Traditional Management Styles That Won’t Work Anymore

Some might refer to their ancient management techniques that can be dated back to the dark ages as “oldies but goodies.” What works for your company and sticking with the old system may be the best decision. But with the changes that have been happening overtime, can the same still be said for all situations? You must examine what is still valid. Here are some old management styles that won’t work in today’s world:

Heavy-handed management. History will tell us that infamous dictators have risen to the top. However, history will also tell us that when the people fought back to stop these oppressors, dictators have fared badly. This is the same in a micro-setting like the office. No one likes to be bossed around like a slave. No one deserves to be. This is why today, heavy-handed managers would either end up with an appalling turnover rate, or with a series of labor cases.

Valuing old tools too much. With occasional viruses, data corruption, and system malfunction, it is understandable for some companies to avoid computers in some parts of their operation, and choose the longhand method. However, today, when time is critical, data automation will be your best friend. Software can be configured to automatically compute for values by typing in just a single digit, inventory can automatically be set, and looking for client data just takes a matter of seconds. Fast and organized Traditional management styles that won’t work anymore are just two of the biggest advantages that computerization can bring to your company.

Failing to market effectively over the Internet. The Internet is bigger than any other media today. Now companies compete to get themselves known over the Internet. TV commercials are costly and can only be seen at given times. Those who use newspaper ads have to cross their fingers and hope the readers will notice their ads in the middle of the crowded formatting of the paper. But for the Internet, everything is different. Your ads are live 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and accessible globally. Talk about massive. Companies who don’t see the competitive advantage of effective online marketing will be left beaten down within weeks by their competitors who continuously post cheesy videos and fancy graphics of their company and products over the Internet.

Waging or engaging in price wars alone. Price wars are only effective for companies that provide sought-after products of almost the same quality as their competitors. However, for a company to wage war solely on price is suicide. Remember that your price was not merely made with random guesses and fair market values. Overhead costs, transportation expenses, supplies, and a lot of other things have been taken into account before you got to that amount. Rather than reducing price to compete, why not try differentiating your product, justifying to your consumers the price you have set, and showing that by adding a small amount, they can have something of higher value.

Not providing enough compensation to your MVPs. Your key players either bring the money to the company, make the daily operation run smoothly, or both. You know it and they know it too, so not giving them due credit will get you on their bad side. Your key players work hard and efficiently clock in and out because they want to achieve more, develop their skills, get promoted and get noticed. Will you be that boss who scrimps on their paychecks on the 15th? Once they see that they are holding a dead-end job with a small pay and an apathetic boss, they will soon leave.

What seems to be working today might not work tomorrow. Times change, and so does everything else. With that in mind, you have to be absolutely ready for any transition, both outside and inside the company. “Shape up or ship out,” as they say. For those companies stroking their egos and claiming they already have the perfect system, best of luck when the next trend comes in and completely obliterates their profit.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-4, Sunday, September 7, 2014. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.