BOSSES TOLD TO CHANGE THEIR MINDSET

SHARED FROM

TheStar, Wednesday 20 November 2013

By P. Aruna

MEF: Those who work long hours not necessarily productive

 

Employers have been urged to rethink the way they view employee productivity by looking at their achievements and not the numbers of hours spent in the office.  Citing the lack of trust as the main reason most Malaysian employers did not allow flexible work arrangements, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan said this mind-set has to change.

Employees who spent long hours at the office were not necessarily productive.  Companies that practiced flexible work arrangements, including allowing employees to work from home, had found improved work quality and commitment and reduced stress level among its workers.  Most Malaysian companies are not ready and nit interested in implementing flexible working arrangement yet.  They are very traditional in their set up.  Work still means being away from home and being at work environment for 8 to 10 hours a day.

A mind-set change is needed among employers, who need to trust their employees enough to allow them to work from home.  The employees need to be responsible and not to misuse the freedom given to them.  It might not be possible to develop that trust within a year, but if done in stages, it is possible.

In a survey conducted on 199 companies last year, only 28.1% of them were found to be promoting work-life balance policies.  Most of the companies are multinational corporations.

9.3 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Dealing with Poor Performance

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Performance Management at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

To figure out what's causing the performance issue, you have to get to the root of the problem.  Because employee performance affects organizational performance, we tend to want to look for a quick fix.  These types of solutions focus largely on the ability of the person performing the job.  Performance, though, is a function of both ability and motivation.

Performance = Ability x Motivation

Where:

Ability is the person's aptitude, as well as the training and resources supplied by the organization.

Motivation is the product of desire and commitment.

Before you can fix poor performance, you have to understand its cause. Does it come from lack of ability or low motivation?  Incorrect diagnoses can lead to lots of problems later on.

Increasing Personal Accountability

Conducting a performance interview and providing feedback are only the start.  It's not enough to simply tell employee what you expect them to do, and then place the sole responsibility for follow-through on their shoulders.  Performance management takes more of a team approach – the person who's doing the work needs to feel supported and encouraged for the duration of the process, just as he or she needs to feel personally held to account for the outcome.

9.2 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Getting Real Results From Performance Reviews

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Performance Management at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

Performance appraisals are a dreaded meeting where you have to tell your people what you really think of them.  People’s performance is critical to an organization's success.  We often fail to monitor their progress on a regular basis.

For most organizations, people genuinely are "their most important assets".  You need to look after your people if you want to get the best from them.

Benefits of conducting regular performance appraisals

Detect and eliminate barriers to effective performance. Pick up dissatisfactions that would otherwise lead people to leave. Focus people's efforts in the right direction. Motivate people to work towards important goals. Help them develop skills and competencies necessary to achieve future objectives. Celebrate their successes.

Purpose of Performance Appraisals

Traditionally, top-down, subjective judgments of an employee's performance

can help to build an open, positive, collaborative relationship between individuals and their managers

provide a useful forum for giving feedback about what has gone well, or not so well

"punctuation points," where you can look back together at progress towards existing goals, discuss and solve any related problems, and celebrate particular achievements

9.1 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Linking Activities to Vision and Strategy

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Performance Management at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

Managers talk a lot about employee performance.  There's constant pressure to achieve performance targets, to reach higher performance levels, and to ensure that people's work supports and furthers the organization's goals.  Performance management is the process used to manage this performance.

Traditionally, managers look for hard data to tell how well an employee has performed his or her duties through performance evaluation process.  The part about making sure that the employee is doing the right thing, however, is missing from this evaluation.  This is where the key performance indicator comes to play.  A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable metric that reflects how well an organization is achieving its stated goals and objectives.

While it is important for organizations to choose the correct KPIs for business performance, it is equally useful if managers and employees define KPIs for members of their teams.  This helps people work in such a way that their activities are aligned with corporate strategy.

What is measured gets done

Part of performance management is setting goals with members of your team.  This may be done within the formal appraisal process.

 

Aligning Objectives With Organizational Goals

We're often reminded about the corporate mission statement, we have strategy meetings where the "big picture" is revealed to us, and we're even invited to participate in some business decisions.  We're also kept aware of how our day-to-day activities contribute to corporate goals.  This type of managing is called Management by Objectives (MBO), a system that seeks to align employees' objectives with the organization's goals.

MBO
Advantages	Disadvantages
team members are clear about their work and how it benefits the whole	can be challenging and lengthy to implement
makes a clear link between individual effort and the organization's mission	needs the organization's full commitment
	needs an underlying system for tracking goals and performance
	goal transmission can be slow

8.10 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Providing an Inspiring Place to Work

(EXTRACTION FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Rewarding And Engaging People at http://www.mindtools.com)

When your work space is inviting, energizing, and fun, it's easy for people to bring their "hearts and souls" to work.  They're more engaged, inspired, productive, and committed.  Creating an energizing work environment can benefit almost all groups of professionals, especially knowledge workers and those doing creative work.  An energized work environment includes:

·        office layout and color.

·        quality of people's relationships

·        organizational culture

·        leadership

 

Finding Deeper Meaning in a Job

Your job exists for a reason.  On an individual level, people who understand their job's wider purpose are happier, more engaged, and more creative.  It's essential to realize that every job provides a service to someone else.

Helping Your Team Find Purpose

Write a Meaningful Mission Statement ·        identify customers' needs ·        the ways in which the organization will meet them ·        how success will be measured

Link Personal Drivers With Team or Organizational Goals ·        help them understand what really drives them ·        encourage each team member to reflect on how they can connect their motivations with the goals of the organization ·        link your team members' personal goals to those of your organization

Uncover Strengths ·        Encourage team members to explore their strengths ·        uncover the tasks and responsibilities that bring them the greatest happiness and

Build a Positive Work Environment ·        positive working environment brings out the best in everyone ·        give your team the chance to be the best that they can be ·        help people build good work relationships ·        encourage them to socialize before meetings, or outside work ·        Give people more autonomy over their work ·        provide learning and career development opportunities ·        Promote values such as integrity, honesty, and humility by praising employees who demonstrate them

Use Feedback to Boost Positivity ·        Positive feedback is a highly effective motivator ·        Provide regular feedback ·        share stories from customers or clients that show how your team is making a positive difference

8.9 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Helping People Take Responsibility

(EXTRACTION FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Rewarding And Engaging People at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

People duck responsibility for reasons ranging from simple laziness or a fear of failure, through to a sense of feeling overwhelmed by the scale of a problem or a situation.  if people fail to take responsibility, they'll fail in their jobs, they'll fail their teams, and they'll fail to grow as individuals.

Signs and Symptoms

Lacking interest in their work, and in the well-being of the team.

Blaming others for mistakes and failures.

Missing deadlines.

Avoiding challenging tasks and projects; and not taking risks.

Regularly complaining about unfair treatment by team leaders and team members – and engaging in self-pity.

Avoiding taking initiative, and being dependent on others for work, advice, and instructions.

Lacking trust in team members and leaders.

Making excuses regularly – they may often say "It's not my fault," or, "That's unfair."

The aim should be to provide your people with the skills and resources needed to do their jobs, and then to create an environment where it's easy for them to take responsibility for their decisions and actions.  Sometimes you'll need to be firm and courageous, and sometimes your actions will cause conflict.

STRATEGIES AND TOOLS

Start by Talking ·        talk to the individuals concerned ·        Find out the circumstances that are contributing to the situation ·        provide feedback so that the individuals know that their behavior needs to change ·        may need to provide appropriate support

Ensure Adequate Resources ·        ensure that your people have the resources they need to do their job ·        might include providing training, equipment, access to mentors and coaches

Communicate Roles, Responsibilities, and Objectives ·        have an up-to-date job description for each team member ·        be as detailed as possible about every responsibility that they have ·        keep assignments and responsibilities clear ·        define everyone's roles and responsibilities within the team ·        make sure they understand how their work ties into the larger goals of the organization ·        Highlight the importance of what they're doing ·        paint a picture that details the unpleasant direct and indirect consequences - See more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/taking-responsibility.htm#sthash.iVjISYz6.dpuf

Re-Engage People ·        take responsibility for your actions ·        lead your people down the path towards personal responsibility ·        aligns work with their values ·        Take some time to discover their strengths and weaknesses ·        analyze whether or not they're using their strengths

Help People Take Control ·        determine team members Locus of Control so that you can determine where they fall on this spectrum ·        external locus of control o   Set modest goals o   achieve some quick wins o   help them build their self-confidence o   remind them of their strengths and past successes o   teach them to think positively

Don't Micromanage ·        learn the art of delegation ·        avoid micromanagement ·        Give your people the freedom they need to make their own decisions ·        be ready to guide them in the right direction if required

Give Plenty of Praise ·        give plenty of praise when people do take responsibility ·        help them improve by providing them with consistent, effective, fair feedback

8.8 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Turning Negative Back to Positive

(EXTRACTION FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Rewarding And Engaging People at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

Disengaged people exist in all types of businesses.  They don't care about the company, they probably don't like their jobs, and they send negative signals everywhere they go.  Disengaged people are like poison.  They don't perform their own jobs well.  They have a bad influence on your other staff.  It's typically a process that happens over time, as employee and employer expectations grow further and further apart.

Back in the '70s and '80s, Japanese organizations were arguably the most productive and efficient in the world.  The secret to their success was how they were managing their people.  Japanese employees were engaged, empowered, and highly productive.  Management professor William Ouchi argued that Western organizations could learn from their Japanese counterparts. He created Theory Z – a model that, he said, blended the best of Eastern and Western management practices.  Ouchi first wrote about Theory Z in his 1981 book, "Theory Z: How American Management Can Meet the Japanese Challenge”.

For Ouchi, Theory Z focused on increasing employee loyalty to the company by providing a job for life with a strong focus on the well-being of the employee, both on and off the job.  According to Ouchi, Theory Z management tends to promote stable employment, high productivity, and high employee morale and satisfaction.  William Ouchi doesn't say that the Japanese culture for business is necessarily the best strategy for the American companies.  He takes Japanese business techniques and adapts them to the American corporate environment.

The most important pieces of this theory is:

·        management must have a high degree of confidence in its workers

·        assumes that workers will be participating in the decisions of the company to a great degree

·        employees must be very knowledgeable about the various issues of the company

·        employees possessing the competence to make those decisions

·        the need for the workers to become generalists, rather than specialists

·        to increase their knowledge of the company and its processes through job rotations and constant training

·        develop a work force, which has more of a loyalty towards staying with the company for an entire career

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICAN AND JAPENESE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS	JAPENESE ORGANIZATION
Short-term employment	Lifetime employment
Rapid evaluation and promotion	Slow evaluation and promotion
Specialized career path	Non specialized career path
Individual decision making	Collective decision making
Individual responsibility	Collective responsibility
Explicit control mechanism	Implicit control mechanism
Segmented concern for employee as employee	Holistic concern for employee as a person

 

Theory Z of Ouchi believes that people are innately self-motivated to do their work, loyal towards the company and want to make the company succeed.  The theory Z managers would have to have a great deal of trust that their workers could make sound decisions.  This type of leader is more likely to act as ‘coach’ and let the workers make most of the decision.

The manager’s ability to exercise power and authority comes from the worker’s trusting the management to take care of them and allow them to do their jobs.  The workers have a great deal of input and weight in the decision making process.  Conflict in the Theory Z would involve a great deal of discussion, collaboration, and negotiation.  The workers would be the ones solving the conflicts, while the managers would play more of a third party arbitrator role.