by Michelle Greer - Friday, 8 February 2008, 10:28 AM
Ok, so I have been writing my essay and I have come up against this brick wall.
My theory is that you do not need fear to control people, as in the idea of fear of a manager or boss and I was wondering what other people thought. Do you need to have an element of fear to be a manager or can everyone be ‘friends’ and still be a manager?
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Re: fear of the manager
by jessica davey - Friday, 8 February 2008, 01:33 PM
I think that fear is quite a strong word to use when commenting on how a manager works and isnt a positive one in any respect with being afraid used in its very definition.
" a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid".
I think when you are working within management it is never possible to be everyones " friend" when you are working with more responsiblity and power then those working under you. A good working relantionship is important to establish between those who work for you and those who work with you , with the idea that friendship comes outside of the working environment where you can leave work behind and go for that much needed drink after work to relax.Respect for the manager or management team to how they run the work environment and establish what others are doing i think is healthy , i know when i have been working for someone i have no respect or trust in its hard to believe in what they are doing and feel the need to undermine them when you have the belief they aren't doing something right.
Fear isnt something a manager should need in order to motivate people to do something , i think the idea of controlling people is the wrong view to take to management. It is about providing the right motivational factors and environment for people to motivate themselves in order for them to succeed in the task they are given. For them to gain that sense of achievement and self forfillment in their work , otherwise why would they be working there.Encouragement in a working environment is vital from management and is something that people shouldnt have to fight to get, although understandably this shouldnt be taken advantage of or expected .
My Question is , can people succeed at any given task without the use of management where everyone has the equal right to everyone else to form opinion or take power or does their need to be someone in higher authority in order to get something done. Is their always a need for management?
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Re: fear of the manager
by Usha Padhiar - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:19 PM
In response to both Michelle and Jess, I partly agree with Jess’ comment that ‘’it is never possible to be everyone’s “friend" when you are working with more responsibility and power then those working under you’’. Mainly because in certain situations you can be friends with say someone in higher authority than you. An example of this on one of the productions I worked on where the productions managers were your ‘’friends rather than production managers. This may have been because we’re all students and have common ground but I’ve also worked at the Albany and even thought it was the first time I’ve worked there, I was treated as a friend and so it can be possible to work with people in higher authority as well as be their friend. The only person I’ve found it hard to be a friend was a director and personally I think we’re equal rather than them having higher authority than me or vice versa.
With regards to Jess’ question ‘’ is their always a need for management?’’. A definition I found for management
‘’ Management is the act of directing and controlling a group of people for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing the group towards accomplishing a goal beyond the scope of individual effort’’
With this definition in mind as well as my opinion the answer is yes. There is needed for management because there needs to be someone who can make overall decisions. Examples of having management are everywhere. Wherever we go there is always a person of management you speak to. i.e. in shops, when you’re not happy with the service, you speak to the manager. This shows that there is need for management because someone needs to control how things are run and to keep things moving as smooth as possible. If we take productions here for example we always have Production Managers, without them problems like, rude performers or directors that you can’t handle. The first person you’d talk to are you’re Production Managers. If we didn’t have production managers we wouldn’t be able to achieve our goal simply because it can be hard to work with people who are rude and don’t understand that certain things take time and the man/woman power.
If we didn’t have some form of authority or management would we be able to resolve problems that arise and make sure everyone’s happy?
Usha
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Re: fear of the manager
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:16 PM
Is it surely not our job to be everyones friend? As the link between all the strands we need to be able to get along with everyone and while that doesnt mean to be there friend, best pal, lets all go shopping and talk about boys! (Yes that's kinda sexist, but you get the idea) you do need to be able to communicate in a clear and polite way. Being friendly with everyone helps this along. As a part of a management team in my last job we were all very friendly and open with our team, and i have to say that i socialized with many of my then "colleagues", including dating one of them. So yes i was their friend, but i was also their boss and had no problem separating these identities. They knew that as their boss (and friend) they could come to me with their problems and i would help to work them out but the flip side to this was that they respected my authority over them. And yes i was a little more lack than the other managers but we still managed to get the jobs done, and to maintain a professional atmosphere.
I agree that management is essential in creating a structured atmosphere to work in. i think the security of having someone to turn to when there is a problem which is a reflection of the home life and the parent child relationship, is essential to create an atmosphere where people are not afraid to take chances that will ultimately better themselves. just as in childhood we take our first steps knowing someone is there to catch us if we fall in work we can take chances knowing that a manager will be there to correct us if we arer wrong.
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Re: fear of the manager
by Julian Bryant - Monday, 18 February 2008, 08:04 AM
The issue of peer-management, while obviously live in a college setting, doen't go away in the industry - especially where often you guys are employing your mates to help out. I haven't seen much in terms of literature on the subject, though there are bits in the Management Theory stuff. There's a video about a guy called Klaus Moeller in the LRC called "The Time Manager" who talks about caring for one's staff that's pretty close.
You might want to take this theme for your Management Theory essay rather than dealing with it here. Isn't it interesting, however, when you start to see that cultural theory and management theory are so close - both are branches of sociology/anthropology/social psychology field I suppose. We of all people shouldn't put stuff into categories that are closed boxes!
Ok, so I have been writing my essay and I have come up against this brick wall.
My theory is that you do not need fear to control people, as in the idea of fear of a manager or boss and I was wondering what other people thought. Do you need to have an element of fear to be a manager or can everyone be ‘friends’ and still be a manager?
Edit | Delete | Reply
Picture of jessica davey
Re: fear of the manager
by jessica davey - Friday, 8 February 2008, 01:33 PM
I think that fear is quite a strong word to use when commenting on how a manager works and isnt a positive one in any respect with being afraid used in its very definition.
" a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid".
I think when you are working within management it is never possible to be everyones " friend" when you are working with more responsiblity and power then those working under you. A good working relantionship is important to establish between those who work for you and those who work with you , with the idea that friendship comes outside of the working environment where you can leave work behind and go for that much needed drink after work to relax.Respect for the manager or management team to how they run the work environment and establish what others are doing i think is healthy , i know when i have been working for someone i have no respect or trust in its hard to believe in what they are doing and feel the need to undermine them when you have the belief they aren't doing something right.
Fear isnt something a manager should need in order to motivate people to do something , i think the idea of controlling people is the wrong view to take to management. It is about providing the right motivational factors and environment for people to motivate themselves in order for them to succeed in the task they are given. For them to gain that sense of achievement and self forfillment in their work , otherwise why would they be working there.Encouragement in a working environment is vital from management and is something that people shouldnt have to fight to get, although understandably this shouldnt be taken advantage of or expected .
My Question is , can people succeed at any given task without the use of management where everyone has the equal right to everyone else to form opinion or take power or does their need to be someone in higher authority in order to get something done. Is their always a need for management?
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Usha Padhiar
Re: fear of the manager
by Usha Padhiar - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:19 PM
In response to both Michelle and Jess, I partly agree with Jess’ comment that ‘’it is never possible to be everyone’s “friend" when you are working with more responsibility and power then those working under you’’. Mainly because in certain situations you can be friends with say someone in higher authority than you. An example of this on one of the productions I worked on where the productions managers were your ‘’friends rather than production managers. This may have been because we’re all students and have common ground but I’ve also worked at the Albany and even thought it was the first time I’ve worked there, I was treated as a friend and so it can be possible to work with people in higher authority as well as be their friend. The only person I’ve found it hard to be a friend was a director and personally I think we’re equal rather than them having higher authority than me or vice versa.
With regards to Jess’ question ‘’ is their always a need for management?’’. A definition I found for management
‘’ Management is the act of directing and controlling a group of people for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing the group towards accomplishing a goal beyond the scope of individual effort’’
With this definition in mind as well as my opinion the answer is yes. There is needed for management because there needs to be someone who can make overall decisions. Examples of having management are everywhere. Wherever we go there is always a person of management you speak to. i.e. in shops, when you’re not happy with the service, you speak to the manager. This shows that there is need for management because someone needs to control how things are run and to keep things moving as smooth as possible. If we take productions here for example we always have Production Managers, without them problems like, rude performers or directors that you can’t handle. The first person you’d talk to are you’re Production Managers. If we didn’t have production managers we wouldn’t be able to achieve our goal simply because it can be hard to work with people who are rude and don’t understand that certain things take time and the man/woman power.
If we didn’t have some form of authority or management would we be able to resolve problems that arise and make sure everyone’s happy?
Usha
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Kt Milne
Re: fear of the manager
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:16 PM
Is it surely not our job to be everyones friend? As the link between all the strands we need to be able to get along with everyone and while that doesnt mean to be there friend, best pal, lets all go shopping and talk about boys! (Yes that's kinda sexist, but you get the idea) you do need to be able to communicate in a clear and polite way. Being friendly with everyone helps this along. As a part of a management team in my last job we were all very friendly and open with our team, and i have to say that i socialized with many of my then "colleagues", including dating one of them. So yes i was their friend, but i was also their boss and had no problem separating these identities. They knew that as their boss (and friend) they could come to me with their problems and i would help to work them out but the flip side to this was that they respected my authority over them. And yes i was a little more lack than the other managers but we still managed to get the jobs done, and to maintain a professional atmosphere.
I agree that management is essential in creating a structured atmosphere to work in. i think the security of having someone to turn to when there is a problem which is a reflection of the home life and the parent child relationship, is essential to create an atmosphere where people are not afraid to take chances that will ultimately better themselves. just as in childhood we take our first steps knowing someone is there to catch us if we fall in work we can take chances knowing that a manager will be there to correct us if we arer wrong.
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: fear of the manager
by Julian Bryant - Monday, 18 February 2008, 08:04 AM
The issue of peer-management, while obviously live in a college setting, doen't go away in the industry - especially where often you guys are employing your mates to help out. I haven't seen much in terms of literature on the subject, though there are bits in the Management Theory stuff. There's a video about a guy called Klaus Moeller in the LRC called "The Time Manager" who talks about caring for one's staff that's pretty close.
You might want to take this theme for your Management Theory essay rather than dealing with it here. Isn't it interesting, however, when you start to see that cultural theory and management theory are so close - both are branches of sociology/anthropology/social psychology field I suppose. We of all people shouldn't put stuff into categories that are closed boxes!
Last modified: Thursday, 7 June 2012, 2:15 PM