THE NATURE OF MANGERIAL WORK - Case Study Example

Complexities and Contradictions in Managerial Work A manager’s activities rarely form a coherent, neat and unproblematic set because of pressure andconflicts that are evident in an organizations management. Activities may be contradictory or competing, thus producing negotiation and compromise, which is an important work in management. Dalton (1959) explains managers’ work of coping with cross-pressures, which act upon them and ambiguities that pervades their organizational relationships. On the other hand, Jones and Silverman (1976) identify conversational strategies that middle level managers apply as in conflict resolution within the organization.

Beynon and Nicholas (1977) give an analysis of ideological tools employed by managers in resolving conflicts and contradictions within an organizational set up. Yukl, (2010), studied the contradictions of management between rationalization of organizational employment and planning to leave a job, individual performance ideology and cliques reality and concluded that circumstances that managers encounter in their managerial work are “schizoid” and hence, management is not a science, an art or skill.

This is because, there is usually nothing to do at the base, a manager is hired to do what other firms do, what he thinks he can do, and what his superiors tell him to do. Prolonged highly political decision processes is likely when decisions involve important and complex problems for which no ready-made good solutions are available, when many affected parties have conflicting interest and when a diffusion of power exists among the parties. Such circumstances present the manager in a contradicting situation between the demands of his role and the pressures of the situation that confront him as the organizational manager (Yukl, 2010), In this case, a good manager can get the best solution by understanding the demands of his role, what the organization and employees in the organization expects from him.

With the manager trying to keep everything perfect much of what they do is not only necessary but also a response that is non-reflective to circumstances. Jones, & Silverman, (1976) observes that a manager has to rapidly react to problems, while thinking on his feet and making decisions in situ together with developing the most preference concrete activities. Role conflict is the problems that managers encounter in their work. Besides this, they have to undertake interpersonal, communication and decision making roles.

On the other hand, besides the four basic functions, they have to undertake motivating function as well as motivate their employees. . This is a as a result of different roles that managers, as well as other employees have to undertake within the organization. For example, the role of a manager is usually specified as planning, control, coordinating and directing an organization’s activity. However, they are faced by challenges in the organization that make them work they find themselves doing more than this in order to meet their expectations and organizational goals, thus facing role conflicts.

This can be reduced by avoiding organizational conflicts as much as possible, but this is almost inevitable. According to Yukl, (2010) in carrying out their daily activities, they have to satisfy a wide range of stakeholders. This involves; profits for the shareholders, quality but reasonable priced products for customers and rewarding opportunities for employees. References Beynon, H. & Nicholas, T. (1977). Living with Capitalism. London; Routledge and Kegan Paul. Dalton, M. (1959). Men who Manage.

New York; Wiley. Jones, J. & Silverman, D. (1976). Organizational Work. London; Macmillan Publishers. Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in Organizations, Global Edition (7 th Edition), Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Prentice-Hall Inc.