Sample Essay On Critical Management

Sound management is essential in every organization failure to which the organization cannot realize its full potential. The postmodern leadership style of top-down management is gradually evolving into a more collaborative leadership approach where the employees are more empowered. The modern leadership approach lessens the gap between the boss and the worker. The corporate hierarchy in the traditional organizations is slowly being overtaken by power sharing and team building concepts since the companies want to encourage innovation and improved productivity. Employees work better in self- managed teams where they set their means of control and work schedule. Over time, the value-based interactions by the teams become a social force that directs their actions.
Organizing employees in teams enables the organization to realize its objectives in a timely manner. Teamwork promotes efficiency in the workplace because the employees use their different skills to enhance the performance of the team. In addition, collaboration provides the employees with a learning opportunity and promotes individual accountability of the team members. Team building is, for this reason, a vital aspect of any organization because working in a team proves more efficient in achieving organization goals.
Organizations can also use the panoptical control to enhance performance of employees in an organization. Managers who use this kind of control supervise the employees, but the employees cannot tell when they are being watched (Strub 216). The employees thus behave in accordance with the rules and regulations of the company without breaking the rules because they cannot tell whether they are under supervision or not. It is difficult to have strong teams in such organizations since the employees feel pressured to work. The employees cannot set their work schedules or rules, but they must abide by the company rules for fear of being found disobeying the rules (Berni, Pezzillo and Marcello 408). Employees’ productivity in such organizations is bound to decrease since they may not be fully utilizing their skills. Further, the employees may not have the opportunity to grow their careers since they lack the chance to learn as is the case in teamwork. Such organizations discourage the employees from being creative since they work in accordance with the company’s rules, which some employees may not be comfortable with. The employees cannot change the way an organization operates even if they have better ideas on performance.
The modern leadership styles seem to be more bureaucratic than the traditional methods. In concertive control, the teams set their standards and rules that become their guiding principles, and they supervise each other’s work (Barker 420). The employees still feel the pressure, of being supervised since the team members who do not comply with the rules set by the team, are punished, and they feel guilty about it. The concerted control lacks hierarchical control, but it has rationalized control that may not work well with employees who do not like working under close supervision.
Conclusively, organizations need to embrace teamwork among employees in order to achieve success. Team building enhances employee productivity and provides a foundation for employees to develop their careers. However, the performance of these teams may be reduced by the type of control in the organization. If the team members feel that they are being watched throughout their working processes, they may not be productive enough as when they allowed working without close supervision. The teams should also be encouraged to reduce the supervision on their members as well so as to create a system that is less bureaucratic.

Works Cited

Barker, James R. "Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self-managing teams." Administrative science quarterly (1993): 408-437.
Berni, Alessia, M. Pezzillo Iacono, and Marcello Martinez. "Organizational Change and Dynamics of Control: An Analysis of Italian Call Center Workplace." Chinese Business Review 11.4 (2012): 402-410
Strub, Harry. "The theory of panoptical control: Bentham's panopticon and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four.." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (1989)..