MANAGING
PEOPLE AND ORGANISATION
Introduction
This assignment discusses some issues on managing people and
organisation. This assignment presents the Saudi Telecom (STC) as a case study.
Specifically, the assignment covers the people and organisation within the
Telecommunication Network Operations (NO) - Centralised Operation and
Management (COM) Department. This paper provides a background to the company;
description of the company’s business environment including the task and macro
environments; description of technical core and work processes, structure,
culture and management systems; and how the people are managed. Moreover, this
assignment assesses performance and effectiveness and efficiency of the
organisation; analyses the factors listed above; and provides recommendations
for changes.
What is the Organisation?
integrated telecom solutions that provide optimum value to all stakeholders.
Moreover, it enriches people's personal lives and contributes to their business
success by offering high quality communication services that reflect their true
needs. STC is determined to deliver results on its journey to become a customer
focused and competitive company. The company is confident of its large market
share and believes that investors are confidently investing in the
company. Saudi Telecom is a company that
people will be proud to work for.
1988 and, since then, has delivered a range of positive results that have
delivered a better service to more customers. This has been achieved through an
ambitious transformation & restructuring program compound with an extensive
expansion of our network and infrastructure.
As part of corporate social
responsibility, the Saudi Government announced that by the end of 2002, 30% of
Saudi Telecom shares will be released for sale to Saudi citizens &
organisations: Saudi citizens (20%), General Organization of Social Insurance
(GOSI) (5%), and Pension Fund Organization (5%). By the end of the subscription
period, requests for shares exceeded the number offered by 3.5 times. This move
clearly indicates that Saudi people are confident of STC’s success and trust in
its future.
Telecommunication Network Operations (NO) - Centralised Operation and
Management (COM) Department. Under this department, the author belongs to the
OSS COM Support division. Our job includes carrying out operations and
maintenance of COM applications that support STC-NO users to perform
centralized operation and management of remotely sited Network Elements
efficiently and with minimum service outage. We make sure that the existing COM
systems and tools are efficiently and accurately managed to enable full
resources utilisation, to get optimise performance, to minimise service outages
and to help in expediting service restoration of STC Network.
write about the organisational culture, performance and management within the
Centralised Operation and Management Department. This is because the author is
familiar with the structure and culture of the organisation. The author has
been working in the department for ___ years.
environment. Due to this complexity, the department is considering all the
factors that affect its task environments. Some factors such as political-legal
and economic climates are encouraging to the growth of the department. However,
the sociocultural climate is posing a challenge. Nevertheless, COM is generally
having a stable environment.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'> The
political-legal climate of corporations in
encouraging. This is especially for STC in which it reciprocates the
government’s trust on the company by sharing 30 percent of its shares to the
government. Likewise, the economic climate in
systems of wealth production, distribution and consumption. However, inflations
and recessions affect the operation of COM. These are the factors over which we
have little control.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'> The
sociocultural climate represents the attitudes, values, norms, beliefs,
behaviours and associated demographic characteristics of the population within
which an organisation operates (Daft 1997, p. 78). As Saudi
is a melting pot of other Asian workers (especially workers from the Southeast
Asian Region), we are particularly faced with the problem of sociocultural
differences between countries. In operating and managing COM applications that
support STC-NO users, we have to consider our customers’ values and beliefs. To
do this we conduct studies to identify the concerns of our customers.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'> The
technological climate includes scientific and technological advancements in the
production of goods and services (Daft 1997, p. 77). Technology for COM is of
particular importance because it has been and continues to be the main source
of increases in productivity, which means it can either provide a competitive
advantage to organisations that can use it effectively, or pose a threat to
those that lack it. To remain competitive therefore, it is important that we
need to understand current technology developments affecting their ability to
offer desirable products and services.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>
Structure
"functional" responsibility, that is, they are also ultimately
responsible for the development of staff in a particular discipline. In the
execution of this second responsibility, they are assisted by corporate
functional discipline heads, who — like the directors — generally have dual
role that combines functional with line-management responsibilities. The
department introduced the team-leader in its structure to improve the company
unit’s productivity and efficiency.
asset management principles and provides a structure which is geared towards
growth and value creation. It is focused on technical integrity of product flow
assets, infrastructure and business processes. Moreover, single-point
accountability for the day-to-day management, performance and development of
all assets has been introduced and a number of management layers has been
removed. The organisation is based on “single-point responsibility”, and it has
fewer layers then pervious structure.
as well as team-based. Span of control is narrow and specialized; jobs are
grouped according to resources used or output; promotion is within
specialization; differentiated horizontally from other functions; and
communication is vertical. Moreover, the organisational structure at COM is
temporary. Jobs are grouped according to project objectives and are
differentiated from other teams. It is the team which links members’
departments. Rewards are based on team success/failure
Culture
organisational culture within COM is generally one of trust. Unlike the other
departments under STC, staff members of COM are having a high job satisfaction.
The department director makes sure that human resource practices are clarified
and harmonized and that human resource policies and procedures are applied
consistently. There are space for ideas and new concepts within as well as
outside of the COM.
reflects the culture of the COM organization is ‘games’. In organizational
theories, games are defined as the systems of influence of an organization
which are distinct from the administrative power structure or hierarchy. Among
the games that have been observed in the organisation are sponsorship games
which are played to build a power base by using a superior. Another is the
alliance-building games which are played amongst peers to build a stronger
power base. I have also witnessed management versus staff games and whistle-blowing
games which are played by a lower level employee who ‘blow the whistle’ on
questionable behaviors. Although these cases are very few.
suits the work processes and organisation structure. A structure with a few
level is suitable in an organisational culture where staff are working as a
team. Through this structure, blatant hierarchy and power play are avoided in
the department. A structure with many levels, on the other hand, would seem to
heighten the games being played in the organisation.
Roles
must perform ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors in the
company because it is a part of their job as managers. These managers freely
exercise their figurehead roles such as ribbon-cutting ceremonies and hosting
functions in the organization. Moreover, they are responsible enough in
motivating, training and counseling their subordinates. Managers in the
department also forge links both inside and outside the organisation. It is
visible in their management that constant communication with both internal and
external personalities of the organization is vital to maintain stability in
the organization. It is important in the department to require managers of networking
skills to shape and maintain internal and external contacts for information
exchange.
receive information from many sources to evaluate the organisation's
performance, its well-being and situation; build and use an intelligence
system; bring external views into the organisation and facilitate internal
information flows between subordinates; disseminate information; lobby to other
organisations under STC COM’s concerns; exude a positive disposition towards
the objectives of the company.
color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'> It
is apparent that the managers at COM are sincere in improving the
organisation’s productivity and employee satisfaction. Moreover, they are
"Times New Roman"'>aware of their role as initiators of change. In taking
corrective actions during disputes and crises managers are effective in solving
conflicts by being fair. In general, managers at COM use their powers properly
in deciding who gets resources, scheduling and budgeting.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>
People
increasingly demanding change, choice, flexibility, and variety in their work;
suggesting that with the empowerment of individual employees, the future for
both the organisation and the individual lies in developing the value of the
individual as human capital. The value of human capital is enhanced by
acquisition of higher performance potential such as new tasks, functions, and
knowledge, skills, abilities, personal attributes.
At
COM, employees are given clearer direction on how to do their jobs well.
Majority of the staff feels that their jobs at COM are meaningful ones. This is
because of the clear relationship between their jobs and the goals of the
department. The organisation considers its employees’ skills and abilities in
designing jobs for them. As a result, many employees are satisfied with the
procedures and processes involving the completion of their work. COM also
introduces to employees more challenging opportunities at work such as
participation to interesting projects with increased responsibility.
The
company recently reviewed its compensation plans. It was decided that
compensation must be linked in relation to sales and service performance. At
COM, the management careful and fair in giving incentives for sales and service
performance. Managers often use recognition system and intrinsic reward as
compensation and motivation of maintaining superior service. Further, the
department only hires those who are highly qualified employees and retains them
for further improvement. COM also provides a training program to enhance their
skills and abilities and productivity.
style='font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"'>
training sessions take place in the department. However, the author finds that
the training in the company is not effective because it happens once a year, or
only when the company is doing badly in terms of sales. There is currently no
formal system of employee training; hence, once they arrive on board, they
automatically follow an unstructured plan of job shadowing.
because the company lacks funds. The company boasts its being one of the best
telecommunication providers in the country. However, it seems that the company
does not prioritise employee training.
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"'>
employees. These needs include flexible times, reward and bonuses, harmonious
working environment, safety and other sociological needs. There is also an
evidence of empowerment among employee in the department.
results to an increased competence, self-esteem and self-respect, which are
very important to one’s well-being.
font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>Creating an environment in the
workplace that results in employees feeling better about themselves when they
are in it results in love of their work. People who enjoy working are more
productive.
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>
measurement and evaluation of managerial and employee performance in pursuing
strategies and actions which enable it to achieve the organisational
goals. At COM, selection of performance
measures is made in the light of the company’s strategic intentions that are
appropriate in pursuit of the goals and remain competitive in the industry. At
COM, performance management involves selecting the right measures to gauge
business results, establishing standards, track actual accomplishment, and
provide guidance to success.
Organisation Performance
COM
tries to be innovative and is able to differentiate its product flexibility as
well as the service delivery in the marketplace.
of the quality service, in addition to sales result for their long-term health
and profits, COM bases the performance of its managers and employees through
service and product quality. The quality of products and services is seen as
the most important factor affecting a business unit's performance, and see
quality as the most effective way for business growth, expansion and gains in
market share.
This assignment found that managers at the COM department
are aware of their roles. As illustrated by some researchers, managerial roles
are not confined within the walls of their office. Instead, they perform
multiple tasks from greeting the visitors to managing information to
decision-making. This new organisation enables managers to have multiple roles
to improve the company unit’s productivity and efficiency.
addition, this assignment found that since the COM organisation is fully based
on asset management principles, it provides a structure which is geared towards
growth and value creation. It is focused on technical integrity of product flow
assets, infrastructure and business processes.
the knowledge of the theories on personality performance and individual skills
enable decision-makers manage an organisation effectively. Managers are
interested in human behaviour because they desire to predict behaviours at
work. By knowing how people react, managers can mold the behaviours that
concern them such as absenteeism, productivity and turnover. Human behaviour at
work can be viewed on either an individual or group level. Individual
characteristics include attitudes, personality, perception, learning and
motivation. Group characteristics include norms, roles, team building and
conflict.
knowledge of these theories, managers are able to address issues on job
satisfaction, job involvement and organisational commitment. Job satisfaction
is the general attitude expressed about the task; job involvement is the degree
an employee identifies with his/her job; and organisational commitment is the
loyalty expressed for the organisation itself. Consequently, managers are able
to design effective programs that increase employee productivity and consider
the importance of employee appraisal.
should be aware of the nature of its organisational culture in order for it to
determine what aspects of the organisation need to be evaluated. COM should
recognise and understand the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that prevalent in
the working environment. Managers should promote sharing, learning and consistency.
Managers should continue practicing their three roles (interpersonal,
informational and decisional) for a successful organisation.
It is important to have
the right individuals to make up an organization’s workforce at the right time
and right place. To be able to do that,
the organisation must be able to recruit and retain competent individuals to
match the constant changing job skills.
Organisations must realise that in
order for them to recruit, develop, and retain skill employees for future missions,
they need to unleash their human resource employee relation’s imagination to
create capability and flexibility to institutionalize a well-defined system to
expedite the handling of disputes and grievances. Therefore, it is imperative
that human resource departments adopt a modern day progressive employee
relation’s paradigm that embraces and enhances the recruitment, development,
and retention of employees in concert with human capital strategic management
planning initiatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment