Management programs have attracted endemic debates whether they fall in the purview of an art or a science. The dynamic environment constantly scratches a nerve in management psyche and it would be over-simplistic to classify Management as one or the other. There is significant evidence to recognize several aspects of management as an art. Some of these are:
Management is not transitive
The science of mathematics would imply that if A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. In the area of management, this need not hold true. There are very few unique solutions in management. Comparing the capacity of a cement or steel plant may be easy, however the intellectual capital of the Management that drives these business could make an infinite difference.
Management is not linear
Ever since the Industrial revolution, managing change and growth has proved to be the biggest challenge for corporations. Some corporations have handled the growth exceptionally while others have faltered. A successful mid-sized company often fails in its growth plans as the imagination of its top management fails to grow in scale. In the 1980s, Westinghouse was giving archrival General Electric (GE) a run for its money, but today when GE is moving from strength to strength, the former is a feeble image of its old self.
Management is not binary
There are far greater areas of grey in the world of business than pure black or white. Unlike a laboratory test that may offer an instantaneous positive or negative result, the consequences of management decisions may often stretch the boundaries of objective evaluation. Decisions may have several ramifications, which makes the holistic analysis a subjective exercise.
Horizontal skills are as important as Vertical skills
In effective project management, expertise in technical subjects such as Management Science or Operations Research is invaluable. However in the absence of good communication, inter-personal and negotiation skills, the efficacy of Project Management is capped. With the concept of the internal customer gaining credence worldwide, and increased interaction with the outside world (read stakeholders), horizontal skills are critical.
EQ vs IQ
Daniel Goleman, the father of Emotional Intelligence established the need to develop soft skills such as personal and interpersonal dynamics, to determine long-term motivation for managers. Current research supports the paradigm that successful managers are those with high EQ. High IQ may result in individual success but group success is more influenced by EQ.
Passion invariably outweighs Ability
It’s often observed that passion pushes individuals to stretch themselves, to discover hidden facets of their personality and to achieve extraordinary results. Whereas ability may achieve results, aptitude and attitude determines the altitude. In recent times, Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame has exhibited this more than any of his contemporaries. A chance business trip to Italy introduced him to the wafting aromas of freshly brewed coffee. He fell so much in love with the experience that it motivated him to share his passion with millions around the globe. It’s no secret today that Starbucks was amongst the fastest climbers on the Fortune 500.
Thinking Global, Acting Local
The world has increasingly moving towards selling a standardized product in a customized manner. No consumer wants to be treated as a me-too and management teams worldwide are striving to address this need while ensuring that costs don’t move north. So, while globally McDonalds has a winner in Beef burgers, in India that burger morphs into a Maharaja Mac to satiate Indian culture and palates. Nike, which in many ways has always been a trend-setter deriving from the vision of its founder Phillip Knight is now looking at allowing customers to design their own pair online. New courses in marketing focus on satisfying higher level order emotional needs inspired by Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The new paradigm in marketing requires understanding anthropology of groups. The Power brands of today need a consistent design based on the tenets of Marc Auge’s analysis of the nomadic nature of our existence in what are urban non-places.
We live in a smaller world today, our cultural gaps are constantly shrinking by the electronic media and internet. Social networking mediums such as Face-book and Twitter and other e-marketing tools are creating a high level of flux in the way sellers deal with buyers. As buyers become better informed and discerning they would exert pressure on creativity that will drive the management pendulum increasingly in the quadrant of art and away from its science.
