Sunday, August 24, 2014

REFLECTION PAPER: THE NATURE OF WORK BY KERWIN SALVADOR P. CARAGOS

Managing work covers an important business function which has quality and bottom line repercussions.  The manner in which work is performed is often much to do with how it has always been done. Business tends to change incrementally in a more or less controlled environment and so past behaviour, if previously successful, will tend to hang around even when it is suspected to be redundant.

The report provides an overview on the nature of work of which an understanding of it starts with a complete review of the work itself. In the process, it will achieve an understanding of productivity and efficiency in the workplace which will now help to provide a measurement of how well the work is being performed. The management of work is not entirely hidden from view. There are “moments of truth” when interaction takes place between business and the market place. These moments reflect how things get done in the business can have a profound effect on the image of the business. An understanding of which will provide the following vital benefits: a clear understanding of work and its components, understanding of non-productive and redundant work, a clear understanding of scheduling, understanding of the creation of productive and happy working environments, understanding of motivation and the use of productivity tools such as meetings, workshops and benchmarks and performance indices.

I reflected that individuals are expected to work principally to solve a specific problem. Since skilled people are so much in demand, critical questions for business surely must be:

“What are the potentials of our staff that needs to be developed?”,
“What can we do to retain these people?”, and
“What can we provide for the staff to give the company a competitive edge?”

Unfortunately, it would seem these questions are not asked frequently enough.

As reported there are a lot of factors that affect work and how work was perceived by different individuals.  However, I can well say “that leaders and organizations need to develop the mindset, culture and competencies that support collaboration”. That is how new workplaces must evolve: TEAMWORK.  The role of manager has evolved a great deal over the past 30 years but it varies considerably across industries. One constant, however, is that managers are employees held accountable by their superiors to make sure they deliver in line with expectations. Managers in turn need to make sure that people reporting to them also deliver. This requirement places managers in a controlling, decision making position. The big change for managers today is HOW they carry out their responsibilities in managing people.  This will involve creating workplaces: (1) that encourage innovation, where people feel free to explore opportunities, voice opinions without the pressure to conform and where the emphasis is on seeking solutions instead of laying blame, (2) where respect, genuine team work and the celebration of achievements really can create positive changes, (3) where people are valued, difference is appreciated and where it is understood that every person is capable of achieving his or her potential for making worthwhile contributions to the workplace, (4) that allow for flexible working arrangements, where people feel safe to contribute at their own level according to the needs of age or their inclination.  The suggested workplaces do demand a different mindset, not just from leaders but from everyone.


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