tendency of following rules and regulation that are laid down by the rule-making organ of the organization. The major reason for this is that it is possible to generate a set of reliable and predictable behaviors from the human resources of the firm.

Then it is always certain that the management of the organization is different from the ownership of the organization. None of the members of the management board is connected to the ownership of the firm. Apart from the above, it is a routine to record the decisions made. This is done in a bid to ensure that there is a place for reference in case something has to be followed up or someone new has to be given information on how the firm is run. Thus the element of continuity is considered a crucial factor in the firm as far as scientific management is concerned.

The other element of this type of leadership or management include the legitimacy or official nature of all authority and responsibility, the clear definition of labor so that every one understands what they are supposed to do, the placement, hiring or recruitment or selection of human resources based on competencies, experience in the concerned field or training attained at individual level or offered by the organization. In general, serious emphasis is placed on labor as a means of ensuring that the capital that is put in the company pays dividends to the owners of the company (Harry, 1974).

There have been argument arguments of worker dehumanization due to the transformation of the laborer into machine like creatures whose target is to produce through a certain line as well as the argument that one is forced to shed all the learned skills that are not relevant to the new area of concentration and this leads to de-skilling of the employees but all these arguments are discounted by the volume of production that normally comes out once the laid down rules are followed and the production target met.

Apart from scientific management that puts a lot of emphasis on division of labor as its most important tenet, there is the management style that is based on the elements of administration for the achievement of its objectives. Going by the name administrative management, it calls for the carrying out of proper administration or careful monitoring of the goings on in an organization. The various administrative units that are found in the other systems of management are also found in this type of management (Jones and George, 2007).

Management can also be done in a way that all the actions that are done within the organization are influenced so that they assist attain a certain objective. It relies heavily on the fact that understanding human behavior can assist manages people in a work situation properly and thus achieves the goals and objectives of the organization or firm (Danforth and Boyle, 1999). This type of management is called behavioral management and it always uses the rich information that is in plenty in the field of psychology that deals with human behavior.

Managers who dare understand the behavior of the workers at the workplace always ends up succeeding big and thus it is always possible to score high points with this type of management (Jones and George, 2007). Also, there is the aspect of organizational management that ahs become a common management practice in most companies in the world today. In organizational management, the concern of the leadership of the organization is to develop the workers of the firm with the aim of making everyone comfortable.

As much as the owners of the business pay attention to making profits, they also care for the personal development of the workers and the community in which the firm is located gets to benefit as it gets included in the activities that take place within the organization. This comes in form of corporate social responsibility. Projects that are of great value to the society are supported by the organization by use of funds that are obtained as profits in the process of operating in the area.

Employees get trained from time to time and their other concerns are listed to and catered for so as to avoid disruptions to the smooth running of the firm (Jones and George, 2007). Theories of management that are used by Microsoft in its operations Microsoft employs some of these management theories in its company operations. The most prominent among the theories that are visible within the organization is scientific management. The extreme emphasis that is put on competence on the hiring of manpower is an element of scientific management.

There is a routine training of hired staff at Microsoft for purposes of ensuring that the hired employees know what is supposed to be done and where it is supposed to be done. The employees get assistance in a bid to ensure that their schedules are undisrupted and then get incentives to ensure that they produce maximumly. This is especially so with research engineers handling the delicate part of software for computers. This department requires constant research since it is the backbone of the company and a lot of attention goes to it.

Bides the above, both behavioral and organizational management theories can be spotted in Microsoft operations. Employees support programs are in full swing and when an employee has a problem; it is not uncommon to find the organization coming in to assist. This is characteristic of organizational management practice. The behavior of the employees is of major concern to the management and from time to time there are guidance programs geared towards ensuring that the employees are equipped with the necessary skills fro exhibiting professional behavior at the workplace so as to maximize their productivity.

Management strategies at Microsoft Management strategies that are being used successfully at Microsoft, the ones that are not being used and should be used Successfully applied management strategies at Microsoft This research into the operations of the Microsoft Corporation disclosed an umber of management strategies that are being used in a very successful way and they have led to the rise of the organization. To start with, the Microsoft leadership runs an employee welfare program. In this programme, the employees are enabled to access social services at any one point if they need them.

Sick employees can get medical attention, the employees are insured, and guidance and counseling services are also available to the employees of Microsoft. The end result of such an undertaking is that the employees are very comfortable and all they do when they report to work is to go to their workstations and do their best. In addition to the above, Microsoft corporation has a strict leadership structure that is respected by all its employees. It is not the habit of Microsoft employees to come out talking when they are not authorized to do so.

Leaders within the organization do all that is supposed to be done as directed by the rules and regulations of the company and this allows for smooth flow of information from one corner of the company to another without confusion. Another strategy that has been successfully applied by Microsoft in its operation that ahs led to great benefits for the corporation is the adoption of a far-reaching corporate social responsibility. The Founder of the corporation, Mr. Bill Gates has committed a lot of funds to a charity organization that he has appropriately named The Bill Gates ad Melinda Gates Foundation.

This foundation is the riches charity organization in the globe and it is credited with distributing food to the hungry, medicine to the sick and computers to school children. This has taken place in the United States of America, European countries as well as African and Asian countries. This strategy of serious corporate social responsibility has made the Microsoft Corporation. With this kind of strategy, it is not easy to find someone who does not appreciate the work that the corporation is doing around the world.

This has translated to wild sales due to great appreciation of the company’s products and the end result is obviously high profits. Added to the above is the strategy of employee training. It is always a routine that once an employee has been hired by Microsoft, the employee is given all the learning resources so as to enable this new employee know how to make the best contribution to the firm. This kind of strategy has made the Microsoft Corporation sharpen the operational abilities of its human resources and this has given the company an edge in the industry.

Leaving the above aside, employee freedom is a key issue at the Microsoft Corporation. Any employee working for Microsoft is given large performance latitude and the bargain form the company is that the employee meets deadlines and presents high quality work. The level of supervision is low and dictatorial tendencies are low. The outcome of such an organizational structure is that the employee feel relaxed and get disciplined without being followed around the workplace like toddlers. This has made the employees be loyal to the form and working hard for it is not a problem.

Far from the above, Microsoft corporation promotes the best achievers. It is not possible to find an employee who has not achieved anything getting promoted. Instead, hardworking and innovative employees get promotions and salary increases. Professionalism is rewarded and prejudices that are baseless are never a source of victimization in the firm. This is a strategy that has made employees work hard since they are assured that no one will stand in their way if they do their best. Strategies that are not being used and should be used by the Microsoft Corporation

A number of other strategies that can do very well for Microsoft but are not being used and need to be used include the act of specialization. It is not easy to find an employee who has just one trade in Microsoft. For example a software engineer working for Microsoft has information on so many other areas such as hardware and assembly. As necessary as it may seem, it is possible that carrying information on so many areas can make one be unable to deeply understand the information that is required for his or her field.

The obvious understanding is that if each employee concentrates in just one area, we are going to have a situation whereby the employees will be able to sufficiently handle their fields. Also, the Microsoft Corporation seems to be paying too much attention to charity work. The work of the charity foundation seems to be growing bigger and taking more time and space than the original business that led to the formation of the foundation. This is management imbalance due to conflict of interest.

If the management cannot be split, then it is prudent that the business be given the attention it deserves (Jones and George, 2007). Scientific Management Principles as Proposed by Henri Fayol and how the Microsoft Corporation is using them. Henri Fayol is regarded as the father of management. A French engineer, he was able to issue strong theories on how management should be carried out if any firm is to succeed. Henri Fayol proposed the famous fourteen principles of management that have gone a head to form a very strong ground for management in the world today.

Though not fully applied by the Microsoft coporration, some are used and it can be beneficial if all of them are applied. Principle number one is division of labor whereby we are supposed to divide labor and specialize. This will assist increase productivity. Authority is principle number two whereby the right to issue commands with responsibility is necessary. Discipline is in both seniors and juniors is number three while unity of command is number four followed by unity of direction in number five (Encyclopedia of Business and finance).

Subordination of individual interest for the general good is number six, enumeration of the workers properly is number seven while appropriate decentralization or centralization is number eight. Principle number nine is scalar chain or line of authority, order is number ten, equity is number eleven, stability of tenure of the employees is number twelve while employee freedom to initiate and the morale of employees take number thirteen and fourteen respectively (Marino). In linking Henri Fayol’s fourteen principles of management to Microsoft Corporation, division of labor already exists.

Authority to some level can make the leadership be more in charge, discilpline is key to the corporation’s undertakings and unity of direction is equally important for the company if it is to achieve its goals. The morale of the employees can be boosted so as to raise their commitment even more. Microsoft is a growing company and commitment is all it needs. The management experience gained by Henri Fayol as he took over management jobs after his training as an engineer helped him come up with the fourteen management principles above.

Despite his workstation which was a mere mine; the principles have a worldwide application in the management of today’s businesses (Peters, 1994). Forces that are influencing the policies of Microsoft Corporation, (Direct and indirect) A number of forces have in the past and still continue to influence the policies ad actions of Microsoft Corporation. Some of these forces are internal or direct in that they arise from within the workplace while others are from outside. The direct forces include internal competition among Microsoft employees and renumeration.

The indirect forces are government policy on companies such as Microsoft and competition from other software companies such as UNIX producers. In addition to the above, it is vital to note that some of these forces are value adders while other re value destroyers. Whatever their nature, the company has always tried to find a way to deal with each type of force appropriately. Below is the way each of these forces has been handled by the Microsoft Corporation. Internal competition among Microsoft employees has been described by the leadership as a value adder.

They have witnessed tremendous innovations as a result of competition and this force has been deal t with through encouragement. Employees are allowed to compete so long it does not get out hand and turn personal and nasty (Friedman, 2006). Renumeration can be both a value adder and a value destroyer. Microsoft leaders and managers have dealt with this issue by always revising upwards the salaries earned by its employees. This has led to the satisfaction of the employees and the complaints raised over salaries are few.

Government policy is always a value adder if the company in question is ready to participate in decision-making when certain policies are being drawn. This is what Microsoft has always done and thus government policy has always been a value adder to the firm. External competition from producers of similar goods and services is possibly a value adder and a value destroyer. Copying the services of competitors can lead to lawsuits thus destroying company value. Carring out proper research and bringing out superior products makes external competition a value adder in value driven management.

Microsoft Corporation has been able to harness external competion by investing heavily in research. Thus it has always remained a head. Conclusion From the above research, it is clear that management has undergone serious evolution since the time of Henri Fayol. But the ancient ideas they thought of are still workable. Microsoft as a corporation has managed to wade through the treacherous waters of business by utilizing the principle of division of labor as proposed in scientific management. The lesson we learn from this is that with the right choices in management, success is possible in organizations.

References: Aitken, H. G. , (1985); Scientific Management in Action: Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal, Princeton University Press Danforth, S &Boyle, J. R. , (1999); Cases in Behavior Management ISBN-10: 0137557116, ISBN-13: 978-0137557110, Prentice Hall Encyclopedia of Business and finance; Management. http://www. enotes. com/business-finance-encyclopedia/management Retrieved on 13th Dec. 2008 Friedman, T. L. , (2006); The World Is Flat ISBN: 9780374292799, Farrar Straus & Giroux Jones, G. R &George, J. M. , (2007); Essentials of Contemporary Mana