The relationship between management and employees is one of the issues that are critical for competitive advantage and sustainability of modern companies. This paper is aimed at reviewing two articles that can throw light on such issues as the decision-making in organizations and the retention of employees. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the article The Executive Mind and Double-Loop Learning written by Chris Argyris (1982) and Peter Drucker’s (2002) work They’re Not Employees, They’re People.
These sources can be of great interest to people who study business administration. Although the authors explore different themes, their works highlights the complexities of managerial work and the challenges encountered by leaders. This is why they are worth attention. In his article, Chris Argyris (1982) wants to examine the way in which organizational leaders take decisions, especially at the time, when they face certain problems or difficulties.
In particular, he strives to explain why these people often fail to respond to environmental changes or modify their strategies if they are not effective (Argyris 1982). The author discusses various scenarios showing how and why executives can come to the wrong conclusions or develop poor policies. First of all, Chris Argyris shows that many managers are usually unaware of their mental processes (Argyris 1982, p. 6).
They are accustomed to solving difficult problems and addressing various challenges. Therefore, these people usually pay attention to their thinking processes only when they realize that they made some mistakes. The main issue is that in many cases, leaders do not detect their errors or flaws, while their subordinates are often reluctant to speak about the mistakes of their superiors (Argyris 1982).
This is one of the challenges that business administrators should be aware of. Moreover, these people are unable to modify their strategies, because in the past these techniques helped them achieve success. Chris Argyris (1982) advocates the use of double-loop learning which enables managers to detect mistakes at an early stage and modify their strategies as quickly as possible.
This technique is premised on the assumption that managers should evaluate not only their strategies, but also their goals, attitudes, values and beliefs (Argyris 1982). In this way they can better overcome various difficulties. Furthermore, this approach emphasizes open communication within a company can make this organization more responsive to different challenges. These are the main issues that this author examines in his article.
The main strength of this article is that the author gives readers deep insights into the behavior of managers. The arguments of Chris Argyris are based on numerous interviews with managers who occupied senior positions in their organizations (Argyris 1982, p. 8). Therefore, the examples that he provides are quite authentic and they reflect the problems that senior officers encounter almost every day.
Furthermore, Chris Argyris (1982) gives many valuable recommendations to business administrators who should be more aware of their decision-making. The author is able to transform theoretical discussions into practical guidelines. This is why this source is worth reading. However, one should point out that a reader should have some background knowledge of psychology and organizational behavior in order to understand theoretical implications of this article and some of Chris Argyris’ arguments.
This is one of the issues that should be taken into consideration. The author puts forward several arguments that are very convincing. First of all, Chris Argyris eloquently demonstrate that a person, who is fully convinced of one’s rectitude, often fails to develop innovative solutions (1982, p. 3). These people usually attempt to defend their positions, but they do not want to consider the opinions of others.
Moreover, they are reluctant to reevaluate their values or goals. Furthermore, this source enables readers better understand the concept of double-loop learning and its relevance to organizational behavior. So, one can say that it is both useful and informative. Overall, Chris Argyris’ (1982) article can help me analyze many of my activities as well as decisions.
First of all, the tips given by the author show how people should respond to different challenges and re-evaluate their underlying convictions, or beliefs. This skill will certainly assist me in achieving better academic results. Apart from that, Chris Argyris (1982) explains how a person should evaluate one’s relations with others. In particular, the author emphasizes the necessity to take into account the ideas and suggestions of colleagues or frontline personnel (Argyris 1982, p. 20).
In my opinion, this skill can be of great use to me in the future. More importantly, the discussion presented in this article demonstrates how business administrators can interact with their colleagues or front-line employees, especially at the time when one has to take vital decisions. Finally, this academic work enables the readers understand how learning in organizations can be best promoted. So, this source can be relevant to students and professionals. This is why I have chosen it for this review.
Another source that should be discussed is the article They’re Not Employees, They’re People written by Peter Drucker (2002). The author of this article intends to discuss the ways in which private companies or public organizations should view their workers. The writer argues that companies should not “off-load” their employee relations because they can lose many opportunities for professional growth (Drucker 2002, p. 3).
They often do it by using the services of agencies that hire part-time employees. In particular, Peter Drucker (2002) focuses on the retention of the most talented and productive workers. The author’s main premise is that the managers should not perceive workers only as assets because such an approach prevents companies from growing.
One of the ideas that Peter Drucker introduces is the concept of a knowledge-based company (Drucker 2002, p. 5). In this case, one can speak about an organization which management is able to take into account the previous challenges that they faced in the past. Secondly, in these businesses, workers are able to bring improvements to the company.
However, such an organization can be created provided that senior managers enable workers fulfill their potential (Drucker 2002, p. 8). This objective can be partly attained by offering training programs to the workers or by allowing them to take initiatives. This is why Peter Drucker urges the management to invest in the development of employee’s professional skills because this investment can bring significant dividends to private businesses as well as public organizations (2002, p. 8).
Such a strategy is usually oriented to the long-term sustainability of an organization. These are the main issues that the author examines in his work. The main strength of this work is that it allows readers to look at organizations and workers from a different perspective. The ideas expressed by Peter Drucker (2002) can assist business administrators in developing more effective policies, especially those ones that are related to HR practices.
Nevertheless, there is a significant limitation of this source; namely the author does not offer specific examples of how his theoretical views can be translated into practice. Apart from that, he does not refer to any specific case studies explaining how the principles advocated by the author can be implemented in the workplace.
If the author had described various applications of his theories, the article would have been much more informative. Furthermore, specific recommendations would have been of great value to professionals. Nevertheless, this weakness does not mean that this work should be overlooked. Peter Drucker succeeds in identifying the weaknesses of contemporary HR strategies that prevent companies from becoming more competitive.
There are several aspects of this article that one can find innovative and convincing. First of all, the author urges the readers to change their views of workforce and their value for an organization. The problem is that many managers perceive workers only as assets that can be used to achieve some short-term goals. However, very little is said about the values and needs of these people who can significantly contribute to organizational performance.
This problem is very relevant to contemporary businesses. Moreover, practically no attention is paid to their talents, interests, and willingness to achieve professional growth. The arguments advanced by Peter Drucker (2002) rely on the idea that each of these people can dramatically improve the functioning of every organization. Certainly, it seems that there is nothing new in this argument; however, this idea is often disregarded by senior managers who fail to make their companies more sustainable and competitive.
Certainly, the views expressed by Peter Drucker have been elaborated by many other scholars, and at this point, there are studies that can give more specific recommendations to business administrators. Therefore, one should not suppose that this article is the only scholarly work that examines this question. Nevertheless, this work can be of great use to me because it throws a new light on the relationship between employees and organizations.
It will help me analyze my interactions with colleagues or business partners. Hopefully, I will be able to promote professional development of the people working under my guidance. Additionally, I will better understand various aspects of organizational behavior and identify opportunities for their growth. Therefore, the ideas of Peter Drucker should not be overlooked by people who want to understand different dimensions of management, decision-making, and labor relations.
Thus, this academic work should be considered by students. On the whole, this discussion indicates that modern management is not a static field of study. It continuously evolves and the recommendations offered by various scholars can be of great benefit to managers who are responsible for financial or organizational performance of companies or public agencies.
These professionals should identify the applications of different theories to their daily work. The articles that have been reviewed in this paper can assist readers in understanding decision-making and talent management. These academic works how managers can better solve problems, develop strategies or improve the performance of employees. This is the main rationale for reviewing these articles in this paper.
References
Argyris, C 1982, ‘The Executive Mind and Double-Loop Learning’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 11 no. 2, pp. 5-22.
Drucker, P 2002, ‘They’re Not Employees, They’re People’. Harvard Business Review, pp. 2-8.