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14 Steps to Become Successful Manager

Have a problem staring at your face. Well this article might help you to devise some strategy to roll out a solution. Today we have access to such a huge amount of resources to improve our managing skills, thanks to all those researchers who worked so hard so that we can have ready to use solutions. But what about the managers who were leading the way forward about 100 years ago??

Managers in the early 1900s had very few external resources to draw upon to guide and develop their management practice. But thanks to early theorists like Henri Fayol (1841-1925), managers began to get the tools they needed to lead and manage more effectively. Fayol, and others like him, are responsible for building the foundations of modern management theory.

Fayol's "14 Principles" was one of the earliest theories of management to be created, and remains one of the most comprehensive. He's considered to be among the most influential contributors to the modern concept of management, even though people don't refer  to "The 14 Principles" often today.

A principle refers to a fundamental truth. It establishes cause and effect relationship between two or more variables under given situation. They serve as a guide to thought & actions. Therefore, management principles are the statements of fundamental truth based on logic which provides guidelines for managerial decision making and actions. These principles are derived:

1. On the basis of observation and analysis i.e. practical experience of managers.
2. By conducting experimental studies.

There are 14 Principles of Management described by Henri Fayol.

1.     Division of Labor

1. Henry Fayol has stressed on the specialization of jobs.
2. He recommended that work of all kinds must be divided & subdivided and allotted to various persons according to their expertise in a particular area.
3. Subdivision of work makes it simpler and results in efficiency.
4. It also helps the individual in acquiring speed, accuracy in his performance.
5. Specialization leads to efficiency & economy in spheres of business.

2.     Party of Authority & Responsibility

1. Authority & responsibility are co-existing.
2. If authority is given to a person, he should also be made responsible.
3. In a same way, if anyone is made responsible for any job, he should also have concerned authority.
4. Authority refers to the right of superiors to get exactness from their sub-ordinates whereas responsibility means obligation for the performance of the job assigned.
5. There should be a balance between the two i.e. they must go hand in hand.
6. Authority without responsibility leads to irresponsible behavior whereas responsibility without authority makes the person ineffective.

3.     Principle of One Boss

1. A sub-ordinate should receive orders and be accountable to one and only one boss at a time.
2. In other words, a sub-ordinate should not receive instructions from more than one person because -

-  It undermines authority
-  Weakens discipline
-  Divides loyalty
-  Creates confusion
-  Delays and chaos
-  Escaping responsibilities
-  Duplication of work
-  Overlapping of efforts

3. Therefore, dual sub-ordination should be avoided unless and until it is absolutely essential.
4. Unity of command provides the enterprise a disciplined, stable & orderly existence.
5. It creates harmonious relationship between superiors and sub-ordinates.

4.     Unity of Direction

1. Fayol advocates one head one plan which means that there should be one plan for a group of activities having similar objectives.
2. Related activities should be grouped together. There should be one plan of action for them and they should be under the charge of a particular manager.
3. According to this principle, efforts of all the members of the organization should be directed towards common goal.
4. Without unity of direction, unity of action cannot be achieved.
5. In fact, unity of command is not possible without unity of direction. 

Basis	Unity of command	Unity of direction
Meaning	It implies that a sub-ordinate should receive orders & instructions from only one boss.	It means one head, one plan for a group of activities having similar objectives.
Nature	It is related to the functioning of personnel’s.	It is related to the functioning of departments, or organization as a whole.
Necessity	It is necessary for fixing responsibility of each subordinates.	It is necessary for sound organization.
Advantage	It avoids conflicts, confusion & chaos.	It avoids duplication of efforts and wastage of resources.
Result	It leads to better superior sub-ordinate relationship.	It leads to smooth running of the enterprise.

Therefore it is obvious that they are different from each other but they are dependent on each other i.e. unity of direction is a pre-requisite for unity of command. But it does not automatically comes from the unity of direction.

5.     Equity

1. Equity means combination of fairness, kindness & justice.
2. The employees should be treated with kindness & equity if devotion is expected of them.
3. It implies that managers should be fair and impartial while dealing with the subordinates.
4. They should give similar treatment to people of similar position.
5. They should not discriminate with respect to age, caste, sex, religion, relation etc.
6. Equity is essential to create and maintain cordial relations between the managers and sub-ordinate.
7. But equity does not mean total absence of harshness.
8. Fayol was of opinion that, “at times force and harshness might become necessary for the sake of equity”.

6.     Order

1. This principle is concerned with proper & systematic arrangement of things and people.
2. Arrangement of things is called material order and placement of people is called social order.
3. Material order- There should be safe, appropriate and specific place for every article and every place to be effectively used for specific activity and commodity.
4. Social order- Selection and appointment of most suitable person on the suitable job. There should be a specific place for every one and everyone should have a specific place so that they can easily be contacted whenever need arises.

7.     Discipline

1. According to Fayol, “Discipline means sincerity, obedience, respect of authority & observance of rules and regulations of the enterprise”.
2. This principle applies that subordinate should respect their superiors and obey their order.
3. It is an important requisite for smooth running of the enterprise.
4. Discipline is not only required on path of subordinates but also on the part of management.
5. Discipline can be enforced if -

-  There are good superiors at all levels.
-  There are clear & fair agreements with workers.
-  Sanctions (punishments) are judiciously applied.

8.     Initiative

1. Workers should be encouraged to take initiative in the work assigned to them.
2. It means eagerness to initiate actions without being asked to do so.
3. Fayol advised that management should provide opportunity to its employees to suggest ideas, experiences& new method of work.
4. It helps in developing an atmosphere of trust and understanding.
5. People then enjoy working in the organization because it adds to their zeal and energy.
6. To suggest improvement in formulation & implementation of place.
7. They can be encouraged with the help of monetary & non-monetary incentives.

9.     Fair Remuneration

1. The quantum and method of remuneration to be paid to the workers should be fair, reasonable, satisfactory & rewarding of the efforts.
2. As far as possible it should accord satisfaction to both employer and the employees.
3. Wages should be determined on the basis of cost of living, work assigned, financial position of the business, wage rate prevailing etc.
4. Logical & appropriate wage rates and methods of their payment reduce tension & differences between workers & management creates harmonious relationship and pleasing atmosphere of work.
5. Fayol also recommended provision of other benefits such as free education, medical & residential facilities to workers.

10.  Stability of Tenure

1. Fayol emphasized that employees should not be moved frequently from one job position to another i.e. the period of service in a job should be fixed.
2. Therefore employees should be appointed after keeping in view principles of recruitment & selection but once they are appointed their services should be served.
3. According to Fayol. “Time is required for an employee to get used to a new work & succeed to doing it well but if he is removed before that he will not be able to render worthwhile services”.
4. As a result, the time, effort and money spent on training the worker will go waste.
5. Stability of job creates team spirit and a sense of belongingness among workers which ultimately increase the quality as well as quantity of work.

11.  Scalar Chain

1. Fayol defines scalar chain as ’The chain of superiors ranging from the ultimate authority to the lowest”.
2. Every orders, instructions, messages, requests, explanation etc. has to pass through Scalar chain.
3. But, for the sake of convenience & urgency, this path can be cut shirt and this short cut is known as Gang Plank.
4. A Gang Plank is a temporary arrangement between two different points to facilitate quick & easy communication as explained below:
                                          
   

In the figure given, if D has to communicate with G he will first send the communication upwards with the help of C, B to A and then downwards with the help of E and F to G which will take quite some time and by that time, it may not be worth therefore a gang plank has been developed between the two.

5. Gang Plank clarifies that management principles are not rigid rather they are very flexible. They can be moulded and modified as per the requirements of situations

12.  Sub-Ordination of Individual Interest to General Interest

1. An organization is much bigger than the individual it constitutes therefore interest of the undertaking should prevail in all circumstances.
2. As far as possible, reconciliation should be achieved between individual and group interests.
3. But in case of conflict, individual must sacrifice for bigger interests.
4. In order to achieve this attitude, it is essential that -

-  Employees should be honest & sincere.
-  Proper & regular supervision of work.
-  Reconciliation of mutual differences and clashes by mutual agreement. For example, for change of location of plant, for change of profit sharing ratio, etc.

13.  Espirit De’ Corps (can be achieved through unity of command)

1. It refers to team spirit i.e. harmony in the work groups and mutual understanding among the members.
2. Spirit De’ Corps inspires workers to work harder.
3. Fayol cautioned the managers against dividing the employees into competing groups because it might damage the moral of the workers and interest of the undertaking in the long run.
4. To inculcate Espirit De’ Corps following steps should be undertaken -

§ There should be proper co-ordination of work at all levels

§ Subordinates should be encouraged to develop informal relations among themselves.

§ Efforts should be made to create enthusiasm and keenness among subordinates so that they can work to the maximum ability.

§ Efficient employees should be rewarded and those who are not up to the mark should be given a chance to improve their performance.

§ Subordinates should be made conscious of that whatever they are doing is of great importance to the business & society.

5. He also cautioned against the more use of Britain communication to the subordinates i.e. face to face communication should be developed. The managers should infuse team spirit & belongingness. There should be no place for misunderstanding. People then enjoy working in the organization & offer their best towards the organization.

14.  Centralization & De-Centralization

1. Centralization means concentration of authority at the top level. In other words, centralization is a situation in which top management retains most of the decision making authority.
2. Decentralization means disposal of decision making authority to all the levels of the organization. In other words, sharing authority downwards is decentralization.
3. According to Fayol, “Degree of centralization or decentralization depends on no. of factors like size of business, experience of superiors, dependability & ability of subordinates etc.
4. Anything which increases the role of subordinate is decentralization & anything which decreases it is centralization.
5. Fayol suggested that absolute centralization or decentralization is not feasible. An organization should strike to achieve a lot between the two.

These are the gems of the management. One should be well versed with these principles to become a successful leader.

Management's Thorn......

Hello Everyone, back again I am, to share with you all one of the most important topic of management. Every management desires to tap the maximum output from their workers, so that they can maximize the profits. In the process they adopt the process of theory X and Y managers, just like the good cop and bad cop routine adopted by cops for interrogating suspects.

Why have I named it thorn of management? Well you find the answer and let me know. Without further ado I will begin with the discussion of the topic.

Well the legit Name of the topic is "HAWTHORNE EFFECT".  In lay-man's term we can call it the Observer's Effect. It states that the subjects improve or modify an aspect of their behavior when placed under observation, which is being experimentally measured, in response to the fact that they know that they are being studied, not in response to any particular experimental manipulation. 

The term was coined in 1950 by Henry A. Landsberger when analysing older experiments from 1924–1932 at the Hawthorne Works (a Western Electric factory outside Chicago). In November 1924, the first of a series of experiments began at Western Electric’s factory in Cicero, just outside of Chicago. Western Electric was the child of the Bell Telephone Company and parent to AT&T. The factory complex was called the Hawthorne Works, and it was like a small city. It had a hospital, ballpark, library and much more. By the end of the decade, there would be 40,000 workers.

Three initial experiments were conducted between 1924 and 1927. In one of the studies, experimenters chose two women as test subjects and asked them to choose four other workers to join the test group. Together the women worked in a separate room over the course of five years (1927–1932) assembling telephone relays.

Output was measured mechanically by counting how many finished relays each worker dropped down a chute. This measuring began in secret two weeks before moving the women to an experiment room and continued throughout the study. In the experiment room, they had a supervisor who discussed changes with them and at times used their suggestions. Then the researchers spent five years measuring how different variables impacted the group's and individuals' productivity. Some of the variables were:

• giving two 5-minute breaks (after a discussion with them on the best length of time), and then changing to two 10-minute breaks (not their preference). Productivity increased, but when they received six 5-minute rests, they disliked it and reduced output.
• providing food during the breaks
• shortening the day by 30 minutes (output went up); shortening it more (output per hour went up, but overall output decreased); returning to the first condition (where output peaked).

Changing a variable usually increased productivity, even if the variable was just a change back to the original condition. However it is said that this is the natural process of the human being to adapt to the environment without knowing the objective of the experiment occurring. Researchers concluded that the workers worked harder because they thought that they were being monitored individually.

Researchers hypothesized that choosing one's own coworkers, working as a group, being treated as special (as evidenced by working in a separate room), and having a sympathetic supervisor were the real reasons for the productivity increase. One interpretation, mainly due to Elton Mayo,^[10] was that "the six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the experiment." (There was a second relay assembly test room study whose results were not as significant as the first experiment.)

 The photos of women workers in the experiments are:

The women noted that the intimate atmosphere of the test room gave them a sense of freedom not experienced on the factory floor. They felt more at ease to talk and over time developed strong friendships. “We've been the best friends since the day we were in the test room,” one of the operators remembered. “We were a congenial bunch.” Through the years, productivity in the relay assembly test room rose significantly. Mayo reasoned that “the six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to co-operation in an experiment.”  These views contributed to the conclusion that mental attitudes, proper supervision, and informal social relationships experienced in a group were key to productivity and job satisfaction.

To sum it up in only a few words, the Hawthorne Effect describes the results you receive when you give people attention.  The simple act of showing people that you care about them inevitably spurs them to better job performance. 

The original study was conducted in order to determine if increasing or decreasing the amount of light workers received would increase or decrease worker productivity. The astonishing results were that the productivity increased, but the increase was shown to be due to the personal attention of the researchers to the employee and were not affected by the changes in lighting.  Pretty incredible findings!

The Hawthorne Effect has also been referred to as the “Somebody Upstairs Cares” syndrome.  Because people spend such a large percentage of their time at work it is important to have a sense of belonging.  When people feel like they belong, they are more productive and more creative.

So, the question is still at large. Why have I named it as Management's thorn?.....keep thinking.

Three Idiots and a Valley…….

Another lecture and yet another learning opportunity from Dr Mandi, as all of you must be well versed by now Prof loves teaching via activities. He has named this one quite uniquely “3 idiots crossing the valley”.

The activity is pretty simple, 3 people are there and they have to cross a valley which is wider than the distance they can cover in a stride but shorter than what they would cover in 2 steps. All they have is a log of wood long enough that all of them can hold it together and at the same time just enough strong to take the weight of a single person.

The picture below will explain the process adopted by the idiots to cross the valley.

Though the picture is self explanatory, let me describe it for better understanding.

1. When the first person takes the first step, he will be half risky since one of his feet will be in air and other on the ground, at the same time other two people will be full safe.
2.  Everybody will take one more step at this moment, first person will be fully risky and other two will be full safe. But since other two people will be holding the rod, with proper communication, coordination and trust they can cross the valley.
3. This process will be repeated for other two persons. Every time they will be either half risky or full risky.

The key points of this process are

1. Exactly one person remains in high risk zone.
• High Risk 01 times
• Half Risks 02 times
• Fully Safe 02 times
2. The risks experienced by various people can be summarized as
3.  The team members take 9 positions, out of which 6 safe completely, 2 half safe and 1 completely  unsafe.
4.   All three members have equal share in terms of effort and risk. Nobody was overloaded or relaxed.
5.  All members were equally interdependent while performing the task to achieve the goal of crossing the valley safely
6. This interdependence makes all the members indispensible.
7.  In addition to the above mentioned points there are other requirements as well which include Communication, coordination and feedback is essential while working in a team.

So this activity is ideal to teach some of the key concepts to survive in the competitive market outside.

•  Teamwork
•  Effective participation in meetings and team events
• Intelligently using the team strength for overcoming problems remember age old saying United we stand divided we fall
• Properly communicating the work progress achieved to superiors
• Pro actively helping members in need

Also in this task the division of the risk and leadership was equally divided among the three members, so all the members were equal. In all there are 27 positions possible for 3 people. The tactic devised by the idiots puts at least person in extreme peril, the ideal situation would be when they would be able to achieve the same feat with every member being in no risk zone for all time while performing the action.

As a team it helps us whet the following attributes

• Work for common goal to strive for perfection
• Accountability
• Mutual Respect
• Trust
• Communication
• SMART Goal Setting

Till next blog think of some activity wherein all of the above mentioned traits were displayed and used to achieve a target which was mammoth and seemingly impossible to achieve. 

PS: hint, the task was of national level and was performed by people who are best in the world.