Managing People

Bijaya Kumar Sahoo TATA Sponge

01

Managing people
Managing

people working as individuals and in groups

Objectives

To describe factors that influence individual motivation To discuss key issues of team working including composition, cohesiveness and communications

Topics covered

People Management factors Managing people by Socialising and entertaining Theory of X and Y A Manager need to Manage Some useful expressions Motivating people Human need Hierarchy Managing groups

People in the process

People are an organisations most important assets. The strength of our company is its people, working together with a common purpose. Although methods, equipment, and procedures are important, and we constantly strive to improve them, our most valuable assets are loyal and capable people.

The tasks of a manager are essentially peopleoriented. Unless there is some understanding of people, management will be unsuccessful. Poor people management is an important contributor to project failure.

People management factors

Consistency

Team members should all be treated in a comparable way without favourites or discrimination. Different team members have different skills and these differences should be respected.

Respect

Inclusion

Involve all team members and make sure that peoples views are considered.
You should always be honest about what is going well and what is going badly in a project.

Honesty

Managing people

Socialising and entertaining

Douglas McGregor formulated the famous Theory X and Theory Y:

Theory X is the idea that people instinctively dislike work and will do anything to avoid it Theory Y is the view that everybody has the potential to find satisfaction in work Some people have suggested the Theory W (whiplash) which is the idea that most work is done under conditions of slavery

Most managers still choose the Theory X:

They believe that their subordinates need constant supervision if they are to work effectively They think that decisions must be imposed from above without consultation The managers who work in this way are called authoritarian managers

Different cultures have different ways of managing people:

Some cultures prefer frequent consultations in decision-making (all members contribute to this process) This is called management by consensus: a group decision that is acceptable to all members of the group, a general agreement

A recent trend in managing people is

To encourage workers to use their own initiative (to make decisions on their own without asking managers first) This is called empowerment (employees improve operations, reduce costs and improve product quality) Empowerment is used to establish better relationships with customers

Empowerment is linked to the idea of delegation:

Delegation is handling a task over to a subordiante If you delegate you transfer the decisionmaking responsibility to some subordinate organisations You give someone the authority to undertake specific activites or decisions

Another trend is virtual management:

In virtual management the teams of people are not physically present at the work site, they are linked by e-mail and the Internet and they work from their own premises (homes) Another word for virtual management is offsite management

In managing people the managers need to be good at:

Observing: they must understand the behaviour, the strengths and weaknesses of their staff Listening: in order to learn about their staffs problems

Asking questions: to find out all the information they need to make the right decisions Speaking: in order to communicate their objectives clearly to all their staff

The international manager

In recent years, many companies have expanded globally through mergers (uniting), joint ventures (two or more companies or people doing business together) and cooperation with foreign companies. This means that many managers work abroad as a part of a multicultural team

Still, many of them have difficulties adapting to the new culture. The first example of failure in this segment is a German manager with IBM who took up a position as product manager in England. He stopped the employees from leaving the company building at lunchtime (they had the habit of going to a pub).

This made him unpopular. The problem is he didnt think of cultural differences. It is true that IBM didnt allow drinking during working hours, but he didnt understand that staff in other countries might be more flexible in applying the rule. The second example is about an American manager who came to France.

He was unable to win the trust of his staff although he tried all kinds of ways to do so. He set clear goals, worked longer hours, participated in all the projects, visited offices and even took employees out to lunch one by one. To them, he seemed more interested in getting the job done.

By walking around and visiting everyone in their offices, he gave the impression that he was checking up on staff.

Socialising and entertaining

Some useful expressions

Socialising is an important part of good management:

Being on time: how late do you have to be before you are considered late? The way people dress: the companys policy might also be smart-casual (dressing smartly but in casual clothes). What about dress-down Friday? Does it exist in your country? (a company allows people to dress less formally than on other days)

How you address people (first names or family names?) Giving gifts: What should you give? Does the person unwrap them immediately or wait till later? (to say thanks you usually say: Thats very kind of you.) Shaking hands/kissing/hugging/bowing: when is it appropriate?

Making excuses: conversation:

Making

Its very kind of you, but... Id like to take it easy if you dont mind. Its very kind of you, but another time perhaps.

What do you like to do in your spare time? Where are you going for your holiday this year? Can you tell me about any interesting places to visit? What about you?

Showing interest: Saying goodbye:

Interesting! Really?

Thanks very much for your hospitality. I really enjoyed the meal. Thanks for showing me round the city. Ill be in touch soon. Goodbye. All the best.

Motivating people

An important role of a manager is to motivate the people working on a project. Motivation is a complex issue but it appears that their are different types of motivation based on:

Basic needs (e.g. food, sleep, etc.); Personal needs (e.g. respect, self-esteem); Social needs (e.g. to be accepted as part of a group).

Human needs hierarchy

Self realis atio n need s Es teem need s So cial needs Safety n eeds Phys iolo gical n eeds

Need satisfaction

Social

Provide communal facilities; Allow informal communications. Recognition of achievements; Appropriate rewards. Training - people want to learn more; Responsibility.

Esteem

Self-realization

Personality types

The needs hierarchy is almost certainly an over-simplification of motivation in practice. Motivation should also take into account different personality types:

Task-oriented; Self-oriented; Interaction-oriented.

Personality types

Task-oriented.

The motivation for doing the work is the work itself; The work is a means to an end which is the achievement of individual goals - e.g. to get rich, to play tennis, to travel etc.;

Self-oriented.

Interaction-oriented

The principal motivation is the presence and actions of co-workers. People go to work because they like to go to work.

Motivation balance

Individual motivations are made up of elements of each class. The balance can change depending on personal circumstances and external events. However, people are not just motivated by personal factors but also by being part of a group and culture. People go to work because they are motivated by the people that they work with.

Factors influencing group working

Group leadership Group cohesiveness. Group loyalties Group communications. Working Environments. Environmental factors. Workspace Organisation

Group leadership

Leadership depends on respect not titular status. There may be both a technical and an administrative leader. Democratic leadership is more effective that autocratic leadership.

Group cohesiveness

In a cohesive group, members consider the group to be more important than any individual in it. The advantages of a cohesive group are:

Group quality standards can be developed; Group members work closely together so inhibitions caused by ignorance are reduced; Team members learn from each other and get to know each others work;

Developing cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is influenced by factors such as the organisational culture and the personalities in the group. Cohesiveness can be encouraged through

Social events; Developing a group identity and territory; Explicit team-building activities.

Openness with information is a simple way of ensuring all group members feel part of the group.

Group loyalties

Group members tend to be loyal to cohesive groups. 'Groupthink' is preservation of group irrespective of technical or organizational considerations. Management should act positively to avoid groupthink by forcing external involvement with each group.

Group communications

Good communications are essential for effective group working. Information must be exchanged on the status of work, design decisions and changes to previous decisions. Good communications also strengthens group cohesion as it promotes understanding.

Group communications

Group size

The larger the group, the harder it is for people to communicate with other group members. Communication is better in informally structured groups than in hierarchically structured groups.

Group structure

Group composition

Communication is better when there are different personality types in a group and when groups are mixed rather than single sex.
Good workplace organisation can help encourage communications.

The physical work environment

Working environments

The physical workplace provision has an important effect on individual productivity and satisfaction

Comfort; Privacy; Facilities.

Health and safety considerations must be taken into account

Lighting; Heating; Furniture.

Environmental factors

Privacy - each engineer requires an area for uninterrupted work. Outside awareness - people prefer to work in natural light. Personalization - individuals adopt different working practices and like to organize their environment in different ways.

Workspace organisation

Workspaces should provide private spaces where people can work without interruption

Providing individual offices for staff has been shown to increase productivity.

However, teams working together also require spaces where formal and informal meetings can be held.

Key points of Ours

We Build Our Organization Around People We Place Great Value on Diversity We Treat Our People Fairly and Without Favoritism We Maintain an Environment Free of Discrimination and Sexual Harassment We Insist Upon Integrity in Our People We Promote From Within We Maintain a Spirit of Teamwork

We Compensate Our People Fairly We Promote the Good Health of Our People We Transfer Management People to Meet Our Company's Needs as Well as to Broaden Their Experience We Look for People Who Have Potential for Development We Help People to Develop Themselves We Expect Our Managers and Supervisors to Train Their People We Hold Frequent Evaluations With Our Employees About Their Performance We Have Meaningful Discussions With Our People We Recognize Accomplishments We Promote an Open-door Approach to Managing People

We Give Each Employee Complaint Prompt, Sincere Attention We Respect Each Employee's Point of View We Encourage Participation and Suggestions We Keep Employees Informed About Company Activities and Plans That May Affect Them or Their Work We Address Each Other on a First-name Basis We Are Considerate and Professional With All Applicants We Limit the Employment of Relatives We Do Not Rehire Former Employees, Except Under Special Circumstances We Try to Retain the Good Will of Former Employees

We Develop and Maintain Professional Relations With Labor Union Representatives We Stress Safety Throughout Our Company We Plan Our Buildings and Facilities for Safe and Efficient Operations We Keep Our Buildings and Equipment Clean and Neat We Assign the Same Equipment to Each Employee Every Day Whenever Possible We Expect Our People to Be Neat in Appearance Our People for Appropriate Expenditures Incurred on Behalf of the Company

We Prohibit the Use or Possession of Alcoholic Beverages or Controlled Substances While Working We Prohibit Gambling, Holding Raffles and Similar Activities on Company Time or Property We Prohibit Use of Company Time, Facilities or Materials for Personal Benefit We Separate Business and Social Functions

End
Thank You Please Manage you and your people.