Managers and their Roles
Managers of companies and organizations have specific roles such as being a good leader, a good communicator, an effective or recommendable negotiator, a setter of objectives, a person responsible for reinforcing missions of organizations, an organizer of business operations, and finally, a motivator who helps other employees achieve their goals and thereby achieving the set goals and targets of a company or organization. Managers must be efficient in order to guarantee that the organizations of which they have authority accomplish their objectives and improve the functioning and activities of the organizations. Furthermore, managers are also important in organizations by ensuring that employees work in the desirable and conducive working environment. That is, the working environment should be free of unnecessary conflicts and tensions.
Organizational Theories and the Role of Managers
Organizational theories play a fundamental role in shaping the behaviors and work styles of managers. By mastering various theories, managers can comprehend how to optimize their actions in a manner that will result in high productivity among employees. Organizational theories are classified into neoclassical and classical/modern theories. Notably, several organizational theories mainly focus on equity, structure, order, unity, and decision making to boost stability and growth in organizations. This paper analyzes briefly the scenarios at Galaxy Toys Inc. and provides a detailed discussion on the role of managers as well as the effects that various organizational theories have on managers.
Background on the Galaxy Inc. Scenario
Galaxy Toys was founded in 1956 by George Jepson and his wife in Toledo. The company mainly deals in developing and designing classic toys (Galaxy Toys). Furthermore, the company has specialized in the making of toys that inspire people of various age groups who are interested in understanding and exploring space.
Bart Aldrin: A Successful Manager
Bart Aldrin was the company’s shipping manager and was based in the same department in Ohio. Bart had been a shipping clerk at one of the international companies before he joined Galaxy Toys. He was praised as one of the most successful managers in the industry during his generation. This was due to his excellent management skills that included good planning as well as good employee relationship skills. Bart enjoyed a good relationship with most of the employees that worked under him. He ensured that all employees that worked in his department were well-trained and enjoyed doing their work. He took his management style to Galaxy Toys where he worked at the shipping department (Galaxy Toys). Most of the workers under him criticized his management style which focused mainly on specialization and efficiency. He believed that making people do what they like or enjoy would make them become more productive. Following his arrival at Galaxy Toys, there was a management shift in the 1980s which prompted him to rethink and reconsider his style and approach to management. After some time, he and other managers from different departments settled on a management approach that centered on unity among the employees, encouraged work-life balance among workers, enhanced participation of employees in various decision-making processes, as well as encouraged an increase in the value of employees at the workplace due to their experiences. Analytically, the new management approach automatically changed Galaxy Toys' organizational culture. The changes were all positive as they made the company become more competitive among other companies in the industry (Galaxy Toys).
Bart Aldrin's Management Style Part One
Bart's management style is best described as the classical school of thought which was developed during the early 1880s. Notably, the classical school of thought was mainly concerned with ensuring management growth to boost productivity. It aimed at enhancing management by boosting employee’s efficiency by introducing technical training among employees. It was termed as scientific school of thought in management and was developed during the era of the industrial revolution whereby several organizations were constantly emerging with various kinds of technology. The goal of this was to enhance efficiency and management of workers. Bart's management style at Galaxy Toys was focused on the provision of detailed guidelines and instructions to workers as well as training of the workers and encouraging specialization among workers. The mentioned school of thought gave much attention to division of labor as well as specific definition of roles and duties among the employees. In essence, Bart's main focus was ensuring efficiency in everything that employees did in the organization. Clearly, Bart utilized the classical school of thought in his management styles since his focus was on the efficiency of work processes. Furthermore, it is important to note that the classical school of thought was mainly concerned with accentuation on understanding specific functions in an organization as well as the methods that are used in performing the tasks (Goetsch, 2014). He too understood well all the processes that were needed to be accomplished to achieve desired goals. In particular, he understood the work well and he could easily guide employees well.
Notably, the theorist under the mentioned school of thought who elaborates on Bart's management style following the latter's move to Galaxy Toys is F.W. Taylor. He made a fundamental contribution to the theory using various concepts of the scientific approach to management. According to Taylor, the work process would be efficient if divided into tasks as well as through the scientific method which employees would end up using in their day-to-day management activities. Besides, he came up with four distinct principles of management-development of true or actual science mainly for the purpose of individual work; selection, training, and development of employees using scientific procedures; employee cooperation to ensure that all the work was done as per the instructions or guidelines; and division of certain responsibilities and work. Bart utilized the second principle a lot in his management at Galaxy Toys. He made sure that all the work processes were well implemented effectively by hiring and training workers to perform specific jobs excellently. He also maximized the use of the fourth principle by planning all his daily work as well as enhancing the division of labor to promote efficiency among the workers.
The best school of thought that can be used to effectively describe Bart's management styles is the behavioral school of thought. It mainly focuses on understanding human behaviors at work in various companies and organizations. It is crucial to note that the behavioral school of thought utilizes a concept that is mainly based on the interpersonal relationships and social factors in organizations (Goetsch, 2014). Clearly, Bart’s style of management is greatly affected by this school of thought since it considered or embraced paying attention to people's ideas as well as changing the attitudes of employees and making them competent and confident to handle each of their responsibilities efficiently. Furthermore, Bart’s management style gave consideration to the human aspect in the processes or activities surrounding management. Before the shift, the workers had threatened to demand participation in the management as well as increased value at the workplace. The change, however, caused the management to create and enhance good interpersonal relationships at the workplace. This is dictated clearly by one of the aforementioned principles.
Behavioral school of thought is supported by the theorist Elton Mayo. Elton is among the brains that came up with the Hawthorne experiments on the relational theory in humans (Bruce and Nyland, 2011). His support on the case is based on the fact that he backs up the facts in the theory using the experiments. The experiment had four main phases: experiment illumination, whereby a conclusion was made that productivity is always affected by factors that have no relation to the physical conditions; relay assembly test, whereby a conclusion was made that extra attention given to employees always led to higher productivity; interviewing program, in which a conclusion and a recommendation were arrived at that managers are obliged to develop necessary listening skills and should always listen and consider problems and feelings of employees when making certain decisions; and the bank wiring observation, which led to a conclusion that employees are more driven by group/peer pressures compared to financial types of incentives. A recommendation was thus made on the need for group norms. Bart listens to employees and pays attention to their complaints and problems.
Part Two
Joyce's comprehension of her specific role as a manager is revealed based on the manner in which she does resource allocation. It is necessary that managers allocate resources mainly in the best or most promising ventures to achieve the goals of the organization. Improved technology has led to various innovations and advanced scientific concepts in management that have had different effects on the society and the world at large. Hence, Joyce has to stay updated with the modern trends in scientific management techniques by studying the changing trends and making the right decisions on what is likely to work for Galaxy Toys. Joyce has to involve her workers in the process of decision-making to make the implementations easier for her. Moreover, involving workers in the decision-making process will make them feel relevant or needed in the organization (Goetsch, 2014). Her comprehension of her functions as a manager can also be seen based on the manner in which she relates to the employees. For a company to grow in the current society or era, a caring as well as attentive manager is mandatory. Joyce should consider encouraging and promoting teamwork among the employees.
The new management will ensure increased productivity in the shipping department. Good management styles and skills will lead to the realization of set goals through well-written strategies. For instance, all employees within the department will work collectively to attain a single set objective for the department. In addition, several employees will be more efficient than before as they will understand all their roles and duties as well as the goals and objectives of the company. This will lead to increased revenues. It is important to note that effective management motivates employees and should thus be encouraged always. It makes employees collaborate and work together to achieve the set goals. Evidently, Joyce understands the most appropriate management practices and methods necessary for tackling issues affecting the smooth running of activities in the department. This makes her suitable to handle roles effectively in the work environment. Applying her mentioned skills and abilities will lead to reduced liabilities and costs and a corresponding increase in earnings within the shipping department (Goetsch, 2014). Consequently, this will lead to higher productivity than before and the growth of Galaxy Toys.
References
Bruce, K., &Nyland, C. (2011). Elton Mayo and the deification of human relations. Organization Studies, 32(3), 383-405.
Galaxy Toys, (n.d). BMGT 364 Galaxy Toys, Inc. Company Profile. Retrieved from: https://www.homeworkmarket.com/sites/default/files/qx/16/09/15/03/company_profile.pdf
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
