Essentials of Organisational Management - Essay Example

Running header: Managing people Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Managing People Managing people is argued to be the most difficult job for managers in modern organisations. Skill shortages, inflexible HR practices, changing expectations are some of the issues managers face in their workplaces. Managing people constitutes about 80% of the managerial function despite its being the most difficult yet most rewarding function. The difficulty in managing people results from people diversity which at times may lead to communication failure. On the other hand, most managers fail to own up to the fact that they also have their own inadequacies as far as managing people is concerned. However, the modern organisation has realised the important role played by people in its success. Thus, they are constantly sharpening their people management skills. This is due to the realization that the modern world is rapidly changing while people and organisations are having more varied and complex goals thus making people management a key strategic asset contributing to the success of the modern organisation. Furthermore, organisational success greatly depends on employee (people) expectations besides customer and organizational expectations. Managing people expectations will involve e understanding them in terms of; -their human needs and behavior -what makes them tick -how to form collaborative relationships -proper recruitment and selection of staff -Understanding the nature of psychological contract -staff retention - How to formulate performance goals involving them - measuring and monitoring staff performance -how to lead and motivate staff -Communicating effectively with the staff -developing talent in the organisation -making staff work effectively in a team -How to empathize with them -having the right work, family balance -gaining commitment from the staff -creation of a thriving working environment and -understanding yourself in your bid to manage people The above presents a daunting task for the managers hence the reason why managing people’ such a constant issue in modern workplaces. The factors that contribute to the challenges of managing people There are various factors that contribute to the challenge of managing people I n the modern organisation. This largely stems from the diversity that exists in the workplace and the differences that exist between different types of people. Managers are confronted with the management of a lot of employees who resist diversity and change even when this is expected to result in positive change. Employees who resist change and diversity pose a great challenge to managers and organisation in their implementation of change in the workplace. This resistance could damage morale, decrease productivity or slow down the change process. Probably the biggest challenge to managing people in the organisation is poor communication. The workplace is composed of people from different backgrounds. These back grounds come with different communication styles. As such, there may be poor communication between the employees as well as between the employees and the management. As such, misunderstandings are likely to occur between the different groups leading to misinterpretations and hence poor people relationships. The competition that exists between people also poses a great challenge in people management. This results from the fact that everyone wants to win and be seen as the best. This is deep rooted in employees’ personal expectations and ambitions. Such competitions where it exists works against team work and effect people management since everyone seems o pull in his/her own direction. In addition, every person may have their own view about achieving a certain goal but is unwilling to put in effort or take action to make the common goal a reality. Some people find it easier to stand on the periphery and criticize rather than take the right action (Robbins, 2011). As such, it is important that people are encouraged to shelve their ambitions and goals for the greater goal of organisational success. Managing people is also greatly affected by trust. Naturally, people find it difficult to earn trust and maintain it. As such, managing people may be difficult where trust does not exist. This is because people may not understand your motives or even be trustworthy in helping you achieve your motives. Managing people in the organisation is also challenged by inflexible human resource management practices. While the world is constantly changing, human resources management practices may fail to change accordingly. People managers should realise that there is no rigid way of doing things. If HR practices were to remain inflexible even when people and their expectations change, this is likely to result in a lot of resistance from the people hence making their management very difficult. Skill shortage is also a challenge to people management in the organisation. This also includes the challenge of having the right people ready in the right time and place within the organisation. With the rise in technology and globalization, there has been level playing field for organisations as far as information; technology and finance availability is concerned. Thus, the quality of an organization’s human resource (people) which is an organisational resource just like capital and land has now become a key differentiator among the organisations. As such, people are now considered the most critic al source of competitive advantage for the organisation. However, despite the fact that labour supply greatly exceeds the demand, there is acute shortage of the talent that makes the difference. As such, the increased competition between organisations has made finding new ways of increasing the level of talent in the organisation a key challenge facing people management. The existence of numerous knowledge centric organisations in fact deepens on the organization’s ability to hire and retain the right talent. Relevant of previous theories to our understanding of the current challenges in managing people in modern organisations Managing people in the diverse contemporary firm is an organisational aspect which calls for critical attention. Douglas McGregor’s X-Y theory is relevant to our understanding of the current challenges in managing people in modern organisations. Theory X has assumption that the average person inherently dislikes work and will try to avoid it whenever he can. Owing to the dislike of work, he has to be controlled and threatened before he can work hard enough. In addition, the average person prefers to be directed, he dislikes responsibility, he is unambiguous and desires security above all else. On the other hand, theory Y has an opposite proposition on how people behave at work. As such, it sees the role of managing people as that of developing their potential and helping them direct it towards their common goals. Based on the opposing view on the type of people presented by the two theories, this demonstrates the potential in people which managers have to recognize if they are to become more effective. Although the above theories are limited in that the average employees need more than financial compensation in their jobs, they require a lot of motivation which give them the opportunity to fulfill themselves. Applying theory X in managing people in the modern organisation will for instance will not enable them behave as expected and will not give the desired results. Applying theory Y in management on the other hand may result in better results. However, seeing the diversity of the types of people existing in the modern organisation presented in both the theories helps appreciate and understand the current challenges in managing people in modern organisations. The mass law Hierarchy of needs theory is also relevant in helping us understand the current challenges in managing people in modern organisations. The theory stipulates that people are motivated by different factors at different levels of the hierarchy. At the lowest level are the psychological needs while self actualization is at the highest level. The people found in the organisation however may not be at the same level of the hierarchy at any given time. As such, they may be motivated by different factors and hence they may work more effectively at different levels of the hierarchy. It is also worth noting that after a need at a certain level has been met, the person will graduate to the next level of the hierarchy. This implies that managing people in the modern organisation will be a difficult task since the employees are at different levels of the hierarchy at any given time and hence may need different factors to be motivated. In addition, their level of motivation and satisfaction may change from time to time. Thus, the mass law hierarchy of needs theory may also explain the current challenges in managing people in modern organisations. How managers can work to overcome the above challenges As indicated above, managing people in an organisation is a very challenging task. As such, it will require effective and good planning for the managers involved. Managers will require understanding people’s expectations and making effort to fulfill them completely in a bid to maintain high employee morale. The expectations could be monetary, promotions, perks etc. Devoid of such efforts, managers will always meet resistance in their attempt to manage people. Effective people management would call for good and regular communication between the management and the people. This is because breakdown/lack of communication will lead to unnecessary misunderstanding between the people hence its important that managers give employees time to discuss their work related issues and find permanent solution to these problems. This calls for managers to acquire good communication and interpersonal skills. It will also be important that the managers seek feedback from workers regarding how the organisation is performing in a bid to devise new people management skills. Effective people management also calls for the manager to adopt a professional management style in a bid to earn respect from them. This is because people management will be more challenging if there is no respect between the manager and the people. However, this does not imply that the manager should change his/her personality so as to command respect from the people. However, having a professional people management approach is likely to command respect. When there is respect between you and the employees, they will perform at a higher level. However, employees should always be treated with respect. This would also call for the manager to adopt a firm but fair approach to people management and try to be understanding to the employees. It is also important for the manager to make effort to k now and understand his/her employees. This is because different employees will have different personalities and different expectations. Knowing them will help reduce any misunderstandings that might result from their diversity. This will also make them know that you value them and you appreciate the role they play in the organisation. In a bid to better manage his/her people, the manager should be friendly and approachable to the staff. This will make them feel comfortable with you and free to approach you on any subject whether business or personal. This will ensure they don’t feel intimidated by you and can hence assist you in your endeavor to achieve organisational goals. However, the manager should strike a healthy balance between being approachable and being overfriendly which could lead to lack of seriousness. It is important that the manager get employees involved as much as they can. The manager should always show willingness to listen to new opinions or ideas from workers about the business. Although not every idea may be viable, taking time to listen to the employees means a lot to them and sends out the right message. It will be important that the manager focuses on the people’s strengths in a bid to overcome the challenges of people management. The manager should learn what makes the people and accentuate their strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses. The manager should understand that people change when they decide to and hence all effort should not be spent on trying to modify bad habit but rather on building their innate skills. This does not mean that the weaknesses should be ignored but one needs to identify those that can be changed and encouraged them to change. Managers should understand that their subjects learn by copying their behaviors. Thus, for the people to accept their weaknesses and mistakes, the managers should start by acknowledging their weaknesses. If the manager expects honesty and integrity from the employees, he should ensure that his actions are in line with his words. As such, effective people management implies not just being a role model but also being aware of the example one is setting for the employees. Managing people also calls for a lot of patience. This is because change takes time and telling employees that they are not changing fast enough may result in the opposite effect (Bright, 2011). The manager has to be patient especially with oneself. The manager will also need to work on his emotional intelligence in a bid to better manage people. Emotional intelligence includes the following; a) Self awareness –the manager needs to know enough about his/her internal triggers, weaknesses and strengths and talk about them comfortably and openly. b) Self regulation –the manager should have the ability to control and regulate his/her behavioral responses to situations and events. c) Empathy- the manager should have the ability to put himself in employees’ shoes and see things as they might see them. d) Motivation –the manager should have passion for self improvement and achievement. e) Social skill -this calls for the manager to be sensitive to human dynamics and others’ feelings on how he/she interacts with them. Why the above information is important to know especially for people who are managing organisations It is important that people especially those who are managing others to be con versant with the above information. Manager should be made to expect that managing people will not be a smooth ride and that they should expect some level of difficulty in managing the organisation. People being among the most important assets of the organisation should be properly managed if the organisation is to achieve its goals. However, the diversity existing among the different people in the organisation may bring about communication differences thus bringing about misunderstandings that may make their management difficult. In addition, the managers should understand that they are also human with their own shortcomings. This will enable them, to have a lot of understanding in managing people so as to increase the level of understanding hence making management of people a lot easier. When managers understand the above information, they will be able to employ the strategies suggested and establish their own strategies that will help them overcome the challenges associated with managing people. When the above strategies are employed, managers will find it easier since the employees will be more motivated to work and there will be little or no resistance from the people. This will in turn make achieving of the organisational goals a lot easier for the organisation. When the organisation achieves, everyone including the managers and the people being managed will have achieved and working will be an enjoyable experience. References: Robbins, D2011, Management: The essential, Coulter, Woods, Pearson Education. Bright, M2011, Essentials of organisational management, London, Rutledge. Read More