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Management Styles

6:20 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

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Managers have to perform many roles in an organization and how they handle various situations will depend on their style of management. A management style is an overall method of leadership used by a manager. There are two sharply contrasting styles that will be broken down into smaller subsets later:

Autocratic
Permissive

Each style has its own characteristics:

Autocratic: Leader makes all decisions unilaterally.

Permissive: Leader permits subordinates to take part in decision making and also gives them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities.
Combining these categories with democratic (subordinates are allowed to participate in decision making) and directive (subordinates are told exactly how to do their jobs) styles gives us four distinct ways to manage:

Directive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; closely supervises subordinates.

Directive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; closely supervises subordinates.

Permissive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.

Permissive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.

In what situations would each style be appropriate? Inappropriate?
Managers must also adjust their styles according to the situation that they are presented with. Below are four quadrants of situational leadership that depend on the amount of support and guidance needed:

Telling: Works best when employees are neither willing nor able to do the job (high need of support and high need of guidance).

Delegating:
Works best when the employees are willing to do the job and know how to go about it (low need of support and low need of guidance).

Participating:
Works best when employees have the ability to do the job, but need a high amount of support (low need of guidance but high need of support).

Selling:
Works best when employees are willing to do the job, but don’t know how to do it (low need of support but high need of guidance).

The different styles depend on the situation and the relationship behavior (amount of support required) and task behavior (amount of guidance required).

Can you guess which management styles would work best for each situation listed above?
Should managers use only one management style? Situational style?
Listed below are a few situations and options for what you would do. Try to decide which of the four situational styles would work best in each situation. Then pick the option that best fits that style.

Situation 1

The employees in your program appear to be having serious problems getting the job done. Their performance has been going downhill rapidly. They have not responded to your efforts to be friendly or to your expressions of concern for their welfare.
Which style would you pick? What would you do?

Reestablish the need for following program procedures and meeting the expectations for task accomplishment.
Be sure that staff members know you are available for discussion, but don’t pressure them.
Talk with your employees and then set performance goals.
Wait and see what happens.

Situation 2

During the past few months, the quality of work done by staff members has been increasing. Record keeping is accurate and up to date. You have been careful to make sure that the staff members are aware of your performance expectations.

Which style would you pick? What would you do?

Stay uninvolved.
Continue to emphasize the importance of completing tasks and meeting deadlines.
Be supportive and provide clear feedback. Continue to make sure that staff members are aware of performance expectations.
Make every effort to let staff members feel important and involved in the decision making process.

Situation 3

Performance and interpersonal relations among your staff have been good. You have normally left them alone. However, a new situation has developed, and it appears that staff members are unable to solve the problem themselves.

Which style would you pick? What would you do?

Bring the group together and work as a team to solve the problem.
Continue to leave them alone to work it out.
Act quickly and firmly to identify the problem and establish procedures to correct it
Encourage the staff to work on the problem, letting them know you are available as a resource and for discussion if they need you.

Situation 4

You are considering a major change in your program. Your staff has a fine record of accomplishment and a strong commitment to excellence. They are supportive of the need for change and have been involved in the planning.

Which style would you pick? What would you do?

Continue to involve the staff in the planning, but direct the change.
Announce the changes and then implement them with close supervision.
Allow the group to be involved in developing the change, but don’t push the process.
Let the staff manage the change process.

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Manager Leadership of Management

6:39 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

The Responsive Manager/Leader

The Responsiveness Paradigm outlined elsewhere in this newsletter is applicable at a number of levels. For example, it applies to organizations in general, and the ability of the organization to respond to the needs of customers, staff and other stakeholders (eg. politicians, etc). It applies to non-supervisory staff, and their ability to respond to the needs of their managers, customers and co-workers. This month we are going to look at responsiveness as it applied to managers, leaders and/or supervisors.

Influence Of The Responsive Manager

The responsive manager tends to succeed by building bonds of respect and trust with those around him/her. Staff respond positively to responsive managers; they work more diligently, work to help the manager and the organization succeed, and will go the extra mile when necessary. That is because responsive managers act consistent with the principle that their jobs are to help their staff do their jobs. So, a basic inter-dependence emerges based on behaviors that show concern, respect and trust.
Responsive managers also influence those above them in the hierarchy. Because responsive managers have the ability to read and act upon the needs of their "bosses", they are perceived as helpful and reliable, or in a simple way, very useful. This allows them to get the "ear" of people above them in the system, and further helps get things done when needed.

Contrast this with the limited influence of the Unresponsive manager. The unresponsive manager is restricted in influence because those around him/her do not respect or trust them to look out for their welfare. Influence is more limited to the use of power coming from the formal position, and fear, a motivational component that is hard to sustain over time. Unresponsive managers tend to be perceived as self-interested, or at best uninterested in the needs of those around them. They also tend to be perceived by those above them as less reliable and less useful due to their focus on empire building, organization protection, and self-interest, rather than getting done what needs to be done.

How Do They Do It?

Responsive managers apply a number of specific skills and abilities to the task (as outlined generally in The Responsiveness Paradigm article). Above all, they appear to be "within". Witness
has a number of components. First within managers are able to put aside their concerns to listen to (and appear to listen to) those around them. As a result, they know what is going on, and know what is both said, and said between the lines. They have the knack of appearing to know what people need even if those needs are not expressed directly.
However, knowing what is going on, and identifying the needs of those around them is not sufficient. The responsive manager also acts upon that knowledge, attempting to help fulfill the needs of employees, superiors, etc. Responsive managers wield influence to solve problems for those around them, often before even being asked.
Here's an example:
I was responsible for automating an office system in a government department. As happens sometimes, the Management Information Systems people were not keen on our going our own way on the project, despite the fact that they had indicated they could not do it for us in the near future. As a result their cooperation (needed for the project) was patchy. As team leader, I faced a number of roadblocks, despite the fact that our Assistant Deputy Minister wanted to see this project come to fruition. I regularly reported back to our Director, outlining progress and roadblocks. Every time I communicated roadblocks to the Director, they were removed within a short time, despite the fact that I did not request direct action. In addition, the Director advised and counseled me on how to deal with the "systems people" so I could have maximum impact. Despite the roadblocks, the project was completed on time and was very successful, much to the chagrin of some of the systems people, who I think were hoping we would fail.
This is a simple story, but one full of meaning. In this situation the Director was able to identify the project leader's needs with respect to the project, listening carefully, and identifying actions she could take to "smooth the path". Not only was the Director able to remove obstacles and fulfil the need of the project leader, but the Director responded on a deeper level, helping to teach the Project Leader methods of becoming more effective, fulfilling yet another need. All of this was assumed to be the proper role of the Director, and was done without expressing all of the needs specifically or explicitly.
We can contrast this with the unresponsiveness of the MIS people. They lectured, they fussed, they predicted dire consequences, rather than offering consistent, responsive help. They focused not on responding to the needs of their clients, but on some other factors having to do with control, and their own needs. Eventually, their lack of responsiveness resulted in the very thing they did not want; loss of control of the project. As a result of this project their overall status in the organization suffered, simply because at both an organization and individual level they were seen as barriers, rather than useful.
Let's look at one more example.
An employee had been working for a government branch for about a year, having moved to the city as a new resident. In a casual conversation, the supervisor noted that the employee wasn't looking at his best, and asked how he was feeling. The employee explained that he hadn't been feeling well lately, and sounded very tired and overwhelmed. The supervisor determined that the staff member didn't have a local family doctor, asked if he would like the supervisor to arrange an appointment, and proceeded to do so immediately. The problem turned out to be a minor one.
In this example we see again the ideas of "witness" and responsiveness. The supervisor was able to identify that the staff member was in need of some help, despite the fact that the staff member did not state this explicitly. Note that the supervisor didn't pressure the staff member to go to the doctor, but identified needs, checked them out, and then acted upon them. In this case, help consisted of direct, helpful action.

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Leadership

6:34 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

Posted in

Good Management

6:30 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

I believe that perception is truth when it comes to how employees perceive their managers, so managers that want their employees to think they’re good managers, need to shift their employee’s perceptions of themselves (okay, that was a mouthful… I’ve never claimed to write good copy).
Being a ‘Good Manager’ is often more art than science, but I also think the principles and traits can be learned if the manager is interested in being a good manager, thought that’s usually the hard thing to sell to a manager.

The multiplier effect of bad managers can wreak havoc on the talent flow within an organization, leading to lower morale and productivity, and higher costs to attract quality candidates and retain valuable employees.

I really love good content that’s free. Most of the concepts Mike has covered in these articles have been taught to me at work in fairly expensive classes… Thanks Marketing Profs.

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Four elements of office management

4:43 AM

Hem Raj Khatri

1. Receiving and Collecting Information:-

One of the major functions of the office is to receive and collect information relating to the activities of the organization form various sources. Information my be received form internal sources, i.e., the various department, management and executives in the form of letters, inter department notes, circulars, reports etc information may also be received from external sources i.e., form suppliers, customers, other organizations, Government departments etc. in the form of letter, orders, invoices, inquiries, reports circulars, telephonic messages, etc. Sometimes the office itself has to send out inquiries, questionnaires, etc., to collect information from various sources if it is found necessary for helping the management in taking decisions. Another source of information is personal contact. Information is personal contact. Information may also be received from visitors coming to office for meetings or conferences. Again, managers or departmental executives visiting other offices may also collect information.

2. Recording Information or Making Records:-

After receiving and collecting information, the next major function of the office is to record the information in suitable form. The information received has to be converted into some form of written record. The different forms in which records are maintained are correspondence, reports, circulars, statements, lists or harts, books and registers, etc. Conversion of all information into written record not only facilitates its communication but also its preservation for future reference. The management while formulating policy decisions, often have to consult information relating to past events and activities. It is, therefore, not only to record all information in a suitable form, but also to preserve them in such a way that they may be readily got hold of and used at any time in future. Records of information prepared by the office serve as a reference library for use by the management.

3. Processing or Arranging Information:-

The information received and collected by the office form various sources is rarely in the form in which these may be readily used by management in the decision-making process. Information, facts and data collected have to be arranged, processed and organized in a suitable form before these can be supplied to the management. The information should be arranged in a readily usable form. The usual forms in which information is arranged are costing sheets, financial and statistical statements, charts and lists, reports etc.
4. Communication of Information:-

The office may be compared to a two way pipeline for supplying information. On one hand, it is the function of the office to supply information as collected records and processed by it to the management, whenever required, on the other hand, it is also the duty of the office to communicate policy decisions, guidelines and instruction issued by the management to the department and departmental executives for their guidance. The information supplied to the management may be of a routine nature e.g. Periodical returns on sales, stock position, staff attendance etc., or it may be of special nature e.g. estimiates of a special job, credit information regarding a particular client, etc. Again the information may be supplied to the management, the value of this function will depend on the promptness with which it is done . Information, however, accurate and complete, loses much of its value if it is not provided or is not available in time, or is delayed in the process of communication.

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office Management

4:32 AM

Hem Raj Khatri

INTRODUCTION

Office Management is that part of the management process which deals with communicating and recording activities in an organization. But this dealing with communication and records does not suggest the actual assignment of all such activities to the office manager. All managers, whether engaged in sales, production, finance, personnel or in any other work require the help of communicating and recording activities for getting their work accomplished through efforts of their own people. I ties preposterous to think that the office manager assumes all communicating and recording activities, particularly correspondence, typing and filing, on behalf of managers in other areas of the business. What then, is the role of the office manger? Office work is a service function as opposed to the basic operating function in most of the manufacturing and trading concerns and has no end in itself. The office manger, being a staff executive, has no right of command and control over the
people of other departments who carry out their office or clerical activities in their own spheres. As the usual function of a staff manager is vested with functional authority, the office manager confines his activities of giving necessary advice and service to other managers throughout the organization.
The introduction of separate office manager in the organization is justified by the fact that office work is a specialist function requiring expert knowledge and technical skill on this facet of the operation. Since office work is largely paper work entailing numerous forms, documents and memorandums, the design and format of such paper are vital for successful communication and records in different segments of the enterprise. Effective communication must encompass four essential C's in them-clear, correct, complete and concise. For economy and efficiency reasons, all communication devices are to be designed with an eye to these four attributes of communication. Besides the generalized form of correspondence, communication includes a lot of other forms and documents alike invoices, delivery notes, shipping advices, bills, purchase orders, tenders, quotations, requisition slip, route cards, cost sheets, budgets, collection memo and cash receipts, employees' service records, and analysis sheets of different types. In addition managerial decisions in the form of policies, procedures, orders, instructions or rules are conveyed through written communication. The office manger has to give advice on the wrong format and design of communicating instruments.
Apart from this advisory function, the office manger has to discharge a service in the organization. There are certain office activities that tend to serve the requirements of all departments to an equal extent. Such common groups of activities goes by the name of “general office services” Obviously, the work of general office services falls under the jurisdiction of the office manager. Such activities can neither be assigned to other managers not they cab be divided among departments of the business. Integration of those activities is essential for purposes of economy, efficiency and promptness in many cases. The nature of these general office service can be explained by taking some illustrations. First, telephone, postal and messenger services are necessary on the part of all departments for conveying information both internally and externally. It would be a sheer waste of money in arranging these services on the basis of individual departments. All incoming and outgoing communications are channeled to their other destinations by the office manager. Secondly, purchasing and storekeeping of stationery articles for all sectional offices are best performed when they are centralized under the control of the office manger or any other individual manger. Accordingly, the supply of stationery stores and office forms is included on the list of general office services Thirdly, facilities of costly mechanical equipments are better utilized under a system of central services. Unless these office machines can be used to their full capacity in individual departments, such equipments, have to be placed under the charge of the office manager for providing common services to all the department. Fourthly, the work of typing, shorthand-typing and filing is centralized in those cases where the work load in individual department is not sufficient for keeping the copy-typist, hand-typing or filing clerks busy through-out the office hours. Although better results are obtained from the distribution of these services to the operating departments, yet the cost of idle time prevents the adoption of such a course. Even when these services are centralized, some amount of typing and filing work particularly for confidential mater, is obtained by senior mangers at the departmental level. To this group of activities, letter drafting is added in some trading and service concerns which require some generalized correspondence on the part of individual departments. Lastly, selection acquisition and maintenance of office furniture, and arrangement for working accommodation come under the group of general office services.
Office activities of communicating and recording assume a large proportion of the total work in enterprises like insurance, banking, building societies or export-import agency houses. In non-business enterprises like government departments, local authorities or universities, office activities become still more important, and virtually all the operations are performed through recording and communicating work on paper. Industrial enterprises too are finding the increasing importance of office activities day by day because of the requirement of public relations. Public relations had appeared now-a-days as a vital contributory to the success and credit standing of an enterprises, and it calls for maintaining relations with the government, the community as well as with the customers. Customers relations become a part of the sale work and is included under sales management. But public relations with t government and community goes beyond the submission of periodical reports and returns on financial, personnel or other aspects of the business, as required by the regulatory measures of the government. Numerous facts, figures and static’s pertaining to the whole business are required to be supplied for justifying the position of the enterprise for influencing the public. Because of their generalized charter these activities are assigned to the office manger in many enterprises.
Irrespective of the volume and nature of activities, office work is amendable to the management process in the same way. All the four management functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling apply with equal validity in every case. As already pointed out, total office activities are classified into two major groups :

(1) Sectional offices required on the part of every operating department like sales, production, finance, personnel, etc. :

(2) the office for general services required for the whole organization.

The work of office management involves not only advisory function with respect to the affairs of sectional offices but discharges services function also in rendering general assistance to all such sectional offices. That is, the office manger is a still executive with functional authority in regard to sectional offices. But the office manager is a line executive or a controller in respect of the office for general services and can exercises direct authority and control over these personnel’s. Consequently, the directing function of office management is of limited character and is supported by the device and service of personnel manager in the same way as it is done for other areas of the business.

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Function of management

7:29 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

Management is creative problem solving. This creative problem solving is accomplished through four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The intended result is the use of an organization's resources in a way that accomplishes its mission and objectives.

In Management Excel, this standard definition is modified to align more closely with our teaching objectives and to communicate more clearly the content of the organizing function. Organizing is divided into organizing and staffing so that the importance of staffing in small businesses receives emphasis along side organizing. In the management literature, directing and leading are used interchangeably. (Note figure of Management Excel wheel)
Following are the main function of Management

1. Planning :-
Planning is the ongoing process of developing the business' mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. Planning includes both the broadest view of the organization, e.g., its mission, and the narrowest, e.g., a tactic for accomplishing a specific goal.
2. Organizing :-
Organizing is establishing the internal organizational structure of the organization. The focus is on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information within the organization. It is in this function that managers distribute authority to job holders.
3. Staffing :-
Staffing is filling and keeping filled with qualified people all positions in the business. Recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and compensating are the specific activities included in the function. In the family business, staffing includes all paid and unpaid positions held by family members including the owner/operators.
4.Directing:-
Directing is influencing people's behavior through motivation, communication, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. The purpose of directing is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish their own career objectives.
5.Controlling:-
Controlling is a four-step process of establishing performance standards based on the firm's objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two, and taking corrective or preventive action as necessary.

Each of these functions involves creative problem solving. Creative problem solving is broader than problem finding, choice making or decision making. It extends from analysis of the environment within which the business is functioning to evaluation of the outcomes from the alternative implemented.

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Definition of Management

7:11 PM

Hem Raj Khatri

The term ‘management’ encompasses an array of different functions undertaken to accomplish a task successfully. In the simplest of terms, management is all about ‘getting things done’. However, it is the way and the process of how one achieves ones target or goals and it is in this respect that management is considered an art and a science as well.

The term management may be recently defined, but it existed at a time when men started learning the art of organizing, strategical (during wars) and/or simply planning. At the core of it, management was quintessentially considered as an art of ‘managing men’ and hence the term “manage-men-T.”

At the roots, management evolved when the definition of knowledge became practically skewed rather than being plain ‘rational’. In some way, Rousseau (1972) pointed out “A real knowledge of things may be a good thing in itself, but the knowledge of men and their opinions is better, for in human society.”

And much later, management scholar, Peter Drucker (1993) defined management as “Supplying knowledge to find out how existing knowledge can best be applied to produce results is, in effect, what we mean by management. But knowledge is now also being applied systematically and purposefully to determine what new knowledge is needed, whether it is feasible, and what has to be done to make knowledge effective. It is being applied, in other words, to systematic innovation.” (Drucker, 1993)

From the above two definitions, it is clear that management is a creative as well as a systematic flow of knowledge that can be applied to produce results by using human as well as other resources in an effective way. Management has not been limited to managing human resource; management today has been segregated into various branches like financial management, strategic management, operations management, time management, crisis management, marketing management etc. Each of these is a separate branch that is being handled by managers who specialize in these fields.

Today the importance of management from an organization’s point of view has increased multifold. It is only through effective management that companies are developing and executing their business’s policies and strategies to maximize their profits and provide with the best of products and services.

Management today combines creative, business, organizational, analytical and other skills to produce effective goal-oriented results! Some of the key functions in management includes learning to delegate, planning and organizing, communicating clearly, controlling situations, motivating employees, adapting to change, constantly innovating and thinking of new ideas, building a good team and delivering results which are not just figure -bound but results that also focus on overall growth and development.
Management focuses on the entire organization from both a short and a long-term perspective. Management is the managerial process of forming a strategic vision, setting objectives, crafting a strategy and then implementing and executing the strategy.
Management goes beyond the organization’s internal operations to include the industry and the general environment. The key emphasis is on issues related to environmental scanning and industry analysis, appraisal of current and future competitors, assessment of core competencies, strategic control and the effective allocation of organizational resources.

In general terms, there are two approaches to management:

-The Industrial Organization Approach: This approach is based on economic theory which deals with issues like competitive rivalry, resource allocation, economies of scale. This approach to management assumes rationality, self interested behavior, profit maximization.

- The Sociological Approach: This approach deals primarily with human interactions. It assumes rationality, satisfying behavior, profit sub-optimality.

Management theories can also be divided into two sets. One is the set that concentrates mainly on efficiency and another is the set that concentrates mainly on effectiveness. Efficiency is about doing things the right way. It involves eliminating waste and optimizing processes. Effectiveness is about doing the right things.

A good management style is a blend of both efficiency and effectiveness. There is no point in acting efficiently if what you are doing will not have the desired effect.

Management techniques can be viewed as either bottom-up, top-down, or collaborative processes.

In India, largely the top down approach is popular. In the top-down approach, the management makes the decisions, which the employees have no choice but to accept. On the other hand, in the bottom-up approach, employees submit proposals to their managers who, in turn, funnel the best ideas further up the organization. However the bottom up approach is not a very popular approach in India as most of the Indian businesses are family run businesses.

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