Organizational and management styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Organizational and management styles - Essay Example It would be important to consider the various factors that determine the levels of efficiency in the management of educational institutions with particular reference to the mentioned universities. The theoretical framework of this study will anchor on various theories of organizational management. The theories shall be considered in terms of how they affect matters of policy and practice of management in the identified institutions. Case reviews on matters of educational management have revealed changing trends in leadership and management across the globe (Bush, 2010, p. 45). There is evidence of a determined shift from the traditional systems of leadership and management, which were more rigid to the current ones that seem to be more flexible. The traditional systems mainly involved a vertical structure where the leadership was at the top and made important policy and administrative decisions that affected the operations at all levels of the universities administration (Bush, 2010) . Educational institutions that adopted exclusivist policies of leadership favored this system. The current systems have evolved to embrace horizontal structures of leadership, in which policy matters and decision-making are handled at multiple points of the organization’s structure (McCaffery, 2010). Such developed kinds of leadership and management entail some aspect of devolution in which power is distributed evenly across various academic institutions. Both systems have important strengths and weaknesses. The increasing clamor for liberties and the advocacy for rights of the minorities have had significant impact on the levels and nature of leadership in American universities (Bush & Coleman, 2000). Gender and ethnicity are some of the factors that have been brought within the umbrella of the management and leadership structures of American universities (McCaffery, 2010). Such leadership styles have impacted positively on the nature of leadership by embracing certain qual ities that are essentially aimed towards responding to the call for harmony in the processes of leadership. Proper management techniques require constant attention to the interests of stakeholders in ways that multiply the importance of normal discourse (McCaffery, 2010). One of the advantages of the top-down leadership structures and management style includes quick decision-making processes (Morrison, Briggs & Coleman, 2012). The leaders make decisions without much consultation, which saves time and affects positively on the speed and efficiency of processes. In some cases, such styles of management feature less bureaucratic challenges since fewer people and fewer processes are involved in the decision-making processes. On the other hand, the same systems are notable for lack of motivation in the lower cadres of management because other people in the organization are not involved in making important decisions within the organization (Walker & Dimmock, 2005). According to theorists of educational leadership and ma