People Management as the Management of Their Culture - Coursework Example

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: THE ROLE OF MANAGERS IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Introduction The common understanding of the role of managers is to ‘manage people’. However, people management entails the management of the different culture of the employees of the organisation. Managers also perform the role of managing the systems of the organisation. From the onset, it is proper to agree with the fact that people management entails the management of integration of the different cultures of the employees of the organisation into a single organisational culture. As a result, the success of the organisation also depends on the ability of the manager to ensure that all the staff members adhere to the stipulated organisational culture (Willcoxson & Millett 2000). The essay argues in favour of the idea that the role of managers includes the management of the culture of the employees as well as the management of the different systems of the organisation. People Management as the Management of their Culture It is apparent that the absence of a strong organisational culture is an indicator that there is a lapse in the coordination of the departmental processes of the organisation. Managers understand that the proper recruitment of staffs necessitates the consideration of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. It is also evident that culturally diverse organisations present higher levels of performance as compared to organisations whose employees and board members have a common cultural origin (Hartlieb et al. 2007). The other argument in favour of the role of managers in managing people emanates from the fact that managers understand and heighten the significance of organisational culture as pertains to the integration and coordination of the different units of the organisation. The managers understand that the effective synchronisation of the different units of the organisation is a guarantee of increased efficiency, and the speed of manufacturing, designing and delivering services and products. Moreover, managers understand that the continued success of the products of the organisation depends on the ability of the company to develop innovative products (Baker 2002). As a result, there is need for coordinated processes and the effective flow of relevant information from the marketing department to the design department. In the absence of a single organisational culture that calls for the coordination of such processes, it is evident that the organisation will fail in its effort to develop innovative products. Since the organisation employs people on the basis of expertise and professional qualifications rather than culture, it is apparent that the departments consist of employees emanating from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is the role of the manager to ascertain that the standard culture of the organisation does not infringe on the cultural rights of the employees of the organisation so as to ensure that there is a positive working environment that guarantees higher productivity of the employees. The organisational culture is also important in the innovation of the strategy of the organisation (Kane-Urrabazo 2006). Consequently, managers ensure that all its employees have a common understanding to the culture of the organisation. Moreover, the employees should adhere to the culture of the company irrespective of their diverse cultural backgrounds. Assuming that the role of the manager does not include people management that entails the management of the cultural diversity of the employees, then it is evident that the organisation would encounter significant challenges associated with the implementation of its innovation strategy. Therefore, it is the prime responsibility of the manager to ensure that all employees adhere to the culture of the organisation to guarantee the proper implementation of the innovation strategies of the firm. The ability of the manager to realise the objective necessitates the implementation of people management skills that are necessary in the coordination of the processes of the different individuals in the organisation. The proper management of individuals is also a prerequisite for the success of process innovation. Process innovation entails the ability of the organisation to introduce and implement new technologies particularly in the field of information technology. The managers of the organisations understand that the success of the firm in the adoption of new technologies depends on the seamless flow of information between the various departments of the organisation. For instance, it is apparent that the design of products should depend on consumer feedback relayed to the marketing department by the distributors and other sales agents that have direct contact with consumers. In essence, the coordination of the seamless flow of information between all these departments necessitates the implementation of proper people management skills by the manager. By so doing, the manager is able to convince middlepersons associated in the sale of the company’s products to relay consumer feedback to the marketing department as soon as it is availed by the consumers. By so doing, the firm can integrate consumer feedback in the design process of the subsequent products to ensure that they meet the specifications of the customers thereby guaranteeing competitive advantage on the part of the company. The people management role of managers is also detrimental to the ability of the organisation to realise the proper management of the increasing diversity of its workforce as well as the dispersed work units. It is evident that it is the responsibility of managers to ensure the synchronisation of the different work units and the efforts of the diverse workforce of a contemporary organisation. In the event of multinational corporations, it is also the role of the manager to ensure effective cross-cultural management of the multinational partnerships or global enterprises. The role necessitates the use of people management skills on the part of the managers thereby arguing in favour of the fact that the management role entails the management of people. The other roles of a manager that encompass cultural management encompass the development of hybrid or meta-hybrid cultures that play a pivotal role in the merging of the different cultural aspects of the diverse workforce of the organisation. Such skills are pertinent in the event of mergers or acquisitions especially when a firm intends to acquire another firm in an international market. In the absence of people management skills that pertain to the management of cultural diversity on the part of the manager, it is evident that the firm will encounter several challenges in its quest to expand its operations in the foreign market. People Management as the Management of the Systems of the Organisation The other critical area that defines the role of a manager is the management of the different systems of the organisation. From the outset, it is apparent that there are employees of the different systems that have the expertise of performing different roles towards the attainment of a common goal. The proper synchronisation of the different roles of the individuals necessitates people management expertise on the part of the manager. The system entails the integrated assembly of all the elements of the organisation that interact cooperatively to realise a predetermined function (Potocki & Brocato 1995). Apparently, all the elements or components of the organisation require different management expertise thereby necessitating the need for different managers for the various departments of the organisation. The fact that each manager understands the flow of operations in the respective department implies that the manager will be responsible for assigning the different roles in the department to the employees of the organisation in a manner that will guarantee a smooth running of operations within the department. The ultimate goal of the manager of a department is to ensure the effective carrying out of the assigned roles of the department thereby ensuring that the department forwards a perfect product under processing or finished product for the completion of the processing phase or packaging of the product in readiness for its shipment or distribution to consumers. By so doing, the professional understands the different professional expertise and capabilities held by the workers of the department. As a result, the manager strives to allocate the responsibilities in a manner that guarantees maximum and efficient output on the part of the employees of the department. It is also worth understanding that the different systems of the organisation include the people, processes, materials and technology that work together to perform a predetermined function to meet the objectives of the organisation (Potocki & Brocato 1995). The mere fact that the systems of the organisation include the ‘people’ aspect implies the need for people management skills on the part of the manager to ensure that the effective performance of the workers of the company (Burgoyne et al. 2004). The management of the technologies also requires the seamless flow of information from the experts of the information technology products to the employees that need to use the product. Therefore, in the event that the manager cannot manage the flow of information to the employee properly, then it is apparent that the firm will not succeed in implementing new technologies. As mentioned before, people management bears paramount significance to the proper management of the materials necessary in the production and manufacture of the commodities of a company. For instance, in the absence of a seamless flow of information between the employees of the departments, the organisation will witness an improper utility of materials since there will be frequent cases of either oversupply or undersupply of materials required in the manufacturing process. Apparently, the result in such material flow lapses is increased expenditure for the company in the quest to either attain additional materials to meet the anticipated product demand or stock materials for future use in the event of the excessive supply of raw materials. The first role of the manager that regards the management of the systems of the organisation entails determining the necessity of changes that would improve the performance of the firm. This also includes determining the specific activities that will ensure maximum performance output on the part of the employees. Prior to determining the specific activities and the required changes, it is mandatory for the manager to determine the role requirements of the different departments that will provide the basis for determining the employees required to carry out the roles. The recruitment of the employees and the planning of the activities of the department to realise the firm’s objectives necessitate people management skills on the part of the manager. The other important aspects associated with the role of managers in managing systems are leadership and employee engagement (Potocki & Brocato 1995). It is apparent that both roles require the manager to have the necessary people management skills. Conclusion It is proper to argue that the general description of the activities of managers is to manage people. In an organisational context, people management entails the management of the diverse workforce in contemporary organisations. It also includes the management of the different systems of the organisations that require leadership and employee engagement skills on the part of the manager. The manager also plays the role of developing the organisation culture as well as managing the employees that emanate from different cultural backgrounds. Consequently, it is proper to state that managers ‘manage people’ since they are responsible for people management roles that encompass employee engagement, management of workplace diversity and leadership. Reference List Baker, K.A., 2002. . Organizational Culture1. Available at: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/benchmark/ch11.pdf Burgoyne, J., Hirsh, W. and Williams, S., 2004. The Development of Management and Leadership Capability and its Contribution to Performance: The evidence, the prospects and the research need. 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