Challenges of Management
Principles of Management
Global corporate Challenge
Managerial functions are keys to organizational success. Therefore several challenges confront managers today and these challenges mainly arising from the significant change in the outside world. Some of the major emerging issues or challenges that all managers face today are as follows:
Challenges Of Management
Globalization:
Globalization means making the world not limited in a boundary ie; the creation of boundaryless world. It is the free movement or free flow of factors of production all over the world and there must be no any hinderence and restriction. Management is no longer controlled by national borders. It means free trade in products and services ,offering a wide choice of goods to customer around the world.
The growth of regional free trade agreement and world trade organization (WTO) present new challenges and opportunities for managers. It creates extreme competition for markets and also for natural resources. The employment of people coming from across and national boundaries further complicates the management process Values symbols and beliefs of employees differ considerably and these affect the nature of supervisory relationships, decision-making styles, and overall management systems. The managers of every management should think globally and act locally.
Workforce diversity:
Workforce diversity means that organization are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and other backgrounds. Therefore, management needs to deal with diversified workforce consisting of knowledge workers, a bimodal workforce, work teams, virtual teams and contingent employees.
Dealing with diversity requires visionary leadership in managers. The managers will need to shift their approaches and philosophy to workforce management . They should recognize the difference among employees and respond to them in ways that they will ensure employees commitment . If diversity is managed positively then it increases creativity and innovations in organizations.
Ethics and social responsibility:
Ethics is the set of moral principles and rules guiding an individual’s behavior .It is the basis of determining right or wrong in a given situation .It is an individual perception and belief while taking a decision. Managing ethically is not easy. Conflicts will often arise .There is increasing concern about the role and state of ethics in business because of the belief that business ethics have declined in recent years .Managers are concerned because of the complexity of ethics in decision making.
Social responsibility includes being aware of society and toward its values and regulations. Modern organizations need to be involved in social concern . In recent years public attention has been focused on the issues of social responsibility of business. Society generally expects contribution to the quality of life and the society. Environment issues have become matters of universal concern.
Empowerment:
The role of differences between the manager and the workers have narrowed down considerably .Decision making is being pushed down to the operating level. Workers are now being given the freedom to make choices about schedules, procedures, and solving work-related problems. Earlier,managers are considerably further by allowing employees full control of their work. Self-managed work teams, where workers operate largely without bosses, have become the management technique today. Thus,the managers are engaged in empowering employees .They are putting employees in-charge of problems and prospects of their organization. This is the process of empowerment. Various methods of empowerment ranging from simple participation to self-managed work teams have now been practiced in organizations.
Technology:
Technological environment consists of innovation, techniques, and the organized knowledge or the ways of doing things . Technology includes any equipment, tools, or operating methods that are designed to make work more efficient. The managers must grasp a proper understanding of these aspects of technological context. Technology management has now emerged as an important and crucial management activity in modern business firms to match the competitive market Managers have to cope with all these changes taking place in technology and their management.
Innovation and Change:
Organizations must pay attention to innovation and change. otherwise,they will go out of business. Product life span has been shortening everyday. Products need continuous improvement, upgradation, and modification. Success will go to those organizations that continually improve their product quality. They have to beat their competitors in the marketplace with a constant flow of innovative products and services .An organization’s employees are the vital forces for innovation and change. If they block innovation and change ,the organization will become a candidate for extinction. The challenge for managers is to stimulate employee creativity for innovation and change.
Quality and Productivity:
Management needs to cope with continuous improvement in product quality. The importance of quality ,and standards for acceptable quality has increased dramatically in recent years. There is an interrelationship between quality and productivity.Quality is the excellence of the product, including its attractiveness, lack of defects, reliability, and long-term dependability.Productivity has also become a major issue for organizations during recent years. Increase in productivity requires developing and applying techniques and strategies. Low productivity is a threat to competitiveness.
Knowledge Management:
Knowledge management is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making best use of knowledge.