Organizational Theories and Management Principles Explored

Introduction

The book The Manager's Bookshelf: A Mosaic of Contemporary Views offers a compilation of short essays on management — specifically, how to be a "good" versus a "bad" manager. Although all of the managerial theories summarized place slightly different emphases on particular values and use different acronyms to help readers put theory into action, the essays are united by the same core principle: people must be motivated by intrinsic motivational factors to succeed. That is why empowering employees and showing respect for their input and accomplishments is so vital.

Summary of Management Essays

Once upon a time, according to the principles of scientific management, workers were viewed as adversaries of company profitability. Workers, it was believed, had to be heavily micro-managed in order to perform to their highest capabilities. The essay "The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want" suggests that employees' eagerness to act independently is actually an asset for companies. This interpersonal quality must be treasured just as much as other organizational resources. Employees are eager to give back to their organizations, and management and employees need to exist in a state of harmony. The primary motivational factors for sustaining employee enthusiasm are participatory in nature. Managers must engage workers intellectually and emotionally based upon three principles: equity (treating workers fairly); achievement (setting goals and honoring workers who achieve them); and camaraderie (creating a workplace in which people get along and serve a higher vision) (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 118).

The essay "Psychological Capital: Developing the Human Competitiveness Edge" defines the critical component of "psychological capital" as "a positive psychological state that is characterized by a person displaying several key attributes," including "self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency" (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 123). Employees who exhibit these characteristics feel hopeful about the future because they believe their behaviors have an impact upon the world — the world does not simply "do things" to them, rendering them passive. Employers must provide positive motivational validation to encourage these proactive traits in employees. Employees must act not upon blind optimism, but upon positive realism.

When asking what motivates employees, quite often the default response is "a paycheck." However, the essay "Why Pride Matters More Than Money: The Power of the World's Greatest Motivational Force" stresses the importance of internal motivational forces — what Douglas McGregor would call "Theory Y" motivations — versus external, or Theory X, motivations such as financial remuneration. Pride is identified as the most important motivator: not self-serving pride, but pride in a job well done. "Pride in the results of one's work… pride in how work is done… pride in coworkers and supervisors" (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 129). Pride can be either collective or individual, but this sense of finding and fulfilling a higher need is essential.

The essay "Leadership for Everyone" presents a specific acronym — LEADERS — to stress the mutually dependent nature of the employee-employer relationship, which must be founded upon sensitivity and trust: "Listen to learn, Empathize with emotions, Attend to aspirations, Diagnose and detail, Engage for good ends, Respond with respectfulness, and Speak with specificity" (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 135). Once again, this participatory strategy of dialogue stresses the interactive nature of leadership: leadership is not something done to an employee, but rather a dialogue between leaders and followers. Leaders must listen to employees and empathize with them as human beings, not as implements to be used (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 137). Feedback must be targeted and useful; otherwise, followers will grow frustrated.

The essay "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters" examines poor leadership so that readers may better foster the principles of positive leadership. The situational nature of leadership is emphasized: "leadership does not exist in isolation or in the abstract. Without followers there is no leadership; leaders and followers are interdependent. There cannot be 'good' leadership without 'good' followers or, conversely, bad leadership without bad followers" (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 145). Nevertheless, leaders must possess a certain degree of competency in the task at hand, personal flexibility, a sense of ethics, and ultimately must put the needs of the organization ahead of personal needs.

The essay "Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing" argues that the top-down leadership model must be broken. Followers, who outnumber leaders, are equally significant in terms of their influence. Leaders are dependent upon engaged and committed followers, and followers who actively subvert the process or passively withhold their support can undermine a leader very easily. That is why modern leadership theories conceptualize leadership as an equal relationship: without good followers, good leaders cannot function (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 152).

Finally, the essay "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" presents a case study of the leadership style of what many consider the nation's greatest president. Lincoln successfully navigated a cabinet of men with very different political philosophies during one of the most difficult periods of American history. Choosing such a team of rivals was not masochism on Lincoln's part — during that era, it was considered far more acceptable to maintain a philosophically diverse cabinet. Lincoln thrived on debate and used his followers as a source of fruitful discussion, allowing them to check one another's excesses. He remained firmly in control, and while he allowed debate, he could not permit it to spiral into inaction. His approach was not purely participatory; he had a clear goal in mind — preserving the Union — and his leadership was never self-serving.

Like many organizations, my current workplace places a great deal of emphasis on teamwork. The camaraderie described in "The Enthusiastic Employee" is important for motivating workers to perform to their highest potential. Human beings are social animals, and a workplace that is friendly, respects employees, and teaches them to work together will be more pleasant to inhabit on a day-to-day basis. "Good" followers are not merely obedient; they actively wish to give back to the organization.

Applying the Essays to My Organization

However, I have also found that a certain degree of firmness on the part of leadership in setting goals is required. Much like Abraham Lincoln eventually realized he needed to exercise control over his team of rivals, leaders must have a clear organizational vision to unite the dispersed interests, abilities, and agendas of followers. When a leader offers a higher mission and objective for the organization, workers are willing to follow that lead. But when there is a vacuum of leadership, workers' personal agendas move to the forefront because of a lack of clarity about the organization's direction. People are willing to work hard, but only if they feel the effort called for is purposeful.

Though a single guiding intelligence may define the overarching principle of the organization, it is vital that small goals and a step-by-step process of achieving them are enthusiastically undertaken by workers at every level. Some form of intrinsic motivation is required to make this happen. Workers are motivated to some extent by pay, promotions, and the threat of disciplinary action, but to make a full emotional investment in the company, the organization must access higher-level attributes. The best managers ask workers "what do you think?" and grant employees at all levels additional responsibilities when they have demonstrated the intelligence and drive to fulfill those leadership roles.

The essay "Leadership for Everyone" stresses that leadership requires good communication to be effective (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 135). The conventional stereotype of a leader barking orders at others is far from accurate; a leader must also be a good listener. As the title implies, great leaders are not necessarily "born leaders" with mysterious, special characteristics that set them apart. Leadership is a skill that can be learned, even though some people may be more willing and able to learn it. Leadership is not "rocket science" — it is based upon simple principles such as respect, empathy, and clarity. Consistent enforcement of these principles is vital for organizational success, but leadership is fundamentally about fostering positive, normalized relationships between human beings rather than some special kind of alchemy.

Conclusion: Organizational Evaluation

Although some traits may be innate, this does not mean that important leadership qualities such as sensitivity and the ability to communicate well with others cannot be taught. That is why many organizations invest in regular training and retraining in areas such as diversity education and listening skills. Mentorship programs for individuals identified as having particular qualities of value to the organization also help cultivate openness and respect — the qualities embodied in the LEADERS acronym (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 135). This commitment to selecting the right employees while simultaneously honing their interpersonal and technical skills is what enables organizations to succeed and to build a workforce staffed with both great followers and great leaders.

"The Enthusiastic Employee" suggests that the majority of companies are populated with what could be called "the walking wounded" — employees who arrived with enthusiasm but have since lost their drive due to organizational complacency and a lack of mission. When employees are intrinsically motivated by factors beyond routine and a paycheck, the entire organization can profit from their desire to engage in meaningful work that "makes a difference." On a personal level, workers value feeling validated for doing a good job. However, if the organization fails to recognize their contributions and behaves in ways that undermine their efforts, employees will ask themselves "what is the point?" and show up physically but not emotionally or spiritually. "Partnership is highly effective because it harnesses the natural motivation and enthusiasm that are characteristic of the overwhelming majority of workers" (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010, p. 121).

Pierce, J., & Newstrom, J. (2010). The manager's bookshelf (9th ed.). Prentice Hall.