Management. Educational aid

unintentionally spoiled finished products with workplace cleaning products. In general, people did only what they were told for eight hours and then went home.

In order to increase the motivation and commitment of the plant's employees, Romanov and other plant managers decided to introduce a system of employee participation in decision-making into management. To begin with, they entrusted employees with checking the quality of products. As a result, it was not the top management who determined the

“taste” of the products, but the workers themselves who did it at their sites.

This state of affairs soon prompted the latter to produce products of higher quality. Workers became interested in how much their products cost the company and what buyers thought about different types of meat and sausage products.

One of the teams even developed a technology for introducing special plastic vacuum packaging for perishable products on their site. To do this, team members had to gather the necessary information, define the problem, establish working relationships with suppliers and other employees in the meat processing plant, and conduct surveys of supermarkets and meat kiosks to learn about how to improve packaging. The team took responsibility for quality determination and subsequently for improvements in the production process. As a result, all this led to the fact that complaints began to appear among employees about those whose level of work performance was low and whose indifference prevented improvement of work. Later, complaints began to spread to management personnel and were accompanied by demands for their retraining or dismissal. It was decided that instead of dismissal, they would undergo retraining directly at the enterprise with the participation of all interested parties.

Romanov, other top plant managers, and worker representatives developed a new payment system called “shared participation in the results of the meat processing plant.” Under this system, a fixed percentage of

“pre-tax” profits was divided every six months among all employees of the enterprise. Individual participation in the shared profits was based on the

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results of an assessment of the level of work performed by each of the participants in this process. The assessment system itself was developed and implemented by a group of meat processing plant workers representing its individual divisions. Thus, the enterprise’s employees were assessed: by their contribution to group work; by how they communicate with group members; in their attitude towards group work as such; on discipline, on compliance with safety regulations.

In addition, groups or teams were responsible for the selection, training and evaluation of their workers, and, if necessary, for the dismissal of their fellow workers. They also made decisions on work schedules, required budgets, quality measurements, and equipment upgrades. Much that used to be the job of the team leader in such an enterprise has now become part of the job of each group member.

Peter Romanov believed that the success of his business was determined by the following:

1.People want to be significant. And if this is not implemented, the reason is in the leadership.

2.People perform at a level that meets their expectations. Telling people what you expect of them can influence their level of performance and thus motivate them.

3.The expectations of employees themselves are determined by the goals they set for themselves and the reward system.

4.Any actions of the management and managers of the enterprise significantly influence the formation of expectations among employees.

5.Any employee is capable of learning to perform many new tasks as part of his job.

6.The results of the enterprise show who I am and what my work represents. My job is to create conditions under which the highest level of performance by everyone serves both his individual interests and the interests of the enterprise as a whole [3, p. 109].

Questions for the case:

1.How and to what extent does Romanov’s motivational policy satisfy the needs from Maslow’s hierarchy?

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2.Explain the success of policies using expectancy theory of motivation.

3.Would you like to work at a meat processing plant near Moscow? Justify your answer.

4.Did Romanov focus on “health” factors or Herzberg’s motivational factors in his motivation program?

5.Describe the existing remuneration system at the meat processing

plant.

6.Is the success of such a motivational program possible at enterprises in other industries, including non-material production industries?

CONTROL QUESTIONS

1.What is the essence of the motivational process?

2.What content and process theories of motivation can you describe?

3.How do motivation theories relate to management practice?

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7. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

The essence of the conflict is the difference in views and opinions of the parties to the communication.

There are several effective ways to manage a conflict situation. They can be divided into two categories:

-structural;

-interpersonal.

Structural methods involve change. Organizations use these methods to resolve conflicts that have already developed. The purpose of using these methods is to reduce the severity of the conflict.

Interpersonal methods of conflict resolution are based on the analysis of two variables: interest in oneself and interest in other members of the organization. With a qualitative assessment of the “strength” of these variables (low and high), the following interaction styles are possible: low degree of interest in oneself and others — avoidance of conflict, avoidance.

In general, there are two groups of conflicts: functional conflicts and dysfunctional ones. Conflicts of the first group lead to increased efficiency of the organization. Constructive conflicts have objective reasons. Usually these are shortcomings in the organization of production and management. Conflicts of the second group lead to a decrease in personal satisfaction and the destruction of group cooperation. Destructive conflicts are most often generated by subjective reasons, which include incorrect actions: the leader, subordinates and the leader and subordinates.

The causes of conflicts may be differences in ideas and values. They lead to conflict because, instead of objectively analyzing a problem, people often consider only those views, alternatives, and aspects of the situation that are favorable only to their group and personal needs.

There are five main styles of conflict resolution, or strategies for behavior in a conflict situation: smoothing (accommodation), compromise, cooperation, avoidance, coercion (rivalry or competition).

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To avoid conflict, you need to learn how to manage it. None of the conflict resolution styles can be singled out as the best; they are all used without exception. You need to learn to use each of them effectively and consciously make one or another choice, taking into account specific circumstances.

SPECIFIC SITUATIONS

Situation 1. You work as the head of a department. A conflict arose in your team between M. Petrov and V. Matrosov. Each of them individually appealed to you with a request to understand and support their position. Your position coincides with one of the employees.

What will you do in this situation? Which position will you support?

Situation 2. You are the head of a department. Your subordinate T. Volkova constantly ignores your instructions and does not clearly carry out assigned tasks. Her latest omission led to the disruption of the quarterly plan. Before you came to the organization, she applied for your place, but was not appointed due to conflicts. She values her work in the organization, since the salary is her only source of income, and she is raising her daughter without a husband.

What should you do in this or a similar situation?

Situation 3. At the logistics transport company, the dispatcher R. Smirnov did not provide the truck driver V. Belkin with the relevant documents on time, and the driver left to pick up the goods with old data. The dispatcher called the warehouse and the driver after the car was loaded and leaving the warehouse. From the moment they worked together in this organization, hostility arose between the driver and the dispatcher, which led to conflict situations between them. The driver did not listen to the dispatcher and did not restart the car, which caused a disruption in the supply of necessary materials to the site. The next day you had to go to the

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warehouse (5 hours of travel to the warehouse) and load the required goods.

Who is to blame for this situation? Should the dispatcher and driver work together or should they be changed?

Situation 4. At the “Zarya” enterprise, a celebration was planned for the awarding of awards to distinguished employees, and a plan for the event was drawn up. Employees with five years or more of work experience were included in the list to receive gold, silver, bronze badges. M. Nikitina, an employee with 30 years of experience, was supposed to be the guest of honor and sit at the head of the table with the head of the organization and other officials. The service responsible for public relations (PR) sent out information letters, and the news spread throughout the enterprise that M. Nikitina, with her 30 years of experience, is the pride of the organization.

Three days before the gala dinner, the deputy director for enterprise development strategy and the head of the human resources department studied in detail some of the problems of the enterprise. They came to the conclusion that M. Nikitina had too many old-fashioned ideas that did not correspond to the company's strategy. The department she manages operates in a manner that is inconsistent with other departments. It was decided to call the employee and talk to her about this topic. The longer the conversation went on, the more uncooperative she became, until at last she stormed out of the room, exclaiming that she would see what could be done to improve the work of her department, and declaring that she had no intention of attending the banquet. A conflict arose between M. Nikitina and the management of the enterprise.

Describe the situation from your point of view and suggest ways to resolve it.

Situation 5. There are 12 people working in your department, one of the employees, P. Volkov, is an social activist. Social affairs often distract him from his current work, and his colleagues openly express their

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dissatisfaction. Conflict situations began to arise, since the team had to perform a larger volume of work (per quarter) than Volkov, and when distributing the quarterly bonus, everyone received equal shares.

What should the head of the department do to resolve the conflict?

Situation 6. Limited liability company “Montazh” produces cabinets for electronic equipment. When fulfilling the next order for the production of a special model, it became necessary to make changes to the electronic circuit. Typically, before such work began, technicians received drawings. But this time circumstances required making these changes without drawings. The Deputy Operations Manager explained the changes needed to the technicians and expressed confidence that their ability and commitment to the task would be excellent. The technicians took this task as a matter of honor and were ready to save their organization from the fines that were inevitable if the order was missed. After the project was completed, the technicians who worked on the project approached the supervisor, demanding that their work be moved up one grade. The technicians supported their arguments by pointing out that their job specifications only included the ability to perform work using circuits. If you have to work without them and use your own proposals for modifying the circuit, then they perform the duties of engineering personnel, which belong to a higher category. A conflict arose between the technicians and the manager, who did not consider it necessary to take into account the requirements of the technicians.

Do you think the technicians' demands are legitimate? If yes, then support this with your reasons.

Situation 7. In the reception room of director O. Maksimov, three visitors of different ages wait quite a long time for permission to enter. Reception from 14.00 to 16.00, today the director has a lot of urgent matters (a bank representative regarding issuing a loan for employees' salaries), it is already 15.30, and the director has not yet started the reception. The secretary said that O. Maksimov would only receive one

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visitor. A conflict began between the visitors over who the director would accept.

What would you do if you were a director to resolve a conflict situation?

Situation 8. T. Mironenko was hired several months ago. She was very good at her job, but she constantly asked her supervisor a variety of questions that she could answer herself. Realizing this, each time the manager reacted to such questions with irritation, which affected not only the relationship with this employee, but also the psychological climate in the team changed not for the better. Conflict situations began to arise between T. Mironenko and the manager.

What should a manager do? What is the way out of this situation?

Situation 9. You are a young specialist, working as a methodologist at a school. Your immediate supervisor E. Malova gives you work that she must do herself. You, while doing the work of E. Malova, are not keeping up with your work, which causes the anger of the school director. You decided to do only your work, which led to a conflict between you and E. Malova.

What should you do: do your job or your immediate supervisor’s?

Situation 10. Imagine a normal working day at a bank. Last day for accepting utility payments without accruing penalties. There are three cashiers working. There is a huge queue at each window. There is tension in the atmosphere: everyone is clearly tired. From time to time, dissatisfied remarks are heard from different sides addressed to bank employees. Unexpectedly for the queue and to her displeasure, one of the cashiers — a young girl with a pleasant appearance — announces a temporary short break in work to deposit excess cash at the cash register (she acts according to instructions).

The second cashier, a 35-year-old woman, begins to criticize the actions of her colleague in the presence of clients, which fuels the brewing

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conflict. Unfounded criticism causes indignation, resentment and misunderstanding in the first teller, since she acts in accordance with the established procedure, which ensures the safety of bank employees and customers. Wanting to settle the conflict, the young girl returns to her clients and silently, harboring a grudge and losing her work ethic, continues to work [5, p. 181–184].

Questions for the situation:

1.Who started the conflict?

2.How justified are the actions of the young cashier?

3.How objective is her senior colleague’s criticism?

4.How to evaluate the correctness of the actions of each employee?

5.What can be advised in this situation?

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. You take an exam and receive an unsatisfactory grade for you, which became the reason for the conflict between you and the teacher.

Give an example of a similar conflict situation. Analyze it according to the following points:

1.Cause of the conflict.

2.Type of conflict.

3.Level of conflict.

4.The most effective way to resolve conflict on the part of the

student.

5.The most effective way to resolve conflict on the part of the

teacher.

Exercise 2. Conflicts in a team can cost the manager considerable nerves and the losses to the company. Therefore, it is better if the manager manages to recognize them in time and draw appropriate conclusions. The signs of conflict are usually the same:

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-the work the team is working on ceases to be common. Everyone works on their own. Friendly help is “not in use”;

-employees stop trusting each other, sharing work and personal

plans;

-during employee conversations, much attention is paid to negative facts. The interlocutor is more likely to make a remark to a colleague than to speak warmly about him.

Each of these signs is a serious warning sign, but it is not too late to resolve the conflict. To do this, you will have to slightly change the operating mode you have adopted. For example, distribute tasks not one- on-one, but at a general meeting, introduce an open exchange of opinions, and regular joint summing up. Sometimes a leader, without noticing it, can provoke a conflict. Therefore, before you start acting, analyze your own behavior. Remember that as a manager you are not allowed to:

-hide any business information from your subordinates;

-express special favor to any of the employees;

-resignedly hand over people “to be torn to pieces” by higher authorities;

-underestimate the professionalism of your colleagues [14, p. 43].

Questions:

1. What should a manager do to ensure that conflict situations do not

arise in the team?

2.If a conflict situation has become a reality, how to manage it?

3.What should be your actions as a manager when resolving a conflict?

Exercise 3 (using the Internet). Find on the Internet the website of an organization where they try to create an atmosphere of cohesion and a good moral climate in work teams. What do they do to avoid destructive conflicts?

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