Paper on Exploring Management Theories: Administrative, Human Relations, and Systems Approaches

The Administrative Theory

The administrative theory was developed as a change to the structure of an entire organization through the concept of departmentalization. The theory was focused on ensuring work is divided among different employees in an organization and illustrates the levels that have power over others. Through theory, the 14 principles of management were developed. The first principle involving the division of work focused on dividing it into parts that could be done by more than one employee to increase efficiency and speed. The second is the authority, which gives the managers the power to give orders to the subordinates. The theory also involves discipline that requires all employees to obey and respect the organization's rules. Unity of command illustrates that each employee is supposed to get orders from a single superior. A group in the organization is controlled by a single manager with a unique plan. The theory also expects an organization's management to be driven by its goals since it is the most important organization.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The administrative theory also includes centralization that focuses on the hierarchy of the organization when making transformations in the organization. The labor in organizations should be paid at considerable and reasonable salaries for all employees and management within the organization. According to Fayol, the chain of authority in an organization follows the hierarchy of the organization (Hatchuel & Segrestin, 2019). The workforce and items used in achieving the organization's goals should be at the places they are expected to be at the time of operation. The theory includes recommendations to organizations to combine kindness and justice in their operations while providing job safety and career improvement opportunities. Through the administrative theory, organizations allow the initiatives of the employees to improve the services, thus ensuring the organization's growth and the creativity of the employees.

The Human Relations Theory

The theory illustrates the idea of organizations treating individuals as people and not machines. This idea is based on the fact that people have individual needs compared to machines that do not have such requirements. The theory also illustrates that individuals want to get involved in an organization's growth and development, both emotionally and through their work. Research by Busse and Warner (2017) supports Elton Mayo’s advocacy for employees to be treated as human beings and get the motivation they require to lead the organization to meet its goals and objectives (Busse & Warner, 2017). Motivation in organizations is essential in ensuring that employees have the stimulation to work better and provide their best in achieving the goals that the organization has set. In his past research, Mayo studied different human resources sections, including; "multitasking, communication, conflict resolution, organization, and negotiation" (Dubin, 2017). The researcher found that organization is a vital relation skill required within work areas (Busse & Warner, 2017). The result is due to the importance of keeping operations within the organization flowing as it is supposed to be flowing. It is considered essential when maintaining records so that the management can understand the parts of the organization that require specific changes and those that need a boost in their working areas to improve productivity.

The System Theory

Systems theory was introduced in businesses with his first approach to systems being on how individuals interact with their environment (Hofkirchner, 2019). Through his research, he made discoveries against reductionism, which focused on the simple fundamentals of the complex unit. Thus, the theory focuses on acknowledging complex systems within any cohesive framework in society and organizations. The theory illustrated that specific results are acquired through each unit in the complex group contributing to meeting the targets. In an organization, each employee is considered an essential part of the organization and its achievements.

The system theory is divided into three domains that include technology, science, and philosophy. This means that the theory can be involved in numerous applications other than organizations only. This theory's primary use is in objective-oriented processes that require different elements to be involved in the meeting of the goals and objectives (Hofkirchner, 2019). In this theory, success is not considered from the aspects individually but from the whole complex organization of these elements. The interrelationship of the aspects and members of an organization determines the ability to meet the targets. It is considered to follow an ordered nature when making the interactions to ensure the expected results are met efficiently. The system theory can be investigated in different applications since it can be applied in various organizations that require interactions to achieve the expected results.

Theorists’ Current Researches

The administrative theory has undergone extensive research and scrutiny to improve the concept involved in the theory. The initial study done by Fayol was on the importance of management in an organization and how it would enhance the operations and achievements of the organization. Current studies have been focused on the improvement of Fayol's management theory. The scalar chain has been studied heavily to understand how the chain of command is included in an organization and how it helps achieve the goals the organization has set up. The chain involves supervisors who are included in each level of command within the organization. Fayol's definition of the scalar chain illustrates that supervisors are included in each level of the organization, starting from the highest to the lowest (Edwards, 2018). The chain also expects communication to be included within the organization through the supervisors, leading to better contact with employees. In recent research, it has been considered common sense for organizations to apply the administrative theory. This is because, through theory, organizations can have a well-formed framework of the organization.

Organizations in the current world have a mandatory structure that allows transparency of the entire framework. The organization's hierarchy is managed through the theory and allows orders to flow vertically and horizontally. The structure acquired through the administrative theory will enable organizations to have well-defined levels of the hierarchy. This also helps in work division where each hierarchical level has departments that are provided with specific duties. Extensive duties are done faster and more successfully since the structure allows the division of work among the different departments. The success level is increased through this structure made through the theory since the organization’s objectives are divided through the structure. There is also a sense of planning and formality through the organizational structure. Organizations can have specific individuals working at distinct levels of the organization, making it easy to have managers supervise the work done at each level of the hierarchy.

The Human Relations Theory undergoes multiple studies and research focused on improving the understanding of the founder Mayo's initial idea. The study has been connected with an improvement of the human and social influences on the business industry. Studies have found that organizations should focus mainly on meeting the employees' satisfaction first before other objectives to ensure they are motivated, and their productivity improved (Oyerinde, 2017). Employees produce the highest quality results when they believe that the organization has a consideration of their needs. Management has a goal of meeting the needs of the employees to ensure that production will be improved. Current research has been done on the relationship between employee motivation and productivity (Oyerinde, 2017). The researchers have found that motivation, through the human relations theory, is essential in the organization and is met through employee satisfaction (Dubin, 2017).

The human relations theory is in place in the current world organizations by including employees' satisfaction in the organization's goals. Organizations achieve this through incentives and employee retention features. These methods involve offering employees prices when they meet certain goals. Organizations also accept and consider the employees' grievances and requests to ensure they are satisfied. The human resource management department (HRM) in the organization should implement the theory. This is due to the department having the role and responsibility of working closely with employees. This involves hiring them, listening to their grievances, and providing motivation to the employees. The theory is used to improve the organization's ability to meet its goals and objectives faster. When employees are motivated, there is a high chance of achieving the goals efficiently. Therefore, employee satisfaction is their primary concern, making it necessary to have a department concerned with its application in the organization.

The HRM department in an organization helps acquire employees who have a bright career future for the organization and have talents. Employees who are taken care of by this department offer their best in the department; they work and provide a high level of creativity since the human resource listens to their grievances. The department also has the mandate to ensure that the employees work to the expected standards and professionalism. Professionalism can be achieved through training the employees. Morale is essential in an organization and requires the human resource department to improve employee motivation and morale so they can provide high-quality throughput.

The systems theory of management research has been underway for a long time after its introduction by Mayo. The theory has helped the organization identify its organization as a system and not as parts that form it. It has been discovered that there can be open and closed organization systems that are different from each other. Open systems are considered to be affected by the environment while closed systems are not affected. Most organizations are open systems since they are affected by the environment. These organizations have inputs, outputs, and feedback loops that allow them to repeat their operations to make more productions and meet goals (Hislop et al., 2018). Organizations require a connection between these factors to ensure a positive influence on the business is achieved. Through the theory, the organization has an understanding of the importance of each section of the system. Inputs can be increased to ensure that work throughput is also increased for the maximum acquirement of the objectives.

The system theory has been employed in current organizations where they have different inputs such as employees, raw materials, and machines. These are used to produce outputs, which include yields that are sold in the market, and the feedback loop allows the organization to repeat the production and improve sales, thus meeting the goals. Organizations in the current world have to increase inputs to make sure output is increased as well. Technology can be used to achieve this since it can be categorized as an input. Through inputs and feedback loops, the output can be improved at a high rate since there are enough inputs that provide better production ability to the organizations. Organizations also consider themselves as an open system and ensure they keep an eye on the environmental factors that may affect production to improve their achievements.