The Future of Management Essay

Change is inevitable and constant. This extremely evident when we stop and take a look at our society over the last 100 years. We have gone from the horse and buggy transportation system to electric cars and cars that can self navigate for you. We have seen technology explode and take over our lives. Needless to say the business world did not remain stagnant during all the commotion. Management has made, and is still making, numerous adjustments to keep their organizations afloat. The future of management will be, to say the least, challenging.
There have been a number of new trends and emerging concepts flooding the management world. Technology is probably the most apparent. You can purchase anything, via the internet, and any company not yet establishing an E-based business will be left behind. Globalization is increasing and has brought about the need for telecommunication based networks. More and more we are seeing the use of items such as hand held computers, cellular phones, and even computerized badges. Companies are shifting now the way they deal with employees. For example, the term “emotional intelligence” has emerged which refers to a manager’s people-oriented personality traits. Employees are now being empowered. They are encouraged to be innovative and express any ideas they may have to improve the company’s current processes. Businesses are also moving toward more horizontal structures organized around basic processes. In addition, they are building more team-based organizations opposed to the traditional management structures.
Analyzing recent management strategies, leads me to believe that we will see more changes occur within the four management functions; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The planning function involves factoring in enormous amounts of information. You have to set objectives on numerous activities including forecasting and ultimately strategic planning. There is so much information to be gathered that this process is time consuming. I feel changes will be made to reduce the information gathering process. Companies will keep track of the information needed, with the use of computers and new programs, so that at any given moment they can print these reports. This would allow them to spend more time actually examining the current situations and setting premises rather than wasting time gathering the information. Companies may also change their strategic plans and visions on a more frequent basis. The same visions and goals that were relevant 10 years ago need to be re-evaluated.
We are already seeing the organizing function being restructured and I feel this will continue. A majority of the large businesses have shifted to a team-based culture, but this could still be improved upon. Smaller teams are proven to work more efficiently and the way the teams are currently organized they are quite large. Companies may begin to see that the quality produced by a large team could be improved upon if the team was minimized. They may also see an increase in competitiveness within the teams, which for certain types of businesses could be dangerous. If the teams are so busy competing with each other the quality of their work could be compromised, if they were rushing to complete a task.
Leadership is often confused with the term management. Leadership, influencing others to work willingly towards the goals that have been established, is just one aspect whereas management is a combination of all four functions. Recent changes in leadership are proving to have positive effects. Lower level employees are now getting more recognition allowing them to feel a sense of worth and take ownership in the companies they work for. These changes are occurring slowly but I feel will continue. Happy employees are good employees, and more and more companies are realizing amazing things are possible when employees want to work. We now know what type of leadership we want for the future, so the challenge will be finding managers who can provide this type of leadership. They need to be able to balance their authority along with their motivational skills while maintaining their “emotional intelligence.” Since the trend is moving in that direction we may see seminars, college courses, new techniques and tactics all focused around the “new” skills companies are looking for. We may also see more communication and psychology required for management, which would give them a better understanding of how people think and how to motivate them.
We will continually search for ways to improve upon controlling. Controlling was, in fact, one of the first functions to be computerized in the business world. Technology has allowed control management to be so much more time efficient. Production, schedules, orders and inventory reports are accessed directly from the computer. Financial statements and budgets are no longer month long projects. We must continue to find new ways to monitor measure and compare so we then can take corrective action. I can only foresee companies improving upon and changing their controlling process in the future with the use of new systems and computer programs that have yet to be developed. Companies could also look to outside organizations, experts in computers and controlling, to come in and make improvements for them. Hiring an outside agency can sometimes be easier than developing new systems all on your own or paying salary for an employee to develop a new plan.
We are seeing how the recent changes are resulting in the functions being modified. We will continue to see the functions change with the new developments and in the business world we are forever searching for ways to improve quality, cut cost, and improve effectiveness. Without realizing and making the necessary adjustments when the world around us grows and moves forward, companies cannot survive and meet the public’s needs.

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