Participating in the Shift in Management Philosophies
The evolution in management philosophies today is forcing a major shift in how companies are competing globally (Polsfuss, Ardichvili, 2008), shifting from being authoritarian and more focused on how to enable collaboration and growth. The predominant focus on how to create corporate cultures that are resilient and capable of withstanding the many risks and difficult economic conditions of the global economy today is more important than having a purely ontologically-based organizational culture. Management is responsible for creating the necessary frameworks, norms, values and expectations that define the entire organizational culture. For management today this stewardship is especially critical, as organizations are struggling with how they can become more agile and capable of responding rapidly to both opportunities and risks and second, how they can nurture the development of subordinates. These two factors pull many organizations into opposite directions, with the intermediating of an organizations' future being defined by the management's approaches, strategies and tactics to cope with the inherent conflict between being ontologically-based vs. embracing knowledge as a key differentiator. Management then is more critical in alleviating the inherent conflicts that emerge between the inherent conflicts of shifting from ontologically-oriented organization structures to those that are axiologically-based or those who have transitioned to competing pure on knowledge through an epistemologically-based approach (Franklin, 2004).
Summary
Managing in the 21st century requires an awareness of the pace and extent to which an external environment changing on the one hand, and the need to initiate change in management philosophies to compensate for the shift from command-and-control to more participative and collaborative organizational philosophies and structures. Managers' use of ethics must be central to their interpretation and development...
As organizations shift from being purely focused on silo-based structures to concentrating instead on collaborative cultures based on more knowledge-based differentiation, management will need to aggressively seek out change more than ever before. All of these efforts must be based on a solid foundation of ethical behavior and accountability, transparency and trust to ensure their effectiveness over time.
References
Rashmi H. Assudani (2008). What does it mean to manage 'knowledge': implications for the strategic management of knowledge in firms. International Journal of Management & Decision Making, 9(6), 646. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1622890401).
Josh Bernoff, Charlene Li. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1458948591).
Otto H. Chang (2008). Teaching the Philosophy of Business in the Executive Business Curriculum. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 3(2), 59-73. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1569093801).
Peter Franklin (2004). Problematics in management theory and practice. Strategic Change, 13(7), 383-404. Retrieved February 6, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 762192831).
Craig Polsfuss, Alexandre Ardichvili. (2008). Three Principles Psychology: Applications in Leadership Development and Coaching. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(5), 671. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1571300481).
Thomas C. Powell (2002). The philosophy of strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 23(9), 873-880. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 167168871).
Kenneth R. Thompson, Nicholas J. Mathys. (2008). The Aligned Balanced Scorecard: An…
