Basic Organizational Skills for Managers

Organizational skills for managers are extremely important part of any business school curriculum as they aim to imbibe in students the importance of the same. This subject teaches the nitty-gritty of leading an organization on the path of success. Effective managers contribute towards a holistic improvement of an organization as opposed to bringing about a change in just one sector.

We were Lucky to have Dr. Mandi as our professor for Principles of Organization Management Course. It was because of his guidance that we are on the road to become successful managers.

Basic Organizational Skills for Managers

Perfect Planning

 

 

Planning is the first lesson and the first step of effective organization skills. To accomplish any goal, be it a big one or a small one, planning is equally crucial for both. Planning begins from penning down the mission statement, which clarifies the objective of planning. The next step of planning, is making a blueprint of every tiny detail you need to take care of to achieve your mission statement. This includes, time frame, number of people working on the project in question, cost estimation and assessment and evaluation of available resources.

Timing It

 

Once you have a plan in place, the next is to work on your time management. Time is an unaffordable luxury in today's times of fast paced competitive lives. As effective managers one must understand the value of time and the need to use it wisely. Making a schedule for oneself and for your team members is extremely important to know how and where is every minute of working hours spent. Sharp managerial acumen will help you anticipate the most productive time of your employees and downtime. You need to make the most of this to get to your goal faster, which will help you save your resources and increase your profit margins.

Optimizing Resources

 

 

Using the available resources to meet the existing demand creates an economic problem. This problem, is the underlying cause for breaking budgets and management failure in most organizations. However, good organizational skills for managers, will teach you how to manage your resources well so that you do not have to stretch your budget at the last minute. Setting up processes and systems that aid smooth work flow, help in understanding how resources are being utilized. These are techniques to execute the established plan and procedures in the most professional way by avoiding ambiguity. Weekly reports, time sheets and registers are some of the ways of recording how much work is being done. Optimum utilization can also mean using your human resource in such a way that your goal is achieved as decided. So, a manager will have to motivate his workforce towards transforming their weaknesses into strengths.

Assessments

 

 

Once you have a plan in place, schedule running on time, and charts to record work, you need to make continuous assessments of them to ensure smooth work flow. Employee reviews, peer reviews, feedback sessions and suggestion boxes are some of the ways to get an assessment from both the ends. As a manager, this will help you understand what you have set out for, what has been achieved so far and what more needs to be done. Such kind of meetings also help employers to motivate their employees, which reflects in a positive way.

A manager is an integral employee of an organization. He is responsible for managing men, material and money to make an organization achieve more than expected. It takes experience and an insightful mind to assume the position of a skilled manager.

 

 

 

So, do you think you have it in you ?

Evolution of Management Theories - Part - II (Classical Theory)

CLASSICAL ORGANIZATION THEORY

 

Henri fayol (1841-1925) is generally hailed as the founder of the classical management school –not because he was the first to investigate managerial behavior but because he was the first to systematize it.

Classical organization theory grew out of the need to find guidelines for managing such complex organization as factories.

 

 

1. DIVISION OF LABOR  

• The most people specialize the more efficiency they can perform their work. This principle is epitomized by the modern assembly line.  

 

2. AUTHORITY   

• Managers must give orders so that they can get things done while this format give them a right to command managers willl not always compel obedience unless they have
• Personal authority (such as relevant )expert as well  

 

3. DISIPLINE MEMBERS IN AN ORGANIZATION need to respect the rules and agreement that govern the organization .  

 

• To fayol ,discipline leadership at all levels of the organization fair agreements and judiciously enforced penalties for infractions.

 

 

4. UNITY OF COMMANDS

 

• Each employee must receive instruction from one person,fayol believe that if employee reported.
• More than one manager conflict in instruction and confusion in of authority would result.  

 

5. UNITY OF DIRECTION  

• Those operation with in the same organization that have the same objective should be directed by only one manager using one plan.
• For example the personnel department in the company should not have a wo directors each with a different hiring policy.  

 

6. SUBORDINATE OF INDIVIDUAL INTEREST TO COMMON GOOD  

• In any undertaking the interest of employees should not take the precedence over the interest of organization as a whole  

 

7. REMUNERATION 

• Compensation of work done should be common to both employees and employers. 

 

8. CENTRALIZATION 

• Decreasing the role of subordinates in decision making is centralization, increasing their role is decentralization.
• Fayol believed that the managers should retain the final responsibility.
• But should at the same time give their subordinate enough authority to do the jobs properly.
• The problem is finding the proper degree of centralization in each case. 

 

9. THE HIERARCHY  

• The line of authority in an organization should represent in the neat box and the line of chart runs in order of rank from top management and lowest levels of enterprise.  

 

10. ORDER 

• Materials and the order should be in the right place at the right time.
• People in particular should be in job or position they are most suited to.  

11. EQUITY

• Managers should be fair and friendly to their subordinate. 

12. STABILTY OF STAFF

• A high employee turnover rate undermines the efficient functioning of an organization.  

13. INITIATIVE 

• Subordinate should be given the freedom to conceive and carry out their plans even though some mistake may result.  

14. ESPRIT DE CROPS
 

• Promoting team spirit will give the organization a sense of unity. 
• To fayol even the small factor help to develop the spirit. 
• He suggested for example the use of verbal communication instead of formal, written communication whenever possible.  

Evolution of Management Theroies - Part I

 

  

THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

• Scientific management theory arose in part from the need to increase productivity. 
• In the united states especially, skilled labor was in short supply at the beginning of the     twentieth century.
• The only way to expand the productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers. 
• Therefore ,Fredick W.Taylor,Henry Gantt,and Frank and Lillian Gilberth devised the body of principles known as Scientific management theory

 

 

 

   

Contributions of scientific management theory

• The modern assembly line pours out finished products faster than Taylor could ever imagined. 
• This production "Miracle" is just one legacy of scientific management . 
• In addition its efficiency techniques have been applied to many task in non industrial organizations ranging from fat food service to the training of surgeons. 

 

Limitations of scientific management theory

 

• Although Taylor's method led to dramatic increase in productivity and higher pay in number of instance . 
• Workers and unions began to oppose his approach because they feared that working harder or faster would exhaust whatever work was available Causing layoffs.

 

 

THE BEHAVIORAL SCHOOL

 

The behavioral school emerged partly because the classical approach did not archive sufficient production efficiency and workplace harmony.

•  To ‘managers’ frustration, 
• People did not always follow predicted or expected patterns of behavior. 
• Thus there was increased interest in helping managers deal more effectively with a people side of their organizations.

 

 

 

 

Several Theorists tried to strengthen with a people side

• Of their organization theory with a insights of sociology and psychology. 
• The human Relations movement 
• Human relations is frequently used as a general term to describe the ways in which managers interact with their employees. 
• When "employee management" simulate more and better work ,the organization has a more and better work,the organization has effective human relations 
• when morale and efficiency deteriorate, its human relations are said to be ineffective . 
• The human relations movement arose from early attempts to systematically discover the social and psychological factors that would create effective Human reaction.

 

 

THE CONTINGENCY APPROACH

 

 

The contingency approach some times called (situation approach) was developed by the managers, consultants and researchers who tried to apply the concepts of the major schools to the real life.

 

 

 

• when methods highly effective in one situation failed to work in other situation. 
• They sought an explanation.
• why for example did an organization development work brilliantly in one situation and fail miserably in another.
• advocates Of the contingency approach had a logical answer to such question. Result differ because
• Situation differs. a technique that work in one case will not work in other.
• According to the contagious technique the managers job is to find which technique will in a particular situation, under particular circumstances and at a particular time.
• Best contributes to attainments of management goals, where workers need to encourage increasing productivity.
• For example a classical theorist may prescribe a new work simplification scheme.
• The behavioral scientist may instead seek to create a psychologically motivating climate and recommend.
• some approach like job enrichment the combination of tasks that are different in scope and responsibility and allow the worker greater autonomy in making decisions
• but the manager trained in the contiguous approach will ask
• which ties the recourse are limited, work simplification would be the best solution,
• However skilled workers driven by pride in their abilities. a job enrichment program might be more effective. 
• The contingency approach represents an important turn in management theory, but it portals each set of organization relationship in its unique circumstances.

Organizational Culture and Behavior

Culture and behavior, although different in meaning, signify two very important aspects of people management.

Dr. Mandi brought to our notice the glaring difference between Organization Culture and Behavior.

 

These terms are largely related to the psychology of employees, and these two tools can be used by the management to improve the efficiency and work-rate of employees in an organization.

 

Organizational Culture

A culture is a set of values that are adopted by people who cohabit any place. For example, when we refer to a culture of a particular place (say, Mayan Culture) we are talking about the shared traits of the people who lived there, their lifestyles, their rituals, etc. If we apply this definition of culture with the prefixed word 'organization', we are referring to the rules and the underlying values of an organization that are constant and apply to all employees, without any bias or favoritism. It is the foundation of the overt and covert behavior and reactions of all people that work in an organization.

Going into the depth of this subject, it is said that organizational culture and ethics can be broken up into 3 tiers on an organizational culture pyramid.

• The lowest tier is that of artifacts and behavior. Artifacts and behavior are the most tangible aspects of organizational culture. The physical layout of the workplace and the displayed behavior of the employees comprise this level.
• The next tier on the organizational culture pyramid is that of values. Values are those thoughts which influence the assumptions and behavior of employees. Hence they are tangible.
• The top tier on the organizational culture pyramid is that of assumptions and beliefs. This tier is the most crucial and intangible aspect of organizational culture. At the same time assumptions and beliefs are toughest to imbibe in the employees and takes time. But once the employees are in tune with the assumptions and beliefs of the organization, they stay on and impact the values and behavior of the employees.

 

Thus we can see that it is very important that a good organizational culture is created, taught and followed. It is the responsibility of the management to create a good organizational culture through organizational leadership which is harmonious, symbiotic and realistic. A good organizational culture based on mutual respect fosters teamwork and efficiency.

 

Organizational Behavior

Organizational culture and behavior are quite interrelated as organizational culture influences behavior and vice-versa. Organizational behavior is the study of how individuals behave in an organization. It is one of the key areas in the field of management.

 

• Organizational behavior, as the name suggests, studies the behavior of individuals but is restricted to the behavior displayed by them in the organization.
• It deals with the overt and covert behavior of employees and their response to certain stimuli.
• It also studies an important branch of group and team dynamics.
• The point of studying organizational behavior by managers is to understand the behavior of employees, why they behave in a particular way, and look for ways in which wrong employee behavior can be improved.

 

Over the years several organizational behavior theories have been suggested. These theories gave the various models of organizational systems. Organizational systems have been modified over time to ensure employee satisfaction and organizational progress. Organizational behavior is the art and science which advocates that there can indeed be mutual satisfaction between employees and the management as opposed to the old notion that these two parties are always at loggerheads due to disparate visions. Organizational behavior says that a shared vision and employee motivation leads an organization towards success.

 

It is interesting to know that organizational culture is a part of the vast topic of organizational behavior. After all, organizational culture too deals with the modification and improvement in organizational behavior of individuals.

 

Valley Crossing

In the Last Lecture we were given a Valley Crossing Activity by Dr. Mandi to explain to us the complex structure of an organization.

In this activity 3 people had to cross a valley and they were provided with a single pole. The activity demonstrated how an organization works, how the roles and responsibilities are assigned to the employees and how safety can become an important aspect in increasing the efficiency of the organization. 

Lets look into the valley crossing problem which will give us the insight in how the things work in any organization and how every link is important to achieve the goal as set by the organization. If one of the link fails, the whole connected system can collapse. So what is important is the teamwork which bind the system through different and connected links.

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

 

 An organization works primarily on the concept of “TEAMWORK”. All employees, as a part of organization, work together to achieve a common goal.  

 

A team is a group of people with various complementary skills, working together towards a common vision. Members of a team operate with high degree of trust, accountability and interdependence.

                                                          

 

 

A list of learning through this simple yet complex activity of valley crossing are:

 





 

Equally Responsible roles: Every role which an individual in the team is possessing is equally responsible. In a team every person shares a similar role but not the same role i.e. there is no differentiation of work between the persons doing the valley crossing. The responsibility and similarity of job can be seen from the table as below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step	State of 1st Person	State of 2nd person	State of 3rd person
1.	Safe	Safe	Safe
2.	Half-Risky	Safe	Safe
3.	Full-Risky	Safe	Safe
4.	Half-Risky	Half-Risky	Safe
5.	Safe	Full-Risky	Safe
6.	Safe	Half-Risky	Half-Risky
7.	Safe	Safe	Full-Risky
8.	Safe	Safe	Half-Risky
9.	Safe	Safe	Safe

 

 

 

 

Instantaneous communication and feedback: for a team to be efficient the communication should be instantaneous otherwise the links i.e. the team workers don’t get enough time to act to make the system efficient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety: Safety of every member is important and should not be compromised at any cost. If the employee feels sale while working for the organization, he gives the maximum to achieve the goal of the organization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interlocking roles: The more interlocked the employees are the more interdependent the organization is. And when the interdependency is maximum the profits are maximum. The team generates performance greater than the sum of performance of its individual members.

Members help other team members realize their true potential.

 

 

 

 

 

"Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people attain uncommon results."

 

 

 



 

 

 Management by objectives:

Goal: To cross the valley with the help of the Pole.

Objectives: To achieve this we have to divide our work and do it safely and efficiently.