Management Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Theory - Assignment Example Management is of fundamental value to companies. Every organization is concerned with planning to get things done, organizing the business to ensure efficient and effective operations and motivate employees as well as develop a vision for everyone to work on (Williams, 2009). Finally, the need for having controls in place is high as the goals that have been set must be monitored and their fulfillment must be measured. Therefore, management is quintessential in making businesses successful as well as ensuring smooth sailing once that success has been achieved. The significance of management can be ascertained from the fact that businesses spend millions on hiring management consultants to guide them on effective management practices (Williams, 2009). These consultants offer insights as to how managers can lead people effectively, motivate them, deal with various people related issues and manage complex projects. Management, therefore, is the art of getting work accomplished through ot hers. Successful managers may often not be experts themselves but know how get work done through other experts. For instance, the manager of the car plant at General Motors narrated how he has never made a car part in his life and how this is not his job(Williams, 2009). He further explained how, as a manager, his role was to create an environment conducive for people to make these parts efficiently while at the same time staying motivated with their work. On the other hand, however, this conventional view has been contradicted by leaders such as Steve Jobs who not only got work done through people but was actively involved in the technical aspects of the work (Greengard, 2011). Furthermore, good managers and leaders have often been associated with organizational success. One such example is that of Apple which experienced transformational growth and recognition during the tenure of Steve Jobs. It is not surprising, therefore, that Apple’s stock took a leap from $10 to $400 ( CNN Money, n.d.) during his leadership and that all major innovations including iPod, iPhone and iPad were introduced during his tenure. Furthermore, leaders and managers influence the performance of organizations by â€Å"leading by example† (Caldwell, 2004). Taken a step further, managers are responsible for managing the intellectual capital of firms which is exactly what Steve Jobs did (Prasad, 2011). By putting in proper mechanisms in place to unleash employee creativity, Jobs was able to exploit the untapped innovative potential of human resources and use it for the transformation of the company. This demonstrates just how important management is in the contemporary age of turbulent market changes and volatile business environment. Dealing with today’s customer-centric world requires organizations to manage the talents of employees in order to meet these needs. Companies whose management fails to keep pace with the changing environment and nature of work tend to s uffer. For instance, Deloitte’s study suggests the private sector of America is getting only a fraction of the return on assets that it achieved decades ago (Denning, 2011). This is due to managers failing to adapt to the changing envi