Behavior exhibited by managers

¶ … Management behavior

The management

Re: Managerial behavior

A manager's behavior can affect the productivity of his or her workers.

A manager needs to have a positive attitude about the duties of the company, even during difficult times such as the ones we currently face at InterClean. If the manager has a dismissive or cynical attitude about the organization's mission and goals, employees will be less productive and enthusiastic. If the manager does not seem to care and is lax in his or her duties, then employees will feel silly if they act as if they believe in the company and will be more likely use the company and their position merely to further their own ends. Managers must put the company first and their own ambitions second, if they wish employees to do the same.

Dedication and selflessness builds trust. When the company must make tough decisions about letting workers go, employees must believe that mangers are doing this for the good of the corporation, not merely to save money for large upper-level managerial bonuses.

Another problem regarding morale is if the manager verbally endorses the organization and its ideals, but does not live up to them in his or her own actions. A manager who enthusiastically enforces the organization's demand for promptness but is consistently late is a good example of this type of behavior, or a manager often seen 'goofing off' who expects his employees to perform to a high standard. These managers will meet with passive or not-so passive resistance because of his hypocritical yet autocratic behavior. Employees will slow down, and resist with a policy of sublimated anger. Management cannot view employees as hostile entities and spy on them -- it must honor the fact that willing employees are what make a company work smoothly. As the company is changing its product, sales orientation, and general composition, workers must feel motivated to excel to their maximum potential and must feel aligned with management. Finally, to counteract allegations of hypocrisy, managers cannot receive large bonuses or many costly perks when the rest of the company is cutting workers and practicing austerity measures.

Perhaps the most toxic type of manager is the manager who plays favorites, based upon his or her own personal preferences. This will make every cutback made by the manager seem suspicious. But almost as bad is a manager who does not reward excellence with recognition. An organization must have an effective performance review process that can advance employees who can be of use to the company because of their creativity and dedication. High quality employees are honest employees, and management must reward employees with honesty, even when the truths it must tell are harsh, as in the case of layoffs at InterClean. Now that InterClean has created a new product outlook, part of its restructuring should involve a creating a reformed performance review system that truly rewards top employees.

Describe the types of management action that align with employment laws and those that do not.

The InterClean Corporation is attempting to reformulate its product package and sales approach in light of its upcoming merger, which will require a new organizational structure and likely a different type of employee profile. As its employees are hired 'at will' the company is free to let go any employees it chooses, within the parameters of staff contracts. However, keeping a watch over employees by surreptitiously observing their conversations is unacceptable. Hiring and firing must be based upon merit, as demonstrated in documented performance reviews and seniority. Also, firings should not seem biased against entire demographic groups of workers such as the non-white or female, or be constructed to unfairly discriminate against particular categories of persons, based upon their age or disability status, unless certain characteristics are necessary for the employment. For example, it would look suspicious and could potentially lead to legal 'hot water' if the company only cut highly paid, older staff members who were about to leave the company and receive their full pensions but only hiring individuals with certain physical skills to do backbreaking custodial work would not be illegal.

Describe best practices for working within a diverse work environment.