Factors Contributing to the Changing Work Environments - Coursework Example

Name Course Tutor Date Introduction A working environment refers to a specific place whereby someone works. This can either be in a cube, an office building, a truck or even at a given construction site. A work environment on several occasions requires a job and his means that work has to be done in a given place. Managers in the modern and developed organizations mainly need to adapt to the changes that generally keep their own organization on track. There are however considerable challenges that these managers face when attempting to deal with a changing environment. This essay therefore analyzes these problems by looking into the factors contributing to the rapidly changing working environments. It also looks into the relevance of the theories on management to the changing organizations as well as the different types of challenges faced by these managers. It is generally about the change in an organization as well as how managers overcome the challenges of these changes. Factors Contributing to the Changing Work Environments Managers have a lot of says on the working environment provided to the employers. Creating a positive and excellent working environment where the workers enjoy coming to work is indispensable for the managers. If some factors are not followed properly, workers can change their places of work. Encouraging staff to find as well as utilize their talents is noteworthy. This is a significant factor in keeping employees mainly the ones who do not perform to the managers’ expectations. Some workers can be challenged or bored in their respective positions. In order to avoid this, the managers can even move them to different positions within the organization or company. To prevent change among the workers the managers can move them to sections with more interest to them as well as places that can develop their skills. This also includes transitioning the workers’ lives as well as enrolling them in education programs to develop them1. A hostile working environment exists often when a given worker or employee experiences harassment as well as fears working. This is mainly because of the intimidating, offensive as well as oppressive environment generated by harassers. This factor causes rapid change in a working environment. This type of environment can on other instances be created when a given management behaves in a manner often designed to make an employee to quit work in retaliation. This is for example if a given employee reports violations at work, caused trouble with management or had injuries. The responses of a given management on most occasions cause the employees to quit mainly because of pressure. Inappropriate disciplinary is also a factor that causes rapid change in a working environment. Reduced working hours as well as wages also lead to changing in the working environment2. Change will always be that inevitable part of life. For most people however, change as well as adversity proves to be tough traversing paths. In the workplace, challenges can abruptly alter someone’s lifestyle and career. Employees on several occasions fear losing their work or even getting transferred to other unfamiliar positions. Little control in the workplace triggers higher tension, job stress as well as uncertainty anger. It is therefore crucial to be effective in the workplace. This means not resisting any change and not fearing. It is also beneficial to overcome challenges and empowering employees. Employees become empowered with the necessary skills that catalyze better and successful organizational performance. Technological changes can also cause change in the working environment. The introduction of new technologies used in the workplace requires employees to be on the fast track. Embracing technology and change is therefore necessary. Greater opportunities always shine on the people and organizations that often respond quickly. Customers on the other hand value high speed when being attended to. Generally, factors contributing to a rapidly changing working environment range from positive to negative factors. The manager as stated above has every right to ensure the comfortable nature of the workers. They should also ensure their availability in ensuring that they adapt to any new developments in the organization as well as any changes in technology. This will ensure that the workers feel comfortable and well adapted to their new working environments3. There are previous theories of management. There is also a way in which these theories relate with the rapidly changing working environment. These include the scientific management theory, the behavioral school and management science as well as classical organization theory. Scientific management theory, also referred to as Taylorism is a previous form of management theory. It mainly organized developed and synthesized workflows with the main objective of improving efficiency at work. It also ensured the promotion of labor productivity. This theory ensures that there is a replacement of working rules by use of a rule of thumb. This ensures that someone uses commonsense and uncluttered habit when working instead of being under scrutiny and following from time to time. Instead of using laid down rules and regulations in a rapidly changing working environment, employees need to use their common sense and ensure that things run smoothly. This theory mainly deals with the management. Assigning workers to any job or matching any worker with any job must be based on the employees’ motivation and capability. Training of the workers also has to be with highly efficient programs to ensure high and maximized development as well as high quality work. Monitoring the work performance by the management is also mandatory. The provision of instructions as well as supervisions ensures that the workers use highly efficient methods of working. There should also be an allocation of work between the workers and the managers. This ensures that the management especially the managers spend most of their time training and planning. It also ensures that they allow the workers to be able to perform their tasks well and efficiently4. Behavioral science approach on the other hand focuses on behavior, attitudes as well as performance of groups and individuals in an organization. Behavioral scientists mainly brought two new aspects towards the study of management. This shows how related it is to the rapidly changing working environment. They mainly gave a complex view of the human beings as well as their motives and needs. This is for example Abraham Maslows importance on the self-actualization importance and need for human beings. Another aspect is the use of scientific methods in studying group behaviors in companies and organizations. The assumptions or rather the relations come in the sense that organizations and companies are generally socio-technical systems. The management therefore has to ensure that there is integration between the two systems. In the rapidly changing working environment, there are a lot of technological developments and therefore the management needs to ensure that there is a clear integration between the two fields. There is also the aspect of interpersonal and work behavior. Interpersonal and work behavior in a given organization is often under the influence of many factors. If the employees get no satisfaction at all then rebellion and retaliating in the workplace occurs. Employees also develop motivation by their psychological, social as well as physiological needs. Different people contain different attitudes, perceptions, values and needs. These differences therefore must be found as well as addressed by the management. Conflicts that are unavoidable in an organization must be dealt with by the management. The organizational goals and personal goals also need conjoining in order for them to work together in a better manner. These show the relation between the behavior management and science approach and the rapidly changing working environment5. An organizational theory mainly attempts to give explanations on the workings of a given organization. This is mainly aimed at producing appreciation and understanding of the organization. The classical organizational theory mainly draws from bodies of disciplines, knowledge as well as development. This theory combines all the aspects of management in science, administrative theory and bureaucratic theory. Scientific management involves mainly obtaining optimal tools and equipment as well as personnel. After acquiring such, there is the careful scrutinizing of the components of production process. This relates to the developing and rapidly changing working environment. In current organizations, there is proper scrutiny of personnel as well as their development mainly in the education sector in order to profit the organization. Bureaucratic theory on the other hand places the importance of establishing hierarchical power structure. An establishment of hierarchical power ensures that the management is highly respected by the employees. It also enables the rules and the regulations become followed to the latter. Disciplinary measures can be also followed to the latter. Administrative theory on the other hand strives towards the establishment of universal principles of management that are relevant to the organizations. Principles of management ensure that an organization runs smoothly without any problems or hindrances on the way. Management principles also ensure that a rapidly changing working environment pushes through6. Challenges Faced by Managers There are challenges faced by managers going through change in their various organizations. If these challenges do not become tackled with time then success in the organization cannot be tackled. One of the challenges is achievement of a stretch goal. Managing an organization experiencing change can cause obstacles sometimes. An organization is responsible for a cause for example supporting another organization or the performance of a given business process. These goals can sometimes have an association with objectives. If a manager’s organization is more aggressive than the goals to be achieved require more effort than the usual effort applied. Careful planning therefore is crucial for the managers. Adapting to change can be a challenge to the managers. This is mainly because change comes with more additional effort required as well as more input in enabling the organization to achieve success7. Bringing the singularly best out of the employees is another factor that the managers often work towards achieving it. This can be an obstacle to the managers especially if the organization is experiencing changes. Employees have both the bad and the bright days. Some of them can be adamant to change citing reasons best known to them. It is therefore a managers’ responsibility to treat each employee with utmost respect. Criticism must be done only in private however several managers fail to do it in private and therefore lose employees. Praise however has to be carried out before the coworkers. A manager must always help the employees towards realizing their work goals and personal goals. This can help to hasten the steps towards realizing change in an organization. Managers also fail to provide a suitable environment that is always appropriate and adaptive to any upcoming change. A environment has to be conducive for every employee without preference to others and looking down upon others8. Managers sometimes fail to foster cooperation and communication and this creates obstacles when experiencing change. This challenge can be tackled by enabling their employees to write down their challenges in adapting to any changes in the organization. Another challenge faced by managers is being able to deal with underperforming employees. Not all the employees perform equally. Some outperform the others. This is good for an organization but it also creates a set of challenges for the organization. The outstanding employees on several occasions require a specialized form of treatment. The outperforming employees also require recognition for their outstanding talents on several occasions as well as the efforts in which they put into their jobs. They also require training, encouragement and guidance often. The most noteworthy thing however, is that they need to understand their career path development in the company. This is even if this career path leads them outside the organization they currently work for. It is therefore the responsibility of the managers to ensure that the employees are highly comfortable in their departments otherwise an obstacle to the managers. Sometimes, managers face the obstacle of maintaining employees or enabling them to adapt to changes. These changes range from problems with implementation of new business procedures as well as technological problems. Managers also face the challenge of responding to crisis that arises due to implementation of change in the work environment. No matter the amount of time put into planning a given implementation of change, there has to be a wrong doing that occurs. An employee can get sick even during a unusually critical moment in the company. The weather can change and a given disruption can hit the facility and further disrupt the plans. Crimes committed sometimes also harm an employee in the due process. All this can create problems to not only the manager but to the management in general. Planning therefore has to be a extraordinarily crucial aspect of managing an organization. Without planning everything can end up failing. This therefore causes a waste of time and resources used in the organization. The most valuable aspect therefore for the manager is the ability to change and adapt to any changes in response to any changing conditions of the business. Managers must be on the lookout for any developments or any change that requires implementation because without looking out, the organization can experience failure9. Change in an organization sometimes requires a manager to hire new people who can tackle the new procedures implemented. Sometimes employees do not experience inner satisfaction working for a given organization and on most occasions quit work. This happens mainly when there is change in the working environment. The managers therefore go through several problems trying to hire other employees to fit into the vacant positions. The most trick involved in hiring new employees lies in understanding a given employee as well as how they perform at work. The change in the working environment often requires sharp employees and getting them only by interview means can be hectic10. Ways in which a Manager overcomes challenges For a manager to overcome the challenges at work, he or she needs to benefit from a given strategy model. The model enables executive actions and decisions to be made at all times concerning the development of the organization. Lack of a guidance models for the manager execution of a given project turns to a labyrinth. Managers also end up doing things themselves think are necessary. Execution of the most noteworthy aspect of the organization therefore experiences failure. This is because the manager fails to follow adequate steps towards achieving success to the organization. The first step therefore is ensuring that a logical model fully backed is under creation to help in any implementation of for example a business procedure at work11. Effective execution is also mandatory in ensuring that laid down strategies are followed to the latter. In order for a manager to overcome challenges there has to be proper resource allocations to each department, diversification as well as portfolio management. When all the departments work in unison the small problems can be eliminated without fail. A manager can also overcome challenges by ensuring that there is a successful implementation of change. This mainly works by an organizational assessment. This organizational assessment works towards determining customer satisfaction. It also works towards determining the customer’s internal structure and morale thereby ensuring customer’s satisfaction. A manager must first of all weigh change options as well as assessing the downside and the advantages. Major changes can push through once there has been an establishment of the primary benefits for all the stakeholders. Managers also need to be leaders in order to be able to handle any situation that arises. They also need to be developed and advanced in sectors concerning technology advances as well as re-engineering programs that lead to success in a company. Whenever there are significant changes implemented, the weak practices of management often surface and cause problems. A manager can therefore avoid such problems by ensuring that there is a proper communication channel between the management and the employees12. Conclusion Managers in the modern organizations and companies often experience changes that come with the technological advances in the world. These changes also come from other developments in various sectors or departments at work. These changes often require the whole organization to fully adapt to it as well as ensure that other organization’s procedures are on track. There are factors that contribute to rapid changes in working environment. These factors range from factors affecting employees to factors affecting managers that cause change in an organization. There are also relations between previous management theories to the changing organizations. This mainly looks into the relationship between these theories and how they affect change in the organizations. Challenges affecting managers while going through change range from challenges in implementing business procedures or other changes in the department. However, there are ways in which these changes can be overcome and the foremost being having a clear and logical plan that is written down by the management. 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