[Solution] Integrating the Management Perspectives
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Author: Sarah Bennett
The classical, behavioral, and quantitative management perspectives have all made important contributions that are still relevant today. In the latter half of the twentieth century, management theorists began developing ways to integrate all three—treating them as tools for working on different management challenges.
The Systems Perspective
In the 1950s, management theorists took the view that an organization is a system—that is, an interrelated set of elements working as a whole. Any system has four basic elements: inputs, transformation processes, outputs, and feedback.
Managers can use the classical, behavioral, and/or quantitative perspectives to address problems with any element of a system. For example, they can use operations management (quantitative) to calculate and order correct amounts of raw materials, scientific management (classical) to address problems with operating systems, and employee surveys (behavioral) to address issues of worker dissatisfaction.
Open and Closed Systems
Systems can be categorized as open or closed:
- Open systems interact with their environment, exchanging materials, energy, or information.
- Closed systems are isolated from their environment.
Most organizations are open systems as they interact with their external environment, including customers, suppliers, and competitors.
Subsystems
Organizations contain smaller systems called subsystems, such as departments, teams, or work units. These subsystems work together to accomplish the organization's goals.
Synergy and Entropy
Two important concepts in systems theory are:
- Synergy - when subsystems working together produce better results than they would working separately.
- Entropy - the tendency of systems to deteriorate over time without inputs of energy or resources.
The Contingency Perspective
This perspective suggests that there is no one "best" way to manage and that the appropriate management approach depends on the organization's specific situation and context.
A Framework for Integrating Perspectives
Modern management integrates all these perspectives, allowing managers to choose the right tool for specific challenges they face.
Select the term that best completes the following sentence.
A department within an organization is a .
View Explanation
A subsystem is a smaller system within a larger one. Thus, a department within an organization is a subsystem within a system.
Departments, teams, and other work units in organizations are open systems because they interact with the organization they are a part of. In turn, the organization itself interacts with its external environment, meaning that it is also an open system.
Select the correct response to each of the following questions.
If multiple subsystems work better because they are designed to work together, what is happening?
- Entropy
- Synergy
- A closed system
View Explanation
Synergy is the term for the improved function of subsystems, such as departments, that are designed to work well together. The organization often benefits from greater efficiency and effectiveness when managers improve the synergy of organizational subsystems.
Which of the following is the perspective that managers need to behave differently as appropriate for their organization's situation?
- Universal perspective
- Contingency perspective
- Systems perspective
View Explanation
The idea that different organizations need different approaches to management, depending on their situation, is the contingency perspective.
The universal perspective is the idea that a certain approach to management is the best one, regardless of the circumstances of a particular organization. The systems perspective views the organization as a system that transforms inputs into outputs and gathers feedback to improve the way it does this.
