engleski

In a search of integral management theory : the need for the balance of hard and soft management approaches

From its genesis until today, managerial theory has experienced numerous innovations which can be reduced to: dominant hard approaches/paradigm, dominant soft approaches/paradigm and combination of both approaches/paradigms. Evolution of management theory, in fact, was moving from hard approach which underlined technical and economic system of an organization (technical and economic rationalization of work) to the soft approach which underlined organization as primarily psychosocial system and, according to this paradigm, psychosocial rationalization of work. In this paper the question of hard and soft methods/principles is examined, because today it is more obvious that efficient management is actually an integral management that integrates both, the hard and soft elements of management. The integration of hard and soft approaches to management in managerial theory is manifested in several management areas: - including the principle of hard and soft approaches to management ; - including the principle of hard and soft HR management ; - including the different types of organizational structures that incorporate hard and soft management approaches ; - innovations in all managerial functions which also combine hard and soft approaches to management. At last an effective management today always combines different elements of hard and soft management to achieve goals that are often in contrast: stability (maximalization of productivity, minimalization of resource consumption) versus innovative (creative) development. The future of the management theory is certainly an integral management, which is to find in the balance of hard and soft managerial approaches (that certainly will evolve). The integral goal of integral management is to achieve the acceptable level of technical, economic and psychosocial work rationalization by means of hard and soft elements of management.

hard and soft management ; HR management ; integral management ; organizational structures ; rationalization of work

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