Basic management Terms 3

Theory Z:
Theory Z is a Japanese consensus management style base on the assumption that

1. Employees want to build cooperative relationships with their employers, peers, and other employees in the firms.
2. They require high degree of support in the form of secure employment and facilities for development of multiple skills through training and job rotation.
3. They value family life, culture and traditions, and social institutions as much as material success.
4. They have well-developed sense of dedication, moral obligation, and self-discipline.
5. They can make collective decisions through consensus.

It was introduced by the author William Ouchi.

Lets compare theory Z with theory X and theory Y

Job Design:

Work arrangement or rearrangement aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. Through job design, organizations try to raise productivity levels by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of one's work. 

1. Job enlargement, 
2. job enrichment, 
3. job rotation 
4. job simplification  

are the various techniques used in a job design exercise.

Importance of Job Design:

Job design is a very important function of staffing. If the jobs are designed properly, then highly efficient managers will join the organisation. They will be motivated to improve the productivity and profitability of the organisation. However, if the jobs are designed badly, then it will result in absenteeism, high labor turnover, conflicts, and other labor problems.

Factors Affecting Job Design

1. Proper scope of job

The scope of the job should be proper. If the scope is narrow (less), then the job will not be challenging. It will not give an opportunity for development. The manager will not get satisfaction after completing an easy job. If the scope of the job is very wide, then the manager will not be able to handle it properly. This will cause stress, frustration and loss of control. Therefore, scope of the job must be balanced and proper.

2. Full-time challenge of the job

The job should be so challenging that it takes up the full-time and effort of the manager. So, the service of the manager must be fully utilized  If not, the manager will have a lot of free time. He will use this free time to interfere in the work of his subordinates. This will cause problems and conflicts because subordinates do not like unnecessary interference from their superiors.

3. Managerial skills

The skills of the manager should be considered before designing his job. All managers do not have equal skills. So jobs should be designed after considering the skills of the manager. So, a manager having a high level of skill should be given very challenging jobs while a manager having a low level of skill should be given fewer challenging jobs. Jobs must be made flexible so that it can be changed according to the skills of the manager.

4. Organisation's requirements

Jobs must be designed according to the requirements of the organisation. We cannot use the same job design for all organisations.

5. Individual likes and dislikes

People have different likes and dislikes. Some people like to work alone while some people prefer to work in groups. Some people want to do only planning and decision making while other people like to implement these plans and decision. So, individual likes and dislikes must be considered while designing the job.

6. Organisational structure

Organisational structure also affects the job design. Individual jobs must fit into the organisation's structure.

7. Technology

The level of technology used by the organisation also affects the job design. An organisation having a high level of technology will have different job designs compared to an organisation having a low level of technology.

Basic management Terms 2

Participative Management:
Participative Management is a type of management in which employees at all levels are encouraged to contribute ideas towards identifying and setting organizational-goals, problem solving and other decisions that may directly affect them. it is also called consultative management.

Participative Management can also be termed as ‘Industrial Democracy’, ‘Co-determination’, ‘Employee Involvement’ as well as ‘Participative Decision Making’. The concept of employee participation in organization’s decision making is not new. However, the idea couldn’t gain that much popularity among organizations. Studies have shown that only 3-5 percent of organizations have actually implemented this concept in their daily operations. Though the theory of participative management is as old as the institution of employees and employers still it is not applied by a large proportion of organizations.
Authoritarian Management:
A management style in which the leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and control all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates.

Characteristics of Authoritarian Management:

1) Little or no input from group members

2) leaders make the decisions

3) Group leaders dictate all the work methods and processes

4) Group members are rarely trusted with decisions or important tasks

While autocratic leadership does have some potential pitfalls, leaders can learn to use elements of this style wisely. For example, an autocratic style can be used effectively in situations where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group or has access to information that other members of the group do not.

Basic management Terms 1

1) Synergy:

  The situation in which the whole is greater than its parts. In organizational terms,  Synergy means that departments that interact cooperatively are more efficient and productive than they would be if they operated in isolation.

2) Theory of Transformation of Leadership:

Creating high-performance workforce has become increasingly important and to do so business leaders must be able to inspire organizational members to go beyond their task requirements. As a result, new concepts of leadership have emerged - transformational leadership being one of them.

Transformational leadership may be found at all levels of the organization: teams, departments, divisions, and organization as a whole. Such leaders are visionary, inspiring, daring, risk-takers, and thoughtful thinkers. They have a charismatic appeal. But charisma alone is insufficient for changing the way an organization operates. For bringing major changes, transformational leaders must exhibit the following four factors:

Model For Transformational Leadership

Inspirational Motivation

The foundation of transformational leadership is the promotion of consistent vision, mission, and a set of values to the members. Their vision is so compelling that they know what they want from every interaction. Transformational leaders guide followers by providing them with a sense of meaning and challenge. They work enthusiastically and optimistically to foster the spirit of teamwork and commitment.

Intellectual Stimulation

Such leaders encourage their followers to be innovative and creative. They encourage new ideas from their followers and never criticize them publicly for the mistakes committed by them. The leaders focus on the “what” in problems and do not focus on the blaming part of it. They have no hesitation in discarding an old practice set by them if it is found ineffective.

Idealized Influence

 They believe in the philosophy that a leader can influence followers only when he practices what he preaches. The leaders act as role models that followers seek to emulate. Such leaders always win the trust and respect of their followers through their action. They typically place their followers needs over their own, sacrifice their personal gains for them, ad demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct. The use of power by such leaders is aimed at influencing them to strive for the common goals of the organization.

Individualized Consideration

Leaders act as mentors to their followers and reward them for creativity and innovation. The followers are treated differently according to their talents and knowledge. They are empowered to make decisions and are always provided with the needed support to implement their decisions.

3) Job Rotation:

Job rotation in the workplace is a system where employees work at several jobs in a business, performing each job for a relatively short period of time. Job rotations allow employees to learn about different types of work, giving individual employees a better sense of what their colleagues do and a better overall understanding of the entire organization.

Workplace Training Tool

Job rotations are typically used as a workplace training tool. Spending a few weeks or months working at a job enables employees to get a real understanding of the job and what is involved, as well as a better appreciation of what their fellow employees actually do. Job rotations are a more common practice in medium- to larger-sized businesses, and are often structured as an an "introduction" for new graduates just entering the industry.

Promotes Learning

One advantage to job-rotation schemes is that both employers and employees learn a lot. Employees learn more about the workplace, their colleagues, and what goes into creating the final product or service. Employers learn about individual employee skill sets, and strengths and weaknesses. Employers can use what they learn through job rotations to find the best placement for each employee.

Motivational Tool

Job rotations can be used as a motivational tool. Most employees will welcome an opportunity to learn new skills, especially if the new position is higher paying, or perceived as easier or more prestigious. Occasionally, interdepartmental jealousies or other frictions surface at the workplace. Some managers set up job-rotation schemes as a way to help employees develop appreciation for the work of their colleagues.

Disadvantage

Job rotation does have a downside. A number of researchers have pointed out that while job-rotation systems certainly do lead to a better understanding of business processes and the company as a whole, they do not encourage in-depth expertise. This can lead to longer learning curves for new employees to come up to speed in their regular positions.