Managing oganisational relationships Essay Example for Free

Managing oganisational relationships Essay innovationNo Organisation sack up bank to keep up with the fast pace of change of the world today with unwrap enthusiastically embracing change within itself.www.thecommonwealth.org 2005The above rumor is very powerful, only one I strongly tick with, because changes ar taking place everyday and if managers dont respond to these changes then the business is most likely to suffer.Managers may fuddle little energy to prevent change, but awargonness that change is coming can make it easier to deal with. If an organisation is prep argond to handle an event, then many another(prenominal) problems can be prevented or solved without difficulty. counsel versus LeadershipThere is a continuing controversy roughly the differences between management and leadership. I echo its obvious that a person can be a leader without being a manager and vice-versa.According to the management theorist Mary FollettManagement is the art of beginting th ings done through spateM.Follett 1989However, the idea that a Manager only manages people I retrieve is over-simplified. This is because managers hold many responsibilities. I have outlined below the role of a manger Decision Maker Are held responsible for results Have conflicting goals to carry through Need to propose and Budget Work with and through people organise staff.Whereas, leadership isthe ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the utileness and success of the organisation.House et al., 1999From the above statement I can gather that the role of a leader is to mainly to Communicate Motivate and, Encourage employeesLeadership is a managerial activity where employees manoeuvre together towards achieving company goals.The difference between managers and leadership is that managers atomic number 18 elected to supervise the work of other people in the organisation and carry out formal duties. While, leaders influence the b ehaviour or actions of others. Managers value stability, browse and efficiency. Meanwhile, leaders value flexibility, innovation and adaptation.Managers are concerned more about how things get done and try to get people to perform demote. Whereas, leaders are concerned with what things mean to people and try to get people to agree about the most important things to be done.As you can see there are many differences between management and leadership. I believe leaders are more effective than managers, as they influence workers to achieve company targets and their leadership approach is usually very effective.At Morrisons the leadership style is very effective as the leader has many good characteristics. I have outlined these below* Good communication skills* Is decisive* Good at delegationThese characteristics attend to employees feel more valued as they know what is going on in the company and so try harder for the company to achieve targets.There are many approaches leaders can emphasise on Trait approach Behaviour approach Power-Influence approach Situational approach Integrative approachThere are strengths and weaknesses to each of these approaches and the approach used highly depends on the nature of the organisation and the situation they are in.I would say that at Laurens cake factory, the managers implements a behavioral approach. They are very authoritarian where they focus on power, decision making and hold authority with the leader.The management style they hold is Task Management. This is when they* Focus on production* Expect schedules to be met* Problems arise from other peoples mistakesI dont believe, that this approach is very effective because employers dont involve employees in decision-making and dont provide opportunity for training and development. I compute this would make staff feel less valued and not part of a team so, will not motivate them to perform better to achieve targets.Performance Managementperformance management inclu des activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner.www.managementhelp.org 2005Performance management can focus on performance of an organisation, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees etc.Performance management reminds us that training, strong commitment and works hard alone are not results. The major contribution of performance management is its focus on achieving results.Performance management redirects our efforts away from business and gets managers to think towards effectiveness.Recently, organisations have been faced with challenges of change magnitude competition from businesses across the world. This means that all businesses must choose effective strategies to remain competitive. Employees must commit to these to ensure strategies are implemented effectively.This situation has put more focus on effectiveness, to achieve results. All of the results across the organisation must continue to be alig ned to achieve the overall result for the organisation to survive and thrive. It is only then that organisations can really tell if they are performing. civilization of an OrganisationEvery organisation has its feature unique culture, base on values of the top management who direct the organisation. However, over time individuals attempt to change the culture of their organisations to fit their own preferences or changing marketplace conditions. This culture then influences the decision-making processes and effects styles of management.Mullins defines the culture of an organisation asa collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation.Mullins 2002A key role for culture is to differentiate the organisation from others and provide sense of identity for its members.At Accordia the culture is very republican as the manager delegates responsibilities on others. It is also creative an d innovative because they are always open to new ideas. They build their culture around quality based upon commitment to the company as a whole.Cross CultureAs a business becomes more global the need to understand cultural differences is hypercritical to success.M. BERGER 1996Berger highlights the importance of cultures. I think it is essential to understand the basics of good cross-cultural relationships, because when people do things differently, they are not unavoidably wrong they righteous dont follow this in their culture.I have drawn out a table below giving an lawsuit of how UK and France have different styles of conducting meetingsUKFrancePurpose of meetings is to agree actions and make decisionsAcceptable to astray from agenda in discussionsStick to agenda, deviate only if new priorities emergePurpose of meetings is to give input to decisions, not necessarily to make decisionsTime consciousDont challenge the Big BossDefined follow-up actions are generally agreedThe k ey decision-maker may not be at meetingPeople are expected to attend on time and stay through out the entire meetingNot time-conscious people come and go during meetings, there can be side discussions.Figure 1M. Berger 1996As you can see there are many cultural differences. The UK and France have completely opposite managing styles. From abide by and understanding people can go back ways to work together based on mutual strengths.I think cultural values affect attitudes and behaviours around the world and we need to examine how one can adapt their skills to the cultural approach in which they find themselves in. flexible WorkingFlexible on the assembly line(p) is the term used to describe the ability to employ people when and where required in the interests of everybody.R. Pettinger 2002There has been a abundant movement towards flexible working over the years and Neatly Hurstfield represent thatEmployers were making increasing demands on all employees to become more flexi ble, both in working hours and in useable flexibility.Hurstfield 1995Flexible working involves the creation of work patterns and arrangements which are based on the need to maximise organisational output, customer and client satisfaction and staff expertise and effectiveness.I found out that there are many approaches to flexible workforce Atkinson was one of them, where he produced the flexible firm position in 1984.Diagram flexible firmI believe that this model has more relevance today because when we look at the retail sectors every employee is flexible.For example At Woolworths they have their core managers who work contracted hours. And then all the other employees are part time workers with high flexibility hours. I think they take advantage of the functional flexibility, where they recruit more staff and create short-term contracts when sales are likely to be high, eg) Christmas. This maximises flexibility as they are getting workers in only when needed.I think the f lexible firm model shows that the environment is more competitive and the need for cost effectiveness is important. I think Atkinson was well ahead of his time and predicted accurately. I consider the greatest emphasis was based on the flexibility in part time working as many retailers implement this model.Psychological ContractThe term Psychological contract isthe perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other.www.adelphi-associates.co.ukIt is the psychological contract that effectively tells employees what they are required to do in order to meet their side of the agreement, and what they can expect from their job. There has been conflict in employees not commiting to their contract, but callable to the changes occuring recently, employees have been persuaded to taking the contract more seriously.I have listed the changes below The nature of jobs more employees are on part time and temporary contracts, so, functi onal flexibility is more popular Organisations have downsized and delayered so individual employees are carrying out more tasks. Markets, technology and products are constantly changing customers are proper more demanding. So, quality and service standards need to be of high standards Traditional organisational structures are becoming more inflexible so, new methods of managing are required.The effect of these changes is that the ability of the business to add value, rests on employees, where they are seen as the key business drivers. Organisations that wish to succeed have to get the most out of their resources. In order to do this, employers have to know what employees expect from their work. This is where the psychological contract is used as a framework for monitoring employee attitudes.Since 1990s employees have low job security due to the impact of globalisation. This has completely changed the traditional contracts where there is no job for life. The new contract mainl y focusses on fair pay and sermon and also opportunities for training and development notion of continuous learning. On this analysis, employers can no longer offer job security and this has underminded the basis of employee commitment.ConclusionTo conclude, I have found out that change within an organisation is inevitable and managers need to respond to these changes for their business to remain successful.The trend towards globalisation is accelerating as impertinent competition intensifies. This leads to a change in managerial responsibilities where managers must be able to understand and communicate with people from different cultures.Cultural diversity is increasing within the workforce where managers require the understanding of values, beliefs and attitudes of people from different cultures. I believe it is necessary for managers to have the understanding of building mutual relationships and have respect for diversity so they can work together without difficulties.Flex ible working has also become very popular, where employers are constantly seeking flexible staff. This is so they can fully utilise their resources effectively. Organisations are familiar with the notion of high-quality staff willing to work when required. This is due to the fact that the staff, expertise and resources have to be industrious when customers and clients demand.The psychological contract enables employers to look at the welfare of employees. eg) what employees want fair pay, continuous learning, opportunity for training and development etc.Overall, I have found out that the nature of organisations are changing with the times and both employees and employers are benefiting from these particular changes. Also, these changes have a huge impact on Managerial theories today.ReferencesBooksSTREDWICK. J. (2005). An Introduction to Human Resource Management. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann Oxford.PETTINGER. R. (2002). Managing the Flexible Workforce. Capstone Publishing Ox ford.BERGER. M. (1996). Cross-Cultural Team Building, McGraw-Hill London.BJERKE. B. (2001). Business Leadership and Culture. Edward Elgar Cheltenham.MARTIN. G, KEATING. M. (2004). Managing Cross-Cultural Business Relations. Blackwell London.MILES. R. (1975). Theories of Management Implications for Organisation Behaviour and Development. McGraw-Hill Oxford.WATERS. M. (1995).Globalization. Routledge London.STREDWICK. J, ELLIS. S. (1998). Flexible Working Practices. Institue of Personnel Development Wiltshire.YULK. G. (2002). Leadership In Organisations. Prentice Hall New Jersey.ATCHINSON. T. (1978). Management Today. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich New Harcourt Brace Jovanovich New York.Web Sites(2005). Culture of Organisations. online. Available at URLhttp//www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/business/aim/culture Accessed on 20/1/2006.(2003). Employee Peformance Management. online. Available at URLhttp//www.managementhelp.org Accessed on 20/1/2006.(2005). Psychological Contract. online. Available at U RLhttp//www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/ Accessed on 21/1/2006.(2005). Academic leadership Online Journal. online. Available at URLhttp//www.academicleadership.org/ Accessed on 27/1/2006.