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Holistic Management: A Behavioral Theory of Successful Leadership

NCJ Number
111340
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 55 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 86,88
Author(s)
M S Wadia; B Kolender
Date Published
1988
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article presents the various approaches to management, including the holistic approach.
Abstract
The process approach to management, also the traditional or operational school of management, believes that management is a process, made up of certain functions, such as planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling. The emphasis is on the work to be performed. The human relations approach, brought about in the early 1950's, emphasized the 'people' part of management and contributed to the human side of administration. The concept of the managerial grid combined the work and people variables to test managers on whether they were task-oriented or people-oriented. The behavioral approach emphasized the environment or the workplace. Holistic management, combining these various approaches, defines management as a goal-oriented activity that involves establishing a proper relationship among work, people, and the workplace. The conceptual scheme attempts to synthesize knowledge from the various schools of management as well as the behavioral sciences. The holistic approach recognizes that in order to achieve satisfaction, an individual must feel like a member of a winning team, as well as a major contributor to its success. This is especially true of police officers. High motivation exists where managers practice participative management, group rewards and punishment, and management by objectives. There are three levels of goals: establishing a proper equilibrium between efficiency and economy, survival goals (prevention of crime), and suboptimization goals (fulfilling EEO requirements). Goal achievement is the responsibility of management and must be communicated to subordinates and throughout the organization.