A Gradualist's Approach to Management

Abstract

Management philosophies and various approaches to applying these philosophies are described. To achieve organizational continuity, it is important to reduce conflict to a minimum. To do this, the goals of the firm and the goals of the individual should parallel each other; benefits in money and satisfaction should be as equally distributed as possible; and perks should be relatively uniform. Special programs, such as programs that spread ownership to fulltime employees and provide for mandatory sale of stock back to the company at age 65 are effective motivators. Efforts should be made to develop the kinds of work people want to do in locations where they want to be. Although many management consultants believe that bonus systems are demotivators, in a professional services firm with an open management style, in which all employees are continually advised of the operating data, a bonus system can be an important motivator. Long‐range strategic planning should grow with the company. Both planning successes and planning failures should be expected.