Chapter 5

Managing People and Teams

 The student should be able to :
• Indicate the importance of human relations skills
for engineers
• Identify causes of conflict
• Distinguish between types of conflict
• Explain strategies for dealing with conflict
Learning • Provide guidelines for conflict resolution
• Discuss advantages of teamwork
Outcomes • Discuss stages in team development
• Identify attributes of effective teams
• Define diversity management and indicate its
benefits
• Explain the concept of ubuntu
• Provide guidelines for managing a diverse
workforce
 Ability to manage people is an essential skill for all
engineers in the modern business environment.

This skill is essential for engineers to be able to

establish and maintain sound human relations in the
workplace in order to achieve project and
organizational goals.

Introduction
Knowledge and skills to handle conflict and the ability
to enhance effective teamwork.

ECSA has now included people skills as part of a formal

continuous professional development (CPD) system
People Skills for Managers
The following are the important skills required to manage
people effectively;
• Human Relations
• Conflict Management
• Teamwork
• Diversity Management
 This refers to all types of interactions
among people.

Human Human relation is the study of why our

beliefs, attitudes and behaviours

Relations sometimes cause problems in our

relations with others.

It emphasizes the analysis of human

behavior, prevention strategies and
the resolution of behavioural
problems.
 Because:

• Engineers often need to manage people in the workplace.

• The south African constitution plays emphasis on human rights.

• Quality management and customer satisfaction strategies

Why is Human requires engineers to liase more directly with customers and
relations important design products to meet customer’s needs.
for engineers and • Engineers also need to establish and maintain sound human
technicians relationship with suppliers in order to obtain right goods and
equipment for engineering designs

• Globalisation requires engineers to liase with business partners

worldwide
Guidelines for sound human relations

Communication: Process of Trust: Sound human relations

coming to an understanding of between employees and
ourselves and other people managers are based on trust.

Positive attitude: A positive

Open-mindedness: Integrating
attitude, coupled with the ability
employees’ contribution by being
to inspire and encourage others,
open-minded to new ideas,
even in difficult circumstances is a
concepts and approaches.
powerful human relations skill.
Guidelines for sound human relations

Appreciation: This also enhance Networking: Engineers should create

human relations and failure to do opportunities for continuous networking
with people across departments, both
may damage human relations. inside and outside the organisation.
 Conflict

Conflict occurs when individuals or groups are simultaneously confronted

with incompatible and opposing needs, goals or behavioural activities.

It may result in hostility, anxiety and a breakdown in relationship, but may

also encourage creativity and innovation when resolved properly.

However, preventing unnecessary and destructive conflict is important.

Causes of conflict

Inconsistent and
Breakdown in
Personality clashes unfair managerial and
communication
employee behavior.

Autocratic Lack or inadequate Diversity in cultures

management style resources. and belief
 Types of conflict

Intergroup conflict:
Intrapersonal conflict: develops from the
Interpersonal conflict:
Two equally attractive expression of
occurs due to different
and irreconcilable incompatible ideas by
needs and goals.
options are presented two or more groups of
people.
Conflict management strategies
• Win-lose strategy: Eliminates conflict by having one party achieve its goals at the
expense of the other. Not a good approach because it does not address the root-
cause of the problem. Hence, conflict may develop again.
• Lose-lose strategy: All parties lose in this strategy. All parties compromise or give-
in some way or another.
• Win-win strategy: All parties end up a winner. Its success depends on a clearly
defined problem and finding a workable solution.
Conflict management style
• Avoidance: avoiding conflict when the potential for it begins.
Appropriate when the conflict is too minor or too great to resolve.
• Competing: stands firm and reject the views of the other party.
Authority and aggression are used in an attempt to resolve the
conflict. Leads to resentment and hostility.
• Compromising: Parties negotiate and compromise to find an
acceptable solution for both.
• Accommodating: An individual or group neglects its interests to
satisfy those of the opponent. Giving-in at the expense of a proper
and lasting solution.
• Collaboration: ideas are taken from both parties and ways are found
to develop them all, without detracting from the overall goal.
Guidelines for conflict resolution
• Define the problem
• Collect information
• Focus on the problem
• Communicate with the other party
• Understand the other party
• Consider all options
• Agree on the solution/s
• Implement the solution
• Follow-up action
Teamwork
• Teamwork has a crucial role to play in ensuring the success of
engineering work through effectively working towards achievement of
their goals. Complexity, nature and size of work make it impossible for
engineers to function effectively as individual professionals.

• Without teamwork it is extremely difficult to implement modern

engineering management.
Advantages of Teamwork
• Complex problems are efficiently solved because a greater variety of
knowledge, skills and experience are utilized
• People work well in teams
• Teamwork improves job satisfaction because of joint decision making
• Ability to fill in for each other in term of work and duties
• Good quality decision is made as a team as compared with individual
• High level of commitment among team members
Stages in team development

• Forming - In this stage, most team members are positive and polite.
Some are anxious, as they haven't fully understood what work the team
will do. Others are simply excited about the task ahead.

• Storming - Next, the team moves into the storming phase, where
people start to push against the boundaries established in the forming
stage. This is the stage where many teams fail. Storming often starts
where there is a conflict between team members' natural working styles
Stages of team development cont’d
• Norming - Gradually, the team moves into the norming stage. This is when
people start to resolve their differences, appreciate colleagues' strengths, and
respect your authority as a leader.

• Performing - The team reaches the performing stage, when hard work leads,
without friction, to the achievement of the team's goal. The structures and
processes that you have set up support this well. As leader, you can delegate
much of your work, and you can concentrate on developing team members.
Attributes of effective teams
• Clear objectives and goals agreed to by the team members
• Members must be open with and confront one another directly
• Members should trust and support each other
• Cooperation and open information sharing
• Constructive conflict to generate new ideas and creativity
• Review of performance to improve teamwork
• Sound interpersonal relationships are maintained
• Members provide mutual help for successful accomplishment of goals
Diversity management
• Diversity management can be defined as a comprehensive and
holistic process for creating and maintaining an environment in which
all employees feel comfortable, recognized, valued and appreciated
despite differences such as race, gender, culture, religion, disability, or
sexual orientation.
• Differences or diversity among people could be; class, ethnicity,
gender, language, marital status, e.t.c
 Benefits of diversity management
• Alternative viewpoints and ideas of people from groups can enhance
creativity, problem solving and decision making.
• Diversity management helps a company to become more flexible due
to higher sensitivity and openness are required.
• Managers become more effective and objective when making
decisions about people.
• Diversity management can help an organization to improve
competitiveness by meeting the needs of diverse customers,
especially now that the workplace has become so global.
 Benefits of diversity management
• Diversity management reduces destructive conflict between
individuals and groups. Less diverted energy from work, hence
productive.
• Better relationship develop among managers and employees and with
customers.
• A higher level of trust and motivation develops among members of
the organization.
• Diversity management can also contribute to the implementation of
affirmative action and employment equity plans in accordance to with
the Employment Equity Act and Broad-based Black Economic
Empowerment.
 Unleashing the spirit of ubuntu
Ubuntu is the spirit the African concept that is based on the principle of
humanity- the more respect you show for others, and the more you realise that
your success depends on your ability to work with others, the more successful
you will be. It encourages engineers, technicians and technologist to:

• Use a more participative management style based on the principle of

involvement and empowerment.

• Consult staff on important matters and reach agreement based on consensus

in order to ensure buy-in and support by all employees
• Create, build and maintain effective relationships in the workplace;

• Encourage new ideas and innovation;

• Treat each individual with respect and dignity;

• Use effective teamwork to enhance employee motivation and the

achievement of goals and objectives in the organization;

• Create a culture of openness and regular communication, not only top-down

but also bottom-up so that all lines of communication are opened.

• Get employees focused on the values of the company, eg respect , customer

orientation, equality, excellence, quality and empowerment
 Guidelines for successful diversity management

• Communicate openly with all employees about cultural, employment equity and
other diversity issues.

• Create work environment where multiculturalism is respected and valued.

• Racist and sexist behavior and language should not be tolerated.

• Ensure the principle of representativeness and inclusiveness in terms of diverse

groups in meetings and decision making.

• Initiate diversity workshops and seminars so that workgroups can acquire

knowledge and skills to manage diversity effectively.
Guidelines for successful diversity management
• Ensure that you understand the company’s employment equity policy and black
economic empowerment strategy.

• When recruiting, selecting and orienting new employees, emphasise the

importance of diversity management and employment equity to gain their
commitment to a diverse organization.

• Offer assistance to the human resource manager when diversity audits or surveys
are conducted.

• Ensure that internal and external publications and advertising media represent
the diversity within the company, and that is the market and the society