Introduction
Various studies and researches has been carried out to claim and support that putting people (employee, customers, shareholders etc.) first for the company result in profitability and higher returns. Various organization which chose different paths and strategies to effectively run their organizations have failed miserably. Such organizations often put their business objective as portfolio of asset giving importance to it. Pfeffer and Veiga’s article ‘Putting people first for organisational success’ discusses the “Seven principles of successful organisations” in the workplace that include employment security, extensive sharing of financial and performance information throughout the organization, selective hiring of new personnel, reduced status distinctions and barriers, including dress, language, office arrangements, and age differences across levels, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principle of organizational design, extensive training, and comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance.
This paper discusses and critically evaluate Pfeffer and Veiga’s Seven principles of successful organisations The paper critically explores whether or not managers who used Henri Fayol’s 100 year old ‘14 Principles of Management’ would be able to manage today’s successful organization as outlined by Pfeffer and Veiga.
Seven principles of successful organizations
Employee security
Workers surely can be sacked
All organizations have the common objective of being successful and nowadays due to competition that is not an easy achievement. The most important capital that companies have is the human capital and, to be successful, is essential for the organizations to focus on people.
His 14 universal principles of management, listed in Table 1.1, were intended to show managers how to carry out their functional duties. Fayol’s functions and principles have withstood the test of time because of their widespread applicability. In spite of years of reformulation, rewording, expansion, and revision, Fayol’s original management functions still can be found in nearly all management texts. In fact, after an extensive review of studies of managerial work, a pair of management scholars
Most successful organisations in recent times have some if not all of Fayol 's fourteen principles, for example; in the 1920 's Alfred P.Sloan the executive head of general motors reorganised the company into semi-autonomous divisions, corporations undergoing reorganisation still apply "classical organisation" principles very much in line with Fayol 's recommendations.5
The twentieth century has brought in a number of management theories which have helped shaped our view of management in the present business environment. These emerging theories have enabled managers to appreciate new patterns of thinking, new ways of organising and new ways of managing organisations and people. Over the years these different theories have enabled the study
How well a business manages its assets and resources predicates its overall success. Companies that spend financial resources foolishly are apt to find themselves in bankruptcy. Companies that work capital equipment resources beyond the machine’s capabilities or for other than intended purposes are apt to experience downtime and/or lose the equipment to failure. The same premise holds true for a company’s human assets. However, unlike other company assets, which depreciate over time, human assets appreciate over time when managed properly. The article, Importance of Human Resource Investment for Organizations and Economy: A critical Analysis, explains the importance of managing human assets as follows:
One of the most dominant factor is the fact that human resources are the most valuable assets of an organization. Another important principle, expressed by Ashly Pinnington in her book ‘Human Resource Management Ethics and Employment’, is that “a succesful business is more likely to be achieved if the personal polices and
Schuler (1997) summarises Strategic Human Resource Management as expressing how people are to be treated and valued in the workforce as well human resource management's responsibility for articulating the processes which encourage behaviour which is consistent with the organisation's business. In this context strategic human resource management also includes the development of guidelines for the implementation of people-related programs and, the more complex area of co-ordinating and facilitating change.
People are the key to business success. However nowadays of business this is often neglected and people are seen to be a necessary expense. A successful business does not just rely on a person’s power instead it involves continuous effective teamwork and communication. Storey (1995) defines that human resource management is an individual approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques.
In today’s environment, Human Relations seem to be more relevant to the business management than scientific management. Scientific management looks for the efficiency of productivity of the workers. Human Relations is more concern on the workers’ need, which will change over the years. It shows that human relation approach is more acceptable to the world today, as well as the ability to adapt to the constant changing of the worker needs.
Successful management requires an understanding of the fundamental concepts of effective management techniques and principles. In order to gain such insight, and manage effectively and efficiently, managers must develop an awareness of past management principles, models and theories. From the turn of the 20th Century, the
Instead, human resource practices of ‘best fit’ are more effective when they are designed to fit certain contingencies in the organization’s specific context. Consequently, ‘best practice’ is perceived to improve performance within an organization when a select bundle of policies is implemented and the employees are managed more efficiently. Jeffrey Pfeffer’s (1994) work under this conception offers a list of seven practices assumed to be most beneficial to an organization for achieving competitive advantage ‘through people’. (1) The importance of employment security is emphasized because it is unrealistic to expect such hard work and commitment from employees without some expectation of security on their part. (2) Selective hiring is a source of sustainable competitive advantage through its “capturing” of particularly exceptional human talent (human capital). (3) Self-managed teams require efficient teamwork, and are seen as a route to achievement of more creative solutions. Employees deserve to be rewarded for
Management principles are needed for the efficient and effective operation of organizations, regardless of the level of the manager or the industry in which they operate. This is true for today’s organizations now more than ever. The global environment of today ensures that organizations will face staunch competition. Failure and weakness on the part of management ultimately lead to loss of market share and organizational closure. Also, gone are the days when managers could ‘bluff’ their way through their dealings with employees who have become more demanding and aware of their legal rights.
People management consist on prioritising and considering workers, people as the most important resource, as nothing could be achieved without them (Bratton & Gold, 2007). This manner of putting things is persisting with my point of view as I give a lot of importance to the inclusion and wellbeing of the
Early management theories adopted by such proponents as Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett and Max Weber are relevant in todays’ world. In this essay I am going to discuss about all three theorists and how their theories are still relevant for managers in the 21st century in meeting the challenges. In the classical approach to management there are three branches under it. They are, scientific management, administrative principles and bureaucratic organisation. Henry Fayol and Mary Parker Follett developed theories for administrative principles and Max Weber developed a theory for bureaucratic organisation (Schermerhorn et al. 2014, p.36). First we will be going through Henri Fayol and then Mary Parker Follett as they both made theories
The definition of ‘management’ is controversial and subject to much debate. There have been many contradictory views on what the term ‘management’ means and accordingly how one should correctly manage an organisation. These theories have been put forward by several highly regarded management scholars over time. By taking into account past knowledge and contemporary views on management, we are able to ‘’explore how thinking has changed through time’’. (Brooks, 2006). Moreover, businesses have, and can continue to be able to adapt these theories and put them into practice. Successfully applying correct management practices is especially vital in a global business environment which is becoming very competitive. ‘’Most management theories, even those that do not resonate comfortably with the prevailing mood, have attractive and valid elements to them.’’ (Robinson, 2005). For example, some of these theories can be seen flourishing in fast food chains like McDonalds.