Traditional Managers

Modern and Traditional Business Management: An Overview of Two Ideal Types of Management, their Differences and Influences on Performance.

Master of Business Administration Management Studies – Strategy and Organization 22 July 2010 Author: Viola Elise van Alphen 1584529 Supervisor: Paul Vlaar

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Management summary Management literature exhibits trends over time, and a shift seems to occur from attention for Traditional towards more Modern management approaches. This thesis explores the main differences between both management approaches, and it assesses how each of them relates to the other and to organizational performance. A literature review and an causal research using a questionnaire with 101 respondents with a broad variety in gender, sectors of industry, job-level, et cetera, has been performed in Dutch trains in April 2010. Results indicate that differences between traditional and modern management approaches pertain to at least seven dimensions: (1) Management Perspective; (2) Performance Horizon; (3) Rewards and Sanctions; (4) Coordination and Control; (5) Attention Sphere; (6) Managerial Qualities; and (7) View on Core Resources. The empirical study suggests that the modern management approach not so much substitutes but complements the more traditional approach. It comprises an addition to traditional management, with internal motivation and intrinsic rewards have a strong, positive effect on performance, and short term focus exhibiting a negative effect on performance. These findings contribute to the current discussion on the significance of traditional and more modern management approaches. More specifically, it addresses questions such as: what position do modern management approaches assume relative to more traditional approaches? Do they constitute substitutes or complements? Are they just a temporary trend in Western societies? These are important questions for all organizations having an influence on their survival. The results of this study...