Smart Rules: Six Ways to Get People to Solve Problems without You by Morieux - Article Example

Managing Complexity Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecture Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 31th March, 2012. Adopted from: Morieux, Y. 2011, Smart Rules: Six Ways to Get People to Solve Problems Without You, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 89, Issue 9, pp.78-86. 1. Smart Rules: Six ways to get people to solve problems without you Technology has enabled the availability of a variety of options in products combined with Globalization the markets have widened and the number of competitors has risen significantly. Advantage over rival offerings is harder to realize as appropriate approaches to keep changing. Goals for performance for companies thus keep changing and increasing, some goals clash with other for example need to keep customer satisfaction through cheaper and quality offering, target specific market segments, innovate product while keeping operating efficiently. This means an organization has to take a multifaceted structure in response to a complex and dynamic business environment. Layers and procedures are added to align organizations with the needs of its environment causing low productivity as managers spend half of their time preparing reports or in “coordination meetings, instead of utilizing it to properly direct employees. Adopting the following “simple rules” can deal with this problem without having adding new layers or procedures. Rule 1: Promote an understanding of other workers tasks Workers in an organization can interact with their co-workers while they are they are doing their assigned duties in order to a have a feel of what their jobs entail in terms of objectives and the measure of difficult faced in doing their work. When employees understand how other workers contribute to organization goals and what they challenges they face in their daily work they are able to co-operate with them in a way to that eases their work and reduces blame for problems on employees skill level or intelligence. Rule: Reinforce workers who integrate interactions Instead of adding a middle office to coordinate operations between back and front office staff an organization can use individuals already known to be good find ways which different organizational units can ease each other’s tasks. Responsibilities and powers to these individuals should be increased and rules relaxed to make sure they are less restricted in their work. Rule 3: Spread Power through-out all the organizational levels Employees should have more authority on issues that touch on their work, other peoples work and consequently the organizations work. This power will enable them show creativity in providing solutions and be more open about problems they experience. However this should be done by creating “new power base” to avoid disgruntlement of those who previously held the power that is whittled down. Rule 5 Increase Need for Reciprocity Making worker that are responsible for co-operation to fulfill a certain task partly responsible for the quality of the outcome of that task will mean they will participate more actively in having that task carried out properly. Rule 5: Make Employee feel the Shadow of the future An organization should make sure those involved in a task are “held accountable” for the outcome of tasks within the shortest time possible Rule 6: Blaming the Uncooperative An organization should encourage those who need help to request assistance and failure those to co-operate should lead to blame for failure being placed on the unit or person refusing to co-operate. 2. Functions and roles and management The article ‘smart rules: six ways to get people to solve problems without you’ directly relates to the functions and roles of management. Notably, management roles and functions revolve around planning, controlling, organizing staffing and leading not to forget coordinating (Mathis & Jackson 2010, pp 7). The article emphasizes on the six points on improved understanding of what coworkers do, reinforcement on integrators, expansion of available power, feeling the shadow of the future and the blame on the uncooperative. All these points are inherent of the management functions respective of their emphasis. In most occasions, the planning role of the management is also referred to as budgeting. The role includes the setting of goals and putting in advance the necessary steps in the attainment of the preset goals. Planning or budgeting is involved with financial, human and physical resource allocation towards the organizational main objective. In regard to the article, planning is a very essential part in solving organizational problems. Inherent to planning, problems and challenges should be overseen and strategic measures prepared to counter such events. This is the case especially with organizations that have a going concern. The rule numbered 4 ‘increase the need for reciprocity’ with cited examples of excess televisions in a family, the family life gets diminished. Consequently, an organization should plan for adequate resources only to have a centralized objective with ease attainment (Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86). The article extensively talks about organizing, staffing and coordinating managerial functions in the sense of subordinate workers coordination and responsibility. The managerial organizing function involves team management, work assigning and granting of authority. On the other hand, the article emphasizes on expansion of the power available and improved understanding of what coworkers do. These will increase team work and assignment of authority efficiently as it is in the organizational managerial function of organizing. The controlling function of the management has been related to the articles emphasis. Controlling works on establishment of organization standards in regard to production, operation, and customer service. In addition, the management control consequently flows to the measurement of actual performance which is later compared with the set standards and measuring the deviation of the actual outcomes from them. Consequently, the corrective actions are taken (Mathis & Jackson 2010, pp 7). In regard to the article, control is a key major point of concern in solving organizational problems especially when directed to human resources. ‘Putting the blame on the uncooperative’, is a corrective measure as part of the control function to correct errors and problems in an organization (Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86). In the outlook of the article, cooperation and team work inherent to the understanding of workers by the management is based on cooperation and coordination of workers and management. Concurrently, leadership, division and expansion of authority in direction to solving managerial problems communally reveal relationship between the article and the management functions. Actually, the article has not changed my understanding of the management functions. On the other hand, the article mainly emphasizes on planning, controlling, organizing and coordinating collective with the corrective actions in the controlling function. 3. Solving the problem Planning, controlling, organizing, staffing and leading functions of the company inherent of cooperation and coordination function of the management, the problems addressed in the company will be effectively solved. However, additional problem solving tactics in reference to Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86 ‘Smart rules: six ways to get people to solve problems without you’ will also help to solve the problem in the company. In regard to the problem of unsatisfied customers on equipments not working and the nature of service, control measures need be emphasized and a control corrective action consequently be taken (Kerzner 2005, pp 14). I would be most appropriate to increase team work and promote responsibility among the supporting service staff. These will consequently lead to the proper checking of the equipments and cooperation to give efficient customer service. In addition, bonuses would be used to motivate efficiency in customer satisfaction. According Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86 to the rule ‘improve understanding of what coworkers do’ would solve the problem of lack of cooperation and coordination between the equipments and the supporting service staff. Following the rule, the staff should be able to effectively cooperate and solve the entire problem. However, lack of follow through might come up as a challenge. Coherently, the sixth rule in Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86 would work on it. Putting the blame on the uncooperative will increase efficiency in customer satisfaction from cooperation and coordination of the distinguished staff. Any group that does not adequately provide cooperation when called for will bear the burden of the blame consequently, efficiency will be improved in that fear. However, the staff won’t work for efficiency but will work to evade the blame. This will pose an organizational problem to my company (Kerzner 2005, pp 116). Consequently, the policy or the rule of integrators reinforcement will work out together with power expansion to bind both staff for team work and efficiency in production and supporting service. The integrators and the expansion of powers would encourage team work and overrun the policy of blaming for lack of coordination since team work will have covered that. My consideration on coordinating unit would not be formed from outside by increasing the number of managers. This is inherent of the objective to have a centralized goal structure that all departments will work towards. Increasing the number resources which in this case refer to the human resources will not solve the problem (Morieux 2011, pp 78- 86). As a matter of fact, the act will just contribute towards shifting of the goal posts. The only outsourcing that will be necessary on human resources will be that of handling of the special equipments that will be introduced in the company to reserve competitiveness (Mathis & Jackson 2010, pp 145). The special equipment handlers will be use in tailoring the needs of the support service team. However, the equipments staff need acknowledgement of the special equipment prior to the supporting staff. The problem of my company will be solved by through the cooperation managerial function. Working towards improved understanding between coworkers, division of the blame under lack of cooperation, reinforcement of integrators and planning in regard to the required resources will solve the company’s problem without decentralizing the its organizational goal. Bibliography Kerzner, H 2005, Project Management: A system Approach to Planning, Schedule and Controlling, New York: Wiley. Mathis, R & Jackson, J 2010, Human Resource Management, London: South Western College Pub. Morieux, Y 2011, 'Smart rules: six ways to get people to solve problems without you', Harvard Business Review, vol. 89, no. 9, pp. 78-86. Read More