Impacts of Critical and Postmodern Ideas on Managerial Behaviours - Essay Example

Impacts of Critical and Postmodern Ideas on Managerial Behaviours Effective management is among the integral determinants of existence, functioning, and survival of all modern organizations. Contemporary managers must be well equipped with necessary and relevant attitudes, knowledge, and skills to effectively deal with the different kinds of employment and workforce issues affecting organizations. On the other hand, postmodernism and critical theory moves in correspondence with the development of society, economy, and culture. Specifically, economic postmodernism stipulates that organization must function within the context of organization upsizing, globalization, changing work nature, rapid implementation of information and communication technologies, less salient class conflicts and reduction of working class, work force professionalization, stagnant economies, turbulent markets, and widespread ecological problems (Tosi et al, 2000:129). All these factors contribute to the changing dynamics and paradigms of modern management. It thus follows that postmodern managers face enormous challenges from the corporate culture, subjectivities of employees, and quality management among others. The call for renewed charisma, soul, and leadership also surrounds the primary control of postmodern managers. This paper seeks to discuss how critical and postmodern ideas influence and change the behaviours of managers. In addition, the paper discusses the five managerial mindsets related to postmodernism and critical ideas and the four principles of postmodernism and critical ideas (Rupp et al., 2006:121). Influence on Managerial Mindsets Analyzing the critical and postmodern ideas, it is evident that they conform to the five basic managerial mindsets, specifically aiming to transform organizations, people, contexts, and systems. Other leadership mindsets also applicable for managers include analytic, worldly, reflective, catalytic, and collaborative mindsets. For the effective performance of managers, it is imperative that they gain a profound understanding of personal management styles, thus the reflective mindset. This perception was an effort to broaden perspectives, which essentially considers managers’ representation to others, their weaknesses and strengths, and the present management capabilities and skills. According to critical and postmodernism ideas with reference to autonomy, managers may attain perfect skills. Through the assessment of intrinsic differences and similarities, contemporary managers need to gain important knowledge on their organizational performance in comparison with other organizations as part of the analytic mindset (Boje and Dennehy, 2008:68). This is evident from the systematic application of structures, delivery, sourcing, and strategies. One of the aspects of critical and postmodernism when dealing with these issues is diffusion of traditional organizational boundaries. In addition, the worldly mindset guides manages in business navigation systems. It provides a comprehensive evaluation of the position of the managers in the complex system that integrates political, social, and economic forces. Managers apply skills and knowledge to enhance their understanding of the dynamics and paradigms of ‘systems change’ and encourage managers to design creative solutions. According to critical and postmodernism ideas, temporal and spatial diffusion of information to flexible and loose networks of semi-autonomous work teams influence the development of the managerial mindset, and thus behaviour. The appreciation of working relationships is the central focus of the collaborative mindset (Thompsons, 2007:9). Essentially, this mindset is a measure based on the response to challenging issues in coordination, relationship building, negotiation, and knowledge management. Lastly, the catalytic mindset involves efforts to achieve and effect changes. This mindset focuses on action and integration, meaning a transition to action from theory. In this particular approach, less powerful groups will be free from the oppressive core, thus contributing to the flexibility of the role of the manger and the organization as a whole. Influence on Managerial Behaviours According to the development of the critical and postmodernism ideas, realities, people, and social relations collectively become nonessential constructions. Thus, the construction of these factors occurs under specific conditions of contestation and power. Ironically, however, the social constructions are full of opacities, conflict suppression, and contradictions. Critical and postmodernism ideas draw upon overarching yet conflicting principles. The first principle is the knowledge and power relation resulting from Nietzsche’s perspectivalism. According to this principle, several possible conceptual perspectives or schemas may determine any possible judgement of value or truth that we may arrive at. In lieu with this concept, organizations tend to strive to be learning organizations. According to scholars, learning organizations refer to organization where people continuously increase their capacity to create desired results, where expansive and new thinking patterns are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people continuously learn to learn together (Tosi et al., 2000:129). A faction of analysts argue that postmodernism is more diverse, falter, more dispersed, more automated, and focuses on narrower niches in the market. It thus follows that efficiency and competitiveness of managers is becoming more apparent. As more and more organization embrace sharing of knowledge and thus growing interdependence, managers need to maximize their knowledge capacities at the workplace. Managers need to acquire three competences, which include fostering partnerships, delivering positive outcomes, and evidence and fair management. In the first competency, managers need to be business thinkers in understanding the organization’s context, objectives, goals, relevance, and purposes of the role (Rupp et al., 2006:128). In addition, managers must have the passion for results and thus understand what exactly needs to be done and stretch them to effectively deliver positive results. Organizations are becoming diverse as ever, thus managers must foster relationships in terms of effectively managing such diversity, being a team player, and improving and learning in accordance with the requirements of eth organization. A prime example is the increased participation of women in the workplaces. The conventional adage that women are prone to changes in competitive pressures, political climate, practices and regulation, and globalization and harmonization paves way for women employment, but the perspective is no longer applicable (Thompsons, 2007:38). A manager must focus on collaborating effectively across the entire organization as well as external stakeholders, supporting, and coordinating the subordinates to produce better outcomes and develop themselves, and help other to excel at what they undertake as well as value other individuals. Finally, managers also should perform their functions through clear communication, objective judgment and decision-making and analytical rigor. The sharing of information, ideas, and experience to enhance understanding, using analytical methods to make sound and timely judgments and find solutions that are evidence based, are just among the three aspects on which development of managerial behaviours should focus on. The second principle concerns the non-dualistic constructionist account of language and experience, which situates all perspectives in historical, linguistic, or social contexts. This means that the all the inter-subjectivity that precede any objectivity and subjectivity has a specific structure. In other words, subjectivity essentially refers to personal vision or interpretation while objectivity refers to the quality or fact of the actual existence or being accurate. Managerial objectivity requires managers to align performance at individual levels with organizational performance (Miller et al., 2001:75). For example, the manager is responsible for ensuring that subordinates with delegated tasks and duties are responsible for the execution of those particular duties. Furthermore, postmodern organizations follow the voice of both the internal stakeholders and external stakeholders, who include workers, customers, communities, suppliers, all of which contribute to the execution of action and planned strategies implemented by the managers at the workplace. Of equal importance to managers is the alignment of organizational opportunities with individual schemes. Among the most subjective and important aspects to the manager include acquiring skills to manage their personal careers, attain a greater retention rate of valuable employees, increase organization understanding, and enhance a peoples developer reputation. In this regard therefore, critical and postmodernism ideas affect managerial behaviours through emphasizing the importance of individualism. The main purpose of such activities is to enhance performance through acquisition of more skills, knowledge, competencies, and improved behaviours (Tosi et al., 2000:130). According to the perspectives of radical critical and postmodernism ideas, people need to focus on careers than the organization in lieu with the increasing mobility requirements. The third principle builds upon social conflict, which essentially means positioning linguistic, social, or historical perspectives within materially produced social sections and divisions. For instance, organizational structures provide an overview of the function and position that the managers occupy. Diffusion of authority and responsibility should be in such a manner that different specialized units and functions are created for managers (Rupp et al., 2006:208). Organizational members tend to focus on climbing the supervision ladder rather than seek perfection as individuals to create and design better products lifestyles and services. According to experts, managers also function to topple the organizational (corporate) ladder. The manager performs his duties through internal systems and structures and funnels the effect of the manager’s expertise, skills, and knowledge that could enhance the competence of employees as well as the organization as a whole. Thus, it is imperative that managers understand their duties and roles clearly in order to make their subordinate understand their roles too. From this perspective, it is clear that managers need to forecast future competitive success and translate the strategies and mission of the organization into a comprehensive framework of performance measure based on management and measurement systems regardless of the differences in role depicted in the organizational structure (Sims, 2003:173). With reference to this, critical and postmodernism discourse suggests that employees are organized teams where the quality of the work procedure is the central emphasis for the postmodern competitive work teams, the context that relates to focal environment is the market, and via an integrative and matrix style of workplace organization. In teams led by managers, the manager takes the role of leadership. The rest of the team members take the roles and duties of the actual execution of delegated duties and tasks. Therefore, the team members are directly responsible for the execution of delegated duties. The leaders in self-managed teams largely determine the overall goal or purpose of the team. The entire team manages the methods through which the team achieves their goals. In this regard therefore, the managerial behaviours align to the shape based on responsible implementation of delegated duties for managers and their subordinates or team members. Since the managers has all the control in their hands, the major challenge for managers is the ownership sense of the team considering that they may have only a little autonomous over their work (Thompsons, 2007:65). The fourth principle is a complex human subject in which humans are regarded as conflict-ridden, complex, and usually mistaken subjects in place of autonomous, unitary, and knowing. Thus, the challenge is the fixed and clear identity and the simple rationality. With reference to the constantly changing nature of organization that needs to change internally in accordance with external changes, managers are increasingly required to increase and contribute organizational effectiveness. Apart from being the peoples’ developer, managers also need to initiate changes that focus on motivating other employees to enhance and support changes. The role of the manager is crucial as a change agent. Some of these responsibilities include understanding organizational culture, cultural awareness, and conveying or communicating consistent messages to the members at the very least levels. It thus follows that managers act as tools of legitimate compliance as well as becoming emblems of effective change methodologies and mechanism (Miller et al., 2001:103). In essence, motivation from a managerial perspective deals with the activity of leaders and managers in inducing others to produce outlined or desired results as stated by the manager or the organization. The motivation concept from a managerial viewpoint conforms to the relationship between ability, performance, and motivation. The crucial purpose of motivating the workplace is to minimize dissatisfactions and maintain the people within the organization. The significant postmodern rationale underlying the concept of motivation is the need for postmodern organizations that advocate for highly involved workplace. Self-managing teams of entirely empowered employees who participate in productivity quality and increased job satisfaction would be plausible, with the nearest alternative as the manager-led teams. For example, manager-led teams give the weight of responsibility to the team manager, as they are primarily in-charge for defining goals, functioning, and methods of the team. Critical and postmodernism ideas also require organization around processes rather than functions (Rupp et al., 2006:196). The factors that affect the behaviours of managers in terms of functions and team-based processes are the elements of control and command with empowerment, self-control, and self-management. Researchers assert that critical and postmodernism ideas states that ethics are worth retaining as well as maintaining a balance between managerialism with environmental and labour perspectives. It is understandable that the application of such is evident on corporate social responsibility and the contribution of the managers to this. Corporate social responsibility refers to the impact of an organization or business and the relationship between the organization and society, especially those affected or involved in their activities (Boje and Dennehy, 2008:68). Therefore, corporate social responsibility concerns the social environment as well as a changed social contract. There have been arguments that contemporary organizations must consider the societal impacts of their actions and decisions. Organizations must improve and protect the welfare of the entire public. In this regard therefore, organizations must focus on not only on their organizational effectiveness but also on the responsibility of addressing societal needs (Sims, 2003:216). The evidence for this must be present in a set of unwritten and written rules and assumptions designed in a corporate manner. This is part of the business ethics that the critical and postmodernism ideas expect to be integrated at all aspects and levels of the organization. Modern organizations must concern themselves with greater usefulness, specificity, and consistency of ethics. Furthermore, organization must deal with ethical situations and behaviours adhering to commonly held and morally acceptable values that are consistent with personal perception of values. Organizational managers are not strangers to corporate social responsibility or business ethics. Being one of eth stakeholders, a manager must understand and differentiate what activities to initiate and what not to, which form the two aspects that govern the ethical decision-making of managers. Often, managers perceive their roles as providers of inputs whether not so productive or productive experiences (Sims, 2003:102). Thus, they would present the organization and personal expectation. However, when it comes to ethics and social responsibility, manages face numerous challenges from the ability of employees to learn as well as their ability to teach business ethics in accordance with personal values and perception concerning business ethics. Some researchers argue that business-oriented institutions cannot teach students fundamental basics such as ethical values or moral principles as some form of professional add-ons. This would make it difficult for mangers to inculcate virtue and impart morality to other future managers. It then follows that workforce engagement becomes more challenging as every individual employs different behaviours and attitudes towards works (Tosi et al., 2000:132). Abiding by the corporate social responsibility and business ethics affect and influence the emotions, behaviours, and attitudes of the employees as well as the manager concerning corporate citizenship. Conclusion Based on managerial mindsets, which include analytic, worldly, reflective, catalytic, and collaborative, critical and postmodernism ideas provide directions of the development of managerial attitudes and behaviours based on the autonomy of managers, the pursuit of being a learning organization, the empowerment of less powerful individuals and groups in the organization, and the growing organizational interdependence. In addition, the behaviours of managers take the shape of principles of knowledge and power, construction, complex human subject, and perspectives, as well as all the aspects that encompass these principles (Tosi et al., 2000:210). Bibliography Boje, D. M. and Dennehy, R. F. 2008. Managing in the Postmodern World. Charlotte, NC: IAP. Miller, L., Rankin, N. and Neathy, F. 2001. Competency frameworks in UK organizations: key issues in employer’s use of competencies. London: Blackwell Publishing. Rupp, D.E., Ganapathi, J., Aguilera R.V. and Williams, C.A. 2006. Employee reactions to corporate social responsibility: an organizational justice framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 2. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. Sims, R. R. 2003. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Why Giants Fall. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishing House. Thompson, L. L. 2007. Making the Team: A Guide for Managers. (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Tosi, H. L., Mero, N. P. and Rizzo, J. R. 2000. Managing Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing. Read More