Background
The growth and development of any economy are dependent on prevalent management practices in different business set-ups. Managers in New Zealand-based organizations recognize the role of proper management skills. This assertion explains why they have been working towards improving their management skills as a way of becoming competitive in the global market. However, a 2010 study revealed glaring inefficiencies in the field of management amongst managers in New Zealand-based organizations. The case study has shown several organizational problems in New Zealand as discussed in the following section.
Self-improvement Requirements
According to the case study, the majority of managers in New Zealand lack proper management skills. A third of the interviewed employees felt that they were reporting to incompetent managers. To address this issue, I will undertake professional management courses that focus on improving management capabilities. Education plays a central role in the acquisition of the requisite skills that are needed in successful organizational management. While technical skills can be learned on the job, acquiring management capabilities requires rigorous training (Jacobs, 2014).
Organizations in New Zealand are facing high turnover rates due to manager-employee conflicts occasioned by poor management skills. According to Sonnentag, Unger, and NĂ€gel (2013), employees attach meaning to their work. Therefore, if they are not happy at the workplace, it means even their wellbeing is affected hence they will quit for more satisfying environments. I will study conflict management in the workplace to solve this problem. As mentioned earlier, conflict in the workplace is one of the leading causes of high turnover rates. Surji (2017) notes that high turnover rates lead to a decline in performance and loss-making. This assertion holds because it takes time and resources to hire and train the right employees.
From my interpersonal skills, I can note that managers in New Zealand do not acknowledge their shortcomings. Baker (2014) warns that managers who fail to lead by example encourage mediocrity and incompetence amongst employees. This aspect leads to poor service delivery and loss-making. Therefore, I should learn to lead by example. Asrar-ul-Haq and Kuchinke (2016) posit that transformational management leads to improved employees’ outcomes and organizational performance.
Besides, New Zealand managers do not set realistic goals. The role of setting realistic goals in the achievement of organizational excellence and increased productivity cannot be overemphasized (Bronkhorst, Steijn, & Vermeeren, 2015). As such, proper goal setting techniques will be a requirement in addressing this problem. Setting goals act as motivation for employees as they work towards the achievement of certain outcomes within a specified period (Asmus, Karl, Mohnen, & Reinhart, 2015). Therefore, I should learn this important managerial skill as part of self-improvement.
Additionally, it emerged that managers in New Zealand do not inspire their teams. Jiang (2014) posits, “Inspiration is the engine that runs successful teams in the workplace” (p. 224). New Zealand managers fail to reap the benefits of teamwork due to a lack of management skills. Therefore, I will be keen to learn ways of becoming an inspirational leader of my teams. The final skill requirement will entail become innovative. Innovation is an important component of every successful organization in contemporary times (Tohidi & Jabbari, 2012). Consequently, I will look for ways to improve my innovativeness in management.
Contribution
The above self-development steps will contribute significantly to solving the problems presented in the case study. For instance, learning conflict management in the workplace will save most organizations in New Zealand from the current high turnover rates occasioned by the lack of such skills. Besides, undertaking professional management courses will bridge the current gap in management skills amongst New Zealand managers. Similarly, learning how to lead by example coupled with professional goal-setting skills will help organizations as such skills are lacking in the market according to the case study. Finally, innovative companies tend to have better management structures, which are missing in New Zealand-based organizations. Therefore, learning how to become innovative as a manager will bridge this gap.
Conclusion
Organizations in New Zealand are facing a myriad of managerial problems due to the evident lack of management skills. The findings of my reflection mean that managers in New Zealand are struggling to match the management skills needed to remain competitive at the global level. Also, managers’ perceived performance and efficiency do not match their employees’ expectations. From my reflection, I noted a lack of synchrony between what managers think they do and what they implement. For instance, I noted that while managers think they are concerned with the employees’ welfare, workers do not agree with such sentiments. From my experience and skills, such discrepancies occur due to the autocratic management style where employees are not consulted in decision-making. Therefore, I think by adopting democratic or consultative styles of management, this problem can be solved in New Zealand-based organizations. However, proper training in professional management courses will bridge this gap in skills and allow New Zealand companies to become competitive in the ever-evolving business environment.
References
Asmus, S., Karl, F., Mohnen, A., & Reinhart, G. (2015). The impact of goal-setting on worker performance – Empirical evidence from a real-effort production experiment. Procedia CIRP, 26, 127-132.
Asrar-ul-Haq, M., & Kuchinke, P. (2016). Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal, 2(1), 54-64.
Baker, E. (2014). Leadership and management – Guiding principles, best practices, and core attributes. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 20(3), 356-357.
Bronkhorst, B., Steijn, B., & Vermeeren, B. (2015). Transformational leadership, goal setting, and work motivation: The case of a Dutch municipality. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 35, 124-145.
Jacobs, R. L. (2014). Structured on-the-job training. In Poell, R., Rocco, T., & Roth, G. (Eds.), Companion guide to human resource development (pp. 272-284). London, England: Routledge.
Jiang, X. (2014). How to motivate people working in teams. International Journal of Business Management, 5(10), 223-230.
Sonnentag, S., Unger, D., & NĂ€gel, I. (2013). Workplace conflict and employee wellâbeing: The moderating role of detachment from work during offâjob time. International Journal of Conflict Management, 24(2), 166-183.
Surji, K. (2017). The negative effect and consequences of employee turnover and retention on the organisation and its staff. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(25), 52-64.
Tohidi, H., & Jabbari, M. (2012). Innovation as a success key for organisations. Procedia Technology, 1(2012), 560-564.