Effective Management

Brandy Eagle

Kaplan University

GM501-03

The typical organization is very diverse today. Organizations employ individuals that vary in gender, race, religion, and age. With such multiplicity there will be very different experiences, values and expectations. It is a manager’s role to understand how diversity affects behaviors within an organization. According to Gosling and Mintzberg (2003) managers should be worldlier – get into other people’s circumstances, habits, and cultures (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2003 p59).

There has been research done for decades by numerous individuals in attempts to identify how to be an effective manager. In 1937 Luther Gulick stated that men work better when there is a division of work (Gulick, 1937 p 79). However, the Hawthorne Experiments found that workers want social acceptance and satisfaction and that this will make them better workers (Roethlisberger, 1941). Both of these researchers had supporting data for their findings and both studies had valuable information to contribute to the business world.

Now we move forward to 1994 when Burns and Stalker propose two contrasting forms of management systems: The mechanistic and organic forms. The mechanistic form is very similar to Notes on the Theory of Organization (Gulick, 1937) in that it is best suited for stable conditions. Mechanistic management system has the following characteristics:

* Specialized differentiation of functional tasks and tasks are broken down

* Hierarchic structure of control, authority, and communication

* Vertical interactions

* Work governed by instructions and decisions by superiors

These characteristics were also highlighted in Notes on the Theory of Organizations (Gulick, 1937).

The organic form of management is best suited for changing conditions and has the following characteristics:

* Common task of the whole

* Network structure of control, authority, and communications

* Lateral and vertical interactions

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