What makes managers effective with people in the workplace today - Essay Example

?Table of contents 0 Introduction 2 2.0 Evaluation of ‘managing people’ challenges facing managers during the contemporary business environment 2 2.1 Resistance to change 3 2.2 Conflicts 3 3.0 Appropriate ways of dealing with ‘people management’ challenges 4 3.1 Effective communication 4 3.2 Motivation 4 3.3 Culture approach 5 3.4 Human resources development 5 4.0 Evaluation of the practical value of management self development 6 4 1 The skills evaluation and development questionnaire 6 4.2 Belbin’s team roles 7 4.3 Organisational learning 7 4.4 Reflection of interpersonal teamwork skills in class 7 5.0 Conclusion 8 6.0 Bibliography 9 Appendix 1 Interview with manager 10 1.0 Introduction Schultz et al (2005, p. 9) define management as “the process of working with and through others to achieve organisational objectives in an efficient and ethical manner.” Successful managers must be able to create new visions for the organisation and sell new directions of work to the employees. In this regard, effective managers are team players who function in an environment that is characterized by changing economic circumstances, rapid technological advances as well as changes in politics which are often challenges to conducting business (Gordon, 2002 as cited in Shultz 2005, p. 10). It can be noted that the 21st century workplace is undergoing immense and permanent changes hence efficiency and flexibility are demanded of organisations, teams have become important whereas participative management and empowerment have become central to effective management of people (Swanepoel, 1998). As such, this report seeks to explore the factors that make managers effective with people in the workplace every day. The report is divided into four sections which include the following: The first part addresses the challenges to managers of managing people during the contemporary business environment. Theoretical perspectives related to this subject area as well as excerpts of an interview with Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini, General Manager of ET-CPAs will be used in discussion of this section. The third section is concerned with a critical evaluation based on the information derived from the interview with the Manager of appropriate ways of dealing with ‘people management challenges’ through effective workplace relationships. This will also include practical examples of effective problem evaluation and resolution through the use of ‘people management’ skills in action. The fourth section specifically deals with evaluating the practical value of management self development. This includes an evaluation of personal ‘people skills’ strengths and weaknesses based on ELLI, the skills evaluation and development questionnaire, the emotional intelligence questionnaire, The Belbin teamwork, on-line questionnaire as well as a critical reflection of interpersonal/teamwork skills in class. The fifth section will deal with conclusions and a brief reflective summary highlighting the lessons learnt from writing the report. 2.0 Evaluation of ‘managing people’ challenges facing managers during the contemporary business environment During the contemporary period, it can be noted that one of the most challenging roles faced by the managers is to manage an organisation that is undergoing a major change process. The business environment in which the organisations are operating is dynamic and constantly changing hence the need for the managers to identify different ways of managing change (Swanepoel, 1998). The way these organisational changes are managed will play a crucial role in the extent to which organisations remain competitive and successful. In this case, the leader plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the organisation undergoing a change process. As such, it is important to highlight some of the roles played by the manager as well as the challenges that may be encountered in managing change. Change is about transition by the organisation from its current strategy and operations in order to move the organisation forward so as to be able to gain a competitive advantage (Amos et al 2008). Each organisation is mainly concerned with achieving set organisational goals hence the need to implement change in order to keep pace with the change factors in the environment. Winning companies always anticipate change and they put effective measures in place to positively act to it. However, this is a challenging task since it is a process that can be affected by different negative perceptions held by the employees. 2.1 Resistance to change Some of the best documented findings in studies of organisational change relate to the existence of individual and organisational sources of resistance to change (Carell et al 1995, Swanepoel, 1998 & Schultz et al 2005). Resistance to change is usually a result of employees lacking the basic understanding of the change initiative which can cause them to be skeptical about it as a result of fear of the unknown circumstances. Where the employees are not aware of the benefits of change, there are likely chances that they will resist it. Some of the employees may resist change because they are afraid of losing their job positions. In an interview conducted with Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini, General Manager of ET-CPAs, it can be noted that resistance to change is the major challenge that is faced by managers in managing people during the contemporary business environment. He said the greatest challenge he faced was introducing the automation concept whereby there will be a shift from manual processing of information and data to electronic format. He indicated that this is a very sensitive project which requires focus and high skills to manage people to accept the change gradually. The manager also said that he encountered some indirect resistance while implementing the accounting applications software and electronic messaging systems (emails) since the users did not refuse to use it but they constantly asked the feasibility and applicability of using such software. The manager therefore, needs great skills in communication in order to be able to convince the employees in the organisations about the benefits of the new change initiative. 2.2 Conflicts A conflict is a disagreement between people with different opinions, values or interests (Kleynhans, 2007). In as far as implementing change is concerned, there are likely to be some misunderstandings as well as disagreements over the change initiative and this has far reaching consequences on the overall performance of the employees. For instance, the manger interviewed said that he encountered some misunderstandings among the workers though they did not totally reject the initiative. This is another major challenge that can affect the managers in managing people through the implementation of the change process. Thus, there is need for concerted efforts to positively influence the behaviour of the employees towards the change initiative. If the employees lack common understanding of the change initiative, there are likely to be cases of conflicts and this can affect their morale as well as overall performance which will be detrimental to the organisation. In some cases, lack of trust among the employees about their managers can negatively impact on the implementation process of a major change in the organisation. For instance, powerful people within the organisation may implement changes that are meant to benefit only few people and this can cause conflicts. 3.0 Appropriate ways of dealing with ‘people management’ challenges Effective management of change can be achieved through effective communication, motivation of employees, constant human resources development (HRD) through training as well as utilizing the culture approach to management. The effective manager does the right thing by using personal influence (Werner, 2007). As going to be discussed below, the manager ought to be able to positively influence the employees within the organisation to work towards the attainment of the desired change initiative. 3.1 Effective communication No organisation can function properly without communication. In as far as change in an organisation is concerned, the managers ought to communicate effectively with all members of the organisation and they should possess good interpersonal communication skills. According to Kritzinger, Bowler and Goliath (2003), interpersonal communication is mainly concerned with linking two or more people directly in a face to face situation where they can freely express their ideas and this is a viable tool in implementing change in an organisation. In this case, interaction with all the members of the organisation entails that the manager shares his vision for the organisation with all the employees and they are in a position to freely exchange information. If the manager communicates effectively, there will be high chances of understanding each other between him and the employees. As noted in the interview with Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini, communication forms the backbone of successful implementation of a change program. He said that as a manager, there is need to be a good listener while being impartial at the same time. He said that there is need to establish an open communication channel in the organisation so that there is feedback from both ends. As such, it is very important for the change agent within the organisation to create an environment that will enable the involvement of all the members of the organisation in the change process in order to create mutual understanding among them as well as to develop a sense of belonging to the organisation. 3.2 Motivation Basically, motivation is the enthusiasm employees have for their jobs and factors which influence them about how hard they may try to do the job (Armstrong, 1999). It is the duty of the manger to persuade and inspire the employees to do the job and a reward system should be put in place to honor excellence performance by the employees. Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini said that he introduced some rewards for fast adaptation. Whilst there are many motivators that can motivate the employees, financial gains are seen as the most effective method of positively influencing the employees to adapt to the change program. Someone who is demoralized is not happy to comply with the dictates of the change process initiated by the mangers. Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini also said that he motivates his employees by demonstrating the change strategies to prove that it works whilst the employees are given ample time to adapt to the new system before it is fully implemented. When the employees understand each other mutually, chances of them to be motivated will be very high and this also requires the manager to be exemplary by promoting interaction which removes the barriers to effective communication which can hamper effective communication. 3.3 Culture approach Rosouw (2003) describes organisational culture as a system of shared actions, values and beliefs that develop within an organisation and guide its members’ behaviour. In this regard, the culture excellence approach is ideal for an organisation that is undergoing a major change. In order to enhance cohesion within the organisation, it is very important for the managers to create a culture that allows the members of the organisation to contribute towards the decision making process. Brand (1998), suggests that innovative and supportive culture play a big role in encouraging better performance while controlling and directive culture can hamper effective implementation of the change program. Effective management of change can be achieved where the culture of the organisation is integrative and the individual values are given priority whereby all the change initiatives are expected to incorporate the different values of the organisation. Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini said the organisational structure of the company he is managing is decentralised and this enables all the members of it to be part of the decision making process. Organisational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped and coordinated (Robbins, Odendaal & Roodt, 2001). He said that this structure allows him to brainstorm some of the important points that can be harnessed in the decision making process with the employees such that there is consensus about the decisions made. The advantage of involving employees in the decision making process is that they will not feel alienated from the decision makers which can affect their operations in the workplace. Thus, adaptive organisational structures which emphasize on the need for flexibility to adapt to change can enhance better performance of the employees towards the change process (Kleynhans, 2007). 3.4 Human resources development (HRD) In as far as implementing a change strategy in an organisation is concerned, the change agent and the human resources management can also play a vital role through human resources development (HRD). Basically, HRD refers to all the methods that are used by the managers to help the employees to improve the way they work (Kleynhans et al 2007). Against this backdrop, it is important for the organisation undergoing a major change to implement HRD which is mainly concerned with identifying the skills needed by the employees. Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini said he has designed programs to train all the employees to use the new software as a way of trying to remove the fears that may exist among them with regards to their perceptions about the change strategy. Basically, training is ideal and it should allow time for testing so as to be able to successfully implement change given that training is geared towards generation and sharing of knowledge. In this case, training can be in the form of mentoring and coaching. Thus, mentoring is a very important support tool that managers can use to help young inexperienced employees to develop a better understanding of the work through the guidance of an older, more experienced employee or mentor (Jackson & Schuler, 2000). On the other hand, coaching is a planned face to face instruction method where a coach working with individuals sets a good example of what is to be done (Kleynhans 2006). Mentoring is also critical in the training of the employees given that it is also concerned with improving their competencies as well as understanding of the new change initiative. As such, an effective manger ought to create awareness among the employees about the need for change, nature of change required as well put measures in place that will enable him to monitor progress made during the implementation stage of the change initiative (Amos, 2008). Education plays an important role in creating this kind of awareness among the employees and an effective manager must always keep the employees informed about the developments taking place. 4.0 Evaluation of the practical value of management self development As noted in the discussion above, change is a process which requires concerted efforts by all the members involved in the operations of the organisation. In order to achieve this, there is need for the managers to promote team building as well as to create an environment that that can enable the creation and sharing of knowledge in a bid to reduce chances of resistance to change. Basically, teamwork is a scenario where individuals participating collectively, work together towards the attainment of certain goals as well as objectives within a given organisation (Robbins et al 2001). Emphasis is put on synergy of the efforts of the individuals towards the attainment of the set goals for the organisation. There are various factors that influence the process of team formation and the process begins by identifying multiple skills among employees so as to be able to fully utilise the talents of the workers. 4.1 The skills evaluation and development questionnaire Skills are those very task related competencies that a person already possesses (Swanepoel, 1998). Because the abilities and skills of the people differ, and because different jobs require different skills as well as abilities, different people are better suited to different jobs. As such, as an effective manger, I can get the practical value of management self-development through the use of skills evaluation and development questionnaire. The major strength of this method is used to gather information about different individuals so as to ascertain their competencies and capabilities which is an effective way of managing change. Online questionnaires can also be used to gather this information. These different human abilities influence human resource management decisions in different ways hence the need for effective managers to take them into consideration whenever implementing change in an organisation. The emotional questionnaire can be also used to gather information which is related to the skills possessed by different employees so as to be able to diligently assign roles to appropriate people within the organisation. The major strength of this method is that I be in a better position to establish the skills possessed by different employees which can enable me to assign tasks and duties accordingly. However, one weakness is that some employees may not be sincere in their responses which are challenges likely to be faced. 4.2 Belbin’s team roles Roles refer to patterns of behaviour attributed to a team member in a specific position in the group (Schultz, 2005). Basically, roles play a significant part in task building outcomes of the groups and these ought to be synergised towards the attainment of the set organisational goals. Meredith Belbin, a world-renowned guru on team building identified nine distinct roles that people play in teams. These include the following: plant, resource investigator, shaper, monitor evaluator, coordinator, implementer team worker and completer/finisher. These have different roles to play in the implementation of the change strategy and the main strength is that each person will be assigned a task according to his or her capabilities of executing that particular task. However, one notable weakness about this method is that there may be lack of coordination of the activities since there is need to pull the efforts of the members of the organisation in the same direction in order to achieve the same organisational goals. 4.3 Organisational learning In order to be in a position to be able to sustain change, members in the organisation should engage in collective learning with the aim of creating norms, shared assumptions as well beliefs which can be used as principles to guide the operations of the organisation undergoing change. The aspect of learning in an organisation can be attributed to Senge’s concept of learning organisation which is described as, “organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people continually learn how to learn together,” (Senge, 1995 as cited in Robbins et al 2003). Thus, real learning which is the basic foundation of teamwork takes place among the team members where they learn from their mistakes, from each other and their achievements towards the achievement of the organisational goals and I have realised in my studies that this is a very effective method of sharing knowledge. Sharing of ideas and willingness to learn from each other are guiding principles in the implementation of change strategy within an organisation. 4.4 Reflection of interpersonal teamwork skills in class I have realised that if people work in teams, great ideas can be generated and shared which is beneficial to the majority of the members of the team than individual efforts. However, I have also realised that playing the role of facilitator in a team is a bit challenging given that all the responsibility is vested in the facilitator. As such, my personal development plan (PDP) will be based on the following stages discussed below. As a group facilitator, there will be need for intervention in good time in order to get feedback from all the members of the group. I will not always provide answers to the team members but encourage them to think critically so as to positively influence their behaviour and development of skills. Secondly, I will put measures in place that can enable the team members to visualise the new ways of doing things. This gives them the autonomy to be part of the decision making process whereby a shared vision can be created in the team. Lastly, I will take a leading role in facilitating the learning process of the members of the team. This plan will enable me to develop the chosen skills to be an effective facilitator in a team. Basically, team building process ensures that the team sets a vision, goals and objectives for the team where the roles of the team are clarified, group norms established and the task processes of the team are determined (Schultz, 2005). 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, it can be noted that during the contemporary period, one of the most challenging roles faced by the managers is to manage an organisation that is undergoing a major change process. The business environment in which the organisations are operating is dynamic and constantly changing hence the need for the managers to identify different ways of managing change (Swanepoel, 1998). In this case, the manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the organisation that is undergoing a change process. Some of the challenges that can be faced by managers include resistance to change as well as the likely chances for the emergence of conflicts during the implementation process of change. However, these can be overcome through the use of effective communication, motivation of the employees, use of culture approach in the operations of the organisation as well as implementing human resources development. Teamwork is very important in people’s development of skills since it emphasises on the aspect of learning. Through learning, members of the organisation can generate knowledge and share their ideas in a free environment that promotes mutual understanding. In my studies, I have realised that if people work in teams, great ideas can be generated and shared which is beneficial to the majority of the members of the team than individual efforts. (3272 words) 6.0 Bibliography Amos, TL et al 2008, Human Resources Management, 3rd Edition. JUTA, CT. Brand, A (1998) ‘Knowledge management and innovation at 3M,’ Journal of knowledge management, (Vol. 2) No.1, pp.24-47. Carrell, R et al 1995, Human Resources Management: Global Strategies for managing a diverse workforce, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, NY. Developing facilitation skills (2006), A &C Black Publishers Ltd 2006, viewed 04 March, 2011, Jackson, L et al 2001, Management, Oxford University Press, London. Jackson, SE & Schuler R 2000, Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective, South Western College Publishing, NY. Kleynhans, R et al 2007, Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives, Prentice Hall, CT. Kritzinger, E, Bowler, A & Goliath, D 2003, Effective Communication: Getting the message across in business, Afritech, CT Locke, EA & Kirkpatrick, SA 1995, Promoting creativity in organizations, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, London. Marzano, R, McNulty, B & Waters, T 2005, School leadership that works, Alexandria VA: Association for supervision and curriculum development. Robins, SP, Odendaal, A & Roodt, G 2001, Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education, CT. Robinson, W 1997, Strategic Management and Information Systems. 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, London. Schultz, H et al 2003, Organisational behaviour, Van Schaik Publishers, London. Susan, EJ & Randal, S 2000, Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective, South Western College Publishing, NY. Swanepoel, BJ 1998, Human resources: Theory and practice, JUTA, CT. Werner, A et al 2007, Organisational behaviour: 2nd Edition, Van Schaik Publishers, CT. Appendix 1 Interview with the manager Management Interview Questions-On Change Management Tell me about a change that you have had to manage within your organization. Introducing the automation concept is the greatest challenge I faced in many organizations I worked for, shifting the work processes from manual processing to electronic format is a very sensitive project needs focus and high skills to manage people to accept the change gradually. Have you ever had to introduce a change into your department that was met with resistance? Yes, using the accounting applications software and electronic messaging systems (emails) encounter some indirect resistance from users, they do not refuse to use it but they keep questioning the feasibility and the applicability in using such software. How did you handle the situation? Provide sufficient training program. Allow some time for testing. Introduce some rewards for fast adaptation. Start using the system myself as general manager to prove the concept. Explain the benefits and prove it with some statistics (how fast we communicate, how fast we generate report s, how accurate the reports became,....etc) compared to old manual procedures. Allow some time for adaptation (gradually) to make the staff believers in change results. How have you had to adapt your work style to fit the needs of others? By working as team and try to meet frequently to brain storm and agree on how we do things better, if they became part of decision making process they will accept the change very fast and try their best to make it success. Describe a time when you have had to respond quickly to something within a changing environment. Usually i avoid to make fast responses unless i have already plan (B) & (C) in mind, but it happened one time when i was the project manager for semi government organization to implement Oracle ERP system, the finance staff was very much resisting starting using the application because they do not believe in themselves and afraid to be punched if they made mistake in entering the first month transactions. Since we do not have the time to spare more efforts for training and change management I decided to take the risk and enter the transactions myself (it was only 200 transactions) after completing the task they were happy seeing the reports and felt more confident to complete the job themselves. How often has your work been interrupted by unforeseen circumstances? What do you do when this happens? Many times, if your type of work involves managing the projects (not a routine work) you'll face many unforeseen obstacles coming frequently. Usually i spare some time to think about the required action to mitigate risks and avoid bad consequences. Also i try to involve project team in open discussion to have more thoughts. Have you ever worked hard on something and then had your priorities change mid-stream? How did it make you feel? What did you do? Yes, if i spent considerable efforts i feel disappointed for a while but due to my experience i pass this situation fast and try to think about the benefits expected to come after the change rather wasting my time thinking about the efforts spent. I believe that we cannot work as machines or computers, our brains is dynamic and keep producing excellent ideas that may result in many changes during the processing which is a feature we have over the mechanical machines also the computers. Tell me about a difficult adjustment that you have had to make in a job/position. Reassessment of department staff (restructuring) which some time involve upgrading and downgrading for some staff, this process is risky and affect the business continuity sometimes . Give me an example; from your past work experiences, about a time when you had an underperforming employee reporting to you. How did you address the situation? Did the employee’s performance improve? If not, what did you do next? I adapt continues staff assessment approach (semi annual) in the light of position job description and performance target. If certain staff no performing i have to study the case, is it because he is not qualified or is it because he did not get the proper training or we have something wrong in the process flow itself. One example is with senior advisor in Finance field, he was not performing as expected. When i study the case i found that he is not satisfied in the type of work assigned to him, he was doing the same job since 3 years so i took the decision to transfer him to Management Consultancy Department with proper on job training program and his productivity went up 80% and both company and staff was happy. When you have entered a new workplace in the past, as a manager or supervisor, describe how you have gone about meeting and developing relationships with your new co-workers, supervisors, and reporting staff. Start appreciating their past performance (empowerment) Get them involved in brain storming sessions to have their ideas about the current issues affecting department performance and how we can manage it. Ask for their suggestions and recommendations. Involve them in setting the next target, vision and mission and required performance standards. Give them the feeling that we all one team have one mission and sharing the same targets. In short, empower them as much as I can Finally i thank Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini for accepting this interview and providing us this information. Mr. Ahmed Sulaiman Almuzaini General Manager ET-CPAs Website: www.et-cpas.com Read More