Mullins L.J. Management and organisational behaviour, Seventh edition
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Heller goes on to identify ten key strategies for Europe’s new breed of managers:
1 Developing leadership – without losing control or direction.
2 Driving radical change – in the entire corporate system, not just in its parts.
3 Reshaping culture – to achieve long-term success.
4 Dividing to rule – winning the rewards of smallness while staying or growing large.
5 Exploiting the ‘organisation’ – by new approaches to central direction.
6 Keeping the competitive edge – in a world where the old ways of winning no
longer work.
7 Achieving constant renewal – stopping success from sowing the seeds of decay.
8 Managing the motivators – so that people can motivate themselves.
9 Making team-working work – the new, indispensable skill.
10 Achieving total management quality – by managing everything much better.
We have referred previously to the changing nature of work organisations and
Prahalad, for example, suggests that the change in the work of managing is obvious.
Issues of formal structure and hierarchy, authority and power, industry experience and
seniority, and control and co-ordination are all open to challenge. The changing role
of managing requires that special attention should be given to the role of senior man-
agers. Prahalad suggests the need to concentrate on six critical elements:
1 The importance of a shared competitive agenda.
2 Creating a clear charter of values and behaviours.
3Focusing on influence without ownership.
4 Competing for talent and building the skill mix of the organisation.
5 Speed of reaction in the organization.
6 Leveraging corporate resources to address emerging opportunities.
Prahalad concludes that: ‘The emerging dimensions of managerial work are clear. The
soft issues such as values and behaviors, often dismissed as unimportant, are critical.’
59
According to a recent report from the Chartered Management Institute, British man-
agers are now placing concern for consumers, themselves as managers and other
employee groups above their traditional concern for owners and shareholders of their
organisation. Looking to the future, managers believe the most important issues facing
their organisation over the next decade will be: managing change; customer satisfac-
tion; use of the Internet; motivation of core staff; managing diversity; and the
development of human resources.
60
Note, however, that according to Cloke and Goldsmith: ‘Managers are the dinosaurs of
our modern organizational ecology. The Age of Management is finally coming to a
close.’ Cloke and Goldsmith suggest that the ever-extending reach of globalisation,
continuously rising productivity, growing complexity of information, expanded sensi-
tivity of the environment, and swelling pace of technological innovation are all
increasing the demand for alternative organisational practices. They contend that
management is an idea whose time is up. Organisations that do not recognise the need
to share power and responsibility with all their workers will lose them. The most signif-
icant trends in the theory and history of management are the decline of hierarchical,
bureaucratic, autocratic management and the expansion of collaborative self-manage-
ment and organisational democracy.
61
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
215
Six critical
elements
The end of
management?
■ ‘Management’ is a generic term and subject to many interpretations. Our concern
is with management within a structured organisational setting and involving the exer-
cise of formal authority over the work of other people. The nature of management is
variable. It relates to all activities of the organisation and is undertaken at all levels.
Management is essentially an integrating activity which permeates all other aspects of
the organisation.
■
It is not easy to find agreement on the definition of management, or of a manager.
Management is not homogeneous but takes place in different ways. One approach is to
analyse the nature of management and to identify common activities and principles. By
distinguishing ‘managing’ from ‘doing’ we can summarise the nature of managerial work
as clarification of objectives, planning, organising, directing and controlling. The degree of
emphasis given to these different activities may vary widely, however, from one manager
to another. There are, however, many other approaches to the analysis of management.
■ There are important differences between service and production industries, and
management in the private enterprise and public sectors. However, all organisations
face the same general problems of management. Increasing attention is being given to
applications of general management theory within service industries, and to privatisa-
tion and the adoption of business practices in the public sector. Management theories
apply to all managers and the skills of managing are fundamentally alike.
■ In order to carry out the process of management and execution of work, the man-
ager requires a combination of technical competence, social and human skills, and
conceptual ability. Growing attention is attached to managerial competencies includ-
ing skills in information communication technology. Despite the growing attention to
technical expertise it is important that managers have a balance of both ‘hard’ and
‘soft’ skills including people skills.
216
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
CRITICAL REFLECTIONS
According to Peter Drucker, management is a practice rather than a science or a profession so
there are no precise solutions, and the ultimate test of management is achievement and busi-
ness performance. This would appear to suggest that in the effective management of business
organisations the ends justify the means.
What are your own views?
Textbooks present massive amounts of information about management and organisation. But
they provide little that may enable practising managers to make sense of their particular problem
or dilemma.
Knights, D. and Willmott, H. Management Lives: Power and Identity in Work Organizations, Sage Publications (1999), p. 12.
How would you attempt to relate theories of organisational behaviour with effective
management practice?
‘Someone with poor social skills can never become a good manager … you can’t make a silk
purse out of a sow’s ear. And, in any case, management training makes very little difference.’
Debate.
SYNOPSIS
■ While the importance and responsibility of management is still widely recognised
there is a need for new managers, and new methods for a changed environment and
nature of work organisations. Europe’s new breed of managers need to focus attention
on key strategies including the importance of values and behaviours. Important issues
for the future include managing change; leadership and motivation of staff; managing
diversity; the development of human resources; and demands for alternative organisa-
tional practices.
■ The jobs of individual managers differ widely. Empirical studies have concentrated
on the diversity of management and differences in the nature of managerial work.
These studies have drawn attention to such features as: managerial roles; agenda-
setting and network-building; what real managers do; and demands, constraints and
choices in a managerial job.
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
217
MANAGEMENT IN ACTION 6.1
The roles of the manager and the Individual
Management Model
THE INDIVIDUAL MANAGEMENT MODEL (IMM)
IBM is a large and diverse company. IBM managers do many
different things. It can be difficult to define core-and-common
manager roles relevant to managers throughout such a highly
complex organization. The Individual Management Model
(IMM) was developed as an aid to managers to help them
understand their roles in context.
The manager gets work done through other people.
IBM has used that simple definition for years. There are two
key parts to the definition: getting work done and through
other people.
The Individual Management Model (IMM) was developed
as an aid to managers to visualize how their roles are similar
to other managers and how they may differ.
Quick overview of the Individual Management
Model (IMM)
All managers are responsible for producing results. They do
that primarily through other people. The influence that a man-
ager has on direct reports is reflected in the Organizational
Climate that he or she creates. Every manager faces slightly
different factors that help or hinder the achievement of busi-
ness results. And every manager is different in terms of
personality, thinking style, competencies, etc. It’s this mix of
conditions and personal characteristics that make managers'
behaviors different
COMPONENTS OF THE IMM
Objectives
Objectives are the intended business results and are reflected
in managers’ PBCs (Personal Business Commitments).
Managers are either given objectives or they define their own,
hopefully aligned with the goals and objectives of their larger
organizations.
Personal characteristics
Managers take actions to achieve those objectives. Every
manager has unique personal characteristics, and these char-
acteristics will influence his or her behavior. Personal
characteristics include:
■ background
■ skills
■ knowledge
■ thinldng style
■ competencies
■ personality
The Individual Management Model (IMM)
218
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
Conditions
Conditions are factors that help or hinder progress toward
accomplishing objectives. Conditions affect the manager and
employees as they work to accomplish their objectives. They
are factors such as:
■ time
■ budget
■ staff
■ company policies
■ business processes, such as Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) or Integrated Product Development
(IPD)
■ organization
■ measurement & management systems
■ products and services offered by the company
■ and even such things as organizational culture and the
environment, both intemal and extemal.
Lead – Manage – Do
In working to achieve business objectives, managers’ roles
can be described as:
■ Leading
■ Managing
■ Doing
That is, managers may:
■ lead others by setting direction, giving encouragement or
modeling some behavior,
■ manage business and people processes by planning,
organizing, directing, and controlling work activities,
■ and in many cases do some of the technical or vocational
work themselves.
Organizational climate
Climate is the employees’ perception of how it feels to work
in the unit, and includes specific aspects of the environment
that directly affect people's ability to get the job done. A man-
ager’s efforts will have an effect on employees, ideally the
creation of a productive organizational climate.
Business results
Results are the consequences of the work done by managers
and their employees:
■ customer satisfaction
■ products sold
■ services rendered
■ profit made
The IMM gIves you a simple way to visualize your job as
a manager.
Example
The IMM gives us a way to look at a manager's roles in get-
ting work done through others.
For example, consider a marketing manager in Singapore
who is not getting the business results she needs. Using the
model, she examines the parts and recognizes that her condi-
tions have changed from when her objectives were
established. More turnover of staff has occurred than
expected and as a result the new conditions yield a less
experienced workforce.
She has to adjust her role to adapt to the changed condi-
tions. She may have to do more marketing herself. She may
decide to be more of a teacher or role model to her less
experienced staff. If she does not have those skills, she might
direct others to fill those roles. Whatever she decides, it is the
interplay of these factors that she has to deal with to define
her role.
As in this example, the IMM gives you a simple way to
visualize your job. You can see how your job is similar to
other managers' situations, and how it may differ.
IBM MANAGER ROLES
Lead, Manage, Do
These graphs suggest that, in general, the higher one moves
in the organizational hierarchy, the more emphasis one places
on the leadership role and the less emphasis on actually
‘doing.’ However, as the IMM reminds us, the particular con-
ditions and objectives of the job will have a large impact on
the distribution of these three important roles of the manager.
The job of any professional, manager, or executive is a
combination of varying degrees of leading, managing, and
doing. The degree to which each of our jobs reflects these
three roles varies by the level and scope of our jobs, as is
shown in the sample mixes in the three graphs below.
• Do
• Manage
• Lead
Professional
• Do
• Manage
• Lead
Manager
• Do
• Manage
• Lead
Executive
• Do
• Manage
• Lead
ROLES
Management in Action 6.1 continued
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
219
The Lead and Manage roles are sub-divided by focus into
parts, as shown in the Roles graph, below.
1 Lead individuals – displaying interpersonal leadership in
hundreds of daily ‘moments of truth’ with individuals and
teams. The more senior the leader, the greater the ‘fish-
bowl effect’ – every action of a CEO is interpreted by the
organization as having meaning and intent, whether or not
it was intended. The same can be said for managers, but,
of course, the circle of influence is much smaller. Actlvities
in this role would include any one-on-one activities, such
as coaching, and many formal and informal encounters.
2 Lead groups/organizations – conceiving and inspiring a
shared vision of the group’s/organization’s future, commu-
nicating with an open two-way flow of information, gaining
commitment to changes required, networking within and
outside the group/organization, and aligning the culture
with the desired direction and strategies to attain business
results for the group/organization. This role is about set-
ting the direction for change and making it happen in the
group/organization, which could be a team or a depart-
ment within larger units.
3 Manage people processes – ensuring thal the 5 People
Processes, described later, are effectively executed.
4 Manage business processes – managing commitment to
the defined ways of doing things. challenging business
processes that do not support the delivery of profitable
solutions to satisfied customers, managing financials, and
initiating required improvements to achieve business
results. There is an acknowledged paradox that reengi-
neering processes requires leading, but once major new
processes are operational they need to be managed,
which includes implementing continuous improvements
and managing the financial aspects of the business.
5 Do specific business tasks – perform specific tasks,
alone or in teams, to help achieve business results. Many
of these are vocational or technical in nature, leveraging
the leader’s professional competencies.
The focus of this QuickView so far has been on a manager's role
in leadership. The following is on managing people processes.
THE 5 IBM PEOPLE PROCESSES
MANAGE People Processes:
■ Balance resources
■ Engage employees
■ Develop talent
■ Evaluate performance
■ Recognize contribution
The 5 People Processes merit explanation:
Balance resources
■ Incorporating planning for the right level of people
resources directly into the business processes;
■ Making sure we use the appropriate staffing solution/
process, based on the work that needs to be performed;
■ Understanding when to staff internally and when to use
external resources, and following the appropriate policies
and processes when doing so;
■ Recruiting and hiring people using competency-based cri-
teria and behavioral-based structured interviewing, and
■ Reflecting the diversity in our marketplace;
■ Ensuring the optimum balance of employment options,
both full and part time, and respecting diverse needs;
■ Using job posting and employee development processes
the way they are intended;
■ Responding to business needs to add to staffing levels
and to release people from the business, and doing both
with sensitivity and good judgment.
Engage employees
■ Aligning the vision/mission/values/objectives of employees
with the objectives of the department, clarifying the objec-
tives and standards, and ensuring PBCs collectively will
accomplish the unit’s business results;
■ Quickly orienting new employees to their new work envi-
ronment;
■ Creating an environment that accommodates each individ-
ual’s diverse needs and desires, so that they are engaged
and energized;
■ Taking the right steps to resolve any engagement or
involvement issues with employees.
Develop talent
■ Assessing what skills are required for the unit as a whole;
ensuring the unit has the necessary complement of skills
to serve its customers;
■ Supporting and fostering the individual development plans
(IDP) of unit members;
■ Assigning developmental activities to employees that align
with these skill plans;
■ Modeling the way by visibly using the Skills process and
enhancing personal skills.
Evaluate performance
■ Assessing performance against the PBC commitments,
with the help of 360-degree feedback from others;
■ Ensuring performance ls rated equitably and fairly within
unit, and among related units;
■ Holding the evaluation session;
■ Addressing any commitment issues or opportunities.
220
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
Recognize contribution
■ Compensating employees fairly and equitably, by estab-
lishing their correct occupation codes and job band levels
and following compensation guidelines;
■ Communicating and explaining the total set of compensa-
tion programs, in an open and responsive manner;
■ Selecting appropriate rewards and tailoring recognition to
the stated preferences of employees;
■ Soliciting input from the unit colleagues on who should be
recognized, and how;
■ Taking advantage of the full range of formal and informal
awards;
■ Paying special attention to the simplest, most valued,
and most under-estimated of all recognition – a sincere
‘thank you.’
In summary, the key people management sub-processes are:
1 How would you summarise the essential nature of managerial work? In what ways does
the job of a manager differ from any other job in a work organisation?
2 Give your own examples of the work of people who might be perceived as ‘unlikely
managers’.
3 From your own experience, identify with examples the main activities of management.
What do you see as the main attribute(s) or qualities required of a manager in undertaking
each of these activities?
4 To what extent is it possible to establish rules or principles of good management? Assess
critically the practical applications of these rules or principles.
5 Contrast the nature of management in (i) service and production industries; and (ii) private
enterprise and public sector organisations.
6 Why do organisations need managers? Suggest how the flexibility in managerial jobs might
be identified, and compare and contrast any two different managerial jobs.
7 Discuss critically the suggestion that management is a much more human activity than is
commonly suggested in management textbooks. Support your discussion with practical
examples.
8 Explain fully how you see the likely role of the manager and the nature of managerial activi-
ties in ten years’ time.
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Management in Action 6.1 continued
People processes Specific sub-processes
■ Balanced resources Recruiting, Interviewing, Hiring,
Job posting, Contracting,
Transferring, Releasing
■ Engage employees PBC, Buddying, Orienting,
Valuing diversity, Work/life
balance programs
■ Develop talent IDP, Mentoring
■ Evaluate performance PBC, 360-degree feedback,
Ranking, Performance
Improvement Program (PIP)
■ Recognize contribution Compensating, Rewarding,
Recognizing
Reproduced with permission. I am grateful to Lynn Thomson, First Line Manager
IBM (UK) Ltd for providing this information.
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
Select a particular managerial job and observe the manager in action, preferably over an
extended period of time.
a Make notes, with supporting examples, of the proportion of the manager’s work and time
which is spent on:
1 the carrying out of discrete tasks and the actual ‘doing’ of work personally; and
2 deciding what work is to be done and planning, organising, directing or controlling the
work of other people.
b Analyse particular ways in which features of the internal and external environment influ-
ence the work of the manager.
c Suggest, with supporting reasons, the particular attributes or qualities which appear to be
necessary for successful performance of the manager’s job.
d Analyse the job in terms of the activities of: (i) agenda-setting; and (ii) network-building.
e Identify clearly those factors which determine the demands, constraints and choices of the
job. Comment critically on how these factors determine the flexibility in the manager’s job.
f State clearly the conclusions you draw from your observations and compare with those of
your colleagues.
Examine the nature of managerial activity within your own university/college.
a Explain clearly those factors which distinguish the general nature of management from that
in other (private sector) business organisations, and identify clearly the main internal and
environmental influences.
b Using a framework of your choice examine the specific functions of one particular man-
agement position (such as, for example, a head of department).
c Contrast the specific attributes and abilities required of that manager with those required
by managers at different levels of the university/college.
d Explain fully whether you believe your lecturer can reasonably be regarded as a manager.
e State clearly the conclusions you draw and compare with those of your colleagues.
Have YOU got what it takes to be a CEO?
Ever flirted with the idea you’re CEO material? Matthew Gwyther suggests some key require-
ments for the post, and what to expect when you get to the lonely eyrie at the top.
Work through our challenging quiz questions and check to find out what sort of dash you’ll cut
as boss.
Do you want to make it all the way to the top in your career? Are you one of those high-
performing foot-soldiers with your eye on a steady progression through the company ranks
until you become field marshall? If so, why do you went to do that? What is it about the role
ASSIGNMENT 1
ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT 2
221
222
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
of chief executive that attracts you? Is it the power, the recognition, the responsibility, the ‘big
office’, or is it really the dosh on offer?
Still keen to make the grade? Trying to establish exectly what set of skills is needed to be a
CEO is difficult. Every business school or management guru will come up with the vital char-
acteristics of the dream boss. Organisations vary in culture and size. Some need (and expect)
a rabble-rousing Napoleon. Others want someone quieter, more along the lines of Lao-Tzu,
the 6th-century BC Chinese guru who said: ‘To lead the people, walk behind them.’ The truth
is that the role of CEO is probably the least understood within a firm. Key requirements,
though, might include the following…
A focus on what matters. Good CEOs take a bird’s-eye view, set priorities and then get down
and dirty with the one or two things that will really make a difference. If you can cut through
the noise to the heart of issues facing the company, people will listen.
The ability to sell. CEOs have to sell the whole time – to clients, to investors, and in the case
of ideas and change, to the whole company. If you’re not from a sales background, you may
need coaching in the art of persuasion.
Financial acumen. The CFO will handle the technical stuff but as CEO you'll need to be able
to ‘read the numbers’ and make the links between what’s on the page and what’s going on in
your company. This isn’t just about budgets; it also requires thinking about the profit drivers.
You'll need to pay more attention to the balance sheet than you might have wanted to before.
A strategic mindset. Strategy is all about choosing the playing field on which your company
will compete and then building advantages relative to the competition on that field. It’s seeing
how you fit into the big picture.
The ability to manage change. Driving change throughout a company is just like managing a
department but much harder. Your actions need to be bigger and bolder to have an effect –
like acting on a stage rather than in a film. But you’ll need to set an example and pick the
right senior team, and to identify those most likely to champion, influence and resist what you
want to achieve.
Leadership. This takes energy and passion. You need to feel inspiration yourself and to be
able to inspire others. But it’s not all fire in the belly and no foundation. A solid vision is vital to
make it more then empty rabble-rousing.
Nous and strength of personality. The great CEOs know when to use logic and when to trust
instinct. They know when to do something and when to let things be. They know when to lead
and when to manage.
So, assuming you have all these qualities and you achieve your ambition, what is it like at the
summit? An interesting report compiled recently by Ogilvy Europe, which interviewed 30
CEOs, described a concerned and sometimes bewildered group of individuais who were
wrestling with near-impossible tasks. As Mike Walsh, chairman of Ogilvy Europe said: ‘The
things keeping them awake at night would be to do with their own personal performance as
leader, not their business performance.’
Few CEOs receive much, if any, preparation for the role – only two of the 30 interviewed said they
had been groomed for the position. First impressions were generally those of fear and surprise at
the sheer scale and complexity of the role they had taken on. ‘In this respect,’ wrote the authors,
‘becoming a CEO for the first time is a bit like parenthood – no amount of ante-natal instruction or
babysitting can prepare you for the drama and the responsibility of having your own child.’
Assignment 2 continued
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
223
One negative aspect of reaching the top is loneliness. CEOs have more in common with other
CEOs than they have with the people they lead. CEOs are set apart because the buck stops with
them: a level of responsibility that does not suit everyone. Effective leaders earn respect – but they
don’t need to be liked. You may have to sacrifice that after-work drink with your former cohorts.
Still interested in beginning your climb to the top? Nobody ever said it wasn't tough there,
especially in these anxious times.
HOW WOULD YOU MEET THESE CHALLENGES?
Six scenarios to test your potential as a boss. Select the response that you consider most apt
for each question. Make a note of your choices (i, ii, iii, iv or v), then work out your score by
using the conversion table on page 225.
1
You run a software company. Business is brisk and there is
activity across the company: developing/testing new prod-
ucts, building relationships with major clients, establishing
new direct sales systems and delivering products and serv-
ices to existing clients. How do you focus your efforts?
(i)
You are delighted to see everything going so well. This
gives you time to think about and plan your next move.
Never one to neglect the fundamentals, you hold your
managers strictly to account on a regular basis.
(ii) You keep an eye on all aspects of the business, but
focus on coaching the product development team,
because the future of the business depends on con-
stant innovation.
(iii) Rather then getting into the detail yourself, you con-
centrate on making sure your team has the right
processes in place.
(iv) ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. You keep a close eye on the numbers, but use the time to
build goodwill with the press and the financial community.
(v) Your job is to inspire the team, giving them a vision to help get them out of bed in the
morning. But you’re never as happy as when you’re out with the salesforce talking to
customers. After all, that’s where the money comes from.
2 You own and run a high-end cheese shop with a thriving
web site. A fast-food chain approaches you to supply qual-
ity cheese as a way of improving their cheeseburgers. The
business is worth three times your current turnover. How do
you respond?
(i) This would be too big a stretch for your business, but
you evaluate other options, including subcontracting
the deal and spinning out a new company to supply
burger cheese.
(ii) Before accepting the deal, you approach City contacts
to explore buying the restaurant chain for yourself and
creating a quality burger franchise.
(iii) You are concerned to protect your product’s quality
image, so although you’re keen to win the business,
you seek assurances about the storage and use of your cheese, and consult your
team to assess the impact on your production process.
This gives you time to think
about and plan your next move
You also do the burger deal
224
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
(iv) You meet a senior executive from the fast-food chain and persuade them to take on
national franchises for your traditional cheese company, allowing you to scale the
business through locally managed outlets. You also do the burger deal.
(v) You know that the way to impress your investors in by proving the scalability of your
business, so you try to formalise the opportunity so that they will release the funds you
require to meet the new customer need.
3 You receive confidential advance warning that you have personally won a national award
for entrepreneurship as a result of the success of your current business venture. How do
you respond?
(i)
You we honoured to be recognised in this way,
and regard the event as a good opportunity to
reward your friends and family for supporting you.
(ii) It’s great to win something, but awards cere-
monies aren’t really your style. You’re more
concerned with building the products, and the
company.
(iii) You are taking two days away to go cave diving
off the coast of Borneo at the time of the
awards ceremony. You arrange a video link-up
to the ceremony to accept the honour.
(iv) You invite your management team to join you
at the awards ceremony, and offer a few well
chosen words of thanks.
(v) Any excuse for a get-together is a good one,
so long as the organisers will agree you can
take the entire company along with you. After
all, everyone deserves a good night out after
all their hard work.
4 You are at your most persuasive when…
(i) You’re presenting a logical case to investors,
colleagues or partners – especially when you’ve
spoken to them individually beforehand to ask
for their support.
(ii) You’re talking about the products or services
you have created – about why and how
you believe what you are doing could change
the world.
(iii)
You have the opportunity to talk about your own
objectives – about the kind of person you want
to be, as well as the specifics of the business
you run.
(iv) You have the chance to enthuse and energise a
group of people, be they a team of employees
or a group of potential investors (though you
may prefer it if they don’t try and dig too hard into the detail at this stage).
(v) You are in conference with your closest team of colleagues dealing with a specific
issue or question.
Assignment 2 continued
You arrange a video link-up to the
ceremony to accept the honour
You have the chance to enthuse and
energise a group of people