Why Managing People Is a Constant Issue in Modern Workplaces - Literature review Example

Assessment 2: Individual essay assignment Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Assessment 2: Individual essay assignment Introduction It is imperative to be cognizant of the fact that the business environment in the contemporary workplaces is highly intense. As a result, each and every corporate body is engaged in extensive efforts in the formulation and implementation of strategies for survival and positioning the value proposition in an appropriate manner (Dissanayake, 2012, p. 1). This brings to the front the aspect of managing people at the organizational level which has evolved into becoming a constant issue in the modern workplaces. The centrality of this issue is founded on the fact that people who are properly selected, recruited, trained, motivated and high performing are a fundamental asset in any given organization regardless of the sector. This has culminated in the establishment of human resource departments in various workplaces which are mandated with managing people at the organizational level. The rationale of these establishments is supported by scholars like DeCenzo and Robbins (1996) who determined that human resource management is a component of an institution which is directly concerned with the ‘people’ dimension in that specific organization. Against this background, this paper will explore the reasons as to why managing people is such a constant issue in modern workplaces. Additionally, it will analyze the factors which contribute to the challenges of managing people as well as the relevance of previous theories in our understanding of current challenges in ‘managing people’ in modern organizations. Lastly, this paper will investigate how a manager can work towards overcoming the identified challenges and why the information which has been found out is important to know, especially for the people who are mandated with the role of managing people in an organization. Why managing people is a constant issue in modern workplaces There are several rationales which underpin the phenomenon of ‘managing people’ becoming a constant issue in modern workplaces. Firstly, there is the aspect of molding the attitude of the workforce in regard to the nature of the organization as well as their short and long-term relationship with the organization. This fact is supported by different scholars, for instance, Ostroff and Bowen (2000) who determined that people management practices are crucial in molding the attitude of the workforce through shaping the perceptions of the employees about the nature of the organization, what it is like and also informing their expectations of the magnitude and depth of their future relationship with the organization. Additionally, there is often a generic presumption that there is often an interaction between the practices of managing people with perceptions of institutional support to impact on the commitment of the employee. Secondly, there is the aspect of influencing the development of a positive organizational culture in an organization. In a basic sense, organizational culture can be viewed as a set of norms, principles, beliefs and behavioral manner at the institutional level, a combination of which give an organization a distinct character (Willcoxson & Millet, 2000, p. 93). Researchers in the realm of business strategy have pointed to the fact that organizational culture is a core source of competitive advantage in an organization as well as promoting the long-term performance of an organization with extensive evidence from both the private and public sector to support this inference being apparent. In this case, managing people in an organization helps in the establishment of a robust organizational culture founded on various tenets like customer service, punctuality, transparency and accountability among other aspects. All these have the cumulative impact of resulting in sustained competitive advantage in an organization. Therefore, the correlation between managing people and positive organizational culture has seen the prior aspect becoming a constant issue in modern workplaces. Lastly, managing people has become a constant issue based on the fact that it is key in identification of lapses in skills and knowledge among the employees amid the elevated dynamics in the modern workplaces, for instance, changes in technology which have extensive impacts on an organization. This is supported by Ivancevich (2001, p. 52) who determined that the changes in technology has culminated in rapid responses as it facilitates elevated effectiveness and speed in communication which in-turn permits swiftness in the decision making process. As a result, managing people is at the core of identifying any lapses in technological knowhow among the people in the workplace and form a robust foundation aimed at fortifying their skills and knowledge. This is imperative in enabling them to deal with contemporary challenges which confront diverse challenges instigated by extreme dynamics in the technological front. Factors which contribute to the challenges of managing people There are several factors which have direct contribution to the challenges in managing people in an organization in disregard of which industry an organization’s operations are based in. Some of these factors are explored in the subsequent section. Generational gap It is an apparent fact that contemporary organizations are composed of employees from different generations, most notably generations X and Y. These categories of generations have distinct needs which provide a major challenge in striking a balance in the efforts to fulfill these distinct needs, for instance, the need for attention among members of Gen. Y. This fact is revealed by Hannay and Fretwell (2010, p. 5) who cited that the individuals from Generation Y have been considered as being high maintenance and emotionally needy group which is founded on their need for attention. This is based on the fact that members of Generation Y require to be acknowledged for their input and contribution in the organization, failure of which can result in lack of engagement by members of this group. In this case, engagement can be perceived as the willingness and ability of the employees to contribute to the success of the organization (Rai, 2010, p. 637). As a result, those who are mandated with the role of managing people in a given organization are confronted with the challenge of according the demanded attention to each individual from this generation as well as not forgetting the unique needs of other generations in the organization. Conflict of priorities Glickman et. al., (2002, p. 520) determined that the administrators who are responsible for managing people in an organization are challenged in balancing the needs of individual employees and the expectations of the organization, which are supposed to be mutually beneficial. This is based on the backdrop that the core goal of these administrators is to lead and develop people in alignment with the mission and vision of the organization. Nonetheless, there are situations whereby the objectives and goals in an organization conflicts with the desires of the employees. This is best epitomized whereby an organization can be purely in pursuit of profitability and increased performance in complete disregard of the welfare of the employee. On the other hand, the employees might be in preference of better working terms and conditions, which in most cases cannot be achieved under the current organizational objectives and subsequently be frustrated and demotivated. In the above case, members in a given organization who grow increasingly frustrated with the level of conflict of priorities in the organization may decide to leave this organization. This is mostly diabolical when the leaving employees are heads of central committees or part of the executive board. One these employees start leaving, the institution is confronted by a tasking challenge of recruiting new employees and appointing acting committee heads and executive members and in extreme cases, this mass exit can culminate in the dissolution of the organization (Brookins, 2013, p. 1). Thus, the administrators who are mandated with the role of managing people are confronted with the challenge of aligning the goals and objectives of the organization with the preferences of the employees, failure to which the situation can escalate to a similar phenomenon like the one detailed above. Management of cultural diversity It is an apparent fact that in the modern age of globalization, contemporary organizations are comprised of people from various regions who have different cultural orientations. In this case, there are several things which are embedded in culture which include but not limited to belief, art, knowledge, custom, morals and laws among others (Thornton, 1988, p. 22). The individuals who have the responsibility of managing people are often confronted by the challenge of managing people from different cultures based on differences in practices based on the above aspects. This is best epitomized whereby if the people management administrator comes from a different culture and tries to impose his cultural behavior patterns and practices on the employees, this is bound to generate resistance, both in the short and in the long term. This fact is supported by Honey (1997, p. 3) who determined that if one rigidly sticks to his/her fixed behavior pattern in disregard of who he/she is dealing with, this is not only inappropriate but also bound to generate some resistance. In this case, the administrator is confronted by the challenge of fitting in and aligning him/herself with the dominant cultural orientation in the current posting as well as addressing many aspects of people management which are related to cultural diversity in an organization like those outline in the following framework. Figure 1.0: Spheres of Activity in the Management of Cultural Diversity Source: Cox and Blake, (1991, p. 46) Relevance of previous theories There are several theories which have been advanced in the attempt to understand the current challenges in the management of people in contemporary organizations, some of which have been outlined above. Nonetheless, the theory which will be used in this analysis is the Geert Hofstede theory of cultural dimensions which was advanced in his work Culture’s consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (Hofstede, 1980). The Geert Hofstede theory of cultural dimensions basically depicts the impacts of culture in a particular society on the values of the members in this society as well as the ways in which these values relate to behavior. In this case, the author used a structure which was derived from factor analysis (Hofstede, 1983, p. 78). This theory is relevant in understanding the current challenges in the management of people in contemporary organizations based on several reasons. Firstly, it expounds on four cultural dimensions which can extensively impact on the practice of managing people in an organization. This is best epitomized by the collectivism vs. individualism dimension (Hofstede, 1983, p. 78). Based on the above dimension, an administrator assigned the role of managing people who is from a cultural orientation founded on individualism, mostly in western countries like Australia might find it challenging to manage people from a collectivism cultural background, for instance, from Japan. This is based on the fact that while people from individualist culture prioritize on individual efforts, decision making and performance, people from collective cultures prioritize on communal efforts and communal decision making as the foundation of robust organizational performance. The above cultural differences are bound to trigger differences in priorities among the individuals in an organizations and managing this cultural diversity can create a major challenge in people management. These are some of the challenges in the management of people which were explored in the above section which can be comprehensively understood using the Geert Hofstede theory of cultural dimensions. Overcoming these challenges These are several mechanisms which can be adopted by managers in the efforts to surmount the challenges in managing people aforementioned in the preceding sections. Creating priority harmony Managers who are constantly confronted by the challenge of confronting priorities between the employees and the management organ of the organization can utilize diverse skills and knowledge to create harmony and alignment of priorities. In this case, the manager can employ negotiation, conflict management as well as persuasion skills to solve this disharmony and in turn positively impact on the harmonious coexistence of the organizational and employees priorities. This importance of these skills in managing people in a project towards creating priority harmony are supported by Gillard (2009, p. 725) who cited soft skills like conflict management, negotiation and persuasion as higher-order skills among managers in cross-cultural contexts. Affording significant attention to all generations In this case, the manager ought to formulate and implement ideal mechanisms which will ensure that the distinct needs of all the generational groups are properly addressed. This can be through the inclusion the representatives of all these generations in the decision making process. This will afford them with an ideal platform to air their views and give their opinions about the issues affecting the generational groups they represent. This approach can go a long way in solving most of the challenges brought about managing people from different generational orientations. Additionally, the manager ought to comprehensively analyze the needs of each group and seek to fulfill them. This is best epitomized by the need of recognition and acknowledgement among the young employees which is imperative in motivating them and cementing their commitment in the organization. Being adaptable to different cultures The last approach of overcoming the above challenge by a manager is seeking to understand the cultural orientation of the dominant groups in the organization and making efforts to adapt to these cultures. In this case, the effort by the manager to change his/her cultural rigidity to accommodate new cultural perspectives can be viewed as one approach by the managers to cope with the issue of mistrust and resistance associated with cultural differences. Importance of the above information The information unearthed in the above analysis is imperative to know, especially for the people who are managing in organizations based on several reasons. Firstly, the above information is imperative to know by the managers of the organization based on the fact that it affords them with an overview of a myriad of challenges which can confront them while managing people in an organization and various approaches which they can take to surmount these challenges. Secondly, these people will be in a position of understanding and act upon the distinct needs of various people in the organization which will increase efficiency in managing all the people. Lastly, the above information is integral in equipping the managers with ideal skills of confronting challenges like conflicting priorities which can prove to be problematic while managing people in an organization. Conclusion The preceding analysis has expounded on the centrality of people management in contemporary organizations, mostly necessitated by the high intensity of the business environment in modern workplaces. Additionally, it has explored several reasons which have made managing people a constant issue in modern workplaces. On the other hand, this review has analyzed three key factors which contribute to the challenges of managing people namely generational gap, conflict of priorities as well as management of cultural diversity. This was followed by the analyses of the Geert Hofstede theory of cultural dimensions which central in understanding some of these challenges. Moreover, the different approaches which managers can use to overcome the identified challenges have been detailed, namely creating priority harmony, being adaptable to different cultures and affording significant attention to all generations have also been explored. Lastly, this review has explained why the information unearthed in the above analysis is imperative to know, especially for the people who are managing in organizations. References Brookins, M., 2013, ‘The Effects of Conflict Within an Organization’, retrieved 30th May, 2013, < http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-conflict-within-organization-164.html>. Cox, TH. & Blake, S., 1991, ‘Managing cultural diversity: implications for organizational competitiveness’, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 45-56. DeCenzo, DA & Robbins, SR., 1996, Human Resource Management, John Wiley & Sons, NY. Dissanayake, DM., 2012, ‘Managing People in Organizations: Perspectives of Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship’, MPRA Paper, Munich Personal RePEc Archive, Munich. Gillard, S., 2009, ‘Soft Skills and Technical Expertise of Effective Project Managers’, Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, Vol. 6, pp. 723-729. Glickman, GN., et. al., 2002, ‘Case I: Managing People—The Case of the Frustrated Faculty Member’, Journal of Dental Education, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 520-525. Hannay, M. & Fretwell, C. 2010, ‘The higher education workplace: meeting the needs of multiple generations’, Research in Higher Education Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 1-12. Hofstede, G., 1980., Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, SAGE Publications, Beverly Hills/London. 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