Classical Approaches to Management Essay Example for Free

Classical Approaches to Management Essay Since the Industrial Revolution began over two hundred years ago, management practices have had to develop and become more clearly defined. The increasing mechanisation and automation that occurred changed how goods and services were produced dramatically. New theories and disciplines emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century as a response to these challenges facing management in a more industrialised age. These new ideas, known as The Classical Approaches to management became the essential building blocks of systems and techniques which help modern day managers effectively plan, organise and control their organisations in the most efficient manner possible. One of the first theories we will look at is was what is known as Scientific Management and was developed chiefly by Frederick Taylor (1856-1917). Taylor came from an engineering background and he highlighted the importance of finding the single best way to perform a particular task. He noted that by analysing every basic movement involved and timing each action in various different ways, you would soon find the quickest and easiest method as a result. As R.C.Appelby (1994) has argued; Taylor â€Å"codified and clearly stated practices which had been developing in many well-run factories†. This â€Å"Time study† approach was very important in helping manufacturing lines improve their productivity by cutting out inefficient, outdated methods of production. Currently, manufacturing industries incorporate methods engineering systems which developed from Taylors time study work to ensure the most efficient production process is in place. Total Quality Management is a modern management practice that relies on continually improving a company’s product or service. A Key factor in this is having a production process that works efficiently and reliably. Taylor also developed the â€Å"Exception Principle† which was to be used as a quality control measure on performance. This method works by detailing precisely the standard of performance to be achieved. The performance of all staff is monitored regularly. Any ineffective staff members that do not meet the standard set are taken note of, and adjustments can then be made to improve the quality of their work. The exception principle also works by identifying any employee who is greatly outperforming the standard set. This tracking of performance results also forms part of the Total Quality Management concept and Taylors work in this area can be seen as being significant in its development. Another key aspect of Taylor’s teachings,  which is still widely used in human resources departments today, was the scientific selection of staff. He asserted that employees should be recruited scientifically based on how their own education, skills and abilities matched the requirements of the job. Once the correct candidate had been hired, they should be given training to help them to perform their tasks to the highest standard possible. He recommended that any increased productivity from an employee should be rewarded financially too, thus incentivising the employee to work harder. These managerial practices are used in nearly all organisations where it has been recognised that an organisations workforce are its most important resource. The training and constant up skilling of the workforce is necessary to keep up with advances in technology and to give a company a competitive edge. Henri Fayol (1841-1925) also developed some theories on the importance of maintaining good relations between staff and management. In his work on what is known as Administrative management, Fayol developed 14 principles of management, one of whic h was â€Å"the stability of tenure â€Å". He recognised the importance of a low staff turnover to an organisations overall effectiveness. Modern management practice generally follows this principle today but also recognises the need to bring in fresh ideas and approaches from new staff to keep the right balance of experienced workers and enthusiastic new people. Another of Fayol s principles which is greatly in evidence today is that of â€Å"initiative†. He believed that employees should be encouraged to put forward their own ideas and be free to execute their tasks in ways they see best fit. This fosters an entrepreneurial environment in the workplace, where employees feel that their ideas are worthy and could form part of a new business plan. Modern IT companies like Google are using this classical approach which has greatly improved innovation and productivity from their employees which has resulted in huge success for the company. Interestingly, Google achieved number 4 on the prestigious Fortune 100 Best Compani es To Work For in 2011. H.L. Gantt(1861-1919) was a colleague of Taylor had some similar approaches. He agreed that management were obliged to provide proper training to its staff and that clearly defined tasks and goals would incentivise employees to perform well. Gantt developed charts for measuring the performance of various projects. These are known as Gantt Charts and are still used today by managers. It gives a quick overview as to how a project  is progressing in relation to its agreed timescale and general targets. A P.E.R.T analysis is another project control method which developed from Gantts bar chart. This Project Evaluation Review Technique works in a similar way to a bar chart, but it offers three possible outcomes of how each task will take in a given project, so as to be prepared for delays in the project or quicker than expected results. This method gives the manager more information to enable him to prepare for all eventualities. Human Resource management has developed into one of the more important areas of management practice. Employees are now regarded as an organisations key asset. R.C.Appleby has said managers must â€Å"know why employees act in the manner that they do†. This is necessary to know what motivates people and what changes could improve performance among a workforce. The Hawthorne Experiments that were conducted by Elton Mayo(1880-1949) and published in 1941 showed the results of phsychological experiments on workers at the Western Electric Company. The aim of the study was to establish the impact of different conditions of work on employee productivity. A group of workers were subjected to various working environment changes such as breaks, hours and managerial leadership.

Invisible Man Essay: Tone and Language -- Invisible Man Essays

Tone and Language in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are not many novels that can produce such a feeling of both sorrow and jubilation for a character as Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. There is such a wide range of emotions produced by the novel that it is impossible not to feel both ways. Invisible Man is a wonderfully well written novel about an African American living in pre civil rights America. The novel is an excellent example of a bildungsroman, a character finding himself as the story progresses. The narrator (invisible man) starts off a naive college student and ends with the young man realizing that his world has become that of "infinite possibilities." Ellison's writing techniques include that of visual imagery, irony, occasional satire, and infinite examples of symbolism. All of these writing techniques help to further the novel, and benefit the book as a whole. Two techniques that Ellison used better than any others, however, are tone and language. Although Ellison used these techniques well, there we re some harmful mistakes in his writing which damage the credibility of the story.    One of the most important aspects to any novel is its tone. Tone sets the pace of the novel and dictates what kind of emotional effect the anecdote will have on the reader. The tone of Invisible Man is, for the most part, a remarkable thing. Ellison's tone creates both a tragic and a comic response to the reader. Ellison's tone can be said to be "tragi-comic" (Bellow). This tone occurs "in the best pages of Invisible Man... in which an incestuous Negro farmer tells his tale" (Bellow) of seducing and impregnating his own daughter. Through tone Ellison reveals how his invisible man thought himself to be invisible, as he learns that... ...ropriate to a character who has been presentd mainly as a passive victim of experience" (Howe).    With the exception of a few faults, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an excellent novel. Ellison makes good use of many literary techniques necessary for writing a good novel. These include satire, irony, symbol, imagery, and especially tone and language. The novel appeals to all races and ages of people because of the language used and of the heroic story of the young Negro trying to make it in a predominantly white American society. This novel is truly a classic and should become more and more so as people of all races look back on the symbolic struggle this young man had.    Works Cited Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Commentary June 1952   Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man 1952   Howe, Irving. "Review of Invisible Man",   The Nation 1952

Immigration to Spain has increased rapidly over the last few years

Immigration to Spain has increased rapidly over the last few years, one of the most obvious reasons being its proximity to North-Africa. One indicator of this increase is the number of petitions entered for a residence permit. The total of these petitions in 1999 reached about 95,000, doubling that of 1998 By the end of 2000 this number will have doubled again, or even tripled. However, the proportion of foreign people living in Spain is barely 2%, not much at all compared with 6% in France and 9% in Germany. Immigration is not going away, and many people think it shouldn't. Apart from the evident fruits that multiculturalism and cultural exchange bear, apart from the just as obvious call for solidarity with people leaving their countries in search of a better life, and apart from the fact that immigration to Europe has become inevitable, there are some pragmatic reasons to welcome non-EU citizens within our borders. Europe's demographic situation is one of them. Our population is growing slowly and ageing rapidly. Several studies indicate that if this pattern does not change, within five years time we will have difficulty providing the elderly with their well-deserved (and just as keenly-anticipated) pensions. The active population working to pay for those pensions will be unable to keep up with the ever growing group of retired people unless immigration counters this demographic trend, it is argued. Spain, in fact, is an ideal example. This country's population is growing more slowly than ever, with birth rates at an all-time low: 1.07 children per fertile woman. UN statistics indicate that by the year 2050, if nothing is done about this evolution, Spain's population will have fallen from 40 to 30 million. As immigrants traditionally have a higher birth rate, their presence could counter Spain's present pressing demographic problems, with the added benefit of bringing other cultures and lifestyles which create new jobs and bring foreign expertise to areas such as tropical medicine, specific kinds of education and cultural services. Immigration is proving to be the answer to problems faced by the Spanish labour market. Certain sectors, mainly agriculture and the construction industry, are constantly in need of unskilled, cheap labour. Most immigrants to Spain fill jobs that few Spanish citizens are willing to take up, and do so on low wages. Farm owners in Andalusia faced a deficit of 35,000 workers this summer. The horticultural sector in Aragon has similar problems, as does the construction industry in the Canaries. We are dealing with a serious short-fall in work forces, and an equally serious number of people at the borders, trying to make it into Spain and fill those empty jobs. The central Government seems as reluctant as ever to let them in. Only about 30,000 people a year are legally allowed to immigrate, clearly an insufficient number compared to the enormous need for extra work forces. The logic of the market dictates that empty jobs will be filled, legally if possible, and definitely illegally if necessary, a situation which opens the door to further illegal labour, mafia racketeering and plain exploitation. Instead, we might start contemplating better integration programmes, we might make it easier for undocumented foreigners to get their situation regularised, we might try and provide them with any specific needs and protection required or desired.

Geography of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom (UK) is an island nation located in Western Europe. Its land area is made up of the island of Great Britain, part of the island of Ireland and many smaller nearby islands. The UK has coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, and the North Sea. The UK is one of the worlds most developed nations and as such it has a global influence. Formation of the United Kingdom Much of the United Kingdoms history is known for the British Empire, its continuous worldwide trade and expansion that began as early as the end of the 14th century and the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. This article, however, focuses on the formation of the United Kingdom. The UK has a long history that consists of several different invasions, including a brief entry by the Romans in 55 B.C.E. In 1066 the UK area was part of the Norman Conquest, which aided in its cultural and political development. In 1282 the UK took over the independent Kingdom of Wales under Edward I and in 1301, his son, Edward II, was made the Prince of Wales in an effort to appease the Welsh people according to the United States Department of State. The oldest son of the British monarch is still given this title today. In 1536 England and Wales became an official union. In 1603, England and Scotland also came under the same rule when James VI succeeded Elizabeth I, his cousin, to become James I of England. A little over 100 years later in 1707, England and Scotland became unified as Great Britain. In the early 17th century Ireland became increasingly settled by people from Scotland and England and England sought control of the area (as it had for many centuries before). On January 1, 1801, a legislative union between Great Britain and Ireland took place and the region became known as the United Kingdom. However, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Ireland continuously fought for its independence. As a result in 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty established the Irish Free State (which later became an independent republic. Northern Ireland however, remained a part of the UK which is today made up of that region as well as England, Scotland, and Wales. Government of the United Kingdom Today the United Kingdom is considered a constitutional monarchy and a Commonwealth realm. Its official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales). The executive branch of the UKs government consists of a Chief of State (Queen Elizabeth II) and a head of government (a position filled by the Prime Minister). The legislative branch is made up of a bicameral Parliament consisting of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, while the UKs judicial branch includes the Supreme Court of the UK, the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Northern Irelands Court of Judicature and Scotlands Court of Session and High Court of the Justiciary. Economics and Land Use in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom has the third largest economy in Europe (behind Germany and France) and it is one of the worlds largest financial centers. The majority of the UKs economy is within the service and industrial sectors and agriculture jobs represent less than 2% of the workforce. The main industries of the UK are machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper products, food processing, textiles, and clothing. The agricultural products of the UK are cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables cattle, sheep, poultry and fish. Geography and Climate of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is located in Western Europe to the northwest of France and between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. Its capital and largest city is London, but other large cities are Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. The UK has a total area of 94,058 square miles (243,610 sq km). Much of the topography of the UK consists of rugged, undeveloped hills and low mountains but there are flat and gently rolling plains in the eastern and southeastern areas of the country. The highest point in the UK is Ben Nevis at 4,406 feet (1,343 m) and it is located in the northern UK in Scotland. The climate of the UK is considered temperate despite its latitude. Its climate is moderated by its maritime location and the Gulf Stream. However, the UK is known for being very cloudy and rainy throughout much of the year. The western parts of the country are wettest and also windy, while the eastern portions are drier and less windy. London, located in England in the south of the UK, has an average January low temperature of 36ËšF (2.4ËšC) and a July average temperature of 73ËšF (23ËšC). References Central Intelligence Agency. (6 April 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - United Kingdom. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.). United Kingdom: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108078.html United States Department of State. (14 December 2010). United Kingdom. Retrieved from: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3846.htm Wikipedia.com. (16 April 2011). United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_kingdom