Theories Presented by Fredrick Taylor and Max Weber, Rescue Service Strategies in the UK - Example

Civil Defense Name: Roll No: Class: Teacher: Subject: May 30, 2008 University: Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Section- 1 4 Manager’s Role and Responsibilities 4 Communication 4 Team Building 4 Delegation of Responsibilities by Managers to Staff 5 Motivation 6 From Classical Management Theory to Human Relations Approach 6 Section- 2 Leadership Styles 7 Democratic 7 Autocratic 7 Laissez-Faire 8 Section- 3 8 Motivation- and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 8 Dr. Abraham Harold Maslow in an article ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ appeared in Psychological Review in 1943 endeavored to formulate a specific needs-based structure of human based. The theory was based upon his clinical experiences with people as compared with the theories presented before from authors like Skinner and Freud that were mostly theoretical and based on animal behavior. 8 9 The basis of Maslow’s theory is that people are motivated by different unsatisfied needs and that there are some lower factors that should be satisfied before satisfying higher needs. As per Maslow, there are some general categories of needs that should be satisfied before any person could act in a selfless manner. There needs were termed by him as ‘deficiency needs’. Satisfaction of needs is healthy while avoiding gratification makes people act immorally. 9 Organization 10 Management Theory for Organization 10 Scientific Management Theory 10 Bureaucratic Management Theory 11 Movement of Human Relations 11 Section- 4 12 National Fire and Rescue Service Strategies in the UAE 12 International Fire and Rescue Service Strategies in the UK 13 International fire and rescue service strategies in United Kingdom focus on some priority areas and linked to the core values of local government. The primary priority is the positive leadership at each and every level which is essential to implement changes, sustain commitment and assure accountability. The role required from Fire and Rescue Authority managers in promoting diversity and equality is vital to delivery. Managers ensure that their staff is clear about their particular role in making the strategies successful ultimately making the services fair and effective. 13 Conclusion 14 References 14 15 15 Introduction The purpose of this report is to discuss the classical management theory and the human relation approach. Two management theories presented by Fredrick Taylor and Max Weber have been discussed. Theory X and Y highlighting the elements of human relations in the organizational functions have also been stated in this regard. Moreover the leadership styles identified by Kurt Lewin have been associated with the main theme along with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The national fire and rescue service strategies of UAE and the some of the international fire and rescue service strategies in UK have been presented in the paper. Section- 1 Manager’s Role and Responsibilities Communication Communication in an organization plays a vital role in the overall success of any policy, workplace program and services. Communication between managers and staff supports in accomplishment of desired results for the employees as well as the organization in different ways. One method of communication between managers and staff is ‘bottom-up communication’ which means from employees to management. It provides significant information about employee perceptions, needs, opinions and values. It also helps organization select and tailor their policies and programs to meet the basic needs of their employee Another method is ‘top-down’ communication’ means the flow of communication from management to employees. It can increase utilization of particular workplace programs by making staff aware of their availability, explicitly explaining the technique to use and access the services and demonstrating that entire management values and supports the programs. (Bartlett, C. 2004) Team Building Team building is mostly referred to the sophisticated blend of motivation and selection of result oriented teams. The process of team building comprises; clarifying the goals as well as building ownership in the entire team; recognizing the inhibitors to teamwork and overcoming or removing them or if it is not possible to remove them, migrating their pessimistic impact on team. To improve the current performance, a feedback is used by the team for the assessment in order to design and formulate a gap-closure strategy as well as identify any possible gap between the actual state and desired state. Douglas McGregor presented two theories to view employee motivation directly related with the team building. He avoided all types of descriptive labels and termed the theories as ‘Theory X’ and ‘Theory Y’. Both of the theories commence with the premise that the role of management is to assemble and accumulate the factors of production comprising people and for reaping economic benefit of the firm. Theory X assumes that any average person not only dislikes work but attempts to avoid it. The person has no ambition and desires no responsibility. The employee resists change and is self-centered. Theory ‘Y’ on the other hand, makes the general assumptions that for an average person, work can be as natural as rest and play. It goes further to assume that people are self-directed to accomplish their work objectives and committed to the set objectives with the condition that certain rewards are linked and in place. Moreover people also seek responsibility, handling it due to ingenuity and creativity which is common in the population. Delegation of Responsibilities by Managers to Staff Delegating responsibility as well as decision making is among the most difficult actions for most of the managers. Specifically in the phase growth of business, responsibilities also grow. With the increase in the business volume, the number of department also expands along with their scope and size. It is not possible for the managers to possess the skills or time required for every job. As such delegation of responsibility is significant and essential. Delegation of authority is the elimination and avoidance of fears. Once fears as well as sense of loss of power are eradicated, the organization along with its people, with the support of delegation, can move to greater heights. Motivation A motive is in fact an impulse that compels a person to act. Motivation can be defined as an internal process that forces a person move towards a certain goal. Motivation cannot be directly observed rather can be inferred by noting the behavior of a person. From Classical Management Theory to Human Relations Approach Most of the principles of classical management are widely used today. The certain aspects of organizational communications are clearly absent from classical theory. The theorists had paid insignificant attention to the personal needs of employees, to prevalence of social integration in any particular organization or to nonfinancial rewards in the organization. This is considered as the primary reason for moving from classical management theory to human relations approach. Abraham Maslow in his theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor in theory X and Y along with others represent and highlight the human relations approach directly to organizational communication which had a significant impact on organizational approach. Many insights and themes of human relations approach are prevalent today in the particular way organization operate and function today. Section- 2 Leadership Styles Kurt Lewin and his colleagues did experiments on leadership decision in the year 1939 and identified three styles of leadership, specifically around decision making. (Kendra, K. 2004) Democratic In the democratic style, people are involved by the leader in decision making, even though the ultimate process for final decision could vary and differ from the leader having eventual say to them making consensus easy in the group. Democratic decision making is normally appreciated by the people if they have been used specifically to autocratic decisions with which they have disagreed. It could prove to be problematic when there is a broader spectrum of opinions and no clear way exist of reaching an equitable and fair final decision. Autocratic Leader, in autocratic style, takes decisions without involving or consulting others. The decision is executed without any particular form of consultation. Experiments performed by Lewin concluded that this caused the highest level of discontent. An autocratic style also works when there is no special need for information on decision, where any type of decision would not alter due to result of input and where the inspiration and motivation of people to perform subsequent actions is not affected whether or not they were involved in decision making. Laissez-Faire The laissez-faire leadership style is to minimize the involvement of leader in decision making and as such facilitating people to execute their decisions, even though they could still be responsible for the result. Laissez faire is best suitable in the scenario when people are motivated and capable in executing their decision and there is no particular requirement for a fundamental coordination such as sharing resources across an assortment of different groups and people. Lewin’s experiments concluded that the most impressive and effective style of leadership was democratic. Extreme autocratic styles ultimately led to revolution, whilst a Laissez faire concept forces people not to be coherent in their jobs and did not place them in energy that they did when led actively. Section- 3 Motivation- and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Dr. Abraham Harold Maslow in an article ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ appeared in Psychological Review in 1943 endeavored to formulate a specific needs-based structure of human based. The theory was based upon his clinical experiences with people as compared with the theories presented before from authors like Skinner and Freud that were mostly theoretical and based on animal behavior. The basis of Maslow’s theory is that people are motivated by different unsatisfied needs and that there are some lower factors that should be satisfied before satisfying higher needs. As per Maslow, there are some general categories of needs that should be satisfied before any person could act in a selfless manner. There needs were termed by him as ‘deficiency needs’. Satisfaction of needs is healthy while avoiding gratification makes people act immorally. As depicted in the diagram given in Appendix known as ‘Maslow’s Needs Triangle’ or ‘Maslow’s Needs Pyramid’ which explains that after satisfaction of a need it ceases to act as a motivator and subsequently next need, ranked higher, commences to motivate. Different types of needs starting form highest level are; Physiological needs; Safety needs; social needs; esteem needs; and self- actualization needs. Organization An organization is born when two or more individuals join together with the consent of coordinating their overall activities to accomplish their goals. The purpose of organization is to establish an arrangement of responsibilities and positions through and also by means of which any enterprise is able to perform its task. It is pertinent to mention that an organization should not be viewed strictly as the specific term ‘framework’ entails. In real sense, every organization should be reviewed due to different changes in the external as well as internal environment. (Nanette M. 2004) Management Theory for Organization Views and considerations on management have changed considerably over the past century, especially in the last few decades. Some of the significant management theories for organization are as follows: Scientific Management Theory Fredrick Taylor was the person who developed the ‘scientific management theory’ that espoused the careful measurement and specification of entire organizational task which were standardized to the larger extent. Employees were punished and rewarded. This approach seemed to work well for almost all organizations particularly with assembly lines and different other mechanistic and routine activities. Bureaucratic Management Theory Max Weber decorated the scientific management theory by presenting his bureaucratic theory. He focused on dividing the affairs of organization into hierarchies, creating strong paths of authority and control. He proposed that organizations should develop comprehensive and specified standard operating procedures for every routine task. Movement of Human Relations Ultimately, government regulations and unions reacted and responded to rather dehumanizing impacts of these theories. More focus was given to people and their exclusive capabilities, abilities and skills in the organization. A primary belief particularly included that each and every organization can prosper if its employees prospered also. Human Resource departments were subsequently included in the organizations. The behavioral sciences also played a vital role in supporting management to become aware about workers’ needs and the way in which the organization and workers’ needs can be better aligned. Different theories were spawned, most of them based especially on behavioral sciences such as theory ‘X’, ‘Y, and ‘Z’ already discussed in this paper. Section- 4 National Fire and Rescue Service Strategies in the UAE Specific strategies are formulated in United Arab Emirates for national fire and rescue services. Time is considered as a vital element in the overall success of Civil Defense teams in the process of property and lives. The Civil Defense services rely on the strong cooperation by the general public. The success of strategies is dependent upon response to emergencies as well as investing time and efforts wisely, reducing the element of ‘response time’ performing duties and providing services of first aid swiftly. Millions of Dirhams are allocated by the government each year to accomplish the noble goal which is ultimately reducing time with the support of developing basic structure and facilities of Civil Defense services. (Deming, E. 2006) The strategies include introduction of new hazardous materials protection unit. This unit deals with radioactive and chemical materials. A mobile laboratory has been established which determines measures as well as analyzes hazardous materials which are in addition to describing their dangers and components. The national fire and rescue strategies are aimed to ensure the safety and protection of industrial states, actively participates in swift response operations in accidents involving rescue activities and also to participate enthusiastically in putting out fires at laboratories, factories and warehouses. The strategies measure the industrial level gases to ensure that they are in the permitted levels. The safety standards approved by Civil Defense in UAE include the workers protection at the site from hazardous materials, the ability to exhibit leakage of radioactive material and chemical as well as the capability to measure the chemical materials level and their impact not only on human being but on environment. (Frauke H. 2002) International Fire and Rescue Service Strategies in the UK International fire and rescue service strategies in United Kingdom focus on some priority areas and linked to the core values of local government. The primary priority is the positive leadership at each and every level which is essential to implement changes, sustain commitment and assure accountability. The role required from Fire and Rescue Authority managers in promoting diversity and equality is vital to delivery. Managers ensure that their staff is clear about their particular role in making the strategies successful ultimately making the services fair and effective. Developing confidence and driving changes among staff providing the fire and rescue services are crucial part of the strategies. It is ensured that every member of Fire and Rescue services is responsible and accountable for the delivery of strategies. The base of strategies is effective planning along with engagement for improving the effectiveness and quality of service delivery to each and every community. For the purpose of responding and understanding the needs of every community, the strategies focus on recruiting, retaining and developing a workforce which better reveals the diversity of the domestic community and also respects difference. (Goldsmith, J. 2003) Conclusion In the four sections of the paper we have presented different aspects related to the management and leadership concepts along with comparison and control of national and international change in fire and rescue services. Section one discusses the role and responsibilities of manager. Some related aspects have also been presented such as communication, teambuilding and delegation of responsibilities by managers to staff. Section two deals with leadership styles by presenting the experiments of Kurt Lewin and his colleagues which concluded, that there are three main leadership styles which are democratic, autocratic and laissez faire. Section three highlighted and linked the motivation theory presented by Maslow to the organizational requirements. It also discussed the theme of organization. Three main management theories have also been presented in this section. Fourth and last section compares the national and international fire and rescue service strategies. References Bartlett, C. 2004. Matrix Management: Not a structure, a frame of mind. Harvard Business Review 68(4): 138-145 Deming, E. 2006. The Future of the Fire Service: Reducing Risk, Saving Lives- Independent review of the Fire Service. Frauke H. 2002. From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates. Longman Group, Essex, 2002 Goldsmith, J. 2003. Fire and Rescue Services- Innovations and risks: Integrated Risk Management Planning Kendra, K. 2004. Project Success: A Cultural Framework. Project Management Journal 35(1): 30-45. Nanette M. 2004. Business & Management. Organizations and Society. Management Theory Read More