Management Theory - Science topic

Dineo Sebolai Institutional theory, particularly its focus on isomorphism, provides a valuable lens for understanding monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices in local governments. This theory highlights how external pressures shape organizational behavior, often leading to similar practices across different contexts (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). These patterns can be explained by three types of isomorphism: coercive, mimetic, and normative.

Coercive isomorphism stems from legal, political, or funding pressures. For example, municipalities may adopt frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to comply with donor requirements, even if these frameworks are not fully suited to local needs (Scott, 2001). Mimetic isomorphism arises from uncertainty, prompting organizations to imitate perceived best practices. A local government might replicate its neighbor's use of digital dashboards to improve service delivery efficiency (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Normative isomorphism is driven by professional standards and norms promoted by institutions and networks. For instance, municipalities often standardize performance evaluation methods based on guidelines from organizations like ISO or the Government Finance Officers Association (Meyer & Rowan, 1977).

These dynamics are evident in how local governments approach M&E. Many adopt digital platforms under coercive mandates for digital transformation or mimic other municipalities' successes. For example, Kenya’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) reflects both coercive and mimetic pressures. Similarly, adopting internationally recognized tools like the Logical Framework Approach (LogFrame) often aligns with funding agency requirements, such as those of the World Bank (Brammer, Jackson, & Matten, 2012). Normative pressures also shape M&E practices as professional training disseminates widely accepted methodologies, ensuring uniformity across organizations.

Institutional theory's strength lies in its ability to explain the homogenization of practices, driven by legitimacy concerns rather than solely by efficiency. It complements other frameworks mentioned by Félix Oscar Socorro Márquez, such as systems theory and governance theory, by emphasizing external pressures and cross-organizational trends. Together, these approaches provide a comprehensive understanding of M&E systems, enabling local governments to meet stakeholder expectations while fostering transparency, accountability, and improvement.

Félix Oscar Socorro Márquez thank so much, it helps a lot, i will take your recommendations into consideration.

Organisational leadership applies to any type of organisation, including non-profits and educational institutions, and emphasises people-centric approaches, fostering a positive culture, and managing internal dynamics. such as transformational and servant leadership to achieve organisational goals. In contrast, corporate leadership is specific to business corporations and prioritises strategic decision-making, corporate governance, and financial performance, with a strong focus on external stakeholders such as investors and market regulators, such as transactional and strategic leadership.

The evolution of traditional leadership and management theories has undergone critical evaluation over time, reflecting shifts in organizational dynamics and societal paradigms. Two prominent traditional leadership theories, trait theory and contingency theory, have experienced significant transformation under the scrutiny of contemporary perspectives. Trait theory, once focused on inherent characteristics of effective leaders, has expanded to include the recognition of situational influences and the development of leadership skills. Similarly, contingency theory, initially emphasizing the match between leadership styles and situational factors, has evolved to encompass a broader understanding of contextual complexities and the need for adaptive leadership approaches.

In contrast, traditional management theories such as scientific management and bureaucratic management have faced scrutiny regarding their applicability in modern organizational settings. Scientific management, championed by Frederick Taylor, emphasized efficiency through task specialization and standardized processes. However, criticisms have emerged regarding its potential to stifle creativity and innovation in today's dynamic workplaces. Likewise, bureaucratic management, advocated by Max Weber, has been challenged for its hierarchical structure and rigid bureaucratic procedures, which may hinder agility and responsiveness in rapidly changing environments.

Overall, the critical evaluation of traditional leadership and management theories underscores the importance of adapting these frameworks to contemporary organizational contexts, emphasizing flexibility, innovation, and a deeper understanding of human behavior and organizational dynamics.

Good subject for 3 years of research and writing a text book.

Management science as the study of the practice of management is part of social science, the study of humans and their interactions in society with other humans and with their environment, their thinking and purpose in life. Is there an excellent scientific theory? Yes and no. Forming scientific theory, the process of it is not perfect. You can observe something, make an inference about it, formulating a hypothesis, and start collecting more data and testing it in different circumstances. And other scientists start testing it, all to establish the objective truth about it.

Or you can come up with a thought about something and start collecting data and testing it. So you can start with an observation or just a thought. A theory is the explanation of effects, causes of relations of phenomena in the natural world that can be tested through a scientific method.

Watch the video’s about the storytelling of science where you get different perspectives of how science is conducted. The Great Debate: The Storytelling of Science part 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40YIIaF1qiw.

Are you an organization with expatriate management policies that govern managing your expatriates?

I am seeking an organization to participate in my doctoral research study on international workers/expatriates, expatriate managers who have completed international assignments in other countries for at least 6 months to one year or longer, and international human resource managers that partake in expatriate management. The research is on how organizations manage expatriates before, during, and upon repatriation (expatriate management practices & policies) of their overseas assignments. The study requires at least 15 to 20 participants (international workers, expatriates, and international human resource managers) to volunteer for a 30 to 60-minute interview.

Please note that all information obtained from participants for the research study will be kept confidential.

If you are interested, I can be reached at scabean@liberty.edu.

Thank you in advance.

Kindly visit..

Framework for Project Management - BC Open Textbooks

Dear Mauro Luisetto,

Thanks for the kind words regarding the issues of this discussion regarding the issue of production management using Internet of Things technology.

Thank you very much,

Regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Hi Magnus,

I have attached for you one chapter from my book:

Handzic M. and Zhou A.Z. (2005), Knowledge Management: An Integrative Approach, Chandos Publishing, Oxford, UK.

It reviews different perspectives on KM and introduces my own model.

Hopefully, it will be useful in answering your question.

Meliha

1. Whatever someone else said to you can only be understood within the context of that person’s own life experiences. Perhaps they tried to write such an article and were unsuccessful or they did not dare write such an article and still regret that decision. So 80% is about themself and 20% is about your situation.

2. There is a new appreciation for case studies, even in medicine.

3. Your case sounds very interesting. You do not present it here as just a description, but you place it within several theoretical fields. Sounds perfectly publishable and certainly in these disastrous times. How to best handle difficult situations seems very apt in relation to all the meteorological disasters happening, fires, environmental problems coming at us. Covid, climate change, etc.

4. As to “constructivist”, is there a methodological philosophical debate going on in your field that you need to be aware of? That can be quick-sand if you get stuck. Then avoid using too much methodological jargon and stick to what you actually did and found.

In my opinion, the importance of managing the research process and implementing individual ICT and Industry 4.0 information technologies into economic processes in the current era of the fourth technological revolution is high and is constantly growing. The development of information processing technology in the era of the current technological revolution referred to as Industry 4.0 is determined by the development and growth of applications of ICT information technologies, Internet technologies and advanced data processing. The technological revolution currently taking place, referred to as Industry 4.0, is motivated by the development of the following factors: analytical and database technologies Big Data Analytics, Data Science, cloud computing, machine learning, personal and industrial Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, Business Intelligence, autonomous robots, horizontal and vertical data system integration, multi-criteria simulation models, additive manufacturing, Blockchain, smart technologies, cybersecurity instruments, Virtual and Augmented Reality and other advanced Data Mining data processing technologies. In addition, the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) coronavirus pandemic has increased the Internet and digitization of communication, social and economic processes. Therefore, during the current Coronavirus pandemic, the importance of implementing ICT and Industry 4.0 information technologies into economic processes is growing. Many economic entities, public, cultural and financial institutions are increasing the scale of their activities on the Internet. For many business entities and institutions, increasing their activity on the Internet, transferring the sale of products or services, marketing activities, supply logistics, implementation of electronic payments via the Internet, etc. allowed them to survive the current economic crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (Covid-19) . Thanks to the implementation of ICT and Industry 4.0 information technologies, it is possible to carry out development restructuring, thanks to which enterprises can strengthen their functioning and go through the current economic crisis more effectively. Therefore, commercially functioning economic entities can gain an advantage over entities constituting direct competitors and increase their share in certain markets. In connection with the above, the processes of development and technological restructuring may be determined, inter alia, by the implementation of ICT technologies and technologies typical for the current fourth technological revolution referred to as Industry 4.0 into economic processes. Many business entities and institutions, through the implementation of information technologies ICT and Industry 4.0 to specific areas of their business activity, have improved, among others such processes and spheres of activity as supply, production and distribution logistics, running online sales platforms, product or service offers, internet marketing, business analytics, etc. Thanks to the improvement of these processes and specific spheres of business activity, many companies increased the effectiveness of their operations and increased the company's survival possibilities the current difficult period of economic crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) coronavirus pandemic. When, perhaps in a few months, the current wave of the Coronavirus pandemic will expire or significantly reduce its negative, declining impact on the economy, enterprises and institutions that have carried out development restructuring, modernized their production park, by implementing ICT information technologies and Industry 4.0 to their business activities increased efficiency economic activity, they will be better prepared for possible, subsequent, similar economic crises, which will probably appear in the future.

Best wishes,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Hi Sam , You can think of topics like " Competitiveness in Public Sector Enterprise", " Comparing Business Strategies of Private Vs Public Sector ", " Mission , Vision & Values of a Public Sector Enterprise and its impact on performance" etc

Both causation (Kotler) and effectuation (Sarasvathy) are very relevant, when it comes to understand marketing management. Advancing research into cognitive biases of managerial marketing process requires a better behavioral understanding of bounded rationality and intuitive reasoning.

https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2001---effects-of-emotional-and-social-processes-on-bounded-rationality.pdf

In this sense, marketing is much more a (open loop) process than a (closed loop) system, in terms of behavioral interplay between prospective client and offered product in all the bazaars of life.

Western management theories and practices are developed in the United States and Europe, and related to their cultural environment. African countries have their different culture, and it is not always possible to transfer Western management practices to developing countries in general. Local appropriate management practices are needed.

Dear Akram,

The first web link was on project management's organization theory and how to derive it from similarities of several types of projects. Whereas, the second link was on Management's school of thoughts = management theories (in the field of Strategic Management). Thank You..

Nothing obsolete in management theory especially in underdeveloped and some developing countries where access to innovation and creativity is ravaged by war and little attention is paid to education of citizenry and their development through innovation and technology. Leaders of these countries are only interested in positions and nothing like reading habits of students and libraries with new books and even virtual. No electricity to link to develop world, no new inventions and discovery. Businesses are packing up! Where is new management theory going to evolve whether scientific or theoretical! No "event" No new innovation and inventions.

Absolutely. As mentioned by David, human resource management theories build upon psychological research.

Meanwhile, strategic management has drawn from assorted disciplines including physics and political science, but most of its theories are derived from economics, sociology, and psychology.

Agency theory and the resource-based view of the firm have economic roots while contingency theory and organizational ecology have sociological roots. Psychology has become more important source of ideas as researchers aim to understand strategic decision making and develop theories of behaviour strategy (Powell et al., 2011).

Some theories, such as Michael Porter's influential work on competitive strategy and competitive advantage, come almost entirely from one reference discipline (industrial economics) while others integrate multiple disciplines. Transaction cost theory has been characterized as "the ground where economics, strategy, and organization theory meet" (Rumelt et al., 1994).

In our executive education programs we increasingly talk about management principles based on evidence. This emphasis stems from Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton's influential article, ‘‘Evidence-based management’’, and the subsequent meta-analyses that it stimulated.

One of the most popular "conventional wisdoms" is to duplicate the best practices of the most admired companies. We now know that organizations could save a lot of time, effort and money if they avoided the herd instinct and concentrated on investing in approaches that fit their circumstances.

Short and shallow leadership & management training programs generally do *not* pay off. Longer-term mentoring and, yes, executive education do pay off, resulting in significant and sustainable behavioural changes and improvements in key indicators of individual and organizational performance.

Another example of a "conventional wisdom" is that good managers are consistent and treat all of their employees the same. In fact we find that the most effective managers treat all their employees fairly, but *not* the same. That means with respect, professionalism and courtesy for all, but adapting to the needs and preferences of each. Some employees perform best when allowed to work autonomously. Others need more guidance.

Kepes et al. (2014, Academy of Management Learning & Education) argue that the promise of evidence-based management is limited by the extent that our cumulative scientific knowledge is trustworthy. I believe that this a legitimate criticism of relying on what we know, or think we know.

Rynes and Bartunek (2017) have published a comprehensive review of evidence-based management. One of their recommendations is for more research collaboration between academics and practitioners so that knowledge is co-created. Bridging the gap between management research and practice is sensible if we want to move beyond "conventional wisdom" and management myths.

Smartpls no doubt.

Here are 6 types of objectives. Does your project have objectives that cover all these categories?

1. Financial

Financial objectives are normally relatively easy to put together and you will find your sponsor is keen to make sure that if your project is going to make the company any money that this is record adequately in the project objectives. Your project may deliver a clear financial return (for example, launching a new product to the consumer market) or make a financial saving (such as closing an underperforming office).

2. Quality

There may be some quality objectives for your project, such as delivering to certain internal or external quality standards. Quality objectives also manifest themselves in the form of process improvement projects that aim to reduce defects or increase customer satisfaction somehow. You may find that quality objectives are included in your quality plan, so you can take them from there and include them in the main body of your project documentation (or vice versa, as you will probably write the quality plan after your charter).

3. Technical

Companies already have technology in use so a technical objective could be to upgrade existing technology, install new technology or even to make use of existing technology during the deployment of your project. Technology comes in different forms so this could include mobile devices or telephones as well as hardware, software and networking capabilities.

4. Performance

Performance objectives tend to be related to how the project will be run, so could include things like delivering to a certain budget figure or by a certain date, or not exceeding a certain number of resources. You could also have performance objectives related to achieving project scope, such as the number of requirements that will be completed or achieving customer sign off.

5. Compliance

Regulatory requirements form compliance objectives. For example, there could be the obligation to meet legal guidance on your project or to comply with local regulations. A construction project could also have the objective to meet or exceed health and safety targets.

6. Business

Of course! This is the main area where you are likely to find project objectives and it relates to what it is that you are doing – the key drivers for the project. Business objectives would be things like launching that new product, closing that office or anything else that is the main reason for delivering the project.

All these objectives have to be prioritised. Most people would say that business objectives are the most important, as without these you don’t really have a project. But within the business objectives you could have multiple sub-objectives and these also need to be prioritised.

The dominant model in conflict research is the "dual concern" theory of conflict management. It is the underlying theory of the material that Oliver presented above and incorporates many of the concepts of principled negotiation mentioned by Payal.

Dear Ghaith,

there is an interesting trade-off between risk management and project management. To much risk management results in rejecting projects with unclear (uncertain) or too risky outcomes, that leads to eliminating both large failures and large successes. Enclosed please find a case on how RM was used quite wisely.

Bests,

Igor Gurkov

Dynamic capabilities are the antecedents of a good knowledge management: you can't have knowledge management if you don't have knowledge-based and dynamic capabilities.

Dear Joanna -- the detailed answer was provided in C.N.Parkinson book "In-Laws and Out-laws" (a part of his laws).

Bests,

Igor Gurkov

Porter's Five Forces model, identifies and analyzes five competitive forces that shape every industry, and helps determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths. These forces are:

1. Competition in the industry;

2. Potential of new entrants into the industry;

3. Power of suppliers;

4. Power of customers;

5. Threat of substitute products.

I think that Relative Force of stakeholders No less important than them

Thank you, I am grateful.

thank you all for your help 

We are still working on an English (extended) version of the paper which I will upload after having finished it, many greetings, Axel Faix

Dear Muamba, 

I would like to recommend this book "Management Theories and Strategic Practices for Decision Making" Madjid Tavana 2012.

Hope it will help.

Best,

1. Competition Theory by Michel Porter

2. Core Competition (later Innovation) theory by C.K. Prahlad

3. BCG Matrix to decide Business/Product Portfolio

dear Dintle Stephina Mahlatsi

you can see this paper about the history the management school and try ti find anther paper in different  issue  

with best wishes

dr.ssalim

university of baghdad

AUDITING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS OF THE COCA-COLA.

Management is known to be the art, or science, of achieving goals and maintaining continuous improvement through people, by making sure an optimal exploitation of resources and people do what they are supposed to do. Management is also the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which people, working with resources and together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims. The environment (including all hardware, software, cyberware, and brainware resources) is a system that is purposefully created and dynamically maintained under varying conditions and contexts. The fundamental management functions,  planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling, can be seen in the context of the organization of the embedding system. Contemporary management theories tend to explain the rapidly changing nature of today’s organizational environments. Contemporary systems sciences intend to explain systems on a cybernetical basis, considering the holism of systems and how they accomplish overall goals. Systems are interpreted as wholeness having (i) inputs (euipment, materials, money, technologies, people), (ii) processes (e.g. design, planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling), (iii) outputs (products, services, wastes ) and (iv) outcomes (e.g. productivity, revenue, well-being, sustainability). On the one hand, management theories have become more important in the perspective of systems as the complicatedness and complexity of real life systems increased. On the other hand, systems theories play a crucial role  in practical management since they help managers to look at the organization holistically and more broadly, and recognize the interdependencies among the parts and actors of systems. Based on this perhaps it is better to say that there is an interplay between management theories and systems theories, rather than that systems theory is a synthesis of management theories.

The historical foundations of Chinese economic theory are many and varied and have their roots in Chinese political systems which show a remarkable continuity of ethos from the imperial days to the present.  Indeed, in China, politics trumps economics, and always has.  For some  historical foundations of strategy, please see our book, The "Chinese Tao of Business: The Logic of Successful Business Strategy", (John Wiley). We have also studied Chinese rationales for economic subsidies, which stem from historical systems of patronage.  For some of these rationales and patterns, please see "Subsidies to Chinese Industry: State Capitalism, Business Strategy and Trade Policy" (Oxford University Press). More information on both books should be accessible through my profile page or the individual book sites.

Theories

Absorptive capacity theory

Actor network theory

Accountability theory (NEW entry!)

Adaptive structuration theory

Administrative behavior, theory of

Agency theory

Argumentation theory

Behavioral decision theory

Boundary object theory

Chaos theory

Cognitive dissonance theory

Cognitive fit theory

Cognitive load theory

Competitive strategy (Porter)

Complexity theory

Contingency theory

Critical realism theory

Critical social theory

Critical success factors, theory of

Customer Focus Theory

Deferred action, theory of

Delone and McLean IS success model

Diffusion of innovations theory

Dynamic capabilities

Elaboration likelihood model

Embodied social presence theory

Equity theory

Evolutionary theory

Expectation confirmation theory

Feminism theory

Fit-Viability theory

Flow theory

Game theory

Garbage can theory

General systems theory

General deterrence theory

Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) (NEW Entry!)

Hermeneutics

Illusion of control

Impression management, theory of

Information processing theory

Institutional theory

International information systems theory

Keller's Motivational Model

Knowledge-based theory of the firm

Language action perspective

Information asymmetry theory (lemon market)

Management fashion theory

Media richness theory

Media synchronicity theory

Modal aspects, theory of

Multi-attribute utility theory

Multi-motive information systems continuance model (MISC)

Organizational culture theory

Organizational information processing theory

Organizational knowledge creation

Organizational learning theory

Portfolio theory

Process virtualization theory

Prospect theory

Protection motivation theory (NEW entry!)

Punctuated equilibrium theory

Real options theory

Resource-based view of the firm

Resource dependency theory

Self-efficacy theory

SERVQUAL

Signaling theory

Social capital theory

Social cognitive theory

Social exchange theory

Social learning theory

Social network theory

Social shaping of technology

Socio-technical theory

Soft systems theory

Stakeholder theory

Structuration theory

Task closure theory

Task-technology fit

Technological frames of reference

Technology acceptance model

Technology dominance, theory of

Technology-organization-environment framework

Theory of collective action

Theory of planned behavior

Theory of reasoned action

Transaction cost economics

Transactive memory theory

Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

Usage control model

Work systems theory

Yield shift theory of satisfaction

Blue ocean and than other evolving theoretical paradigm are emerging but not mature.  

You may find the following articles useful:

1. Cedric E. Dawkins, John W. Frass, (2005) "Decision of union workers to participate in employee involvement: an application of the theory of planned behaviour", Employee Relations, Vol. 27 Iss: 5, pp.511 - 531

2. Van Hooft et al (2004) Job search and the theory of planned behavior: Minority–majority group differences in The Netherlands, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65 (3), pp. 366–390.

3. Emma Parry, Hugh Wilson, (2009) "Factors influencing the adoption of online recruitment", Personnel Review, Vol. 38 Iss: 6, pp.655 - 673

Hi Hiram,

Agreed on Paurav's useful links from psychology & sociology perspective.  Just to add, you might want to take a look on the following 2 links pertaining to more contemporary management and marketing theories:

1) Management Theories Link: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/

2) Marketing Theories Link: http://www.learnmarketing.net/theory.htm

Regards,

Fung

I completely disagree with claims that transaction cost economics is less popular as a theory and less relevant today.

The rise of the sharing economy is predicated on transaction costs; as is the talk of the frictionless economy and or low-friction markets.

In fact it may be the opposite, that the theory and its insights are so powerful and central to any research on the Internet economy, that scholars citing it may feel the need to throw in something else that has not been as researched and practiced as transaction costs. Likewise for information theory; not just because I am on the faculty of the 'original information school' any claim that the information sciences and applications of information theory are less significant today just looks frankly rather silly. There's this data network called the Internet and these mobile devices....which follow Clauide Shannon 101 principles still today.  Now to claim a significant new breakthrough in information theory...well yeah that is hard; as it should be. 

As to which particular theories are most popular among faculty of business schools, that is of course a different question. And definitely leadership theory and studies is on the rise, no question.

First. They develop a science for each element of a man’s work, which replaces the old rule-of” thumb method.

Second. They scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the workman, whereas in the past he chose his own work and trained himself as best he could.

Third. They heartily cooperate with the men so as to insure all of the work being done in accordance with the principles of the science which has been developed.

Fourth. There is an almost equal division of the work and the responsibility between the management and the workmen. The management take over all work for which they are better fitted than the workmen, while in the past almost all of the work and the greater part of the responsibility were thrown upon the men.

It is this combination of the initiative of the workmen, coupled with the new types of work done by the management, that makes scientific management so much more efficient than the old plan.

Principles of Scientific Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911),

You are correct about the peculiarities and challenges; every organization claims to be unique and say "that won't work here!". I am amazed at how innovative people are in applying TOC. Every system has a few control points only. If one identifies and exploits the control points related to the constraint and changes the job descriptions of all other (non-constraint) resources to support the constraint (instead of doing the best they can at their own jobs) the significant improvement can be realized almost immediately. I taught these concepts to the support staff at an 11.5 provider medical clinic at lunch and they implemented the concepts (block interruptions to the provider, maintain flow of patients in and out of the exam rooms, have everything the provider needs at hand before he/she enters the exam room, etc.) the next day. After the first day of implementation, the providers say that it was the best day they had ever had in the practice. We were able to add 20-25% more appointment slots plus virtually eliminate the "no show" and "no appointment" slots in less than two months.

The thinking processes are useful for identifying the core problem in any organization, identifying a win-win solution to address the core problem and then developing an effective implementation plan. They are quite useful in developing the solution to any organization problem whether service, government or manufacturing.

I failed to mention the non-profit organization: TOC for Education. See:

It is the crown jewel of theory of constraints. It describes the hundreds of applications of TOC in education. The three major application areas are:

Teaching kids to think through personal problems

Teaching effectively

Addressing administrative problems.

They have had amazing results from kindergarten to prisons with these tools!!!

If you are a teacher it is a totally different way of teaching.

You are fortunate in that India has some of the leading pioneers in TOC at Vector Consulting, Goldratt, Consulting and in industry in the Tata Steel groups, Fleetguard, etc. They have done some breakthrough thinking and implementations.