Management
Reply to A and B with 150 words a piece
A
Hello everyone! Giving and receiving orders in the workplace is pretty much a fact of anyone’s work life. Sometimes work is handed to people gently; other times work is handed off in a sharp, almost painful fashion. As people get more senior in an organization, they expect to be the person giving the orders versus the person receiving the orders. Follett’s (1992) views about the relational and the functional aspects of giving and receiving orders account for the human nature factor. Dealing with people in their infinite variety is part of any supervisor-subordinate work relationship. Most people do not like being given orders in a directive fashion. Today’s technology-driven workplace offers more opportunity for communication, collaboration and perhaps even a conversation about what work tasks a person needs to complete. Delegating work and making sure people understand what is needed does not have to be a painful process for the manager or their employee.
When I was in high school, I worked every summer at the local Wendy’s. This was my first experience working for a company. The managers in this fast food environment issued orders for the work that needed to be done, and the employees in turn performed that work. There was a clear hierarchy, and no one questioned or challenged the managers about the work that was required. The managers were adamant that the employees would not stand around with nothing to do. The rule was to always keep busy, even if you were just cleaning things. It was good training for future jobs, no doubt about it. Even now, I can’t stand or sit and do nothing. Being bored is simply not an option, so I always find something to do.
As my career progressed after completing my bachelor’s degree, the directive style of management I experienced as a teenager at Wendy’s faded away. Current workplaces ask their managers to focus on facilitation and feedback versus giving orders and being directive (Engel, 1997). The management and leadership style of a workplace depends on the work that is being done and the nature of the job. Military commanders issuing orders to the troops is fine while project managers issuing orders to the team does not work very well. For me, working as a young member of a team of software engineers required that team members work together to achieve goals and make things work as part of a larger system. Working as a member of a team making hamburgers for customers also required teamwork, but the nature of the job and the people doing the work were both quite different.
As a manager and director in several organizations, I learned quickly that my knowledge workers were resistant to being directed or ordered to do things. My orders tended to be couched as questions or discussed one-on-one or with a team of people versus being commands from the person in charge. In the early 1980s many organizations were beginning to pay attention to the personalities and preferences of their workers. Organizations asked their managers to take that into account when delegating or assigning work. Based upon the number of personality tests available for companies to give to their people, that trend is still ongoing.
Effective leaders and managers need to fine tune their interpersonal skills and learn to be professional when dealing with their subordinates. According to the Canadian HR Reporter (2009), “neither a tough environment with demanding leaders nor supportive coaching are effective alone” (p. 12). Every manager or leader needs to think about the people they are dealing with and what works best for delegating work and meeting business objectives over time. A balance between the softer side of giving orders and the realities of getting things done in the business arena needs to be achieved.
B
Per Follett, M. P. (1996) It is a human phenomenon to give and receive orders in their places of employment with consequential impact on their lives and work if they resist. Resisting can lead to dismissal or suspension from duties depending on the category and employee ranking in the corporation. Handing down orders to employees creates several challenges for managers s they apply the OB concepts, Robbins and Judge, (2012) resulting in economic pressures i.e loss of employment, hiring unqualified workers to replace the experienced workers, low morale among the remaining employees and outsourcing of jobs and company assets.
Consequently, giving orders subjugates and humiliates the person receiving the order, and even more so when the employer/manager denigrates a senior colleague of higher repute with total disregard to body language, tone of voice, environment instead of discreet face to face discussion, or engage in extracting interpersonal intelligence through the establishment of a relationship Follett, M.P. (1996) the employees
Giving directives to employees or individuals should not constitute giving orders because of the connotation it will be ineffective F. John Reh, (2018). Author John Reh and I agree here that the term order should be applied during an emergency where there are chaos and confusion and the situation begs for the restoration of order then an order can be given.To give orders makes the person you are ordering apprehensive and belligerent which out rightly inhibits innovation and creativity in the work environment when managers do it. The negative effect that ordering someone to do something they would not engage in otherwise leads to grumbling and animosity towards that person. Per John Reh, the bossy attitude interrupts and interferes in the personal thinking process and learning the proper way to engage in problem-solving.
The better way to give directives is to explain what you want to achieve, tell the employees what you want to be done and show them the example of how to accomplish it the way you want and leave room for consultation if necessary. Emergency risk control experts, law enforcement, security and firemen seem the only exception where orders can be given and permitted in the work environment because of the nature of their employment. Groups and Health institutions are exempted from the “no giving order rule” because they usually find themselves in situations of emergency, chaos and confusion while on duty. It is more agreeable in a diverse work environment to have managers respectfully give instructions and employees follow it to get the company goals achieved.
Conclusively, good managers develop conscience and attitude that make them relate to each other, and talk to them with mutual respect Daniel Raymond, (2012) Good managers develop the creative and motivational intellect of their employees. Critical thinking employees develop their sense of analysis and tasks implementation that will enhance efficiency and productivity.
Bad managers link their failing and dysfunctional style of leading a complex organization of employees’ attitude and insubordination when their orders are rebuffed and ineffective.
