Management Science
Text 1 page 125
Leadership Styles
A style of leadership is the way people manage business and other organizations. It is characterized both by the actions aimed at operating a company and by a leader's behaviour at work, his or her attitude to employees and peers. All leaders and managers are different people, they have different characters, background, experience. But all of them follow these or those ideas of managing businesses or organizations, this or that manner of leadership accepted in a society.
Traditionally, experts distinguish two styles of leadership: autocratic and democratic.
The autocratic style is based on the absolute authority of the person who heads a company. It is a style of management in which the leader makes decisions and gives orders without consulting with other people.
Autocratic leaders are not interested in other people's ideas and opinions. They don't believe in their subordinates' creative abilities and professional skills. Autocrats don't trust anyone, they only rely on themselves.
That's why they never ask other people's advice and take decisions independently. Autocratic leaders are usually self-confident and tough. They don't like to admit their mistakes, revise their views or reverse their decisions. Autocrats hate objections. They are often unjust to their subordinates. People don't like to work under such leaders.
The democratic style is based on the principles of equality and equal opportunities for all. It is a style of management in which all the staff are involved in making decisions.
Democratic leaders encourage people to express their ideas and opinions. They develop and stimulate their subordinates' creative abilities and skills. Talented and experienced workers help the chief to take important decisions. Democratic leaders consult with their team and value people's opinions. They reward their supporters. Democratic leaders are ready to admit their mistakes and take a new, correct decision. They are friendly. They understand employees and are ready to help them. Democratic leaders create a favourable atmosphere at work. People like to work under such leaders.
In textbooks on management, experts oppose Henry Ford to Alfred P. Sloane Jr. Both were great leaders in automobile industry. They were rivals, and their leadership styles were different.
Henry Ford (1863-1947) was a legendary American businessman and engineer. He started making cars in 1896 and founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. He developed the idea of the assembly line, and the company produced a lot of cars. Ford designed the famous model T Ford, which made him one of the richest and most famous people in the USA. It was the first popular, cheap car, and many people bought it. All the cars were black and he refused to change the colour. Ford used to say, «Any colour you choose so long as it's black». The company workers made 5 dollars a week — it was high pay at that time.
Henry Ford was a classic autocrat. He maintained strict discipline. He gave orders, and his workers obeyed. Ford fired his employees if they disagreed with him. For many years the company continued to produce the same black car, as Ford didn't want to change anything. That's why finally, the company lost its leading position on the US market.
Alfred P. Sloane Jr. was President of General Motors. He was a democratic leader. First the company was not successful. But Sloane introduced a new system of management, and business become profitable. The President created a strong management team and delegated responsibilities to the team members. His supporters were involved in making decisions. He worked out an effective system of manufacturing supervision and work control. General Motors won its competition with the Ford Motor Company.
Old leaders were mostly authoritarian. Autocratic leadership worked during difficult periods of war and economic depression. At present management has become more democratic.
Exercise 1.1. Find in the text the equivalents of these words and word combinations.
Отношение к служащим и коллегам; образование, стаж работы; абсолютная власть; пересматривать взгляды и отменять решения; равные возможности для всех; талантливые и опытные работники; создают благоприятную атмосферу на работе; поддерживал строгую дисциплину; увольнял служащих; привлекались к принятию решений; главным образом.
Exercise 1.2. Answer the following questions in pairs.
1. What is a style of leadership?
2. What is the traditional classification of leadership styles?
3. What is the autocratic style of leadership?
4. What pattern of behaviour do autocratic leaders demonstrate?
5. What is the democratic style of leadership?
6. What pattern of behaviour do democratic leaders demonstrate?
7. What was Henry Ford famous for?
8. What kind of leader was he?
9. What was Alfred P. Sloane known for? 10. What kind of leader was he?
Text 2 page 127
Do you believe Henry Ford was a genius? Read the article to get more information about the great innovator.
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (1863-1947) was the American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods.
Ford spent most of his life making headlines, good, bad, but never indifferent. Celebrated as both a technological genius and a folk hero, Ford was the creative force behind an industry of unprecedented size and wealth that in only a few decades permanently changed the economic and social character of the United States. When young Ford left his father's farm in 1879 for Detroit, only two out of eight Americans lived in cities; when he died at age 83, the proportion was five out of eight. Once Ford realized the tremendous part he and his Model T automobile had played in bringing about this change, he wanted nothing more than to reverse it, or at least to recapture the rural values of his boyhood. Henry Ford, then, is an apt symbol of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial America. [...]
Text 3 page 48
Read the following text about the development of management studies. Why did this science appear in the USA?
Management Science
Management science is relatively young. It became an independent branch of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century.
But management has been practised since ancient times. When the first organizations appeared, there were people who led them. In different periods and in various countries, the first leaders were emperors, kings, tsars, landlords, slave-holders, generals, officers, governors of provinces, supervisors, etc. They represented different levels of management and made people under them work, fight, sell or buy.
There were various kinds of organizations — state, political, religious, trade. Of course, ancient organizations were different from modern ones, but they had some common features.
Experts say that the Roman Empire, which existed for some centuries, had an effective organization structure. It was ruled by the emperor. The emperor had a strong army which invaded large territories in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. There was a rigid hierarchy in the army. The legions were commanded by generals and officers. The territories occupied by the army were ruled by governors.
The Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest religious organizations in the world. It also has a rigid hierarchy: the pope, the cardinal, the archbishop, the bishop, and the
priests.
Some historic events and people's activities contributed to the development of management studies. The English Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the rapid economic growth in many countries of the world, and the development of sciences in the 19th century gave impetus to the start of management studies.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Robert Owen, a British manufacturer, tried to run his factory better and introduced some reforms. He improved the working conditions, increased the workers' wages. Owen's factory in Scotland was profitable, but other manufacturers did not want to change the old system of management.
Management science was born in the United States. At the turn of the 20th century, it was a powerful country with rich natural resources, developed economic and business relations, and a huge labour market.
In 1911, in New York, Frederic W. Taylor published his famous book Principles of Scientific Management. After this publication management was considered an independent field of research and called a science.
This branch of knowledge is connected with economics, mathematics, engineering, psychology, sociology and anthropology. The objects of management are machines
and people.
At present, different schools of management represent different approaches to research. There are four major approaches to management: — the approach of scientific management,
— the process approach,
— the systems approach,
— the contingency approach.
The founders of the school of scientific management were F. W. Taylor and Frank and Lilian Gilbreth who used analytical, quantitative method in managing business organizations. They did operations research and tried to increase labour productivity. They also dealt with material incentives, personnel selection and training.
Henri Fayol is called the father of management. In his famous work General and Industrial Management, Fayol formulated 14 principles of management. Among them are the principles of division of labour, authority and responsibility, discipline, one-man management, personnel remuneration, initiative, corporate spirit, and others.
Experts believe that scientific management led American industry to greatness and reached its highest mark at the end of the 1970s. Today, the leaders have given up the old concepts about the nature of the world and the old «scientific» methodology. They are humanizing business organizations trying to balance rationality with intuition and creativity. They are paying their attention to corporate culture, values and communication. Today's scientific management is turning to the heart of business — the technology and the people's factors.
The proponents of the process approach suppose that management is a series of interconnected managerial functions. They are planning, organization, motivation and control.
According to the systems approach, management is the combination of such interrelated elements as people, structure, tasks and technology. The representatives of this school think that an organization is an open system consisting of some subsystems connected with one another. The organization gets resources from the environment, produces goods and returns them to the environment.
The supporters of the contingency approach believe that different managerial techniques are determined by many factors within the organization and in the environment. Certain conditions demand suitable techniques. These techniques are different in different situations. The contingency approach expanded the practical application of the general systems theory.
All the schools of management have made a great contribution to the development of this science. Nowadays management studies are rapidly developing.
Exercise 3.1. Find in the text the equivalents of these words and word combinations.
Самостоятельная область знаний; помещики, рабовладельцы, губернаторы провинций, надсмотрщики; представляли различные уровни управления; подчиненные им люди; иметь некоторые общие черты; быстрый экономический рост; способствовали развитию науки управления; на пороге XX века; огромный рынок труда; разные подходы к научному исследованию; повысить производительность труда; разделение труда; корпоративный дух; ценности; в соответствии с; сторонники; расширили практическое применение; сделали большой вклад.
Exercise 3.2. Answer the following questions in pairs.
1. Is management science old?
2. When was it recognized as an independent branch of knowledge?
3. How long has management been practised?
4. Who were the first managers?
5. What hierarchy did the Roman Empire have?
6. What contributed to the development of management science?
7. What was Robert Owen famous for?
8. What are the major approaches to management?
9. Who were the founders of the school of scientific management?
10. What is the difference between the old scientific methodology and today's scientific management?
11. What principles of management did Henry Fayol formulate?
12. What are the functions of management?
13. What kind of system is an organization, according to the systems approach?
14. What are managerial techniques determined by, according to the contingency approach?
Text 4 page 52