Why are management classics evergreen?

Why can history keep repeating itself? Why can many things we see maintain their core values ??amidst changes? Because, even if the world is changing and the environment is changing, some things remain unchanged. is constant.

There are also constants in management. To study issues in the field of management, we need to understand the evolution of management and should constantly return to the basic issues of management. Returning to classic works and research results will help us understand the basic issues of management and understand the role and value of management itself.

The evergreen root of management classics: practicality

We can always benefit from those classic research results that lead changes in management practices and create countless values: Taylor’s scientific management principles solve The problem of maximizing labor efficiency; Weber's administrative organization and Fayol's management principles solved the problem of maximizing organizational efficiency; Herzberg's two-factor theory solved the problem of the relationship between motivation and satisfaction; Porter's The competitive strategy of the competition solves the problem of how to obtain the competitive advantage of enterprises; Drucker made us understand the problem of knowledge employees... These long-lasting studies are based on the refining of major issues in management practice and effective interaction with Western enterprises. It has driven the rapid development of Western management practices and led the direction of world management.

In nearly a hundred years of management practice, no matter how the external environment changes or how scientific and technological productivity develops, the management issues raised by management masters in those classic research results still exist, and the management experience summarized is still beneficial. , the management logic of research is still universal, and the management methods of creation are still effective. Why?

These studies are all oriented to management practice. Its practical nature determines that these studies can provide profound insights into, summarize and refine management practice activities, thus promoting the improvement of practical results. Therefore, practicality is the primary connotation of the value contribution of these classic management research results. Management must come from practice. Without the results of corporate practice, we cannot truly obtain the summary and theory of management experience.

Therefore, Chinese management scholars need to engage in more enlightenment and learning work, and transfer Western management theories to the management practices of Chinese enterprises. They should start with learning and promote Chinese enterprises to achieve success. The first thing you need to learn is the ability of these management masters to frame problems and simplify complex problems, learn their ability to observe practice and in-depth practice, and learn their ability to understand practice and interact with practice. .

The Four Knowledges of Management Research

In the evaluation of the value contribution of management research, the practical connotation elements require these research results to give two answers: " Importance of the research problem in management practice”, “Is there a concise summary of the solution to the problem”. The answers to these two questions constitute two important aspects of the value contribution of these management classics: correctly framing the problem and simplifying complex problems with strong conceptual power.

Research on Chinese management practice requires standardized research methods, a systematic theoretical system, and a solid research foundation, and all these research preparations must serve one purpose: framing the issues of Chinese management. Real management knowledge must come from the grasp of key issues in practice and the study of systematic empirical data. At the same time, one of the keys to management is how to achieve perfect knowledge. The basis of perfect knowledge is to have a clear understanding of concepts, which is the ability to simplify complex problems. As Simon said: "The first task of management theory is to establish a series of concepts that allow people to use these terms related to the theory to describe management situations." When we learn and understand these concepts, we can clearly understand the business The complexity behind the operation and the solution are the fundamental reasons why the master is called a master. For a long time, managers of many Chinese companies have hoped to learn from advanced corporate experience by copying management systems. However, such efforts have not brought substantial results. The root cause is that they only understand the management systems of these outstanding companies, but do not understand them. To these key elements in business management, that is, those core concepts. These classic management theories and classic works that have withstood the test of time and practice provide these powerful core concepts for our practice and research.

Research on Chinese management practices requires us to achieve four basic understandings: (1) facing Chinese management practices directly instead of first-class international academic journals; (2) prioritizing framing of problems rather than defining methods; (3) complex problems Simplify rather than complicate simple problems; (4) Think globally and act locally.

In these aspects, the classic research results of the masters have contributed huge value to our practice and research: classics are derived from practice, classics grasp the essential issues of management, and classics provide us with powerful core concepts. Western management classics provide us with good templates in these three aspects when exploring management theories and laws, allowing us to better integrate global management knowledge and promote local management by deeply grasping the characteristics of Chinese management practices. development of practice. In this process, classic works and local practice promote each other: classic works provide ideological enlightenment and support for the development of local practice, and local practice provides interpretation and innovation for classic works.

Return to the basics of management - efficiency

Whether it is management practice or management research, many people are working very hard to try new management theories. In the 1940s, interpersonal training was regarded as the key to organizational success; in the 1950s, the management by objectives theory proposed by Drucker was regarded as a new method to solve management problems; in the 1970s, corporate strategy was in the ascendant; in the 1990s, with the With the advancement of electronic information technology, more new methods are emerging; in the 21st century, management innovation theory leads changes.

However, as mentioned above, Chinese companies are living a very hard life because they have paid a lot but failed to get corresponding returns. The fundamental problem lies in the lack of understanding: What is the basis of management? What role does management play?

Drucker brilliantly elaborated on the essence of management: Management is a practice, and its essence does not lie in knowledge. , but lies in action; its verification does not lie in logic, but in results; its only authority is achievement. In other words, management fundamentally solves the problem of efficiency. So, where does efficiency come from?

Division of labor maximizes labor production efficiency. Drucker said: "When we want to understand what knowledge workers do and learn how to improve the productivity of knowledge work, we even have to go back to Taylor's work." Because of Taylor, we know what is Scientific management; because of Taylor, we know the basis of industrialization; because of Taylor, we can get the concept and practice of the assembly line; and because of Taylor, we find that management is actually a division of labor. The problem that Taylor devoted his life to exploring is precisely the essential problem of management: what management needs to solve is how to obtain the maximum output in a limited time - maximizing productivity.

In "Principles of Scientific Management", he turned management from experience into science that can be replicated, and clearly elaborated on four principles to maximize labor productivity: scientific division of work elements, employee selection, and training and development, communicate frequently with employees, managers and employees should have equal scope of work and responsibilities.

These four principles let us clearly understand that the best means to improve labor productivity is division of labor. Scientifically dividing work elements as the first item tells us that the division of work needs to be based on a scientific perspective rather than relying on experience. However, it is not enough to do a good job of dividing work elements. It is also necessary to select, train and develop employees who are responsible for the division of labor. This is the second item. For the first time, Taylor put employees in the most important position. It was also the first time that he told everyone that labor efficiency depends on the quality of employees and the results of training. Therefore, managers must communicate effectively with employees and must clearly understand the relationship between the two. With a clear division of labor and corresponding responsibilities, maintaining these four principles, labor productivity can be maximized.

Haier's management practice results reflect Taylor's scientific management's profound insight into the major issue of "labor efficiency" in management practice, and the effectiveness of the concept of "division of labor" in simplifying complex problems. sex. As one of the "magic weapons" for Haier's success, the OEC management model once became the focus of research and attention, and this model drew wisdom from Taylor's division of labor and other management ideas. The meaning of the OEC management method is to comprehensively control and clean up everything that everyone does every day. Every day's work is completed every day, and the quality of every day's work is improved slightly (1%).

The basic starting point of Taylor's scientific management thinking is to improve efficiency. Taylor regards improving labor productivity as the core of management.

Based on this, Taylor focuses on the standardization of operating methods and production processes, improves production efficiency by formulating scientific operating methods and implementing training, and by establishing an incentive reward mechanism. In its early days, Haier Group also faced the problem of improving production efficiency and economic benefits. After comprehending the essence of scientific management thought and based on the actual development of Haier, Zhang Ruimin decomposed the operating links on the workshop assembly line at the beginning of his business, reducing unnecessary and redundant links, so as to improve the efficiency of workers in each assembly line and each process. All actions are simplified and optimized, thus effectively saving production time and improving work efficiency. In addition, American industry applied Taylor's scientific management theories and methods to train a large number of previously completely unqualified workers, many of whom were farmers who grew up in pre-industrial environments or housewives who stayed at home. Haier also used a method similar to Taylor's to train recruited farmers into qualified assembly line workers within a month.

Specialization levels and hierarchies maximize organizational efficiency. In a highly developed and competitive environment, the improvement of labor efficiency has become a basic condition. At the same time, due to the improvement of personal needs and the continuous emergence of incentives to meet personal needs, changes in personal efficiency have also seen unprecedented progress, but relatively In comparison, improvements in organizational efficiency have been less than satisfactory. As environmental changes intensify, the requirements for organizations are getting higher and higher. On the one hand, organizations need to remain consistent with changes in the external environment. On the other hand, they need to maintain organizational efficiency and its ability to transcend changes. The practicality and forward-looking nature of Fayol's framing of the major issue of "organizational efficiency" in management practice are self-evident, and the validity of the core concepts he contributed to simplifying the problem is also unquestionable.

The famous "management elements" and 14 management principles proposed by Fayol in "Industrial Management and General Management" published in 1916 marked the birth of general management theory. He tells us: The means to maximize organizational efficiency is the combination of specialization level and hierarchy. The understanding of these two key issues, professional capabilities and hierarchy, forms the basis of organizational management, which are the two key elements that affect organizational efficiency. On the one hand, we need to strengthen professional capabilities. Whether managers, leaders or grassroots personnel, only if they contribute to a professional level can they be considered competent in management work; on the other hand, we need a clear system of decentralization of responsibilities and powers. Only by Only with clear division of responsibilities, clear distribution of authority, reasonable hierarchical arrangement, and orderly organizational structure can the effectiveness of management be effectively exerted. The combination of levels of specialization and hierarchy is where organizational effectiveness is maximized.

The practice of Midea Group provides a perfect annotation for this management classic. Through the reform of the divisional system, Midea has created a stable and balanced power allocation system - a centralized and decentralized system. As its president He Xiangjian summed up, "centralization of power is in order, decentralization of power is in an orderly manner, authorization is in order, and power is used in a measured way." . This also drives the organization to continuously improve its professionalism and performance. The organizational management status of Midea Group is in an organizational management system with clear positions, clear responsibilities, and clear incentives. The good professional mentality displayed by business unit managers is the result of the ideal relationship between power and position. Every manager knows very well that for them, position means responsibility, and it also means power. They have a good understanding of the true meaning of power, understand the true meaning of position and responsibility, and contribute their best. level of specialization.

Team-based incentives maximize individual efficiency. After solving labor efficiency and organizational efficiency, we also need to pay attention to human efficiency. Mary Follett, who was hailed as the "prophet of management" by Drucker, put forward important humanistic views such as "people-oriented; people exist in the organizational environment, not in society; the key activity in interpersonal relationships is to motivate people". Solved another problem in our management: Where does human efficiency come from?

Follett started by focusing on problem-solving theory among employees, participatory management, quality scope and other team-based issues involving employees in diagnosis, Begin with methods of analysis and solution-seeking, and examine the role of leadership and power.

She believes that leaders should recognize the value of individuals, encourage innovation, let everyone know their own tasks, and unite different wishes to become the internal driving force of the group, so that the object of organizational management changes from individuals to teams; in turn, individuals need to collaborate and integrate conflicts in teams to achieve greater value.

Management must balance the needs of employees and the goals of organizational development, as well as the conflict between short-term goals and long-term goals. Only when both can be paid attention to and achieved can management be effective.

Follett's research gives us a deeper understanding of the "human" factor in management. In order to achieve efficiency, obedience, norms, strict agreements and control are needed, but all of these should be defined by "things" rather than "people". What we need to obey, regulate, and control is the thing itself. Compared with the "people" that managers have to deal with, it is understanding, respect, and responsibility. Therefore, the basic logic of management is: manage upwards and take responsibility downwards. Let management produce performance, which is ultimately reflected in the growth of subordinates. Compared with all resources in management, people are the most important resource, and motivating people is also the most important. We need to have sufficient understanding and action in this regard.

The teamwork and team-based incentives emphasized in Huawei's wolf culture are exactly the way to maximize personal efficiency. With the team spirit centered on mutual aid, individual efficiency is released in a team environment, thereby stimulating the power of the team. Huawei is the first enterprise in Shenzhen to regard talents as a strategic resource. It has long proposed that talents are the first resource and the most important capital of an enterprise. In the use of talents, Huawei pays special attention to the cultivation and development of employees' intrinsic qualities and potential, effectively integrating employee needs and organizational development goals. In order to ensure that the company forms a good learning organization, Huawei was the first to establish a hierarchical and classified human resource development and training system within the company that suits the needs of the company and the characteristics of talent growth. In the "Huawei Basic Law" we see more regulations that are not the company's "requirements" for employees, but the company's commitment to every employee. Huawei's management regards "We will never let Lei Feng and Jiao Yulu suffer, and the devotees will receive reasonable rewards" and "We emphasize that the goal of continuous appreciation of human capital takes precedence over the goal of appreciation of financial capital" as a commitment to the performance of each employee. . When employees understand from this law that Huawei's management is a functional department that emphasizes fairness, respects labor, and develops talents, it becomes a natural course of action for them to devote themselves to work seriously in return for the company's personal contributions.

The most important mission undertaken by Chinese management researchers is to provide a solid theoretical foundation for Chinese management practice: on the one hand, to answer questions in Chinese management practice; on the other hand, to provide a forward-looking view of Chinese management practice. sexual guidance. Today, many management studies have made efforts to test and revise Western management theories and have been recognized by Western management academic circles. However, this is only a preliminary training. What really needs to be done is to gain recognition from Chinese management practices. If our research is recognized by Chinese management practices, it means that it will eventually be recognized by Western management scholars.

In order to promote management research to better contribute to practice, we need to "understand the description, abstraction and summary of human management activities in classic monographs on management theory from the development process of management theory, and carefully ponder the classic theory The profound analysis and demonstration process of management activities by Chinese masters." The real challenge is how to make these classic ideas, which were mainly formed in the West, come to China and transform them into the wisdom of Chinese managers themselves, helping them generate value in the current environment. Facing China's management practice, we still need to return to classic theories and classic works to obtain wisdom and enlightenment; return to the essence of management and gain a profound insight into those basic propositions, so that management practice research will have lasting vitality and value.