Contemporary Management
IRHR1001- Essay
The Primary Article is: Carroll, S. and Gillen, D. (1987) Are the Classical Management Functions Useful in Describing Managerial Work? Academy of Management Review 12(1), pp. 38-51.
The essay will endeavor to provide an insight into how Fayol’s basic principles of Classical Management Functions are indeed useful in describing managerial work. In the last (20th) century, the role of managers in business becomes more diverse as the number of tasks in which businesses were involved in significantly grew in quantity and complexity. As a result there was an increased interest in the most effective and efficient method of management. This led to the development of different management theories, which included classical management functions which one (1) could argue led to management being defined as the process of organizing tasks through employees to make sure that goals and objectives are met efficiently. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter 2006, p. 9).
Carroll and Gillen evaluated and examined the different Classical Management functions such as; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling which were introduced by Fayol (1949) in respect to how useful they are in describing managerial work. One (1) of the key responsibilities that managers have is be best described through planning. This ensures future outcomes the business are met through strategic, operational and tactical planning. Managerial work also involves task assignment, implementation of plans, delegation of duties and ascertaining what it is that actually needs to be carried out. This is mostly fulfilled through organising, which is an element of classical management functions.
“A successful manager monitors the planning and organisation that has been implemented” (Wood, 2002) and this is done through controlling, another Classical Management Function. This classical management function allows managers not only to monitor but also to compare progress made to the
The Primary Article is: Carroll, S. and Gillen, D. (1987) Are the Classical Management Functions Useful in Describing Managerial Work? Academy of Management Review 12(1), pp. 38-51.
The essay will endeavor to provide an insight into how Fayol’s basic principles of Classical Management Functions are indeed useful in describing managerial work. In the last (20th) century, the role of managers in business becomes more diverse as the number of tasks in which businesses were involved in significantly grew in quantity and complexity. As a result there was an increased interest in the most effective and efficient method of management. This led to the development of different management theories, which included classical management functions which one (1) could argue led to management being defined as the process of organizing tasks through employees to make sure that goals and objectives are met efficiently. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter 2006, p. 9).
Carroll and Gillen evaluated and examined the different Classical Management functions such as; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling which were introduced by Fayol (1949) in respect to how useful they are in describing managerial work. One (1) of the key responsibilities that managers have is be best described through planning. This ensures future outcomes the business are met through strategic, operational and tactical planning. Managerial work also involves task assignment, implementation of plans, delegation of duties and ascertaining what it is that actually needs to be carried out. This is mostly fulfilled through organising, which is an element of classical management functions.
“A successful manager monitors the planning and organisation that has been implemented” (Wood, 2002) and this is done through controlling, another Classical Management Function. This classical management function allows managers not only to monitor but also to compare progress made to the
References: * Carroll, S. And Gillen, D. (1987) Are the Classical Management Functions Useful in Describing Managerial Work? Academy of Management Review 12(1), pp. 38-51. * Cynthia, M. Pavett and Alan, W. Lau. (1983) Managerial Work: The Influence of Hierarchical Level and Functional Specialty, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1 pp. 170-177 * Lance B. Kurke and Howard E. Aldrich. (1983) Mintzberg was Right!: A Replication and Extension of the Nature of Managerial Work, Management Science , Vol. 29, No. 8, pp. 975-984 * Luthans, F. (1988) Successful vs. Effective Real Managers, The Academy of Management Executive (1987-1989), Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 127-132 * Mintzberg, H. (1971) Managerial Work: Analysis from Observation, Management Science , Vol. 18, No. 2, Application Series pp. B97-B110 * Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Creed, A (2011) Organisational Behaviour: Core Concepts and Applications (2nd Ed), Wiley, Milton