The evolution of managerial control and the impact of its historical form in contemporary organizations
Introduction
Control is kind of ways that managers attempt to align employee’s capabilities and activities with the organization’s goals, which is essential to all organizations (Cyert, 1963). According to Fayol (1841-1952), control is an important element of management (Wren, 2009). From a particular perspective, management also can be seen as a major activity to seek and maintain control. From an overview of management literature, control has been found crucial at the center of classical and contemporary organizations, from scientific management to modern management (Harris, 2011). Managerial control, then, is a process that
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The evolution of managerial control and its application and limitation in significant historical periods
The evolution of management has gone through several important stages in the history, among which scientific management era, behavioral management era and modern management era are three significant management periods. Along with the development of management theory, different forms of control such as bureaucratic control, behavioural control and cultural control are dominated during the three major management periods respectively. The following will mainly discuss the characteristics and limitations of the three control forms occurring during the major management evolution periods.
Scientific management era and bureaucratic control
Scientific management was created and nurtured after industrial evolution in an era that science is regarded as a way of life and living. Frederick W. Taylor was a central figure in the development of scientific management theory. He and his contemporaries provided the early impetus for scientific management movement, which is also regarded as Taylorism. Following the urging of Fayol and Weber, who developed the management
Frederick Taylor (1917) developed scientific management theory (often called "Taylorism") at the beginning of this century. His theory had four basic principles: 1) find the one "best way" to perform each task, 2) carefully match each worker to each task, 3) closely supervise workers, and use reward and punishment as motivators, and 4) the task of management is planning and control.
“The control environment sets the tone of an organization, influencing the control consciousness of its people. It is the foundation for all other components of internal control, providing discipline and structure.” The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) published the Internal Control–Integrated Framework in 1992. As summarized above one can see the importance of the implementation of an effective control environment, as it sets the foundation for the other 4 components of internal control. The control environment is made up fundamental smaller components. The ones that were particularly relevant to BMIS are the use of board of directors and audit committee, management philosophy and operating style, and human resource policies and practices. If management doesn’t prioritize control, then the rest of the organization will not put precedence on following policies and procedures either. This was clearly evident at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS), and ultimately led to their downfall.
Ahrens and Chapman go on to introduce their article by giving a background knowledge of modern perceptions of management control systems through their mention of related literature. Some key points discuss pertain to the author’s
Overall Strength: in general, the article provides structure to a concept that is very intangible by: (a) describing the nature and the functions of control; (b) segregating the MCS into categories: core control system, organizational structure, and organizational culture; (c) illustrating how to apply the control model (satisfied my approach) (d) provides a basis for designing and evaluating the system. The manner, in which the model is presented, with its use of figures, further emphasizes the structure of the model. See below on further emphasis on parts (a) -(c).
The second aspect of management used to investigate the issue is Controlling. Control is a concern that is facing every manager in every organisation today. Many businesses continually look to improve relationships between all levels of staff in order for a healthy working environment. To effectively control a business the organisation requires information about
Frederick Taylor’s fundamental thoughts on scientific management dated back to early 1880s when he was employed at Midvale Steel Company and observed his coworkers “soldiering” at work. In the following two decades, he moved around different companies while developing his management theory
Scientific management or "Taylorism" is an approach to job design, developed by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) during the Second World War. With the industrial revolution came a fast growing pool of people, seeking jobs, that required a new approach of management. Scientific management was the first management theory, applied internationally. It believes in the rational use of resources for utmost output, hence motivating workers to earn more money. Taylor believed that the incompetence of managers was the major obstacle on the way of productivity increase of human labour. Consequently, this idea led to the need of change of management principles. On the base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working
In what ways are management of companies different or how are they similar to one another? And what is the importance of management in how a company runs nowadays? Many of us question about why knowing the history of management is important to Managers? According to (Samson et al, 2012, Page 53) “A historical perspective provides a broader way of thinking; a way of searching for patterns and determining whether they recur across time periods.” In the history of management, many trends have appeared. Many argue that the new techniques being introduced may not have a permanent solution. Others think that managers adapting to new techniques for continuous improvement in this ever changing world. It is important to know the background of how these management perspectives evolved and who and how is it being used now.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze a case study related to issue of control and how organizations can utilize different approaches of control in order to improve quality and performance in all arenas, domestic and global. The focus of this case revolves around Lincoln Electric, an Ohio based company that has set the bar for how to develop and implement a successful management system. This paper will use the Lincoln Electric case analysis to present recommendations on how managers can use control methods to enhance employee performance, increase employee participation and empowerment, and improve organizational quality in
With those evocative words, Frederick W. Taylor had begun his highly influential book; “The Principles of Scientific Management” indicating his view regarding management practices. As one of the most influential management theorists, Taylor is widely acclaimed as the ‘father of scientific management’. Taylor had sought “the ‘one best way’ for a job to be done” (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2003, p.39). Northcraft and Neale (1990, p.41) state that “Scientific management took its
Scientific Management theory arose from the need to increase productivity in the U.S.A. especially, where skilled labor was in short supply at the beginning of the twentieth century. The only way to expand productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers.
Over the past hundred years management has continuously been evolving. There have been a wide range of approaches in how to deal with management or better yet how to improve management functions in our ever changing environment. From as early as 1100 B.C managers have been struggling with the same issues and problems that manager's face today. Modern managers use many of the practices, principles, and techniques developed from earlier concepts and experiences.
“Management is the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of mankind and other resources to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively (University, p 4 2011)”. The greatest achievement of an organization is to provide goods and services that customer’s value. The managerial department of an organization has the power to determine the performance of the employee’s, which directly affects the quality of the service or product that is being supplied to the customer. “Managerial tasks are essential for effective management, which involves planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (University, p 6 2011)”. Planning is the process of identifying the suitable goals of an organization and how they will be implemented in the company. Organizing is the procedure that determines the departments of an organization. When departments have been established the next step is to decide who will work best at a particular job. The development of organization inside a business will form the organizational structure for the company. “Leading is the ability to inspire and organize individuals to work as a team to complete the goals of the business in an efficient and effective manner (University, p 9 2011)”. Controlling is being able to assess the procedures of a company and eliminate or change any strategy plans that are not showing high- performance levels. Controlling may consist of monitoring
The history of management includes multiple theories and understanding them can help individuals identify the ideas their organization is built upon. Classical organizational theory encompasses several major approaches to management that continue to be influential even today. The early to mid-twentieth century included the introduction of many concepts of management theory such as scientific management, bureaucratic and administrative theory. Most of these early approaches revolved around control of employees and processes in order to achieve more
First, I will discuss the exemplary management theories that transpired around the twentieth century. These involve scientific management, which center of attraction was on associating per-sonnel and jobs to increase effectiveness; and administrative management, which center of atten-tion is on recognizing the principles that will impel to the beginning of the nearly adept structure of management and organization. Next, you have behavioral management theories which was estab-lished both prior and subsequently the Second World War, which spotlight was on supervisors should guide and supervise their personnel to optimize their effectiveness. Then you have man-agement science theory, which was current during the Second World War and which has evolved to be very