2.1 Human resources management

Economic and management sciences

Grade 7

Successful management sciences

Module 5

Human resources management

Managing people

1. The duties of the manager

Over and above his other management tasks, the manager of any concern is especially responsible for utilizing the people who work for him:

• He must treat his employees in such a way that they have no reason to complain.
• He must motivate his employees to use their abilities to the full.

A manager must know what is happening on the lower levels of the concern. He must make time to talk to his employees. This is also referred to as roving management .

2. The expectations of the manager

The successful manager must also be familiar with the expectations of his staff, and he must take active steps to fulfil in those expectations.

What are those expectations?

Good treatment

• Every worker wants to work under ideal circumstances.
• Every worker would like a pleasant relationship with his boss.
• Every worker wants to be treated fairly.

Motivation

Every worker has five basic expectations that will motivate them to give their best:

• “Let’s come to an agreement about the results I’m supposed to achieve.” (Setting of goals)
• “ Give me the opportunity to prove myself.” (Participation and delegating)
• “ Inform me about my progress – good or bad”. (Management control)
• “ Assist me if I need help, or when I do not perform well.” (Managing the underachiever)
• “ Acknowledge my contribution by rewarding me accordingly.” (Rewards that motivate)

Ways in which the manager can motivate his staff

1. Setting of goals

When the manager sets certain goals for the employee to achieve, this serves as an agreement between the manager and his employee.

The employee expects these goals to be realistic , in other words, they must be attainable.

The manager regards these goals as a challenge to the employee.

1. Participation and delegating

A worker wants to prove himself. He welcomes help and support while he is still learning, but he soon longs for opportunities to prove himself. This can occur in two ways:

• Participation in decision-making

One way of giving employees an opportunity to prove themselves, is to involve them in decision-making processes, i.e. to consult them, to ask for suggestions, and to include them in problem-solving discussions.

• Delegating responsibilities

Another way of giving an employee an opportunity to prove himself, is to delegate certain responsibilities to him. Delegating means that a member of staff is entrusted with the power to use his own judgment.

1. Management control

The third expectation of an employee is that he will be kept informed about his progress – whether it is good or bad. To be able to do that, the manager must exercise effective management control.

The purpose of management control is to confirm that the work of the particular employee meets the required standards. Records should also be kept of individuals’ achievements.

1. Dealing with the under-achiever

It is the task of the manager to help the employee, not to judge him. Do not point out his shortcomings or imply that poor achievement is his fault. Try to find a solution, instead of a mistake; tackle the problem, not the person. If the employee improves, the manager should re-enforce this improvement by providing positive feedback, and set new goals.

1. Rewards to serve as motivation

The last expectation of the employee, but not the least, is to be rewarded for his contribution.

Acknowledgement is what makes a reward worthwhile. It is not so much the nature or the size of the reward that counts, but the fact that it is a token of acknowledging an achievement.

Rewards play a very important role in motivating employees to higher levels of achievement if it is used to acknowledge achievement. Managers who neglect the rewards at their disposal, neglect powerful instruments – to their own detriment.

This information is adapted from: Mol. A., Help! Ek is ‘n bestuurder , (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 1990)

Assessment