Chapter 1 - Managers and You in the Workplace
Definition of a Manager
A manager is someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organizational goals can be accomplished (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 40).
Managers need the right technical, human, and conceptual skills to be effective in their roles.
Definition of an Organization
An organization is a deliberate arrangement of people to accomplish some specific purpose (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 41).
Key characteristics:
Distinct Purpose
People
Deliberate Structure
What Managers Do
Management is about getting the right work done well (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 41).
Effective management ensures that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.
Functions of Management
Planning: Setting goals, establishing strategies, and developing plans to coordinate activities.
Organizing: Determining what needs to be done, how it will be done, and who is to do it.
Leading: Motivating, leading, and any other actions involved in dealing with people.
Controlling: Monitoring activities to ensure that they are accomplished as planned.
These functions lead to achieving the organization's stated purposes (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 45).
These functions are interconnected and often performed simultaneously.
Mintzberg's Managerial Roles
Interpersonal Roles:
Figurehead: Social, ceremonial, and legal responsibilities.
Leader: Inspiring and coaching teams.
Liaison: Networking inside and outside the company.
Informational Roles:
Monitor: Seeking information to assess operations and identify issues.
Disseminator: Passing valuable information to employees.
Spokesperson: Relaying information externally.
Decisional Roles:
Entrepreneur: Inspiring change and innovation.
Disturbance Handler: Handling internal and external issues.
Resource Allocator: Allocating and overseeing resources.
Negotiator: Participating in negotiations.
Management Skills
Technical Skills: Knowledge and proficiency in a specific field.
Human Skills: The ability to work well with other people.
Conceptual Skills: The ability to think and conceptualize about abstract and complex situations concerning the organization (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 47).
These skills are essential for managers to succeed in their roles.
How the Manager’s Job Is Changing
Managers are dealing with global economic and political uncertainties, changing workplaces, ethical issues, security threats, and changing technology (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 50).
Focus on:
Customer
Technology
Social Media
Innovation
Sustainability
Employee
Challenges and Rewards of Being a Manager
Challenges:
Can be a thankless job.
May entail clerical-type duties.
Significant time spent in meetings and dealing with interruptions.
Dealing with a variety of personalities and limited resources.
Rewards:
Creating a work environment where organizational members can work to the best of their ability.
Opportunities to think creatively and use imagination.
Helping others find meaning and fulfillment in work.
Supporting, coaching, and nurturing others.
Working with a variety of people.
Receiving recognition and status.
Influencing organizational outcomes
Who Are Managers?
Examples of managers mentioned:
Elon Musk (马斯克)
Mingzhu Dong (董明珠)
Jack Ma (马云)
Peter Drucker (德鲁克)
Bill Gates (比尔盖茨)
Steve Jobs (乔布斯)
Lei Jun (雷军)
Tim Cook (库克)
Ma Huateng (马化腾)
Yangsheng Xu
Ren Zhengfei (任正非)
Liu Qiangdong (刘强东)
Kazuo Inamori (稻盛和夫)
Different types of managers and organizational structure:
Top Managers
Middle Managers
First-Line Managers
Non-managerial Employees
Examples of different departments mentioned: HR, PR, PM
Comparison between managers and the "boss of the fruit store", to illustrate different organizations. OKOK national-Apps on Google Play OROK app B&ARTE-BØK
*Sole of the team to combine everyone to an effective group: Interpersonal Skill/Leadership; Goal is to coordinate, effective. OKOK national on th App Sne лос
Definition of a Manager
Manager: Someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organizational goals can be accomplished (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 40).
Key elements: Work, People, Goal
Definition of an Organization
Organization: A deliberate arrangement of people to accomplish some specific purpose (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 41).
Key element: the goal
What Do Managers Do?
Management is about getting the right work done well (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 41).
Functions of Management
Planning: Setting goals, establishing strategies, and developing plans to coordinate activities.
Organizing: Determining what needs to be done, how it will be done, and who is to do it.
Leading: Motivating, leading, and any other actions involved in dealing with people.
Controlling: Monitoring activities to ensure that they are accomplished as planned.
These functions lead to achieving the organization's stated purposes (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 45).
How Do We Know What Managers Do?
Qualitative methods: Interviews, Diaries, Observation
Quantitative methods: Scales, Experiments, anything using numbers
Henry Mintzberg
Mintzberg, H. (1970). Structured observation as a method to study managerial work. Journal of Management Studies, 7(1), 87-104.
Mintzberg's Managerial Roles
Three categories:- Interpersonal Roles
Informational Roles
Decisional Roles
Interpersonal Roles
Figurehead: Responsible for social, ceremonial, and legal matters, representing the company professionally.
Leader: Possessing excellent communication skills and the ability to inspire and coach teams, providing support and guidance.
Liaison: Responsible for networking inside and outside the company and relaying necessary information.
Informational Roles
Monitor: Seeks information both within and outside of the company to assess the business’s operations and identify issues.
Disseminator: Responsible for passing valuable information to employees and delegating assignments accordingly.
Spokesperson: Relays information externally, acting as a spokesperson for the business’s brand.
Decision-Making Roles
Entrepreneur: Inspires change and innovation, creating and implementing new ideas.
Disturbance Handler: Handles any external or internal issues or roadblocks.
Resource Allocator: Allocates and oversees various resources, from funding to equipment needs.
Negotiator: Participates in and directs negotiations within the organization, such as leading salary negotiations with employees.
Management Skills
Technical skills: Knowledge and proficiency in a specific field.
Human skills: The ability to work well with other people.
Conceptual skills: The ability to think and conceptualize about abstract and complex situations concerning the organization (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 47).
How is the Manager’s Job Changing?
Managers are dealing with global economic and political uncertainties, changing workplaces, ethical issues, security threats, and changing technology (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 50).
Ways to Succeed in a Changing World
Focus on the customer
Focus on technology
Focus on social media
Focus on innovation
Focus on sustainability
Focus on the employee
Focus on the Customer
The global customer experience management market size was valued at billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of from 2023 to 2030.
Focus on Social Media
Social media usage statistics
Focus on Innovation
Innovation: Explore new territory, take risks, and do things differently.
Innovative efforts can be found in all types of organizations.
Focus on Sustainability
Sustainability: A company’s ability to achieve its business goals and increase long-term shareholder value by integrating economic, environmental, and social opportunities into its business strategies.
Focus on the Employee
Treating employees well is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business.
Challenges of Being a Manager
Can be a thankless job
May entail clerical-type duties
Managers spend significant amounts of time in meetings and dealing with interruptions
Managers often have to deal with a variety of personalities and have to make do with limited resources
Rewards of Being a Manager
Create a work environment in which organizational members can work to the best of their ability
Have opportunities to think creatively and use imagination
Help others find meaning and fulfillment in work
Support, coach, and nurture others
Work with a variety of people
Receive recognition and status in organization and community
Play a role in influencing organizational outcomes
*Receive appropriate compensation in the form of salaries, bonuses, and stock options
*Good managers are needed by organizations
Do Managers/Management Matter?
Management is needed in all types and sizes of organizations, but may be done in different ways.
Important to employees: The single most important variable in employee productivity and loyalty and the single largest influence on employee engagement (Robbins & Coulter, 2018, p. 43).
Important to organizations.
Case 1: Who Needs a Boss? - Zappos
An American online shoe and clothing retailer launched in 1999.
Acquired by Amazon in 2009.
Featured in Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For”.
Tony Hsieh was a key figure.
Holacracy
An organizational system with no job titles, no managers, and no top-down hierarchy.
Workers as partners.
Work organized around self-governing employee circles (overlapping employee groups).
Zappos Now
A marketplace system: Teams operate like small businesses and manage their own profit-and-loss statements.
Internal contracting mechanism: Every team puts together a menu of what services it provides, and what the cost is for those services.
Emphasizes an “Entrepreneurial Mindset”.
Questions on Holacracy
After Tony Hsieh announced holacracy, about of the employees took a buyout deal. Reason: probably some