A Personal Management Philosophy on Organizational Design - Assignment Example

? Topic Management Good Managers: Made or Born? supervisor etc can be either here or on a separate page- could also include your name in the footnote of each page, on the left if you want to. The Essay This paper focuses on a personal reflection on the many Management Philosophies available to the student of Management. While the development, practice and publication of such philosophies provide invaluable assistance to the potential manager, it is also essential that the individual develop a particular, personal management philosophy. This philosophy must encompass a subjective, personal approach to management informed by the many theories and writings available in the field, and by the experience of the individual. The abundance of advice on management techniques, approaches to business and organizational leadership, and even instruction manuals for achieving personal and business success implies that there are no immediate, quick-fix solutions to ensure that the individual becomes a successful, effective manager. New, radical, exciting approaches are published on a regular basis, and it is difficult for the individual not to accept the latest theory as the ultimate answer. Some of these approaches are more appealing – the Japanese Management Philosophy is a personal favorite. The appeal of taking on a tried and tested approach, and subjecting oneself and an organization to the parameters of that theory is clear. There are, however, limitations to an approach which relies heavily on the suggestions of others in the field. The danger is that while the theory may seem appealing, the practical impossibility of transferring all the conditions under which the theory was developed to an organization remains. Each business will have its own unique set of challenges, its individual requirements for change, and its own human component. A personal management philosophy should be developed by each manager, dependent on the contexts he/she is in and the experience and knowledge he/she has built up. This approach will prevent the uncritical adoption of a particular philosophy as the basis from which to work within an organization. This essay will propose that the three most important aspects of effective management, and by implication, the three most important characteristics of a good manager are, firstly, high emotional intelligence – an awareness of the importance of people in organizations, a perceptive recognition of people’s strengths and weaknesses, and an ability to motivate and communicate effectively with people, as well as an honest and realistic level of self-knowledge; secondly, an openness to change, and a flexible, adaptable approach to business, and the organization, so as to meet the challenges of an ever-changing global business and economic environment; and thirdly an ability to think and act rationally, based not only on emotional responses, but on the needs of people in an organization, and the organization itself. The additional characteristics of a good manager mentioned in this essay are all related to these three essential facets, and serve further to explore the proposal that a personal management style, evolving from a joining of management theory and philosophy, personal experience and capabilities, and the immediate context of the manager’s environment is essential for good management. In all organizations, the influence of humans is paramount. It is people who are able to drive any organization toward becoming effective, profitable or successful, and adaptable. It is thus essential that knowledge regarding the human interaction within an organization be part of the manager’s approach. The more traditional aspects of the business – productivity, efficiency, marketability, and so on – are not to be neglected, but the structuring and management of interpersonal relationships, teamwork management, and personal management must be considered. A manager can only provide leadership when his/her own self-awareness is ongoing and human behaviors are considered when making decisions. A manager must be aware of the primary characteristics that influence the success of any business: constant change and the need for adaptability. The manager needs the personal skills to drive change. In a humanist approach to management, an understanding of the human reactions and behaviors within a business is vital to effective managers and he/she has to be able to embrace change personally, and lead others to accept and eventually embrace necessary change. What the manager cannot do is indulge the irrational. Irrational resistance to change becomes a major drawback: a manager cannot want to keep things as they are for no logical and sound reasons. Change has to occur and the manager has to learn to adapt and implement new practice, and motivate others to follow, as noted. The benefits of the changes may not be immediately evident and visible: the manager will have to persevere for the right amount of time, before declaring that a strategy was good or bad. Also, if the changes by the manager are wrong, the manager has to be able to weather the negative criticism likely to follow, and have the courage to begin new programs of change. If a manager is able to overcome obstacles, without giving up, or to fail and yet continue and later succeed, it is likely that he/she has the correct characteristics to be a manager. Honesty and accuracy in evaluating past success or failure are also necessary character traits related to the ability to embrace and manage change. As long as the consequences of management decisions are anticipated, and the realization is clear that should the plans go wrong, the manager will have to take full responsibility and accountability, good management is still possible, even if errors in judgment have occurred. At the same time as a manager must be able to evaluate failures without emotion, he/she has also to be able to measure success with a degree of accuracy. This should also, however, be tempered with rational thought. In management positions, it is easy to be taken in by authority and power externally given to the manager as a consequence of a position. Disciplinarian leaders, with much autocratic decision-making power, and the ability to inspire fear in subordinates do exist in organizations. Modern thinking on business and even institutional management is more progressive, focusing on motivational leadership, creating an environment where people enjoy what they are doing, and can be recognized for doing it well. Managing tasks and projects according to the strengths people possess is far more likely to lead to successful management. Thus the rational thought necessary to good management will lead directly back to the contention that the people in the organization have most effect on the success or failure of the manager, and the business at large. A manager has to be aware of the individuals and the teams being managed. The people must be recognized as individuals with particular talents, strengths, and abilities. Recognition of good work, of valuable contributions and ideas, and the correct utilization of people must be the base of an effective management style. Giving people both the responsibility and the credit for quality management may be very effective in maintaining standards, and creating the environment where improvement is possible on a continuous basis. Nonetheless, it is still essential that the manager is ultimately responsible and accountable for decisions and results. But a staff and a company able to be flexible, innovative and adaptable are more likely to succeed than one which is rigid, and exclusively rule-bound. Even when teams self-manage, and individuals have to manage their own productivity, though, the imperatives remain: increasing revenues, reduction of costs, improvement of processes, and maintaining positive public perceptions. The manager must remain aware of his/her own development, people’s development, and the needs of the company simultaneously. But over-thinking must be avoided. Only when things are significant should time be spent on them. The thoughts of Vilfredo Pareto, analyzed and discussed by a myriad of business writers, suggest that a manager identify those twenty percent of activities that take eighty percent of the time. Then, the twenty percent of activities in the business that account for eighty percent of the total cost of running the company should be isolated. This is the so-called Pareto’s Law, and the advice is to find ways to enable a concentration on the significant things in the business, rather than spending time and resource on the insignificant. This should be an important part of any manager’s approach. Again, this does require adaptation and change in the manager him-/herself. A purpose and goals must be established in the individual’s mind, and a strategy will have to be in place to ensure that those goals are met, and the purpose achieved, and remain in line with the company’s direction. Managing personal time is a prerequisite, consequently, for the manager. Time has to be spent on thinking and activities which align with personal and company purposes and goals. The manager needs to know which activities are effective; which could be delegated to others with the same effect him/her doing the job themselves; and which activities do not need to be done at all. In the establishment of purposes and goals, the process should be driven by an analysis of what is necessary. Thereafter, either as an individual or as a team, the manager has to ensure that ways to systematically establish the best ways of completing the task are generated. Essentially, systems would also have to be created to check, and recheck that the process is working well. Undoubtedly a form of program for business improvement, on an ongoing basis will help to assure the success of a manager. The Total Quality Management program, to include the manager personally, does outline what is possible and necessary. On a company-wide scope, the intention has to be to identify and focus on the essentials in the business. And explicit in the success of such a program is the notion that the manager has to focus on improving the quality of his/her management. This ranges from the simplest of things, such as being on time, and being accessible to workers and colleagues, to the most important of strategic decision-making. And it also implies that the manager has to empower employees to make decisions, and take the responsibility that goes with decision-making. Continuous learning – both by example and through making opportunities available to employees – is fundamental to this approach. This learning should not be exclusively work-related: thinking skills, self-improvement courses, general educational courses – all would contribute to a workforce that is able to think creatively, innovate, and problem-solve more effectively. The need to recognize and reward such continuous self-development is also clear. In conclusion, a personal management philosophy includes some understanding of one’s own views on organizational design. The traditional, purely hierarchical structures inherent in some businesses seem outmoded. So much business is conducted outside the actual structure of the organization: service providers like communication providers; IT specialists; financial consultants; advertising agencies all fall outside these traditional structures and the effects on the productivity of the business due to such providers is profound. Yet, the autocratic manager may want to be in direct control of such external aspects of the business, too. This is not possible. Effective managers need to be humanistic, rational and introspective in order to succeed. They should be aware of current thinking on management, but also not dependent on such theoretical knowledge. Instead, a personal management style has to be developed by each individual. Perhaps most importantly, managers have to be people of action. Thought, introspection and reflection are necessary as argued in this essay, but ultimately they have to translate into effective decisions and then actions to be carried out. References The prescribed course text, personal lecture notes, and memory and experience. Read More