The Ways of Problem-Solving in Management - Essay Example

The Ways in which a Manager might Attempt to Counteract the Tendency for Dominant Logic to Limit Managerial Thinking and Problem-Solving over Time Managers within different businesses have to look at several different angles which are related with the business itself. This means that there is a general sense of negativity attached with the way in which managers perform their tasks. It also gives air to the notion that managers know nothing about what the requirements of the stakeholders are in the whole equation but then again this assumption might just not be correct as well. The managers might just be thinking about the long term scenarios and therefore have to sacrifice the short term interests of the stakeholders for their long term ones. However this is all pretty confusing to understanding and more so within the business circles and the related processes in which managers perform their duties and tasks. Organizations in the present times are doing their utmost in order to know more and more about their valued customers and stakeholders. For this, they have devised certain strategies which are in line with the values that their business has set for itself. These values are thus deeply intrinsic within the mission and vision statements of the company. In order to gain further knowledge about the customers, research is being given proper emphasis which would eventually discern the exact basis for the customers to come and make that vital purchase. It is a fact that the business world of present times can have a lot of improvement within their ranks if they adopt the policy of working towards the establishment of a performance management system. This would guarantee them a lot of success as their employees and workers would dedicate their whole hearted efforts towards the well being of the company as well as towards their own individual capacities. Also these would not care for the long term gains or the short term ones as long as the company is benefiting from their actions and one should believe that at the end of the day, the same is very significant to say the least. [Dean, 2002] Once these performance management systems are installed and in place, we can have a proper check and balance mechanism as concerns to the people who are working in the company. Performance management systems make use of the fact that performance is increased on the part of all concerned and there is no shortfall as concerns to commitment, dedication and devotion when at work. The performance management systems can ensure the right people for getting the bonuses, incentives and so on as well as point out the ones who have fallen short on the company’s expectations over a period of time. This would help in giving them rewards and incentives which will eventually make one and all happy at the end. Also this will continue their desire to achieve more and more within a specified period of time and thus come into the good books of the company. In return, they can be given all these rewards so that they could be encouraged in line with their work attitudes. Moreover, the people who lag behind with regards to their work schedules and dedication levels will stand up and take notice and thus would want to be counted as the effective and efficient ones within the company as well. The role of organizations in the maintenance of these systems is also very paramount. The role played by the organizations in advancing their performance management systems is immense since a lot of the population depends on them for their needs and wants. This is met in a fair manner courtesy the E-government initiative adopted by several different companies and organizations. All such innovations which help and facilitate the related process must indeed be given thumbs up since these try to solve the miseries of the people and it is because of these people that the performance management systems are put into place originally. The important thing here is to understand that incentives are not divided between the short term and long term parallels rather the focus has to be made strong, one that is directed towards the betterment of the company and nothing else. This further pinpoints the fact that the deployment of an efficient performance management system policy within the organization would indeed help it to essentially tackle its internal issues in a better and more effective manner possible. Managers need to understand that the strategic options can be balanced alongside the tactical and short lived goals which are basically brought into play so as to meet some realistic goals and tasks. They need to align the same in the light of the mission and vision statements which are drawn up by the company when it was formed. The usage of sound planning on the part of the managers is very imperative as it ensures that the same is not only important to the whole well being and the actual basis of the business but also the manner in which it invites the short term gains and incentives that come along all this while. [Elkin, 1998] Long term planning has to be drawn in the light of the objectives that the company has set for itself and this does not mean that the revenues and profits alone are the points that need discussion rather the emphasis is on understanding the mission and vision statements of the company and the manner in which the two align with the goals that it has to meet over a period of time and then only weigh it with the benefits that are reached courtesy the long term incentives and the short term gains. Thus it is a fact that contingency planning is the buzzword which is making the business circles’ rounds in the current times. These provide a stop gap solution to the needs which are drawn up by the companies and then the answer is found out so as to cope up with the very same. Different scenarios and short term plans thus provide for a lot of cushion as far as vital tactical planning on the part of the said company is concerned and this indeed forms up as an important ingredient of the different processes that are running within the company. It might also be possible that the different departments present within a company have their own respective agendas that they have to meet and thus the long term planning can take a back seat in this equation. The administrative, decisional, interpersonal and other skills present within the repertoire of the management of the company have to understand that the long term planning has to make way for the tactical moves that are introduced within the company every now and then and which is for the betterment of all concerned, more than anything else, for the company and its stability in the long run itself. The skills just discussed have to come into play so that all of these unite and thus form up as a single, coherent message, a message that will take over the reigns of the company and talk about the problems that it is facing in the light of the completion and the eventual attainment of the strategic goals. The short term activities and tasks thus gain more and more attention from all concerned, not only the employees working within the company but also the stakeholders who have one thing or the other within the proper and sound functioning of the business, the consumers who want to know what exactly is happening with the company’s different products and services and why there is a lag at the retail side of those very products and services. The important thing to understand is that the relevant environment which is present within the company and in relation with the whole industry where competition is banging on this company’s doors in a fierce manner is very vital. The environment thus forms the basis for the tactical moves that the company makes from time to time and this should not mean that the long range planning which had been done is forgotten, however it is a fact in the business concerns that it takes a back seat for sure, but only for a certain period of time. This could be so very true in times of turbulence, tension, government and legal litigations, pressures from different quarters and not to forget the reactions (in a negative tone) on the part of the consumers and the stakeholders as well. [Orpen, 1985] Environmental analysis is thus a significant management tool, one that builds on the assumption that ‘at the moment’ decisions and plans are much better than drawing them up in the past and sticking on to them no matter how trying and tough the circumstances are, with respect to a company. At times, a conflict within an organization can take place due to differing personalities of the employee and the manager or in their attitudes that lead towards their linkage with each other. This could also happen due to their norms and behaviors which might not be liked by any one party (person) and thus lead to a conflict of thoughts, ideas, actions and eventual behaviors towards each other. There is a degree of power when we speak of the manager in terms of the same over his subordinate or the employee who is working under him in a direct or an indirect capacity. Team building is one of the most significant aspects that come under the functions of a manager and he needs to make sure that he is the leader for all the activities and tasks that are happening under his vigilant eyes. Team building is all the more important because the manager needs to take decisions in line with the knowledge that his team can deliver under crunch situations and also because he has to take the company forward all this while. Thus it is imperative on his part to understand that the strengths and weaknesses of the team members are equally crucial and his requirement takes more ground in this whole equation when a difficult situation crops up. Thus a good team is only built when the leader knows his team members pretty well and turns the weaknesses of different individuals within the team into their strengths and not only that but also in the strength of the team overall. [Llewellyn, 2002] A manager can only be termed an effective one when he understands his resources and what his team members can possibly do to their maximum in those available resources. Only then there is a sense of empathy and understanding amongst the team members and consideration towards the leader of the team which in this case is the manager himself. Thus, a good team is developed when there is complete harmony in the activities of the team members and there is basically a synergy amongst all of them. This synergy can only be encouraged by the team leader, which in this case is through an effective and considerate manager. Decision making is another crucial aspect that forms up as one of the tasks coming under the manager post. He has to make sure that all the decisions that are made courtesy the team that he is heading are clear enough for all and sundry to relate with and at no point in time, the team members must feel the heat for an anomaly within the ranks, say at a later stage. The manager has to bring all the members on board so that there is transparency in the activities of the whole team and the accountability process is also visible. The motivation of the employees is an on going activity, one that constantly requires backing and support since the employees might feel threatened on the job due to work pressures and no visible opportunities of growth whilst remaining within the team. Since the team leader is the manager himself, no one can supersede him but there is always room for taking over other processes’ activities and becoming a manager of some other business unit division nonetheless. Motivation therefore has to be a consistent task, one that requires complete backing on the part of the manager so that the workers can give in their best shot at all times and there is no room for working beneath the expected levels, no matter how easy the circumstances are at some point in time. Motivation can count as an important point since when there is a need for accountability, the workers come out clean in such a situation and they have nothing else than truth to present which is for the betterment of the whole team, to the reputation of the manager who is leading the related team and lastly, and in the bigger picture, towards the benefit of the organization in the long run. Therefore the manager must realize his duties and in doing so ensure that he does not let down on a team member’s capabilities which he can easily harness through performance of an activity which he is basically not allowed to undergo. Then again the discussion of strengths and weaknesses is raised here in this equation as it brings to light the issues of understanding the finer points that the team of a manager has and changing the shortcomings into potential benefits and advantages on the part of not only the said individual but towards the benefits that the whole team and indeed the organization can attain as a result. Similarly, managing change within an organization is one of the most significant aspects that come under its sound functioning regime. Only the companies which are able to come to terms with the new norms and practices are the ones that succeed not only in the short term but also in the longer scheme of things. This means that the company has to devise certain ways and means through which it can manage change, measure it and effectively counter the problems that come in its way all this while. The learning process, meanwhile on the part of the organization is immense since it finds out the exact mechanisms and procedures through which change is going to affect the employees’ and stakeholders’ relationship with the company’s central essence, which is the top management, making all the decisions that would eventually benefit the company in the long run. The change agents thus have to act in unison with the company’s top regime which is bent upon having further advancements and enhancements within the business and indeed the whole of the organization machinery. The statement thus becomes even truer in the light that cultural aspects are pretty much significant in the wake of a single voice for the effective portrayal of change as the same is echoed from the organization’s standpoint. A number of organizations around the world have time and again changed and altered their strategies so that they can reap the benefits of both the short term as well as the long one. This, they do in order to guarantee that the stakeholders remain satisfied with the workings of the organization as well as to ensure that its products and/or services are in the recall set of the target audience. However much more than this is needed to keep the organizations on track as well as serve in the best interest possible for all concerned. This would mean that organizations have to invest in not only a change in strategy over a period of time but also carry out related activities like proper methods of hiring, removing inefficient employees, investing a little more on the units which are ready to default as well as strengthen the cash cow strategic unit of the company, all the same. Thus a culture of managing change and indeed accepting it in the truest sense is imperative not only on the part of the managers but also the organization’s employees who should know that the new culture would only benefit for their own selves and would provide more room for their growth in the immediate future. On the same token and continuing with the discussion, the basis of all strategies and structural changes that usually happen from time to time lies on the shoulders of the top management where they have to decide whether or not the adopted strategy could be the source of light in the coming quarters or years for that matter. It is only upon their insistence to have the same within their ranks that the new strategic planning is done in the first place. If the top management is not ready, it is very difficult for the knowledge organization, which really is the middle management of present times, to do even an iota of struggle. The multinationals for that matter depend a lot on the parental concerns, which at times, might be located off shores and there is no easy access to them as well. But then again it is all about finding out what the goals of the real organization are and then following them like the textbook proverb. The structural changes usually happen from time to time and more so without even informing all and sundry but what is more important for the workers and employees within an organization is to know that these changes would bring in more revenue for the said multinational organization and in turn become the basis for their own respective well being and success in the industry, both financially as well as socially. In the end, it would be fair to comment that the managers have a lot going for them and it is their will and determination to bring out the best from the whole team and indeed the entire process that they are working upon. Now it is up to them how they understand the situation and how best they can cope up with the demands that the very situation entails of them and their team members. All said and done, managers have a responsibility to play within an organization, no matter how large or small it is. The end result has to be one that is geared towards the results that the manager can bring out with the available resources and the exploitation (in a positive sense) of the team members’ strengths. BIBLIOGRAPHY ELKIN, Paul. (1998). Mastering Business Planning and Strategy: The Power of Strategic Thinking. Thorogood LLEWELLYN, Robert N. (2002). The Four Career Concepts: Managers can learn how to better develop their people by learning how they’re motivated – Management Tools: Supervisor Resources HR Magazine ORPEN, Christopher. (1985). The Effects of Long Range Planning on Small Business Performance: A Further Examination. Journal of Small Business Management Vol. 23 DEAN, Joan. (2002). Implementing Performance Management: A Handbook for Schools. RoutledgeFalmer Word Count: 3,066 Read More