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BDPP1103
Introductory Management
Topic 3 Planning 25
3.1 Definition of Planning 26
3.1.1 Criticism Levelled at Planning 26
3.2 Types of Planning 27
3.2.1 Strategic Planning 27
3.2.2 Tactical Planning 27
3.2.3 Time-based Planning 28
3.2.4 Specific and Directional Planning 28
3.2.5 Single-use Plan and Standing Plan 29
3.3 Management by Objectives (MBO) 29
3.3.1 What is MBO? 29
3.3.2 Is MBO Effective? 30
3.4 Strategic Framework – Strategic Management process 31
3.5 Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses Opportunities 31
and Threats (SWOT)
3.6 Quality as a Strategy 34
3.6.1 Practice of Quality as Competitive Edge 34
3.6.2 How Does Benchmarking Help Promote Quality? 35
3.6.3 ISO 9000 Series 35
Summary 36
COURSE GUIDE
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INTRODUCTION
BDPP1103 Introductory Management is one of the courses offered by OUM
Business School at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This course is worth 3
credit hours and should be covered over 15 weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to all learners taking the Diploma in Management and
Diploma in Human Resource Management programmes.
As an open and distance learners, you should be able to learn independently and
optimise the learning modes and environment available to you. Before you begin
this course, please ensure that you have the right course materials, understand
the course requirements, as well as know how the course is conducted.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend
120 study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.
Study
Study Activities
Hours
Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial discussions 3
Study the module 60
Attend 3 to 5 tutorial sessions 10
Online participation 12
Revision 15
Assignment(s), Test(s) and Examination(s) 20
TOTAL STUDY HOURS ACCUMULATED 120
COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 12 topics. The synopsis for each topic is as follows:
Topic 1 introduces the meaning of management terms and the four management
processes, namely planning, organising, leading and controlling. This topic also
explains the role of managers.
Topic 5 identifies and defines the six elements of organisational structure, and
advantages and disadvantages of work specialisation. This topic also explains the
five departmental approaches practised by organisations and differentiates this
from mechanistic organisations.
Topic 7 discusses the variables that can be controlled by managers, identifies the
internal and external changes and explains how managers function as change
agents. This topic also differentiates between creativity and innovation.
Topic 8 explains the sudden growth of teams, differentiates work groups from
teams, discusses how organisations can build team spirit and managers can
encourage teams to develop the organisation.
Topic 9 defines leadership terms and explains the differences between managers
and leaders by identifying the five dimensions of integrity.
Topic 11 focuses on motivation and the motivation process. The topic also
elaborates on how managers design individual work to maximise employee
performance.
Topic 12 discusses control, the importance of controlling and the control process.
Controlling is important because it is the final link in the management chain.
Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you
have completely covered a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously
gauge your understanding of the topic.
Summary: You will find this component at the end of each topic. This component
helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary, you should
be able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points in the
summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea for you to
revisit the details in the module.
Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargon used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
There is no prior knowledge required.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myINSPIRE.
REFERENCES
Certo, S. C. (2006). Modern management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Daft, R. L., & Margic, D. (2001). Understanding management (3rd ed.). Fort
Worth TX: Harcourt College.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Differentiate between managers and operative employees;
2. Explain organisation management and the four management
processes;
3. Explain the three levels of management and the responsibilities of
each level;
4. Describe the three categories of managerial roles;
5. Identify the skills that a manager should possess; and
6. State the relationship between management and other disciplines.
INTRODUCTION
When we learn about management, we cannot omit the study of organisational
concepts. Directly or indirectly, we are all members of an organisation. We may
not be aware that we are all a part of an organisation like a college, a sports team,
the army or a musical group. In fact, our own family structure is also an
organisation and a country like Malaysia is a huge organisation. With this kind of
understanding, it is best that we first understand the concept of an organisation.
1.1 ORGANISATIONS
Every organisation comprises a systematic collection of people to achieve a
common purpose. The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the PilgrimsÊ Fund
Management Board (LUTH) and Hong Leong Bank (HLB) manage our funds;
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Kasturi College provide educational
services; Matsushita (M) Bhd, supplies electrical goods; and Malaysia Airlines
System (MAS) provides flight services to all organisations. All these are
categorised as organisations as each of these have three common features, i.e.
purpose, people, and a systematic structure. We will now discuss in detail the
relationship among these three features.
1.1.1 Purpose
All organisations have a purpose or goal. This purpose will vary from one
organisation to the other. For example, the goal of MAS is to provide air
transportation services. The goal of the Selangor Football Team competing in the
Perdana League is to win the league championship. Without a purpose or aim,
there is no justification why an organisation should exist.
1.1.2 People
The purpose or aim can only be achieved if there are people handling it. Workers
and managers need to make decisions about the goals of the organisation and
endeavour to realise its aims or goals.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
Operative employees are workers who are responsible for carrying out tasks
without supervising the tasks of others.
A manager is a person who directs the activities of other employees in an
organisation.
SELF-CHECK 1.2
Efficiency means carrying out a task in the right way. Effectiveness means
carrying out the right task or the right job. Although efficiency and effectiveness
are two different concepts, in management, both these terms are closely related.
For example, Hewlett-Packard can produce the most sophisticated printing
cartridges for its printers without calculating input costs. This means this
company is effective but not at all efficient. Although it has achieved its goals, it
has done this at a very high cost.
Our inference:
1.5.1 Planning
Planning means managers predetermine goals and their action plans. Planning
includes defining organisational goals, by addressing several issues, such as
determining the main activity of the organisation and its purpose, and
formulating comprehensive strategies to achieve organisational objectives
through a thorough plan and not one that is based on impulse or gut-feeling.
1.5.2 Organising
Organising means managers coordinate human and material resources or
organisational resources to accomplish a goal. Organising includes activities
which determine the tasks that need to be carried out, assigning the personnel to
each task, deciding how the task must be done, reporting mechanisms and
decision making.
1.5.3 Leading
Leading means the managers direct and influence their subordinates to carry out
the tasks assigned so that goals can be achieved. By creating a conducive work
environment, managers encourage their subordinates to be fully committed.
1.5.4 Controlling
Controlling is defined as the process whereby managers ensure that the
organisation is moving towards achievement of set objectives.
ACTIVITY 1.1
Decisional Role
Entrepreneur Seeks opportunities for the Organises strategic and
organisation within the opportunistic sessions in
environment. Launches projects handling crises.
which initiate changes.
Disturbance Responsible for handling events Organises strategic sessions to
Handler beyond normal control (such as design new programmes.
strikes and bankruptcy of clients).
Resource Responsible for allocating resources Carries out all activities related
Allocator within the organisation. to budgeting and programmes
Implements organisational workersÊ tasks.
decisions.
Negotiator Responsible for large-scale Represents the organisation in
negotiations. workersÊ union negotiations
and with suppliers.
ACTIVITY 1.2
For further information about Mintzberg, you are advised to access the
following link:
http://www.henrymintzberg.com/_about.htm
Before you proceed with your reading, attempt to answer the following question:
What does Katz say about the importance of these three skills for managers?
Technical skills are very important at the lower management level and become
less important at top management level. For example, a manager at a building
site must have technical skills as he is required to handle building problems that
may arise on a daily basis.
Now let us take a look at the relationship between skills and types of management
more specifically (refer to Table 1.2). For example, for first-line management, the
most used skill is technical, followed by interpersonal skills and some conceptual
skills. This is different for top management, whereby the most essential skill is
conceptual, followed by interpersonal skills and some technical skills.
SELF-CHECK 1.3
Discipline Relationship
Anthropology This is the study of society. It helps us learn about mankind and
their activities. Anthropologists who study the culture and
environment help us to understand the differences of culture,
attitude, and behaviour among people of various nations and
organisations.
Economics Economics emphasises the provision and allocation of
resources. It gives an idea about economic changes and
organisational roles in facing globalisation.
Philosophy Philosophy is the study of values and ethics. Ethics control
human behaviour and ensure the right behaviour is adhered to.
Nowadays, ethical issues mould our organisation.
Political Science Political Science is the study of individual and group behaviour
within the ambit of the political environment. The study
includes conflicts, empowerment, power manipulation and
individual interests.
Psychology Psychology aims to measure, explain and sometimes change the
behaviour of mankind. Psychology basically attempts to
understand individual behaviour.
Sociology Sociology is the study of humans and their relationship with
each other. It includes social changes as a result of globalisation,
culturalisation, changing roles of the genders, etc.
Excellent managers are those who not only could grasp the concepts but are
also able to apply them to various work conditions and situations effectively
and efficiently.
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Development of
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Management
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" LEARNING OUTCOMES
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" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
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" 1. Differentiate between the three approaches to management; and
" 2. Describe the historical hierarchy of management, associating each
" approach with the respective management gurus.
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INTRODUCTION
Some people may find historical studies to be boring whilst others may find it
interesting. History can be considered a boring subject as we tend to be
influenced by certain perceptions impressed upon us when studying history in
school. Students are forced to memorise dates, terms, leaders and important
events. We become very adept at learning facts by memorisation without really
understanding what we have been taught.
Actually, that is not the reason to study history. Historical knowledge encourages
us to be holistic individuals who understand why a certain event occurred. It
does not encourage us to merely accept everything that happened in the past.
In this topic, we will study the historical foundations of management. This study
will help us understand the development of management theories. By
understanding the history of management, you can begin to understand the
origin of fundamental concepts of management, a major part of which is still
being practiced. For example, history helps us to answer the questions of where,
when and who were the management gurus who pioneered the industrial
psychological fields still being practised by organisations today.
ACTIVITY 2.1
Several of his findings came about as a result of his work experience in the
Midvale and Bethlehem Iron Factories in Pennsylvania in the US. As an
engineer, he was amazed at the inefficiency of the workers. He took a
period of two decades identifying the best practice for each task and came
out with a clear framework to improve the efficiency of manufacturing
activities.
He selected the right workers for each task and trained them to perform the
task in the most efficient way. To encourage the workers, he used monetary
incentives. Taylor achieved a 200 per cent productivity enhancement level.
His approach enabled many companies in the US to enjoy a competitive
advantage when compared to other foreign companies.
ACTIVITY 2.2
Many companies now select the most appropriate workers and study
the most economic method of job performance. Are these measures
implemented in your organisation?
The Gilbreth pair was also involved in design experiments and use of tools.
One famous study was their observation of bricklaying. They used a
moving camera to study the work involved in bricklaying. They labelled 17
hand-and-body motions of searching, selecting and holding, called
therbigs, which allowed them to further study these motions. They
discovered that each hand-and-body motion fatigued the worker and
elimination of these motions would reduce fatigue. As such, they
endeavoured to identify the most economic motions for each task, so that
performance could be enhanced and fatigue reduced.
ACTIVITY 2.3
He argued that these companies treated their machines better than workers and
were willing to invest more to purchase expensive machines at the expense of
cheap labour. He emphasised that the best investment that could be made by any
business executive would be to improve the lot of workers.
Owen suggested conducive work environments. He is not known so much for his
success as a businessman but for his commitment and sincerity to alleviate
suffering and misery at the workplace.
A control and an experimental group were put in place for this study. The
experimental group was deliberately exposed to differing intensities of
illumination whereas the control group was exposed to a fixed intensity of
illumination.
In 1927, a professor from Harvard, Elton Mayo, was invited to participate in this
experiment. This collaboration continued till 1932. Several conclusions were
made. One of the tests carried out was to assess the effect of incentive payments
on worker output. It was discovered that group performance and productivity
were often the outcome of group social norms and standards.
The British Army solved the problem of optimising the effectiveness of its limited
airplanes with the help of mathematicians who came up with the optimum
provision model. The Americans used operational research techniques to
enhance the success of their submarines crossing the Northern Atlantic Ocean.
After the war, several quantitative techniques were used in the business sector. A
group of army officers known as the „Whiz Kids‰, joined Ford Motors in the 1940s
and continued to use statistical methods to improve the decision-making process.
Among the famous names were Robert McNamara and Charles „Tex‰ Thornton.
McNamara succeeded in becoming the president of Ford and later became the
American Secretary of Defense. His last position was as head of the World Bank.
Tex Thornton succeeded in starting up a multi-billion dollar company, once again
using quantitative techniques for acquisition and resource allocations.
SELF-CHECK 2.1
The following are several statements about well-known historical
management concepts created by management gurus. Select and write
the correct name of the guru in the right-hand column.
Statement Teacher
He spent a period of two decades seeking „the best practice‰
for each task and designed clear guidelines to improve the
efficiency of manufacturing activities.
He introduced the theory of authoritarian structure and defined
organisational activity based on the relationship of authority.
He provided a clear picture of a unique organisational trend
known as bureaucracy.
He claimed that companies treated their machines better than
the workers. He suggested a conducive work environment.
He saw the interrelationship between scientific management
and industrial psychology. He also suggested the use of
psychological tests to improve worker selection.
He put forward detailed discussions on economic advantages
that could be accomplished by organisations and society if
specialisation was adopted in daily activities.
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The classical approach is divided into two theories: the scientific theory and
the general administrative theory.
You have also learnt about several management gurus and their respective
contributions.
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" LEARNING OUTCOMES
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" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
" 1. Define planning;
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" 2. State the four strengths and five weaknesses of planning;
" 3. Explain the five types of planning for organisational activities;
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" 4. Define management by objectives;
" 5. Explain the nine steps of the strategic framework;
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" 6. Explain what SWOT analysis is; and
" 7. Explain why quality is used as a strategy.
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INTRODUCTION
This topic will discuss the first component in the management process, which is
planning. If we make a comparison of accomplishments among companies, it is
most likely that successful companies have almost similar elements, i.e. each of
them does planning. Let us now look further into the advantages of planning.
It is also said that formal planning restricts intuition (gut feeling) and creativity.
Vision, which is normally in the abstract form, and functions, as an indication of
the direction of the organisation, will eventually become formalised and routine
over time.
Besides this, planning also makes managers focus their attention on current
competition and not future challenges. A lot of planning activity focuses on
taking advantage of existing business opportunities in an industry. Normally,
planning does not encourage managers to create or penetrate a new industry, in
other words, pioneer into new markets or introduce new ideas and products.
The last criticism is that formal planning gives an impetus for bogus successes,
which may lead to failure. We cannot deny that success can become failure in
conditions of uncertainty. It may become difficult or impossible to change
successful plans. A „successful‰ plan may be the basis of misleading guarantees
of success. There is a lot of evidence that excellent performance is obtained
through formal planning, as opposed to the views of the critics. However, we
cannot infer that all companies that plan are more successful when compared to
companies that do not plan. A company that plans normally records higher
profits and returns on investment. As a matter of fact, quality processes and
accurate planning are more effective for the performance of an organisation
compared to the role of planning.
In terms of the speed of change, the faster the occurrence of change, the shorter
should be the duration of the plan. This is because this kind of planning will
allow flexibility in the face of change.
A standing plan comprises plans that are already available, which have
guidelines for repetitive steps or processes. For example, for registration in
universities, the dates may differ but the processing steps remain the same every
semester. Standing plans include policies, procedures and rules.
ACTIVITY 3.1
Produce a conceptual map about the types of planning that can be used
for the activities in your organisation.
There are four common ingredients in all MBO programmes, i.e. specific
purposes, participative decision making, explicit time frame and performance
feedback. These four elements are described further in Table 3.2.
Element Description
Specific goal MBO objectives must be contained in brief statements which
outline expected outcomes.
Participative Objectives are not only made by the employer to be adhered to
decision making by the employees. In addition, the management together with
the workers identify the goals and determine the best methods
to achieve those goals.
Explicit time-frame Each objective has its own time duration for achievement.
Performance MBO always provides continuous feedback on the
feedback achievement of goals. In the perfect sense, it is implemented by
providing continuous feedback to every individual. An
evaluation meeting over a formal time period completes this
process.
Every organisation has a mission statement that outlines the purpose and
answers the question „what is the nature of our business?‰. For example, the
mission of a college would probably be to provide training for students to
prepare them for the career world. By defining the organisational mission, the
organisation identifies the detailed scope of its products and services
SELF-CHECK 3.1
Write about the four strategies that can be practiced by managers after
assessment has been done by comparing actual output with standards.
ACTIVITY 3.2
The ISO standards is a process, i.e. a body or accredited auditors who will certify
if a factory, laboratory or office of a company has achieved a certain quality
management level. This level of standard ensures customers that the
organisation:
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Making
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
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By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
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" 1. Describe the decision making process;
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2. Explain the limits to making rational decisions;
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" 3. Describe peopleÊs behaviour in bounded decision making;
" 4. Identify the two general mistakes in decision making;
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" 5. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making;
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" 6. Explain the three techniques for improving group decision making.
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INTRODUCTION
After planning, a concrete decision must be made. Consider how you would
approach planning for a holiday; several decisions will have to be made. You
must decide on the destination, how many days to go for, the tour company to
select and with whom you want to go. It is not easy to make such decisions, but
as managers, you are expected to possess the skills to make an informed decision
that is precise, constructive and impartial.
Any decision cannot be made based on intuition or impulse per se, because if we
make the wrong management decision, it will not only affect us but other parties
as well. In fact, a decision made by a manager, regardless of the level, will bring
about positive or harmful effects to the unit, department and respective
divisions, in fact to the entire organisation.
A manager must learn to make constructive decisions and hence master the
techniques of effective decision making.
To clarify this, let us take an example: a decision to buy a new car. You are
currently facing a car engine breakdown and have already spent about
RM7,000 on repairs over the last few years. Your mechanic makes an
estimate and finds that the cost of repairing your car is not economical. To
add to this, the current public transportation system does not facilitate your
mobility. We now have a problem.
Criteria Weightage
Price 10
Internal Comfort 8
Durability 5
Repair Records 5
Performance 3
Maintenance 1
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Record
Starting Internal
Alternatives Durability of Performance Maintenance Total
Price Comfort
repairs
Perodua 20 80 40 35 15 5 195
Mercedes 90 48 25 30 24 6 223
BMW 80 40 30 30 12 6 198
Honda 90 40 30 35 18 5 218
Volvo 50 48 45 50 21 7 221
Jaguar 100 40 30 20 9 3 202
Mazda 40 64 35 30 24 9 202
Perdana 70 48 40 30 15 6 209
Nissan 90 56 20 20 12 5 203
Audi 50 64 25 20 30 10 199
Toyota 60 40 50 50 18 6 224
GTI 80 48 30 25 21 8 212
ACTIVITY 4.1
Have you ever made decisions using the steps suggested in the
decision making process? You should use these suggested steps to
achieve a higher quality of decision making.
At the same time, a manager will try and estimate the probability of each of these
alternatives and will place each situation in a position of risk. As such, if a
manager makes a decision based on limited information, he is said to be in a
position of uncertainty.
When we are faced with complicated problems, we tend to take steps to reduce
the problems to the level with which we can cope. As such, managers are
involved in a process called satisfice which is the process of seeking solutions
which are merely satisfactory and sufficient ă or in other words a satisfactory
decision.
After a set of alternatives has been identified, managers will begin to assess them.
This evaluation is not comprehensive. They will make an evaluation until they
find an alternative which can solve the problem. The alternative which has the
capacity to satisfice will bring an end to the search for alternatives.
An example is fear of flying. People are more confident about driving than
flying even though the airplane accident rate is far lower than of road
accidents. Air accidents gain more attention. Airplane accidents receive
greater media coverage and this increases the perception that there is
greater risk of flying than the risk of road accidents.
ACTIVITY 4.2
Rules are explicit or open statements that inform managers about dos and donÊts.
Rules are used to solve simple problems as it is easy to follow and ensures
consistency.
ACTIVITY 4.3
Fill in the blank spaces with the correct terms about procedures, rules
and policies.
(a) Brainstorming
Brainstorming refers to a process of generating ideas. It refers to a
simplified method of reducing stress for consensus. It is used as a
straightforward process to come up with alternatives. In a small group
comprising six to twelve members, the head of the group will present a
problem and explain it clearly to the members. Members are given the
opportunity to come up with as many suggestions as possible within a
given time. No criticism is made and every suggestion is recorded.
Although the possibility of making poor decisions can be reduced using the
rational decision making process, managers must also be conscious of the
limitations of the process and the challenges in making rational decisions. In
order to overcome the setback, organisations lay down procedures, rules and
policies to steer administrative and management decisions.
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Organisational
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Design
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" LEARNING OUTCOMES
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" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
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1. Discuss the six structural elements of organisational design;
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" 2. Describe the five departmentalisation methods that can be practised
" by organisations;
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3. Explain the six differences between mechanistic and organic
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organisations;
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" 4. Explain the four contingency factors that influence organisational
" structure; and
" 5. Elaborate on the six organisational design structures.
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INTRODUCTION
Over the past several centuries, we have witnessed how managers attempted to
establish their organisational structure based on a hierarchical structural
framework which encouraged efficient mass production, promoted uniformity in
rules and was centrally controlled.
After corporate strategy decisions have been made, an effective structure must be
put in place to facilitate the achievement of organisational goals. When a
manager becomes involved in re-establishing and rearranging the organisational
structure, he is said to be involved in the organisational design process.
Organisational design is normally carried out by top management and it
encompasses all types of organisations.
5.1.1 Specialisation
In Topic 1, we have covered the aspect of specialisation, which was put forward
by an economist whose contributions remain significant to this day. In the 1700s,
Adam Smith, in his book, entitled „The Wealth of Nations‰, emphasised the
breakdown of labour into several divisions.
This meant that work had to be divided into various stages and each work step
be undertaken by a different person. Every individual specialised in a particular
area of activity. Specialisation required multiskilled and competent workers.
There have been changes in thinking about effective span of control. Many
organisations are increasing their respective spans of control. This span is
becoming more and more dependent on factors beyond the control of the
organisation.
This is because it is believed that workers who have more training are more
experienced and need less direct supervision. The factors taken into
consideration are the workersÊ tasks, the complexity level of the task, distance
between workers, level of uniformity of tasks and other factors.
Traditional organisations are normally in the form of a pyramid, that is, power
and authority is vested in the top layers. In such an organisational structure,
centralised decisions are obviously practised.
Current organisations are becoming more and more complex, and faced with
dynamic changes in the environment. On this basis, more and more managers
believe that decisions should be made by those who are in proximity to the
problem. Managers of today will select the level of centralisation or
decentralisation based on their capacity to make decisions so as to achieve
organisational objectives.
5.1.6 Departmentalisation
The pioneers of management proposed that organisational activity should be
specialised and grouped together. Specialisation gave rise to experts who needed
to be coordinated. The coordination work could be done by placing the experts
together in one department under one manager. Methods of departmentalisation
are shown in Table 5.1.
Departmentalisation
Explanation
Method
Functional This method divides manpower according to the main
Departmentalisation functions in the organisation. It can be used by all types of
(see Figure 5.1) organisations.
Product Every product is placed under a senior manager who is an
Departmentalisation expert and responsible for all matters related to that product.
(see Figure 5.2)
Customer This method is used on the assumption that the customers in
Departmentalisation each department have common problems and needs which
(see Figure 5.3) can be managed by ONE expert.
Geographical This method is very valuable if the companyÊs customers
Departmentalisation span a wide area.
(see Figure 5.4)
Process This method groups all activities based on work-flow or
Departmentalisation customers.
(see Figure 5.5)
SELF-CHECK 5.1
Now, let us look at Figure 5.6 which shows the differences between mechanistic
and organic organisations.
SELF-CHECK 9.2"
5.2.3 Strategy
Organisational structure is one method that can assist management to achieve its
objectives. As such, structure follows strategy. In fact, organisational structure is
based on strategy. If management makes a decision to change strategies, changes
must also be made to the organisational structure. Research also supports the
relationship between strategy and structure.
5.2.4 Size
There is historical evidence that an organisationÊs size has an impact on the
creation of its structure. Big organisations which employ more than 2,000
workers will be more inclined towards work specialisation, differentiation, and
the use of rules compared to smaller organisations. However, this relationship is
not linear as the impact of size will become less important as the organisation
keeps expanding.
5.2.5 Technology
Every organisation utilises some form of technology to transform resource input
to organisational output. To achieve this objective, the organisation uses tools,
materials, human expertise and experience, arranged according to specific
activities. Researchers have concluded that to achieve high levels of effectiveness,
technology must complement the organisational structure. A lot of research
focuses more on the methods of transforming input to output and the differences
in the routine levels of carrying out the tasks. The more routine a task, the greater
is the need for a uniformed structure. Organic organisations need less routine
technology.
5.2.6 Environment
Mechanistic organisations are most effective in stable environments. On the other
hand, organic organisations function better in an uncertain and fluid
environment. The relationship between structure and environment is the main
reason why managers restructure their organisations to ensure responsiveness
and flexibility.
SELF-CHECK 5.3
What are the four contingencies that influence the structure of an
organisation? Please write your answers in the spaces provided.
Among the strengths of this simple structure are that decisions can be made
quickly as they only involve one person; and it is more flexible as coordination
work can be carried out easily. Operational costs are also low due to the small
number of workers and the question of accountability is also clear.
The weakness of this structure is it only works well for small organisations. Its
effectiveness becomes weaker when the organisation grows. The lack of policies
and rules to guide its operations and a high degree of centralisation result in
information overload at the top level. When the size of the organisation increases,
decision making is delayed and comes to a standstill. Finally, all decisions
depend on one person only.
ACTIVITY 5.1
The simple structure cannot continue to exist without bureaucracy.
However, we always hear complaints from the people that
bureaucracy delays work procedures. Does this mean we have to
eliminate bureaucracy? Elaborate.
The unique feature of this structure is that workers have at least two
managers above them: a functional manager and a product or project
manager. The project manager has authority over the functional members
who are a part of his team. However, authority is jointly shared between
the functional and project managers. Normally, the project manager has
authority over the project workers for issues related to the project; whereas
decisions on promotions, remuneration adjustments and yearly evaluation
are the responsibility of the functional manager.
ACTIVITY 5.2
Draw a mind map of all the organisational structures that you have
just studied. Then, state what is the structure practised by your
organisation.
6
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"
"
Resource
"
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"
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Management
"
"
" LEARNING OUTCOMES
"
" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
"
1. Describe the human resource management process;
"
" 2. Differentiate between job description and job specification;
"
3. Describe the most effective selection method for certain types of
"
work and the validity for each method;
"
" 4. Describe two forms of training programmes and provide relevant
" examples;
" 5. State at least two advantages of giving compensation and benefits
" to workers;
"
" 6. Explain the three current issues at the workplace; and
" 7. Explain seven techniques to evaluate staff performance.
"
"
INTRODUCTION
Do you agree that the quality of an organisation depends on the quality of the
workers it employs? Well, there is a lot of evidence to support this view. As
discussed in Topic 5, organisations consist of a group of people brought together
and grouped in a specific way to achieve a particular goal. Without employees,
there is no organisation. You can argue that technological advancements, the
existence of computers and robots have replaced a substantive part of human
activities, but the question is who is behind the invention of this sophisticated
machinery? Therefore, it must be emphasised here that the quality of the workers
is very important to foster and sustain organisational harmony.
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)
66 TOPIC 6 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The decisions and methods of staffing and human resource management (HRM)
are critical to ensure that an organisation employs and retains the right
personnel. In many organisations, HRM tasks are undertaken by HRM experts
within the organisation. Sometimes the HRM tasks are channelled to consultancy
firms which specialise in HRM activities. However, for small-sized organisations,
the managers themselves have to conduct recruitment (in other words, HRM
activities) without the assistance of HRM experts.
When you attend an interview, the team of interviewers is not just made up of
HRM managers. Have you ever wondered who they are? They are managers
from other divisions. Managers from big organisations are also involved in HRM
activities such as selection of candidates, assessment of application forms,
interview of candidates and other tasks. It does not matter if HRM experts
provide HRM support as every manager will be involved in making HRM
decisions.
Whether some HRM decisions can be made or not, under this kind of legislation,
is subject to affirmative action control. Many organisations have affirmative
action programmes which ensure that HRM decisions and practices can employ
and retain workers from minority groups, including female workers.
Organisations must not only refrain from discriminative policies. In fact, they
should proactively improve the status of those classified as belonging to
protected groups. In other words, managers do not have absolute freedom to
determine who can be hired, promoted or dismissed.
Orientation and training and development help new employees to adapt to the
organisation and obtain skills and knowledge. Finally, the HRM process will help
organisations to achieve organisational performance, correct performance
problems and help workers to maintain their respective performance levels. The
external environment influences the overall process, as shown in Figure 6.1.
ACTIVITY 6.1
Try to explain Figure 6.1 in your own words, i.e. how do the
components of the human resource management process function?
The HRM process involves the assessment of future human resource needs and
the development of a programme that can help fulfil these needs.
One of the current assessment techniques is job analysis. The job analysis steps
are more basic than the compilation of the human resource inventory. It involves
analysing workflow and identifying the required worker behaviour for every
division in the workflow. In short, job analysis aims to identify the skills,
knowledge and attitudes that are required to perform each task successfully.
The information that is accumulated is then used to produce job descriptions and
job specifications. A job description is a written statement that describes the
scope of work of the employee, how the job is to be done and the purpose of
carrying out the task. It contains job duties, environment and work atmosphere.
A job specification, on the other hand, lists the minimum qualifications that an
employee must have to carry out a task successfully, i.e. by identifying the
knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary to carry out a task efficiently
and effectively.
Both these documents are very important in the recruitment and selection
process. Job descriptions can be used to describe the expectations of the job to
candidates, whereas job specifications can be used to draw the attention of
managers to the list of qualifications necessary for an employee to carry out a
task and candidates who are qualified for the task.
ACTIVITY 6.2
What are the mission and objectives of your organisation? How does
management translate them into organisational plans?
Is one resource better than the other? Some resources provide quality candidates.
Many researchers find that workersÊ references provide the best candidates.
Candidates referred by the employees themselves are already screened by them
before being referred. Workers always make references when they are sure the
referred candidates are not a threat to their reputation. However, this kind of
reference does not encourage diversity.
ACTIVITY 6.3
(c) Interview
Interviews conducted through application forms are a universal selection
technique. Although widely encouraged, the effectiveness of this technique
is still questionable. Interviews can be a reliable and valid technique if they
are structured and conducted properly.
On the other hand, normal interviews do not avail useful information to the
company for the following reasons:
(i) Knowing the candidate beforehand will affect the assessment of the
candidate. Information about the candidate is available in the
application form or other sources. This information will create
unrealistic expectations;
(ii) The interviewers will have stereotypical perceptions of a ÂgoodÊ
candidate. For example, female candidates cannot give their full
commitment to their jobs because of motherhood and marriage.
(iii) The interviewers will be more inclined towards candidates with
similar interests. Interviewers who like to play golf will prefer
workers who have the same interests;
(iv) The schedule of candidates to be interviewed will influence the
assessment. Interviewers will begin to feel tired and bored in the
evening or after several rounds of interviews;
(v) The flow of information obtained from the interview will influence
the way assessment is done. This happens when candidates give
unsatisfactory answers in the early stages of the interview;
(vi) Negative information will give a poor perception;
(vii) Candidates will be assessed in the first few minutes of the interview.
This is normally based on first impressions; and
(viii) Forgetting the content of the interview once it is over. Interviewers
cannot then provide an unbiased and accurate assessment of the
candidate.
It is also said that it is difficult to find good workers, and even if workers are
good, they will not stay for long. One of the reasons for this could be that
candidates are not given the right information during the interview.
Giving candidates only positive information during the interview will give rise to
dissatisfaction and encourage turnover. Every employee has a set of expectations
of the organisation and the job to be undertaken.
ACTIVITY 6.4
(a) Work orientation provides more information to the employee than received
during recruitment. This is the time for the employee to correct any
unrealistic expectations and aspirations. Here, new employees are given
clarification about the job scope and responsibilities and how their
performance will be evaluated.
(b) Work unit orientation aims to familiarise the employees with the goals and
objectives of the unit. At this stage, employees also receive information
about how their work process can contribute to the goals of the unit. For
example, you, as a manager, explain to the new sales executive that the
outcome of his sales achievement will contribute to the targeted total sales
output. Other than this, new employees will be introduced to their co-
workers.
There are several easily identifiable symptoms, which can indicate that training is
needed. Among signs which indicate the need for training are a drop in
production rates, decline in quality of goods and services, increase in accident
rates and increase in rejection rates of products and services of the company.
Generally, training can be divided into two forms: On-the-job-training, and Off-
the-job-training.
On-The-Job-Training
1. Job Rotation Rotation of job among employees at the same level. It
provides comprehensive exposure to the workers.
2. Understudy Assignment Working with a veteran, mentor or coach who provides
support and encouragement
Off-The-Job-Training
1. Lectures in Class Lectures which provide specific technical skills.
2. Videos and Films Using media to deliver technical skills which are
difficult to demonstrate using other methods.
3. Simulation Exercises Learning a task by doing that task on a simulation basis.
It involves case analysis, role-playing and group
interaction.
4. Vestibule Exercises Learning a task using the equipment which will actually
be used in the real work situation, on a simulation basis.
SELF-CHECK 6.1
Forms Description
of
Training
Rotation of work among workers at the same level. It gives
comprehensive exposure to the employee.
Working with a veteran, mentor or coach who provides
support and encouragement.
Lectures which provide specific technical skills.
Using media to deliver technical skills which are difficult
to demonstrate using other methods.
Learning a task by doing that task on a simulation basis. It
involves case analysis, role-playing and group interaction.
Learning a task using the equipment which will be actually
used in the real work situation, on a simulation basis.
ACTIVITY 6.5
Technique Description
Written Comment The Appraiser writes down comments about the
employeeÊs performance.
Critical Incident The appraiser focuses on critical incidents which is
a test whether the employee can carry out a task
assigned to him effectively.
Graphic Rating Scale The appraiser evaluates the employee by giving a
score to each performance trait that has been
identified, on an escalating scale.
Behaviourally Anchored This combines the techniques used in the critical
Rating Scale incident technique and graphic rating scale.
Multiperson Comparisons This involves comparisons with other employees.
Management Guidance This technique focuses on the final outcome.
Appraisal
360o Feedback Appraisal is done by employee, supervisor, team
members, co-workers, customers, etc.
Counselling can help solve problems related to job performance. It addresses the
question of the employeeÊs lack of interest to carry out a task productively. If this
method is not effective, then the organisation can probably consider disciplinary
action.
The main determinant of salary received depends on the kind of work done by
an employee. Different levels of work require different skill levels, knowledge
and ability commensurate with the respective responsibilities and authority.
The salary level is also influenced by the kind of business venture, work
environment, location, employee performance levels and employee seniority.
Finally, it depends on the organisationÊs philosophy on compensation. Some
organisations believe that they should not pay more than the actual amount
whereas other organisations believe the actual amount should be paid.
It can happen to a person of the opposite or same sex. Sexual harassment can take
the form of verbal or physical harassment which will lead to an uncomfortable
work environment.
The management can be made responsible for any sexual harassment charge. The
legal body will be interested in finding out whether the organisation was aware
of the case. Should the organisation be aware of such a case? What must the
organisation do to overcome this problem?
In this topic, you were exposed to the human resource management process,
human resource planning, recruitment and selection, orientation, training
and development, performance management, compensation and benefits,
and current issues in human resource management.
You should be able to describe all this with examples from your own work
environment.
"
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7
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Management
"
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and Innovation
"
"
" LEARNING OUTCOMES
"
" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
" 1. Describe the two change factors which influence the management
" of an organisation;
"
" 2. Explain the importance of the role played by a manager, as an
" agent of change in an organisation;
" 3. Discuss the two metaphoric differences of change, namely „calm
" waters‰ and „white water rapids‰;
"
4. Explain the three reasons why people resists change and five
"
techniques to reduce resistance of change;
"
" 5. Explain the five causes and three symptoms of stress; and
" 6. Explain the three sets of factors that stimulate innovation.
"
"
INTRODUCTION
Before we begin this topic, try to recall your village, the place where you grew up
not so long ago, be it in Seremban, Dengkil or Pasir Gudang. Is the village or
town the same as before? Is the field where you used to play football unchanged?
Is the market you used to frequent with your parents still the same? In some
instances, the answer may be yes, while other places may have undergone some
changes. The point of this whole exercise is that everything goes through a
process, i.e. change.
Changes in an organisation are the norm. According to one view, „even things
which remain the same change‰. Morning will not remain morning, and the
young will grow old. All these are natural phenomena. Therefore, managing
change is part of a managerÊs task. You, as a manager, can change three things:
organisational structure, technology and individuals.
(iii) Technology
The most drastic technological changes have occurred in the field of
computerisation and robotics. In the past, the use of manpower in the
business sector was very intensive. Now, if a company still uses
manpower, it is considered as lagging behind technologically.
(iv) Economy
Economic unrest, which is currently a hot topic of conversation,
cannot be overlooked. The demand and purchasing power and
change in currency values force organisations to find ways to deal
with uncertain demands.
Employees may face changes in their scope of work, which will require
them to undergo training, for example, to learn how to use a new machine.
Changes can also occur when the communication network and pattern of
interaction among employees change. Another form of change which has
been less common prior to this is changes to the compensation and benefits
scheme. However, as we have seen in the Topic 6 on human resource
management, changes to this scheme must be made, so that the
organisation can attract and retain competent workers.
ACTIVITY 7.1
When we talk about the waves of change, there are two metaphors or general
views, as will be discussed in the following subtopics.
Managers who feel their organisations fall under this metaphor can overcome
changes according to the LewinÊs Three Step Model. Please refer to Figure 7.1.
Lewin was of the opinion that to handle the change process successfully, the
following steps must be followed.
(b) Changing
This process involves changing to the new situation. After the unfreezing
process is completed, the changing process can commence.
LewinÊs Three Step Model regards change as a breakaway from the equilibrium
state of the organisation.
ACTIVITY 7.2
(a) Uncertainty
Change replaces certainty with vagueness and uncertainty. Workers in an
organisation normally dislike uncertainty. For example, have you ever been
in a situation when your organisation is considering whether to give a
bonus at the end of the year and you are planning to get a new car as soon
as you receive the bonus? This situation is known as uncertainty. You are
uncertain whether the bonus will be given and at the same time, there are
rumours that car prices will go up.
(c) Belief that the Change is Not for the Good of the Organisation
The last cause of resistance is the belief that the change is not in line with
the goals and interests of the organisation and will only bring losses to the
organisation. If we look at this from a positive aspect, this kind of resistance
will benefit the organisation later when steps to review the plans are taken.
Techniques Description
Learning and The assumption is that resistance comes about because of inaccurate
Communication information and weak communication.
Involvement Involving those who are directly related to the effects of change in the
decision making process will increase the acceptance level of the change.
Support Help employees overcome fear, worry and anxiety as a result of the
change. This includes counselling sessions, training to enhance skills
to face the changes, and other activities.
Negotiation Change something that is precious so that it reduces the resistance to
the change process.
Manipulation Reduce or change the information or situation to influence people to
change.
Pressure Directly use intimidation, coercion or threats.
ACTIVITY 7.3
Which method is practised by your organisation to reduce resistance to
change?
(a) Structure
Structural change of the organisation is a change to the relationship
authority, coordination mechanism, degree of power centralisation, work
design, etc. Structural change will give authority to the employees to
implement the change process.
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 7 CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION 87
(b) Technology
Technological change comprises adapting to work methods, work processes
and tools used. The main focus of technological change is continuous
initiatives which aim to develop a process that is more flexible to better
support operational quality. Therefore, organisations must be committed
and provide training and learning opportunities to the employees.
(c) People
Changing people means changing attitudes, aspirations, perceptions and
behaviour. Workers are expected to give their commitment towards
achieving organisational objectives. Again, organisations must provide full
support towards employee learning and training. Other than this,
organisations must re-evaluate their compensation system so that it
supports organisational objectives.
7.4 STRESS
In this subtopic, we will discuss the meaning of stress and various other issues
related to it.
Usually, stress is viewed as a negative concept but sometimes, it can bring about
positive effects when it offers opportunities to be in possession of something.
Conversely, it brings about negative effects when there are constraints and
demands at the same time. Constraints prevent us from doing what we want.
Demands will make you give up one thing for another because it takes time and
forces you to focus your attention on other matters.
ACTIVITY 7.4
Sources of Description
Stress
Task Demands This is a factor related to the job. It comprises the employeeÊs
work design, work environment and work flow. The work
quantum can also increase stress. In addition, a higher level
of interdependence among workers contributes towards the
potential for stress.
Role Demands This relates to the stress on a worker who has a role to play in
the organisation.
Interpersonal This refers to stress imposed by colleagues.
Demands
Organisational Unreasonable rules and limited opportunities to make
Structure decisions further increase stress.
Organisational Leadership styles which emphasise fear-based motivation
Leadership and strict supervision will permeate the whole organisation
and cause stress.
ACTIVITY 7.5
Some of the stress reduction steps that can be practiced are shown in Table 7.3.
Steps Description
Communication Telling employees what exactly needs to be done and what
is expected helps to reduce vagueness and role conflict.
Redesigning tasks This will help to reduce stress caused by work overload.
Employee This is a programme implemented to help employees who
Assistance at one time demonstrated high performance levels before
Programme falling prey to drugs, or other problems.
Wellness This programme is designed to sustain the well-being of
Programme employees. It includes anti-smoking campaigns, weight-
loss programmes, stress management and others. It is
hoped that this programme can reduce medical costs,
reduce absenteeism and prevent health-related problems.
SELF-CHECK 7.1"
You may be wondering how creativity differs from innovation. Innovation is the
process of taking a creative idea and converting it into a useful product, service
or operational method. The use of microchips in operating mobile telephones is
an example of innovation.
Some people say that creativity is inherited. Others believe that creativity can be
developed through training. Creativity can be considered as a four-fold process
which consists of perception, incubation, inspiration and innovation. Look at
Table 7.4 for more details.
Creative Explanation
Process
Perception The way we perceive things. Creativity means looking at
something from a unique angle.
Incubation An idea will go through a process known as incubation. In this
process, workers collect information which is then stored,
reaccessed, studied and reformed so as to create something new
in the end.
Inspiration The time when all efforts are successfully integrated.
Innovation Involves converting inspiration into a useful product, service or
method.
Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb, stated that „creativity is 1 per cent
inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration‰. To Edison, the 99 per cent means the
process of testing, evaluating, and restudying what is discovered under the
inspiration process.
ACTIVITY 7.6
Finally, communication between units will bring down the wall which
impedes innovation. Open communication among the departments will
accelerate the innovation process.
Research has shown that these champions of change have several common
characteristics. Each of them has a high confidence level, is energetic, and is
inclined to take risks. They can influence others and they have the ability to
obtain the commitment to support their vision.
ACTIVITY 7.7
In this topic, you have studied the meaning of change, employee resistance to
change, approaches to implementing change in organisations, stress and
stimulation of innovation.
You should be able to state the factors of change that can be undertaken by
managers and reasons why people resist change.
You have learnt the steps to reduce resistance to change and how to foster a
creative and innovative spirit.
Daft, R. L., & Margic, D. (2001). Understanding management (3rd ed.). Fort
Worth, TX: Harcourt College.
Sight, K. (2005). Organisation change and development. New Delhi, India: Excel
Books.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe the five stages of establishing work teams in an
organisation;
2. State at least four differences between work groups and work teams;
3. Describe the five types of normal work teams;
4. Explain the eight characteristics of effective work teams;
5. State the three ways to transform individuals into effective team
members; and
6. State the four ways to revive the spirit of mature teams.
INTRODUCTION
No matter where you work, most of the tasks are undertaken by teams. Lately,
you will find, directly or indirectly, you have been absorbed into a work group or
committee, and all of a sudden, you have become a member of that group and
are expected to work with other people. What happens to an individualÊs work
output? Why is it that work that was handled by an individual, is now being
taken over by work teams?
Actually, working in teams is not a new phenomenon. Do you remember the last
time you were involved in preparing for a feast? What was your task? Try and
recollect if you worked alone. The answer is definitely not. You worked with
your other relatives and siblings. Some cooked, washed and set up camps, while
others served, decorated and handled other tasks.
In the past, if an organisation practiced teamwork, it was unusual news, but now,
if an organisation does not practice teamwork, it is considered odd. Teamwork
has currently become very popular because it has proven to be more effective
than working alone when a task needs a variety of skills, views and experiences.
Organisations which have restructured themselves to be more effective and
efficient have set up work teams as they can bring out the latent talents of the
employees.
For many organisations, the setting up of teams does not occur in the stages
described in this subtopic. One stage may overlap another. Still, it must be
remembered that this is basically a general framework.
SELF-CHECK 8.1
ACTIVITY 8.1
take corrective action. They are responsible for improving quality problems as
well as generating and evaluating feedback. However, this team is rarely given
the full authority to implement the suggestions and solutions.
SELF-CHECK 8.2
They are capable of adapting their work skills to meet the needs of the team.
Effective work teams have both technical and interpersonal skills.
ACTIVITY 8.2
(a) The national culture appreciates individual work. For example, the United
States is a country which gives more priority to individual accomplishments
as compared to collective accomplishments.
Good and imaginative team members will generate ideas and concepts. They are
independent and prefer to work at their own level, speed, method and time.
There are some members who take on new ideas and try to implement them.
They will try and find sources to support these ideas.
ACTIVITY 8.3
Thus, it is not surprising that, you, as a manager, must know how to transform
individuals into effective team members. Several approaches can be used. Three
of the most popular methods are explained below.
If you can discern these signs, it is better not to hire such candidates as they
might hinder your aspirations to set up teams. If a candidate demonstrates some
skills which need to be adapted, you can hire him on a trial basis and mandate
him to undergo training.
For example, rewards should be given to each team member based on the
achievement of team goals. Promotions, salary increments and other kinds
of rewards should be given to workers on the basis of how effectively they
function as team members. In this way, individual contributions are
balanced with contributions to the team.
Managers, like you and me, are normally advised to save organisational
costs. However, we are given limited control over finances. So, what can we
do? Besides monetary rewards, team members can also be given non-
monetary rewards. Working in a team gives a feeling of cohesiveness to all
members. Effective team members constantly help each other and
encourage the development of character, spiritualism and the mind. As
discussed in Topic 2, employees are driven to perform a task not because of
being directed by top management per se but also because of team
influence.
SELF-CHECK 8.3
Sometimes, team success and familiarity with each other will encourage
complacency. When this happens, mature team members will become more
easily affected by groupthink symptoms, i.e. members of the team simply accept
any idea proposed by the majority.
At this stage, you might ask, what should I do? Here, we will suggest four ways
to revive lifeless teams.
(a) Preparing Team Members to Deal with the Problem of Team Maturity
Team members must be reminded that this is not a case peculiar to them as
every successful team will go through this phase. Team members must not
feel disappointed or sad if conflict starts to exist.
SELF-CHECK 8.4
Name four ways in which managers can revive the spirit of a team
which has reached its peak.
However, managers must know the ways of forming teams with effective
characteristics.
There are several ways to transform an individual into a team member and to
reinvigorate the work ethic of teams which have reached maturity.
Sundstrom, E., Meuse, K. P., & Futrell, D. (1990). Work teams: Applications and
effectiveness. American Psychologist, 45(2), 120-133.
9
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
" LEARNING OUTCOMES
"
" By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
"
1. Explain the six traits of a leader;
"
" 2. Discuss the three most popular studies on behavioural theories of
" leadership;
"
3. Elaborate on the four contingency models of leadership;
"
" 4. Explain the three current approaches to leaderships theory;
" 5. Explain the seven characteristics of charismatic leaders;
"
" 6. Identify the five dimensions of trust; and
" 7. Explain the three types of trust.
"
"
INTRODUCTION
Our superior officers function, work, manage and lead us by using a variety of
ways and methods so as to ensure that we can complete our tasks towards
achieving organisational goals. Our managers are of various personalities, there
are those who are fierce, some are friendly, some are considerate and there are
those who show no compassion. Which personality do you prefer? Have you
ever asked yourself what approach you would use to lead others?
Many among us use the terms „manager‰ and „leader‰ interchangeably. The
question is whether a manager is also a leader. Is it compulsory for a leader to
also be a manager? Before we delve deeper into this topic, it is best we
differentiate between managers and leaders.
Even though the majority of you may be of the opinion that managers and
leaders are the same, it is pertinent to make a distinction between leaders and
managers. Managers are appointed by the organisation. They are given powers
under the law to compensate and punish. Their ability to influence workers is
based on a formal authority that comes with the position they hold.
Leaders, on the other hand, can be appointed by the organisation, or they can
naturally emerge from within a group. They are capable of influencing others to
do something without the use of formal authority. Therefore, should all
managers also lead or should all leaders also manage? There is no research that
supports the notion that the absence of leadership skills will adversely affect the
ability of managers to manage. However, what is being emphasised here is that
ideally, a manager should also have leadership skills.
There seems to be a dead-end to the research which tried to study the differences
between leaders and managers. However, efforts to identify traits which have
been consistently linked to leadership have been more successful. Six clear
distinctions between leaders and non-leaders are listed in Table 9.1.
Traits Explanation
Power Leaders have the will to influence and lead others. They show
willingness to accept responsibility.
Drive to Lead Leaders build trust with their followers by always being honest.
They display high levels of consistency in both their words and
actions.
Integrity and Followers will look upon their leaders as being firm when making
Credibility decisions. Leaders must convince their followers that they are
confident about the accuracy and precision of their decisions.
Self-confidence Leaders display high levels of endeavour. They have the desire to
achieve great heights, are ambitious and energetic. They do not
give up easily and always show initiative.
Intelligence Leaders must be intelligent to gather, analyse and interpret a large
amount of information, as well as have the ability to formulate
visions, solve problems and make decisions.
Business Effective leaders have high levels of knowledge about the
Knowledge company, industry and technical matters. A deep knowledge
enables them to make decisions and understand the impact of those
decisions.
An explanation based on traits per se does not take into account situations
whereby managers also make decisions. This is because managers do not make
environment-free decisions. Possessing the above mentioned traits merely
increases the probability of an individual becoming an effective leader. He still
needs to make decisions that are based on specific situations.
SELF-CHECK 9.1
Now, let us briefly study three of the most popular studies on leadership. These
are Kurt LewinÊs Studies in the University of Iowa, the Ohio State Studies and the
University of Michigan Studies.
Table 9.2: Leadership Behaviour or Styles of Kurt Lewin and Colleagues in the
University of Iowa
Traits Explanation
Autocratic Leader practices centralisation of authority, directs work methods,
etc.
Democratic Leader involves workers in decision-making, distributes authority,
encourages participation, and uses feedback to train workers.
Consultative Leader obtains input from workers but makes the final decision on
Democracy his/her own.
Participative Leader allows workers to participate in decision making. The decision
Democracy making process is handled in groups.
Free-style Leader gives full freedom to workers to make decisions and decide on
the best way to carry out a job.
After being exposed to these three leadership styles, the question now is which of
these styles is the most effective? Based on each performance criteria, free-style
leadership is found to be ineffective. The autocratic and democratic styles
provide an almost similar outcome in terms of quantity, but in terms of work
quality and satisfaction, the democratic style is found to be the best. This study
found that the democratic style is appropriate for encouraging both quantity and
quality of work.
Does this mean that a manager should only adopt the democratic style? Two
researchers, Tannenbaum and Schmidt tried to address this question. They
suggested that in deciding which style to adopt, managers consider several
factors: the managers themselves, e.g. comfort with the style used; the workers,
e.g. their willingness to accept responsibility, and the situation, e.g. current
pressure. However, managers must move towards worker-centred styles in the
long run.
The studies show that consideration structure leaders are more inclined to
achieve high levels of performance and in general are more satisfied than
initiating structure leaders, who face greater risks of dissatisfaction, absenteeism
and turnover.
ACTIVITY 9.1
According to the three studies that you have just read, what kind of
leadership style should a leader adopt?
Based on Figure 9.1, each axis has nine probable positions giving a total of 81
different leadership style positions. From this grid, Blake and Mouton focused on
five main situations which are found in the four corners and one in the centre.
Blake and Mouton inferred that managers functioned best on position 9,9.
"
Figure 9.1: Managerial grid
SELF-CHECK 9.2"
Theory Study
The initiating structure refers to the Kurt LewinÊs Studies in
inclination of leaders to outline and the University of Iowa
structure their roles with the roles of
workers in their efforts to accomplish
goals (clear distinction). The consideration
structure shows how serious leaders are
in creating a relationship with workers
based on trust and respect for their ideas
and feelings.
This study outlined two main Ohio State Studies
dimensions of leadership styles, i.e.
employee-oriented style and job-oriented
style.
This theory identified three kinds of Management Grid
behaviour or leadership styles, i.e.
autocratic, democratic and free-style.
Blake and Mouton focused on five main University of Michigan
positions which are found in the four Studies
corners and one in the centre.
The lesson here is that what you say about other people is more a reflection of
yourself than of the other person being evaluated. If the questionnaire is
evaluated positively, then respondents will basically be interested in good
interpersonal co-worker relationship. If evaluated negatively, then workers
basically will be interested in productivity i.e. to be task-oriented. Fiedler was of
the view that leadership style was inborn and hence could not be changed.
Fiedler also postulated that it was vital to match leadership styles with
situational demands based on three criteria listed in Table 9.4.
Criteria Description
Leader-Worker Degree of confidence, trust and respect shown by
Relationship subordinates for their leaders.
Task Structure Degree of how structured or unstructured the task of the
worker is.
Power Position Degree to which the leadersÊ influence lies in power factors
like selection, firing, discipline, promotion and salary
increment.
The next step is to analyse the situation based on these three criteria. If all three
criteria are evaluated highly, i.e. if the leader-worker relations are good, the task
is well structured and power position is strong, the stronger is the control or
influence of that leader.
In contrast to Fiedler, House was of the opinion that leaders are flexible. This
theory was of the view that equally capable leaders displayed one or all leadership
styles. The path-goal theory suggests two kinds of contingency factors:
(a) Environment
This included the following elements:
This model provided a series of steps that must be followed to determine the
degree of involvement in decision making. This series is in the form of a decision
tree. This study was researched further by Vroom and another researcher, Jago in
1988. They succeeded in increasing the series of steps to come to a two-fold
decision making stage, i.e. from the leaderÊs side only up to the point of sharing
the problems with the workers and getting a unanimous decision.
Hersey and Blanchard identified four leadership styles and four levels of worker
readiness. Based on this figure, if workers are reluctant and incapable of carrying
out a task (R1), leaders should show S1 leadership style, i.e. task-oriented. On the
other hand, if workers are ready and capable of undertaking a task (R4), leaders
then have no problems (S4).
ACTIVITY 9.2
Characteristic Explanation
Self-confidence Charismatic leaders are fully confident of their value and ability.
Visionary They have ideal goals that exceed current situations.
Ability to They are able to communicate their vision clearly to others. This
communicate ability is a reflection of the level of understanding of their
vision followers.
Confident of Leaders who are committed to their vision are willing to take
vision personal risks, in fact, make sacrifices to accomplish their vision.
Extraordinary They display extraordinary behaviour, which opposes traditional
behaviour norms. When they succeed, this behaviour is lauded by the
people.
Act as change Charismatic leaders are often known as radical agents of change
agent as compared to those who accept the status quo.
Sensitive to the They are able to make realistic evaluations about the environment
environment and resource constraints to implement changes.
ACTIVITY 9.3
(a) Ability to clarify their vision to others through schools and other mediums
like the radio and television;
(b) Ability to show that their vision is not merely lip-service but action-
oriented ă change begins with self;
(c) Ability to channel the vision within context; and
(d) Accepted by departments, units and other divisions.
They are also able to arouse and inspire their followers to strive to achieve group
goals. Transformational leaders are appreciated more than charismatic leaders.
Transformational leaders not only try to instil the qualities of courage to question
long-standing views but also the views proposed by the leaders themselves.
SELF-CHECK 9.3
9.5 TRUST
After you have understood leadership aspects, let us now look at another aspect
which is just as important in the management infrastructure, i.e. trust. Trust is
the belief in someone. The level of trust is a hotly debated topic in organisations.
Trust becomes even more important when we talk about working in groups. In
this subtopic, we will define trust and the importance of trust as a component of
leadership.
What are the main dimensions which engulf the concept of trust? These are
described in Table 9.7.
Dimensions Explanation
Integrity Honest and truthful.
Ability Technical skill, knowledge and interpersonal skills.
Consistency Trustworthy, predictable and good evaluation.
Loyalty Desire to defend and protect a personÊs reputation.
Transparency Willingness to share ideas and information with others.
When your followers trust you, they will be willing to place themselves in your
hands.
Have you thought about what leadership characteristics are most desired by the
followers? The answer is honesty. Honesty is consistently regarded as the most
respected leadership trait by followers. Nowadays, the effectiveness of
management and leadership depends on the ability of leaders to win the trust of
their followers.
For example, this kind of relationship can be seen among happily married
couples. It can also be seen among workers who have worked together for a
long time and have experiences which allow them to understand each other
deeply. This kind of trust is much desired by managers in teams.
SELF-CHECK 9.4
You also know that trust is the foundation of leadership because when
workers trust you, they are willing to place themselves in your hands.
Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1964). The managerial grid: Key orientations for
achieving production through people. Houston, TX: Gulf.
Lewin, K., Lippitt, R., & White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behaviour in
experimentally created „social climates‰. The Journal of Social Psychology,
10(2), 271-299.
Vroom, V. H., & Jago, A. G. (1988). The new leadership: Managing participation
in organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
INTRODUCTION
What is your view on the importance of communication in your daily life and
in your organisation?
The role of communication which at one time was looked upon as not important
has now been given due recognition in daily management aspects. In fact, it is a
compulsory part of the business administration course. The switching of the term
information technology (IT) to information communication technology (ICT),
which has been hailed by the information technology community at the global
level, is evidence of its acceptance.
Many managers make the mistake of hoping that their ideas, suggestions, and
instructions can be somehow conveyed and at the same time expect them to be
understood. Communication skills per se are inadequate to make a manager
successful. However, ineffective communication skills will pose various
problems to managers. As a manager, you are required to understand and
practise effective information communication methods like communicating good
and bad news, giving instructions and receiving as well as giving feedback.
ACTIVITY 10.1
Communication is __________________________________________.
(a) Source
A source (normally a person), begins a message by encoding a certain
thought. Four situations influence the encoding of a message:
(i) Skills
The overall success of communication depends on speaking, reading,
and listening skills as well as consideration.
(ii) Attitude
Our attitude influences our behaviour. We hold on to a set of
assumptions about issues and our communication is influenced by
this attitude.
(iii) Knowledge
We limit our communication activity to the knowledge we have on a
particular topic.
(b) Message
A message is a physical product (that can be seen or heard) from the
encoding source. When we speak, the speech is a message; when we write,
the writing is a message; when we draw, the drawing is a message and
when we move, our hand movements or facial expressions are our
message. Messages sent by us are influenced by: symbols (language,
writing, etc.) which are used to deliver thoughts; the contents of the
message itself and the decision made in selecting and arranging the codes
and contents that are to be sent.
(c) Channel
Channel is the medium through which the message is sent. It is selected by
the source. Channels can be formal or informal. Formal channels are
determined by organisations that send work-related messages.
Traditionally, messages follow organisational authority. Informal messages
go through informal organisational channels.
(d) Receiver
Receiver is the object to which the message is directed. The message must
be interpreted into a form that can be understood by the receiver. This is the
process of decoding. As with the source, the receiver is also limited by
skills, attitude, knowledge and sociocultural systems.
(e) Feedback
The final element in the communication process is feedback. Feedback is a
measurement of how successful we have been in sending a message as
intended originally. It shows whether the message has been understood.
However, a written message has its weaknesses. Writing consumes time, reduces
feedback, reaction in the form of facial expression, and the voice and intonation
cannot be identified.
ACTIVITY 10.2
Give an example for each of the following:
(a) Written communication that is more effective than verbal
communication
(b) Verbal communication that is more effective than written
communication
(c) Effective non-verbal communication
(a) Filtering
There is action to deliberately manipulate information so that it is more
receptive to the receiver. When you make a report to the headquarters that
your business is doing fairly well when in actual fact it is deteriorating, you
are said to be filtering information. This is more serious in big
organisations. The information that is communicated is filtered from one
level to another till the message being conveyed becomes totally different
from the actual information.
(d) Emotion
It is normal for all life forms to react when intimidated. When people feel
threatened, they will react in a way that reduces their ability to achieve
understanding. They will take action to defend themselves, for example, by
quarrelling, insinuating, and questioning the actions of others. When
people find themselves being intimidated by messages received, they will
try and react in a way which will prevent effective communication from
occurring.
(e) Language
The meaning of words may differ from one person to another. Age,
education and background are factors which influence language used and
understood. For instance, the word „you‰ may be a normal way to address
someone but to some people, it may be offensive. In addition, workers
come from different backgrounds and are forced to work in the same
division. This process encourages the use of specific technical words,
especially computer-related language like „mouse‰, „TCPIP‰, „CPU‰,
which may convey different meanings to different people.
ACTIVITY 10.3
SELF-CHECK 10.1
State the methods that can be used by managers to overcome the
barriers to communication.
Active listening requires you to delve into the thoughts of the sender so that you
can understand what is being communicated from his point of view. You have to
pay full attention and you should desire to understand fully what is being said.
There are four basic needs for active listening (refer to Table 10.1).
10.2.2 Feedback
If you ask about positive and negative feedback, you are bound to get an answer
that is unexpected. If the feedback is positive, it will be conveyed quickly and
enthusiastically but it is a totally different scenario if negative feedback is being
conveyed. Everybody likes to convey and receive good news and tries to avoid
conveying and especially receiving bad news. As such, negative feedback is often
avoided, postponed or amended.
The aim of this subtopic is to show the importance of conveying positive and
negative feedback and identifying the techniques that can be used to convey
feedback effectively.
(a) What are the Differences between Positive and Negative Feedback?
Everybody, whether a manager or non-manager, a sender or a receiver, treats
positive and negative feedback differently. Positive feedback is more readily
acceptable and more accurate than negative feedback. Negative feedback
often faces resistance. People prefer to listen to good news and set aside other
kinds of news. Researchers have concluded that negative feedback is better
received if it is conveyed by a credible source (a person holding some
position, close friends, close relatives, etc.). Feedback is also more readily
received if it is supported by facts and data and actual related examples.
ACTIVITY 10.4
There are some of you who may feel that conflict is not an issue but something
that should be avoided. Table 10.2 shows three differing views about conflict.
Views Explanation
Traditional Initial approaches stated that conflict is not good and always
brought about negative impacts to the organisation. On this
basis, conflict should be avoided. Management was
responsible for eliminating any conflict.
Human Relations Pioneers of human relations stated that conflict was normal
and could not be avoided in an organisation. On this basis,
organisations accepted conflicts and believed that sometimes
it brought about advantages.
Interaction There are some current theories on conflict. These theories
not only accept conflict, but in fact, encourage it. They believe
that peace, harmony, and cooperation will make the
organisation static, lifeless, lazy, and insensitive to change.
These theories encourage conflict at levels that are just
adequate to maintain organisational agility.
SELF-CHECK 10.2
There are three different approaches or views about conflict. Fill in the
blanks with the appropriate approaches.
The __________ approach states that conflict is not good and always
brings about a negative impact to the organisation. On this basis,
conflict should be avoided. Management is responsible for avoiding
any conflict. Pioneers of __________ stated that conflict was normal and
could not be avoided in an organisation. On this basis, organisations
accepted conflict and believed that sometimes it brought about
advantages. The __________ theory not only accepts conflict, but in fact
encourages it.
Conflict can take two forms: functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict. How
can a manager identify whether a conflict is of a functional or dysfunctional
kind? Please refer to Figure 10.2 and Table 10.3 for further clarification.
A skilled manager will know which style is appropriate and when it should be
used. As a manager, it is impossible to resolve every conflict. As such, select the
conflict that must be resolved so that you can devote your time and energy to
functional conflicts only. Examples of unmanageable conflicts are when
opposition is too deep-rooted, when both parties wish to prolong the conflict,
when emotions run high, and when it is not worthwhile to resolve the conflict.
There are conflicts which are beyond our control; therefore, it is wise to ignore
such conflicts.
ACTIVITY 10.5
As a manager, you should first of all identify the appropriate time to encourage
conflict. The following are some issues that you can consider:
There are many techniques that can be used to encourage conflict. Managers
should inform and channel the message about change to workers followed by
actions which prove that conflict is recognised. This step involves changing
organisational culture. Communication can be used to encourage conflict. Vague
and fearful messages also encourage conflict.
The most popular method used to shake up the whole organisation is by hiring
outsiders or people from other departments whose values, background,
behaviour and management styles are different from the current workers.
ACTIVITY 10.6
As a manager, you should be able to provide feedback and identify the two
forms of conflict and which of the two is functional and which is
dysfunctional.
You should also be aware of the causes of conflict and the ways to resolve it.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wondered why some people are willing to work day and night
without feeling bored or tired? Do you know of a colleague who is willing to
accept the responsibility for carrying out a task and is inspired to carry it out
with complete dedication, energy and interest? He is willing to sacrifice his meal
time, rest and sleep to complete the work. The statement, „truly industrious‰
seems apt to describe people like this.
On the other hand, you may have also come across people who always turn
down responsibilities, arrive late to work, sulk, and when given a task, you are
almost always ready to hear thousands of excuses why he has to postpone the
task. The statement, „lame‰ comes to mind.
The Malay proverb, „there are a thousand ways if you want something and a
thousand excuses if you do not‰, seems appropriate in the light of this topic on
Motivation. As a manager, you should be sensitive to the factors which motivate
your workers to do something and the factors that do not. This is important
because as mentioned in Topic 1, managers, willingly or unwillingly, need to
work with and through people.
This topic begins with defining motivation followed by theories that explain
clearly the concepts of motivation and methods that can be used to increase the
energy of the workers. Knowledge about the concepts of motivation will train
you to be a better and more effective manager. Please take note that the word
„motivate‰ is interchangeable with the word „encourage‰.
The level of an individualÊs motivation changes from time to time. A person may
be motivated when you invite him to cook and he immediately goes to buy the
necessary ingredients. On the other hand, if you invite the same person to go
bowling, he may give all sorts of excuses like his hand hurts, his leg hurts, and
that he needs to submit an assignment first thing the next morning. However,
this same person has the time to stand for hours by the fire cooking.
Motivation is:
The desire to expand high levels of effort to achieve organisational goals and
that effort must be achieved.
(a) Effort
When the person is motivated, he will work harder.
(c) Needs
Motivation is a process of fulfilling needs.
Let us take a closer look at what is meant by needs. The level of needs that is not
satisfied will give rise to tension and an increasing tension level will create
pressure within oneself. This pressure will generate a specific behaviour to
satisfy this need, i.e. to reduce tension. For example, when you feel hungry in the
middle of the night, you cannot sleep well. In your mind, you consider whether
you should get up to get something to eat or not.
After tossing about, finally, you make the decision to cook noodles. After eating
the noodles, you can sleep well. This phenomenon is shown in Figure 11.1.
SELF-CHECK 11.1
Label the following pyramid below with MaslowÊs Hierarchy of
Needs Theory.
MaslowÊs Hierarchy of Needs moves from a lower order to a higher order need.
After most of the needs in one level are satisfied, needs at the next level must
then be satisfied. It must be remembered that no level can be satisfied fully. A
level of needs that has almost been fully satisfied no longer has a motivational
force. To motivate workers, you need to know at what level they are on the
hierarchy and focus your attention on fulfilling the needs at that level or at a
higher level.
ACTIVITY 11.1
Figure 11.2 provides a clearer picture. When workers are dissatisfied, workers
will talk about hygiene factors like insensitive supervisors, low pay,
uncomfortable working conditions and other such factors as the main reasons for
their dissatisfaction.
It is the norm that the antonym of satisfaction is dissatisfaction and the antonym
of happy is sad, but it is not necessary that a person who is unhappy is sad. A
similar concept can be applied under this theory.
Figure 11.3: Differences between the traditional view and HerzbergÊs view
If the hygiene factors are eliminated, it is not necessary that the workers will
enjoy job satisfaction. As such, the antonym of „dissatisfaction‰ is „no
dissatisfaction‰ whilst the antonym of „satisfaction‰ is „no satisfaction‰. What is
important here is to understand that if you get rid of the hygiene factors, you will
create a calm situation and not a satisfactory situation. The factors which will
eliminate job dissatisfaction are hygiene factors.
To motivate workers in a job, you should use motivator factors as shown above.
SELF-CHECK 11.2
Among the early theories on motivation are the following three
established theories. Match these early theories to the corresponding
explanation.
Theories Explanation
HerzbergÊs To motivate workers, you need to know at what level
Motivation- they are on the hierarchy and focus your attention to
Hygiene Theory fulfilling the needs at that level or at a higher level.
MaslowÊs There are two very opposing views about man: the
Hierarchy of Negative View of Man and the Positive View of Man.
Needs
McGregorÊs If you get rid of the hygiene factors, you will create a
Theory X and calm situation and not a satisfactory situation. The
Theory Y factors which will eliminate job dissatisfaction are
hygiene factors.
What will Mount Kinabalu climbers get when they reach the peak? Will
they get gold nuggets or the satisfaction of having overcome a challenge?
Sometimes, we do not understand why some people practice running for
miles daily for a marathon and subsequently donate the prize after winning
that marathon. This is because they obtain satisfaction and a sense of
personal achievement.
Besides this, such people always improve work methods so that the
outcome is better than before. They also accept the responsibility of finding
solutions for problems and welcome criticism and feedback so that they are
always on the right track. They do not like to gamble when winning
depends on luck. They prefer challenging work and are willing to accept
responsibility for both the success and failure of a task. This group of
people avoid work which is too simple or overly difficult to implement.
ACTIVITY 11.2
The fact that you were offered a lucrative salary even though you are a fresh
graduate is now no longer an issue. The issue now is whether you have been
fairly compensated. There is strong evidence that workers make comparisons
between input (effort) they contribute and output (compensation) that they
receive compared to those of other co-workers, and the level of inequity or
inequality influences the level of effort that they contribute.
Table 11.2 below summarises this theory. If workers find that their input-output
ratio (output divided by input) is the same as their other co-workers who are
doing similar jobs, then there is equity level. If the ratio is not the same, then
inequity exists. They will find that they are being underpaid or overpaid.
*AbdulÊs Evaluation
Dimension Description
Skills Variety The degree of need for skills variety and talent for workers to
complete a task
Task Identity The degree to which a part of the task completes the whole
task
Task Significance The degree to which the task influences the life and work of
others
Autonomy The degree to which the work provides the freedom to plan
and determine the procedures of carrying out a task
Feedback The degree to which individuals receive feedback about the
effectiveness of their work performance
These five core dimensions can be integrated into an index known as motivation
potential score, as shown in the following equation.
At this stage, you do not have to worry about the method of calculating this
index. You only need to understand the core dimensions in this model. The
relationship between work dimension and work outcome is converted into how
great the need for personal growth is. Workers who are highly determined to
develop will find that their psychological work levels will be enriched compared
to those with low determination levels.
Research has found that the first three dimensions, i.e. skills variety, task identity
and task significance are integrated to produce a useful outcome. If all these three
features or dimensions exist in a task, we can predict that the worker will feel
that his work is important, valuable and worthwhile.
A worker will feel personally responsible for work that has autonomy and if he
receives feedback, he will be able to know how effective his work his. This model
concludes that intrinsic rewards are obtained when a person knows (feedback)
that he himself (personally responsible) carried out a task which is important,
(task significance) well. Figure 11.4 illustrates the effects of the dimensions of
work.
Workers who are given tasks that have high work dimensions, in general, are
more motivated, satisfied and productive compared to workers who are not.
Work dimensions operate via psychological levels, which have more influence on
workers and outcome compared to motivating workers directly.
(a) The first question is as follows: what is the perceived outcome that can be
obtained from the work? Perceived outcome can be positive: salary, safety,
beliefs, benefits, or opportunities to use skills or talents. Outcome can also
be perceived negatively: fatigue, boredom, or anger. Reality is not
important at this stage. What is important is, the perception of the workers,
regardless if the perception is accurate or not.
(b) Secondly, how valuable are the outcomes to the workers? Are they valued
positively or negatively, or are they neutral? This is an internal issue which
takes into consideration attitudes, personality and individual needs. If an
individual values the outcome in a positive way, he will try and achieve it.
(c) Thirdly, what is the behaviour that should be demonstrated by the worker
to achieve the outcome? The outcome will not be effective if the worker is
not shown the way to achieve it. What are the criteria used to evaluate
workersÊ performance?
(d) The final question is how workers perceive their abilities to achieve the
desired results? After evaluating their abilities and competencies to control
the factors which lead to success, what will be done to achieve that success?
For example, you join the Principles of Management class and you like this class
very much. You believe that if you study really hard, you will eventually secure a
good job. As such, if you need to study for four hours every night to get a Grade
A, can you or are you willing to do so? If the answer is yes, you will study hard
(effort). If you study hard, you will get a good grade (performance). Is the
outcome valuable? The reward is a good grade and maybe securing a good job.
Therefore, you will be motivated.
What is the inference you can make of this Expectancy Theory? Firstly, this
theory places importance on rewards. Secondly, this theory emphasises that
managers understand the positive or negative views of workers on outcomes.
Thirdly, this theory focuses on expectancy behaviour as well as on perceptions.
SELF-CHECK 11.3
The new theories on motivation are a continuation of the early
theories, include the following three theories. From your reading,
match the theories to the corresponding explanation.
Theories Explanation
Equity Theory Every individual will perform depending on
the expectation that their actions will be
followed by an outcome and the value of that
outcome to them.
Expectancy Theory This model infers that intrinsic rewards are
obtained when a person knows (feedback) that
he himself (personally responsible) carried out a
task that is considered important (task
significance) well.
Work-Features Model This theory comprises need for achievement,
need for power and need for affiliation.
McClellandÊs Three Workers collaborate with other co-workers and
Needs Theory make comparisons among each other.
Making the pay of a worker conditional will result in the worker putting greater
effort and consequently, work continuity is maintained. In terms of cost, it helps
to reduce the costs of remuneration as well as pay increments, which otherwise
should be paid even if the worker fails to perform well.
Among the methods that can be used are worker effectiveness programmes like
best worker of the month award, performance award speeches or other events to
celebrate their achievements. These programmes can place workers who show
the desired achievement levels in the forefront.
In the service industries, workers who deal with customers can be given the
autonomy to make decisions at their level.
For these groups, money and promotions to managerial level are not in their list
of priorities. The challenge of the job is their main priority. They like to seek
solutions to problems and the most lucrative reward is the job itself. They value
support and work recognition is the most important motivational element.
You should give challenging tasks and projects to workers in this group. They
should be given autonomy and freedom to be involved in the fields they are
interested in and allow them to structure their jobs in ways they think is most
productive. They also like to be given learning opportunities and work
recognition.
Among methods that can be used is condensing the work-week. Workers are
required to work 10 hours a day for 4 days a week (4 10 hours = 40 hours a
week [4 – 40 programme] or 9 hours a day for 4 days and 8 hours a day in the
first week and 9 hours a day for 4 days only ([4 9 hours + 1 8 hours] + [4 9
hours] = 80 hours in two weeks).
This method has been found to reduce dissatisfaction and absenteeism. In fact,
there is an increase in productivity. However, condensing the work-week also
has its disadvantages, like a drop in productivity at the end of the week,
reluctance of workers to work extra days and low levels of machine usage.
Another method is flexible time. Workers have to work for the time period fixed
but they have the freedom to decide their working hours. This is the most
popular choice. The advantages are similar to those stated above but a further
plus point is that this programme can recruit people with various types of
experience and skills. The weakness is that it cannot be implemented for all kinds
of jobs. Some jobs need fixed working hours especially those involving
customers.
SELF-CHECK 11.4
(a) Compensation;
(b) Motivating low-income workers;
(c) Motivating workers in professional and technical groups; and
(d) Flexible working hours.
This topic has provided the definition of motivation and explained the needs
of man.
Then, you were exposed to McClellandÊs Three Needs Theory, Equity Theory,
Work-Features Model and Expectancy Theory.
Important issues related to motivation and the significance of each issue was
also discussed.
INTRODUCTION
The word „controlling‰ is often mentioned, both in the home and workplace.
You must have heard one of these well-known statements: „we must control the
quality of our products and services‰, „we must control our production costs‰, or
„we should control our departmental expenses‰. At home, among the popular
statements related to control are „you should control your childÊs behaviour‰ or
„you should control your husband/wife‰.
On a more serious level, have you ever been ordered to complete a report to be
submitted to your superior officers, head of unit or to the headquarters? What is
the rationale in spending thousands of ringgit to hire accredited auditors to audit
our accounts and is it necessary for us to hire accountants and account clerks into
the organisation to prepare quarterly, half-yearly or yearly financial statements?
Methods Explanation
Market Control This method emphasises the use of the external market
mechanism. Control is established based on criteria like price
competition or market share. Organisations which use this method
normally have clear products and services and stiff competition.
Bureaucratic This method emphasises authority that depends on administrative
Control rules, procedures and policies. This type of control is premised on
strict hierarchical mechanisms. It depends on uniformity of
activity, and clear job description to direct workersÊ behaviour.
Normative This method refers to the development of a control system where
Control the behaviour of the workers is controlled by shared values, norms,
traditions, beliefs and other aspects of organisational culture. It
depends on individuals and groups to identify appropriate work
behaviour and performance measurement. It is used in
organisations where team work is widely practiced. The
organisation is guided and controlled by group culture rather than
by administrative control.
SELF-CHECK 12.1
The control process makes the assumption that performance standards have
already been set. Standards must be set beforehand to allow managers to use
them as a yardstick for comparison. Standards are set at the planning stage. The
objectives that have been determined are the standards that will be used to
measure and compare performance.
Measuring is the first step in the control process. You should be interested to find
out how a manager measures. It certainly is not with a tape although there are
undeniably some managers who use tapes in their line of work.
ACTIVITY 12.1
There are four sources of information that are often used by managers to measure
actual performance:
ACTIVITY 12.2
Draw a mind map of the sources of information for the control process.
There are some control criteria that can be applied in any management situation.
Criteria like worker satisfaction or worker turnover and absenteeism can be
measured. You should be aware that there are certain performance activities that
are difficult to measure in a quantitative way but most activities can be divided
into specific information segments.
Besides this, managers need to determine the types of values that workers, units
or departments can contribute to the organisation and convert those
contributions into standards.
Actions Explanations
Leave it alone Leave the present situation as it is. Although this action seems
(status quo) irrational, you will be surprised to know how widely this method is
used.
Improve If deviation shows a negative figure, managers need to take
improvement measures. The next question is what immediate or
basic actions must be performed. Quick action will solve the problem
quickly and return performance to the right path. Basic corrective
action finds out how and why the deviation happened and corrects
the source of the deviation. Effective managers analyse the deviation
and take time to permanently solve problems related to differences
in standards and actual performance.
Change It cannot be denied that differences happen because of unreasonable
standards standards, i.e. the goals that were set were either too high or too low.
Therefore, it is the standards that need to be re-examined and not the
performance. It could be dangerous to change standards because if
workers do not accomplish the standards, they will most likely
blame them. If you feel that the standards are realistic, maintain
them.
SELF-CHECK 12.2
There are three types of control that are implemented by organisations.
Match the types of control to the appropriate explanation.
(a) Precision
A quality control system provides data or information that is reliable and
verifiable. It is pointless to have a control system that does not show the
true picture. Increasing sales figures is not meaningful if there are abundant
stocks in the store.
(b) Timeliness
Information provided should be accurate at the time it is being used. It
must be used to prevent a disaster before it happens. Reports about the
financial crisis which occurred five years ago will not have any drastic
impact on present day importers.
(c) Economy
Management must impose the lowest control costs to get the desired
outcome. Any costs imposed for control should not be higher than the
returns.
(d) Flexibility
Effective control must be adequately flexible to adapt to current needs and
maximise existing opportunities.
(e) Understanding
A complicated control system will result in unnecessary mistakes and
disappoint the workers. Eventually, the system will be ignored.
(i) Multiple-criteria
Managers and workers will try and show their respective strengths only on
criteria within their control. Other criteria may be completely set aside.
Thus, multiple-criteria should be used to prevent outcomes which only
look good superficially.
ACTIVITY 12.3
When the control system is not flexible or is unreasonable, workers will lose sight
of achieving the overall organisational goals. As we are aware, a control system
cannot cater to all activities. The problem arises when an individual or a unit in
an organisation tries to give a rosy picture on only what can be controlled.
As such, it can be said that control has both pros and cons if not implemented
well. Failure to create a flexible control system will give rise to more severe
problems compared to problems which could have been avoided if a proper
control system had been put into place.
The final aspect of ethical issues related to control which is no less important is
work behaviour. The question is how far should an organisation exercise control
on the personal life of its workers? Where do rules and controls of the employer
end? Does the management have the right to direct what you should do in your
personal time, even if you are at home? Are you still tied up with rules and
employer control at 10pm if your working hours are from 8am to 5pm and you
are working overtime voluntarily? Can the employer order you to work overtime
if you do not want to? These are all important issues still being debated upon
today.
Computers were invented to increase productivity. Yet, issues of workerÊs
personal rights are also important. Employers can, among other things, read
emails, listen in on phone conservations, and monitor computer-related work, up
to the point of every movement in the office being observed.
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OR
Thank you.