How to Control Time in the Workplace

One of the key challenges Henry Mintzberg presents of traditional management is for managers to be able to control their time. Since managers have numerous roles, they have to be able to manage their time. For example, a manager could free up some time for more important tasks by delegating other tasks to different employees. A manager is also “challenged to gain control of his or her own time by turning obligations into advantages and by turning those things he or she wishes to do into obligations” (Mintzberg 1990). Mintzberg is showing that managers have many obligations, and these obligations can either lead to failure or success. For example, if a manger tries to perform every task and obligation without delegating it to other employees, there will be many failures. Likewise, if a manger does not attempt to utilize numerous ways to create advantages, such as a meeting, that manager is already heading towards failure. Another key challenge Mintzberg presents is that managers have many more roles than the traditional view. He describes the roles as figureheads, leaders, liaisons, monitors, disseminators, spokespersons, entrepreneurs, disturbance handlers, resource allocators, and negotiators (Mintzberg 1990). These roles show that management is much more than just planning, organizing, directing, and controlling because the traditional view does not take into account interpersonal or informational roles. For example, in the traditional view, a manager could set a goal or plan, implement it, and direct and control how employees fulfill the goals. In this scenario, the manager does not attempt to obtain information that may potentially benefit the company. This information could be interpersonal, such as the reasons em...

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... that tailoring to individual needs increased productivity. Grey was skeptical of these findings because the experiment by Hawthorne was conducted under the influence of scientific management; therefore, many variables in the lighting experiment were under strict regulations and controls by management. Another reason Grey was skeptical was because he did not believe that Taylor was unaware and uninterested in the informal organization (Grey 2009). He believed that Taylor was fully aware of the consequences of the informal organization and attempted to create a solution through the implementation of scientific management. Grey interjects that the human relations theory is a direct response to the limitations and failures of scientific management, giving the notion that Taylor’s attempt to correct and control the consequences of the informal organization failed.