Management in the 21st
Century
Is management after 2000 any different to
the 20th Century product with all its successes and failures,
its lists and fads, its Gurus and shooting stars?
Why should the new young managers perform in a different way
to their predecessors?
They probably will act differently. They
will hopefully learn something from the mistakes of the last
generation of managers. They will be better trained and understand
the
process of management better. They are facing a faster-moving,
more technologically intense environment. Customers, competitors,
investors, employees and peers will be more demanding. Some
of the differences which may arise between the 20th and 21st
century management model are described below.
Managing Strategically
Strategic management will become
a more integrated component of the manager’s portfolio
in the 21st Century. Strategic managers are not happy with incremental
improvements. They continuously seek to break through the constraints
of resources and structure. Strategic managers have a consistent
unblinking focus on their core markets and products, but they
are constantly alert to the wider environmental and market forces
that affect them. Strategic managers have vision, and they are
able to translate their vision into concrete action, every day.
Adding Value
As more things are measured, so is the
performance of managers. Management in the private and, perhaps
more slowly, but just as inevitably, in the public sector,
is increasingly being assessed in terms of performance and
the value which it provides. Management costs. It should provide
a measurable return.
Business value is increasingly driven by the
way in which managers exploit the value of all the assets which
they manage. These assets include the well recognised fixed assets
such as land, buildings, and equipment, the current assets of
cash, receivables and materials and also intangible assets such
as culture, knowledge, brands, staff and customer loyalty. An
increasing amount of skill, time and effort will be devoted to
measuring and managing these intangibles.
Reducing Cost
It is no longer enough to keep costs
down. Driven by more aggressive competition and greater openness
in the marketplace, nationally and globally, there is an unrelenting
pressure on managers to take costs out of the process, to focus
only on those products and services where there is comparative
advantage and then to deliver the highest quality and the lowest
cost. The decision is no longer to choose either differentiation
or low cost. Most markets require differentiation and low cost.
Technology
Technology has transformed the way in
which business operates. Internal operations have been streamlined.
Transaction processing has been automated. Factories have been
transformed. Organisations have been delayered. Desk workers
have been empowered. Technology has enabled the creation of
efficient, responsive global organisations. Managers now and
in the future must have a strategic understanding of the potential
of technology and the capacity to deploy it to achieve organisational
efficiency and effectiveness.
But this is not enough. Information technology
has moved on to facilitate a new era of interconnectedness. Internet
and intranets enable companies to create new relationships with
consumers, suppliers, distribution channels, and providers of
complementary products and services, as well as providing enhanced
methods of access to sources of knowledge and information. A
successful manager in the 21st century will be one who is more
effective in realising the opportunities presented by this new
level of interconnectedness between organisations to deliver
better services and products to consumers.
People
In a more prosperous and highly skilled
world, managing people will be an even more critical skill.
The routine, repetitive tasks, which are readily definable
and controllable, will have been largely automated. The most
valuable managerial skills will be those which foster and develop
in people the more subtle human capabilities of innovation,
imagination, and commitment.
The traditional employer/employee relationship
is changing
“Organisations will have to
become communities rather than properties, with members not
employees , because few will be content to be owned by others.
Societies will break down into smaller units but will also
regroup into even larger ones than now for particular purposes”
Charles Handy, "Beyond
Certainty: The Changing World of Organisations"
(Hutchinson)
It is more challenging, to manage people who
are not employees for life, or who are not even employees; who
may be working at home or at remote sites; who may have more
commitment to a lifestyle than to a career; who are juggling
domestic and work responsibilities; and whose earnings may be
related to market realities rather than to their position in
the company hierarchy.
Ethics
The activities of the modern company
are increasingly under formal and informal public scrutiny.
Society is increasingly open. The public demands high ethical
standards in matters such as employment practices, financial
probity, environmental protection, public health and product
quality. An approach to matters of public concern which would
not find public acceptability, even if the approach is within
the law, can seriously damage a company. Management have a
responsibility to commit themselves and their company to establishing
and maintaining high standards of ethical behaviour even in
an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Managing Complexity at Speed
Competition is increasingly intense.
The marketplace is constantly changing. Employees are skilled,
aware and mobile. Organisations are constantly aligning and
realigning. Shareholders demand above-average returns. Economies
are increasingly open. The information age has put much more
information in the hands of managers - perhaps much more than
they can absorb with ease. The information is also available
to competitors, suppliers and customers.
The challenge for managers in the 21st
century will not be to direct fixed resources towards the achievement
of well-defined goals but to manage a complex changing business
ecosystem towards the creation of measurable added value.
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