Decision Making and Contemporary Approache
Contemporary Approaches
The evolution of management has two approaches the classic approaches and the contemporary approaches. Several of the approaches overlapped each other as they developed, and lots of times had a significant impact on each other (Bateman & Snell, 2013). This essay I will focus on the contemporary approaches and the difference between them all. There are four contemporary approaches: Sociotechnical system, quantitative management, organizational behavior, and systems theory.
The first contemporary approach is sociotechnical system. According to Bateman and Snell (2013), “Sociotechnical system theory suggests that organizations are effective when their employees have the right tools, training, and knowledge to make products and services that are valued by customers” (page 35). Sociotechnical system theory supported teamwork in work groups for important factors for creating efficient production systems. Researchers said that workers should be able to correct their product before they are finished, which would cause waste (Bateman & Snell, 2013).
The second approach is the quantitative management. According to Bateman and Snell (2013), “The quantitative management theory emphasizes the application of quantitative analysis to management decisions and problems” (page 35). Quantitative management helps the managers with decision making using mathematical models as the problem. There are several quantitative methods that are used: statistical decision theory, linear programming, queuing theory, simulation, forecasting, inventory modeling, network modeling, and breakeven analysis. These techniques are used in many organizations like, production, quality control, marketing, human resources, finance, distribution, and planning (Bateman & Snell, 2013).
The third approach is the organizational behavior. According to Bateman and Snell, (2013), “Organizational behavior studies and identifies management activities that promote employee effectiveness through an understanding of the complex nature of individual, group, and organizational processes (page, 36). Psychology and sociology are considered to be in the organizational behavior category because they include the behavior of people on the job
(Bateman & Snell, 2013).
The last approach is the systems theory approach. In the systems theory businesses are open systems, and depend on feedback from the outside world, like raw materials, human resources, and capital. Systems theory also states that a business is one system in a series of subsystems. For example U.S. Airways is a subsystem for airline business. In my opinion I believe the systems theory is the most important because not just one person in a company or organization is making decisions. The decisions are made based on feedback from the world.
Reference
Thomas Bateman & Scott Snell. (2013). The Evolution of Management. Management. McGraw- Hill Irwin. Third Edition.
