Managing people in organisations
Effective management of people within an organisation is essential if the objectives of the organisation are to be achieved. People represent the single most important resource of the organisation and their needs must be understood and respected.
Culture and the organisation
What is culture? What do you associate with culture? Perhaps art and music, perhaps values and beliefs, language and communication, behaviour – in fact, culture is a collection of all of these things. Terpstra and David (1991) define culture as ‘a learned, shared, interrelated set of symbols which unite and identify members of a society’.
Developing personal skills
The manager working in a modern organisation needs a wide range of skills. The manager needs to be able to work with people. This may involve a very wide range of skills in communication, leadership, encouraging teamwork, listening, and so on.
During a typical day a manager is likely to encourage team members, tell them about a change in their future work or conditions, take part in a formal meeting, have an informal conversation at the water cooler or coffee machine, study a strategy planned by senior management, send e-mails to customers or suppliers, and search the Web.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to decide on what we mean by ‘the right action’. For example, think of the company that produces excessive amounts of waste in its factory. Closing the factory will harm the employees and shareholders, and will reduce the amount of money available in the local community. Keeping it open without reducing waste will damage the environment for local people and for future generations.
The people in an organisation determine whether the organisation is successful or not. Think for a moment about any organisation – in doing this you will also be thinking about people. Every organisation has people within it, and the success of the organisation is largely due to those people.
Strategic human resource management
Human Resource Management is the management of a key resource in the organisation – people. Without people there is a limit to what the organisation can achieve. The machines cannot operate without people to work them (even if they are automatic machines there needs to be a person who programmes them). The raw materials need to be turned into something that can be sold: this requires people. The computers need people to operate them.
High performance teams
In a world of change, uncertainty and complexity, high performance in an organisation requires a blend of diverse skills and experiences. Organisations recognise that this blend is best achieved through team working.
Good leadership is essential for success in any organisation, whether private or public sector. Today, rapid change, in the form of a constantly changing competitive environment, innovations in technology and changing economic conditions, have led to the realisation that leadership is a skill to be developed.
Motivating and influencing people
Think about two teams carrying out the same activity. Their manager may ask how a series of tasks will be completed to create a product or service. The manager can plan how the work will be done, make sure that the teams have all the right materials, explain everyone’s tasks and deadlines, and measure progress once they get started. However, the two teams will almost certainly not work at the same speed, not create output of the same quality, nor show the same attitude to their work.
Usimamizi wa watu katika mashirika Usimamizi mzuri wa watu ndani ya shirika ni muhimu ikiwa malengo ya shirika yanapaswa kupatikana. Watu ni rasilimali muhimu zaidi ya shirika na mahitaji yao lazima ieleweke na kuheshimiwa. Utamaduni na shirika Utamaduni ni nini? Unaunganisha nini na utamaduni? Labda sanaa na muziki, labda maadili na imani, lugha na mawasiliano, tabia - kwa kweli, utamaduni ni mkusanyiko wa mambo haya yote. Terpstra na David (1991) hufafanua utamaduni kama "mkusanyiko wa alama zilizofundishwa, zilizoshirikiwa, zinazohusiana ambazo zinaunganisha na kutambua wanachama wa jamii". Kukuza ujuzi wa kibinafsi Meneja anayefanya kazi katika shirika la kisasa anahitaji ujuzi mbalimbali. Meneja anahitaji kuwa na uwezo wa kufanya kazi na watu. Hii inaweza kuhusisha mbalimbali sana ya ujuzi katika mawasiliano, uongozi, kuhamasisha kazi ya timu, kusikiliza, na kadhalika. Katika siku ya kawaida, meneja anaweza kuwapa moyo wanachama wa timu, kuwaambia juu ya mabadiliko katika kazi yao ya baadaye au hali, kushiriki katika mkutano rasmi, kuwa na mazungumzo yasiyo rasmi kwenye mashine ya maji au kahawa, kusoma mkakati uliopangwa na usimamizi wa juu, kutuma barua pepe kwa wateja au wauzaji, na kutafuta mtandao. Kwa bahati mbaya, si rahisi daima kuamua nini tunamaanisha na "hatua sahihi". Kwa mfano, fikiria kampuni inayotokeza taka nyingi sana katika kiwanda chake. Kufunga kiwanda hicho kutawaumiza wafanyakazi na wanahisa, na itapunguza kiasi cha pesa zinazopatikana katika jamii ya eneo hilo. Kuifanya iwe wazi bila kupunguza taka itaharibu mazingira kwa watu wa eneo hilo na kwa vizazi vijavyo. Watu katika shirika huamua kama shirika linafanikiwa au la. Fikiria kwa muda kuhusu shirika lolote <unk> katika kufanya hivyo utakuwa pia kufikiri kuhusu watu. Kila shirika lina watu ndani yake, na mafanikio ya shirika ni kwa kiasi kikubwa kutokana na watu hao. Mkakati wa usimamizi wa rasilimali za binadamu Usimamizi wa rasilimali za binadamu ni usimamizi wa rasilimali muhimu katika shirika <unk> watu. Bila watu kuna kikomo cha kile shirika linachoweza kufikia. Mashine haziwezi kufanya kazi bila watu kuifanya kazi (hata kama ni mashine za moja kwa moja kuna haja ya mtu ambaye programu yao). Vifaa vya mbinu zinahitaji kubadilishwa kuwa kitu kinachoweza kuuzwa: hii inahitaji watu. Kompyuta zinahitaji watu ili ziendeshwe. Timu za utendaji wa juu Katika ulimwengu wa mabadiliko, kutokuwa na uhakika na utata, utendaji wa juu katika shirika inahitaji mchanganyiko wa ujuzi na uzoefu mbalimbali. Mashirika kutambua kwamba mchanganyiko huu ni bora kupatikana kwa njia ya kazi ya timu. Uongozi mzuri ni muhimu kwa mafanikio katika shirika lolote, iwe sekta binafsi au umma. Leo, mabadiliko ya haraka, katika aina ya mazingira ya ushindani yanayobadilika daima, uvumbuzi katika teknolojia na mabadiliko ya hali ya kiuchumi, yameongoza kwa utambuzi kwamba uongozi ni ujuzi wa kuendeleza. Kichocheo na ushawishi wa watu Fikiria timu mbili zinazofanya shughuli ileile. Meneja wao anaweza kuuliza jinsi mfululizo wa kazi utakaokamilika ili kuunda bidhaa au huduma. Msimamizi anaweza kupanga jinsi kazi itafanywa, kuhakikisha kwamba timu zina vifaa vyote sahihi, kuelezea kazi za kila mtu na tarehe za mwisho, na kupima maendeleo mara tu wanapanza. Hata hivyo, timu hizo mbili hazitafanya kazi kwa kasi sawa, hazitaunda matokeo ya ubora sawa, wala hazitaonyesha mtazamo sawa kwa kazi yao.