Line Authority and Management - Essay Example

Introduction: 'Management' can be defined in various terms. In a nutshell management can be defined as the art of getting certain tasks done by individuals. It is deemed as the achievement of objectives through the most efficient utilization of resources. With specific reference to organizations it can be defined as the achievement of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner, by planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources. 'Authority' is the ability to exercise and influence objects, individuals and situations. Weber, the German sociologist believed in as a fact that authority was derived from tradition. The modern view of authority is that acceptance is a must if a communication is to carry authority. The authority of a superior is believed to be more acceptable if the individual is respected .Observing large organizations; three kinds of authority come into observation: Line Authority: being a direct form of authority. This involves the right of delegating orders and also making sure that certain decisions are implemented. Hence, all superiors possess line authority over their subordinates who constitute into their team or departments. This is a characteristic of the scalar chain of command and runs from the top to the bottom of an organization. Production managers are the Line managers, who are responsible for the work of the production department, Staff Authority: this kind of authority does not provide the right to command and Functional Authority: this kind of an authority gives the individuals the right to give orders in a department other than yours. The line manager in this case is the one who delegates authority to a specialist to carry out certain tasks. The line and staff organizational structures combine line managers with a specialist staff which provides advice at the highest level. The line manager has direct authority. This line manager contributes to the production of goods and services. First Line Managers: Are considered a very vital part of any organization. Their performance and quality, efficiency and competency help organizations create and maintain a significant difference within its production and performance. These managers have to also manage teams and groups of individuals who have complex problems. To manage such a diversified range of teams of individuals, it requires these first line managers to possess certain varied skills for managing the staff as well as ensuring smooth flow of information through out the organization. There are certain set of responsibilities that the Line managers have towards the organizations they serve. The foremost, being able to manage the task and activities of the organization, they play a vital role in the determination and maintenance of standards of practise. They need to be very supportive towards their staff to ensure their continual involvement in knowledge based learning. The line managers have two major genres that they are looking into, daily contact with the staff ensuring direct practise, and in the wider picture contributing towards the strategic development of the organization. These line managers operate in a very sensitive environment as; they are also responsible for managing groups of staff with severe anxieties, career and personality depressions. The tasks further include; delegating to the staff as to what is expected of them and how their job and performance affects the bigger picture. The Line managers need to lead by setting examples and thus they need to provide their staff with honest yet constructive criticism and feedback on their performances and attitudes. They need to be honest with their staff. They need to plan the efficient and effective use of the organizations resources by the hands of the staff. They further need to support and train their staff to develop in them the competencies required to achieve the targets, both in the short term and the long term. The other major responsibility of line managers is to ensure that a working environment of dignity is promoted .It is the duty of Line managers, to prevent and eradicate any present forms of inappropriate behaviour existing. Once, if incidents do occur these line managers bare the responsibility of implementing action plans to stop such behaviours. Clear communication and delegation, is another vital responsibility a line manager should possess. The tasks need to be clarified by these managers to their staff. The line managers then need to keep a check on how the jobs assigned to the staff are being carried out. In this process they need to regularize the practise of maintaining an active feedback of their clients and service users. The line managers have the important task of managing the information provided to them by the management on workload distribution and balance, also on the effective deployment of resources. Specifying resources, budgeting, aiding staff in identifying other external resources. Along with, the specific supervision and development of strategies, monitoring performance. The management of innovation and change, in skills and knowledge, development of service and re organization .These line managers need to work with other agencies and services to achieve organizational objectives, continuously observing the task and the staff performance. Seeking feedback from, staff, agencies, management, service users , and conveying back to them with the feedback in order to let them improve .Hence , giving place to positive and constructive criticism , in order to achieve the organizational goals. Line managers can make their supervision effective by encouraging team participation, team meetings and team leadership. Both individual and group supervisions are a vital part of the First Line manager's job. The team development practise should focus primarily on making the group realize their 'group responsibility', the infrastructure, the present performance, how the staff can work towards improving it. It is the first line manager's job to convince the team that collective efforts can produce better results and thus the team being one in terms of goals and aims, and how they are to be achieved is a necessity. As a First Line manager is the leader of his team, the manager needs to be responsible for setting up and implementation of standards in practise. Arguments: Reviewing the above paragraphs bring us to a point where all of us individually feel there are a lot of arguments. A First Line Manager, functions and responsibilities. Some of the arguments the following paragraphs will entail. We need to fore mostly identify the difference between frontline managers and senior management. There exists a big dissection between Line managers and senior managers. The Front line managers are presumed to view themselves as distinct from the senior managers, and are thus believed to be unable to identify with the goals of the employer. It is also presumed that the first line managers feel that they might have been able to come out of the working class but yet they are not completely accepted into the management class. The role of senior managers being that of conceptualisation, leadership, resources and assessment .This includes the responsibility of establishing policies and Standards of practices which facilitate a flexible organization workplace. Also making sure that all the line managers are fulfilling their due responsibilities. In short, establishing management philosophy and objectives, forecasting and goal setting, planning for intermediate and long range, policy formulation, resources investment, and representation are senior management's responsibilities. The role of a Line manager on the other hand is promotion of a flexible, workplace for their staff. Also making them aware of the policies of senior management and making sure that they are implemented. Production , reporting and employee training , which include work assignments , measurement of results , technical direction of work, standards of performance , systems and procedures , work improvement measures , employee discipline and morale , cost control and economies , motivation and development of employees all constitute the responsibilities of Line managers . The difference between the two is majorly of the span of control. The lower we go in the hierarchical structure the more specialised the job becomes. Wherein, there exist some other arguments. One of which is that Line managers suffer work overload .First line managers follow their senior managers in delegation of priorities irrespective of what the formal mission statement contains . The heavier the work load gets for the Line managers the harder it is for them to satisfy senior management objectives. Main Argument: Line managers are increasingly called upon to deliver and implement equality and diversity strategies in organizations. Discuss and identify the supports and training required by line managers to effectively perform this function. 'Line managers find themselves increasingly called upon to deliver equality and diversity strategies but there is little evidence that they are receiving the support or training needed to undertake these tasks. In such cases they are likely to view equality and diversity as marginal activities and to take a reactive stance, concentrating solely on minimal compliance rather than the positive outcomes that could accrue from a proactive approach. There is evidence that diverse work groups can be a source of creativity and innovation within organizations. However, they require active management if they are to work successfully. In this regard, the role played by line managers is once again crucial' (Monks July 2007). 'The evidence regarding the relationship between equality and diversity initiatives and organisational performance suggests that organisations perceive performance outcomes from investment in such initiatives in four inter-related areas: Human capital benefits such as the ability to resolve labor shortages and recruit and retain high caliber staff increased market opportunities with access to more diverse markets Enhancement of organizational reputation to suppliers, customers and prospective and existing employees Changes to organisational culture such as improved working relations and reductions in litigation.' (Monks July 2007) It has also been proved by researches that managing equality and diversity by line managers for organizational performance entails the following facts: organizations are believed to have a wide range of tools that these organizations might use in order to evaluate the impact of diversity on the performance of the business .A lot of studies have been conducted on companies which are engaging in equality and diversity initiatives, these studies identify the following factors as very critical to their success . The support and commitment of the top managements of companies herein the leaders should demonstrate the vitality of equality and diversity. By incorporating equality and diversity within the visions of the company so to make sure that it evolves into a core activity. Also, integration of these concepts into the company's objectives is vital. The companies should be able to assess and determine the needs of their organizations so that they can tailor the management of diversity to those needs. Those individuals who are involved in the process of implementation of equality and diversity must possess the authority to initiate, implement and influence this specific organizational change. Training is required for the first line managers to implement these equality and diversity strategies within organizations. This training is required for various numbers of reasons, some being: developing and creating awareness in regards to skills of equality and diversity. This training should be carried out in order to gain the understanding and the support of the staff and diverse teams. This training further involves employees in designing and structuring equality and diversity policies and also their implementations. Also these training sessions to the front line managers will ensure that the equality and the diversity policies which are being structured are in context to the human resource policies of the organization. The organizational change programs should entail initiatives of equality and diversity. Further, the integration of equality and the diversity strategies within the culture of an organization will ensure the benefits to be gained. 'If equality and diversity initiatives are to be successful, they cannot be introduced as stand-alone policies and practices that are left to either a human resource department or line managers to implement'. Such an approach is best described by Benschop (2001: 1179). Definition proposed by Gagnon and Cornelius (2002: 36) as: An approach to workplace equality [that] draws its distinctiveness largely from its focus on equality through 'difference' rather than 'sameness'. 'The benefits of diversity training People from all protected groups are part of the higher education community, both in work and in study. Newly enshrined legal rights in terms of disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age are being reflected in work and study environments: people are increasingly likely to feel comfortable about disclosing impairment, practicing their faith openly and discussing their sexual orientation - all giving rise to a more explicitly diverse community. Diversity training has the scope to be more than an overview of the legislation applying to individual equality strands, and can be based around the approach individual institutions have adopted or are exploring in relation to diversity. A holistic approach to diversity is easier to link to an institution's vision and values. For example, emphasis can be placed on encouraging positive action, promoting an inclusive community, and empowerment. Training to help manage diverse groups of people will be useful to HR staff, departmental managers and other staff who manage or facilitate groups, such as academic staff. Internal HR tools such as flexible working and retirement policies can complement training in this area, as can tools to embed diversity into teaching and learning'.( Robyn Challis -October 2006). Types of training required: Single-stranded training: They can be offered as awareness training or as equality training. There is often a collision of ideas between the two models. Traditional awareness training tends to focus on an individual's situation, for example seeing race or disability in terms of personal issues or problems. Whereas, equality training recognizes that institutional structures can be discriminatory and they only reflect the interests of majority groups, or minority groups who have traditionally held power in society. Equality training helps line managers develop focus on ensuring that people from all groups are provided with equal opportunities of participation and success in employment. First line managers should spend more of their time in analyzing and working on their individual interpersonal skills, facilitating skills, and the skill to expand the team member capabilities. First line managers can do so by using the ZM modules designed especially for them. This kind of training helps in evolving managers into better facilitators. Process Improvement Projects are another highlight to such kinds of training which provide a pathway for these managers to develop skills and capability within the team members, in future times of need. Cross training, on the other hand, provides an opportunity to the first line managers to qualify on the basis of seniority for new job skills. This, in turn, has been observed to increase job-satisfaction amongst the team members; which is one of the major aims of the first line managers. These first line managers can also conduct training sessions amongst themselves, wherein they would be able to interact and listen to each others' views and suggestions on various issues regarding the achievement of goals and targets. More effective teams and team-facilitators are expected out of these training sessions, making them better organized. Conclusion: 'Diversity in the workforce has become a key issue for many organizations in the 21st century. The changing nature of society in both the Anglo-Saxon and non-Anglo-Saxon worlds has forced organizations to rethink their approach to diversity practice. Where should we position our organizations in the multicultural pattern of our existing and potential workforce The diverse nature of the markets where we compete (and source ideas and materials) forces us to recognize the importance of having a broad range of managerial and technical skills that is reinforced by diversity. With the shortage of talent in the knowledge-based society becoming ever more problematic, we are forced to rethink the wisdom of looking only amongst those who match our customary norms. To advance, we have to recognize that we must embrace multiculturalism and diversity in our management structures in a manner greater than ever imagined'.(Fuller August 2004) Diversity is a reality in labour and customer markets today. To be successful with and gaining value from this diversity requires a sustained, systemic approach and long-term commitment. Success is facilitated by a perspective that considers diversity to be an opportunity for everyone in the organisation to learn from each other how better to accomplish their work and an occasion that requires a supportive and cooperative organisational culture as well as group leadership and process skills that can Facilitate effective group functioning. Organisations that invest their resources in taking Advantage of the opportunities that diversity offers should outperform those that fail to make such investments' (Monks July 2007). Hence, the first line managers do require comprehensive training in order to prepare them for ways to implement equality and diversity strategies within their organizations. These first line managers, also require support from their senior management. Although, there exists a gap between the senior management and the first line managers with regards to their span of control, yet their existences within an organization compliment each other. The world today is evolving into a global village which is why organizations all over the world are in a continuous flux of structuring and restructuring their organizations at various levels. The above paragraphs have specifically discussed how line managers can and should implement equality and diversity strategies within their organizations. Though, it does seem that the first line managers face major workload and a major chunk of the organizational goal achievement strategy; but yet it is a fact that the senior managements at all these organizations are the major thinking and controlling heads of these new avenues. First line managers are a very vital part to all kinds of organizations. They have the most important job of creating, structuring, managing, modeling, and controlling varied groups of individuals within the organizations. It is a very challenging job as it is not easy to deal with such diversified individuals. These first line managers' further need to possess high people-skills and an in-depth knowledge of the organizations' aims and goals in the short and the long run. Reference List: Equality Authority: 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for all - A National Strategy for Ireland. Dublin: Equality Authority. Kirton, G. and Greene, A., (2005): The dynamics of Managing Diversity, 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. The PAUSE Scholarship Foundation, Report by Emma Meurling 2004 Diversity as a business opportunity Long Range Planning 37/4 August 2004, Charles Baden - Fuller, Editorial (http://www.lrp.ac/pastissues/37_4_august_2004.html) Monks, K. (2007): The Business Impact of Equality and Diversity, Dublin: Equality Authority. Robyn Challis, Senior Policy Officer - Disability, Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) (The above mentioned is a report published by the disability equality challenge unit ) Read More