It’s a big ‘No-No’ to get associated with people who are micromanaging things in their personal and professional lives. It is certainly not a productive measure. I have only seen it as a disaster. While it is obvious that managers and decision makers need to know what’s going on; who is doing what; why something is taking longer time; details of expenses; important projects and timeline etc. But, when managers start micromanaging, it poses more problems than it solves. It creates a vicious circle of blame game, anxiety and half truths.  Even the most sincere and well wishing micromanagers unintentionally induce wrong ideas and nervousness among their peers and subordinates.

Micromanagement is a common style of direction whereby a manager closely observes and controls the work of employees. If you are always micromanaging, it means you hired the wrong person or you are not clear of what you want. Even in our personal relationships with siblings, spouse, children and friends when someone is keeping a close watch on us, it is damn irritating.  Indeed, if you have ever worked for a boss who’s always hovering over you, monitoring your progress, obsessing over minor details, providing you with detailed instructions, and having a talk with you about every mistake you make, you will start finding ways and means to evade such a moron. He/she can really get on your nerves.

Usually people micro-manage when they feel disconnected. When someone rises through the ranks, the person often feels concerned that he/she has lost touch with the actual work of the organization. Such a person tries to connect through various means to connect with the employees with whom he/she has dealt with. It is true that people at top feel isolated. One way of reducing this anxiety is to seek information in as many ways as possible. But, it appears like micromanagement because the actions are unplanned and driven by eccentric anxiety, the result is that managers at different levels and functions end up looking at the same basic data in many different ways.

Many managers are unable to let go of their old job or their old ways of doing their work. Many managers get promotions based on their ability to achieve operational goals, manage budgets, control their numbers, and solve problems. However, at higher levels, managers usually need to dial down their operational focus and learn how to be more strategic. To do so, managers have to trust their people to manage day-to-day operations and coach them as needed, rather than trying to do it for them. For many managers this is a difficult changeover and they unconsciously continue to spend time in the more comfortable operational realm of their subordinates.

Some people in their personal life habitually micro manage. They probably don’t even know that they are doing it. They are never quite satisfied with anything. They often feel frustrated because they want a task to be performed in a different way. They have an eye for details. A friend of mine after getting her clothes ironed from the laundry irons her clothes once again. After the gardener water the plants, she still likes to sprinkle some water, I see her painstakingly doing each job again and again, she is hardly satisfied with anything.  Her grownup children avoid talking about their any problems with her. Her spouse does not leave a single chance of travelling; in fact he prefers going outstation under some or other pretext.

It’s a plain truth; paying attention to details and making sure the work is getting done is important. It’s always better to chalk all of the plan and steps of doing a job in advance. Once you discuss it with your team, there is no need to hover around and keep a watch on them. The problem with micromanagers is that they apply a lot of passion, scrutiny and in-your-face approach to every task, even if it’s not warranted. The bottom line is: if you are a micromanager, you need to stop because it is harming you, your team and everyone around you.

The best movies on micromanaging in office culture are ‘Office Space’, ‘Up in the Air’ and ‘All the President’s Men’. Office Space (1999) is an offbeat comedy from Mike Judge, which provides pinching funny commentary on the most ridiculous parts of corporate life, from mandatory birthday cake to TPS reports. It follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), an underwhelmed IT programmer who barely tolerates his commute, his bosses, and their endless memos and TPS reports. That is, until he’s hypnotized into not caring at all. What follows is pure comedy. Office Space works on multiple levels. It’s highly effective as a satirical look at corporate culture, because it so closely mirrors so much of what those who work there experience. It showcases how those obsessed bosses micro manage their subordinate’s work life making them anxious and ruining their personal lives.

If you are a micromanager, it might initially be difficult to stop your micromanaging impulses; but pull back slowly. Start building trust in your people. You will live peacefully and longer.

Management is a social and dynamic process of doing business. Management is the process of reaching organizational goals by working with people and other organizational resources. It is a process or series of continuing and related activities. It concentrates on reaching organizational goals. An organization achieves its goals by working with people and using organizational resources correctly.

Different experts have classified functions of management. George & Jerry have defined four functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling. According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But all over world, people and organizations most widely accept functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. Because this set of basic functions help to increase efficiency, crystallize the nature of management, they improve research and help to attain goals and objectives.

Planning: This is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action & choosing in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals. According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance – what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are and where we want to be”. A plan is a future course of actions. Proper planning exercise helps in problem solving and decision making. Planning is the basic purpose of courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways and means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals.

Planning is necessary to ensure proper consumption of human and other non-human resources such as money, material, machines and raw materials. Planning needs to be persistent, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding confusion and uncertainties. It helps in reducing risks, wastage, expenditure etc. Planning is the most elementary managerial functions because all other functions, including organizing, leading, controlling, and staffing, stem from the planning function. To plan efficiently, the manager needs to have strong understanding of the business, the strengths of the organization and the shortcomings. Planning involves flexibility, as the planner must coordinate with all levels of management and leadership in the organization.

Organizing: It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s.” Organizing is the function of management which follows planning. Organizing is a function in which the synchronization and combination of human, physical and financial resources takes place. All the three resources are important to get results. Therefore, organizational function helps in achievement of results which in fact is important for the functioning of a concern. According to Chester Barnard, “Organizing is a function by which the concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the co-ordination between authority and responsibility. Hence, a manager always has to organize in order to get results”. Organizing begins with identification of activities, grouping the activities, distributing the activities departmentally, assigning the duties, identifying and giving authority to individuals to execute the work, then coordinating between authority and responsibility.

Staffing: It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. It is the function or process of selecting and training of individuals for specific job functions, and charging them with the associated responsibilities. It involves employee recruitment, screening and selection performed within an organization or business to fill job openings. Other areas of staffing are orientation, training, performance appraisal, promotion, retention and termination. The function of staffing is sometimes handled by an outsourced organization by using contractors at various levels of the staffing process. Small organizations handle staffing on a case-by-case basis, while larger organizations prefer to go through multiple staffing cycles during a single year. Organizations of any size also use the option of acquiring temporary or permanent employees.

Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right man on right job. According to Kootz & O’Donell, “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection; appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure”. Staffing becomes irrelevant without manpower planning. Talent acquisition is a big responsibility in today’s scenario because the talent gaps are becoming wider.

Directing: This is the managerial function which means guiding also. It is a basic management function which includes building effective work culture, creating opportunity for growth of employees by motivating, supervising, scheduling, and disciplining them. Directing is said to be a process in which the managers instruct, guide and oversee the performance of the workers to achieve predetermined goals. Wrong direction leads to misfortune of an organization. Planning, organizing, staffing becomes unconnected if direction goes wrong. This function initiates action and it is from here the actual work starts. Direction is said to be consisting of human factors. In simple words, it can be described as providing guidance to workers. It involves designing organizational methods to work efficiently for achieving organizational purposes. It is considered most complex because it sets in motion the action of people. Planning, organizing and staffing are the preliminary steps or preparations for doing the work. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly by influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating subordinates for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction involves other elements such as supervision, motivation, communication and leadership.

Controlling: This function implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. Management control system (MCS) is a system which gathers and uses information to evaluate the performance of different organizational resources like human, physical, financial and also the organization as a whole in light of the organizational strategies pursued. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs as per the plan and as per the standards. An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann, “Controlling is the process of checking whether or not suitable progress is being made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation”. According to Koontz & O’Donell “controlling is the measurement and correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”. Controlling is achieved by taking these steps: establishment of standard operating procedures, timely performance appraisals of employees, measurement of actual performance by comparing actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation. It doesn’t stop here; corrective actions need to be taken to fill the gaps.

Conclusion: effective management and leadership involve innovative ways for problem solving, motivating employees and making sure that the organization accomplishes objectives and goals. The above five functions of management and leadership: planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating and controlling help the managers in mapping out and executing the business processes. An organization’s culture consists of the values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that employees share and use on a daily basis in their work. The culture determines how employees behave in the workplace; how they understand the business, and how they see themselves as part of the organization. When managers perform their basic functions appropriately the culture of the organization automatically improves.

]]> https://drvidyahattangadi.com/what-are-the-basic-functions-of-managers/feed/ 0 https://drvidyahattangadi.com/trusted-leaders-wanted/ https://drvidyahattangadi.com/trusted-leaders-wanted/#respond Thu, 21 May 2015 00:20:17 +0000 http://drvidyahattangadi.com/?p=2426 Trusted leaders wanted

The conventional practice of management to drive results at any costs is ruled out. Managers used to be hard on employees, suppress them, scare them and get work out of them. Today the scene has changed.  Managers need to strike a friendlier cord with their subordinates. They are aware of their subordinate’s personal lives, their hobbies, their hidden talents so that their personal and professional lives don’t collide. Today’s workplace atmosphere calls for an evolved way of management and of leadership. Today’s managers have to be good human first to get the best performance from his subordinates. Today’s manager needs to motivate and inspire his team to get the best out of his team members.

Nobody can stand an obsessive, insecure, complicated and fiddly manager.  People don’t leave organizations, they leave persons. No one likes to work with a ‘self obsessed’ manager; someone who says ‘I am so and so’, ‘I like so and so’, ‘this is my vision’, ‘that is my intention’ so on and forth. Instead of ‘me’ manager employees like a ‘we’ manager. A leader who can accommodate others is appreciated highly. Being human is no more considered a sign of vulnerability; it’s a mark of strong leadership. Employees are first human beings. Organizations must acknowledge this fact and hire managers who understand other’s emotions. We cannot underestimate social emotions; they are most crucial for success.  And, the most vital emotion at work place is empathy.

Leaders who want to be in control all the time get frustrated when their team looks up to them for answers and solutions. And, if they display any limitation or waver in their decision, the chances are the whole organization can crumble around them. Perfectionism and insecurity makes the leaders terribly anxious. Also a fixated manager always remains anxious. We should remember that even subordinates can see the strengths and weaknesses of their superiors. Despite some weaknesses if the managers function well, if they can handle tough situations without much fuss the subordinates support him/her quietly.

Clearly, some training and development needs are universal. Some traits of leadership can be taught but some are to be innate. It’s still not scientifically proved whether leaders are born or they can be developed.

A good leader understands that each member in his team is unique: each one has different skills, different levels of understanding, and is fit to take on different responsibilities and objectives. Thus the business world, political world, social world requires trained, well mannered and mature leaders. The academia needs to take on the responsibility of training and developing effective leaders.  When we say academia more emphasis is stressed on business schools which can play a big role in developing trusted leaders.

Organizations today seek collaborative thinkers who are cooperative and can solve problems. At B-Schools too much of emphasis is laid on developing analysts who are good at applying quantitative management formulas. The narrowly designed specializations corrupt minds of the students; they lose the ability of looking at problems from totality.  Companies demand leaders who can powerfully coherent ideas, both orally and in writing. Companies look at leadership traits that can motivate and guide their people. But business schools tend to train people to simply assert their ideas. We are trailing out on the importance of understanding and empathizing emotions. Working with our own and other’s emotions seems very difficult. Another thing is sensitizing the students to the real time issues and improving their critical abilities. Excellent communication is equally core area for development.

Can we expect a radical revamp from B schools? No, we can’t until industry and schools compare notes. I think the gap between expectation from the organizations and the skills taught at MBA schools can be shortened if there is a regular dialogue between both.

A 1999 study of MBA graduates conducted by Mark Kretovics who was then assistant dean at Colorado State University’s College of Business and is currently an assistant professor of higher education administration and student personnel in Kent State University’s Department of Teaching Leadership and Curriculum Studies, provides really striking findings. He assessed set of skills among a control group comprising of students from various streams of studies including MBAs. The study proved that out of 12 skill areas in 7 categories MBA graduates were significantly better than the group of university graduates not enrolled in a business program. The seven categories in which MBAs were superior were action, goal setting, information analysis, information gathering, quantitative skills, theory, and technology. However, the MBAs could not outsmart students from other streams in five other equally critical areas: helping others, inventiveness, leadership, affiliation, and wisdom. We see that these deficiencies are widespread among MBA programs in most part of the world.

In a 2002 poll by Canada’s Financial Post, 141 CEOs and senior executives rated non-business-school graduates as far better than MBAs in commitment to hard work, oral communication, written communication, understanding industry analysis, interpersonal skills, and even skills in marketing and sales. B Schools must take their roles seriously.

The primary task of leadership is giving direction. Leaders must be able to create trustworthiness in their organizations. Trust is the foundation of leadership. In 21^st century organizations must transform economy by improving lives, saving the environment and empowering communities. Transformation, environment protection and empowerment all three breed well when there is trust.  Organizations have to recognize themselves as social enterprises. The social networking and Internet are educating the people like never before. To face the complexities in the business world well prepared leaders are a must. Most MBA graduates arrive at new jobs unprepared. They should be prepared to work in multicultural, diversified, multiunit organizations.

Organizations expect highly motivated, able people with stronger skills who arrive with MBAs.  They look for stronger skills in writing, public speaking, building and running teams, supervising and delegating, and sharing leadership in ways that motivate and inspire subordinates. Even if it’s true that social skills are difficult to teach, curriculum can be designed to promote them. Organizations expect MBAs with a better grasp of the scientific method and how to apply it from hypothesis generation through the research and analysis that underlies the MBA profession. Research skills must be taught at the B Schools with precedence.

Business schools mistakenly defer to students when they’re designing their curriculum. They instead try to please students by designing lighter, misleading curriculum. That could explain why MBA programs do not pay enough attention to the nuts and bolts of problem solving.

Another area of concern is there is hardly any stress laid on the quality of being honest and having strong morals and principles. For building successful business ‘integrity’ is a must. A 2007 Bloomberg/LA Times survey reported that 6 out of 10 Americans believed that the CEOs of American companies are not ethical. In 2008 America witnessed the subprime crisis and the economic downhill.

Bad leadership and lack of genuine spirits are not going to take us any further. The base of leadership is integrity and spirit of service. Today we need leaders who can instead of only talking do the walking for transforming the economy. Leadership is a relationship between the person leading a group and group members. As with any relationship, success depends on both parties.

Whether the setting of an organization is business, government, education, entertainment, retail, or it’s an NGO; most people would agree that they would like to work with a good leader. And, a good leader is someone like a good physician. Just as the physician identifies the patient’s disease accurately to ensure effectiveness of the prescribed treatment, the business leader must also be able to diagnose problems, values and voices while finding effective solutions. All said and done, today all organizations are craving for trusted leaders.

In late 1950s cardiologists Meyer Friedman and R. H. Rosenman coined the term “Type A” and “Type B” personality types. Meyer and Rosenman said that Type A personalities are prone to heart disease easily because of their nature. They are very hyper and finish work on deadlines always. Comparatively type B people are laid back individuals. They have the aptitude to relax, enjoy small undertakings and they like to enjoy the small things in life. Though, they too get stressed but rarely.

In business organizations “Type A” personality will always be in demand because they are competitive, energetic, impatient, and are always under pressure to finish work in time. To a great extent type ‘A’ personalities are the most sought-for employees. However, a tremendous amount of work has been done by psychologists on the personality types and they have found that type ‘A’ is most prone to heart disease. They work overtime a great deal and rarely take vacations. They are labeled as “workaholics,” “perfectionists,” and “fastidious” people. Do you know A Type individuals are usually insecure? Their insecurity results in an alluring urge to constantly remind themselves and others of their achievements. If you walk into a type A’s office or home you will find many awards, degree and diplomas, and trophies hung on the wall or decorated in a cupboard. These are the common fixtures in their homes and offices. They are always worked up; hence they tend to be very angry individuals, they demonstrate usually cut-throat business tactics. These individuals are quite concerned about numbers, e.g. number of customers, amount of money earned, number of cars and number of homes owned by them. Because of their number game, they are always tensed up. They complain muscle cramps, dry throat, insomnia and they have more adrenalin pumping though their bodies than Type B personalities. The daily caffeine intake of Type A personalities is 50% greater than that of Type B persons. They consume more caffeine to boost their functioning ability.

On the contrast type B individuals have relaxing characteristics. They are not concerned with time or numbers or awards. They cannot work under stress. They are friendlier people. The Type B person finds it easier to express and receive affection because they are hassle free.

“A” type personalities are most suitable for leadership position. They are business owners, managers, sales people, intrapreneurs. They take charge very easily and forge ahead. They are very decisive and constant in getting what they want and need. They always are looking for a better way of working. Their entrepreneurial streak is always exhibited and they are not averse to taking risk. The type “A” personality is usually very independent and to the point. They don’t like routine and often delegate routine chores to someone else.

B” Type personalities are non-judgmental and tolerant people. They usually exhibit higher levels of satisfaction in life. They are aware of their abilities and work progressively for their goals. They enjoy their achievements. They are not too much stressed out to excel. They do get disappointed when they fall short of their goals, but they don’t get overwhelmed like “A” type. “B” type accepts failures more easily. They enjoy outings, games and contests. They participate in competitions and contests not for the sole objective of winning but for the love of the game. They are thoughtful and innovative. They allow themselves to explore and fail, if necessary. Some “B” type people are too relaxed and laid-back that they lack the drive to reach the topmost level of their careers.

A research concluded that in the most progressive country in the world, America has 50% of the individuals who fall into the Type A category, 40% into the Type B category, and 10% are undefined. More importantly, the results of a ten-year long research project on 3,500 men indicated that Type A men have at least three times as much coronary heart disease as Type B’s. The research proved that smoking cigarettes, eating foods rich in cholesterol, taking drinks and little or no exercise made very little difference in stirring the risk of heart disease, if the person has a Type B personality. This study proved that the risk associated with developing heart disease decreased by 31% when the A-B factor was eliminated. People, who can relax, take life easily as it comes, those who can enjoy company of family and friends, who travel for fun, live life for many years. The research found that people who smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for fifty years but have enjoyed life are now celebrating their 100 plus years birthdays and mind you they are Type B personalities.

Type ‘A’ people are more visible because they like to take on leadership or managerial positions and to draw attention to their work. You will see them make a fuss at an airport counter, in hotel counter, hospital anywhere. To put it plainly, type As want to spread out in the world and make their presence known. And, please don’t be under wrong impression that Type B doesn’t make it big in life. They too are achievers. They don’t make noise, they are slow but steady. Perhaps that’s the reason they are slow to anger and experience less chronic stress, https://livingwellnessmedicalcenter.com/klonopin-clonazepam/. Anxiety is associated with enhanced outcomes for just about every health complaint, from asthma to depression to Type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Please note that type “B” easily delegate when are in high pressure jobs.

Type B personalities are often more balanced in social situations; they handle sticky situations more gracefully. They are less competitive, more patient, more mutual and happier to enjoy the moment. They are certainly better people to be around with. While type As brag and try get all the credit for focusing on the goals ahead, type Bs are as skillful at achieving their objectives in the end, but they do not make big noise.

While we give so much importance to achievements it comes with a badge of “being stressed”. It’s not enough that we compete to see who can do the most, but we compete to see who can handle the most stress doing it. The only way to minimize the negative effects of stress is to diminish the stress itself by identifying the reasons of stress in your life; either eliminate them, or rethink them.