Reflection on the theory of contingencies

Introduction

In accordance with Classical Management Theory, only money may serve as a motivator for workers. That, on the other hand, is an insufficient notion, and the Modern Theory of Management was developed in response to this problem. In accordance with the current management philosophy, workers are driven by a variety of elements.

It is critical to comprehend what the current philosophy of management is in a broader sense. Using quantitative analysis mixed with an objective grasp of the variety of human emotions and motivations, current organizational theory seeks to explain how organizations function. Afterwards, a manager may utilize mathematics and statistics to assess an employees motivation and assess their overall effectiveness on the job. Essentially, it is about figuring out what it is that makes an individual tick (Bibi, 2019).

This essay focus on week 7 lecture which is power, control and conflicts. During this lecture I learn five theories deeply in class with example. So in this essay I reflection on share my learning focus on five theories which I present below headings.

Reflection on the theory of Strategic contingencies

Contingencies Strategic Theory is a theory of power within an organisation. Individuals and subunits have limited power, and the more contingencies a subunit or individual controls, the more powerful it is. The theory deemphasizes individuality in favor of tasks to be completed as problems to be solved.

When a subunit of an organisation is required to complete a specific set of responsibilities, the tasks of other subunits may have an impact on those subunits. This contingency will become strategic if the other subgroup gains more influence over other scenarios and becomes more powerful in the organisation. In the Strategic Contingency Theory, an organizations leaders become important because of their particular talents to deal with difficulties or challenges that others are unable to deal with. Due to excessive dependence on one person, it is difficult to replace them. (Bos?Nehles, 2013).

When it comes to the management of strategic contingencies, factors such as politics and power play a significant influence. In addition, Hickson provided a concrete example to validate his strategic contingency theory notion. In the Strategic Contingency Model, Hickson explored the impact of several external factors on the power of organizations, such as political instability. He came to the conclusion that both the connections element between departments and the distinctions between people had an impact on organizational power. Power choices may be impacted by departmental connections, but individual variations also play an important role, since people vary in terms of their talents, abilities, and other characteristics (Tay, 2017).

He also rejects an older leadership theory known as the Great Man idea, which said that a person who had charisma or a leadership attribute by nature may only be a successful leader in his or her field of endeavor. It is his opinion that someone without charisma but with problemsolving abilities may be a successful leader in a variety of situations.

Reflection of resource dependence theory

Jeffrey Pfeffer and Gerald R. Salancik released The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Viewpoint in the 1970s, which discussed their study of how organisations might use their power and govern those who are reliant on them. This idea was recognized in the 1970s. In order to assist their own firms, managers are constantly looking for ways to develop their relationships with other businesses.

Organizations such as commercial enterprises are required to engage in transactions with other individuals and organisations in their environment to get resources for their operations, as outlined by the resource dependence theory. These transactions can be beneficial, but they can also create undesirable dependencies.

A lack of resources, difficulty in obtaining them, or the control of unfavorable people and entities may be a problem for the organisation. A byproduct of this process is the unequal distribution of resources, power, and authority. In resourcerelated transactions, organisations use strategies (as well as internal structures) to strengthen their bargaining position and avoid becoming dependent on those resources.

Examples of such activities include political activism, increasing the organizations production scale, expanding its product line, and establishing connections with other groups. It is possible for a corporation to lessen its dependence on other companies while still boosting its strength and impact by diversifying product lines. (Tay, 2017).

The majority of the time, companies revise their business plans to reflect changes in the balance of power between them and their competitors. When an organizations capacity to manage its resources is hampered by uncertainty, the idea behind resource dependency says it must implement measures to lessen its dependence on those resources.

The need for more formal linkages with other organisations has grown as a result of increased uncertainty and dependency. A decrease in profitability, for example, may stimulate a rise in corporate activity through diversification and strategic ties with other companies, (Rekers, 2013).

In this theory I learn the global resource dependency, Individuals are not selfsufficient. Its impossible to escape ones inherent nature. Everything you have ever possessed is a gift from your nature. Creating anything is impossible without nature. Regardless of what you have made, it all comes from the earth. All human beings are inherently interdependent. Sky, water, soil, minerals, plants, animals, and energy all fall under this category.

Many different elements of organizational strategy are affected by resource dependence theory, including the ideal divisional structure of organisations, the recruitment of board members and staff, production tactics, contract structure, external organizational relationships, and many more. According to the theory of resource dependence, the following is the core of the argument:

1. Organizations rely on resources, which come from the organizations environment, which, to a large part, includes other organisations.
2. As a result, the resources needed by one group are often in the hands of another. Organizations that are legally independent can therefore rely on each other.

There is a direct correlation between power and resource dependency:

Organizations are reliant on a wide range of resources, including people, money, and raw materials. It is possible that organisations will not be able to come up with countervailing efforts for all of these resources. Consequently, it is necessary for organisations to follow the principles of criticality and scarcity, (Rekers, 2013).

An organizations critical resources are those that it needs in order to carry out its mission. Bread, for example, is a need for a burger joint. Various opposing methods can be used by a firm, such as partnering with additional suppliers or integrating on a vertical or horizontal scale. External entities that provide, distribute, finance, and compete with a company are less of a worry when it comes to resource reliance. Nonexecutive decisions have a higher overall impact on the organisation, even though executive decisions carry more personal weight. Every manager understands that the success of the company is directly related to customer demand. Increasing client demand is good for managers careers. As a result, organisations cannot function without their clients. Customers are viewed as a resource by management for organizational reasons rather than financial ones. The notion of resource dependence is one of many organizational studies theories that describe organizational behavior. Relative to transaction cost economics, resource dependence theory also has some similarities to institutional theory, (Rekers, 2013).

Reflection on the theory of cybernetics

It is possible to employ cybernetics and control theory when dealing with complex systems. When a monitor compares the current state of a system to a standard, a controller modifies the systems behavior in response to the results of this comparison, computer science is linked to models.

When referring to the skill of a ships helmsman or navigator, good at steering comes from the ancient Greek term kybernetikos, which means good at steering. For many years in the 18th century French scientist AndréMarie Ampère advocated for a new scientific discipline called cybernetics to describe the science of governmental control, which was only beginning to emerge at the time.. It was quickly forgotten, however, and it was not used again until 1948, when the American mathematician Norbert Wiener released his book Cybernetics, which was the first time the word was used in a scientific context (Rekers, 2013).

The science of control and communication in the animal and machine, according to Wiener, is defined as the science of control and communication in the animal and machine. This formulation establishes a strong connection between cybernetics and the theory of automatic control, as well as with physiology, and notably with the physiology of the nervous system.

Consider the human brain as an example of a controller, which may receive signals from a monitor (the eyes) indicating the distance between a reaching hand and the thing to be picked up. Known as feedback, the information delivered by the monitor to the control unit is used to guide the controller in making adjustments to the observed behavior (the reach of the hand) in order to bring it closer to the intended behavior (the picking up of the object) (Evans, 2017).

Reflection of The agency theory

An agency relationship is any link between two parties in which one, the agent, represents the other, the principle, in daily operations like purchasing or selling a product. In this scenario, the principle or principals have hired an agent to provide a service on their behalf, (Rekers, 2013).

Principals give authority to make decisions to their agents. The agent is in charge of numerous financial decisions that have an influence on the principle, therefore disagreements over priorities and interests are possible. According to agency theory, a principals and an agents interests arent always aligned. This problem is referred regarded as the principalagent problem.

According to definition, an agent acts on behalf of another person or organisation. Although he or she is in charge, the principle is not involved in the daytoday operations. When it comes to the agent, he or she is in control of making judgments, but the principal will cover any losses. The two most typical forms of conflicts addressed by agency theory are those resulting from a difference in goals or a difference in risk aversion, (Tay, 2017).

In order to increase shortterm profitability and remuneration, firm leaders, for example, may choose to extend their companys operations into new, highrisk areas. However, this might constitute an unjustifiable risk to shareholders, who are primarily concerned with the longterm development of profits and the increase of the value of their shares in the stock market.

Another key problem often addressed by agency theory is the incompatibility of risk tolerance levels between a principal and an agent in a given situation.

Reflection on market, bureaucratic and clan control in organization

Conflicts arising out of a difference in aims or a difference in risk aversion are the two most common types of disagreements addressed by agency theory. In order to grow a company into new markets, management may be motivated by the potential of shortterm profitability and increased remuneration. For a more riskaverse set of shareholders, however, who are more concerned with longterm growth in profits and share price increase, this may not be a pleasant prospect to contemplate.

Additionally, the risk tolerance levels of a principal and an agent may be incompatible with one another. For example, shareholders in a bank may argue that management has set the bar too low for loan approvals, resulting in the bank taking on an unacceptably high risk of loan failure as a result (Rekers, 2013).

Clan control is a less formal method of reining in behavior than either outcome control or behavioral control. Cult control is a form of leadership that relies on a strong sense of shared identity among members of a group. Clan control is frequently utilized in hightech industries, where inventiveness is essential. Many rules are out of date or inapplicable in these businesses because of the difficulty in dictating production. Clan control is critical to Googles success. 20% of the work week can be spent by employees on their own innovative ideas. Employees can submit fresh ideas and respond to others ideas via a ideas mailing list provided by the company. Googles top leaders are regularly accessible to meet with employees two to three times per week to hear their thoughts and suggestions. Personalized home pages and Google News are two examples of breakthroughs that might not have been made had these discussions not taken place.

In clan control, I learn in highlevel management is seen more as mentors than as bosses, and this is reflected in their behavior. The company has put in place relatively few regulations and procedures since it depends mostly on the confidence of its personnel to carry out its mission. In order to achieve success, the organization will place a heavy emphasis on cooperation and employee consensus.

In clan control theory I learn, organizational communication is open across clan control, allowing workers to speak with anybody else in the company. A clan is defined as a group of people who have shared interests and are related to one another. In a clan firm, the managers serve as mentors, encouraging their subordinates to achieve their full potential. An unfavorable aspect of the absence of structure is that certain workers may take advantage of the situation and fail to perform to their full potential.

Consider the following scenario with a clan corporation in operation. Consider the possibility of a tiny store that solely offers highquality scarves. It is run by an owner who works there and employs people she knows and can trust. Because the employees spend a great deal of time together and work as a team to ensure that the boutique runs well, it is sometimes referred to as a family business. The business owner serves as a mentor to her staff, assisting them with both job and personal difficulties. Because of the high degree of trust between the owner and her staff, the owner takes on the role of a mother, developing a strong connection with her employees and granting them numerous liberties (Evans, 2017).

References

Bibi, M., 2019. Impact of talent management practices on employee performance: An empirical study among healthcare employees. SEISENSE Journal of Management, 2(1), pp.2232.

Bos?Nehles, A.C., Van Riemsdijk, M.J. and Kees Looise, J., 2013. Employee perceptions of line management performance: applying the AMO theory to explain the effectiveness of line managers HRM implementation. Human resource management, 52(6), pp.861877.

Evans, S. and Tourish, D., 2017. Agency theory and performance appraisal: How bad theory damages learning and contributes to bad management practice. Management Learning, 48(3), pp.271291.

Rekers, M., 2013. HR competencies: a contingency approach A quantitative study into business context factors influencing HR competencies. A research submitted to the degree of Master Business Administration at Faculty School of Management & Governance., track ‘Human Resource Management.

Tay, L.C., Tan, F.Y. and Yahya, K.K., 2017. The power of abilitymotivationopportunity enhancing human resource management practices on organizational ethical climate. International Journal of Business and Society, 18(3), pp.547562.