Theme 1: Helping a business to create a competitive edge among competitors is a crucial job of the manager.
Organizational Theory
Competitive advantage in the 20th century was created by making quality products and services faster, cheaper, and moving them quickly around a town, state or nation. Business organizations in the 21st century must continue to produce goods and services faster and cheaper than its competitors; however, unlike the 20th century, competitive advantage is gained only when a business can customize the goods and/or services to meet customer demands and have them delivered around the world.
Ironically, while the pace of doing business has magnified thousands of times, employees desire more than ever to slow down and balance work with family.
People who successfully manage this 21st century paradigm must comprehend all facets of the organization and how they compose the company's competitive advantage. Manager's in particular have to find ways to secure competitive advantage via innovation of the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling the organization's rules, procedures, processes and people who execute them.
As seen in week one organizational theory has evolved to embrace a human centric framework. This week theme one seeks to explain how 21st century businesses' must blend 20th and 21st century management theory and application to create a competitive edge. In theme two the material for the week begins to explain that the foundation of most existing managerial practices stems from Fayol's four functions of management.
It is upon Fayol's foundation that manager's will have to build their practices for a new agile organization structure. In the coming weeks, students will examine the four functions so that they can understand the common practice upon which new ideas of management are built.
Read/View:
• Organizational Culture and Innovation: read all sections from Adapting and Innovating, Technology and Innovation, Managing Change for Organizations, and Managing Change for Employees
• Strategic Management: Internal Analysis Inputs to Strategy - read section Porter's Competitive Strategies
• Organizational Capability - Creating Competitive Advantage
• Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage
• Building a Learning Organization
• Navigating in the new competitive landscape: Building strategic flexibility and competitive advantage in the 21st century
• Competitive Advantage in the Enterprise Performance
Learning Activity #1 - Theme 1
In the 20th century, West focused on goals, cost, quality, and efficient production to keep the business profitable. For businesses to remain sustainable today they must maintain a competitive edge either by price or innovation in the marketplace. In theme 1, we take a closer look at the way managers maintain sustainability through innovation in the 21st century organization.
Artemus Gordon has noticed an increase in the cost of water supply in the last three years. Since many of the products produced in the health care line are water based this discovery is significant enough to bring to West's attention. Artemus decided to research the reasons for the increase to determine if a recommendation for a budget adjustment is in order or even a need for a change of supplier. What he found was a great deal more significant. A serious shortage of potable water supply globally. A problem of this magnitude could potentially knock Biotech out of the marketplace altogether.
Research the affect that a global water shortage would have on business today and write a memo to West outlining the problem, its potential effects on Biotech and some of the recommendations West should consider taking to the Strategic Planning Team. Be sure to present to West the urgency in making this a proactive measure for the company and ways the company could make this an opportunity rather than a problem.
Theme 2: The Functions of Management and the New Organization
The role of the manager in a business organization has been defined as a person who can implement the vision, purpose and mission of the business by creating processes, procedures, and short/long term goals that put the organization on a competitive path. The manager does this through the implementation of the four primary functions or pillars of management - planning, organizing, leading/directing, and controlling.
Henri Fayol's functions of management mentioned in our organizational theory timeline has created a foundation for the modern management role and are very much alive in running businesses today (it should be noted that it is currently five not four [to include staffing] management pillars).
The challenge for the manager in the 21st century is to merge the traditional functions of a manager to include a greater role in developing long term goals and leading people while still maintaining the traditional functions of management. This week's themes explore the definition of the four functions of management and how they form the foundation of the manager's job.
Read/View:
• Introduction to Management: Principles of Management - read all sections
• Leadership: Defining Leadership - read section Management versus Leadership
• Strategic Management: Creating Strategy: Common Approaches - read all sections
• Process of Staffing Function of Management (10 Steps)
Learning Activity #2 - Theme 2
A challenge for the manager in the 21st century is to merge the traditional functions of a manager with the new demands of workplace life. The change of value regarding human resources to the organization coupled with technology is shifting the design of organizations toward "boundaryless" or a flat organizational structure.
In this theme we examine Fayol's Five Functions of management as well as the 14 lesser functions of management upon which most management roles are based today, and how they are bumping up against the constructs of new 21st century management theory and technology to create tension in the workplace.
In a recent conversation at lunch West and Gordon were once again facing off over the idea of changing the Production Department to include a new people- centric theory of management. Gordon would like to see staff be given time to do paperwork at home or to be given a computer center space where they can log in their weekly statistics, requests, and general paperwork during set work hours.
This would allow less overtime and make workers happier and potentially prevent a government citation for overtime. West replied, "Fayol would tell you that employees need strong task and time-centered management. Workers can do tasks on their own time if they do not get the work done on ours. Fayol would have no patience for human resource theory. It doesn't belong in a production line. It may be okay for Google but not here."
• Is West correct?
• Do today's management theories not work for the manufacturing business? Explain how Gordon should reply to West. Be sure to explain Fayol's Five Functions of Management and how these functions have been expanded over the years to include staffing.
• Also discuss how technology has changed the workplace to allow for worker preferences and flexibility.
• Why would Google be okay with new theory and technology and not Biotech (difference between the service and manufacturing purpose of business)?