People Problem Facing Managers Today

Description: Preferred language style: English (U.S.).  What do you think is the single most critical “people” problem facing managers today?  Give specific support for your position – use “real” examples where applicable.

One of the main ‘people’ problems faced by managers today is to enable them to meet the organizational demands in terms of flexibility, innovativeness, creativity and a strategy from the staff members.  This problem mainly arises from incompetence and poor motivation of the staff members.  The various factors that could be held responsible for poor motivation and incompetence of the staff members include:-

• The management style utilized – e.g. more common in an authorative leadership style. The staff members would not be allowed to take part in the decision making processes.  It is always found that the outcome is better when a democratic management style is implemented in general situations.  The staff members should be given an opportunity to take part in the decision-making processes in the organization.  The other management styles may be applicable only in certain situations which require careful judgment.
• The organizational culture prevailing – An organizational culture could help motivate or de-motivate the staff members. A poor organizational culture would lead to greater amount of human resource problems.  In a competitive environment, the staff members are more likely to express creativity and innovativeness.
• Frequent conflicts between the staff members and also other units – If the relationship between the staff members or the staff members and the management is not appropriate, then a lot of conflicts could affect the workflow. The staff members could really get de-motivated from such situations.
• Very difficult targets to meet – The targets in the organization should be realistic and achievable. The staff members should consider ways of achieving such targets.  If the targets cannot be achieved, then the staff members are at a high risk of getting de-motivated and disinterested in the workflow.
• Lack of training and orientation – If the staff members are not properly trained or oriented towards performing their functions in the organization, then there would be greater chances that they would not be having the skills and the knowledge to perform their tasks, resulting in incompetence. It may be very difficult to motivate such staff members.
• Inability to meet their career growth demands – The organization should not only consider its own growth, but also the career growth of each and every staff member. For example, if a staff member is not allowed to grow and develop, and the organization itself is growing and developing, there is a high risk that the staff member would get de-motivated and disinterested in the work.
• Problems that exist in communication with one another in the organization – A communication problem could exist both in an intra-cultural environment and an inter-cultural environment. People often have to select a second or a third language for communication at the workplace, which may be very difficult to bring out a creative and an innovative expression.  Many people that function at the workplace may use slangs and idioms, which can create a lot of confusion.  A cross-cultural environment may be very stressful compared to an intra-cultural environment due to the adjustments that have adopted at the workplace.  In people who belong to the same culture, a lot of unwritten rules are followed and the adaptability to one another is much better than in a cross-cultural environment.  Hence, the workflow would be better and problems-solving processes are streamlined.  It is found that the chances of unintentional insults and conflicts are higher in a cross-cultural environment.  People who are working in a new nation have the additional task of coping with issues in the new nation.  Due to these cultural barriers, people may not be motivated to perform better at work, which could sometimes be a nightmare for the managers.

References:

Blair, G. M. (2008). “The Human Factor.” Retrieved on April 30, 2008, from SEE Web site: http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art6.html

David, F. R. (2006). “Strategic Management.” ISBN:7302126801 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=nXDmI6fVcg8C&dq=people%E2%80%9D+problem+facing+managers+today&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0