ORGANISATIONAL THEORIES

Last week was about organisational structures and its effects on organisational performance.I say it depends on the size of the organisation.Structure in an organisation provides the framework for activities of the organisation and must harmonise with its goals and objectives.According to Drucker,it is the correct design of structure that is of most significance in determining organisational performance.

This week was about management theories.It was a very interesting topic because i got to know and see    different theories from different people and how it applies to business today.It is important because without theories of some sort,it would be difficult to understand what is happening in our world today and how different theories applied to different organisations.

One of the theories i found interesting was that of Mary Parker Follet(1868-1933) whose idea was the self-governing principle that would enhance growth of individuals and the group they belonged to.She believed that strict division of labour devalued human creativity although the mechanical and human side should not be seperated but bounded together.She also saw the need of replacing bureaucratic organisations with networks in which people themselves analysed their problems and implemented their solutions(Boddy p51)

Unlike Max Weber who believed in alocating specific rules and responsibilities to everyone.Rules and regulations had to be adhered to.Although this theory has its disadvantages as there is minimal employee discretion and administrative procedures were not flexible,it worked well in government departments and large public organisations.The right to give instruction was based on a persons position in the hierarchy(centralised system).
Although this theory was written a very long time ago,i still see its application in certain organisations i know like the Nigerian Police Force(NPF).The Nigerian police force is under a general operational and administrational control of an Inspector General(IGP) who is appointed by the president of Nigeria and is responsible for maintaining law and order in the country.The inspector general is the head of each department in the force and all commissioners in each state in the country reports to him and also the deputies in each state reports them.Administrative procedures are not flexible,no encouragement to develop free thinking as a member of the police force as everyone has at every stage has someone to report to and has to follow rules and regulations.Every member of the force has the mindset of ''your job" and "my job".