Managing People

Bijaya Kumar Sahoo

TATA Sponge

01

Managing people
Managing

people working as
individuals and in groups

Objectives

To describe factors that influence individual motivation

To discuss key issues of team working including
composition, cohesiveness and communications

Topics covered

People Management factors

Managing people by Socialising and
entertaining
Theory of X and Y
A Manager need to Manage
Some useful expressions
Motivating people
Human need Hierarchy
Managing groups

People in the process

People are an organisations most important

assets. The strength of our company is its
people, working together with a common
purpose. Although methods, equipment, and
procedures are important, and we constantly
strive to improve them, our most valuable
assets are loyal and capable people.

The tasks of a manager are essentially peopleoriented. Unless there is some understanding
of people, management will be unsuccessful.
Poor people management is an important
contributor to project failure.

People management factors

Consistency

Respect

Different team members have different skills and these

differences should be respected.

Inclusion

Team members should all be treated in a comparable way

without favourites or discrimination.

Involve all team members and make sure that peoples views
are considered.

Honesty

You should always be honest about what is going well and

what is going badly in a project.

Managing people

Socialising and
entertaining

Douglas McGregor formulated the famous

Theory X and Theory Y:

Theory X is the idea that people instinctively

dislike work and will do anything to avoid it
Theory Y is the view that everybody has the
potential to find satisfaction in work
Some people have suggested the Theory W
(whiplash) which is the idea that most work is
done under conditions of slavery

Most managers still choose the Theory X:

They believe that their subordinates need

constant supervision if they are to work
effectively
They think that decisions must be imposed
from above without consultation
The managers who work in this way are called
authoritarian managers

Different cultures have different ways of

managing people:

Some cultures prefer frequent consultations

in decision-making (all members contribute to
this process)
This is called management by consensus: a
group decision that is acceptable to all
members of the group, a general agreement

A recent trend in managing people is

To encourage workers to use their own

initiative (to make decisions on their own
without asking managers first)
This is called empowerment (employees
improve operations, reduce costs and improve
product quality)
Empowerment is used to establish better
relationships with customers

Empowerment is linked to the idea of

delegation:

Delegation is handling a task over to a

subordiante
If you delegate you transfer the decisionmaking responsibility to some subordinate
organisations
You give someone the authority to undertake
specific activites or decisions

Another trend is virtual management:

In virtual management the teams of people are

not physically present at the work site, they
are linked by e-mail and the Internet and they
work from their own premises (homes)
Another word for virtual management is offsite management

In managing people the managers

need to be good at:

Observing: they must understand the

behaviour, the strengths and weaknesses of
their staff
Listening: in order to learn about their staffs
problems

Asking questions: to find out all the information

they need to make the right decisions
Speaking: in order to communicate their
objectives clearly to all their staff

The international manager

In recent years, many companies have

expanded globally through mergers (uniting),
joint ventures (two or more companies or
people doing business together) and cooperation with foreign companies.
This means that many managers work abroad
as a part of a multicultural team

Still, many of them have difficulties adapting to

the new culture.
The first example of failure in this segment is a
German manager with IBM who took up a
position as product manager in England.
He stopped the employees from leaving the
company building at lunchtime (they had the
habit of going to a pub).

This made him unpopular. The problem is he

didnt think of cultural differences. It is true that
IBM didnt allow drinking during working hours,
but he didnt understand that staff in other
countries might be more flexible in applying the
rule.
The second example is about an American
manager who came to France.

He was unable to win the trust of his staff

although he tried all kinds of ways to do so.
He set clear goals, worked longer hours,
participated in all the projects, visited
offices and even took employees out to
lunch one by one.
To them, he seemed more interested in getting
the job done.

By walking around and visiting everyone in

their offices, he gave the impression that he
was checking up on staff.

Socialising and entertaining

Some useful
expressions

Socialising is an important part of good

management:

Being on time: how late do you have to be

before you are considered late?
The way people dress: the companys policy
might also be smart-casual (dressing smartly
but in casual clothes). What about dress-down
Friday? Does it exist in your country? (a
company allows people to dress less formally
than on other days)

How you address people (first names or

family names?)
Giving gifts: What should you give? Does the
person unwrap them immediately or wait till
later? (to say thanks you usually say: Thats
very kind of you.)
Shaking hands/kissing/hugging/bowing:
when is it appropriate?

Making excuses:
conversation:

Making

Its very kind of you,

but...
Id like to take it easy
if you dont mind.
Its very kind of you,
but another time
perhaps.

What do you like to

do in your spare
time?
Where are you going
for your holiday this
year?
Can you tell me
about any interesting
places to visit?
What about you?

Showing interest: Saying goodbye:

Interesting!
Really?

Thanks very much for

your hospitality.
I really enjoyed the
meal.
Thanks for showing
me round the city.
Ill be in touch soon.
Goodbye. All the
best.

Motivating people

An important role of a manager is to motivate

the people working on a project.
Motivation is a complex issue but it appears
that their are different types of motivation
based on:

Basic needs (e.g. food, sleep, etc.);

Personal needs (e.g. respect, self-esteem);
Social needs (e.g. to be accepted as part of a
group).

Human needs hierarchy

Selfrealis atio n need s

Es teem need s
So cial needs
Safety n eeds
Phys iological n eeds

Need satisfaction

Social

Esteem

Provide communal facilities;

Allow informal communications.
Recognition of achievements;
Appropriate rewards.

Self-realization

Training - people want to learn more;

Responsibility.

Personality types

The needs hierarchy is almost certainly an

over-simplification of motivation in practice.
Motivation should also take into account
different personality types:

Task-oriented;
Self-oriented;
Interaction-oriented.

Personality types

Task-oriented.

Self-oriented.

The motivation for doing the work is the work itself;

The work is a means to an end which is the achievement of
individual goals - e.g. to get rich, to play tennis, to travel etc.;

Interaction-oriented

The principal motivation is the presence and actions of

co-workers. People go to work because they like to go to
work.

Motivation balance

Individual motivations are made up of elements

of each class.
The balance can change depending on personal
circumstances and external events.
However, people are not just motivated by personal
factors but also by being part of a group and culture.
People go to work because they are motivated by the
people that they work with.

Factors influencing group working

Group leadership
Group cohesiveness.
Group loyalties
Group communications.
Working Environments.
Environmental factors.
Workspace Organisation

Group leadership

Leadership depends on respect not titular

status.
There may be both a technical and an
administrative leader.
Democratic leadership is more effective that
autocratic leadership.

Group cohesiveness

In a cohesive group, members consider the

group to be more important than any individual
in it.
The advantages of a cohesive group are:

Group quality standards can be developed;

Group members work closely together so inhibitions
caused by ignorance are reduced;
Team members learn from each other and get to
know each others work;

Developing cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is influenced by factors such as the

organisational culture and the personalities in the
group.
Cohesiveness can be encouraged through

Social events;
Developing a group identity and territory;
Explicit team-building activities.

Openness with information is a simple way of ensuring

all group members feel part of the group.

Group loyalties

Group members tend to be loyal to cohesive

groups.
'Groupthink' is preservation of group
irrespective of technical or organizational
considerations.
Management should act positively to avoid
groupthink by forcing external involvement with
each group.

Group communications

Good communications are essential for

effective group working.
Information must be exchanged on the status
of work, design decisions and changes to
previous decisions.
Good communications also strengthens group
cohesion as it promotes understanding.

Group communications

Group size

Group structure

Communication is better in informally structured groups than in

hierarchically structured groups.

Group composition

The larger the group, the harder it is for people to

communicate with other group members.

Communication is better when there are different personality

types in a group and when groups are mixed rather than single
sex.

The physical work environment

Good workplace organisation can help encourage

communications.

Working environments

The physical workplace provision has an important

effect on individual productivity and satisfaction

Comfort;
Privacy;
Facilities.

Health and safety considerations must be taken

into account

Lighting;
Heating;
Furniture.

Environmental factors

Privacy - each engineer requires an area for

uninterrupted work.
Outside awareness - people prefer to work in
natural light.
Personalization - individuals adopt different
working practices and like to organize their
environment in different ways.

Workspace organisation

Workspaces should provide private spaces

where people can work without interruption

Providing individual offices for staff has been shown

to increase productivity.

However, teams working together also require

spaces where formal and informal meetings
can be held.

Key points of Ours

We Build Our Organization Around People

We Place Great Value on Diversity

We Treat Our People Fairly and Without Favoritism

We Maintain an Environment Free of Discrimination and Sexual
Harassment
We Insist Upon Integrity in Our People

We Promote From Within

We Maintain a Spirit of Teamwork

We Compensate Our People Fairly

We Promote the Good Health of Our People
We Transfer Management People to Meet Our Company's Needs
as Well as to Broaden Their Experience
We Look for People Who Have Potential for Development
We Help People to Develop Themselves
We Expect Our Managers and Supervisors to Train Their People
We Hold Frequent Evaluations With Our Employees About Their
Performance
We Have Meaningful Discussions With Our People
We Recognize Accomplishments
We Promote an Open-door Approach to Managing People

We Give Each Employee Complaint Prompt, Sincere Attention

We Respect Each Employee's Point of View
We Encourage Participation and Suggestions
We Keep Employees Informed About Company Activities and
Plans That May Affect Them or Their Work
We Address Each Other on a First-name Basis
We Are Considerate and Professional With All Applicants
We Limit the Employment of Relatives
We Do Not Rehire Former Employees, Except Under Special
Circumstances
We Try to Retain the Good Will of Former Employees

We Develop and Maintain Professional Relations With Labor

Union Representatives
We Stress Safety Throughout Our Company
We Plan Our Buildings and Facilities for Safe and Efficient
Operations
We Keep Our Buildings and Equipment Clean and Neat
We Assign the Same Equipment to Each Employee Every Day
Whenever Possible
We Expect Our People to Be Neat in Appearance
Our People for Appropriate Expenditures Incurred on Behalf of the
Company

We Prohibit the Use or Possession of Alcoholic Beverages or

Controlled Substances While Working
We Prohibit Gambling, Holding Raffles and Similar Activities on
Company Time or Property
We Prohibit Use of Company Time, Facilities or Materials for
Personal Benefit
We Separate Business and Social Functions

End
Thank You
Please Manage you and your people.