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From Directing to Delegating

Guest post by: Eric Garner

Article Overview: Learn how management styles developed in the 20th century from a predominantly directive style typified by Ford to a predominantly delegated style typified by Nissan.

From Directing to Delegating

At the beginning of the 20th century, the predominant model of management was the model of direction, based on the idea that people had to be directed to perform work. By the start of the 21st century, that model had been replaced by delegating, based on the idea that people will work willingly if well-led and empowered. In this model, we'll see this change through 3 types of organisations. 1. The Ford Model of Management The Ford motor company of the early 20th century reflected the earliest management theory, scientific management. Its management style was directive. Here are some of its features: Organisational philosophy: Profit; capitalist; economic; workers are motivated by money only. Management style: Management role is to control everything. Production: Standardised; measured; repetitive; mechanistic. Environment: Stable, predictable, monopolistic. Workers: ...output is measurable. Customer tie-in: Product-led, the customer is only interested in price. "You can have any colour as long as it's black" (Ford slogan) Country of origin: USA Organisational example: Ford, General Motors 2. Management by Control The early Ford motor company model of management, which was appropriate to the times, was management by control. People were not seen as anything different from any other resource. They were a measurable cost. In the worst kind of control organisations, instead of developing people, you get these results: a. snoopervision (time clocks, hidden cameras, guards) b. rules not reasons c. excessive discipline by management and excessive grievances by employees d. an obsession with objectives, targets and results e. a desertion of employees until it all goes "pear-shaped" f. attention only on low or high achievers g. high absence and turnover rates. 3. The Volvo Model of Management The Volvo motor company of the mid-20th century onwards reflected the shift towards motivational and people management. Its management style was democratic. Here are some of its features: Organisational philosophy: Organisations have a social dimension; workers are organised around semi-autonomous teams. Management style: Consultative and democratic. Production: Standardised and measured but includes job rotation, job enrichment, the building of whole cars by teams. Environment: Relatively stable; increasingly competitive. Workers: ...teamwork. Customer tie-in: Room for variation. Country of origin: Scandinavia Organisational example: Volvo 4. Team Management The following advert from Volvo in the 1990's shows the company's social approach to working: "Henry Ford started the assembly plant. Now Volvo has stopped it. For natural reasons. Inside Volvo's latest car plant at Udevalla on Sweden's west coast is "the greatest step forward in the history of modern car production." The assembly line is gone; instead a small team builds a complete car. The team see themselves as a family. Their way of making cars is more natural and often more efficient than the traditional assembly line. They confirm Volvo's belief that responsibility, involvement, comradeship and joy increase work satisfaction and raise product quality. Volvo's thinking is quite natural: build a car with commitment, pay attention to quality and the customer will soon notice the difference." 5. The Nissan Model of Management The Nissan motor company of the late 20th/early 21st century reflects the shift from the earlier directive and democractic approaches to the delegated and empowering approach. Here are some of its features: Organisational philosophy: Organisations exist to fulfil long-term missions for the benefit of the community. Management style: Delegated and empowered. Production: High use of technology. Self-managed, highly trained and educated groups. Environment: Unstable and changing. Workers: The difference that makes the difference. Customer tie-in: Total quality; right first time; zero defects; quality first. Country of origin: Japan Organisational example: Nissan 6. Trust and Co-operation In Japanese organisations, the "company" means "family" and employees are like children in the family. Japanese organisational charts show only collective units, not individual positions or title or names. The business goal is to survive and motivation comes from belonging to the group. Unlike the Ford model, competition is a sin and co-operation is all. Training, loyalty, sacrifice and diligence are looked on as key qualities. The following are 3 of Nissan's General Principles which emphasise the need to: a. promote mutual trust and co-operation between the Company and its employees b. recognize that all employees, at whatever level, have a valued part to play in the success of the company c. seek actively the contributions of all employees in furthering these goals. 7. How Empowerment Saved Nissan When Yutaka Kume took over Nissan in 1985, the outlook was bleak. He found what he called "an inward-looking bureaucratic culture". Kume first modernised the facilities and then created a research and development team that was recruited from the best graduates of that year. Then he created a new kind of culture. The young group, whose average age was 28, had no fixed hours, no top official in charge, and no history of failure. What they had instead was heaps of enthusiasm. They knew they were creating a car that they themselves would want to drive. When the car they produced, the Silvia, eventually came to market, it outsold its competitors and was voted "car of the year". Nissan, using delegation, empowerment, and self-directed teams, had triumphed. Whatever the predominant management styles of the last 100 years, the most successful companies have been those which became experts in the predominant style. That's why today, if you want to succeed, you have to become a skilled delegator and empowerer.

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Article Tags: management, management styles



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