ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

Management Theory
The extent to which the success of an organization is due to the management
Samuel David 11/22/2013

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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 Critically evaluate the extent to which the success of an organisation is due to the skill and ability of the manager rather than the structure, systems and processes of the organisation .......................................................................................................... 3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 7 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 8

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Introduction
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the extent the success of an organisation is dependent on the ability and skill of the manager. There are variations of opinions concerning the input that the management and managers have towards the success of an organisation. There are arguments between the management functions having significant influence on the success of the organisation and the management having little function towards the organisations success. The paper focuses on the how the skill and ability of the manager will lead to the organisations success and the barriers to the outcomes from the functions of management in the organisation. Managers contribute significantly to the success of an organisation but not own their own. It is not as simple as it sounds; the manager has to deal with things like the culture and structure of the organisation in the walk towards success. This can be a hindrance towards the effort of the management. Success will depend on the condition and the individual manager.

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Critically evaluate the extent to which the success of an organisation is due to the skill and ability of the manager rather than the structure, systems and processes of the organisation

There are several factors that contribute to the success of an organisation they include; communication, environment, structure, accountability, strategy, flexibility, resources, innovation, competition, training, technology, culture, leadership and systems. An organisation is made up of people; with skills, experience and motivation it will be effective. The scope of the paper is too small to explain in detail the factors that contribute to the success of an organisation, more emphasis is laid on the task assigned. How do you measure the extent the success of an organisation is dependent on the managers skill and ability? A way of measuring is looking at what the skills and ability of the manager can do to the organisation and what can affect the effort of the skills and ability of the manager. Drucker (1955) describes the role of a manager as someone who sets objectives, organises, motivates and communicates, measures, and develops people. To achieve that a manager needs the communications, leadership, people, listening, , negotiating, emotional intelligence and building teams skills. An organisation is made up of people and the role of the manager is to motivate, guide, and organise people to perform the work assigned to them. Communication skill is so relevant that creating a gap in communication can lead to failure in an organisation. The manager has influence on the attitudes of employees to an extent. Communication in an organisation is so relevant that it assists employees to do tasks assigned to them and it is also a means of motivation. The ability of the manager to pass on the organisations objectives with transparency is a valuable
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asset. Workers in organisations perform better when information is passed on properly. The ability of a manager to motivate workers in an organisation is vital because the attitudes of workers affect the productivity. Heathfield (2013) believed that the workers attitudes affect financial outcomes and not vice versa. The management and leadership skills of a manager have direct impact on effectual worker commitment. The leadership skill of a manager contributes to the success of an organisation. A manager with good leadership ability will achieve exceptional results from employees in an organisation. An organisations capacity to react to urgent changes in the marketplace or a crisis in the organisation itself can control the potential success of the organisation (Anderson, 2011). The ability to respond to change is linked to the success and survival of an organisation. Observations from the past show changes in the global environment examples include technological innovations, globalisation of businesses, oil market instabilities, and increase in risk caused by terrorist activities and wars (Francis-Nurse, 2007). The ability of the manager to tackle the change is vital to success. Organisational change is unproductive without solid leadership (Francis-Nurse, 2007). Change is inevitable but when it occurs, organisations survive base on the ability of an effective leader to adjust and accept change proactively. With the functions of the manager an organisation will have better business performance and improved employee performance. There is no doubt that the skills and the ability of the manager contribute to the success of an organisation but to what extent? Having the best managers with
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superb project teams and plans in place does not guarantee the organisations project success rate to be high (Mochal, 2003). Different organisations have variations in project management achievement rates this might be as a result of the fact that some organisations give enhanced training to their managers. The way an organisation deals with training is an aspect of an organisational culture. No matter how skilled a manager is, his or her ability to perform successfully will either be influenced by the culture or structure of the organisation or both. The way things are done in organisations varies from each other. There are managers who have been very successful in one organisation and known as flops in another, where they operated at the same level (Malby, 2007). Culture affects performance and it has a big outcome on success rate. A real life example is a project manager who is an expert and due to his success to the organisation was transferred to another branch of the organisation. The way things were done in the new location was different. The manager used a style that did not fit the culture in the new organisation. There was no commitment from workers and it affected the organisations productivity. Charles Handy (1999) classified organisational culture into four types; power, role, task and person culture. An Organisations culture will fall on one of the types and it affects the performance rate. A manager might have all expertise but will not achieve organisations objectives without an understanding of the organisations culture. Cultural competence could help the manager in this situation. When an organisation has trouble in finishing a project effectively, it is not necessarily the managers fault but a tussle within a culture that does not encourage their efforts or them fitting into it (Mochal, 2003). The managers view and behaviours are influenced by the organisations customs and limitations (Malby, 2007).

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Another factor that can limit the effort of the manager in an organisation is the structure of the organisation. Structure produces hierarchy. The number of layers of hierarchy in an organisation will affect how information is passed on which can result in doing things outside the objectives of an organisation. For example a message is transmitted to the manager from a higher authority, the message is passed on to another authority (example superintendent) before it gets to the intended receiver. The superintendent likely will add his perceptions into the message. By the time it gets to the intended receiver the message would have lost its originality due to attitudes and perceptions of previous and final receiver. According to Mochal (2003) organisational structure is a lesser problem compared to organisational culture; the organisational structure can be changed to an extent but culture is not simply changed. The structure can affect how the resources are shared. The structure also can determine the level of control the manager will have and this can affect the impact the manager will have on the organisation. The ability and skill of the manager to help an organisation succeed is determined on the situation.

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Conclusion

No matter how skilled the manager is in an organisation, there is no assurance that the success rate will be high. This is because the success of the organisation is not only influenced by the skill and ability of the manager but other factors like the organisational culture and organisational structure. The extent to which an organisation will succeed due to the managers ability and skills is influenced by the culture and structure of the organisation. The way things are done in organisations varies whether in governance, training, process orientation, roles and responsibilities this will affect the effort of the manager either positively or negatively. The measure of control given to the manager in the structure of the organisation will affect efficiency. The organisational structure can weaken the ability of the manager to be efficient, the size of the organisation. It can also affect the share of resources. The management of an organisation definitely influence the success of the organisation but it depends on the situation. If the success of the organisation is based on the reliance of a good structure and culture depending on what suits the individual manager, then it should not be measured as success (i.e. measuring with the managers skill and ability). This is because the management cannot achieve organisational targets alone without the influence of structure and culture. Success is when the organisation succeeds not when the management role is performed correctly. Although the skill and the ability of the manager contribute significantly to the success of the organisation, the actual success of the organisation should be measured by all factors that contribute to the organisation success.

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Reference
Anderson, A., & Media, D. (n.d.). Leadership's Influence on an Organization.

Retrieved November 15, 2013, from small business.chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/leaderships-influence-organization-20832.html Drucker, P. (1955). The practise of management. New york: Irwin. Francis-Nurse, C. (2007, October 30). Managing Change: The Leadership Challenge . Retrieved November 14, 2013, from Business analyst times : http://www.batimes.com/articles/managing-change-the-leadershipchallenge.html Handy, C. (1999). Understanding organisations. London: penguin group. Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). Motivation Is All About the Managers...Duh! Employee Attitudes Rule When Managers Understand Motivation. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from About.com: http://humanresources.about.com/od/motivationsuccess/a/managers_duh.htm magnus, U. (2009, february 23). Success of an Organization Depends on the Manager's Communication Skills:Manager Communication Skills Will Be Expected to Have an Impact on His Workers Work Attitude. Retrieved November 14, 2013, from Yahoo : http://voices.yahoo.com/successorganization-depends-managers-2658391.html Malby, B. (2007). How Does Leadership Make Difference to Organisational Culture and Effectiveness? Lancaster : Northern Leadership Academy . Mochal, T. (2003, July 2). Organizational culture and structure influence project management more than you realize. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from Tech republic : http://www.techrepublic.com/article/organizational-culture-andstructure-influence-project-management-more-than-you-realize/