Issues in Contemporary Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Issues in Contemporary Management - Essay Example In this essay, the most important characteristics of an effective organization and the main obstacles to effective organizational performance and the ways to overcome them are discussed. The success of an organization depends on the nature of the human resource. According to Whetton and Cameron, (2005) the most important personal qualities essential for a manager are the awareness of one's own self and ability to solve problems analytically and creatively. First and foremost quality that builds clarity in the thought process is the self awareness. Self awareness does not stop at the individual level, but the awareness of one's inner potential and capabilities as a team and as an organization. Self awareness helps to understand the customers more by taking a closer look at their lifestyle and environement as expressed by Anita Roddick in her interview about her best management practice. Cox(1994) in his work mentions that, self awareness is very essential to have a concept of self regard and worthiness to define the persons' emotional intelligence . More awareness of the person's personal values gives direction when decisions have to be made. When a person is aware o f the inner self, then they can appreciate the differences between individuals when working in a group. An effective manager feels comfortable in welcoming different viewpoints and can create a shared sense of commitment in a team. The other personal skill that has to be possessed by a manager is the ability to solve problems analytically and creatively. A manager should be able to think beyond the traditional boundaries of thought. If the manager has the ability to do so, he can create alternative solutions which are far beyond the traditional options available. Like Anita Roddick remarks, the team should not be rigid in its thought process so that the spirit of trying new ideas is killed. He should be able to combine unrelated alternatives to create an alternative solution for a problem which can create a platform for innovation. Managers in an organization are supposed to have a range of interpersonal skills like coaching, counseling, offering supportive communication, exercising influence, motivating others and managing conflicts. Of all these interpersonal skills the ability to offer supportive communication is very essential. According to Golen (1990), supportive communication is the communication that seeks to preserve a positive relationship between the communications while still addressing the problem at hand. It allows you to provide negative feedback or to resolve a difficult issue with another person and as a result can strengthen the relationship. The most important barriers to communication are the semantic barriers such as the symbols with different meanings, badly expressing the message, faulty translations, unqualified assumptions and the use of highly technical language loaded with technical jargons. There can be some psychological barriers also which include, premature evaluation which is caused by premature judgments made without proper analysis, lack of attention when the message is sent across, loss in the transmission of message and poor retention by the audience, undue reliance on the written word and ignoring the value of face to face interactions and distrust