The Managerial Escalator Concept - Term Paper Example

? Managerial Escalator Introduction This report will evaluate the extent to which the “managerial escalator” (Rees and Porters 7) concept fits into real life organizations and how it affects the development of managers. Specifically, the report will examine the principles behind the managerial escalator and the point of view that the authors want to put across in regards to the issue of management. Also, the report will analyze how two managers career growth relates to the managerial escalator concept. The report will examine the managerial responsibilities and career paths of the two managers from a Mauritius Bank and establish the link or lack there of with the managerial escalator principles. The Managerial Escalator The “managerial escalator” concept seeks to explain how specialists grow in their careers to become managers. In most companies and organizations, specialists are employed to perform a specific activity that is in line with their profession (Rees and Porter 7). For instance, an engineer may be hired to specifically deal with the design and implementation of technical concepts. This specialization cuts across various fields for professionals such as accountants, scientists and other professional fields. After some time in the job, a specialist may acquire some minor supervisory duties. For example, a senior engineer may have the responsibility to guide new employees with their job assignments and also check on their progress. These supervisory duties may be very informal since the specialist may not have a direct managerial role. Once the specialist attains experience of say five years, it is not uncommon for him or her to be promoted to a senior role. The new role may require the specialist to officially perform some sort of managerial duties albeit on a smaller scale (Schermerhorn & Schermerhorn 2011). Foe instance, an accountant may be put in charge of a small division within the accounting department. The role of leading a team inherently requires some level of managerial skills from the specialist The specialist may get further promotions as he or she attains more experience on the job. In the course of their duties, specialists often gain some managerial experience albeit informally. The managerial escalator concept argues that specialists may actually end up spending most of their time in management roles unknowingly. It is imperative that amount of time that an individual spends on a given position will depend on the individual’s skills (Mintzberg, 2009). Thus, the course of progress in the managerial escalator will vary from person to person. Even though a specialist may continue spending time in the area of specialization, the managerial shift occurs when the specialist finds himself spending more time managing people rather than engaging in the specialized activities himself (Rees and Porter 6) The progression from being a specialist to being a manager may not necessarily be similar for all individuals. One of the critical elements that dictate the evolution of specialists to managers is the structure of an organization (Schermerhorn & Schermerhorn 67). Specialists who are given some level of responsibilities and independence progress faster to managerial positions in comparison to those who have limited responsibility. In some organizations, there are specific guidelines that determine the career progression of its employees. It should be noted specialists who transition into managers may not have the requisite managerial skills. In fact, most organizations do not train their specialists with managerial skills and in the rare occasions where the managers are trained, the skills give are not effective. Thus, it is common in organization to find specialists turned managers who have only informal management skills. The transition from a specialist to a manager may also face some challenges. Management requires specialist skills in order to lead and instruct others appropriately. The possession of specialist skills may also come in handy especially in organizations that are technically oriented. It is difficult for a person to manage in an environment in which he or she does not understand. Thus, it can be argued that specialists turned managers are a good fit for an organization to prosper. However, the specialist nature of managers may also create significant challenges in the execution of managerial duties (Weirich and Cannice 2010). One of the significant problems that specialists who become managers face is that they may no longer have enough time to perform the duties in which they are trained. For instance, an engineer turned manager may find himself engaging in paperwork and supervisory roles instead of doing technical work. Similarly, a cost accountant who becomes a manager may have to deal with marketing and sales aspects and little of accounting. This implies that the specialist has to abandon the skills that may have taken years to hone in order to concentrate on executing managerial duties. In many cases, this may result in a feeling of being wasted and the manager may not fully appreciate the job at hand (Mintzberg 2009). It is common for specialist to have an emotional attachment to their specialization and the specialized activities give them a sense of fulfillment. Hence, it is imperative that the new managers may actually be engaging in duties that they do not like at all. Management jobs inherently require working with people and helping them to attain the targeted goals of an organization (Rees and Porter 2005). Therefore, a good manager has to have excellent people skills and possess the ability to work in diverse conditions. Specialists on the other hand are used to working in a specific environment and often within very small teams. Thus, specialists need to be equipped with more managerial and people skills before being assigned managerial roles. Employee interviews In order to understand the effect of “managerial escalator” in an organization, I interviewed two employees from Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank. The aim of the interviews was to establish the career paths of the two employees and how they rose to senior management positions. Specifically, I was interested in evaluating how their professional backgrounds impacted on their managerial skills and how they could relate with the managerial escalator principles. The first employee I interviewed was Employee X who was the Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Employee X was appointed as the CEO of Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank two years ago after serving in various organizations for over twenty years. Employee X has a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Masters in Business. The employee also has post graduate diploma in management studies as well as various technical certifications. Employee X’s career began immediately after graduating from university at an international manufacturing company as an intern engineer. He worked under the senior engineer of the company for one year. During this period, employee X learned practical knowledge related to electrical engineering. Most of the duties involved activities that required technical knowledge and working within a small team charged with the running of the machinery. After the engineering internship, employee X was selected to participate in the company’s management internship program. This was a two year program in which the interns were required to spend three months in all the departments of the company. Employee X successfully completed the program after two years and was appointed assistant manager in the production department. In this position, employee X was charged with managing the shifts and also managing all the employees who operated the plant machinery. Employee X was promoted after two years to the position of production manager. Further, the employee X was promoted to head the entire operations department which comprised of the production, transport and storage departments. After five years, employee X was appointed the as the Chief Executive Officer of the plant. Due to his exemplary performance as the CEO of the manufacturing plant, employee X was head hunted to become the CEO of Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank. The second employee interviewed was employee Y who was in charge of human resources in Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank. Employee Y had a degree in Accounting and a post graduate diploma in management studies. He was also a chartered human resource administrator. Employee Y’s first job assignment was with an international auditing company as an audit associate. In this role, employee Y was charged with the duties of assisting the audit partner in the organization as well as other performing other audit related duties. The employee underwent a crash program that was meant to impart the necessary auditing skills required to perform the job. After one year, the employee was transferred to the human resources department to serve as human resources officer in charge of records and administration. Employee Y was promoted to the position of junior partner in the human resources department. The employee served in the human resources department for three years after which he was promoted to become a partner and then a senior partner in charge of the human resources section. The employee moved to another organization where he was appointed as the human resource manager. Eventually, employee Y was headhunted to serve as the group human resources manager for the Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank. Discussion The two employees who were interviewed rose from specialist position to become managers. Employee X was an engineer by training while employee Y was an accountant by training. However, after a few years in their areas of specialization the two employees transitioned into managerial roles. The case of employee X fits into the concept of “managerial escalator”. The employee started off as an engineering intern and then moved into management internship. After the managerial internship, employee X moved into a managerial position in the technical department. It should be noted that employee X was given a managerial responsibility after only one year as a specialist engineering intern. Suffice to say, the management internship position played an important role in preparing the employee fro a managerial position. One of the most important aspects of management is the ability to look at the bigger picture.() By taking assignments in all the departments of the company, the employee had a full grasp of all the operations of the company and thus in a better place to make decisions that were cognizant of the entire company’s operations. From the interview, it is evident that the employee had to advance his education in order to have a better grasp of management responsibility. Employee X had to take a post graduate diploma in management as well as a Masters Degree in Business while still at work. This means that the employee had to learn some of the management skills while at work. The previous knowledge and skills that employee X possessed were not sufficient to function as a manager in the organization. It is imperative to note that the employee rose to the top of the organization despite the fact that his previous training was of technically specialized nature. Employee Y was trained as an accountant. However, his role evolved over time and he eventually became a human resource manager. This career progression also indicates that the employee transitioned from being a specialist to being a manager. His specialist skills were only necessary for the first few years of his career after which he had to learn management skills. Consistent with the principle of “managerial escalator” both employees indicated that they had to learn managerial skills while on the job. Their companies did not provide the required training to equip them with all the skills that were required to be manager. In fact, employee X pointed out that even during his stint as a management trainee, he was not given any team to lead. It was therefore a surprise fro him to be charged with the responsibility of managing the production team yet all he had were technical skills. Soft skills and people skills are critical components for effective management. The employees noted that they lacked the soft skills that were necessary to manage the people who were under them when they were first appointed as managers. To fill in for this shortage of skills, employee X and Y had to learn from their superiors and by being observant. They also enrolled in management classes in order to sharpen their grasp of the topic of management. It was also noted that employee X and employee Y felt that they still missed their areas of specialization. Employee X who was an engineer by training pointed out that he felt he had a lot of unused knowledge in his field of specialization. Employee Y indicated that he still had a passion for accounting and auditing. Employee X also pointed out that he was more inclined towards the Information and Communication Technology department in his organization since it involved areas in which he was an expert. This is consistent with the “managerial escalator” concept whereby the specialist turned manager has some inclinations to his or her area of specialization. Conclusion It is common for specialist to transition into management roles at one point in their careers. This concept of “managerial escalator” is evident in many organizations where specialist employees such as engineers are eventually given managerial responsibilities. Employee X and employee Y moved from specialist positions to become managers in their organization. One of the challenges that the specialists face in their new roles as managers is lack of the required managerial skills. The two managers that were interviewed indicated that they had managerial skills gap when they were first appointed as managers. Therefore, it is important tat specialist employees should be equipped with managerial skills to prepare them for their future responsibilities. Bibliography Mintzberg, H 2009, Managing. Financial Times/Prentice Hall, New York. Rees, W, & Porter, C, 2005. ‘Results of a survey into how people become managers and the management development implications’. Industrial and commercial Training, 37(5), 252-258. Rees, W. D., & Porter, C. 2008, The skills of management. Cengage Learning Business Press, London. Schermerhorn, J,, & Schermerhorn, J 2011, Introduction to management, John Wiley & Sons, New York. Weihrich, H, & Cannice, V 2010, Management. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New York Read More