M1 C What Do Managers Do Task
- 1. Group Brainstorm Why is all this understanding culture important? Well – first of all what do managers DO? As a whole group, first BRAINSTORM up what managers do… and then consider why culture is so important to this ‘doing’.. • Have TWO volunteers come to the front to ‘energise’ you in achieving this task. • Try to do better than just a ‘list’ – try to find some suitable structure by means of which to organise your list into something that possesses a logic. Some thoughts that may help you get started 1. Chambers 20th Century Dictionary suggests a Manager is ‘One concerned with other people’s doings’ 2. Most things operate within a ‘system’: input of ‘raw material’ / data A production /service process fed by appropriate resources output outcome monitoring / reflection adjustment of the process….. then it all starts again. What is this cycle as far as a manager is concerned beyond ? 3. To be able to direct and manage ‘other people’s doings’ clearly one has to be able to organise what is to be done (vision, aims and objectives plus how it is to be done) then organise the people resource to achieve it and monitor. TJ Thoughts re the inter-cultural content of this ‘doing’…. Vision. aims and objectives (The What). This vision is of a target to be achieved in line with corporate objectives. The ultimate objective is always ‘growth’, as standing still means being overtaken by competitors. Usually such growth is achieved by the realisation of ‘distinctive competence’ (See following page) – excellence (as distinguished from competitor services and products) in the viewpoint of consumers seeking the best value for money available within their budget range. This requires an intimate understanding of all the internal components of the company (capabilities and constraints) and of all those elements influencing the business environment. Insofar as these things concern people, then culture will be a vital part of this process. Internally the company will have human resources with differing capabilities and (in) compatibilities and yet it is up to the manager to get the very best out of them. Externally, the business environment and our customers change as do the many cultures to which they belong and subscribe. To have a vision, the manager has to be aware of such things, and this requires cultural antennae and deliberate research and the ability, money and time to acquire it, analyse it, evaluate it and construct a vision therefrom. In today’s increasingly world of globalised supply and demand an understanding of many cultures and sub-cultures may be required of the manager.
- 3. Organising the ‘doing’ (The Who). This will involve: • Recruiting the ‘right’ people • Job description • Person specification • Interview and selection process • Retaining and motivating people • Salary (hygiene factor) • Conditions • Management style • Performance appraisal, evaluation and recompense • Training / staff professional development • Career structure and means of advancement • Gelling the team together • Climate setting • Sharing goals • Agreeing ways of working • Empowerment / delegated authority and resources • Positive competition • Co-operation • Understanding cultural contexts • Harnessing individuality • Conflict resolution • Achieving synergy … 2 + 2 = 5 Virtually all of these come with some cultural ‘baggage’ for the manager. The cv, for example as a case in point. Normally understood to be a highly-charged, 2 x page document for anyone at postgraduate level within the English/ US markets, but perceived often as a one page, basic entrée by French applicants. Response to management style may also be very culturally perceived / contextualised given the results of Hofstede’s work (particularly on the Power – Distance criterion): a context that motivates a UK/US employee may utterly perplex members of other nationalities rather more distant in Hofstede’s terms from the almost shared UK/US values in this regard. NB. The figures we find in Company Annual Reports for sales, turnover, profit etc are simply the cumulative effects of decisions taken BY people and enacted THROUGH other people we call employees / managers such that products and services are produced and bought BY other people we call ‘customers’. Business is first and foremost about people: our staff and our customers. Both exist within a variety of differing cultural contexts which influence directly and indirectly the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of operation of organisations and, ultimately their success in the marketplace. If we don’t, as managers, really and truly understand who we are producing for or how to get the best out of our workforce, then we are must unlikely to succeed. As employees and consumers we are individuals, but we also carry a lot of culturally defined baggage with us. Managers neglect this fact at their peril.