The Future of Management

Abstract

Management development strategies of many organizations seemed to converge in the nineties. We thought the world would stay on a standstill when the millennium loomed. The new word on the street was “Y2K.” So what are the concerns for the current state of management development, and what we expect for the future to hold? This paper will tackle such issue.

The Future of Management

Companies are geared into increase in efficiency and productivity, better choice of goods, more competitive prices, faster execution and better resource allocation. What was true then, will still hold true in the future, except it just may double up. Obviously, ideas like these contributed to the call for far better business management.

Method

Changes in Technology

This has the most impact on any businesses out there and even the ones who has not yet embraced the Internet phenomena due to accelerating the speed of change, increasing competition, and the shifting structure of relationships. According to Dessler (2003), “the managerial uses of the Internet can in a sense, get a free ride on the Internet, they can substantially reduce their communications costs by building their management systems around the Internet.” Companies who see the Internet for all its glory will not hesitate to spend to be in gear with the latest trend because in the long run, it will save them money. Take into consideration the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). This particular technology is helping organizations of all sizes enhance customer service, improve employee productivity, increase revenue, lower costs and develop new customers and markets.

Organizational Development

Management and the Four Functions of Management. Management will have to keep the competitive edge through employee performance and retention. Management will gear more towards an open-minded sense of management. Management in the future

does not mean a complete overhaul of what we are accustomed to now. As Antony Jay said, “management is not a new basic institution at all. On the contrary, it is a very ancient art. The new science of management is in fact only a continuation of the old art of government." In this line of thinking, I doubt that management styles and the four functions of management will completely change. It will simply evolve into something more precise more compact. To state an example, Henri Fayol’s (1841-1925) function of management was five. Overtime, the functions of management evolved and became four. As times change and lifestyles change, the functions of management will change in order to serve the greater good. As was mentioned earlier, it will change but not dramatically. It will contain the same basic principles as it did before.

Management and Leadership. As managers are relearning the rules of engagement in management, you will see more of them being effective leaders. Being a leader does not necessarily mean you are an effective leader. The same philosophy goes with effective management and leadership. Management encompasses the use of the four functions of management. Dessler (2003) said, “that the manager’s job is changing so fast some are not comfortable with just the word manager. To some it implies subordinates.” Then he went on to say that managers with the “old style” are a thing of the past. If a manager is to be stubborn and manage using the old ways, he or she will not get very far. Managers need to realize that employees have more rights and are more vocal now than ever before. They need to embrace effective leadership. Leadership, simply stated, is the process of influencing and directing people towards the accomplishment of a goal or objective. On the other hand does not necessarily mean they are leading a group or people or an organization.