Nanyang Technology University and Management Theories - Essay Example

Part I: "People are our greatest asset" is a of the book by Holton, et al. (2002) that expresses the importance of people in any organization and becomes one of the business quotes being used today that brought various arguments as well as research and studies on the business field. Believing on the importance of people/individuals as they portray great roles in any organization requires understanding the people per se and the organization where they work. Importance of Understanding People in the Organization According to Dickson (1973), Hawthorne studies of Elton Mayo open the doors of viewing people in the organization as not just a part of the production of goods and services; but, an integral part of the organization that cannot simply be motivated through the compensation package given by the management and their behavior is correlated with their attitudes at work. As to Bedeian (1993), the Hawthorne Studies developed an onset focus on how the employees can be motivated through the approaches used by the management in human relationship. After Hawthorne Studies, a lot of related studies had been conducted by many researches that tried to explain how people from the organization can be best motivated and why motivation of employees is needed (Terpstra, 1979). According to Smith (1994), people from the organization must be motivated for survival; since, employees help the organization to survive. It comes to the point wherein managers like me must understand the need of the people in the organization to ensure that the employees are well-motivated. However, according to Bowen & Radhakrishna (1991), motivating the employees can be the most complex among the many functions of the managers, as people differences occur and needs and interests among individuals in the organization greatly exist. Comparing the needs of younger people and those that grow old in the organization, the younger people tend to be well-motivated with remuneration increases than that of the older ones. As people grows older, challenges in work becomes more of a motivator than money per se (Kovach, 1987). However, when the managers learn the skills needed in motivating people in the organization, the benefits in the organization can be fully achieved. According to Cranfield School of Management 'Leading and motivating the [your] staff helps bring about' (2008, n.p.): Higher staff retention - A well-motivated person in the organization will not intend to leave the organization as they achieve satisfactions on the organization itself. This in return leads to the reduction of recruitment costs. Management must bear in mind that a person lost in the organization is a skill and time lost of the organization. Higher levels of productivity- The organization benefits from well-motivated people as the people level of productivity is increased. The saying goes that people whose needs and integrity are uplifted work harder than those who are less motivated. More innovation and creativity- People in the organization who are well-motivated to work due to a better understanding of their needs and interests led them to accept better changes and guide them to be more innovative and creative. Higher profits- This is a by-product of increase in production and more innovative and creative people in the organization. A better reputation - A well-established organization brought about by well-motivated people create a better reputation in the industry and trust is built from the points of view of the business world. Understanding the Management Theories In order to fully understand people, the management must understand the different theories behind managing people in the organization. These theories may guide the management to the implementation of the organizations missions and visions in accordance to their programs; as well as these theories may help them to fully evaluate the organization's strengths and weaknesses in terms people management. As I have studied the different theories, I would like to present how I categorize the theories based on focus. The first category of management theories lies on motivational approaches that management must take into consideration in understanding people in the organization. These approaches are: Maslow's need-hierarchy theory- Maslow (1943) presented the five hierarchical needs of people. These are physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. The physiological needs include basic needs of people like food and shelter. These basic needs can be achieved through a better package of compensation on the part of the management. The safety needs include focus on stability in work which includes a program that may lead to better retention rate of people in the organization. The more secure the people feel, the more efficient they may perform. The ego needs require management to treat people in the organization equally and to show that they are appreciated in many ways. The last need as explained by Maslow (1943) is the need of people for self-actualization. Self-actualization requires the feeling of fulfillment on the part of the individuals. This need is hardest need to achieve as it is dependent on how each of individual in the organization view fulfillment. Variety of programs on the side of the management may aid people for self-actualization. Programs that focus on achievements and appreciations of the worth of people in the organization. The level of needs must be satisfied in accordance to hierarchy. Herzberg's two- factor theory- Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman (1959) established distinctions of two factors that affects motivation. The intrinsic or motivator factors produce satisfactions on jobs as they include recognitions and achievements for people within the organization. On the other hand, the extrinsic factors may produce job dissatisfactions among staffs. On this theory, management should uplift the intrinsic factor but also improves the extrinsic factors such as pay and security. These factors must be evaluated using various management tools and research to see how they impact the organization. Vroom's expectancy theory- Vroom's (1964) theory lies on the belief that rewards are achieved on employee's performance brought about by how employees exert their efforts. This goes that positive and negative rewards are directly proportional to employee's motivation. Positive rewards can lead to a well-motivated staff and negative rewards can lead to dissatisfaction and less motivation among employees. In this theory, the management must learn to develop programs that can boost positive rewards among the people in the organization. Adams' equity theory- . In this theory, Adam (1965) states that employees strive for equity among other employees. He states that equity or impartiality among employees is achieved when all employees' outputs over inputs are the same. Skinner's reinforcement theory- Skinner's theory simply states those employees' behaviors that lead to positive outcomes will be repeated and behaviors that lead to negative outcomes will not be repeated (Skinner, 1953). Managers should positively reinforce employee behaviors that lead to positive outcomes. Managers should negatively reinforce employee behavior that leads to negative outcomes. According to D on his article: Employee Motivation: Understanding Employees' Needs: 'One of the keys to being a successful manager is the ability to motivate employees to perform at their best. When employees aren't interested in their work or they're bored, employee motivation is low and productivity drops. Generally, employees are willing and able to work if they feel their job is important and they are appreciated (2006, n.p.) D's (2006) statement showed the importance of how managers' skills and approaches should be developed. This is the basis for the second category of management theories based on leadership theories. These theories are: Behavioral Approach - The behavioral approach of managers according to Williams and Sternberg (1995) varies on the type of leaders they are. In the Autocratic leadership, the managers solely do the decision making with the use of power of command over the subordinates. On the other hand, a democratic leadership involves participations of subordinates in decision-making. This type of leadership requires the manager to use expert power through close relationship with the subordinates. Contingency Approach- Lawrence and Lorsch (1967 stated that in the contingency theory the leadership style and behavior are influenced by environmental factors such as manager-staff relationships, structural task and Position power as stated in Fiedler's (1969) theory. In Hersey and Blanchard and Johnson's (2008) Situational theory, the leadership style is measured based on follower's readiness or maturity. And in Path-Goal Theory: The manager works to motivate followers and influence goal accomplishment in this path-goal theory (House, 1971). Contemporary Approach- In the contemporary approach the leadership functions are geared towards a development of learning organizations as well as leading transformations of the organization (Earl & Wakeley, 2004). Management theories and the key challenges of the 21st century Management theories are deemed important in meeting the key challenges of the 21st century as they provide standards on how the managers/leaders may address issues of management underlying on the changes brought about by the modern era. According to Nevins and Stumpf (1999) the key challenges of the 21st century are: 'Market forces include an increase in globalization that brings enormous multinational organizations through mergers and takeovers will continue to drive change in organizations at a macroeconomic level increases in scale and a global footprint [lies] a greater diversity in the work force and deeper requirements for specific technical expertise. With the advent of the 21st century, people issues are increasingly establishing themselves at center stage. What may not be apparent to tomorrow's managers is that tomorrow's staff will have very different expectations of, and demands on, their organizations; importantly, the employee-employer relationship in the best organizations of tomorrow will look very different than it did in the 20th century. With their increased complexity and globalization, organizations are demanding skills and abilities from their leaders that are only beginning to be understood... Strategic focus and vision, coupled with a practical sense of when to be flexible and adaptable, will be most critical for survival. An ability to manage multiple points of view simultaneously will differentiate the best managers: to keep the high-level goals in sight while managing and tracking day-to-day success; to understand equally the points of view and needs of the customer and of the organization; to be able to empathize with all stakeholders in order to develop people, foster productive change and keep the spirit of the enterprise vital' (1999, n.p.). Part II In my point of view, the crucial part of being a manager is balancing the needs of both worlds: organization and people. As a technical officer in Nanyang Technology University in Singapore taking care of 60 technicians maintaining an entire school mechanical air conditioning ventilation system requires achieving maximum delivery of work among my people and pleasing people that we serve within the university. This is indeed challenging on my part as their officer; however, I may say that my people are able to maintain high-quality works through my leadership. This is due to the way I treat my people and how they treat me back as well as how the organization itself view my team as a vital key-player within the organization. The Motivation The drives that keep me going and giving my best as a technical officer are the respect I gain from my colleagues, the incentives I get from the university and the pride of my people for the team itself. Incentive wise on my perception ranges from money to personal and professional growths that are given through training programs. As a manager, the people under my supervision are motivated through fair evaluation of their performance. This evaluation is used as a tool to give them appropriate incentives that boost them to excel in their jobs. Another motivation is my initiative to know them better as a person and not just as a worker. The more I know them, the more I understand what to give and how to let them improve. Strengths and weaknesses in terms of communication skills Cultural differences among my people is vast; as most of my technicians are from different country and not most of them understand one another in terms of language spoken. However, I make it a point that they are informed on cultural differences through seminars to better understand one another. As a manager, I communicate to my people in two ways: personal and professional. Since I know them personally, I encourage them to be vocal on what they feel and what they think on things that go on our way. This is my way of showing respect to them; however, it does not mean that all of their proposals will be accepted; otherwise heard and evaluated by the entire team. Professionally, I make sure that communications reach the respective people either via forum, meetings or memos. I may say that the weaknesses still lie on cultural differences and I am trying to find better programs that could address this issue. Strengths and weaknesses in terms of leadership skills As a leader, I may say that my leadership skills fall under charismatic leadership. Based on how I manage them, I establish a team that is not afraid to speak and reason out; however, still manage to accept the final decision of the management. I weigh pros and cons on every situation within the organization. My team mates as I usually call my people understand and accept the vitality of change in the work field. My people accept my command as they accept my dedications, my leadership skills and my interpersonal skills. I may say that there is really no perfect leader; but leader could always strive for perfection. The weakness in terms of my leadership skills is unifying my team with other teams that exist in the university. I am proposing a team building within the entire organization; but is still subject for higher management's approval. Demonstrating strong planning and organisational skills I have exhibited great organisational skill when the management asked me to split my group into according to their technical skills. Two groups existed based on the evaluation I made: the development group and the hands-on technicians. The evaluation is based on their technical and development skills including their educational achievements. The development team assists our clients (people from the entire university; ranging from personnel, professors and students) on technical projects from the requisition to presentation of the developed project. The hand-on technicians assist our clients on repairs. This I believed is crucial, as development team has higher remuneration than hands-on technicians; however, the way the people are evaluated made it easy for the entire technical team to accept the decision. The management culture and/or management style of organisations Nanyang Technology University is departmentalized as an organization. Each department is headed by respective department head. This style greatly help each department to excel and for the organization to better evaluate the strengths and weaknesses based on expertise. However, since department exist, holistic unity is hard to achieve unless the Upper Management finds ways to unite the entire people through various programs. My role in the team and other's perception I serve as the confidante and advisor of the team. The team treats me not just a superior but a friend. This help me handles them at ease. I serve as their role-model in accomplishing tasks and they are aware that whatever they feel is hard to accomplish; I was the fist to experience them first; this is how I gained their respect. I believe, other people perceived the same way as I perceived my leadership styles and skills as they were the one who told me my strengths and weaknesses. References Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press. Bedeian, A. G. (1993). Management (3rd ed.). New York: Dryden Press. Bowen, B. E., & Radhakrishna, R. B. (1991). Job satisfaction of agricultural education faculty: A constant phenomena. Journal of Agricultural Education, 32 (2). Cranfield School of Managemnet (2008).Lead and motivate your staff. Crown copyright:http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detailtype=RESOURCE- S&itemId=1077340434): D, J. (2006, July 23). Employee Motivation: Understanding Employees' Needs. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/Employee-Motivation:- Understanding-Employees-Needs&id=249941) Dickson, W. J. (1973). Hawthorne experiments. In C. 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