introduction to management for new managers -7mistakes 2 avoid

Copyright© Business Services Support Limited 2014 | www.businessservicessupport.com

Introduction To Management Training

7 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid as a Manager

2

Published by:

Business Services Support Limited

145-157 St John Street

London EC1V 4PY

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.businessservicessupport.com

All rights reserved

This edition published 2014 ©Business Services Support Limited

ISBN 978-1-905803-14-9

British Library Cataloguing in publication data- A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

Printed in England

http://www.businessservicessupport.com/

mailto:[email protected]





3

Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

Mistake One- Relying on your technical skills alone to carry out your manager's role ........................................... 5

Mistake Two- Having little understanding about the politics of your organisation underpinned by its structure .. 8

So what is structure? ................................................................................................................................ 8

Functional Structure- also call Pyramid & Hierarchical Structure .......................................................... 11

Product or service structures .................................................................................................................. 13

Geographical structure ........................................................................................................................... 14

Matrix Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 15

Entrepreneur Structure ........................................................................................................................... 16

Mistake Three-Acting in opposition of the cultural norms ................................................................................... 17

Different types of culture ........................................................................................................................ 20

Mistake Four- Planning to fail through failure to plan effectively ........................................................................ 25

The Work Breakdown Structure Model .................................................................................................. 26

Mistake Five-Undervaluing the importance of staff motivation for high performance ........................................ 29

Mistake Six- Taking poor decisions and exposing organisation's resources .......................................................... 33

Evaluating Options For Decision Making - Force Field Analysis by Kurt Lewin ....................................... 36

Mistake Seven-Not setting targets for your team ............................................................................................... 37

Setting Your Team's Target .................................................................................................................................. 37

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 40

About The Author ................................................................................................................................................ 41





4

Introduction

e have put together this short e-book to help you as a new manager, avoid

these mistakes. If you are a new manager, you need to go through each

mistake and learn how to avoid them. Do contact us for more information to

help boost your management skills as part of our business management, leadership and

supply chain management programmes.

W





5

Mistake One- Relying on your technical skills alone to

carry out your manager's role

Here are the characteristics and skill-set of managers

Having seen the above you need to understand the role of a manager and the importance

of the skills-set.

Before we look at the role of managers, let us first explore the main distinction between

a manager and a leader.

A leader is someone who instigates changes in an organisation. A leader identifies new

directions for the business and presses for changes that could facilitate the achievement

of corporate goals. Therefore, leadership is about making something happen that would

otherwise not occur.

Effective Managers Skills

Resource management skills-time, people, money , materials and

facilitiesInterpersonal Skills- team member skills, respecting others,

resolving conflict, teaches others new skills, leader, client service, negotiates,

works with diversity

Information Acquisition and evaluation- organisation,

maintenance, interpret, communication, computer skills

Communication Skills-Listening, give and receive feedback,

writing, verbal and non verbal

Systems Understanding- knows how social, organisational and

technological systems work, monitors and correct performance, improves system

Thinking Skills-Problem solving and effective decision,

making, creative thinking, know how to learn, visualising,

reasoning

Self Management – acting with confidence, managing own

learning, self motivated, flexibility





6

A manager on the contrary promotes stability. He /she takes responsibility for managing

resources to achieve goals set by the leader. A manager deals with the day-to-day

operations. A leader deals with the strategic issues.

Organisations that embrace both sides of this contradiction can thrive in turbulent times.

A leader that is not supported by an effective management team (i.e. teams of managers)

could soon find that his/her vision for change will never materialise. Having an effective

leader, without effective managers can be a hindrance to business growth. Managers are

not necessarily good leaders, although on rare occasions it is possible to find a person

that can play both roles effectively.

A manager’s role can be diverse and complex. Some of the roles managers play arise from

their numerous relationships with people within and outside their organisation.

A manager’s role can be summarised under three main headings:

◉ Interpersonal- this is concerned with the role manager’s play in their relationships

with others. A manager can be a leader to his/her team and a figurehead that

others within and outside the organisation look up to for advice and guidance on

specialist areas.

◉ Informational- this is concerned with a manager’s role in relation to resources

used to undertake their functions. Managers have to use the resources efficiently

and effectively and most importantly, account for their performance. As a result,

a manager will record data and analyse them to produce invaluable information

for future planning, controlling and decision-making. A manager in their

informational role will act as an ambassador or representative for the organisation

in the provision of information. For instance, managers present reports at board

meeting and external presentations to stakeholders. They can effectively become

a spokesperson for the organisation.

◉ Decisional- this is concerned with a manager’s role in making decisions to improve

performance. A manager can make changes to operating systems, organisational

structures and resource requirements if he/she believes that such changes are

required for delivering corporate goals. Given the inter-relationship between

different parts of an organisation, a manager will need to liaise with his/her

colleagues on any proposed changes before a final decision is taken. The process

of making any system or structural change in an organisation can be very time

consuming. A manager will need to negotiate with his/her peers any change that

may affect other parts of the business.





7

In addition, a manager needs to negotiate his/her budget and of course when dealing

with suppliers of services, a similar negotiating role can ensue for effective procurement

of supplies.

Taking together all these different roles, it is clear that a manager needs a much broader

skills set that transcends the boundary of technical knowledge such as: planning,

organising, staffing, directing and controlling.





8

Mistake Two- Having little understanding about the

politics of your organisation underpinned by its

structure

Managers do not work in a vacuum. Their roles and responsibilities are carried out within

an environmental context which if not understood can impact negatively on their

performance. You as a first time manager would have already had a negative experience

in your work-life and clueless about the impact of your organisational environment on

your work performance. It is therefore important you have a good understanding of how

work activities are organised in organisations and the rationale for the work structure.

You should also be aware of the pros and cons of the different structures to minimise

conflicts and expectations that could result in frustration and stress.

So what is structure?

In its simplest form, an organisation’s structure is concerned with the way work activities

are organised in the business to achieve corporate goals and objectives. There are two

strands involved in an organisation’s structure.

◉ Differentiation- concerned with how the organisation’s tasks are broken down into

individual jobs or roles and how similar tasks are grouped together to form

departments and groupings.

◉ Integration- concerned with how individuals, groupings or tasks are coordinated

and integrated so that the overall task is achieved. For this to be achieved, effective

communication of corporate goals and objectives is critical as well as a clear

understanding of how each team or departments work activities contribute

towards the overall corporate goal. In short, there must be common vision and

goals.

Let us take these points above and explore them further. Imagine a retailer that sells

fashion goods such as clothing, shoes, bags etc. The company will need to undertake a

number of activities ranging from:





9

◉ Production of the products and services

◉ Distribution of the products

◉ Marketing of the products and services

◉ Customer support services to ensure retention rate is strong

◉ Human resources, recruitment, management and dismissal

◉ Finance and information service provision

◉ Administration support service provision

Depending on the size of the organisation, the products will be manufactured in house or

purchased from various external suppliers. In addition, the manufactured products will

need to be distributed to various retail shops across different locations and then priced

tagged before they are displayed on the shop floor. Staff will be required at the various

shops to serve and assist customers. Upon receipt of payment from customers, the cash

will need to be properly accounted for and then banked.

The finance department, sales and marketing department will need to collect data

(financial and otherwise) to produce management information.

The management team will need to monitor this information and take decisions for

effective control of resources to achieve corporate targets. Then there are back office

activities critical to support the front line services and products such as the human

resources activities- staff recruitment, staff performance management and the like.

Information management systems will need to be supported and developed and so forth.

As you could see, the range of activities a business undertakes to achieve its objectives

and goals can be wide ranging. Moreover, the scale of these activities can vary

considerably depending on the size of the organisation.

The organisation structure is merely concerned with the way the retailer organises these

activities to achieve its goals. The structure could take a number of forms depending on

the organisation’s preference and what it deems appropriate for its business.





10

An Organisation’s structure can influence the nature of the relationships individuals have

with one another, as well as the role set of individuals in the organisation. Clearly, the

level and type of decisions individuals can make within an organisation can vary

considerably depending on their position, power of influence and responsibilities. Unless

a manager understands these dynamics of organisation life, he or she can easily find it

difficult to settle within the role.

Then there is the informal dimension of an organisation’s structure not captured in the

formal organisation chart. Organisations are mainly operated by people who over time

form informal relationships that can be an invaluable source of information through

networking. Information flow, between different parts of the organisation can be upward,

sideways, and diagonal and so forth.

Sometimes they bear very little resemblance to the formal structure and may even cause

unintended consequences that may adversely affect the business. The larger the

organisation, the more complex the information flow, as we shall see shortly when we

come to look at the various organisation structures that can exist in practice.

There are different ways a business can structure its work, they include:

◉ Functional structure- this involves structuring work activities by functions.

◉ Products structure- This involves structuring work activities by the different

products or services of the business.

◉ Geographic structure- This involves structuring work by the different locations of

the business operations.

◉ Matrix structure- This involves structuring work in a more fluid manner, whereby

work activities are carried as separate individual projects.

Within these structures, power can be decentralised (i.e. most of the decisions are taken

by front line staff at local levels) or centralised (i.e. most of the decisions are taken at the

top by the senior management team). The level of management hierarchy can be short

or tall with the span of control wide or slim. The span of control is simply the number of

staff that an officer is responsible for. The span of control is influenced by the degree of

interdependence, inter-relationship of work and the complexity of the organisation.





11

The management hierarchy represents the layers of grades of staff from the top of the

business to the lowest officers. Some organisations can have a hybrid structure (i.e. a

cross between more than one structure) and others outsource some of their functional

activities to external organisations with core competencies. Whatever the structure, it is

important to note that each structural type has its advantages and disadvantages, as we

will see shortly.

Understanding how these different structures impact on the way operations are carried

out can be very useful to people who are new to management. The common mistake that

a new manager can make is to operate contrary to the spirit of the organisational

structure. For instance, a new manager, full of energy and enthusiasm can become a

source of new ideas for improving the business. However, their proposals may not be

implemented immediately because of the need to carefully assess the wider implications

of the proposal beyond their immediate team for the benefit of the entire organisation.

Such a delay in implementing their proposals or worse, rejecting the proposal can

become a source of frustration, which can quickly damage their motivation and

productivity. If the manager understands the importance of management taking its time

to assess new proposals for the wider good of all concern it is unlikely their motivation

will be damaged.

Another aspects of structure you should be aware of is that of power sharing. In most

organisations, power rests with those who manage budgets and have the final say over

what is approved or not. If the budget manager has to seek further approval from another

officer, the budget manager’s power is limited.

Let us now turn our attention to the different structures that may exist in organisations.

Functional Structure- also call Pyramid & Hierarchical Structure

In this structure, work is organised by functional teams such as human resources, finance,

production, marketing, distribution etc. Staff are employed for their expert knowledge in

these functional areas and grouped into functional divisions. The diagram below provides

a clearer illustration.





12

In this structure, staff are grouped into a particular function and generalists are rare.

Career paths tend to develop through functions and this can reduce managers’ awareness

of other issues facing the organisation. Staff can work for the benefit of their department

and not for the benefit of their organisation. Many members of staff may never meet

external customers.

There is always the risk of functional managers putting their priorities above those of

other teams.

To conclude, functional structures can be tall or short. Tall structures provide

opportunities for staff career progression, through internal promotion up the hierarchical

ladder. However, communication can be very problematic in this structure. Shorter

structures reduce the risk of a weak communication between those at the top and the

rest of the organisation. However, promotion opportunities for staff are weakened.

Whereas, decision making in shorter structure can be made very quickly, those of a tall

structure can be very time consuming (as teams queue up for top management decisions).

Consequently, it follows that there is always a trade off between communication, speed

of decision and promotion opportunities for staff in this structure.

Board of Director

Marketing Director

Head of Marketing

Market Researcher

Market Researcher

Media and Promotion

Officer

Head of Sales

Sales Assistants

Finance Director

Financial Controller

Financial Accountant

Finance Officers-sales ledger

Finance Officer –purchase ledger

Cashier

Management Accountant

Operations Director

Deputy Operations

Director

Operations Officer





13

Product or service structures

As a consequence of some of the disadvantages of a functional structure, some

organisations involved in multi-services or products, will group activities by products or

services.

For instance, an accountancy firm will group its operations based on its clients’ different

markets or different services.

A housing management company will group its services based on the different housing

products. The next diagram should illustrate this point better.

In this structure, staff resources are focused on specific markets (e.g. auditing clients) and

as a result, they are better able to serve them well. The different divisions can respond

effectively to their clients’ needs. All things being equal, this structure provides a platform

for staff motivation. However, there is the danger of creating separate organisations

within the organisation. Staff can be prone to resist changes proposed by those outside

the organisation. For instance, staff working in the auditing division may view suggestions

for improvement from the accountancy division as an unnecessary interference. When

this happens, it can create another source of problem. Equally, whilst the different

divisions can take decisions that will improve their services, this benefit is normally

achieved at the expense of cost efficiency. It can be costly if different divisions are

purchasing similar resources independently from similar suppliers. The benefits of bulk

purchasing are lost as the organisation fails to leverage its purchasing power. Regardless

of the structure used, it is still essential for a business to have effective communication

systems as well as cooperative team working style.

Chartered Accounting Firm

Head Office

Auditing Accountancy Consultancy Tax AdviceFraud

Investigation





14

Geographical structure

This is a structure typically used when organisations’ operations are spread across

different geographical boundaries. For instance, Amnesty International operates globally

and it will be inconceivable for all its offices to be based in the UK or the US.

Consequently, it has offices across the world in places such as the UK, Japan, Russia, Hong

Kong, Geneva, Washington, Kampala, Holland, Switzerland, Paris, and so forth. Despite

these challenges facing large international organisations, some of the advantages of this

type of structure can be:

◉ The heads of the area divisions will have authority and responsibilities for all

operations in their areas

◉ The different geographical areas work towards a common corporate vision but the

area division has the responsibility to respond to local market needs.

There are disadvantages associated with this type of structure. Coordinating activities

across different geographical offices can be very time consuming. For instance, the format

in which management information is presented by the different offices, if not agreed in

advance, can vary considerably, putting pressure on limited resources to interpret and re-

format them. There is always the risk of duplication of services. For instance, each area

office will have its own pool of staff which is similar to others elsewhere. An example of

how this works in practice is shown in the next diagram.

Head Office

Europe

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

America

North America

South America

Australia

Sydney

Africa

West Africa

Central Africa





15

Matrix Structure

The matrix structure is designed to mitigate some of the disadvantages associated with

functional and product structure. In the matrix structure, there are two reporting lines:

◉ The functional head

◉ The product or regional head.

In this case, when a service or product is to be produced, the functional heads and

products heads will decide on the staff that should be pulled together into a team to

deliver the task at hand. For the structure to work effectively, heads will need to meet

regularly to decide how to apportion each staff time. The danger with this structure is

that, the individuals may feel manipulated and therefore less motivated. Staff may feel

uncomfortable with the degree of change and uncertainty implicit in a matrix structure.

Moreover, the entire management role can be tiresome.

There is always the risk of conflict and confusion where this type of structure is in

operation. The communication system can be extremely diverse, responsibilities can

overlap, and accountability lost in the process. It is worth noting that the matrix structure

only covers a proportion of staff in organisations. Some part of the organisation will

operate a single line manager within a functional or geographical structure.

Chief Executive

Admin Finance Marketing Research &

Development

Product/Project 1

Government Research

Product /Project 2

Merger and acquisition





16

Assume the company above provides research and development services to other

businesses. Assume a contract to produce some reports for the central government is to

be delivered (i.e. product 1 in the diagram above). A team of staff will be required to

deliver the contract. Staff will be drawn from various functional teams (finance,

administration, marketing and research) to work with a product head, in this case the

head of marketing department.

As the number of products increases, staff could be involved in more than one project at

any given time. With this structure, staff in the finance department (or any other

departments) will have two reporting lines depending on the project they are working on.

Entrepreneur Structure

This is a structure in which the decisions and control rest with the entrepreneur who

organises and manages all the different functional activities through others. The

entrepreneur structure is typical in a start-up business and is ineffective as businesses

start growing.

To conclude this section, it is important for you to note that we have only covered a

fraction of the different structures that exist in practice. However, the structures covered

so far are the most predominant ones that organisations tend to use. An Organisation’s

structure is a very important facet in management. Structures can impact on how

organisations approach work and their overall culture. In return, structure can stimulate

business improvement or be a hindrance to progress.





17

Mistake Three-Acting in opposition of the cultural

norms

Culture is concerned with the way an organisation carries out its business operations.

Hence, culture is commonly defined as “the way we do things around here”.

Organisations have acceptable practices and ways of doing things, which are rooted in

management beliefs and values. These beliefs and values influence decisions taken on:

◉ The way work should be organised

◉ How people should be controlled and what type of people should be employed

◉ How much planning should be carried out and how far ahead

◉ What degrees of formalisation is required

◉ What combination of obedience and initiative is looked for in subordinates

◉ Whether or not working hours matter

◉ The acceptable dress codes

◉ What rules and procedures should be put in place and so forth.

The culture of a business tends to reveal itself in the physical structure of the building,

the pictures displayed on walls, and the language used etc. Regardless of the level of staff

employed in the organisation, the pervasive culture will manifest itself throughout the

business.

Consequently, it goes without saying that, culture can impact on a business positively or

adversely, depending on its appropriateness for the business’ operating environment.

When an organisation’s culture complements its market environment, the business

thrives. Conversely, when the prevailing culture is in opposition to the market

environment, the business suffers tremendous set-backs and failures. Some examples of

this will be provided shortly.





18

Culture, is one of the softer aspects in organisations that some managers and staff alike,

may find difficult to cope with at worse or at best thrive in depending on their respective

personalities. Unless, the culture of a business is well understood, there is always a risk

that a manager could work in opposition of the values and beliefs of the business. Culture

can be a double edged sword, when it is appropriate it can be an invaluable asset to the

business. However, when it is ineffective, it can become a cancer to the business.

It is for this reason that, the cultural dimensions of a business must be fully understood

by managers- you ignore it at your own peril. Organisations with a rigid cultures find it

difficult to adapt to change (particularly in volatile markets) and vice versa.

We can now review examples of cultures in two organisations.

Organisation A

◉ Staff and managers work collaboratively together

◉ Managers delegate some of their responsibilities to

staff and staff are willing to accept them as an

opportunity to learn

◉ The working environment is friendly and on a monthly

basis most of the staff go out in the evening to

socialise

◉ Formal planning, monitoring and control are not part

of the management processes

◉ In peak periods staff, are willing to work extended

hours and take time off during low demand periods

◉ On the job training is the most preferred training and

development strategy.





19

Organisation B

◉ Staff are appointed for their technical specialist skills

and experience

◉ Managers rarely delegate any of their responsibilities

to staff

◉ Managers prefer formal discussions on work issues,

usually around a table

◉ Most of the staff employed are male

◉ Communication is rarely open

◉ Staff who are open in their communication are

normally sidelined

◉ Staff who are loyal to the organisation are the ones

that are promoted faster.

Neither culture is wrong- they are just different.

Cultures differ across organisations and so does their impact on business performance.

Some will argue that structure can support or undermine an organisation’s cultures.

Others will say that the structures of organisations influence the prevailing culture.

Another point to note is that some cultures are unsuitable for some personalities and vice

versa. We will soon explore the personality types that are more suitable for the different

types of cultures that can exist in organisations. Like the saying goes “vines don’t grow

where sunshine doesn’t fall in the right proportions with the rain, nor has anyone found

a more effective technology for tending vines than the human hand”.





20

Different types of culture

Power Culture

This is typically found in small entrepreneurial organisations. In such organisations,

control is centralised largely through the selection of key individuals, with few rules and

procedures and some bureaucracy. The success of the organisation is largely dependent

on the abilities of people at the centre. As a result, succession is a critical issue. Generally,

this type of culture is attractive to people who are power oriented and politically minded.

Equally, people who take risk and do not rate security highly are attracted to this culture.

In organisations with this culture, performance is based on results and they are indifferent

to the means of achieving them. Consequently, successes can be achieved at the expense

of staff morale and high staff turnover.

Role Culture

This type of culture has come to be known as bureaucracy and is usually seen in very large

organisations. The organisation is characterised by strong functional (or specialised)

teams, coordinated by a narrow band of senior management staff at the top.

The strengths of the organisation, rests on the strengths of the respective specialist or

functional teams. The work of functional teams is governed by rules and procedures

defining jobs, the authority that goes with them, the mode of communication and the

settlement of disputes.

Individuals working for this type of organisation need only to provide a satisfactory

performance in their roles. Position power is the major power source and as a result

personal power is frowned upon. Expert power is tolerated only in its proper place. Rules

and procedures are the major methods of influence.

This type of culture depends on the rationality of work allocation and responsibilities

rather than individual personalities for its efficiency. The culture will tend to succeed in

stable environments but can be slow to perceive the need for change and slow to change

even when it accepts to the need for it. It is therefore unsuited to a competitive and

changing market environment and indeed when used in such markets can flounder.





21

This role culture can provide predictability and stability for individuals. Because of its

functional and specialist characteristics, individuals can see with clarity the various loops

that they need to go through to climb up the career ladder. The culture offers staff the

opportunity to acquire specialist expertise without risk.

This role culture is frustrating to ambitious and power oriented personalities who want

control over their work and are more interested in results than methods of achieving

them. Such a person will only be content at the top of the organisation where there is

greater opportunity for coordination of work between the functional teams.

This type of culture tends to be used in environments where economies of scale are more

important than flexibility, or where technical expertise and depth of specialisation are

more important than product innovation.

The benefits of this culture can include:

◉ Provision of clear direction and guidance to staff who need to be assured they are

doing the right thing.

◉ Consistency in approach across the organisation when doing a similar task.

◉ Operational efficiency.

The disadvantages are:

◉ Too rigid and stifle staff initiative

◉ Undermines creativity and innovation

◉ Makes an ambitious claim that there is only one right way of doing things

◉ Can be a source of resistance to change.

Generally, this culture is more suited to people who are more submissive, rigid, like

stability and are specialists. Creative and free spirited people can find this type of culture

very stifling and frustrating.





22

Task Culture

This type of culture is project oriented and in practice its accompanying structure is

synonymous with that of the matrix structure. Unlike the role structure, the priority is to

get the job done and so flexibility is given priority over stability. The culture promotes

team working and so is designed for resources to be pulled together in a project-like

manner to carry out specific business activities. In practice the organisation will employ

the right people, with the relevant skills for specific project work and let them get on with

it. Influence is based on expert power rather than on position power. Influence is also

more widely dispersed than in other cultures. As a team culture, the outcome and the

results of the team take precedence over individuals’ needs.

As a result, this culture is extremely adaptable. Project groups can be formed and

disbanded easily. The organisation works very quickly since each group will ideally contain

officers with the authority to make decisions. However, if the decision power of the

project team is limited, then the benefits of flexibility and speed of taking decisions can

be severely weakened. Individuals working in this culture are able to control their work

and exercise their judgements over results. In addition, they are able to work in a multi-

skills environment, which means there is a capacity to learn new skills outside the

specialist roles. This can be a powerful source of improvement in staff development,

which some individuals cherish.

The task culture is, therefore, appropriate in situations requiring flexibility and sensitivity

to the market environment. Generally, this culture prevails in businesses operating in

competitive markets, where product life is short and where speed of reaction is

important. But unlike the role culture, the task culture offers limited opportunities for

economies of scale and staff development of specialist skills. The task culture thrives

where speed of reaction, creativity, sensitivity and integration are more important than

the depth of specialisation.

In practice, some organisations will have a cross between the task culture and the role

culture- a hybrid culture.





23

Person Culture

This type of culture is not common and it is unusual. It exists to serve individuals within

the organisation to further their own interests without any over-riding objective. Controls

through management systems and management hierarchies are impossible in this culture

except with the consent of individuals.

The culture is found in an environment where staff are highly knowledgeable, with

specialist skills that are rare in the market. The typical businesses with this culture are

barristers’ chambers, small consultancy firms, architects’ partnerships, social groups and

families.

People who prefer to work in this way are not easy to manage. As specialists

(knowledgeable in their field), finding alternative work is not a problem for them. Position

power not backed by resource power means nothing to such people. Such people have a

strong mind of their own and they are not easily influenced by group norms or

relationships with colleagues which might be expected to moderate their personal

preferences. This leaves personal power and such people not easily impressed by

personality.

Now that we have explored the different types of cultures, you can see why managers

must have an understanding of the cultural dimensions of organisations. You will see that

each culture has its own unique features, expectations and preferred personalities.

In reality, the culture of an organisation may change from time to time depending on a

number of factors, which we will briefly cover later. However, for you as an individual, it

is important you understand the appropriate cultural environment in which you can

thrive. Failure to do so could result in an unfulfilled career. For instance, creative

individuals are totally unsuitable for climates dominated by rules and procedures as in

the case of a role culture. Staff who need clarity and stability are totally unsuitable for a

cultural environment that is dominated by risk taking and results orientation.

Furthermore, many organisations, when recruiting staff, do not always take cultural

factors into consideration. As a result, despite the fact that individuals can be technically

competent and knowledgeable, the ability to perform their jobs well can be severely

hampered by cultural clashes (i.e. a mismatch between staff’s and organisation’s

predominant culture or values). As a manager you will need to take these issues on board

when recruiting staff as well as in your management of staff. What is even more

challenging is a business that suddenly decides to change its culture, from a role to a task

culture, using a workforce that is more suited to the former culture may find this a tall

order.





24

The expectation that staff, who were once reliant on templates and rules to govern their

work, could suddenly become risk takers and creative is at best extremely optimistic or at

worst naive. As a manager your task is to embrace these challenges and be ready to devise

appropriate strategies to manage them appropriately.





25

Mistake Four- Planning to fail through failure to plan

effectively

The simple definition of planning is- the process of detailing in advance how resources

will be organised to accomplish a specific outcome. It involves determining and agreeing

what is to be done, followed by assessing the resources that will be required (i.e. money,

people, equipment, time etc) and how they will be organised ad used to accomplish the

overall agreed objectives and goals.

To plan effectively, managers must :

1. Define the specific task to be accomplished- for example delivery of client training

programmes on-site

2. Be clear about the purpose and objectives of the task- why is the task to be done?

What evidence will be acceptable that you have succeeded? For example the

critical measurable difference between performance now and expected

performance in the future- reduction in the number of complaints by 50% in six

months.

3. Set time line by which the task is to be accomplished.

4. Specify the resources that are available and what is needed so that gaps can be

addressed. If less resources is available than what is needed it is more than likely

more time will be needed to achieve the tasks and or the objectives.

5. Assess the situation that they operate in. What is the environment like. Who are

the stakeholders. How are they affected? What do they want? What is their power

of influence? What are the rules and procedures to comply with? What are the

cultural norms?





26

6. Agree standards that should be achieved. Standards are the key targets to be

accomplished.

7. Communicate to staff that will be involved in work organisation, allocate work to

them, set clear control system in place and monitor progress as well as solve

problems.

8. Set time to review and evaluate actual performance against standards and if

agreed standards are not met, take corrective action.

Planning involves being structured and methodical. It involves looking at the programme

of work to be done holistically. As a new manager, you need to ensure time is set aside

for proper planning. Making judgements on how work is allocated to staff is also

important bearing in mind their skills set, motivation, current workload and other factors.

We will look at motivation theory later. What is important at this stage is that you as a

manager should be aware of the different steps for effective planning as well as the need

to spend sufficient time in each step.

The Work Breakdown Structure Model

A work breakdown structure is a results-oriented family tree that captures all the work of

a project in an organised way- e.g. you are task with producing management reports each

month (that is the task or project you have to fulfil. It is often portrayed graphically as a

hierarchical tree, however, it can be a tabular list of element categories and tasks.





27

Of course it is one thing to plan, it is quite another thing to execute the plan. One of the

challenge of management is getting things done, which calls for many other skills such as

ability to prioritise, delegate to other, manage time and make effective decisions. For

now let look at a simple approach for planning what tasks to execute first in your daily

work life.

As a manager you want to ensure you make a judgement on your workload and

segmentalise them into four categories:

◉ Urgent and Important

◉ Urgent but not important

◉ Important but not urgent

◉ Not important and not urgent





28

Urgent tasks are those that have to be done against a particular timeline. The timeline

will be dictated by statute or agreement with a third party or even policy driven.

Important tasks are those that are critical to the overall goals and objectives of the team

or organisation. They have direct impact on the top line or bottom line results of the

organisation. Failure to complete them will affect the business performance negatively.

There is no hard and fast rule to describe these types of activities; you as a manager must

make a judgement call.

The general approach is to allocate more time to the 'Urgent And Important Task' which

are to be treated as 'Priority A Tasks', followed by the Priority B Tasks which are 'Urgent

But Not Important'. Priority C Tasks are 'Important But No Urgent', followed by 'Priority

D Tasks' which are 'No Important And Not Urgent'. Of course, having set the priority, you

still need to assess the required time for each tasks to be completed s that you can make

informed decision on how work is to be delegated to others as well as what proportion of

the overall team activities you as a manager should be involved in.





29

Mistake Five-Undervaluing the importance of staff

motivation for high performance

People are the most invaluable assets in any organisation but their value can be

diminished over time if careful strategies are not put in place to ensure they remain

committed and loyal to their employment. Unlike other forms of business assets such as

equipment and machineries that depreciate with time, human assets appreciate with

time as they evolved into a more intelligent beings. To that effective, a manager's role is

to ensure it subordinates are motivated and inspired to work effectively to meet the

overall goals of the organisation. So what is motivation.

Motivation can be described as the state of mind that drives individuals to take action.

Victor Vroom a professor of Yale University developed a theory of motivation that says

the extent to which a person performs in their job is directly related to both their ability

and motivation. This means that when one or both of these factors are missing,

performance will be weakened. A manager's role is to ensure that:

1. At any point in time, staff are suitably skilled and competent to perform the duties of

thei job. This means, ensuring they are supported through on-going staff development

programmes on the job or off the job.

2. At any point in time, staff are inspired to take corrective action to perform their duties

efficiently and effectively.

It is also true that a person's likelihood of achievement is dependent on their perception

of whether or not they can achieve the goals. This brings us to another formula that you

as a manager should be aware of:

Effective Performance = Ability of staff + Motivation + Perception of being successful.

If staff perceives that they will not be successful at performing their role, they will not be

able to achieve. Factors that affect their perception can vary tremendously and a

manager's relationship with staff can help boost a perception of success achievement or

not. This means that effective manager's should understand a wide range of factors that

impact on staff productive as well as the strategies that make for a high achievement. A

manager who is ignorant of their role to bring out the best out of their staff for the greater

good of the team and organisation, will be neglecting their duty of managing resources

effectively.





30

Individual's perception of the chances of success can be affected by:

1. Whether goals for their role were set jointly or not

2. Whether the feedback of their performance is balanced or not. Positive feedback

of successful behaviour on a regular basis inspires confidence and consistent

negative feedback on performance destroys confidence and instil a feeling of

doubts over one's ability to achieve.

3. How supportive the environment is or not.

4. The implication of making mistakes. An environment that fires staff for making

mistakes will discourage staff from thinking outside the box and playing safe in

known territory. This in turn damages creativity amongst staff.

Going back to motivation, lets us now look at some of theories supporting factors that

motivate staff to work productively.

First up, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory, states there are five levels of human needs

and at any point in time staff motivation will be directly influence by any one of the five

needs.

The lower needs are classed as:

1. Physiological needs - the need to stay alive- eat, sleep, drink and clothing. This is

the first need that humans must satisfy before any other need. Earning a living to

cover expenses to meet these needs motivate an individual to work productively.





31

2. Safety needs- the need to feel safe and secure. Again, staff will be motivated to

work productively to pay bills towards a home that meet their safety needs as they

define them. Similarly staff will be motivated to work in an environment that is

safe and secure to their health and general well being.

The first two needs are lower level needs that must be satisfied at all times before the

higher level needs are addressed.

3. Social needs- This is the need for love, to be a member of a group and feel

supported. Humans need to feel connected with others socially and feel

appreciated. They cannot be isolated from others and feel motivated. A work

environment that friendly and sociable is more likely to motivate staff than one

that is hostile and divisive.

4. Esteem needs - This is the need to feel worthy and respected. Staff need to be

valued and treated with respect and dignity. If this is not achieved in their

environment they will soon become distressed and moved where they will feel a

deep sense of respect and honour. In this regards, staff are motivated in

environment where respect, support and appreciation are shown towards them

and they are demotivated when such qualities are missing.

5. Self Actualisation Needs- This is the need to do the work we like. Ones the lower

level needs are met, individuals want to do what they like. They may want to travel

the world, spend more time with their love ones and family members, do more pet

jobs and hobby jobs and more. At this level, paying staff extra bonus for overtime,

is not an attractive option as they are more concerned with their higher level

needs.

Looking at Maslow Theory Of Motivation, it can be said that managers need to have a

clear insight where their staff are in the motivation ladder. Every staff needs and wants

will be different and a one size fit all approach will not work.

Another theory of motivation which is worth studying in your private time is that of

Herzberg Hygiene Theory.

We summarise it here.

Herzberg categorised motivation factors into two categories:





32

1. Hygiene Factors - these are lower level factors that wont directly motivate staff to

work harder but will clearly impact on their ability to work productively. They are

concern with work conditions such as general lighting, heating, ventilation, safety,

cleanliness, access to resources, salary, pension, job security, paid insurance,

vacation and holidays.

2. Motivational Factors- these are factors such as interesting and challenging work,

ability for staff to utilise their capabilities, opportunity to do meaningful work,

recognition for high achievement, sense of importance in the organisation, access

to information and involvement in decision making.

What this means is that managers should know their staff and develop a range of

motivational strategies to get staff to do more within their work time using their abilities.

Managers should ensure they acquaint themselves with a deep understanding of

motivational factors and inculcate them in their work practice.





33

Mistake Six- Taking poor decisions and exposing

organisation's resources

As part of managing resources in your organisation, you will be tasked with making

decisions and all good decision making follow the same process.

a) a)understand the process and goals clearly

b) create many possible solutions

c) collect all the conveniently available information about the probable outcome of

each course of action, see if there is a way of combining different options

d) weigh the pros and cons of each course of action and decide one that you can

commit to fully.

Another approach to decision making is as follows:

a. Define the problem- what is it? Why is it? When does it happen? How does

it manifest? What is the impact? Get as many perspectives to help out.





34

b. Understand the cause of the problem- using the 'WHY Technique' is always

a creative way to find out the root of a problem. A problem understood is

half solved.

c. Brainstorm creative solutions – explore alternative solutions for the

problem.

d. Evaluate the pros and cons- that is the costs versus the benefits and select

the option with the least costs to benefits.

e. Implement the Plan- Set out steps for implementation ensure you set

objectives, targets, resources to be used, milestones to accomplish and

deadline dates, monitoring systems to be used and evaluation criteria for

measuring success rate.

f. Review Performance - To ensure it meet the desired outcomes.

Using this framework calls for clear understanding of what the problem is. Failure to

define the problem correctly can lead to wrong decisions and wrong outcomes.

To define a problem correctly, you as a manager must learn how to silent your initial

perception of what you believe the problem is caused by and enter the situation with a

neutral mindset with intent to get to the root of the matter objectively. Only when the

root cause of a problem is known will the likelihood of reaching the correct decision be

reached. This means that you as a manager should learn the art of problem solving. One

great technique to learn is the 'WHY' Technique mentioned earlier. Here is how you use

'The WHY Technique'

Step 1- Define the problem as you see it. For instant, my department is currently

experiencing high level of customer complaints about lack of access to technical support

team and in some cases wrong advise being given to clients. This is a serious problem as

it affects customer retention and low customer retention means loss of income and

ongoing increase in marketing costs to drive up new customers all of which reduces

profitability and positive net cash flow. As you can see we have defined the problem

clearly.

Step 2- Here we ask the question; Why are customers not getting supports quickly? We

ask the question starting with 'Why'. This is so important. We do not ask, When, How or

Where. All the questions are 'Why' Related. . Hypothetically, the answer might be -

because we have very few staff in the customer support team. Another question might

be- Why do we have so many customers complaining?





35

Notice we are now trying to find out more about the root cause of the problem not just

the issue relating to why access to support is limited to the customers. Now we may have

answers such as, customers have said they do not understand some of the technicalities

of the products and need more training to operate the product. Another respond to this

same question could be- we are unclear about the reasons for the complaints and if that

was the case we need to survey customers to find out more before we can find the root

of the problem. We can move on and ask more 'Why' questions such as: Why do we have

reduced customer service support staff. The respond could be because we have limited

budgets or because we have very high staff turnover and only few of the staff really have

the technical knowledge to deal with most of the expert advice due to their length of

employment. We can ask another question about this such as ; Why do we have high staff

turnover?

By now you can begin to see a lot more is coming out using this approach of delving into

the root cause of a problem asking Why.

Step 3- After you have continued asking 'Why' the different layers of problems that unfold

exist, you will come to a point where you can no longer move any further. It is at this stage

you can define the problem clearly and correctly and understand the root causes or cause.

So taking our example forward, our problem can be defined as: High customer complains

due to:

3.1 - Un-user friendly technical manual .

3.2 - Reduced customer support staff with only few experienced staff to handle technical

questions and problems.

3.3 -High staff turnover due to poor recruitment practices or poor management of staff

etc.

In our decision making framework, we first define the problem and then understand the

cause of it. We have used the 'Why' technique to achieve this. The next step is to brain

storm creative solutions for the problem and evaluate the pros and cons. There are

different framework you can use to evaluate options. Lets now explore them.





36

Evaluating Options For Decision Making - Force Field Analysis by Kurt

Lewin

In this concept, we first determine the driving forces for the option we are evaluating. The

driving forces are the benefits that the options will confer to the organisation in terms of

improvement, cost savings, income generation and more. We have must ensure these

benefits are articulated clearly and translated into monetary value. After we have done

so, we should move on to defining the restraining forces which are the costs that the

options will confer to us in terms of loss income, risks, increase in costs and the like.

Provided the driving forces outweigh the restraining forces we will then select the option

that is acceptable which represents one with benefits that outweigh the costs.

We can now conclude the decision making technique by reviewing the next two stages:

1. Implementation plan

2. Review performance

The implementation plan stage involves setting out a definite plan to accomplish the

improved results and ensuring that a clear indicator for success is stated in the plan. The

review performance stage will involve comparing your outcomes with the planned

success indicators.





37

Mistake Seven-Not setting targets for your team

Let us turn our attention to the all important subject of setting team targets and,

individual staff targets to accomplish the team's goals. It is important that you are able

to do this to ensure your staff are clear about the vision of the team, as well as its mission.

It is critical for staff to understand how their work align to the team's goals and targets,

as well as their respective contributions to accomplish team targets. Your aim in setting

clear targets for your team is to ensure organisation's resources are effectively used to

meet business goals and, your managerial expertise are skills you can use to achieve this.

We have put together a simple template you can use to accomplish this outcome. We

ask that you refer to the template and answer the questions asked in the order we have

set them up. By the end of the questions you will be able to set out your team's targets

clearly, taking accounts of the organisation's corporate goals, as well as your staff targets.

Complete this exercise now.

Setting Your Team's Target

Template

What is the purpose of the organisation

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

What is the organisation's goals

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________





38

What is the purpose of your team - unless you know what this is no

amount of effort will help you put together your team's targets. Your team's targets are tied to its

purpose turnover

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now that you know why your team exists, as a leader how

do you see the team in the long term. What are your

aspirations for the team. E.g. to provide reports on time and to do so with zero

percentage complaints from users. The be best in class supplier of services to our customers externally or

internally. Think about your own organisation.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now set clear targets for the team using your information

about why it exist and your long term vision- Example- Monthly report

within two weeks from the end of the month; Respond to customers request within 72 hours; Process all transactions

within 5 days; Process suppliers' invoices within 48 hours of receiving them etc.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________





39

Looking at the job role and descriptions of staff you

manage, taking account of the team's vision and targets,

specify clear targets for each staff. The targets of staff must be linked

closely to the team's targets as the job role is designed to accomplish team targets. Ensure the targets

are clear. They must be specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound. For each target ask yourself

whether it is specific (clear and easy to understand). Then ask how you will measure the target to collate

data to check it has been accomplished. Then ensure each target is realistic and achievable. Finally all

target must have clear timeline or deadline for their accomplishment. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________





40

Conclusion

We have now come to the end of this book. We hope you have learnt some of the

essential management techniques as a new manager or aspiring manager. You can

contact us to take one of our management courses online, on-site or as part of our open

programmes. We offer training courses in leadership, business management and supply

chain management.

For more information about us visit our website at

http://www.businessservicessupport.com






41

About The Author

Sheila is a business management trainer and financial

consultant mainly assisting businesses with the development

of their business plans, as well as business management skills.

She has helped numerous businesses raised finance from

main stream banks and government subsidised programmes

and have worked as part of the broker scheme for Barclays

Bank and Lloyds TSB Bank.

Sheila works with associates to deliver specialist training

courses in finance and financial management including

procurement, leadership and business management skills.

She has trained thousands of directors and managers over the years, helping them

develop their business planning skills, as well as finance and general management

principles. She develops quality training packages for small businesses to access

professional management skills with which to develop their business operations.

Sheila has over 25 years experience in professional business management and leadership

skills and over the years has held a number of high public profile "Non Executive Director"

positions. She is a qualified professional accountant and a fellow of the Chartered

Association of Certified Accountants (FCCA), with a Masters in Business Administration

(MBA), as well as a Bachelors degree (Bsc Econ Hons). Sheila holds a Chartered Institute

of Purchasing and Supply Diploma Certificate and a Diploma in E U Public Sector

Procurement. She is the author of personal development publications, some of which are

approved by high profile organisations such as the Institute of Leadership & Management

(ILM). Her book "My Business Is My Business", which is endorsed by top international New

York Bestselling Author Mark Victor Hansen is a great resource for those who want to

learn a set of well grounded business principles for effective business development and

growth and is accessible for free by members of the Business Support Solutions.

http://www.businessservicessupport.com/business-development.php

You can get access to the video of this book as well as financial templates such as cash

flow forecasting, profit and loss and balance sheet etc inside the member's area.


http://www.businessservicessupport.com/business-development.php

introduction to management for new managers -7mistakes 2 avoid

Documents