MANAGING PEOPLE

A Study Report
MSE-608B Managing Engineering Professionals
Under Guidance of
Prof: Dr. Mark Rajai
Prepared by
Varshini Lingam
Arin Clint
William Raff
Prashanth Katragadda
Mohammed Alshabanat



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Table of Contents
1 OBJECTIVE .................................................................................... 2
2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 2
3 WHAT DOES MANAGING MEAN EXACTLY? ........................ 3
4 ROLE OF A MANAGER ............................................................... 3
5 SKILLS IN A MANAGER ............................................................. 5
6 RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MANAGER ...................................... 6
6.1 Understanding Employee behavior---Encouraging
constructiveness ................................................................................. 6
6.2 Understanding employee needs .................................................. 7
6.3 Building Confidence ................................................................... 9
6.4 Communicating Clearly ............................................................. 9
6.5 Winning trust and commitment and Motivating ...................... 10
6.6 Providing Training ................................................................... 11
6.7 Guiding Sub-ordinates .............................................................. 12
6.8 Finding talent ............................................................................ 14
6.9 Total Quality Management ....................................................... 14
6.10 Conflict Resolution ................................................................. 15
6.11 Performance Evaluation .......................................................... 16
6.12 Staffing and Promotions ......................................................... 16
7 MANAGEMENT STYLES........................................................... 17
8 CASE STUDY ............................................................................... 18
9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 19
10 REFERENCES ............................................................................ 20






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1 OBJECTIVE


Learning objectives
Importance of resource management
Understanding the concept of management
Roles performed by a manager
Key skills required to manage people
Responsibilities of a manager
Different approaches in managing people


This report discusses the importance of human resource management (HRM)
and its role in the success of an organization. The concept of managing people
is complex and involves different roles and responsibilities and this paper tries
to discuss each of it in as much detail as possible. The report also discusses
challenges faced by a person who is managing people and also the skills that a
person should possess for managing people successfully and efficiently. The
report also covers different management styles that are adapted based on the
demands of the situation.
2 INTRODUCTION

Human resources are the most important assets to any organization; they play a
major role in the success of the organization. Due to growing global markets
and needs of the customer, product and service industries are growing greatly in
size and this is leading to increase in number and size of teams. In most of the
cases different teams work in different locations across the globe serving the
needs of the customers. Due to this change in the structure and working style of
the organization, resource management has become important and critical for
smooth running and success of the organization. Human resource management
(HRM) is a science that deals with directing, coaching and mentoring them
towards meeting the organizational goals.




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3 WHAT DOES MANAGING MEAN EXACTLY?

Manager is a Job designation given to a resource in the organizations with
responsibilities such as leading functions or departments and employees.
Manager leads and directs the work for a group of people or a department in the
organization and provides status reports to the higher management .The best
description of a manager or what a manager is expected to do from Harvard
business review is "Management is responsibility for the performance of a
group of people."
Managing people requires to have a constant balance between meeting the
employee expectations, customer needs and organizational goals. A manager
performs a wide rage of activities within the organization under different roles.
The roles that a manager performs in the organization are described in detail in
the following section.
4 ROLE OF A MANAGER

In the book, The Nature of Managerial Work, Henry Mintzberg describes a set
of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories:
Interpersonal: Performing activities related to human interaction and
human collaboration
Informational: Sharing and analyzing of information. Working as a
communicating channel between higher management and lower employee
group.
Decisional: Responsible for decision-making activities. This may be related
to employees or projects in the organization.

The table below shows the 10 roles of managers that fall under the three
categories described above [2].

MINTZBERGS SET OF 10 ROLES
Category Role Activity




Figurehead
Performing activities like
greeting visitors and
Signing legal documents
etc.



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Interpersonal


Leader
Directing, Motivating
and counseling the sub-
ordinates

Liaison
Networking both inside
and outside organization
with employees,
suppliers and loyal
customers




Informational



Monitor
Seek and receive
information, scan
periodic reports and
taking feedback from
stakeholders.

Disseminator
Forwarding information
to higher management
through meetings and
reports


Spokesperson
Communicating
information to the parties
outside organization
through reports and
memos







Decisional

Entrepreneur
Delegating work to Sub-
ordinates, encouraging
innovative ideas, Striving
for organization growth.


Disturbance handler
Taking lead in conflict
resolution and finding
solutions to comprise
sub-ordinates during
conflicts

Resource allocator
Staffing the department
with the right resource
and with right skill


Negotiator
Representing the
department that he/she
leads in the organization
budget, sales and
purchase meetings etc.



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5 SKILLS IN A MANAGER

Not every person can be a manager. to be a manager, one needs certain skills
and abilities. These skills help them to perform the roles described above
efficiently and achieve the desired results. Some people posses these skills by
birth but some of them acquire skills through training and experience. The skills
that a manager needs are divided into three categories:

Technical: To be successful as a manager, one needs to have a special
proficiency and expertise to perform tasks of the department that he/she is
leading. These skills are initially acquired through formal education and later
improved and developed through experience and training. Most of the time
junior employees showing exceptional technical performance and managerial
qualities are trained and promoted to lead the department.

Human: This skill is the ability to work in collaboration with others. Due to
interpersonal nature of the managerial work, human skills are very important
for a manager. Although few people are born with this skill some of them
acquire through experience and training. A manager with good human skills
will be approachable to his/her sub-ordinates and will help him/her to
understand or empathize with the feelings of others.

Analytical Skills: A good and successful manager should be able to think
analytically. Analytical skills enable manager to breakdown problems into
smaller parts and see the relation between each part and recognize the
implications of the problem. A manager deals with ambiguous problems, which
have long-term consequences. The importance of analytical skills increases as
managers grow to higher management level.

Apart from the above-mentioned skills following are some of the skills and
personal characteristics that the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB) is urging business schools to help their students develop to
become future successful managers [2]

Leadership: ability to influence and motivate subordinates as well as
superiors
Selfobjectivity: ability to evaluate yourself realistically and identify areas



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that can be improved
Analytic thinking: ability to interpret and explain information.
Behavioral flexibility: ability to modify personal behavior to react
objectively rather than subjectively to accomplish organizational goals.
Oral communication: ability to express ideas clearly in words and
effectively in a way that does not promote conflict.
Written communication: ability to express ideas clearly and respectfully in
writing. Having good business writing skills
Personal impact: ability to create a good impression and instill confidence.
Resistance to Stress: ability to perform under stressful conditions
Tolerance for uncertainty: ability to perform in ambiguous situations.
6 RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MANAGER

What are the responsibilities of the manager with respect to people
management? The cycle of interviewing, hiring and conducting annual
appraisal and motivating or directing employees are some of the basic activities
performed by a manager in an organization. In addition to these manager role
also includes responsibilities that require people and leadership skills that are
complex and cannot be understood by outside world and sub-ordinates.
Following are the important functions that make a manager the most effective
people person in the organization.
6.1 Understanding Employee behavior---Encouraging constructiveness

Understanding the behavior of the employees will help managers to understand
their needs and thus help in achieving the goals of the organization. Showing
emotions and criticism are examples of natural behavior (Destructive in nature).
These types of behavior will often lead to in-security and negative feelings
among the employees. Constructive behavior will help increase commitment,
encourages cooperation among the employees. Being a good example as well as
rewarding and appreciating good conduct from subordinates can help to
encourage constructive behavior within the organization [5].








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Characteristic Natural leadership Constructive leadership
Type of motivation used Fear/Force Empowers and inspires
Vision provided Short-term focus Long term focus
Result of Leadership Passive aggression Empowerment
Environment of
organization
Creates negative
workforce
Creates trust and
openness
Effect Managers promote fear Managers promote win-
win
Table Source [5]

Examples of natural and appropriate behavior is shown in the table below
Table Source [5]
6.2 Understanding employee needs

Meeting needs: Understanding the need of the employee is very important to
avoid dissatisfaction and high-turnover rate. High turnover rates are effect the
organization performance greatly due to loss of experienced and trained
employees and it also results in costs of hiring a new employee. Therefore it is
very important to have avoid employee dissatisfaction by maintaining a balance
with the organizational financial and budgetary goals. Examples of lower level
employee needs are salary, job security and working conditions. High level
needs mostly relate to recognition and rewards for tasks accomplished.

Natural Behavior Appropriate Behavior
Reacting emotionally when information
is received
Dealing with facts sensibly
Avoiding risks due to fear Taking risks when needed
Involving in fights and threatening Collaborative and non combative
relationships
Competing for status Recognizing achievement
Spreading gossip Practicing open communication
Seeking hierarchical superiority Operating in flat non-hierarchical
structures



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One of the most important managerial function is to understand the needs of the
employees which is done through:

Listening carefully: Listening is an important quality a manager should
possess. Listening to sub-ordinates will make them feel important and will help
build confidence. Employees should be given chance to express their concerns
and true feelings.

Figure Source [15]



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6.3 Building Confidence

A confident workforce is a competitive and productive workforce. Management
should strive to build the confidence level of their employees from time to time.
This will help in both increasing their job security and also helps the business to
run effectively and smoothly. Managers are supposed to observe the behaviors
of the employees to estimate the confidence levels of the employees. Managers
play a important role in building confidence in employees by [1]:

By giving constructive feedback to your employees and identifying and
directing the focus of your employees towards the tasks that they perform
well and will help build confidence.
Going public about their achievements.
Helping them identify their strengths and capitalizing on them
Managers need to design "small wins" to encourage people along the way to
achieving the goal of exceptional performance.
Planning well in advance will decrease stress on the employees and helps in
building their confidence levels
6.4 Communicating Clearly

Communication between manager and the employees who directly report to the
manager is called superior-subordinate communication. Superior-subordinate
communication is important to ensure that the communication channels are
open and making sure that the information is communicated efficiently and also
helps in strengthening the relationship between managers and employees.
Managers also act as communication channels between lower level employees
and higher management, which makes it important for the managers to have the
ability to communicate effectively and efficiently [15].
Superior-subordinate communication can be made efficient through the
following methods:

Encouraging contact: Manager should be approachable and available to all the
employees. Open floor plans in offices, keeping appointments and meeting with
employees regularly will assure employees that his/her manager is
approachable.

One-on One meetings: This is the efficient way to deal with issues and
problems. Instant feedback and appreciation can be given in personal meetings.



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Enthusiasm to new proposals and fresh ideas can be conveyed much more
efficiently by meeting the employees personally through one-on-one meetings.
Personal meetings are very important to convince the employees that you have
enough time to deal with issues that need full attention. Time spent face to face
is an important part of getting to know each other as well. These meetings need
not be entirely work-related. By developing an open relationship where
employees feel comfortable talking to their boss, the manager can better
understand what is going on in their personal that might affect job performance.
For example if an employee has a family member suffering from some illness
and must take time off, it is much better for the manager to be aware of this
situation as opposed to the employee simply calling in sick or leaving early for
personal business. Understanding that people have personal lives and higher
priorities than their job is essential to develop healthy relationships with
employees [1]

Using informal meetings: Informal meetings with employees at tea and lunch
breaks will often help in knowing the concerns of employees. Meeting
employees informally will make it comfortable for them to discuss their issues,
concerns and needs. These meetings can also be used to motivate and direct
employees and convey your message in a friendly manner [1].

Using team meetings: Regular team and management meetings and involving
all the people concerned with the issues discussed at the meeting will help in
efficient communication. These meetings will also make the employees feel
important and involved. These meetings give the employees a chance to talk
about their progress and problems that they are experiencing [1].
6.5 Winning trust and commitment and Motivating

Quality and style of leadership play an important role in gaining employees
trust and commitment. It is important to trust employees before winning their
trust in return.
Key managerial qualities that help in winning trust of employees are [1]:

Holding personal values consistent with the organizations
Creating a strong sense of team sprit
Feeling involved in work
Commitment to the organization
Willing to work long hours
Pride in telling others about the organization



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Sense of ownership in the organization

Employee commitment towards the organization can be achieved through
meeting the psychological needs of the employees, which includes intellectual
needs, individuality and emotional needs. Commitment can be achieved through
the following methods [1]:
Employees should be given freedom to some extent in creating their own
work environment.
Making them feel valued by recognizing and rewarding their achievements
Delegating: Empowering them by handing over as much power as possible
in the areas of their responsibility depending upon their abilities. This will
increase confidence and commitment towards work.
Providing resources with required training to increase their skill-set. Multi-
skilled employee will be able to perform wide range of tasks and will help
retain commitment among employees.
Exceptional performance and high productivity should be rewarded with
financial incentives including bonuses, Salary rise, stock options etc.
Sharing the strategic plans of the organization with employees and effort to
explain their involvement in the organizations performance will increase
their commitment while motivating them.
Creating a positive can-do atmosphere by forming teams assigning tasks that
have clear purpose and measurable outcome will boost confidence and
commitment towards organizational goals.
6.6 Providing Training

Management of any organization, large, medium or small, plays a critical role
in the training and development of their employees. Training is very important
in increasing the employee skillset and productivity. As technology is changing
rapidly and production processes are changing with growing technology, it is
important for the workforce to be trained and updated on the new technology.
Accelerating pace of change in the market these days has made training the
employees critical for the effective and efficient business.

Benefits gained by the organization from meeting the training needs of its
employees are as follows:

Productivity increases as the skill-set of the employees is increased.
Lower turnover rate: When employees personal growth is given
importance, they will show greater interest in staying with the organization.



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Lower turnover rates will also decrease your hiring and firing costs. High
turnover rates are detrimental for any organization.
Output Potential is increased: The lower your turnover rate, the more
productive, experienced, enthusiastic and motivated your workforce.
Employees will pack their new knowledge and skills into everything they
design, produce and service.
Hiring costs are reduced: When an existing employee is trained and
brought to the required level, cost of hiring a new employee can be avoided.
Here it should be noted that training costs are comparatively lower than
hiring and on-boarding costs. Additionally existing employee is aware of the
company policies, procedures and processes and doesnt need an orientation
session.
6.7 Guiding Sub-ordinates
It has become important for any organization to constantly improve the
performance of its employees in order to sustain in the constantly changing
world markets and growing technology. Managers are expected to create an
environment where each employee performance is continuously improved.
Coaching mentoring and counseling are the strategies that facilitate
improvement in the performance of an individual and organization. Managers
take the role of coach, mentor and counselor when needed with the goal of
improving the employee performance towards reaching the organization goals.
The figures below show the difference between roles of coaching, mentoring
and counseling [8].



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6.8 Finding talent

Unique individual talents within the organizations are often under-employed or
even unnoticed. This is untapped energy that can help in increasing the
organizations potential and also helps in the growth of the individuals career
and thus increases their morale. A manager should put effort in identifying
individual talents and looking for ways they can help in improving the
organization potential [1].
6.9 Total Quality Management

Managers play a key role in achieving the total quality management goal of the
organization. TQM refers to meeting the customer needs and expectation. It
includes estimation as well as predicting the future needs of the customers and
directing the focus towards reaching them. TQM is very important for any



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product/service based organization for achieving customer satisfaction and thus
gain profits. Manager can ensure that TQM is deployed effectively in the
organization by:

Promoting the importance of quality in the organization (among junior
employees)
Finding and reporting quality issues, analyzing facts and finding solutions.
Providing training opportunities for employees that help to achieve quality
goals.
Maintaining communication between employees, consumers and suppliers.
Taking feedback from customers and suppliers, interpreting the feedback
and direct the team towards the necessary product design and manufacturing
processes changes.
6.10 Conflict Resolution

Conflict is unavoidable when people are interacting with each other at work.
Dealing with conflicts is inescapable part of managerial life. Manger should
strive to mitigate emotions and substitute rational thinking by calling both
parties for meetings and giving them chance to voice their opinions. Conflict
resolution helps:

An increased understanding among employees.
Team members to develop mutual respect which serves to renew their faith
in the ability to work together
In achieving effective and efficient teamwork since teams play an important
role in meeting the organizational goals.

Effective communication techniques recommended to prevent or resolve
conflict are [1]

Staying focused and understanding the problem and finding a solution that
both parties agree on.
Listening carefully to both parties and giving a chance to voice their views
Trying to see the opposing partys point of view while encouraging one
party to listen carefully to the other.
Looking for compromise and solution
Communication channels should always be open
Responding to criticism with empathy



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6.11 Performance Evaluation

Performance evaluation is important in assessing the employee performance.
Setting targets, evaluating performance and providing feedback on the
performance are the primary tasks that a manager performs in the performance
evaluation process.

Managers are responsible for providing employees with constructive
feedback on a regular basis.
Managers should give employees ongoing support and counseling on
performance issues.
Identifying and planning the training needs based on the feedback given as
part of performance evaluation process.
Appraisal: As part of annual performance evaluation process, employees
are rated based on the effort put towards meeting the organization goals and
performance standard.
6.12 Staffing and Promotions

Filling the organizational structure with people having right skills and abilities
is vital to the success of an organization. An organization must respond to
changes in its markets effectively in order stay competitive. Competent and
committed staff can carry an organization through a period of change and
ensure that it stays successful. Staffing is an important managerial function
involving hiring, onboarding, training appraising, promoting.
Staffing the right people can be done through the below methods:

Hiring: It is the process through which new employees are hired and trained
according to the needs of the organizations. Hiring is a process that includes
calling for application from candidates, screening applications, interviewing, on
boarding the candidate, orientation session and organization oriented technical
and process training. Choosing the right candidate with the required
qualifications for the open position is a critical step that is performed by the
manager.

Promotions: Employees with exceptional performance should be promoted to
next level. Promotions are usually given to employees performing at the next
level. This process helps in utilizing the employees abilities to full extent and
thereby increasing the organization potential.



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Planning in advance for succession: Successful employees are more likely to
leave the organization for better opportunity. Managers play a key role in filling
the gap, as this gap increases burden on other employees thus resulting in
decline in the output. Managers should plan in advance to ensure that employee
retention does not affect the total organizational output.
7 MANAGEMENT STYLES

Although there are different styles and approaches to managing people, they
can be broadly divided into 6 types. Not all approaches are good in every
managerial situation. Effective managers use different managerial approaches
depending on the situation, skills of the employee, nature of the task, time
constraint as well as many other factors. The six main styles in managing
people are discussed below

Directive:
This style of leadership is achieved by setting clear objectives and ground rules
for employees through ensuring that necessary expectations are unambiguous
and thoroughly understood. Typically this form of management is enacted when
subordinates lack experience and/or skill. Managers need to provide a level of
expectation for their employees to work towards.

Authoritative:
Traits of this type of management style rarely allow for others to make
decisions individually. Typically this type of manager or leader believes they
are the most qualified and experienced person to do that particular job. They
believe their views are the most critical and valid amongst the group. They also
rarely express any form of recognition, and typically lack confidence in others
abilities. This style should only be utilized when there is a significant lack of
skill level among subordinates or for very brief periods of time where authority
is required to meet schedule needs

Affiliative:
This type of leadership or management is all about establishing a positive
relationship with his/her subordinates. The strategy is that a trusted leader
provides opportunity for employees to share information, thoughts, ideas, and
express loyalty. The leader then gives constructive feedback in a positive light



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to his/her team. This type of style is also ideal for improving moral or re-
establishing a better sense of trust within the team.

Participative:
This form of management is also known as consultative management. This type
of leadership encourages all members within the team/group to provide input
and express concern when they feel its necessary. They provide solutions for
setting organizational goals, solving issues, and collaborative effort in decision
making.

Pacesetting:
An individual that feels setting high performance standards for his/her
subordinates will better grasp the desire for success enacts this style. However
managers that lack confidence in their team usually undertake this type of
pacesetting. They often rely on being smarter, faster, and perceptive than the
rest of the group giving them an advantage. If the team however is already
highly motivated and has strong technical skills, the pacesetting style can be
effective because the teams competence already aligns with the leaders overall
goals for success.

Coaching:
This type of management style is incredibly helpful to the subordinate if he/she
is open to further development. Often managers will provide challenging tasks
or ask for new skills to be learned and obtained. Managers look for team
members that want to excel and grow within an area of skill. However this type
of management style is more effective for younger employees than those that
are waiting on retirement. This form of management is best for employees that
are eager to learn and further develop within a company.
8 CASE STUDY

Management of resources is very important for employees to work efficiently.
This is the statement based on the personal experience of Varshini Lingam.
I was working as a consultant for a reputed multi-national company. The
company offers software-consulting services for many clients worldwide one of
which was a chemical company in Germany. Due to budgetary reasons there
was no dedicated team in my department working for this client and I was the
only person supporting them. It might seem strange, but I did not have a
dedicated project manager either and was reporting to the client directly. I had



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supported over 12 different clients during my tenure. However, this client was
particularly difficult and stressful due to difficult requests made by the client
and the lack of a manager to discuss my concerns and suggestions. Clients are
customers and as such they have no incentive to consider your thoughts or
opinions. They just want the work to get completed. I was preparing quality and
issue related reports for them, which required collaboration with various other
departments in the organization. This was a difficult task for me to accomplish
without the help of a person having authority. Soon the work became stressful
and I started to loose confidence in my capability. After repeated request to the
upper management (through my counselor), a senior manager was appointed to
lead individuals from different departments working for this client. Following
this everything became streamlined.
We had process documents prepared, processes were defined and time lines
were fixed for every task. We no longer reported to the client directly and the
manager took the responsibility to give status reports to the client. We had an
opportunity to discuss the concerns and opinions with the manager. Regular
team meetings were scheduled to increase collaboration and team spirit among
us. It felt like the senior manager had control over every department and
individuals working and work became easier. Additionally, work that the team
was doing began to be recognized and rewarded when needed, which was not
the case when there was no manager to oversee us.
I realized that resource management is instrumental to the success of the
employee as well as the organization.
9 CONCLUSION

Managing people is not as simple as it sounds to be. It involves complex tasks
like decision making, staffing, motivating and having control over the
employees and the department that he/she is leading. However with exceptional
interpersonal and technical skills, managerial function can be accomplished
successfully. A manager plays different roles in the organization and strives
towards meeting the needs of the employees and the organization. A successful
and efficient manager puts the needs of the employees and the organization
over his/her needs.








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10 REFERENCES

1. MANAGING PEOPLE (ESSENTIAL MANAGERS) by Robert Heller
2. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/principles-of-management/the-
nature-of-management/functions-of-managers
3. http://humanresources.about.com/od/samplejobdescription/f/What-Does-A-
Manager-Do.htm
4. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/duties-manager-workplace-24280.html
5. http://www.leadingtoday.org/Onmag/2003%20Archives/august03/gt-
august03.html
6. http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Building-Employee-
Confidence.aspx
7. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/building-trust-team.htm
8. http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqch/principles-04.htm
9. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm
10. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/participative-
management.html
11. http://www.andrewjensen.net/motivating-employees-with-participative-
management/
12. http://www.eqleader.net/six_leadership_styles.htm
13. http://www.fastcompany.com/1838481/6-leadership-styles-and-when-you-
should-use-them
14. http://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/superior-subordinate-communication-
definition
15. http://cultureshockcoaching.com/blog/65/do-employee-needs-differ-from-
generational-group-to-generational-group/