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Questions on Management Theory

Satisfactory Essays

1. Studying management theory is a waste of time as it offers little to help the managers to manage the complexity of today. Discuss and evaluate this statement. The argument can certainly be made that any course of study is a waste of time if the curricular content is outdated or ineffective in its delivery mode. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to suggest that studying management theory is only a real waste of time if practitioners fail to apply these concepts to their real-world situations. Management theorists may not agree on the fundamentals, but they all share the view that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach that is best suited to every operating environment and every sector. Moreover, the vagaries of the human conditions mean that even optimal management systems may be more effective at some times than others, and people change over time and from time to time in ways that defy the most enlightened management approaches. Despite these constraints, business managers can learn a great deal about how and why people behave the way they do in the workplace by studying management theory. Although everyone is unique, people tend to respond to various reward systems in similar ways, and while pay and benefits remain uppermost in most people's minds in terms of their expectations for a return on their investment of time and effort on the job, management theory can help identify the other factors that have been shown to motivate people in the workplace. By identifying the

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