Management Theory and Practice

Management Theory and Practice

The Impact of New Wave Theory upon Managerialism   

Introduction

In today’s organization, the management is plaguing with the different issues and corporate dilemmas that are far different from the managerial problems in the last decades. The management, being aware of the globalization and the benefits that they can gain, are experiencing the risks and the challenges that pertain to those changes.

This paper aims to demonstrate the competency of the modern organizations through investigating the impact of new wave theory upon managerialism. Within the aspect of the management theory and practice, there is a clear view in explaining the related challenges and opportunities that exist and may exist in the field of the management. In order to gather the necessary ideas with regards to the current management aspect, there are objectives that need to be considered. First is to define the essential meaning of new wave theory and managerialism within the scope of the modern organization. Second is to apply the learning on the new wave theory in the managerialism in the management’s theory and practice. Third is to relate the impact of new wave theory upon managerialism in the current experience of the organizations. Fourth is to demonstrate the future of the managerial aspect in terms of measuring the impact of the new wave theory in managerialism. This paper is pursued through the strategy in addressing the various values that may derive in the movement of the modern organizations and maintain the management’s role to achieve the designed organizational goals.

The Competitive Nature of Management

The modern organization has been a subject for changes because of the impact of globalization. Since the changes are expected to happen in the organizations, the managers and businessmen appeared to be the main players to enforce the changes within the organization. The managers mostly play in a central role within an organization and from the transition or developments of the management; there is an increase in the role and functions that these managers provide. Because of the developments of various books that are related in the practical application of the modern management. With the theories involved, it appears that there is a search for excellence in order to determine the effective approach of management towards the modern organization. The management theory and the role of social science appear to the most affecting factors in the means of modern organization. The relationship of these theories with the managerial practices has been accounted to knowledge management. This idea promotes the extent of managerial knowledge and researches that are derived from the social sciences and influence the development of the managerial theory. Its extent has been a significant foundation in the managerial theory for the modern organizations. 

Defining Managerialism and New Wave Theory

Managerialism

The aspect of managerialism was firstly introduced by Harbison and Myers (1959) which opened the importance of the managers’ role in the development and quality performance of the organization. Accordingly, their book stressed that the “managing goes way beyond passive reaction and adaptation” (p.10) This statement goes out with the idea that the managers have the responsibility in shaping the environment of the organization and the economy through the use of appropriate planning strategies, initiation, and implementation. The limitations, on the other hand, are foreseeable which enables them to push it until they achieve their goals. In addition to this, Harbison and Myers explained that the limitations prevents the organization to achieve their utmost performances and through the help of the management of people, the desirable interest of each manager are assessed and then the economic circumstances are addressed and solve with the directed action.

Managerialism is considered to be the organization or collection of the beliefs and practices that focuses in catering the best option towards a better management. Since there are changes in the modern organizations and the management functions, we can say that the rapid changes in the environment are the drivers contributed in the definition of the managerialism.  In reviewing the views of Harbison and Myers (1959) the aspect of managerialism is where the managers emphasized the “initiating” function of the management which substituted the early managerial theories like the Total Managerial Hierarchy of Marshall with regards to the individual entrepreneur in the concept of the management. Other than that, the idea of managerialism is applied in order to recapitulate the adequate solutions in the challenges that the management are facing. This idea is stressed in the study of Wooding (2009) which explains that the early history of managerialism gives the idea that the managers should evaluate the similarities and differences that existing in the organization which is also associated in the performance of the organization. If we observe closely, the managerialism is composed or the combination of the managerial skills and theories that are based on both education and experiences also gained from the organizational practices.  

The competency of management, however, is not easily measured most especially without realizing the various factors that may affect its success. As presented in the basic application of the managerial concepts, the management is efficient when they can meet the demands of the customers (e.g. quality and quantity factors) while maintaining the costs that may occur (Guttierrez, Pura, & Garcia, 1994). The management principles are related to the social and political issues and so as the managerialism. In a lighter view on the functions of managerialism, the focus is on the effectiveness, financial management, and ability of the management team to satisfy the business objectives. In addition, the managerialism is said to be more oriented on the two factors which is - according to Wooding (2009) – first is the principle and practices that involved in the professionalism, technology, efficiency, and practice; while on the other hand is the aspect of public and privatization policies.  

Wave Theory

This theory states about the importance and purpose of the investment management. Speidell (1988) argued that in the investment managements, the strategies should be identified because of the new wave activity that is associated with the management. The investment process is commonly involved in the two kinds of elements which can be probable and the other to be controversial. In the means of probability, the investors will begin to recognize the different aspects, variations or influential characteristics in the business performance. The controversial aspect is somehow related to the political nature of the management, the influencing body and others in which the decision on accepting the investment can be based. The new wave theory is entirely based on the investigations on the influences that can affect the performance of the business. However, there is no recognizable technique that can be used to evaluate the information relating to the investment and the changes that may induce the investment options and the changes that may surface.

What Speidell describe was elaborated by Wood (1989) which he addressed to be the “new wave management” that is focused on the new control strategies. Because of the changes, the market and the business environment can give valuable information wherein the organization can use as a form of change in their line of managers. The managerial competency plays an important development in the organization because it showcases the ability of the manager to maintain and sustain their performance as well as their subordinates despite of the pressure that they receive. This is also true in the investment where the manager s needs to procure the necessary investigation. Generally, the wave theory captures the basic idea that the organization and the management should cope with the challenges even in the midst of the rapid change (McAuley, Duberley, & Johnson, 2007).

Based on the past literatures and the contribution of the business theorists, the new wave management theory is distinguished to be more serious and sustainable force that creates the managerial significance. With this matter on mind, the management can adopt the new techniques that targets to introduce and secure the integration and socialization that are part of the evolution of the organization. For an instance, the organizational culture can be affected by the new wave theory which can change the way the practices and procedures are delivered. The obvious challenge for the development of the management towards the modernization, in recent times, displays the various reactions and impressions that can be described to be superior as compared from the time before (Willmott, 1993).  The new wave management theory can be illustrated through its application in among the Japanese organizations. This is because of the reason that the organizations can maintain the culture and can stimulate the management processes.

There are many benefits that organizations can acquire and use the advantages as seen in the emergence of new wave theory in management. Part of it is to anticipate the changes and recognized the importance of the people. The connection of the changes and the people can be manifested in a way that the people can smoothly adjust in the needs of the changes and can facilitate the necessary actions in order to provide the performance needed. In the long-run, the organization can clearly establish the combined principles of philosophy and managerial aspects (Swamidas, 2002).

The Impact of New Wave Theory in Managerialism

In the success of an organization towards the competitive managed, the aspect of managerialism has been emphasized. Based on the concept of managerialism, it demonstrate the market-oriented approach and corporate aspects in which the practices are regulated and thus keeping a close monitoring in the quality of services. In application of managerialism in the modern organization, there will be specific objectives within which can aid the new wave theory be applicable in managerialism. Part of its applicability in the spheres of managerialism is the administration and its homogenization of all technical or institutional problems as management problems (Burbules & Torres, 2000).

The impact of new wave theory in managerialism can be examined in different point of views that is bound to explain the combination of traditional managerial view towards the modern managerial aspect. Within the organization, the “managerialism” is about the belief that it is compose with more similarities and differences and through the application of the managerial skills and theory; an organization can be led well towards the objectives (Lee, 2000).  The influence of managerialism is, actually, expressly practiced and thus becoming an increasing important factor in promoting the educational reform. Most of the influence of the managerialism is applied even in the management of schools and colleges.

The significant features of new wave theory with the managerialism is that within this concept, the human service organizations are important in generating the kinds of principles, success measures, structural arrangements and work modes. The policy implemented with the private and public sectors will be a condition that there should be professional support among their clients. Maintaining the integrity even in the midst of tension and changes in the society is what the policies and reforms are trying to achieve. Therefore, in managing the modern organizations should demonstrate the hands-off control systems such as the appropriate resource allocation, developmental strategies towards the performance, and other forms of performance management (Simkins, 2000).

The impact between these two ideas takes the opportunity in assessing the society or market-environment in order to start the reform and have a more creative and innovative organization. These also focus in terms of the social and strategic investment which is actively part of the “market-oriented approach” of managerialism. Managerialism with an idea of new wave theory may facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of educational service delivery and thus emphasizing the role of managerial approach. Therefore, aside in creating the managerial decisions, the managers can add value in their decisions for which the benefits can be associated with the chief executive officers (CEOs) and managing directors, consumers, and customers (Mok & Chan, 2002; Fan, 2006).

The implementation of the new wave theory with the managerialism is a kind of project that can be applied in order to meet the challenges arising from the social, economic, and political challenges within the time. The new wave management can be applied in many of the institutions. With the development in changing patterns of organization and management in all the institutions will be under with the new forms of organizational control to emphasize the managerialism approach in the modern organizations. Basically, the commitment of the organizations within the context of managerialism is patterned on the concepts of efficiency, organizational performance and customer-orientation in which the objectives of the modern organizations are interpreted (Wright & McMahan, 2001). Along with the implementation of managerialism, the openness, collaboration, and the associated managerial styles are applied. All of these are important in terms of administering and implementing the managerial cultures. However, there should be a further investigation in terms of the effectiveness of all this applications to hold a management and leadership positions.

In the practice of new wave management, it is suggested that the organization ensures that there should be flexibility because of the great changes that the individuals within the organizations might encounter (Whiteley, Aguiar, & Marten, 2008). The additional challenges in the managerialism are the differences that may arise from the people involved in the corporate institutions. Within the new wave management, there are difficulties that the managers, as the primary people within the organization, might experience in implementing the managerial approaches.  The organizational culture of the can develop an in-depth approach towards openness, trust, and collaboration and even the directive styles. However, other important undermining changes in the organization that might emerge are the drastic changes in the roles and functions of other employees as well as the managers. Being competent in their set of fields is recognized to be an important factor to aid the entire organization to achieve its goal. As traced in the study of Harbison and Myers (1959), the shortage of the talented managers is their attributes in managing is a critical role for the organization and the economic development of the country. This is recognized as a critical factor because of the fact that the management’s role in creating various decision and implementation of their plans are vital in the development of the organization. Hence, the collection of talented people is widely applied by the largest organizations with an aim to have a continuous quality performance in management.

Why New Wave in Managerialism?

The management activity encompasses the general activity of the managers which basically falls in committing with the internal functions. Their responsibilities arise in terms of optimizing the different departments of the organization in order to orient both the people and the processes in achieving their goals. For the last decades, the management showed the various trends that facilitates the success and failure of a management (Wright & McMahan, 2001). Because of the inconsistency in the managerial functions, the performance of the organization is also unstable. As managers, they are commonly known as the leaders therefore without their authority and clear direction, the people working under them cannot operate well. The entire organization performs at its best when there is a competency found within the internal activities. Through the continuous practices in the management, the operation of the organization can have the advantage to anticipate the changes in the macroeconomic environment. Through the skills of the managers, the organization can definitely identify the necessary objectives; promote the pertinent activities, and other factors that can be considered in order to stabilize the performance of the organization (Smith & Fingar, 2003).

As per the study of Rodriguez and Echanis (1993), the management concept is broadly falls in to the directing and coordinating both of the human and non-human resources in an organization. This coordination is facilitated by the processes that can aid the organization in meeting the demands of the end-users. In addition to the study of Rodriguez and Echanis (1993), there are three reasons on why the management practices should be developed. First is the past, present, and future issue of the limited supplies or resources. The resources that are identified are the need for capital and for the others are the materials that are hard to acquire and yet essential in the development. The management must show competency such as the ability to seek the available substitutes or other options.  In return, the organizations must be more creative and be efficient in utilizing the resources they gained when it is compared to their competitors.

Second is the growing numbers of the competitors that performs under the umbrella of a same industry. Within market, it is identified that the competition is composed of both local and international organizations and because of this reason; there are other improvements in the transportation and in communication system. In addition, the barriers in the international trade tend to encourage the other business players. And third is the rapid change in the environment that is commonly seen in the technological progress. Part of this reason is the need to change the method in production or the diversification of the products. When the new products are introduced, there is a high chance that the previous or ineffective products are subject for deletion. The managers should therefore consider the existing factors that might be affected – whether beneficial or not – in the disappearance and existence of their products. For an instance, the factors that they should reviewed are the population growth, the level of literacy and education, rapid urban migration, problems in employment, and the living standards that exist in the society (Wright & McMahan, 2001). Managers, at the same time, should also consider the social, economic, and political changes that often create pressure for the managers. There are also influences that may associate with the stockholders or investors and affects the sound decision making of the managers.

As said on the various reasons in building the competency in the management, it is natural that the management may receive challenges that can increase each and every year. The impact of the new wave theory in the managerialism can be described in many dimensions. The aspect of managership is expected to be solely accountable to reap the profitable results. Most likely, the managers are described to have the skills towards the creative and innovative outlook in the managerial aspects. For an instance, they are instructed to create improvements not only for the present but also in the future of the business (Rodriguez & Echanis, 1993; Guttierrez, Pura, & Garcia, 1994).

Aside from defining the differences in between the managerialism and new wave theory, the combination of the two principles may re-shape the roles and functions of the managers (Burbules & Torres, 2000). The quality in the management is also re-established in the newly refined dimension. Based on the current business environment, the managerial function do not entirely reflects on the efficient handling of the organizational resources but instead portrays in their capability in terms of the creativity, innovativeness, and sound decision making. But with the interaction of the managerial function in the aspect of new wave theory, there is an increase adaptation to the globalized and risky environment (Whiteley, Aguiar, & Marten, 2008).

One common benefit that the managers can gain access is to make the best investment plans particularly on the future. The investors obviously want the unbiased and long-term performance results. Therefore, the managers should apply the appropriate techniques that will satisfy the needs of the aggressive investors and their requirements such as seeing the low-risk environment, variability, and persistence of returns. Therefore, it is the role of the managers to inform the investors with the choices that are based on facts and reliable data (O’Shaughnessy, 2005).

In the implementation of the new approach if the managerialism, it is expected that the organizations are able to meet the challenges from the social, economic, and political aspects. The application of the new approach in managerialism within the organizations, there is also a perceived development in the trends and patterns of organization and management such as in terms of the control.  Based on the nature of the managerialism, there are commitments in order to satisfy the concepts of the efficiency, organizational performance and be more oriented on the market needs. Through the new wave theory, the idea of managerialism is more capable in terms of openness, collaboration, and even in the application of the managerial styles (Smith & Fingar, 2003). Furthermore, the administering functions of the managers can be put into more practice because it can be a part of the managerial cultures. However, there is a need for the further investigation to determine the impact of the new wave theory on the manageralism with in terms of the effectiveness of management in the long-run and having the sustainable position of the organization (Whiteley, Aguiar, & Marten, 2008).

Because of the influence and traced of the globalization, the adoption of the new wave theory is appropriate and is timely. The rapid transition in the economy and the increasing number of innovative companies, the simple concept of the managerialism needs to be more in an in-depth theory with the managerial skills (Burbules & Torres, 2000). In the adoption of the new wave theory upon the managerialism, the managers tends to be more considerate and must face the challenges most especially in finding the new ways to boost the performance of the organization and meet their designed objectives. Since there is a risk in the environment, the managers should be more prepared and must be able to cope with the uncertainties and apply the right amount of control. With the continuous practices, the sustainable management can be achieved and will continue to look for the efficiency (McAuley, Duberley, & Johnson, 2007).

The society is merely composed by the new infrastructures, transportation systems, and information and communication technologies. These changes increased both of the benefits and the drawbacks that the organization might experience (Smith & Fingar, 2003). However, as governed by the related managerial theories, the modern organization managed to follow the trends of the globalization and at the same time, reducing the negative implications that is can deliver towards their organization. These theories and concepts of management became the foundation of knowledge of the managers and their reference in explaining the various activities that are associated with the organization’s performance and its relationship in the environment.

Theories in the New Developments in Management

Since there is a significant impact or changes in the adoption of the new wave theory in the aspect of managerialism, the organization can adopt new theories or approaches which will emphasize the developments in the managerial aspects. The new developments results in the strategies and can create an influence that will serve to another inspiration and opportunity and in return can create a quality performance (Smith & Fingar, 2003). Through the new developments, the leaders can be more active in pursuing the success in the industry. The process of the managerial aspect can enhanced through considering the two theories that are related in the management (Burbules & Torres, 2000).

Conclusion: The Future of the Management Practice

The impact of the new wave theory in the managerialism might tend to increase the ‘market-oriented approach’ and creating the ‘corporate/new managerialism’. Managerialism’ may facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization because of the continuous practice in managerial approaches. The organization might experience the ‘value-adding’ approaches in terms of decision making, capital investments, and overall operation (Dunleavy, et al., 2006). The development do not only explains the in terms of capital but also in human as an asset and the technologies as a system. The continuous development of the organization is based in the awareness of the organization in the benefits and risks that may exist in the global trend of business. The focus of the wave theory in the managerialism is to introduce the in-depth approach in creating sound decisions other than performing in the managerial duties. In this way, the focus of the productivity and economic growth can be achieved (Beck, Sznaider, & Winter, 2003).

Although the process of new development provides benefits, there are challenges that can affect the adoption of the new process. There are rational changes in the organization in order to experience the impact. Since the efficiency is the most common goal of the managerialism, there are initiative and efforts that the managers’ needs to meet. The competency of the management can be also achieved and with the significant changes in accountability relationships and as well as governance (Kniss, 1999). Therefore, there should be an appropriate orientation within the organization about the development in the management to gain the life-long benefits and other improvements. In general, the adoption of the managerial approach plays an important role in order to achieve objectives with maximum efficiency. All of the initiatives taken will create impacts of change and expected to bear the costs incurred in the idea of managerialism with the new wave theory approach.

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