International Institute for Strategic Research and Training


CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT
E-MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Management is crucial to any purposeful endeavor which requires the effort of many people in the context of one entity or several entities, whether they are from the private or the public sector. Management thinking has evolved over time, but at any period it is possible to capture the ideas which are predominant. Management thinking affects practices and vice versa.

CONVENTIONAL MANAGEMENT THINKING

Conventional management thinking may be described as management thinking which has been around for a while having developed into set ways of looking at things. Conventional management thinking is affected to a large extent by the so-called classical doctrines, i.e the body of thinking which has lasted through time and has had a significant effect on management practices.

The most important ideas from classical doctrines are those which relate to the fact that management is worthy of study or can be studied. Frederick Taylor advocated the doctrine of Scientific Management; the fact that study and observation showed that there were specific ways of getting things done (basis for standard operating procedures) and that these ways in turn would yield themselves to improvement through study. Taylor also advocated the doctrine of efficiency, i.e that of securing the maximum outputs from existing inputs. Efficiency may have been rather mechanical in this context but is a concept that has stood the test of time and remains valid today albeit in more than just its mechanical form. Henri Fayol advocated a more comprehensive approach to management thinking and in addition to outlining the various aspects of the management functions, he provided the basis for showing the relationship between management and the technical role of an organization.

Another conceptualization which also has had a lasting effect on management thinking is that advocated by Gulick and Urwick summarized by the acronym POSDCoRB which in effect outlined the core management functions as being planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. This conceptualization is simple yet as comprehensive as that advocated by Fayol. These conceptualizations have generally been applicable to the management of entities from both the private sector and the public sector. Other conceptualizations have focused on organizations as such. Over time, it was found that the management and organizational concepts had a predominant flaw in that they concentrated upon the mechanical aspects of getting things done. The new concepts which emerged were those humanistic in nature, i.e focused of the human side of enterprise or those which sought to develop a proper perspective between mechanistic and humanistic considerations.

THE NEW MANAGEMENT THINKING

During the 1980s and 1990s management practices forced by factors and circumstances forged the path to management thinking which is still emerging but could be characterized as being new since it is completely different from the conventional one.

Resource constraints both in public and private sector organizations forced them to look for new ways to get things done. In light of budget and performance deficits, public sector organizations were forced to re-invent themselves and to learn from the good practices of successful private sector organizations. Private sector organizations had in the context of economic difficulties, first to experiment with down-sizing, then with right-sizing then with re-engineering themselves, with the organizations having to look at a broad array of management thinking and practices which span other cultures as well since private sector organizations had to face competition from operating in the so-called global arena. Information and communication technologies (ICT) also had a significant effect on the functioning of both public and private sector organizations.

It became possible to capture, process and communicate larger amount of information triggering a change factor never seen before. ICT at first played the role of support systems to the management functions, but progressively the management functions went through a process of transformation which is still going on; there are elements which added together amount to a body of new management thinking affecting the management of entities from both the public and private sectors. The electronic means are leading the transformation creating new vocabularies, ranging from e-business to e-government. In turn, the management of e-business and e-government entities can be characterized as e-management no less, short for e-business management and e-government management respectively.

Beyond the electronic means, however, entities from the two sides are interacting more and more, in modes ranging from cooperation to competition to conflict. The management of public sector entities has been largely influenced by that of private sector entities, in that considerations of effectiveness, client satisfaction and responsiveness are now considered crucial. Public sector entities gone through the process of re-invention and re-engineering have been infused with management thinking from the private sector hinging on strategic thinking and the importance of results.

On the other hand, private sector entities have to work in an environment in which political and societal considerations can only be overlooked at a cost. Market mechanisms do not always have the right answer; from a context where 'privatization' may be the right thing to do, one finds oneself in situations seem to be one where public sector organizations have more to contribute. Again, the change factor is the center-piece; in the past, changes were slow and entities could adapt albeit slowly; now there are sudden changes which call for sudden reaction and responses.

 

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