Manager's Behavior Towards Employees example essay topic

DIVERSIFICATION HAS CHANGED MANAGERIAL INTERACTION WITH THE WORKFORCEAbstractThe diversification of the American Workforce has changed the way managers interact with employees. This diversification is due to tighter labor markets, increased immigration, and women entering the workforce. Cultural factors, not present before, have caused managers to develop new methods of tasking, motivating, and educating these diverse employees. Essentially these new methods have been a change in interpersonal behavior, the way a manager acts and re-acts to employees. This change in behavior was necessary to increase productivity and maintain a competitive edge in the market place. I. Introduction In my Cultural Anthropology course, I had to learn and memorize the definition of culture; "Culture is an organized system of learned behavior patterns, always made manifest in a group, making that group distinctive from other groups...

". This definition was the basis for my understanding and ability to learn about other people, different than myself and from different backgrounds, during my studies in Anthropology and Psychology. This definition has the key element of what culture is, a system of behavior distinctive to a particular group of people. These behaviors range from cultural norms to religious beliefs.

In business, the effectiveness of an organization rests on the ability of the management to interact with its employees and to motivate the workforce to accomplish the goals of the company. This ability of interaction between the manager and the employees depends on the managers understanding of the cultural differences between himself and his employees. The masculine form is only being used as example for the purpose of this paper. It is understood that the managers will most likely be male or female.

An organization is affected by cultural factors on many levels. The top management forms the basic foundation of an organization when they set the primary goals for that organization, the reason the organization is in business. An example would be that a car company in the United States of America would have the ultimate goal of making large amounts of profit for it's stakeholders. This goal is derived in the root cultural tenant of capitalism. The United States was founded with capitalist ideas and so American managers will have capitalist ideas.

Now the same type of company in the Soviet Union, before the end of the cold war, may have had an ultimate goal of making efficient military vehicles, not being concerned about the profit margin rather the purpose of the product. This goal would have been derived from the socialist belief of "all things are for the good of the state". As the influence of culture affects the direction of the company, it also affects the interaction between the managers and the employees. In the example of the American auto plant, the interaction between manager and employee was one based on western ideas of supervision and motivation.

Today these ideas are changing. As people of other races and other ethnic groups continue to emigrate, they will bring even more diversity and possibly lifestyle changes to the United States. (Bowman-Kruhm and Wirths, 1998) This diversity will impact every aspect of life in America, especially the workforce and how managers interact with this workforce. II. Why the workforce is Diverse in America There are three factors that have contributed to the diversity in the growing workforce: tight labor markets, immigration, and increase in women entering the workforce.

A tight labor market has been created by the decline in the overall labor force growth. In the 1990's, the labor force growth fell 1.3 percent annually, down from 2.3 percent between 1962 and 1979. Annual labor force growth is expected to fall even further in the years to come, to less than 1 percent between 1998 and 2006. (Businessweek, n. d.) Immigration has contributed significantly to growing workforce diversity.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, immigrants' account for half of the workforce growth in the 1990's. Also, the foreign born population now makes up almost 10 percent of the total population, the highest since 1930. Another force contributing to increased workforce diversity is the increase of women entering the workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 61 percent of the new labor force entrants between 1994 and 2005 will be women and by 2020 women will make up over 50 percent of the labor force in America. (Kowalenko, 2000) .

Immediate Affects of Diversity on Businesses This change in workforce diversity will present employers with new workplace challenges. The lower level of education in some immigrant populations will make their integration into today's workplace more difficult. Employers will have to take a more active role in preparing workers for jobs, trough remedial education, language training, and skill upgrading. The increased presence of women in the workforce may require changes in the traditional structure of work. Because women still shoulder the majority of household responsibilities and child rearing, they favor more flexible work arrangements. Once these diverse peoples enter the workforce, they are faced with numerous obstacles.

These obstacles often include not having a mentor with in the company, the lack of company role models from the same background as the employee, fewer opportunities for management positions, difficulties balancing work and family, and exclusion from some of the informal networks within the company organization. (Kowalenko, 2000) Not only are the general business practices of the company affected by this increase in diversity, but also the manager's behavior towards employees must change. IV. Changing Managerial Behavior It is a natural behavior to believe that your culture is normal compared to that of other cultures and sometimes that belief extends to that of superiority.

This consequently leads to an ethnocentric way of thinking, meaning we ignore the distinction between our culture and that of another. (Businessweek, n. d.) We assume that other people will operate from the same cultural guidelines that we do. Many managers operate from the "one-size-fit's all" era of management. As the diversity of the workforce grows, managers must take time to accept and learn to understand that some people are different and have different needs.

(DeVoe, 1999) It is up to the management to create a more accepting work environment and to do this they must change the way the act and re-act towards their diverse workforce. "No matter how you feel about the multicultural face of the United States, at the start of the twenty-first century, you will have to cope with it, regardless of your race". (Bowman-Kruhm et al., 1998) Not only will managers have to cope, they will have to devise new methods of maintaining productivity through tasking, motivating and evaluating these diverse peoples. In the Roman Empire, all business was conducted in Latin.

People who did not speak Latin did not rise to management levels. The lack of your ability to speak the language was proof that you were not management material. (Bernstein and Rozen, 1992) This ethnocentric view on the worth of an individual was a cultural norm of the time and thus affected the relationship on the workforce. In the early days of American Industrialism, we had the same biased against immigrants who could not or would not learn English. Most first generation immigrants preferred the ways of their homeland. By the second and third generations, regardless of pride in their heritage, most people learned English and fit in with American life.

(Bowman-Kruhm et al., 1998) Today managers need to understand the differences in cultural behavior so they can interpret the situation and design managerial strategies or behaviors to motivate the workforce. (Kotkin, 1993) These strategies need to be of value to the individual's cultural background so it will be effective. Managers can implement three strategies that are culturally aware and useful in maintaining a productive work environment: accurate interpretations, formal expectations, and positive reinforcement. It is the managers job to understand why a person behaves the way they do. The manager must make himself culturally aware. Many time managers misinterpret the behavior of an individual because they do not understand what has motivated that behavior.

An example would be that a Spanish speaking person may use his native language to better accomplish his job, but a manager may interpret it as being lazy and not wanting to learn English. (Kotkin, 1993) The manager must take the time to ask why and do so with respect for that person's cultural background. By doing this the manager can gather valuable information that will help him understand the motivations and behavior of his employees. A manager should explain his expectations so the worker fully understands what is expected of him.

Often managers fail to explain what they wan and why they want it. (Chaleff, 1995) Many immigrants and minorities have a lot of respect for their manager and feel that it is inappropriate for them to complain about problems within the work environment. A manager must have a formal channel of feedback so that he can know that the employee understands his expectations. (Daft, 1988) The manager should take the time to explain to the employee that with out this information, the manager cannot effectively do his job.

Positive reinforcement crosses all cultural boundaries. When an employee is performing his job to the desired expectations, the manager should show praise for a job well done. Managers should be aware that certain behaviors could be taken for granted. When you have employees who are continually using a language not native to them, it is easy for a manger to forget how difficult this task may be. Mangers need to be aware of behaviors that may be difficult for their employees and compliment them on their efforts. (Chaleff, 1995) By simply developing a few interpersonal behaviors, managers can more effectively influence motivation and productivity.

Understanding the cultural background of a diverse workforce and developing simple strategies such as accurate interpretations, formal expectations, and positive reinforcement can improve the relationship between manager and employee. V. Conclusion Diversity in business today is unavoidable. Due to labor markets, immigration, and the increase in women in the workforce, managers must develop new strategies and behaviors to effectively manage these diverse workers. As culturally different people enter the workforce, those who have different "learned behavior patterns", organizations need to take advantage of this labor pool. Not only does this resource solve declining labor growth, but also it gives the organization a different perspective in the industry and will potentially bring new diverse customers. Mangers who change their interpersonal behavior towards diverse employees and learn to understand the cultural differences between them will undoubtedly increase productivity and gain a competitive edge in the market place. VI.

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