Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
Management by Walking Around is a relatively new management philosophy, which
was probably first mentioned in the literature by Peters & Waterman (1982) in their
book In Search of Excellence. This II... blinding flash of the obvious...11 (Peters &
Austin, 1985:3) is a management philosophy which advises the manager to spend at
least 25 percent of his time outside the office.
The manager must not wait for the customers and subordinates to visit him, nor must
the manager summon them to his office. The manager must go out and visit the
workers at the workplace, be interested in what the workers are doing and listen to
what the workers have to say. The manager must also visit the customers on a
regular basis and pay attention to what they have to say. The customer is king and
the customer's wishes and desires should be taken seriously. After all, the customer
is the reason why the company exists.
Management by Walking Around (MBWA) can not be fully understood without paying
attention to surrounding management factors. Such factors include organisation
culture, motivation theories and other management theories, including Management
by Objectives, particitive management and visionary management.
Several articles have been written about MBWA in the U.S.A. and some other
countries, but very little has been written about MBWA in South-Africa as yet. MBWA
however, is very much applicable in the current South-African environment. With all
the major changes following the political transformation in South-Africa in 1994,
opportunities are available to implement MBWA in the culture of South-African
companies.
Correctly applied,Management by Walking Around is a relatively new management philosophy, which
was probably first mentioned in the literature by Peters & Waterman (1982) in their
book In Search of Excellence. This II... blinding flash of the obvious...11 (Peters &
Austin, 1985:3) is a management philosophy which advises the manager to spend at
least 25 percent of his time outside the office.
The manager must not wait for the customers and subordinates to visit him, nor must
the manager summon them to his office. The manager must go out and visit the
workers at the workplace, be interested in what the workers are doing and listen to
what the workers have to say. The manager must also visit the customers on a
regular basis and pay attention to what they have to say. The customer is king and
the customer's wishes and desires should be taken seriously. After all, the customer
is the reason why the company exists.
Management by Walking Around (MBWA) can not be fully understood without paying
attention to surrounding management factors. Such factors include organisation
culture, motivation theories and other management theories, including Management
by Objectives, particitive management and visionary management.
Several articles have been written about MBWA in the U.S.A. and some other
countries, but very little has been written about MBWA in South-Africa as yet. MBWA
however, is very much applicable in the current South-African environment. With all
the major changes following the political transformation in South-Africa in 1994,
opportunities are available to implement MBWA in the culture of South-African
companies.
Correctly applied,MBWA can be a great asset to each leader, manager and company in South-Africa