Controlling can be defined as the process of measuring actual performance against standards and taking any corrective action in case of deviations from standards. Controls help to point deviations from plans so that corrective action can be taken hence assisting in the realization of plans.
Managers set the plans and the overall direction of the plan but deviations are normally anticipated hence the need for control. For instance an organization involved in production of goods/services must measure the level of actual performance of the employees and compare with the standards laid down by the organization in order to ensure that employees perform as per the standards.
A MODEL OF CONTROLLING SYSTEM
METHODS OF CONTROL
Some of the common ways of control can be classified as output and process controls. Controls relate to setting standards, obtaining measurements of results related to these standards, and taking corrective actions when these standards are not met. Managers must be judicious in their use of controls so as not to overburden the organization.
Output Controls
Output controls are about setting desired outcomes and allowing managers to decide how these outcomes can best be achieved. Output controls promote management creativity and flexibility. It focuses on outcomes and therefore separates methods from the outcomes.
Process Controls
Once effective methods have been determined for solving organizational problems, managers sometimes institutionalize them in order to prevent the problem from recurring. These types of controls are called process controls and are a way of regulating how specific tasks are conducted. Three types of process controls are (1) policies, procedures, and rules; (2) formalization and standardization; and (3) total quality management controls.
(a) Policies, Procedures, and Rules
These are often used in the absence of direct management control. Policies are general recommendations for conducting activities, while procedures are a more focused set of guidelines. Rules are the strictest set of limits and establish things that should and should not be done.
(b) Formalization and Standardization
Formalization involves creating a written set of policies, procedures, and rules that simplifies procedures in order to guide decision making and behavior. Standardization is the degree to which the actions necessary to accomplish a task are limited. It attempts to make sure that when certain tasks are carried out they are carried out in a similar fashion.
(c) Total Quality Management Controls
The previous methods of process control are based on organizational experience. TQM management controls differ in that they are based on an ongoing statistical analysis of a firm’s operations. TQM involves all levels of management and has proved to be the most effective when it is instituted in an organization that has clearly defined outcomes and is done in conjunction with employee empowerment or participatory management programs.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
Control systems are mechanisms designed to help achieve the desired performance and can be specifically designed for the activity being controlled.
Requirements for Adequate Controls
To enable them make sure that events conform to plans, managers need adequate and effective systems of controls. The controls used must be designed for the specific task and person they are intended to serve so the basic process and the principle may remain the same and universal but the actual system requires specific design.
If they are to work controls must be tailored to:
(a) Plans and positions
(b) To the individual managers and personalities
(c) To the needs for efficiency and effectiveness
v Controls tailored to plans and positions
Control techniques and systems should reflect the plans they are designed to follow. Every plan or every phase of a plan will have its unique characteristics. Managers will need to know and should know the information that will tell them how the plans for which they are responsible are progressing. Controls for following a personnel training program are different from controls for a marketing programme. Controls should also be tailored to positions. A supervisor will need different controls from a president. Controls for sales department will differ from those for finance or production. Controls should also reflect the organization pattern i.e. the roles of people in the organization. These roles show where responsibility for various activities lies. The more the controls reflect the positions where responsibility lies the easier it is to correct deviations.
v Controls should be tailored to individual managers and their personalities
Control system should be designed to help individual managers carry out their functions. Therefore there is need for the controls to be understood by the various managers. People in different fields will have their information in different ways e.g. statisticians will want controls expressed in complex tables. Control information must be simple enough to be understood by those who are to use it.
v Controls should point exceptions at critical points
If controls are to be efficient and effective they must be able to point out exceptions at critical points. Some deviations from standards have little meaning while others have serious effects on performance. The points at which deviations occur are important e.g. a large deviation in costs may be less serious than an unpleasant response from customers or a 5% deviation of labour costs will be more serious than 30% deviation in duplicating or postage. Some points in the organization are critical while others are inconsequential.
v Controls should be objective
Although management contains many subjective elements, good performance should ideally not be a matter for subjective determination. Objective standards can be quantitative such as costs or labour hours or even sometimes qualitative but the standard should be determined and verifiable.
v Controls should be flexible
Controls should be adjustable to changing plans and circumstances. For example, in production management the production manager must prepare for failures occasioned by machine breakdown or from illness of one or more workers. Flexibility in control can be provided by having alternative plans for various probable situations.
v Control systems should fit the organizational climate
Organizational climate refers to the general mode of orientation e.g. have people been given freedom, and is there participative management and free communication. An organization which allows greater freedom would not suit tight controls. A dictatorial climate would be unsuitable for a permissive or relatively free control system.
v Controls should be economical
Controls must be worth their cost, but will vary with the importance of the activity, the size of the operation etc. Small companies will of course not afford the extensive control systems of large companies.
Economy can be achieved if managers select only critical points for control i.e. controls must be tailored to the job and to the size of the firm. Controls should be able to achieve the principle of efficiency of controls i.e. control system or techniques and approaches are efficient when they detect and illuminate the causes of actual or potential deviations from plans with the minimum of costs or other unfavourable consequences.
v Controls should lead to corrective action.
The essence of controls is corrective action. Adequate controls should indicate where failures are occurring and those who are responsible. Control is justified only if indicated deviations are corrected through appropriate planning, organizing, staffing and leading.
v Critical Control Points and Standards
To ensure that the operations in any firm are going as planned, the manager must select points for special attention and watch them. The points so selected must be critical i.e. points at which the effects of deviations would be enormous or too damaging. The principle of critical point control becomes vital to every organization. This principle says "effective control requires attention to those factors critical to performance as measured against individual plans".
Because of the diverse nature of enterprises there are no specific types of controls available to all managers. Production and services to be measured are enormous, plans and programmes to be followed are innumerable so controls must be tailored to fit individual needs.
TYPES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
Indirect Control
At the base of control is the fact that the outcome of plans is dependent on the people who carry them out. A factory that produces low quality products for example cannot be controlled by throwing away the products and a firm with consumer complaints cannot be controlled by ignoring the complaints. Responsibility for controllable deviations lies with whoever has made the unfortunate decisions.
Any hope of abolishing unsatisfactory results lies in changing the future actions of the person responsible, may be through additional training, modification of procedures or through a new policy. Two methods could be used to ensure that the people responsible modify future action.
(a) You can trace the cause of the deviation back to the persons responsible for it and get them to take corrective action. (Direct Control)
(b) Develop better managers who will skilfully apply concepts, techniques and principles and who can look at managerial problems from a systems point of view. (Indirect Control)
DIRECT CONTROL
Uses standards developed to compare the actual output of good/services in terms of quality, time and cost with plans. If standards are correct plans may fail because of:
(a) Uncertainty
(b) Lack of knowledge, experience, or judgement by those who make the decisions.
Uncertainty: Facts, risks and uncertainty are the elements that affect a given plan. Facts are known while little is known about risk and risk areas from the uncertainty which includes everything about which nothing is certain.
Lack of Knowledge, Experience of Judgement
Plans may fail when people appointed to managerial posts lack the necessary background. At the top level, the chance of correction through separation from the firm tends to be fairly small but at middle and lower level deviations can be dealt with through transfers, demotions or separation. If the cause of error is poor judgement which is due to inadequate training or experience or to failure to use appropriate information in decision making correction can be made. Managers can improve their education and experience.
Direct control is based on the following assumptions:
(a) That performance can be measured—But there are several things that cannot be measured e.g. creativity, foresight and judgement.
(b) That personal responsibility exists—sometimes no manager is responsible for poor results. Environmental factors could affect achievement.
(c) That mistake can be discovered in time—Discovery of deviations from plans often comes too late for effective action. Although the control can be applied only to future action most controls depend on historical data.
(d) That time expenditure is warranted—Whether managers undertake the inquiry themselves or assign it to others, executive time must be spent differentiating out causes of poor results.
(e) That the person responsible will take corrective steps—Fixing the responsibility may not lead to correction, especially if the person is in superior management, e.g. production cost must not always be traced to the production department. They could flow from the marketing department.
METHODS OF CONTROLLING AN ORGANIZATION
- Steering/feed forward controls (before)
- Screening/ yes or no controls (during)
- Feedback/post action controls (after)
STEERING/FEEDFORWARD CONTROLS
These are controls directed towards the future. They are designed to detect deviations from some standards or goals to allow corrective action before implementation of activity. Involves the following methods.
a) Setting standards and defining objectives clearly.
b) Feasibility studies on the proposed activities to be undertaken.
c) Establishment of steering committee to steer the activities to be undertaken.
d) Budgeting: - to plan the resources required and control the future expenditure on proposed activities.
e) Establishment of proper work procedures to direct the flow of work or activity from the beginning to the end.
f) Establishment of appropriate organizational structures to ensure that activities will be effectively coordinated.
g) Appropriate organizational policies to provide guidelines for the implementation process.
h) Rules and regulations to be followed to restrict the actions of managers and subordinates and ensure that activities are implemented as per organizational requirements.
i) Forecasting: to reduce the level of environmental uncertainty before setting objectives and strategies.
j) Inspection/involving suppliers in drawing up the specifications of the quality of materials needed.
k) Appointment of managers and supervisors to be in charge/direct activities to be implemented etc.
SCREENING /YES OR NO CONTROLS
These control systems monitor activities while in progress: they are intended to detect deviation in a timely manner so that necessary actions are taken implementation process is continued. They are commonly used in manufacturing systems which implements automated controls.
Methods of screening controls
a) Progress reports should be prepared on daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis.
b) Managers and supervisors should constantly monitor the implementation process
c) Periodic review of performance through performance appraisal
d) Establishment of check points on the production process or in the course of undertaking an activity e.g. a system which requires that 3 managers must verify a document or a bank cheque.
e) Periodic inspection of departmental activities (management audit)
f) Internal audit systems.
g) Computerized monitoring systems applied in production controls
h) Meeting organized on daily weekly or monthly basis e.g. management committee meetings to review performance etc.
Feedback/post action controls
This type of control is implemented after an activity has taken place i.e. it evaluates the results of an activity after it has been completed. It is suitable to control activities which the process is not well known but after completion the management can find out whether the actual performance met the standards. It uses feedback from the output of the system and measuring outputs as a means of controlling it shows deficiency over historical data such as those received from accounting reports.
One of the difficulties with such historical data is that they tell business managers e.g. in November that they lost money in October because of something that was done in July. This type of control system is therefore not the best. What managers need for effective control is a system that will tell them in time to take corrective actions and that problems will occur if they don’t do something about them now?
Methods of post action controls
a) Annual accounting reports
b) Annual performance appraisal reports
c) External auditors’ reports
d) Final inspection of finished goods before dispatch.
e) Any other report which is prepared upon the completion of the project or activity.
IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLLING
1. Contributes to achievement of set standards/organizational goals.
2. Directs behavior of employees towards goal achievements. Control systems monitor rewards and reinforce the behavior and activities desired by the management.
3. Leads to efficient utilization of organizations resources e.g. budgeting, financial and purchases records could improve the utilization of resources.
4. Improves the coordination of organizations activities: -control systems ensures that efforts of all members will be coordinated through standards, norms, budgets and reporting systems hence integration of organizational activities. In a sense control provides the mechanism for achieving diverse activities of the organization.
5. Useful in managing uncertainty: -control system limits options in decision making by setting rules and regulations to handle repetitive activities i.e.
It ensures conformity to standards e.g. commercial banks have credit standards and regulations that loan officers uses in issuing loans. If these standards do not exist each officer could use different standards for issuing loans.
DRAWBACKS/LIMITATIONS OF CONTROLS
1. Controls may contribute to dysfunctional effects
Excessive controls may have negative effects to the organization.
2. Time consuming:
Too many procedures or monitoring systems may affect the smooth flow of work resulting into delays of goals accomplishment.
3. Less customer/client satisfaction:
Too many procedures followed in an organization may cause customer dissatisfaction.
4. Effect on creativity and innovation:-
Controls may affect the level of creativity of individual employees. Employees will tend to forecast on activities, which strictly leads to goal attainment. This may affect their level of creativeness and innovativeness.
5. Demoralized work force: -
Too many control systems may lower workers satisfaction or morale and productivity.
6. Conflicts between managers and subordinates:
Managers who are very strict in enforcing controlling systems may affect team spirit and performance.
7. Expensive to implement: -
Certain control systems e.g. computerized control systems are very expensive to set up and to train employees to operate them etc.
Characteristics of an effective control system
Controlling is the process of identifying deviations and taking corrective measures to improve performance
It is a tool for getting feedback on performance. A good control system should have the following characteristics:
- Standards must be clearly defined
- Feedback mechanism i.e. should be capable of providing feedback information on performance
- Established check points/ control points i.e. should identify critical/ strategic areas of performance
- Simplicity i.e. should be simple to understand and implement
- Cost effective / economical i.e. should be capable of being implemented within the resource constraints of the organization
- Top management backing/ support: effective control systems should enjoy support of top managers
- Relevance: i.e. should meet the needs of the organization
- Self regulating: i.e. automated control systems with inbuilt mechanism to detect and correct deviations automatically
- Forward looking: i.e. should enable managers forecast trouble/ problems ahead and take appropriate measures
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY AND EMPOWERMENT
Empowermentrefers to the involvement of employees in decision making. It involves participative style of leadership whereby the employees are involved in the decision making process. This makes them feel part of the organization.
Definition of delegation
Delegation of authority can be defined as the assignment to other person formal authority or decision-making rights for carrying out specific responsibilities or activities. While managers delegate authority, they retain accountability for the actions of the delegates.
Need/importance of delegation
- Speeds up the process of goal achievement through the distribution of work load
- Speeds up the decision making process in the organization
- Assistance to management is expanded
- Enables managers to seek and accept increased responsibility from higher positions
- Makes training and development of subordinates a necessity i.e. it improves the need for training and development in the organization.
- Leads to effective development and implementation of activity delegated i.e. improves the implementation of tasks since they are performed by experts.
- It improves teamwork in the organization.
- Leads to efficient and effective time management by managers.
Process of Delegation
1. Identify the nature of task to be delegated.
2. Identify the right people to be delegated to
3. Assign the task to delegate
4. Assign appropriate authority to the delegate to implement delegated tasks
5. Put in place proper monitory mechanism to get feedback on performance e.g. periodic review of performance through progress reports.
6. Obtain the final report on performance of delegated tasks.
Barriers to effective delegation of authority
- Lack of trust and confidence in subordinates.
- Lack of ability to delegate i.e. inability by a manager to determine what should be delegated.
- Feeling that subordinate do not have experience to implement delegation
- Fear that subordinate may outshine the boss.
- Fear of losing control of delegation.
- Fear of sharing secrets with subordinates.
- A manager does not appreciate the benefits/importance of delegation.
- Expert syndrome where a manager considers himself as the sole expert (I know it all attitude).
- Reluctance of subordinates to accept delegation for fear and mistakes and criticism by the boss.
- Lack of incentives/rewards to motivate subordinates to accept delegation.
- Lack of effective controls i.e. appropriate feedback mechanisms to monitor delegation.
- Insufficient support by the boss e.g. not providing enough resources. Including information required to effectively implement delegation.
- Poor communication by managers.
Measure to encourage delegation of authority
- The manager should put in place adequate controls to monitor delegation e.g. feedback or reporting system.
- The manager should define clearly the authority and task to be delegated.
- Select subordinates who are qualified and willing to accept responsibility.
- Train subordinates and equip them with necessary skills required for effective implementation of departmental activities.
- Offer guidance/help needed by subordinates e.g. any information and other resources required.
- Offer rewards/incentives to subordinates to motivate them to accept delegation.
- Create open lines of communication to allow free exchange of information to the delegate.
- Discuss the results with subordinates from time to time and show them how they are expected to proceed.
- Allow subordinates to put their own spin (expertise) on the delegated tasks i.e. the necessary inputs to implement effectively the delegated activities.
Sources of power:
Legitimate power- arising out of one’s position in the organizational structure
Expert power- which arises out of the knowledge that a person has in a particular area such that they can be regarded as sources of authority in the particular subject
THE ROLE OF A MANAGER
The changing role of a manager
This involves considering the new Perspectives on the Manager’s Job. In organizations of the twenty-first century, the manager’s job will evolve from an authority-derived ‘issuer and interpreter of rules and orders’ to creating an entrepreneurial work climate that facilitates teamwork, autonomous and timely decision making and extreme workforce flexibility.
Researchers have found that the manager’s day is a series of discrete, fragmented episodes that do not allow for long periods of uninterrupted contemplation of the tasks of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the deployment of the firm’s financial and intellectual resources . Research showed that only 5 per cent of a manager’s time was spent on tasks lasting more than one hour. Just what are the fragmented tasks and activities performed by managers on a daily basis? Large surveys of thousands of managers and executives have identified seven basic features of their jobs.
1. Managing employee performance (supervising).
2. Guiding subordinates (teaching and training).
3. Representing one’s staff (advocacy).
4. Managing team performance (facilitation).
5. Allocating resources (decision making).
6. Coordinating interdependent groups (collaboration).
7. Monitoring the business environment (scanning for adaptations).
These seven managerial tasks are common to all management levels in companies. The perceived importance of each task and the amount of time spent by managers on these tasks at different organizational levels vary substantially. Researchers found that Tasks 1 and 2 are more relevant to lower-level supervisors; Tasks 3, 4 and 5 capture the time of middle managers and that Tasks 6 and 7 monopolise the time of senior executives. It can be said that managers and executives perform the same tasks but with different emphasis depending on their level in the firm’s hierarchy.
The digitized workplace of tomorrow will achieve much greater operational effectiveness.
The firm’s hierarchical structures emphasizing command and control are giving way to those that stress participative decision systems and employee engagement (empowerment). Managers who are only comfortable with exercising authority and command are being retrained or replaced by those who know how to coordinate the work of interdependent teams and motivate employees in horizontally complex work environments.
The number of challenges and the speed of change in the future manager’s job will increase because:
1. The workforce is changing. Companies must deal increasingly with matters of workforce diversity, workforce skills and training and workforce values and beliefs. Less restrictive labour regulations (governments will try to improve the competitiveness of their economies) and loosened immigration policies (demanded by employers who need skilled engineers, programmers and scientists) will alter the ethnic and racial features of many nations’ workforces. These workforces will require continuous training to sustain employees’ skill sets so that operational effectiveness is not undermined by a less flexible and less capable workforce.
Successful managers in the twenty-first century will therefore have to understand the
dynamics of workforce diversity and knowhow to harness it to sustain a high performance work culture.
2. Customer expectations are changing. Now and in the future customers will support only companies that deliver high-quality goods and services at the best price anywhere in the world. All firms have easy access to the tools of total quality management (TQM) (continuous improvement) and use it as a principal method to sustain operational effectiveness. The successful twenty-first-century manager moves easily in the environment of continuous improvement and develops in his subordinates the dedication to improve products and customer services. Any competent manager realises that his firm must be in relentless pursuit of ways to increase the value of products and services from the customer’s point of view.
3. Organisations are changing. Eroding trade barriers and instantaneous capital flows across national boundaries greatly increase competition, forcing companies to search for new sources of competitive advantage. Thus, they offshore jobs, downsize, re-engineer, form strategic alliances (sometimes virtual ones), alter their designs, compete globally, integrate backward and forward, and embrace new technologies and information systems. They press their workforces for performance and productivity gains, and they expect all employees to find creative solutions to existing problems of competition.
These complex forces tear apart the traditional definition of the manager’s job and create new elements that stress creativity, resourcefulness, inspiration and collaborative problem solving.
- forces of change
The following are the basic forces expected to shape the role of managers;
- cost of operations leading to downsizing
More and more firms are recognizing the need to cut back and retrench. Most organizations are undergoing structural changes aimed at eliminating unnecessary costs and unprofitable operations
- Advances in computers and communication technology
These are greatly altering the nature of managerial work. Machines can now perform many basic organizational tasks more efficiently than people can.
- Rapid growth in the service sector
This means that a greater array of services will be available to all types of consumers and more different managerial positions will be erected within the service firm and new services not yet imaginable will emerge. These challenges are likely to affect managers of the future.
- Emerging importance of small business and entrepreneurship
This will play a major role in shaping the future of management. More people than ever before are choosing to work for themselves and small businesses are mushrooming all over the world.
- Global interdependence
There’s a growing importance of international business. This trend will have significant consequences of business managers’ tomorrow. Increased internationalization, competition and movement towards a really global economy will mean that many future managers will need to be fluent in more than one language.
Managers will also be required to understand other cultures of different races and nations of the world.
Managers also face balance of payment problems and international trade wars. These will increase the level of uncertainty and complexity of managing international businesses.
- Organizational dynamics
The way in which organizations structure themselves and manage their employees will also continue to shape the managers world.
Employees are becoming better educated and skilled and more members of minority groups are entering the workplace and competing effectively for higher-level positions.
Organizations find that they must explore the variety of management, benefit offerings and flexible work schedules.
They must give more considerations to dual career situations and alternative lifestyles.
Union management will continue the trend towards co-operation rather than conflict.
- effects of changing environments
The effects of expected changes will manifest themselves along two lines: (i) increased dimension and (ii) complexity.
Taken together the complexity and dimension to be faced by managers will cause dramatic increases in on the uncertainty that future mangers address.
In some industries new technological development occurs almost daily and competitors appear and disappear overnight.
New government regulations are emerging, union demands are hard to predict and consumer tastes change so fast that some companies cannot adjust.
Other challenges facing managers in the future
Organization stress
The problem of occupational stress has emerged as an important concern for individuals, mangers and organizations.
Stress occurs when a person is subject to unusual situations, or to demands that are difficult to handle or to extreme expectations or pressures.
Stress is thus a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
Preparing for the future
Managers should be prepared to deal with the future uncertainties through;
· awareness
Managers should be aware of the changes taking place influencing organization’s activities. When a manger starts a new job, they should not assume that what they were doing will be done the same way tomorrow.
They should recognize that organizations will not remain the same and that future problems will require different solutions.
· training
Managers should participate in continuous training and development programmes to update their skills on handling future complex problems.
· adaptations
Following logically from the concept of awareness and training is adaptation, one of the key skills tomorrow’s managers will need.
If we expect changes and are able to deal with it objectively, by definition we are more adaptive, but if we assume things will always stay as they are today, we do not prepare for tomorrow’s challenges an will not be able to adapt these changes when they occur.
Since there are no specific guidelines for becoming more adaptive, managers need to work in different circumstances to improve their adaptability. Being able to adapt to changes will be an overall attribute for tomorrow’s successful manager.
· professionalism
Managers of tomorrow need to take a professional view of their work. A level of professionalism will allow them greater access to information they need to carry out a job, since they earn more respect from government leaders and better understanding among the general public.
Managers should continue the trend towards getting more education, joining professional associations and behave ethically and socially responsible. Above all managers should take pride in their jobs.
MANAGERIAL STYLES:
Managers have to perform many roles in an organization and how they handle various situations will depend on their style of management. A management style is an overall method of leadership used by a manager. There are two sharply contrasting styles that will be broken down into smaller subsets later:
v Autocratic
v Permissive
Autocratic: Leader makes all decisions unilaterally.
Permissive: Leader permits subordinates to take part in decision making and also gives them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities.
Combining these categories with democratic (subordinates are allowed to participate in decision making) and directive (subordinates are told exactly how to do their jobs) styles gives us four distinct ways to manage:
Directive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; closely supervises subordinates.
Directive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; closely supervises subordinates.
Permissive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.
Permissive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.
Managers must also adjust their styles according to the situation that they are presented with. Below are four quadrants of situational leadership that depend on the amount of support and guidance needed:
Telling: Works best when employees are neither willing nor able to do the job (high need of support and high need of guidance).
Delegating: Works best when the employees are willing to do the job and know how to go about it (low need of support and low need of guidance).
Participating: Works best when employees have the ability to do the job, but need a high amount of support (low need of guidance but high need of support).
Selling: Works best when employees are willing to do the job, but don’t know how to do it (low need of support but high need of guidance).
The different styles depend on the situation and the relationship behavior (amount of support required) and task behavior (amount of guidance required).
THEORY X AND Y MANAGERS
Theory X managers believe that the average human being has an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it if possible. Because of this human characteristic, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed or threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort to achieve organizational objectives. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above all else.
Theory Y managers believe that the expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest and the average human being under proper conditions learns not only to accept but also to seek responsibility.
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management is a carefully planned and executed process of developing and tapping potentials and talents of people in an organization in order to achieve maximum productivity. In today’s competitive business world, organizations need to handle human resource carefully lest it becomes a burden and not an asset.
Managers need to know how to get the best out of people in terms of productivity. This is the basis of human resource management.
This is that specialist function of management that has the responsibility for the following:
- Formulating, proposing and gaining acceptance for the personnel policies and the strategies for the organization.
- Advising and guiding the organization’s managers on the implementation of personnel policies and strategies.
- Providing personnel services for the organizations to facilitate the recruitment, motivation and development of sufficient and suitable employees at all levels.
- Advising the organization’s managers of the human consequences of change.
Personnel/human resources policies
These are guidelines for behavior stating what the organization will do, or will not do, in relation to its employees and employee affairs.
Key areas of a personnel policy can include the following
v recruitment and selection
v pay and benefits
v training and development
v safety and health
v employment legislation
v relations with trade unions or staff associations
Examples of personnel policies include;
v Every job vacancy will be advertised within the organization before any external advertising takes place.
v The company will encourage employees to pursue training and education opportunities where this might qualify them for promotion or career development moves within the organization.
Human resources management deals with provision of human resource services such as:
- recruitment services
- pay procedures and associated procedures e.g. job evaluation services
- appraisal procedures
- employment services e.g. recording employees details, handling enquiries
- training services
- Safety, health and welfare services.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE (MBO)
CONCEPT OF MBO:-
Management by objectives is a planning approach developed and popularized by Peter F. Drunker in 1954.it is a collaborative and participative approach to management. MBO begins with goal setting and continues through performance review.
The approach actively involves staff members at every original level. By building on the link between planning and controlling functions. MBO helps to overcome many of the barriers to planning.
As a collaborative planning approach, MBO enables managers and subordinates to set goals jointly, decide what resources are needed to achieve them and review the progress of goal achievement jointly from time to time.
Peter Druker defines MBO is process whereby the superior and subordinate manager of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individual’s major areas of responsibilities, interest of the results expected of him and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contributions of each of its members.
The following are the series of interrelated and interdependent steps of MBO Process.
There are four key principles of MBO:
i. MBO requires the involvement of superiors and subordinates. The subordinates may be involved in a dyadic relationship, one superior- one subordinate, or in group arrangements of one superior and more than one subordinate.
ii. MBO relies heavily on feedback, with needs to focus on results and should be as closely connected to behavior and performance as possible
iii. The crucial first step in any MBO program should be a thorough diagnosis of here job, the participants and the needs of the organization.
iv. The superior must be competent in counseling the subordinate on the achieved results and the expected or agreed to results for the next cycle.
PROCESS OF MBO
Step I: Diagnosis for MBO Readiness:A thorough analysis of its people, the history of change, jobs, technology, mission, plan and strategy of the company will be carried out in advance to make the organization in a readiness state
Step II: Preparation for MBO:Initiative has to be taken to involve all the members to participate in this exercise through active interaction. Certain facilities such as proper communication system, formal training and development, establishing action plans, developing criteria for assessing effectiveness have to be created.
Step III: Objective Setting: Special attention has to be paid to clarify the objectives of individuals, departments, division and organization. The superiors and subordinates must participate and jointly set the goals and objectives and prioritize those objectives based on the importance and weight.
Step IV: Intermediate Review: This review will facilitate to modify the original objectives considering the limitations or getting feedback on the process.
Step V: Final Review and Analysis of Results: An intensive analysis is taken up to review its results and initiate the next complete cycle of objective setting
Step VI: Achieving Results: The accomplishment of better planning, control, and organization through motivated involvement, based on achieved results instead of personality and popularity.
The steps involved can be summarized as follows:
i. Top level goal setting- MBO begins with establishment of the overall goals of the organization by top managers. The top managers may set goals by consulting with other organizations members e.g. divisional or departmental managers.
ii. Collaborate goal setting throughout the organization- Each person’s major areas of responsibilities are clearly defined in terms of measurable objectives. Managers consult with divisional or departmental members to set objectives.
iii. Periodic reviews performance- The objectives set are used by the management and the employees to review or monitor the actual implementation of planned activities from time to time.
iv. Final evaluation and feedback- Performance appraisal is finally conducted to determine the level of goals/objectives achieved.
MERITS OF MBO
1. Clarifies to individual what is expected of them i.e. the objectives to be achieved.
2. Helps managers set achievable performance targets for their employees i.e. by getting the inputs of their employees on the objectives to be achieved.
3. Improves commitment /motivation to goal achievement. because of increased motivation, loyalty and participation of employees
4. Improves communication between managers and subordinates.
5. Improves team spirit in the organization hence high chances of goal achievement
6. It aid managers in reviewing employee performance i.e. it helps to implement controlling and planning functions simultaneously e.g. through periodic review of performance etc.
DEMERITS
1. Difficulty in setting goals and targets to be achieved i.e. inappropriate or unattainable goals may be set due to lack of training on MBO tools.
2. It is expensive in terms of training to managers and other resources require for effective implementation of the programme.
3. It kills creative and innovative spirit in the organization i.e. individuals are motivated only to achieve the stated goals using specific methods agreed on and would never be creative.
4. Adopting changes in job descriptions is a difficult task e.g. a change in work procedure as a result of change in technology.
5. The manager/ subordinate goal setting process requires a very high level of skills in interpersonal relationships. Many managers have neither previous experience nor natural ability in these areas.
Managerial Grid:
The managerial grid model proposes two assumptions about managerial behavior
i. concern for production specifies a manager’s concern for accomplishing productive task, such as quality, quantity and efficiency of output, and
ii. Concern for people designates a manager’s interest and concern for the personal worth of subordinates, the equity of the reward and evaluation systems, and the nurturing of social relationships.
In the managerial grid framework, the manager who shows a high concern for both production and people is the most effective manager in an organizational setting. Blake and Moutondisplay the relationship between the production and people concerns on a 9 by 9 grid, which enables them to plot eighty one possible combinations of managerial concern.
The managerial style of an executive can be assessed by a questionnaire which measures the concern for production and people. By scoring the questionnaire responses, it is assumed that where a manger fits in the eighty one cell grid can be determined. But the emphasis is given on five major dimensions:
v Impoverished Management (1, 1): This style displays little concern for either production or people. Exertion of minimum effort to get required work done is appropriate to sustain organization membership.
v Task Management (9, 1) – This emphasizes completing jobs within time, quality and budgetary constraints. Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree.
v Middle-of-the- road Management (5, 5) –The manager attempts show at least a moderate amount of concern for both production and people. Adequate organization performance is possible thorough balancing the necessity to get out work with maintaining morale of people at a satisfactory level.
v Country Club Management (1, 9) – Manager gives much attention to people while production tasks are overshadowed. Thoughtful attention to needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a friendly organizational atmosphere and work tempo.
v Team Management (9, 9) –The manager using this style attempts to help subordinates satisfy self- actualization, autonomy and esteem needs; develops an atmosphere of trust and supportiveness and emphasis task accomplishment. Work accomplished from committed people, interdependence through a common stake in organization purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect.
TIME MANAGEMENT
It is concerned with planning of time usage in such a manner as to carry out effectively and efficiently all planned activities. It is synonymous with self-management i.e. how an individual plans and organizes his/her own activities.
TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (TOOLS)
1. Time budgeting
2. Daily planner
3. Time log
TIME BUDGETING
Time must be budgeted for in order to get the best use from it.
It allows for elimination of any time wastage.
Preparing a Time Budget.
This begins by knowing how much time is available for undertaking specified activities and then allocating time enough for each and every activity to be undertaken. This can be done by the following procedures:
i. Dividing the total work into projects/units.
ii. Examining each project to determine the level of importance of each unit.
iii. Deciding how much time is likely to be spent on each unit.
iv. Assigning work priorities e.g. urgent, routine, due within one week etc.
v. Blocking out the time you will need for such tasks and spreading the time over specified days available for the tasks.
DAILY PLANNER
Is a chart, which allows an individual to plan activities of the day in order of importance? More urgent tasks should come first on the task list. A daily planner enables an individual or manager to list specific activities and targets to be accomplished during any given day. A manager should set him/herself deadlines for each item on the task list.
TIME LOG
Is the chart, which allows an individual to keep track on time spent on various activities each day? It lists tasks connected with both regular and unexpected activities of the day.
A review of time log at the end of each day enables individuals to know whether they are spending their time effectively in achieving planned tasks and to know the usage of their time which can be eliminated.
The following questions should be asked when reviewing the time log
i. What did you spend your time on which you should have not?
ii. What patterns/trends are emerging on how you use your time on daily basis?
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT
1. Procrastination: individuals’ procrastinate when they put off tasks or delay starting them because they present inconvenience on their part e.g.
2. Lack of confidence when approaching tasks or not knowing how to get started.
3. Individuals’ habits to time keeping and attitudes e.g. lack of self-discipline or poor habit of time keeping.
4. Fatigue: this is a state of physical or mental exhaustion. It may be contributed by physical work conditions e.g. poorly ventilated rooms or congested offices.
5. Interruptions: unplanned visits by people who want to be attended to or receiving all telephone calls during office hours may affect sticking to planned activities.
6. Over delegation: over delegation by bosses or supervisors to other members of staff may affect time management by the delegates.
7. Lack of delegation by a manager
8. This may result from decision by an individual to undertake all tasks for fear of losing control; managers should assign less important tasks to others in order to manage their time effectively.
9. Idle conversation during office hours. Over socializing during office work represent poor time management on the part of employees.
10. Prolonged and unnecessary meetings held by managers
11. Unnecessary memos or excessive paper work.
12. Poor employee motivation leading to go-slows and other unproductive work habits.
MEASURES TO IMPROVE TIME MANAGEMENT
1. Plan and budget tour time properly; develop routines, procedures, and work plan that utilizes your time more effectively and efficiently.
2. Make good use of time saved.
3. Time wasters should be avoided. Unnecessary phone calls or unplanned visits by visitors not on appointment should be avoided except under unavoidable circumstances.
4. Programme difficult tasks during task peak hours of efficiency e.g. morning hours
5. Delegate to others the attitude” I can do it better and quicker” should be avoided.
6. Be assertive when handling meetings i.e. quick decisions should be made to avoid prolonged meetings and to deal effectively with interruption during a meeting.
7. Develop appropriate scales e.g. writing and reading faster and combining certain activities which can be implemented simultaneously.
8. Unnecessary memos and other paper work should be avoided.
9. Communicate effectively -this saves time for consultations on delegative activities.
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