Evoke Development

According to Kast & Rosenzweig (1985, p. 5), organizations consist of:

1. Goal-oriented arrangements, people with a purpose
2. Psychosocial systems, people interacting in groups
3. Technological systems, people using knowledge and techniques
4. Integration of structured activities, people working together in patterned relationships

Management Responsibilities

Management is responsible for coordinating the resources (human and material) to accomplish set organizational objectives. Because this task involves thinking, intuition, and felling, it is important that individuals filling leadership role know how to:

• Relate to the organization
• Meet the social needs of the workers
• Develop a positive work environment
• Communicate effectively
• Develop individual and group goals
• Coordinate and organize resources and responsibilities
• Make decisions based on available information

Organizational Systems

Every organization contains structural, technical, and managerial systems. They also contain psychosocial systems that involve individual behaviors and motivations, status and role relationships, group dynamics, and networks. Over the past century, industry has spent most of the time focusing on technology rather than on human performance. However, a society moves closer to an information-based workforce, the emphasis must shift to encouraging human interaction and helping individuals work smarter rather than harder.

Psychosocial Needs of Work Force

Organizations must be more attentive to the psychosocial needs of its work force. Providing an atmosphere that addresses the employee well-being is just one way in which these needs can be addressed. Personality testing assists in this task by helping individuals choose occupations where the task and/or individuals’ skills are congruent with their personality preferences. As a result, employees with this knowledge are more likely to be satisfied than those for whom the fit is not as good.

Primary Elements of Management

Henri Fayol, the “father of management theory” believed that management consisted of five primary elements:

1. Planning
2. Organization
3. Command
4. Coordination
5. Control

According to these elements, he developed fourteen principles that looked at concepts such as:

• How work was divided
• Authority and responsibility
• Discipline
• Centralization
• Order
• Equity
• Stability
• Initiative
• Teamwork

Note: Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick continued Fayol’s work by popularizing principles such as the importance of people fitting into the organization and “departmentalizing by purpose, process, persons, and place” (Kast & Rosenzweig, 1985, p. 65).

References: 

Kast, F. E., & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1985). Organization and management: A systems and contingency approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company.