In a short essay, differentiate between the symbolic view and the omnipotent view of management. Include specific examples of each view to support your answer.

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The Answer is a. In the omnipotent view, differences in an organization's performance are assumed to be due to decisions and actions of its managers. Good managers anticipate change, exploit opportunities, correct poor performance, and lead their organizations. When things go well and profits are up, managers take the credit and are rewarded-even if they had little to do with achieving the positive outcomes. When profits are down, top managers are often fired in the belief that "new blood" will bring improved results. Coaches are often released following a poor season as they are considered the "managers" of their teams.
b. The symbolic view holds that a manager's ability to affect performance outcomes is influenced and constrained by external factors. According to this view, it's unreasonable to expect managers to significantly affect an organization's performance. Instead, performance is influenced by factors over which managers have little control such as the economy, customers, governmental policies, competitors' actions, industry conditions, and decisions made by previous managers. This view is labeled "symbolic" because it's based on the belief that managers symbolize control and influence by developing plans, making decisions, and engaging in other managerial activities to make sense out of random, confusing, and ambiguous situations. However, the actual part that managers play in organizational success or failure is limited.
In the 1990s Cisco Systems was the picture of success. Growing rapidly, it was widely praised by analysts for its "brilliant strategy, masterful management of acquisitions and superb customer focus." As Cisco's performance declined during the early part of the 21st century, analysts said that its strategy was flawed, its acquisition approach was haphazard, and its customer service was poor. The symbolic view would suggest that declining performance was due to the external circumstances beyond the control of the managers.

In a Short Essay, Differentiate Between the Symbolic View and the Omnipotent