Distinction between Mentoring and Management - Assignment Example

Management affiliation Management The mentoring process The mentoring process is an arrangement by which a more knowledgeable parson acts as a tutor to a lesser knowledgeable person. The mentoring process is however, not based on only the tutoring process but also the creation of a friendly and workable relationship. The person providing mentorship is referred to as the mentor while the apprentice is referred to as the mentee (Boreen et.al, 2000). The process of mentorship is divided into four phases. The four phases are designed by the mentor as he is responsible for organizing the whole process till its conclusion. The four phases are (Boreen et.al, 2000): Preparing for mentorship Negotiating the mentoring relationship Facilitating learning, professional networking and advocacy Closure of mentoring relationship A mentoring relationship is based on numerous factors that relate to the success of the process as preferred by both the mentor and mentee. The basic relationship requirements include (Boreen et.al, 2000): What is the relationship between the mentor and mentee How often should the two meet in person What are the responsibilities of each partner What is the criteria of success What is the preferred style by both partners When the mentoring relationship will be closed The process of mentoring provides significant influence in career development. In women and minority groups mentoring is regarded as a mandatory requirement. Women and minority are viewed as a weaker part of the human race. For this reason, they are exposed to limited career opportunities and resources. Through mentoring this gap is lessened as they are provided an opportunity to learn basic career requirements from experts. This also improves their succeeding probability. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The ADA was created to respond to the plight of the disabled or otherwise challenged persons. The Act was signed in 2009 by President Bush. Main components in the Act focused on making work places comfortable for the disabled or other wise challenged persons. Additionally, public places and entities were also required to be observant of the Act (Schall, 1998). In the act the beneficiaries are described as people with physical disabilities. The act excluded the inclusion of people affected by drug or substance abuse and visually impaired people whose sight can be corrected by the use of an optical lens. Major components of the act are based on creating a comfortable environment for the disabled people. The components include (Schall, 1998): Employment- a covered entity shall not discriminate against a qualified individual but has a disability Public entities- in this section disability discrimination is advised against in all public entities in the local and state level. Public accommodations- every person with disability has a right to enjoyment of good and services offered at public accommodation entities. Telecommunications- all telecommunication companies in the U.S are required to put in place mechanisms enhancing communication with the deaf and dumb persons, Other provisions- in this section offenders are warned against any use of threat to a disable person to hinder pursuit if justice The ADA has positively impacted the working environment as companies have become more sensitive in making working places comfortable to the disabled persons. To ensure compliance of the ADA, an employer should put in place systems and mechanisms that address the issues raised by the ADA. For instance, an organization should advice other employees against discriminating against disabled persons (Schall, 1998). Alternatives to traditional work schedules Traditional work schedules were heavily demanding on employees as they had to work during many hours and the output displayed could not match the time taken to complete tasks. Working on full time or eight hour day daily on the employer’s place of work was limiting to employees in terms exposing them to new ideas and resources. These working schedules only demanded for physical presence of the employee rather than performance (Weigers, 2003). Many strategies have been put in place to change this perception of working schedules. Alternatives have been created to increase the performance of the employee and more reasonable hours. In the alternatives, the physical appearance of the employee is not of much concern. One developed alternative practice is the use of organization networks for the storage and access of company information. In this alternative, company information can be accessed from any location thus minimizing the pressure that an employee has to attend to work at the employer’s desk (Weigers, 2003). This alternative is fast and not time bound as tasks can be completed at the convenience of the employee. Such practices have become popular since they have increased the output of employee and at their own convenience. The popularity of these alternative methods is also based on the fact the level of production in an organization increases. In accepting these changes, organization managers have implemented systems that would enable them to implement mechanisms that have incorporated new alternatives (Weigers, 2003). For instance, putting in place effective and functional IT systems would provide a functional and effective alternative to the traditional organization settings. Workplace security Security in terms of workplace environment refers to the level of security in an organization in regards to ensuring the safety of employees. On many occasions, organizations tend to disregard the safety of employees and focus on the external environment. In an argument by Ladou (2006) security in the workplace is a mandatory requirement as employees are responsible for the success in an organization. Additionally, the term security may refer to the safety of employees in terms of workplace violence (Ladou, 2006). In ensuring there is no workplace violence, organizations have developed mechanisms and systems under the human resource that address issues raised by employees. In the modern organization setting, employees are exposed to mediums that enhance activism for their rights. Under human resources, an organization ensures that all employees are well protected. Additionally, the human resources are given an authority mandate that ensures that their decisions are not influenced by other authority figures. Another means of ensuring a workplace is free of violence is by putting in place laws and regulations that define violence and punishment in case a person perpetrates violence (Ladou, 2006). These regulations should be general and govern each and every person in the organization regardless of their position. Another security concern that may arise in an organization is the safety of employee when handling company machines and materials. This can be connected to the health and safety risks present in the working environment. Performance appraisal Performance appraisal refers to the act by which an organization rewards exemplary performers. Baumeister & Vohs (2004) define performance appraisal as a reward system that acknowledges employee hard work and success. Many organizations have implemented the use performance appraisal with the assumption that employees would be motivated thus increasing the human resource input. Baumeister & Vohs (2004) argue that this systems works as organizations tend to record high employee input after developing rewarding schemes. Development and structuring of performance appraisals are conducted by the management team. The system clearly defines conditions and positions that would benefit from the system. In most occasions, appraisal systems are structured to meet particular organization targets and objective. For instance, an organization may state that achieving a certain level of performance may be rewarded. The set success mark will motivate employees to attain the organization’s target. The main role of performance appraisal is to enhance the performance of employees and reach company targets. Baumeister & Vohs (2004) argue that it is human nature to develop a positive mentality after promise of reward. This psychology approach to the significance of performance appraisal creates a definite assumption of the expected results. This also minimizes strategies to be generated by administrators to ensure the success of an organization. In case of poor developed appraisal, the results would be fatal for an organization. Once employees feel betrayed by an appraisal system, they tend to be less motivated in terms of performance. Employees would not attain even the lowest set company mark or target (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004). References Baumeister, R. & Vohs, K. (2004). Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications. New York: Guilford Press. Boreen, J., Johnson, M. K., Niday, D., & Potts, J. (2000). Mentoring beginning teachers: guiding, reflecting, coaching. New York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers. Ladou, J. (2006). Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Boston: McGraw-Hill Professional. Schall, C. (1998). The Americans with Disabilities Act—Are We Keeping Our Promise? An Analysis of the Effect of the ADA on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 10(3) 191–203. Wiegers, K. E. (2003). The Essential Software Requirement. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press. Read More