Typical Activity Patterns in Managerial Work

Typical Activity Patterns in Managerial Work
 Pace of Work Is Hectic and Unrelenting

 Content of Work Is Varied and Fragmented
 Many Activities Are Reactive
 Many Interactions Involve Oral Communication
 Interactions Often Involve Peers and Outsiders
 Decision Processes are Disorderly and Political
 Most Planning Is Informal and Adaptive
1. Pace of Work Is Hectic and Unrelenting Works long hours, and many managers take work
home. Find it difficult to forget about jobs when at home or on vacation
2. Content of Work Is Varied and Fragmented Interruptions occur frequently, conversations are
disjointed, and important activities are interspersed with trivial ones, requiring rapid shifts of
mood.
3. Many Activities Are Reactive Many interactions are initiated by others Manager’s behavior is
reactive rather than proactive in nature Most managers gravitate toward the active aspects of
their jobs, and they tend to focus on specific, immediate problems rather than general issues or
long- term strategies.
4. Interactions Often Involve Peers and Outsiders the network of relationships A large network of
contacts provides information about current events within or outside of the organization that
may affect the manager’s job performance and career
5. Many Interactions Involve Oral Communication Managers tend to prefer current information
to old information, and current information is usually obtained directly from people who have
access to it, including many people outside the manager’s organizational subunit.
6. Decision Processes are Disorderly and Political The person who initiates the decision process
may not be the person who makes the final choice among action alternatives.
7. Most Planning Is Informal and Adaptive Instead of a top-down, formal process, overall
objectives and strategies for the firms were more likely to be the result of a “bottom-up”
political process in which the objectives and strategies of powerful individuals and
organizational subunits are reconciled and integrated. The formal, annual plans were merely a
confirmation of strategic decisions already reached through the informal political
Delegation
Leaders generally see a problem and think about Participative
how it can be broken down into a series of Participative leadership is a managerial style that
incremental but individually simpler tasks. They invites input from employees on all or most
then delegate these tasks to different members company decisions. The staff is given pertinent
of the team so they can carry them out. information regarding company issues, and a
When a leader delegates, they have already majority vote determines the course of action
done much of the legwork. They have considered the company will take. Participative leadership
the problem from a greater perspective and seen can sometimes be a slower form of decision-
what the bigger picture is. They have also broken making, but it has several advantages that may
it down and considered the details. They know make it the right managerial method for your
exactly what needs to be done for each task and business.
how it should be carried out. They can also see Your staff will more readily accept policies and
how the different tasks relate to each other on a decisions that were reached by general
grander scale. consensus. This cuts down on the resistance that
By the time a member of the team is getting a new company policies will experience and
task to complete, their work is as simple as speeds up the process of implementing new
carrying out a few simple instructions and not ideas. Employees are given a personal stake in
thinking too hard about what it is they are doing. the success of new company policies by being
This is what much of leadership has been like involved in the process of creating and approving
over the ages. these policies, and that helps the company to
adjust rapidly to policy changes.
Empowerment Improves Employee Morale
A leader that seeks to empower their team still Employees that are given a voice in the
looks at the bigger picture. They still try and operation of the company feel personally liable
break the greater problem down into more for the success of the company. The staff morale
manageable tasks. However, when they give remains at a high level because there is an
these tasks to employees, they don’t just give appreciation for the chance to be part of the
them plain instructions to be followed without company decision-making process. Employees
question. Instead, they explain to them what will also take a more active role in improving the
they are trying to achieve and show them the work conditions when they know that they can
bigger picture. They communicate the main goal directly affect the policies that govern the
to the team members so they know what they workplace.
are working toward right off the bat.
Once the leader has told the team member what
they are trying to ultimately achieve and then The main difference between delegation
management and empowerment management:
given them a task, they give them a lot more
leeway to make authoritative decisions as they Delegation is based on tasks, which must be carried
out to the letter.
see fit. If they think the goal would be achieved
more efficiently one way, as opposed to another, Empowerment-based leadership is based on
then they can pick that method. They don’t need decisions and authority vested in the front line
employee.
to be supervised by a manager as the leader
trusts both their diligence and their decision Delegation and empowerment effectively involves giving
responsibility to other people for the successful delivery of
making abilities. a task, whilst maintaining some level of control over the
process and end result.

Typical Activity Patterns in Managerial Work

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Typical Activity Patterns in Managerial Work

 Pace of Work Is Hectic and Unrelenting

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