Managing an organization means being able to make adequate decisions is an essential skill that an efficient leader must possess in order to steer the company the right direction and promote its further prosperity (Robbins & Judge, 2014). A range of theories have emerged over the past few years, shedding some light on the phenomenon of management; however, the introduction of new ideas into the complex concept of management created the threat of making the subject matter even more convoluted.
Drucker’s suggestion, which shifts the emphasis from carrying out management tasks according to the schedule to managing the situation based on a variety of factors, i.e., doing the right thing as opposed to doing things right, should be viewed as a primary guide to decision making in management.
By claiming that management concerns doing things right, whereas leadership implies doing the right thing (Cohen, 2009), Drucker makes a very basic distinction between the role of a manager and that one of a leader. In other words, Drucker elevates the concept of management to an entirely new level, where one is capable of choosing the most adequate solution from the available options based on the factors that an organization and the stakeholders are exposed to.
The specified conclusion, though, may lead to a misconception that the existing guidelines on management and decision making in a company are unworthy of learning at all, since a choice is always made based on the circumstances and reasonability rather than on the actual guidelines.
The latter are also imperative to take into account, as it is the combination of the avenues available that makes the process of decision making objective. A balance of personal and formal power must be kept in order to retain the company’s credibility and at the same time keep the stakeholders satisfied (Kumar, 2007).
As far as my organization is concerned, I observed a plethora of instances, when personal power was used in order to keep the organization’s revenues and stakeholders’ satisfaction rates high. Particularly, the instance, when the leader of the organization decided not to dismiss one of the staff members, who failed severely due to family issues, deserves to be mentioned.
Nevertheless, the company managers also displayed a strong inclination to follow the letter of the corporate law on a number of occasions. Particularly, the fact that the company staff had to work one extra hour the week after the computers went down to make for the time lost needs to be brought up.
Although the significance of theoretical guidelines for managers and the process of decision making cannot be doubted, one must admit that the success of the decision made in the course of company management depends on the manager’s ability to take the essential factors into account. Therefore, the choice made by the company manager in order to retain the organization’s success and manage the company’s pos efficiently may differ significantly from what a manager is supposed to choose in the designated situation.
An integration of situational leadership, therefore, is imperative in order to manage an organization successfully and respond to the needs of all stakeholders involved. In this respect, Drucker’s idea of doing the right thing is based on the concept of reasonability and, therefore, implies that the decision maker is also aware of the standard course of actions. It is, therefore, the need to embrace the variety of choices available and picking the one that will leave all stakeholders satisfied that defines good management.
Reference List
Cohen, W. A. (2009). Drucker on leadership: New lessons from the father of modern management. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Kumar, C. (2007). The leadership in management: Understanding leadership wisdom. New Delhi: APH Publishing.
Robbins, S. & Judge, T. A. (2014). Organizational behavior (16th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.