Management by Walking Around (MBWA): Stress for employees or boost for productivity?

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends & family for support they provided & their belief in me as well as guidance they provided without which I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, (), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI

DECLARATIONII

Outline of the Study1

Background of the Study1

Advantages of Management by Walking Around4

Achieving Strategic Fit through MBWA: Boost for Employees12

Leadership through Management by Walking Around13

Theoretical Framework16

Aims and Objectives18

Research Questions19

Significance of the Study19

Ethical Considerations21

Time Scale21

REFERENCES23

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Outline of the Study

This dissertation is based on the topic of Management by walking around (MBWA): Stress for employees or boost for productivity. The first chapter provides an introduction to the topic including the background aims and objectives, and research questions of the study. The second chapter presents a review of relevant literature, highlighting the previous research carried out in this field. It provides a study of previous work which was carried out in related fields and gives specific research related to a wide spectrum of thought on the topic of Management by walking around. The third chapter covers the methodology for this study. The analysis of findings and discussion will be presented in the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter will conclude the dissertation, providing implications and useful recommendations for further research.

Background of the Study

Managing by walking around was popularized by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in the early 1980s because it was felt that managers were becoming isolated from their subordinates. At Hewlett-Packard, where the approach was practiced from

1973, executives were encouraged to know their people, understand their work, and make themselves more visible and accessible. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard's business philosophy centred on deep respect for people and acknowledgment of their built-in desire to do a good job, had evolved into informal, decentralized management and relaxed, collegial communication styles. According to Luria & Morag (2012), management by walking around has been one of the most effective management technique. Several successful organizations like Hewlett-Packard Company have used management by walking around to enhance its productivity and efficiency. The early adopters of management by walking around have been organizations like NASA. The effectiveness of management by walking around can be explained in terms of excellence in organizational systems, processes and human resource management.

Avey et al (2011) highlighted that from simple morale booster, MBWA developed into a technique for checking with teams about the status of work in progress, by walking around a workplace, or workplaces, in an impromptu way. The concept of management by walking around enables the management to have better and immediate understanding of the ongoing ...