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Question: Discuss about theManagement Principles for DGL International. Answer: Introduction DGL International is a manufacturing company that deals with the manufacture of refinery equipment. Over the previous years, the company has experienced a lag in the technical service department as it has been seen to be nonproductive despite the fact that they are the most educated and highly paid. The management hired a new manager who was to head the department, and his aim was to turn it around. John Terrill first step was to identify where the problem was so that to be able to know the way and strategies to use in the changing the department into a productive one. After a meeting with the engineers, he was able to come up with possible reasons that were making the engineers not be in the position to produce results (McGrath, Bates, 2013). The fact that the engineers spent most of their time writing reports to the top management they had no time to work on their daily activities that they were hired to do and the reports were not being read at all. The reason as to why the depar tment was poorly performing was also of the idea of being pushed to doing what they were not hired to do. The top management was always on their back pushing for results that were not being worked for. The department was also seen to lack a manager that would be representing them and their problems. Key Management Challenges The management of DGL International has been in the position to source for highly qualified employees so that they can be productive to the company. The company has also been able to ensure that the employees hired are compensated and paid off well so that to ensure their well-being at the enterprise. The companys management has been able to make sure that the welfare of its employees is taken care of adequately but they forgot to also touch on the key areas of the company. Over the years the company has also been seen to face challenges and problems in their daily operations. All this saw the company be in the position to lag behind in some of their activities and departments. The fact that the top management will have to ask for a report from the departments so as to monitor their progress, the managers have not been in the position to read and review them. If the top management does not read the reports that are provided by the departments they will not be able to know and identify the reason as to why a certain department is not productive. The top management is always seen to be pushing and complaining about the technical service department, and they have not been able to find out the reason as to why the department is not productive. The top management is seen to be ignorant and less concerned with whatever takes place in the departments. The fact that the management will have to hire highly qualified employees to their company, it is seen that the company will not be in the position to assign them to their specified job and also be able to monitor them. The employees will find themselves working on other different activities that will prevent them fr om working on their jobs. The company has been seen to have a problem with their top management. This is in the sense that the top management will be seen to be in the position to control everything without the help of ground supervisors. The flow of information will at thus be affected a great deal as the chain of command and information will not be in place (Adetule, 2011). Employees will have to be dealing directly with the top managers, an act that is not healthy for an organization or company. The technical service has been seen to operate without a manager who represented them, and this made the engineers deal directly with the top managers. The top managers were not interested to know and monitor what was happening in the department as they had no time for the department. Case Analysis Systems Theory DGL International Companys technical service unit seems be have been inactive over the years. The company was not in the position to act the moment they realized that the department was not performing. The management failed to use the systems theory in their management processes (Wallis, 2010). Systems theory is a theory that has proved to have ability to help the manager to identify and understand all the systems in the organization that affects their productivity. The theory help managers to connect all the systems by ensuring that information is relayed from one point to the other without existing barrier (Jackson, 2000). The top management of DGL International failed to connect all the systems in their organization that would have helped them identify the problem in the technical department. The company had to hire a new manager who would lead the department and ensure that it is in the position to produce results. John Terrill was able to use the system theory by making sure that he linked all the empty gaps in the department (Birolini, 2001). He was able to identify the kind of system that was being used in the company that was not conversant with the employees. He was able to use the system theory that the employees were comfortable with and also that made the employees feel free and share information (Skyttner, 2001). He was also able to connect activities and ensured that their operations were smooth and each one of them was able to depend on the other for one reason or the other. Chaos Theory This is a management theory that focuses on change in the organization widely. Change at times is to be rigid but at the same time seen to be inevitable (Hodge, 2010). There are some activities and ideas in an organization that cannot be changed or done differently as they are used to be done. Chaos theory explains that every organization has got their ways in which they operate and so this will have to determine what kind of activity or rule will have to be changed. Despite the fact that some ideas and activities in the company cannot be modified, but when it comes at a point where the rule has to be changed for the benefit of the company, there will be no reason but to change it. John Terrill was in the position to exercise chaos theory when the management hired him. He was able to scrutinize the technical department in a way that he was able to come up with the strategies and the norms that were making the department lag behind (Fairholm, Fairholm, 2009). Despite the fact that changing the way the companys technical department was operating was in a way difficult, he was able to change the operations gradually. The fact that the engineers were preparing and writing reports in triple copies, he was able to try and change the culture. The change was able to ensure that the engineers were in the position to carry out the duties that they were hired to do. This change was able to create ample time for the engineers, and so they were able to produce results as they had time to work on the companies technicalities. Chaos theory helped John change the culture of the department and took it to appoint that it was supposed to be (Nohria, Khurana, Anand, 2010). The e ngineers were seen to be happy as they were now doing what they were hired for, compared with the first time they used to spend most of their time writing reports that were even not being read and reviewed. Contingency Theory Contingency theory is a theory that managers use to deal with situation at hand rather than generalizing every situation to represent the rest. The theory has also been seen to be able to help managers identify a problem that affects a certain department and be able to deal with it separately and accordingly (Witzel, Warner, 2013). The theory has also been seen to help the management when it comes to the point of determining the most efficient project to be chosen from the many that have been presented. A manager will have to be able to ensure that he will be able to carefully scrutinize a project and be able to identify strengths and weaknesses of the project and their effects on the company. The process will have to ensure that the specific problems that affect the project and the company will have to be dealt with accordingly so that to avoid further damage to the other departments. Contingency theory is one essential theory that a manager will have to ensure that they use to man age their company efficiently. DGL International management failed to use contingency theory in managing the company actively. The technical service department was seen to be poorly performing in the previous months which were to raise the alarm to the management, but it did not. The department continued to post poor results, but the management was seen to assume that the department will soon pick up as it has the most educated and highest paid employees. The administration failed to recognize the impending threat that was originating from the department, and so they did not act towards it. The situation worsened, and so this made the management to hire John Terrill to lead the department and change the operations (Barnes, 2002). John was in the position to deal with each particular problem that affected the performance of the department. He was able to ensure that the engineers had enough time to perform their duties by making sure that the daily reports that they wrote were only done once a month. He was also ab le to ensure that the top management was out of the engineers backs so that to make them ease and relaxed while partaking their duties. The move was able to ensure that the department was able to get back on track and started to produce results as expected (Morrison, 2000). The performance was realized as the factors that acted as a hindrance to the department had been relieved. Recommendations DGL International should be in the position to ensure that all the managers work together and can exercise the best management skills in managing the companys operations (Cole, 2004). The technical service department should be in the position to be left independent from the top management (Northouse, 2013). This is to ensure that the engineers work with ease and be able to produce results when they are settled and also work without being pressed. The companys top management should be in the position to ensure that the welfare of the employees is catered for and the employees are free from activities that will make them work under pressure. The fact that the management will be in need of reports from the departments, it should not be in the position to exploit the employees by expecting daily reports that are not reviewed at all. Conclusion In conclusion, management theories are important to any company or organization's management (Kazmi, 2002). Any management should be in the position to ensure that they exercise more than one theory and exercise it adequately. This will have to make the organization be run smoothly and without any hardship. The theories will also help the companys management be able to portray the best character that will have to ensure that the set goals and targets are achieved. The organization's employees will also be favored in the sense that they will be comfortable as the management has also considered their perspective. The theories should be well studied by the managers so that to ensure they exercise them adequately in the companies. References Adetule, J. (2011).Handbook on management theories. Bloomington: Author House. Barnes, S. (2002).Knowledge management systems: theory and practice. Australia London: Thomson Learning. Birolini, A. (2001).Quality and Reliability of Technical Systems: Theory - Practice - Management. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Cole, G. (2004).Management theory and practice. London: Thomson Learning. Fairholm, M. Fairholm, G. (2009).Understanding leadership perspectives: theoretical and practical approaches. New York: Springer. Hodge, B. 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