MGMT1001 Lectures
Managing Organisations and People
What is an Organisation?
Organisation happens when people work together to achieve a desired goal – organisations house patterns of activity
organisations mediate between the wider society and the individual, and joining an organisation as an employee exposes the individual to substantial direction and control. despite the self-activity of their members, organisations as corporate bodies do have economic and political powers above and beyond those of the particular individuals that comprise them
organisations are systematically arranged frameworks relating people, things, knowledge and technologies, in a design intended to achieve specific goals
organisations are social entities that are goal-directed, are designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are linked to the external environment
Examples
social organisations
government organisations
business organisations
sporting organisations
Characteristics of Organisations
size – small, medium, large
industry – telecommunication, mining, finance, energy, consumer goods
ownership type – sole trader, company, membership, non for profit, listed corporation
owner domicile – local business, Australia, multinational
location – city – centralisation, suburban business park, regional – decentralisation
physical environment – open plan, personal office
remuneration and benefits – yearly bonus, share options, employee discount, other benefits an organisation...
has:
purpose, objective, goals
structure, rules, boundaries
people
action designed to achieve the goals is:
future orientated
part of an open system exists
independently of the people within them – they go on while members change
Context of Management Today
technological change – new products, new ways of doing things, outsourcing and offshoring
international divisions of labour
changing conception of time and space
changing demographics
Foundations of Management Theory
Management Leadership
Used in organisational context only Used in many contexts
Formally appointed No appointment necessary
‘doing things right’ Kotter 1990 ‘doing the right thing’ Kotter 1990 Management – the exercise of influence over others
using extrinsic motivation and based on externally determined legitimacy
Leadership = the exercise of influence over others using their intrinsic motivation and reflecting subjective, follower-based legitimation
Aim of Management
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Manager chooses the right goals to pursue and makes good use of resources to achieve these goals
o A product/service that customers want at a quality and price they can afford
Scientific-Technical Revolution - effects on organisations &management
Rise of factory system of production
Growth in number of employees
Increasing use of technology in production
Rise of ‘corporations’ meaning owners did not necessarily work in the organisation Key features/developments
Specialisation of labour and the ‘production line’
Systematic study of work tasks to create rules or ‘one best way’ of performing each task
Focus on both job design and organisational structures and administration
Scientific approaches to management – job design
Frederick W. Taylor o Precise
o Select right person for the job o Managers cooperate with workers o Division of labour
Gilbreth
o Time and motion studies o Quickest way to produce tasks
Henry Ford
o Production line – total quality management
Managers Top
Middle
Managers
'First line' managers
o ‘any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black’
Innovations in administrative management – bureaucracy
Max Weber – bureaucracy, characteristics, hierarchy o Specialisation of labour
o Formal rules and procedures o Impersonality
o Well-defined hierarchy
o Career advancement based on merit
Fayol – principles
o 14 principles essential to increasing efficiency
division of work
authority
discipline
unity of command
unity of direction
subordination
remuneration
centralisation
scalar chain
order
equity
stability of tenure of personnel
initiative
team spirit
o Articulated managerial functions (POLC)
Behavioural approaches to management theory
Development in response to scientific approaches to management
Focus on motivational and behaviour as a mechanism to improve organisational performance
Hawthorne 1920s – surveillance & watch 24/7
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – what motivates
McGregor
o Theory X – lazy employees, manager supervision, well-defined system of rewards and punishment
o Theory y – employees do what is good for business, managers create environment for workers to exercise initiative and self-direction, managers decentralise authority
Managerial Roles
mintzberg
Decisional – entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator
Informational – monitor, disseminator, spokesperson
Interpersonal – figurehead, leader, liaison 21st century understandings of management
Increasing emphasis on motivation, leadership and relationships
The key skill is communication – both oral/verbal but also the ability to develop and effectively communicate a vision/position to different audiences
o The management of meaning
Less ‘overt control’ as organisations take advantage
o Technology – swipe cards for building access, login to PC, keystroke monitoring
Demands on Modern Managers
Work smarter and harder o Increased working hours
o Doing more with less staff/resources o Globalisation of business environment
Conflicting demands – delivering shareholder value while being ethically and environmentally responsible
Empowerment efforts of 1990s by staff o Increased demands for flexibility o Work life balance
o Learning opportunities
Personality, Perception and Attitudes
Understanding Individual Behaviour
organisational behaviour – actions of people at work
dual focus of organisational behaviour o individual behaviour
o group behaviour – norms, roles, team building, conflict
goals of organisational behaviour – to explain, predict and influence behaviour
Organisational Behaviour
Organisational behaviour is the study of the actions of people at work
visible aspects o strategies o objectives
o policies and procedures o structure
o technology o formal authority o chain of command
hidden aspects o attitudes o perceptions o group norms
o informal interactions
o interpersonal and intergroup conflict
Employees Behaviours
1. employee productivity – a performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness 2. job satisfaction – the individual’s general attitude toward his or her job
3. absenteeism – the failure to report to work when expected
4. turnover – the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organisation
5. organisational citizenship behaviour – discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but which promotes the effective functioning of the organisations
Personality
the unique combination of psychological characteristics (measureable traits) that affect how a person reacts and interacts with others
quiet, passive, loud aggressive, ambitious, extroverted, loyal, tense, sociable, positive, negative, daring
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
extrovert – outgoing, dominant, aggressive, change world, action orientated
introvert – shy, withdrawn, focuses on understanding world, quiet work environment
sensing – like established routine, good at precise work, dislike new problems
intuitive – like new problems, dislike repetition, jump to conclusions, impatient with routine
feeling – aware of others feelings, sympathetic, relate well to other
thinking – unemotional/interested in employee’s feelings, like analysis, can reprimand others
perceptive – curious, spontaneous, flexible, adaptable, seek all info before start task
judgemental – decisive, purposeful, exacting, want only info necessary to get task done
The Big Five Model
1. extroversion – sociable, gregarious, assertive, talkative, expressive 2. adjustment – emotionally stable, non depressed, secure, content
3. agreeableness – courteous, trusting, good-natured, tolerant, cooperative, forgiving
4. conscientiousness – dependable, organised, persevering, thorough, achievement orientated 5. inquisitiveness – curious, imaginative, artistically sensitive, broad-minded, playful
Personality Dimensions
1. locus of control
a. external locus – persons who believe that what happens to them is due to luck or chance (the uncontrollable effects of outside forces)
b. internal locus – persons who believe that they control their own destiny
2. Machiavellianism – the degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and seeks to gain and manipulate power (the ends justify the means)
3. self-esteem – the degree to which people like or dislike themselves
4. self-monitoring – an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external, situational factors a. high self-monitors – sensitive to external cues and behave differently in different situations,
and can present contradictory public personal and private selves
b. low self-monitors – do not adjust their behaviour to the situation and are behaviourally consistent in public and private
5. risk-taking – the propensity (willingness) to take risks
Holland’s theory of personality-job fit
Perception
a process by which individuals give meaning (reality) to their environment by organising and interpreting their sensory impression
factors influencing perception
perceiver’s personal characteristics – interests, biases, expectations
target’s characteristics – distinctiveness, contrast, similarity
situation (context) factors – place, time, location, draw attention, distract from target
Attribution Theory
the ways in which people explain the behaviour of others – explores how individuals attribute causes to events and how this cognitive perception affects their motivation
internally caused behaviour – under the individual’s control
externally caused behaviour – due to outside factors
determining the source of behaviours
distinctiveness – different behaviours in different situations
consensus – behaviours similar to others in same situation
consistency – regularity of the same behaviour Key elements of attribution theory
AT research finds that there are errors or biases that distort attributions
1. fundamental attribution error – tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimating influence of internal factors when judging others
2. self-serving bias – tendency to attribute own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors
Judgemental/Perceptual Shortcuts
perceiving and interpreting what others do is effortful
use shortcuts to make task manageable
not foolproof – does allow rapid judgements and data for making predictions
1. assumed similarity – belief that others are like ourselves; we make decisions believing others, who are similar to us, will agree with us
2. a halo effect – impressions formed on basis of a single characteristic
a. intelligence – infer other attributes: hard worker, dedicated, efficient, effective 3. selectivity – individuals cannot take in all they observe so they engage in selectivity
a. information chosen selectively depending on the interests, background and experiences, and attitudes of the observer
4. stereotyping – judge someone on basis of perception of group membership a. labelling – attach information around labels
Attitudes
evaluative statements – either favourable or unfavourable – concerning objects, people or events components of an attitude
cognitive – the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person
affective – the emotional or feeling part of an attitude
behavioural – the intention to behave in a certain way
employee behaviour subsequent behaviour
Job-related Attitudes
1. job satisfaction
the individual’s general attitude toward their job – affected by level of income earned and type of job worker does
job satisfaction and productivity
job satisfaction and absenteeism – satisfied employees tend to have lower levels of absenteeism
