An approach is a school of thought where the members share in a common belief.
CLASSICAL APPROACH (managing work and organization)
It was the first attempt to study modern management when managers were seeking answers to the basic and practical questions e.g. How to increase efficiency and productivity. Their concern was not about workers, but work in terms of tools and equipment. The second concern was about the organization which was to provide the necessary guidelines including procedures, policies, plans, methods e.t.c
BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH (managing people)
It was developed because the classical approach could not achieve the total efficiency and work place harmony.
The behavioral approach uses the concept of psychology, sociology, philosophy, religion, economics e.t.c, to help managers understand the human behavior at work place. The emphasis in this approach is on the interrelationship workers, work and the organization.
For work place harmony to be realized, the following was recommended:-
- Motivation – The workers performance will increase if they are motivated and managers should give it a lot of concern.
- Communication – The organization should have open channels of communication for By the end of this chapter the learner should be able:
- To describe the various approaches to management
- To indicate how each approach is important in management free flow of information vertically and horizontally.
- Formation of groups – Workers should be allowed to form and join social groups to advance their interest. The managers should not condemn them but reach out to the perceived leaders of such groups for help.
MANAGERIAL ROLES APPROACH
It was developed by Prof. Henry Mintzberg after studying 5 Chief Executive Officers, and came to conclusion that managers do not only perform the classical functions. They engage in a variety of other activities like:-
- Figure head roles
Just the presence of the manager is enough. When the manager is around, everything is okay.
Leader role – a leader influence others into action.
Liaison –a laeder negotiates on behalf of the workers and the departmant - Information Roles
Recipient role – receives information on behalf off.
Dissemination role – passes the information received to others
Spokesperson role – speaks on behalf off - Decision Roles
Entrepreneur role -seeks opportunities for the company
Disturbance handling role-settles disputes and despences justice
Negotiator role-negotiates on behalf off
Resource allocator role- makes decisions on the use of the company’s resources
SYSTEMS APPROACH
This is a way of thinking about the management’s problems because one part or department influences the other and therefore managers should not deal with individual parts but instead deal with the entire organization.
The organization being dynamic, the managers must anticipate the intended as well as unintended impacts of their decisions.
Managers in this approach therefore, do not deal with individual departments, but the entire company / organization.
