Is There Room for Management in the 21st Century?

            Is there room for management in the 21st century?

The meaning of a contemporary management theory can be defined as “a set of behaviours and thoughts of how a business could achieve its goals and objectives” (Nixon, 2003, p. 5). In this way, current management theories are mainly concerned with two issues – management style and the organisation’s framework. These contemporary theories do not suddenly appear as they are the outcome of the industrial revolution process, therefore, they have their solid foundations in the late 18th, 19th and mid-20th centuries (Nixon, 2003). Over the last few decades, several elements have grouped together to influence the character, practice, and relevance of management in large organizations (Burke & Cooper, 2000). The question is whether this current management theory has become outdated and needs to incorporate new constructs, or whether there is still enough room for management in the 21st century. It is acknowledged that tremendous changes have taken place in today’s work environment compared with a few decades ago in the context of great economic, political and technological change. To be sure, management is still relevant today. Demographic diversity and technological advancements are two major determinants influencing the changing nature of the workplace, and they both have an enormous impact on managers and employees. That is, managers will need to be more collaborative, directory and adaptable to balance multiple responsibilities, perspectives, and priorities. Whilst employees have the higher expectations for autonomy, the requirement to be treated with respect, and the approval to participate in decision-making right. This essay will argue that demographic diversity and technological advancements that change the way we work today play a significant role in the relevance of management. At this level, both managers and employees should establish good relationships to integrate the effectiveness of a distributed workforce.

One of the most powerful forces influencing organizations and workplace is demographic diversity. There are several emerging and consolidating demographic trends including the aging population and workforce diversity that are likely to transform the profile of the average employee, and this has forced managers to make sustainable changes to the way in which they establish a people-oriented management approach. These trends that are changing the way we work today are inherently related to each other. Burke and Ng (2006) state that the aging population associated with lower birth rates have led to a shrinking labour pool. The age distribution of the labour force will change remarkably, thus the values, expectations, and characteristics of new labour force entrants will be dramatically different than before which increases the workforce diversity. Obviously, it is not a one-time shift. Demographics are continually changing at a rapid pace all over the world, presenting greater motivation and challenges for managers to hire, train, manage and retain an entirely new generation of employees. Furthermore, Choi (2013) argues that organizations may increase the demographic diversity of management to improve and integrate their effectiveness. This reinforces the idea that these demographic changes will have profound implications for organizations and workplace in the coming decades. In the light of this, the implication of aging population and workforce diversity and their impact on both employees and managers should be deeply identified and analysed, and more rethinking is required to be done about how current management practices and approaches can adapt to the changes that are occurring.