What do you see in your organizational life that reflects current-day adaptations of these classical ways of looking at people in organizations? Be specific and provide one or two examples
Classical management view focuses on workers. As solely to get the work completed. The workers are not always passionate about efficiency and production. In classical management, an individual can be replaced, if the individual fails to do the job. In my organization life, sometimes I see employees are not so keen on completing the task. The management is always working hard to focus on productivity by adopting new processes and training employees in specific functions. I see that employees are trying to compete although they are disqualification or passionate to do the job. I believe there must be a better way to handle this situation. In the modern environment, the organization should adopt different strategies to reach its goals. By adopting different management, theories will help the organization to achieve its goals in today’s competitive market.
Classical management theory does not encourage employees and managers to create personal relationships. The employee emotions and reactions affect the productivity of the job. If the manager is not considerate about the employee personal issues, there will be a lack of motivation to do the job. The theory is too stringent on how rules must be followed precisely. Employees are required to develop procedures to complete specific tasks. Managers should be able to understand the difference between employees and make the best out of each employee’s strength.
Example 1
The secretary must complete the year-end report by 5 pm on the 15th of January. She has been working hard to get the job done. Unfortunately, she gets a call on the 14th evening that her baby is sick and need to be hospitalized. She is a single mom. In this situation, if the classical approach is used, the manager will not allow her to leave work until her job is completed. In this situation, the secretary does not have her full commitment and attention on the job. She may not be able to focus on the task and may make mistakes.
In my opinion, the manager should adopt a more lenient approach here. There should be a person cross-trained to do this function in the absence of the secretary. Also allowing the secretary to take care of her child will personally motivate her to be with the company for a more extended period.
Example 2
There are two different employees (employee A and employee B) with two different strengths. Both do a great job when they are together. They are both friends outside of work. Employee ‘A’s strength is in gathering data, Employee ‘B’s strength is analyzing data. But the manager micromanages the staff as he was not trusting the employees. The management decides to move employee ‘A’ to a different department as they do not want to see personal interactions. He replaces employee ‘A’ with a new employee.
In this case, the employee ‘A’ and employee ‘B’ together, the productivity was at a peak. By moving employee ‘A’, the manager creates a delay in the work process. And takes up more of the manager’s time to micromanage the new employee.
Due to many of the shortcomings, the current day managers prefer to adopt new management theories such as Human Relations Theory, Contingency Theory and Systems Theory. Employees and managers like to build rapport. Shows interest in discussing work and non-work-related topics. Employees feel essential when the managers are asking specific questions like how is your week going? What are your plans for the weekend?