Chapter 1+2 Dr Khaled Managerial Problems PDF

 Chapter One: The Nature of Managerial Problems 1- What constitutes a problem?  “A thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand”, a doubtful or difficult matter requiring solution”  In management terms, a problem (i.e., a managerial problem) is defined as: A...

 Chapter One: The Nature of Managerial Problems 1- What constitutes a problem?  “A thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand”, a doubtful or difficult matter requiring solution”  In management terms, a problem (i.e., a managerial problem) is defined as: Any difference or discrepancy between an actual situation and an expected situation.  An obstacle ‫ ﻋﺎﺋﻖ‬that remains perplexing until solved.  A situation in which objectives are not being met. A problem exists whenever a difference exists between what is actually happening and what is expected to happen.  Problems can be simple or complex. They can be personal or organizational in nature.  Organizations encounter ‫ تواجه‬problems on a daily basis, and no matter how well prepared they may be, there is always the element of the unknown, hence, the need for problem - solving skills.  Interpersonal relationships fail and businesses fail because of poor problem solving. 1 Dr Khaled   All problems have two features in common: goals and barriers. - Goals have to do with anything you wish to achieve, where you want to be, or the desired state of affairs. - Barriers, on the other hand, are those obstacles or limitations that come between the person and the goals which he wants to achieve. 2- Recognizing a problem ‫اﻻعتراف بالمشكلة‬  The following are situations which usually signals having a problem: A deviation ‫ اﻻنحراف‬from the past experience – this is when a previous pattern of performance in the organization has been broken. if expenses in an organization or a department have suddenly increased; or if employee turnover suddenly increases. A deviation from a set plan – this is when a manager’s projections or expectations are not being met. For instance, when profit levels are lower than what was anticipated Other people often bring problems to the manager – this happens because many decisions that managers make daily, involve problems presented by others. For instance, customers may complain about late deliveries; higher-level managers may set new performance standard for the manager’s department. 2 Dr Khaled  The performance of competitors can also create problem solving situations. For instance, when other companies Develop new processes or improvements in operating procedures, the manager may have to re-evaluate processes or procedures in his or her own organization. 3- Problem Situations Problems situations can occur when there is performance deficiency, or when there is performance opportunity. A Performance Deficiency – this occurs when actual performance is less than desired performance. A Performance Opportunity – this occurs when actual level of performance is better than what is anticipated. 4- Types of Managerial Problems  classified into three main categories: 3 Dr Khaled 1. Structured Problems. These are types of problems which are familiar and straightforward. The information needed to resolve them are equally clear. They are sometimes expected, and managers can plan ahead as well as develop specific ways to deal with them. 2. Unstructured Problems. These are problems which may occur as new or unexpected situations. They usually involve ambiguities ‫غموض‬and information deficiencies, and they usually require novel solutions. Such problems are not always anticipated. 3. Crisis Problems. These refer to problems which are unexpected, and which can lead to disaster if not quickly resolved or appropriately dealt with. 5- Characteristics of difficult problem 4 Dr Khaled   Lack of clarity At times where the situation is unclear, and the goal to the problem is not explicitly defined making it difficult to identify a solution.  Multiple goals There may be situations where there are multiple goals that you might have to reach. Time When considering a problem, we must estimate the time for which the problem might persist. If this is not done, there will arise unpredictability, and we will not be able to find solution to the problem. There might be different effects on the problem due to external factors while trying to solve the problem. This may happen immediately or sometime later in the future. 6- Barriers to Problem Solving   Irrelevant Information As the name suggests, problems might sometimes have information that is neither relevant to the problem at hand nor of any importance to the person solving the problem. This kind of information serves no purpose in trying to solve a problem. Biasness towards confirmation ‫اﻻنحياز‬There is a fundamental clause that a statistician must follow. When a statistical survey is conducted, he must try to obtain all the information for his hypothesis from the sample without favoring any observation in the sample. He must observe impartially and use Mindset and fixedness to one method of solving problems he mindset plays a great role when it comes to the attempt to solve Problems. Mangers might solve problems using a technique that as been proved successful to them over the past. 5 Dr Khaled Chapter 2 SOURCES OF MANAGERIAL PROBLEMS AND CRISES Sources of issues and crises One approach to categorizing the sources of issues and crises could be illustrated in the following figure: Internal Sources Some issues and crises are directly attributable to factors or actions residing within an organization. Because they are within the organization’s control, mitigation should be easier than would be the case for external sources. A good example of this is the recent Volkswagen emissions ‫ازمة‬ ‫ﻏش‬cheating crisis. There is no way the organization can blame ‫ﻟوم‬some external factor for the crisis, it was 100% within the company. Internal sub-categories include: People – the actions of management and/or staff. Culture – the nature of the organization’s corporate culture. 6 Dr Khaled  Product/Service – the specific items produced by the organization or the services it provides. Process – the processes / ways of work within the organization. Operations – the sourcing, manufacturing, distribution systems employed by the organization. Financial – the organization’s financial systems and/or status. External Sources Reflects the potential sources of issues and crises found outside of the organization such as the political, economic, cultural, and demographic environments in which the organization operates. These tend to be macro risks that can manifest themselves as a crisis for the organization depending on its relationship with its external stakeholders. External sub-categories include: Regulatory – the nature of the regulatory environment in which the organization operates. Legal – the legal system(s) and potential for hostile litigation that the organization is exposed to. 7 Dr Khaled  Environmental – the potential impact the organization has on the natural environment and the level public awareness regarding environmental protection. Market – the market(s) in which the organization operates including stability of demand, competitive systems, and overall health of the economy. Societal – cultural, religious, national, ethnic, and demographic factors that can impact the organization’s relationship with its stakeholders. Overlapping Sources Increasingly organizations are exposed to sources of risk that span the internal and external categories. Overlapping sub-categories include: Supply-chain – increasingly, major corporations and brands are being held responsible for the actions of organizations throughout their supply chain, even if these organization have no formal/legal relationship beyond the selling and buying of goods or services 8 Dr Khaled  Labor organizations – the potential impact of local, national and international labor organizations and/or organizations advocating for the rights of labor on an organization – in terms of its relationship with its own employees as well as its overall reputation. ‫اﻟسمعة‬ Management as the source of the organizational problems You can run down the list of all the organizational problems on the mind of senior leaders and see that the fingerprints of managers are all over them. Over and over, it is the actions (or inaction ‫ )كسل‬of managers that combine to be the hidden, root cause of these major, valid concerns. Managers are the part of the iceberg we do not see Most areas of business have an iceberg analogy; what is seen is often a small part of a bigger problem. What the crew of the Titanic did not see was the part of the iceberg that ripped the fatal hole in the ship. ‫حفرة قاتلة ﻓﻲ‬ ‫اﻟسفينة‬ Bad management is the hidden part of the iceberg for organizational problems. It is hard to directly track someone being a bad manager on a balance sheet, unless they miss numbers. Yet, there are many ways that can still cause costly problems despite hitting numbers ‫ ضرب اﻻرقام‬in the short term. Turnover One of the biggest, most painful organizational problems that can plague ‫وباء‬a company is turnover. When turnover strikes, unfortunately the problem is usually mis-diagnosed ‫تﺷﺧيص‬. Multiple studies show that managers falsely attribute employee turnover to either the quality of the job offer, or claim the employee was not a fit anyways. 9 Dr Khaled ‫اﻟمدير مﻼك انا همﺷﻲ علﺷان عرض اﻟﺷغل اﻟتانﻲ احلﻲ‬ Productivity No one has a bigger impact on team effectiveness than the manager of that team. According to research, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. Despite these facts, most employees do not have an effective manager helping them perform at a high level. Only about 21% of employees feel they are managed in a motivating way, and only 34% of managers can even name the strengths of their employees. Process Management Managers determine the best process for their teams. Whether by building consensus or dictating, the decisions they make determine what and how things get done. Good managers do this by enabling and empowering the strengths of their team, focusing on the strengths of your team is hugely beneficial: “People who focus on their strengths every day are 6 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs, are more productive and are more likely to say they have an excellent quality of life.” bad managers do the opposite. They use politics and play favorites to assign work. They add heavy process and bottleneck decision making through them. This slows down decision-making, product releases, customer issue resolutions, addressing PR/social media postings in times of crisis, and other issues teams tackle every day. PR ( public relations ) Making the numbers The philosophy, “What is measured is what matters” has many benefits when running an organization; it brings focus, creates clarity for evaluating 10 Dr Khaled performance, and can get large organizations moving in one general direction. Job role design ‫تصميم الدور الوظيفي‬ They are called “hiring managers” for a reason. The best managers understand what headcount they need, have detailed conversations with their top-of-funnel recruiters (HR) about what they are looking for, and then bring in finalists to interact with the preexisting team. Leadership Pipelines Leadership pipelines represent a top concern of executives. For those companies that invest in addressing this issue, it was found that they experience significantly higher long-term revenue per employee and gross profit margin. Relationships with customers Managers set the tone for how their teams treat customers. There is nothing more powerful than leadership by example. If they are careful and diligent, their team will be, too. Being more innovative Every company claims to be innovative and wants to be thought of as an industry leader. Yet, many fail to get beyond buzzwords and marketing claims. The best ideas are often surfaced from front-line staff; they are closest to the touch points and needs of the customers. 11 Dr Khaled