Page 43 - Chapter One

Why it is Time Now for The Management Shift 11

survive, thrive and innovate, to engage employees and achieve sustainable
performance and value creation. They realize that business as usual is no
longer an option, but they are not quite sure how to respond.

There is a cause to the problem: outdated management
paradigm and practices

One of the key causes of the many problems organizations and societies are
facing today is outdated management (or Management 1.0) practices based
on Newtonian mechanistic paradigm, bureaucratic organization, hierarchical
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command- and- control mindset, standardization and specialization.
Outdated management practices are also largely based on the principles
of scientific management inaugurated by Frederic Taylor in his seminal
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book The Principles of Scientific Management. The key premises of this
approach include: a detailed instruction and supervision of each worker,
defining the task and dividing the work nearly equally between managers
and workers, so that the managers plan the work and the workers do the
work, managers use command and control and ensure strict standards are
achieved, there is a focus on quantity, the cost of workers for a task needs
to be minimized.

The Management 1.0 Taylor- based approach worked well for driving
productivity and efficiency in a production economy, but it is detrimental
for the innovation, engagement and resilience required for knowledge-
based organizations in the modern economy. Knowledge workers tend
to ignore corporate hierarchy and need autonomy to be more innovative.
Mechanistic management practices cause such people to become less
engaged and to collaborate less. They cannot thrive and achieve their
full potential.

There is a solution to the problem: the emerging management
paradigm and practices – or The Management Shift

To address these problems, organizations will need to create more value
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and become more engaging, innovative and resilient. This requires a
fundamental change of both practices and mindset, based on Management
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2.0 principles such as collaboration, transparency, meritocracy, purpose,