training techniques. Sociology – Sociology is the study of people in relation to their fellow human beings. What are some of the sociological issues that have relevance to managers? Here are a few.
How are societal changes such as globalisation, increasing cultural diversity, changing gender roles, and varying forms of family life affecting organisational practices? What are the implications of schooling practices and education trends on future employees’ skills and abilities? Answers to questions such as these have a major effect on how managers operate their businesses. Source: Fundamentals of Management Stephen P.
Robbins David A. DeCenzo Some Interesting Cross-disciplinary Perspectives (i) Systematised body of knowledge : Science is a systematic body of knowledge. Its principles are based on a cause and effect relationship. For example, the phenomenon of an apple falling from a tree towards the ground is explained by the law of gravity.
(ii) Principles based on experimen- tation: Scientific principles are first developed through observation then tested through repeated experimentation under controlled conditions. (iii) Universal validity: Scientific principles have universal validity and application. Based on the above features, we can say that management has some characteristics of science. (i) Management has a systematised body of knowledge.
It has its own theory and principles that have developed over a period of time, but it also draws on other disciplines such as Economics, Sociology, Psychology and Mathematics. Like all other organised activity, management has its own vocabulary of terms and concepts. For example, all of us discuss sports like cricket and soccer using a common vocabulary. The players also use these terms to communicate with each other.
Similarly managers need to communicate with one another with the help of a common vocabulary for a better understanding of their work situation. (ii) The principles of management have evolved over period time based on repeated experimentation and observation in different types of organisations. However, since management deals with human beings and human behaviour, the outcomes of these experiments are not capable being accurately predicted or replicated. Therefore, management can be called an inexact science.
Despite these limitations, management scholars have