Perspectives on People at Work - Term Paper Example

Perspectives on People at Work For every organization the role of its mangers is crucial in successful development and market performance. In general, personal skills of mangers develop the pattern of relationships among positions in the organisation and among members of the organisation. The purpose of mangers is the co-ordination of employees' activities so they are directed towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation. The managers defines tasks and responsibilities, work roles and relationships, and channels of communication. They make possible the application of the process of management and create a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, directed and controlled. In this case, the personality of a manager and his own individual differences determine the style of management and have a great impact on the staff. Without the direct participation and support of a manager, this power cannot be pushed to its full potential. Successful management require many of the characteristics common to all managers, but also requires special abilities to manage any organization in today's rapidly changing environment. The concerts of perception, individuality and attitudes play the most important role here. The impact of individual differences on the staff is important, because managers are judged not just on their own performance but on the results achieved by subordinate staff. There are many ways of looking at the meaning and role of individuality. It should be mentioned that for many oganisations, individuality of the manager and his personal skills as a leader is the main criteria in recruiting. For some corporations, individuality is the major criteria for further promotion. The personal qualities of managers are identified as an essential part of the process of management and require that proper attention be given to the personnel function. The effectiveness of any team or staff is dependent upon the efficient use of their skills and knowledge. In this case, the human element plays a major part in the overall success of the organization (Robbins, 2004). Proper attention to the personnel function of a manager helps to improve the efficiency of the labour force and the level of organisational performance in general. The influence of the manager's individual differences can be explained by the fact that the manager is an example for his subordinates. The manager is a leader who has a great influence on employees through his image, personal values and ability to motivate people. Good communication skills of the manager will result in an open and friendly atmosphere in the organization. If the manager has a reserved character, the staff relations will be restraint and emotionally limited. The staff can exercise self-direction and control to achieve objectives to which they are committed, if they are persuaded by the manager. The practical manager can be helped by analysing various approaches to leadership styles, but he must come to his own conclusions and adapt to the actual situation. Under proper conditions people can learn to accept and seek responsibility to follow his style of management and personal characteristics. The impact of manager's differences is closely connected with the process of perception. The concept of perception means that people select from the environment around them the information they need the most. The process of perception includes comprehension of sounds, shapes, smells, colours, pain, movement, taste, touch, pressures and feelings. And the most important, the process of perception determines individual behavioural responses to particular situations (Schuler, 1998). From the psychological point of view, perception is explained by the fact that people are not able to respond to everything around them, and they subconsciously select the information. The process of perception is important for a manager, because he has individual differences perceiving other people, and employees perceive him influenced by their individual psychological peculiarities. Some researchers found that "the definition of management as "getting work done through the efforts of other people' may not perhaps meet all criteria, or satisfy everyone's perception of the nature of managerial work" (Cole, 1990). On the other hand, persons in a staff position have no direct authority in their own right but act as an extension of their superior and exercise only representative authority. In many organizations, there is no direct relationship between the manager and other staff except where delegated authority and responsibility has been given for some specific activity. This may be partially because of the close relationship between the employees and the superior, and partially dependent upon the knowledge and experience of the manager, and his strength of personality. Another important aspect which should be taken into account is the role of attitudes. It is important because employees are brought together for more than one reason, e.g. to earn a living, interest in the job itself, conflicts are more likely to arise. Not many may be interested in seeing that the goals of their work are achieved; those that may be interested are possibly more likely to be in a higher position in the organization. It is worthwhile considering briefly the nature of individual goals - these may regard the job as an instrument to achieve: good pay, status, good domestic and social life, promotion and job satisfaction (Beardwell, et al, 2004). The role of personal attitudes is important because they are not immediately acquired, but learned throughout life. For all people, employees and the manager, some attitudes are central such as religion or cultural norms; whereas other, may change with personal experiences. In this case, the manager should take into account individual differences of employees and his personal experience. If he had a negative experience in the past, he could apply the same management style working with other people. For instance, if the manager shares another religious beliefs or belongs to another culture than his staff, his personal attitudes can conflict with the attitudes of another people. Many problems associated with the relationships between people of different cultures stem from variations in norms and values. At its deepest level culture comprises a set of basic assumptions that operate automatically to enable groups of people to solve the problems of daily life without thinking about them. The manager cultural values will determine his style of his management (Beardwell et al, 2004). On the other hand, attitudes are often shared within organisations and as such are embodied in the culture of organisations. The influence of the wider community in the formation of orientations towards work is crucial in this case. Differences in class location may cause possibly produce opposing perceptions of obligation, devotion and teamwork. To improve management performance the following aspects should be taken into account. The first is identification of his personal attitudes and attitudes of his employees. The group exists to achieve a common purpose or task, and the manager's personal qualities in one area affect both the others; thus successful achievement of the task is essential if the group is to be held together and its members motivated to give their best effort to the job. So, the four key elements of performance should be taken into account (Pfeffer, 1996). The personal characteristics required in a manager vary with the extent of his work. Basic personal characteristics required are a background of psychology, an understanding of men and women and knowledge of social and psychological problems. The manager's personality has an impact on pursuing the objectives of the organization. The impact of a manager on staff is explained by the fact that he is held accountable for the work of others as well as his own. The manager should recognize the personal behavior in an effort to establish differences between him and his followers. Employees prefer to have managers who are a self-achiever and motivated to become role models. Rapidly changing environment produces difficult situations where the role of individuality, perception and attitudes becomes increasingly important. The manager must be ready to cope with difficult situations and motivate employees. Effective managers recognize that what they know is very little in comparison to what they still need to learn. The ability to motivate and inspire employees is closely connected with personality of the manager and employees' perception. In order to achieve optimal goals three core elements should be taken into account: motivation, reward and commitment. Motivating other people is about getting them to move in the direction you want them to go in order to achieve a result. Motivation can be described as goal-directed behaviour and ability to contribute to a solution (Schuler, 1998). Attitudes the manager hold are important for morale and the effectiveness of organizations. It is important that there is confidence in the measurement techniques used to assess the strength of attitudes. As attitudes are inferred, heavy reliance is placed therefore on the accuracy of assessment. Although there are a number of different techniques which could be used to measure attitudes the two most common techniques are: direct observation; and self-reporting techniques. People are motivated when they expect that a course of action is likely to lead to the attainment of a goal and a valued reward - one that satisfies their needs. It is reasonable to believe that strong commitment to work is likely to result in conscientious and self-directed application to do the job, regular attendance, nominal supervision and a high level of effort. Commitment to the organization will certainly be related to the intention to stay - in other words, loyalty to the company. In this situation, the manager's responsibility and status vary with the type of organization (Schuler, 1998). Personal differences are important for leaders' effectiveness because they provide specific capacities for action from traits, and should increase performance and subsequently advancement. Managerial skills have been classified as people and administrative/task skills. Management performance influences interpersonal dealings and communication, leadership and supervision, technical activities and the mechanics of management, and personal behavior and skills. The managers single out significant differences in the way people approach work and organizations. Power distance is the extent to which members of a society accept that power is distributed unequally in organizations. In all societies there is inequality between people, be it based upon physical, economic, intellectual or social characteristics. If people feel that they belong and are included it enables them to feel good about working in an organisation. If, on the other hand, people do not feel part of the organisation - that they do not share the dominant attitudes and beliefs - negative emotional consequences are likely to result. Studies of token women in management support these ideas (Beardwell et al, 2004). Today, the manager may be imposed, formally appointed or elected, or emerge naturally through the demands of the situation or the wishes of the group as a leader. The manager should possess the competencies to use and evaluate new ideas, but he/she must also have the insight into the impact these ideas will have on the future. It is possible to say that the manager is a leader of his staff, and a leader is not a position, but a function based on personal qualities, attitudes and perception of others. To conclude, the manager needs to recognize his influence on the staff and individual differences which might impact his style of management. When the manager does not receive the "sender's message" in the manner intended, it results in miscommunication and conflicts. Every person is a unique individual and organizations should carefully select managers taking onto account their personal characteristics and individual differences. References 1. Beardwell, I. Holden, L., Claydon, T. 2004. Human Resource Management, London Pitman Publishing. 2. Cole, G.A. 1990. Management: Theory and Practice. Third edition, DP Publications. 3. Pfeffer J. 1996. Competitive Advantage Through People: Unleashing the Power of the Work Force. Harvard Business School Press. 4. Robbins, S. 2004. Organizational Behavior. Prentice Hall. 11 Ed. 5. Schuler, R. 1998. Managing Human Resources. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing. Read More