Introduction
Managerial positions are among the most relevant and commonly found occupations in the modern world, and they have been so for decades. However, with time, the approaches to managing employees have changed drastically. This essay will cover the main differences between established traditional management practices and more contemporary ones.
Technical vs. Emotional Governance
Traditional Management
Firstly, the core belief of the traditional managerial approach is that of the internal process model of management. Traditional managers govern both the employees and themselves, doing so from a technical point of view. This means that a manager must be emotionally disconnected from the staff, only caring about the numerical result of their work. This, in turn, decreases their effectiveness, as the traditional system cares little for the emotional side of work (Boddy, 2017). Thus, traditional managers focus primarily on numbers and may resort to self-seeking behavior that is evidence of low company morale.
Modern Management
Instead, the modern management approach is focused more on the human relations management model. It emphasizes that employees go to work not only for monetary gain but also for the fulfillment of a number of other needs (Mullins & Christy, 2016). It is more informal and has a flatter hierarchy than a traditional company. This approach is centered around the staff’s proper motivation and the company’s social atmosphere.
Structure vs. Flexibility
Traditional Management
The traditional managerial approach to most situations is that of the classical management model. Traditional managers are structure-driven, first and foremost, with a set of rules that are applied to any circumstance. It values tried and proven practices, with little attention to the details of the situation at hand (Mullins & Christy, 2016). Thus, the classical model has defined solutions for problems that may arise but may prove to be inflexible in a situation that was not taken into account when the set of rules was initially written
Modern Management
On the other hand, the contemporary approach to management is flexible and reactive to changes in the environment. For modern managers, the success of any company is determined not only by the rational organization of production, cost reduction, and the development of specialization but also by flexibility and the ability to adapt to constant changes in the external environment. The external environment increasingly dictates the strategy and tactics of enterprise management. It is clearly shown in the Open Systems model of management, where an organization is seen as an entity that inputs resources and energy from the outside world and then transforms and outputs them as goods and services (Boddy, 2017). Thus, according to this philosophy, a company depends heavily on the environment in which it is and must react to its changes.
Conclusion
To summarize, the traditional and modern approaches to management have several distinctions. The traditional model focuses more on hierarchy and strict rules, while the contemporary model emphasizes social cohesion between workers and management and adaptability.Both models can prove effective for companies, given the right circumstances, such as the industry the company operates in, country of origin, and other factors.
Reference List
Mullins, L. J. and Christy, G (2016). Management & Organizational Behaviour. Pearson Education Limited.
Boddy, D. (2017). Management: An Introduction. Pearson Education Limited.