How Employees Adapt to New Managerial Practices - Essay Example

How employees adapt to new managerial practices Presented by: Name Grade course University Tutor Date Introduction 4 Findings 4 Rule 1: Observe colleagues as they work. 4 Rule 2: Empower key “integrators” 4 Rule 4: Increase the need for reciprocity. 5 Rule 5: Make sure employees feel the shadow of the future. 5 Rule 6: Put the blame on the uncooperative. 6 How this article relates to the functions and roles of management 6 Emphasis on Particular Roles and Functions 6 Team Spirit 6 Reward and Punishment 7 Impact 7 How This Approach Can Be Implemented 8 Implementation as a Manager 8 Projections 8 Conclusion 9 Reference List 10 Executive Summary The purpose of this report was to analyze how employees adapt to new managerial practices and how this influences their performance. This report has considered of the impact of implementing a new managerial approach to an organization, how to incorporate the new managerial practice to the organization and how the employees will view the new changes. The report focuses on the organization as a whole and as a collection of units whereby in a properly functioning organization, units should not be independent of each other, instead they should be interdependent to foster cooperation and accountability. After taking into consideration various strategies of implementing the new managerial approach, the report recommends a system of reward and punishment where those who implement the new model fully will be rewarded and those who do not will be punished. Introduction Managers are the group of people that noticeably stands apart in present-day business organization, even though diverse and difficult to an unambiguous defining. The reasons for this occurrence are related with the procedures of ownership and management’s separation, as a result of the so called “managerial revolution”. The subject of the presented report is an attempt of unravelling how management techniques influence business processes in an organization. Findings Rule 1: Observe colleagues as they work. In an organizational set up, colleagues should get to know the problem that each other faces, the stumbling blocks and most importantly the resources at their disposal. Those in charge should ensure this is learn across the board otherwise there will be little cooperation and endless blame games (Cole 2003). Rule 2: Empower key “integrators” As organizations grow, so does bureaucracy. There is no clear line of communication and feedback between the management and subordinate staff. In order to ensure the smooth running of the organization, those on the front line should be empowered to at least make some decision since they link management and the customers (Mullins 1999). Rule 3: Expand the amount of power available. In any set up, those in the lower levels of power are usually the ones who are required to work as a team the most. Management should empower these people and give them wings to fly in order to foster cooperation and innovation (Mullins 1999). Rule 4: Increase the need for reciprocity. In a business set up, no unit should be totally independent of the other departments. To some level, they should be inter-dependent in that when one excels so does the other and vice versa (Cole 2003). This will encourage the whole organization to work as a single unit since if it is failure or success it is across the board. For an organization to truly harness the powers and skills of the human resource at their disposal, then they should find a way of making them their brother’s keepers. Rule 5: Make sure employees feel the shadow of the future. In order to ensure that everyone works harder and smarter, managers should introduce short-term performance targets (Morieux 2011). They should be structured in such a way that everyone is accountable and not too far in the future such that some of the employees won’t be around when the targets are being evaluated. Performance metrics are always a good way of motivating people especially if there is reward, it may not necessarily be monetary reward; recognition alone will go away (Cole 2003). This will ensure that all the employees are always on their toes. Rule 6: Put the blame on the uncooperative. In an organizational setup, if blame is shared no unit will bother to cooperate since none can be singled out to take the fall. The last rule demands that everyone should be accountable for their actions and no blame should be shared in the across organization. Managers should ensure that in the event that a unit or a department is uncooperative, then that department should solely take the blame (Morieux 2011). These way departments will be compelled to cooperate. Discussion How this article relates to the functions and roles of management The idea of manager is fairly blurred. This issue is very stretched in economic and organization and management sciences. However, a manager is a person who fulfills the managerial functions (planning, organizing, motivating and controlling) and is superior of the given human team (Cole 2003). According to the above definition of a manager, the article has fully covered the roles of the manager. The article focuses on observation, empowerment, motivation and control. All this attributes are suitable if not essential for a managerial candidate. Emphasis on Particular Roles and Functions Team Spirit The article emphasizes more on the cultivation of a team spirit in the organization in the sense that in a properly functioning organization, everybody should need everybody (Mullins 1999). Reward and Punishment Reward for those who stand out in the organization especially those in the lower management levels is emphasized in this article. On the other hand, the article also advocates for the punishment of those that fail to cooperate, it shifts the focus from uniform punishment to modular punishment for underperforming departments so to speak. Impact The report has greatly impacted how the role of managers is viewed. Before it was not really clear how to define a manager, even though there is still no universally accepted definition of a manager, it has shed some light and enhanced the understanding in this subject. Managers play a very great role in an organization; their effect though not always visible and tangible is far much greater that what meets the eyes (Gary & Saks 2010). They do not only act as bridge between the chief executives in an organization and those in the front line but they also act as the chief caretakers. Constantly keeping an eye on all that is going on in an organization to ensure smooth running of operations and at the same time motivating the same employees that at times they reprimand in order to achieve the objectives of the organization (Handy 1993). How This Approach Can Be Implemented In order to implement a culture change in an organization, everyone has to buy into the idea first before it can be implemented (Handy 1993). In order to do this the top management must give full backing to those who are going to implement it since leadership begins from the top (Gary & Saks 2010). Implementation as a Manager As a manager in order to implement this new managerial approach, the first thing to be done will be to teach everyone about the new principles, all key integrators will be empowered so as to work effectively, those who work in teams most of the time will be acknowledged, the need for reciprocity will be sensitized, targets should be set for everyone and reward and punishment scheme will be implemented. Projections Gary and Saks (2010) in their recent book explain that during any major organizational paradigm shift, there will be pockets of resistance within the organization. The situations are not expected to be different when this approach will be implemented. Once this new approach is implemented, the level of customer satisfaction will increase since and the company will be more efficient in that there will be a feedback loop within the organization. Conclusion Managers are very crucial in an organizational setup, they are pivotal in the smooth running of the organization. There are some basic rules to which will aid the manager in their undertakings to ensure the smooth running and seamless cooperation in their organizations. Some of the ways that they can do these are, as a manager, one should strive not to do in an organization. This is to mean that managers should always be constantly analyzing their organization if something is not working they should cut their losses and move on to the next procedures that will aid their organizations. Managers should have great analytical skills, this is very important in that it will come a long way in helping them especially when they are trying to implement new changes. This will aid them in situations when they have to relate with what their subordinates undergo in order to complete their tasks. Managers should look at the outcome that they expect the resources that they are provided and the stumbling blocks that are there. It is only in this way that they can relate with the staff that they manage. Lastly, managers should try and empower some of the staff to make decisions on the go especially the staff that deals directly with the customers or clients. This will go a long way in reducing the level of bureaucracy in an organization. Also managers shouldn’t allow the staff to constantly escalate decisions to them; instead they should empower them and let them make the decisions on their own. Reference List Cole, G.A.2003, Management Theory and Practice, Cengage Learning, Sydney. Gary J and Saks A. 2010, Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work with MyOBLab, Pearson, New York Handy, C. 1993, Understanding Organizations , Penguin, New York. Morieux, Y 2011, 'Smart rules: six ways to get people to solve problems without you', Harvard Business Review, vol. 89, no. 9, pp. 78-86. Mullins, J. L. 1999, A Management and Organizational Behaviour, Penguin Books, New York. Read More