Classical School of Management Thought
Scientific Management and F. W. Taylor Scientific management, according to an early definition, refers to “that kind of management which conducts a business or affairs by standards established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiment, or reasoning.” Advocators of this school of thought attempted to raise labor efficiency primarily by managing the work of employees on the shop floor. Frederick Winslow Taylor, who is generally acknowledged as “the father of scientific management” believed that organizations should study tasks and prepare precise procedures. His varied experience gave him ample opportunity to have firsthand…
Management – Evolution & Trends
Management as a practice gained ground when the concept of working together in groups to achieve common objectives was realized by men. But the study of management as a systematic field of knowledge began at the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which ushered in a new era of serious thinking and theorizing on management. To begin with, there is no single universally accepted theory of management. “The wild array of management theories could even look like a jungle” says Harold Koontz. However, to help put the different theories in perspective, we shall discuss them as representing different schools of thought.
Leading
Organizations as they grow, develop complex structures with an increasing need for co- ordination and control. To cope and manage such situations, leadership is necessary to influence people to cooperate towards a common goal and create a situation for collective Response. Leading entails directing, influencing, and motivating employees to perform essential tasks. It also involves the social and informal sources of influence to inspire others. Effective managers lead subordinates through motivation to progressively attain organizational objectives. Personality research and study of job attitudes in Behavioral Science provides important insight on the need for coordination and control. Thus it becomes important for leadership to create harmony among individual efforts to collectively work towards organizational goals.
Overcoming Global Challenges
Organizations have to understand these challenges and work on ways to overcome them if they are to conduct successful business globally. The have to develop competencies that will enable them and their managers to effectively manage and lead international companies. Global Competencies Multinationals should develop global competencies based on factors like the kind of global presence the company desires, the number and type of international or global jobs it requires, etc. Business Competencies Business competencies involve developing business knowledge and understanding of the global business environment.…
Challenges Faced by International Managers
International managers are constantly faced with multiple challenges, which need to be properly understood and dealt with. Some of the challenges are: - Conduct business under local legislations in different countries, languages and currencies, for serving local markets while complying with global company standards. - Location-specific risks like unstable economies and governments, security concerns and labor availability. - Work and deal with employees from different nationalities and cultures, which requires a lot of understanding. - The ever volatile global markets, its infrastructure and the technological disparities among countries.
Global Ecosystem and its Impact
Over the past decade, the business framework and environment has undergone dramatic changes. Due to the intensification of globalization, international organizations are faced with unprecedented competition and pressures. Organizations and respective managements have to understand that operating in the global marketplace multiplies the variables and interdependencies to be considered while making decisions. The volatile global dynamics make the decisions and plans of today outdated by next month. The need for companies in this environment is global executives and managers who apart from analytics, skills and technical insights are able to be effective in such diverse and dynamic settings. Thus, international managers are required to operate in the global context with changing…
Types of Multinational Corporations
Some of the common forms of Multinational Companies are: Franchise Operations Under this form, a multinational corporation endows firms in foreign countries the legal right to use its business model and brand per the terms and conditions of franchise agreement, which can be reviewed and renewed periodically. The firms who get the right or license pay royalty or license fee to multinational corporations. Branches and Subsidiaries In this kind of a system, the multinational…
Organizing
Once a manager has created a work plan, the next phase in management cycle is to organize the people and other resources necessary to carry out the plan. Organizing should also consider the resources and physical facilities available, in order to maximize returns With minimum expenditure. Organizing may be referred to as the process of arranging and distributing the planned Work, authority and resources among an organization’s members, so they can achieve The organization’s goals. Organizing involves the following steps: Creating the organizational structure - The framework of the organization is created within which effort is coordinated allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. This structure is usually represented by an organizational chart, which is a graphic representation of the chain of command…
What are MNCs?
Multinational corporations are profit seeking enterprises having international power, capital, manpower, and resource-seeking practices. We can say that an organization that performs its business in two or more countries is a multinational company. These companies operate worldwide through their own branches and subsidiaries or through agents who represent them. All the business activities are managed and controlled by the central head office of the organization, which is usually situated in the home country of the company. The equity capital of the subsidiaries or branches in various countries is contributed by both the host company and the parent company. However, management…
