Theory and Practice in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Theory and Practice in Management - Essay Example The levels of authority given to different individuals in an organisation are mainly determined by the structure of the organisation and the type of power used in any given organisation often determines the overall performance of the employees as well as its productivity levels. There are mainly six types of power that are popular and these include: coercion, position, reward, support, knowledge and interpersonal (Krausz 1986). Coercion is based on fear or punishment where the responsible authorities would seek to ensure that all the members comply with the given instructions while position is related to the status of a person in the hierarchy of the organisation. Reward is based on the capacity to offer incentives on good performance while support is concerned with influencing the involvement of peers or workmates. Knowledge is based on the skills possessed by an individual and interpersonal is mainly concerned with communication skills by a particular individual. Adaptive organisations which emphasize the flexibility to adapt to change can enhance creativity while bureaucratic, mechanistic or rigid structures will inhibit creativity Woodman (1995). An organisation which has a flat structure often promotes creativity and it helps promote easier communication and information sharing. In some cases, the appropriate reward system is essential for motivating employees to become innovative. When the employees have freedom and authority to participate in decision making process, they will have a positive attitude towards creativity and innovation. Open systems that promote participation and interaction also allow the free flow of information which in turn promotes mutual understanding among the employees. For instance, a case study of Ernest and Young showed that the organisation managed to increase employee retention level by about 9 % after the company began introducing open systems that gave autonomy to the workers while at the same time offerin g rewards