The Capability of the General Manager to Lead BWTV

Joseph, the newly appointed General Manager of BWTV, must squarely face this issue. As General Manager, he is accountable for the performance of the company to achieve its goals. Joseph will have profit and loss (P & L) responsibilities and must therefore make sure that everybody in the organization does the right things right efficiently to be effective contributors to the company’s profitability and growth.

Case facts reveal that Joseph has a good grasp of his responsibilities as General Manager of BWTV. His apprehensions and curiosity on some management issues point to the fact that he knows what it takes to manage an organization. For instance, Joseph immediately sensed that the company is disorganized by observing the staff and asking diagnostic questions.

Davidson and Griffin (2006, quoted in Katz 1974) cites diagnostic skills as one of the essential skills that a manager should posses to operate an organization effectively.
Communication, decision-making, time management, technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills form the rest of the skills set that Joseph must posses. These are necessary skills that Joseph must have for him to competently perform his interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.

The case reveals that Joseph is uncertain if he has what it takes to manage BWTV considering that he had only supervised a few people. He is not sure if he has the necessary managerial skills to manage the company. De Bono and Heller (n.d.) emphasizes that the fundamentals of business and management are universal, making them applicable to all organizations, big or small. They believe that the growth of a company hinges on the ability of the manager to translate his ideas into effective action. Joseph must, therefore, put his best foot forward and translate his thoughts into action. The owner of the company has full trust in him and that is a good starting point.

Management theories can lay down the foundation of a successful business and Davidson and Griffin (2006) recognized the importance of knowing and understanding the history of management theory to draw lessons from the past and help move on to the future. n n According to Daft (1998), the classical management perspective started the modern era of management theory during the early part of the 1900s. Various authors say that scientific management and administrative management compose this management perspective. The authors noted that the focus of scientific management is on the individual while administrative management concentrates on the organization.

The website El Rincon Del Vago (n.d.) and Davidson and Griffin (2006) cited the principles of management that Henri Fayol developed as one of the major contributions of the classical management perspective to management thought that continue to be observed even by the managers of today. The 14 management principles include division of labor, authority, unity of command, subordination of individuals to the common good, remuneration, centralization, scalar chain, order, equity, stability, initiative and esprit de corps.

Another valuable contribution of the classical management perspective came from the proponents of scientific management. Davidson and Griffin (2006) and the website El Rincon Del Vago (n.d.) documented the contribution of Frederick W. Taylor in improving production efficiency through his principles of scientific management.

Other theories evolved from the classical management perspective. One of these theories represents the behavioral management perspective. The Hawthorne Studies, according to Daft (1998), proved that the favorable treatment of people in the workplace increased motivation and productivity. The study laid the foundation for other works in learning more about leadership, motivation and human resource management which continue to be a major conce
of today’s managers.