ENT 303: Entertainment Management: Theory and Practice

Transcription

1 ENT 303: Entertainment Management: Theory and Practice Assignment 1 Academic Essay: Management Theories Student: Eleni Foteinaki Student number:

2 "Traditional management theories: are they relevant to the contemporary entertainment industry"? Introduction We live in a world that is constantly evolving. As humanity evolves, so do technologies, opportunities and human resources. As for management theories, they too continue to evolve. This essay will evaluate three theories: Joan Woodward s Contingency theory, a behavioural theory that claims that there is no single best way to design organizational structures; William Ouchi s Theory Z, a newer theory on organisational behaviour and human motivation; and TQM and Six Sigma, which look at all areas of a product and involve strategies to keep improving, fixing and building on that product. It is argued that some traditional management theories such as Theory Z and the Contingency theory are still relevant in the contemporary business context, especially in the entertainment industry. Others, such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM) need adjustment in order to be used effectively. Contingency theory by Joan Woodward Contingency theory is a behavioural theory that suggests the effectiveness of a manager s leadership, decisions, and rules depend on the specifics of a situation (Conjecture Corporation 2014). That is, what worked once may not be successful when applied to a different situation (Byrnes 2008, p. 74). As Byrnes (p. 75) attests, arts organizations are open systems subject to internal and external forces that shape and change how they operate. As a result, management must make decisions or apply different leadership styles, based on each particular situation. This system model allows a manager to create, revise or remove subsystems that are not effectively supporting the mission. Most businesses today take on some part of the Contingency theory. Working around forever expanding technological resources and constantly growing competition requires flexibility. Its flexibility is what makes the theory highly relevant to the contemporary entertainment industry. The music industry in particular has been notably volatile. Donna Kaptain, the senior VP of human resources at Sony, tells about how Sony brought five companies together on Workday, and the changes the management had to apply to make this work. On April 2nd 2012, five Sony companies all turned on a single instance of Workday Human Capital Management, allowing them the benefits of a modern HR system to support their collective workforces. (Kaptain 2012) The Workday deployment allows the five Sony companies to use common business practices while still allowing each one to configure Workday to meet the needs of their respective businesses. It also supports employee career discovery and mobility. 2

3 For example, it's not unusual for employees to find new opportunities at a sister Sony company, and in the past, those choosing new positions would go through a termination, separation, and hiring process, creating more work for HR departments and employees. Sharing the Workday solution allows HR partners and managers to collaborate more closely, so they can execute transfers across business entities, and employees don't experience a disruption in services, including provisioning of , system access, and HR services. (Kaptain 2012) The management should take measurements within the company and its employees. The management has to apply different leadership styles in order to reach the goal is needed. Theory Z by William Ouchi Theory Z emerged from two previous business management theories: X Theory and Y Theory. The paired theories of X and Y were first postulated by Douglas McGregor in 1957 at the Sloane School of Management (Byrnes 2008, p. 64). X Theory was the earliest theory, and takes a pessimistic view of workers. According to X Theory, workers dislike their work, only perform it for money and must be forced to perform tasks by their managers. Y Theory takes a view that workers are motivated by the opportunity for personal growth. Instead of money being the sole motivator, other elements such as positive encouragement and a pleasant work area are added (Sociology index, 2014). Theory Z builds on the above and is credited to the business strategist William Ouchi. It was created as an explanation of the strength of Japanese corporations in the 1980s. It also takes an optimistic view of workers, assuming that they can be trusted to make decisions best for a company. Theory Z incorporates several concepts, including a long-term investment in workers' training, the ability of workers to make cooperative decisions, and flexibility and rotating of job assignments (Novinson 2014). One entertainment company that best illustrates Theory Z is Disney. The company s website states: You will be empowered by development opportunities, outstanding benefits and a supportive network. We strive to give you everything you need to succeed in your career (Disney 2014). However, in slight contrast to Theory Z, the company does not merely make optimistic assumptions about employee work ethics they actually seek out workers with positive attitudes and train them to be able to make decisions in the company s best interests, thereby relying on more than trust when assigning responsibility. Nevertheless, its method of management has been so well-received by employees that, despite relatively low rates of pay, theme parks in California and Florida have high staff retention rates (Johnson 2011). In fact, right in line with Theory Z, the 2010 Millenial Career Survey found that environment was a bigger concern for employees in general than pay (Johnson 2011). 3

4 Based on this information, it is clear that in contemporary business, offering employees recognition, benefits and flexibility correlating to Theory Z, is effective to employees and their loyalty to the company. Total Quality Management & Six Sigma The two final theories that we will explore are Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma. Both TQM and Six Sigma are time-tested tools to enhance the quality of products as well as services (Ozyasar 2014). TQM is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s (isixsigma ). TQM is an approach that seeks to improve quality and performance, which will meet or exceed customer expectations. This can be achieved by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company. TQM looks at the overall quality measures used by a company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality assurance. TQM takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and involving all company employees (About.com 2014). In other words, TQM is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company s operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations. (isixsigma 2014) To be successful implementing TQM, an organization must concentrate on the eight key elements: 1. Ethics 2. Integrity 3. Trust 4. Training 5. Teamwork 6. Leadership 7. Recognition 8. Communication (isixsigma 2014) Improving customer service was the focus of two projects within the deployment of TQM in a mid-sized newspaper in India. The newspaper closed its window for booking advertisements at 4 p.m. every day. However, many of the newspaper s advertisers expressed that they would be delighted if this limit could be extended to 5 p.m., as they were not able to send ad materials on time for the 4 p.m. deadline (isixsigma 2014). The TQM leaders formed a team consisting of representatives from each link in the ad-processing chain of work. 4

5 The team attended a two-day quality-mindset program to expose them to the concepts of TQM and also to open their minds about experimenting with change. Together they analyzed the problem, tested some ideas, checked the results, found the root causes and came to a conclusion. Management indicated that the number of credit notes given to advertisers was too high. Credit notes, issued to rectify errors made in sales invoices, were used to fend off considerable customer annoyance. But this system caused trouble for the paper. Besides increasing non-value-added work, credit notes sometimes resulted in financial loss because customers could use the credit toward ads that had already been booked as sales. During the previous 12 months, the newspaper had received 80 credit notes per week. The team agreed to try to reduce that number by 50 percent in Phase 1 (isixsigma 2014). The roots of Six Sigma as a measurement standard can be traced back to Carl Frederick Gauss ( ) who introduced the concept of the normal curve. Six Sigma as a measurement standard in product variation can be traced back to the 1920s when Walter Shewhart showed that three sigma from the mean is the point where a process requires correction (isixsigma). In 1986, Bill Smith, a senior engineer and scientist at Motorola, introduced the concept of Six Sigma to standardize the way defects are counted. It provided Motorola with the key to addressing quality concerns throughout the organization, from manufacturing to support functions (Motorola ). Six Sigma is a process that helps a company focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. The word Sigma is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to "zero defects" as possible. (General Electric Company, 2014) Six Sigma has evolved over time. It s more than just a quality system like TQM. It s a way of doing business. As Geoff Tennant describes in his book Six Sigma: SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services: Six Sigma is many things, and it would perhaps be easier to list all the things that Six Sigma quality is not. Six Sigma can be seen as: a vision; a philosophy; a symbol; a metric; a goal; a methodology. (isixsigma 2014) For example, sometimes, managers find that their firms are not making progress or keeping up with competition as well as they d like, and realize that they have to make some changes in order to keep on top of their market. The problem is, it is difficult to know or predict where exactly to make changes in order to bring forth the best possible results. Six sigma helps gather very extensive data, or statistical information about the firm, analyze it for flaws, and come up with ways of improving the quality of goods and services offered in order to make the company profitable once again. 5

6 In conclusion, TQM is relatively contemporary as it was introduced in the past century. Thus, its elements continue to be relevant in today s management practices due to how old it is. Six Sigma in particular is a very complex management theory that has rapidly changed since it was first introduced as a management approach. Conclusion Though business has changed and developed with technology and consumer interests, many traditional management theories indeed do provide the basis for contemporary entertainment management practice. Theories such as Theory Z are applicable to some, if not all, areas of the modern entertainment industry. The Contingency theory too can be directly applied to the whole industry, whereas TQM and Six Sigma can only be applied to certain branches. Because these theories are not universally transferable, it is essential they undergo a critique by the management team to determine whether they are appropriate for that company or project. 6

7 Bibliography 1. Byrnes, WJ 2008, Management and the Arts, Focal Press, Burlington MA 2. Conjecture Corporation, What is the contingency theory, viewed 16 April 2014, < 3. Workday.com, Donna Kaptain, HR Innovation: An Inside Look at How Sony Brought Five Companies Together on Workday, viewed 15 April, < mpanies_together_on_workday.html> 4. Disney 2014, Working Here: Overview Disney careers, viewed 29 March 2014, < 5. Cable Network News, Disney workers try to get more pay, better benefits, viewed 16 April 2014 < 6. Hearst Newspapers, Jobs incorporate Z Theory, viewed 29 March 2014, < 7. Sociology Index, Z Theory, viewed 29 March 2014 < 8. Hearst Newspapers, Differences between TQM Six Sigma, viewed 29 March 2014 < html> 9. General Electric Company, Companyinfo: Quality: What is, viewed 29 March 2014, < 10. Prenhall, TQM in service companies, viewed 4 April 2014 < TERS/CHAP03/HEAD04.HTM> 7

8 11. isixsigma, TQM Case Study: Newspaper Focuses on Customer Service, viewed 16 April 2014 < 12. Motorola Inc, About Motorola University: The Inventors of Six Sigma, viewed 16 April content/0,,3079,00.html 13. Christiana Johnson's Business Blog, What can be learned from Disney HRM practices?, viewed 16 April 2014 < 8