Each executive develops his own management philosophy which incorporates management theory and the executive's own experiences. This management philosophy can change over the course of the executive's career, and individual styles may well change from one work situation to the next. Effective managers are those individuals who are able to synthesize the conceptual frameworks that they have come across in their education with the actual experiences and personalities they encounter in their work environment. They are able to use all the information available to them to form "models" on which their behavior and management strategies are based, and they modify these models as they receive new information. Ineffective managers are often those individuals who are simply not able to adapt to different environments and conditions, and who are unable to effectively bring together their educational experiences with the "real world" experiences of the workplace.
Management philosophies are essentially conceptual frameworks that explain, predict and guide the actions of managers. Most managers are not cognizant of their philosophy in a formal manner, but act with remarkable consistency within their management philosophy framework. Just as a scientist will use a theory to explain, predict and describe natural phenomena, management philosophy explains, predicts and describes management behavior for a particular individual at a particular point in time.
There are essentially four primary components in any management philosophy: skills and personal characteristics of the manager; values and beliefs of the manager; the relationship between the manager and the organization as perceived by the manager; and, the organization's relationship to the outside environment. Each of these components affects the manager's philosophy and has an impact on it.
Managers can sharpen their skills and personal characteristics to the extent that they are ...