Roles of the Manager - Assignment Example

The paper discusses the organisational strategy of a broadcasting network and the roles of a manager and a subordinate. It will tackle on the differences of the roles of the two characters, their importance, possible similarities, and some key strategies in enhancing and advancing these roles for the benefit of their positions and the company in general. It will also touch on the theories of employee motivation, both on the employer and employee perspective. Table of Contents I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..3 II. Discussion………………………………………………………………………………....4 A. Roles of the Manager………………………………………………………………….4 B. Understanding Your Own Role in the Organisation…………………………………..6 III. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...7 IV. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………....7 A. Strategies to Enhance a Manager’s Position…………………………………………...7 B. Strategies to Advance an Employee’s Position………………………………………...8 V. References………………………………………………………………………………....9 I. Introduction Company ABC is the corporate umbrella of its media companies. The main companies that comprise the corporation are its television, radio, newspaper, movie, and telecommunications company. We will focus on the biggest area of its business, television. Its television division is a global company that broadcasts all over the world. Its main competitor, Company XYZ, is also a global company that broadcasts internationally. The company’s working principle is to provide the audience with what they want to see on television to obtain more viewers without sacrificing the quality of its television programs. For a television station, it is sometimes hard to weigh which is a more important aspect of television programs: quantity of viewers or quality of shows. Though many people may think that quality shows amounts to many viewers, it is often not the case. Many times, viewers switch on their television sets just to view on a program (or channel) they have patronized for a long time. It does not necessarily mean that what the station offers are what the viewers want to see. The reason for this is mainly because big television stations would rather invest on formulaic, tested programs than on risky, novel concepts that may cause the station millions. On a business financial side, this is an understandable fact. However, one can also see that if this principle continues to pre-empt the conceptualization and realization of fresh and excellent ideas, it may spell disaster in the long run. There is the risk of having the main competitor station come up with a good idea that may be a hit to the viewers. It will be a tough truth to accept if this particular “hit” idea was initially thought of by the station but was not realized due to fear of “too much risk”. This is the main reason why ABC Company thought of splitting up the Research and Concept Development Group. It is to have a section that would focus also on the qualitative side of things. This is the department that will be discussed in this paper. This department is divided into quantitative and qualitative type of research and concept development. The quantitative research and concept development group is responsible for acquiring data on 1) the number of viewers the station has, 2) the average number of hours every viewer spend in watching, 3) the demographics of its viewers, 4) the top television shows and, 5) all these same data on the competitor stations. The qualitative research and concept development group on the other hand is responsible for 1) knowing what the viewers want to see on television, 2) knowing what the viewers do not want to see on television, 3) creating new story concepts based on what viewers want and what the station can provide and, 4) what the competitor networks offer its viewers. The key positions that will be discussed on this paper will be the role of the department manager and the researcher of the Research and Concept Development Group. These two positions, on a more general term, are the boss and the subordinate, respectively. These two positions are common in every company, but the specific roles and responsibilities of these positions in this department will be analysed to formulate better insights and possible recommendations or conclusions particular to the job specification. II. Discussion A. Roles of the Manager Since the department was newly divided into two divisions, the quantitative division which is the more established section, and the qualitative division which is the new section, there are a lot of hits-and-misses for the new section. Most issues were mainly on the data gathering method. The main role of the manager here is to formulate the best method for gathering the necessary data to create qualitative insights. It is a tough responsibility as it is on the data gathering that the value of the reports will be based on. The manager needs to understand and be objective in separating the difference of the quantitative and qualitative aspect of the department. Again, this is a tough responsibility as these two divisions may regularly have data clashes. The quantitative area deals mostly with numbers and bases the reports on how good a program is on these data. The qualitative area deals mainly with the feedback of the viewers and bases the reports on these data. Clashes usually come up when a program with top ratings for many months receives negative feedback from the viewers. It is even tougher to synthesize these contrasting data into one report and formulate insights. This is where the role of an objective manager comes in. The manager must be able to distinguish the importance of both quantitative and qualitative data and emphasize this importance to the researchers of both divisions. This is important not only in attaining valuable insights for the company, but also in maintaining the harmonious relationship among the researchers. A good manager is able to maintain objectivity and rapport to retain and develop his/her subordinates and to prevent clashes within the department. Since the other half (division) of the department is somewhat new, the manager is also expected to train and develop its people, and retain them. Retention is another concern in almost every company. High-turnover rates spell additional costs in hiring and training new people. A manager needs to have strategies in place to help maintain the people the company trains. No matter how stressful a work environment is, happy employees are productive employees. Productivity spells profits. Per my personal experience in working with the manager, it can be said that the manager is a highly professional worker who has excellent people skills. The manager’s initial strategy to make people feel at ease with the changes in the department is teambuilding. He made it a point to make people feel and understand that even with the difference in job descriptions of the two divisions, the department has one goal that it should achieve as a team --- to maintain excellent and tested concepts, and develop new ones. To achieve this, the manager utilised Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory. The need for self-actualization, self-esteem, sense of belongingness, and security (Koontz & O’Donnell, 1978: 322) were all provided by the manager. The manager understood that employees are not motivated solely by salary. This observation is calculated based on the success of the department even during its “baby stages”. Even with the frequent differences in data and report outcome, the employees were able to maintain harmony within the workplace. For the past few years, the employees in both divisions never felt the need to outshine one another. They understand the significance of teamwork and the drive towards a common goal. Also, retention rate is 90% for this department. B. Understanding Your Own Role in the Organisation I had been a researcher in this department for three years. I worked with the qualitative division. When I first got in the company, my only focus is to deliver what is expected per the job description. Since it was my first work, my primary objective is to impress my superiors. Sense of competition is what initially prevailed. Upon working with the manager and analysing the different approach of the manager toward his subordinates, the goal that was initially a personal interest slowly, but steadily, turned into a goal for the team. I began to understand that though personal interests are present, occasional sacrifices of these personal interests are sometimes necessary in achieving a bigger goal. It was then that I achieved personal growth. I began to understand the value of every member of a team. I began to realize that personal success is insignificant when congruent with the department’s failure. It was then that I began to reach out to every department employee to push myself in attaining a sense of belongingness. It was also then that one realizes that sense of belongingness, no matter how generously given by a group, is ineffective when unaccepted by the supposed receiver. I gradually started thinking for the department than for myself. A bigger role for the organisation became apparent and turned into a personal objective. When one begins to think of the bigger picture, he or she begins to develop leadership type of thinking. It was that I began to aim for achieving company goals rather than self-vested interests. III. Conclusion With the exceptional human skills of the manager aimed at employee satisfaction and growth, he was able to develop leaders in his subordinates. He was able to assist in retaining employees thus sparing the company from unnecessary expenses that should be invested on profit-generating areas instead. Companies should keep in mind that the workforce is not merely a regular contributor in the services and goods production. Per the Koontz and O’Donnell (1978), behaviour and performance of employees is liked to attitude, and employees are not motivated solely by salaries (p. 322). Based on the details mentioned above, recommendations on how to improve the working relationship of managers with their employees need to be formulated in every company. IV. Recommendations A. Strategies to Enhance a Manager’s Position A manager should understand that “management” is the process by which human efforts are coordinated and combined with other resources to accomplish organisational goals and objectives. A manager should also understand the economic principle of the division of labour, which breaks down into subtasks, and the coordination of effort, which reorganises the subtasks into an efficient and effective whole. A good manager should also understand that numerous activities require more that one person in order to coordinate the activities of others in the pursuit of ends that cannot be achieved by a single person. A good manager also understands that developed employees reflect the management style, thus, gains his/her respected status in the company. Managers should aim to develop people. They should put great emphasis on the constant progress and growth of any businesses’ greatest resource --- the people. B. Strategies to Advance an Employee’s Position As an employee, there are a few key significant factors that could attribute to position advancement. First is achieving high level of client satisfaction. For the situation mentioned above, the company is the employee’s “client”. An employee must place utter significance to the “client”, recognize their business, and guarantee dedication to contribute to their satisfaction and success. An employee should also value teamwork. Employees should see the importance of team activities and look for opportunities to bond with their colleagues to advance the achievement of the “client”. Employees should also value respect for the individual. Everyone should see the importance of each other and pledge to an environment where they deal with each other with respect, challenge each person to develop personally and professionally, and acknowledge excellence. Each employee must also learn how to value diversity. One must acknowledge the unique blend of contributions and qualities that each person brings to the workplace. Employees should value the shareowners’ trust and work conscientiously to increase their investment. They must also value corporate citizenship. Employees should know the role played by the communities wherein they dwell and vow to be good corporate citizens. Above all, every member of an organization should put great emphasis on integrity in everything they do. Putting all these together will definitely advance anyone’s position in any company. Reference KOONTZ, H., & ODONNELL, C. (1978). Essentials of management. McGraw-Hill series in management. New York, McGraw-Hill. Read More