Management: An Applied Behavioral Sciences Approach
by
Charles Lamson
Every country's legacy has many examples of courageous men and women who have made what they believed in happen under extremely challenging conditions. These men and women saw the need for action, believed in what they were doing, inspired others and, in spite of incredible odds, changed the world. This is the essence of leadership. These men and women sought leadership roles and accepted the responsibilities that were part of those roles. Doing so is a leader's duty: to take what you believe in, something that flows out of your core values, and make it happen. |
Effective performance rarely happens by accident. Effective performance is the result of predictable, planned actions that can be learned and applied by almost anyone in any organization anywhere. This is the good news. The even better news is that many forward-looking managers throughout the world are now using these planned actions. They are effectively using new management methods and techniques---and you can too. My purpose in writing this analysis is to provide you with an essential framework that will help you to excel in this age of leadership and management.
The leadership and management of organizations have never been more challenging, and this is a tremendously exciting period for understanding and practicing both. Now, as perhaps never before, there is a growing awareness that the success of our organizations depends directly on effectively leading human resources. The applied behavioral sciences provide a basis for such effective use. As we consider the challenging problems in the management of organizations---business, government, not-for-profit, school, military, or family---we realize that the real test of our abilities as leaders and managers is how effectively we can establish and maintain human organizations for the purpose of achieving results.
What are effective managers doing that sets them apart? What is it that makes some managers succeed and others fail? It is a way of looking at where they want to go and how they are going to get there. It means having an idea, a framework, a mental plan, and the skills to execute their ideas. Managers must know where they are going if they are to achieve their purposes. What then is management's essential purpose?
The Purpose of Management
The fundamental purpose of management is to create value as perceived by the follower(s). The writers of Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson) endorse the view of Peter Drucker, the principal contributor to contemporary management, that for managers to be successful, they must achieve the results valued by the people who have a stake in their organization's accomplishments. Managers must meet the needs and aspirations of followers. Therefore, when we define management as the influencing of people and other scarce resources, this means influencing toward meaningful purposes, toward results.
Professor Dave Ulrich, University of Michigan, and consultants, Jack Zenger and Normon Smallwood, confirm that results matter in their Results Based Leadership. "Leaders who are not getting results aren't truly leading. Or, more specifically, leaders who aren't getting desired results aren't truly leading. . . . Leaders must learn to understand and focus on desired results."
Successful organizations are deeply aware of their sense of purpose. Just as a search for meaning is a principal human motivation, it is also a principal characteristic of dynamic, growing organizations. These organizations have declared their responsibilities toward customers, society, environment, owners, and employees: all of the key stakeholders that affect their performance.
Capabilities of Effective Organizations
What are the performance capabilities of effective organizations? Effective organizations focus on quality and customer satisfaction; respond quickly to environmental changes; innovate; develop and implement appropriate strategies; have a global mindset; are willing to "network" with strategic partners; cope with changes in management; and are committed to continuous learning. That is a long list of demanding challenges, but managers must meet these challenges.
*SOURCE: MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: LEADING HUMAN RESOURCES, 8TH ED., 2001, PAUL HERSEY, KENNETH H. BLANCHARD, DEWEY E., JOHNSON, PGS. 1-2*
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