Human Resources Administration Manual

UNIT I: Definition and History of Personnel Administration

The administration of human resources (personnel) is the administrative process applied to the growth and conservation of effort, experiences, health, knowledge, skills, etc., of the members of the organization, for the benefit of the individual, of the own organization and the country in general.

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The process of helping employees to achieve a level of performance and a quality of personal and social conduct that meets their needs.

History of Modern Personnel Management:

We cannot speak separately about the origin of human resource management, as it is known today, without mentioning labor law and scientific management, as well as other disciplines. We refer to labor law because apparently this as a consequence of the demand of the working class, in order for work to be regulated, it was thought that it would be enough to apply the legal precepts in a cold way to obtain good results, but it was found that the relationships that were required needed study, understanding and the elaboration of a good series of principles for the good practice of them, since they talked about concepts related to salaries, benefits, hiring, etc., that needed more than a mere improvisation.

Likewise, the principles of Taylor and Fayol laid the foundations of the administration, through coordination, direction and, therefore, the best use of the human resources involved in the work. Taylor himself, seeing the importance of the area, created the selection offices.

The functional organization brought the appearance of specialists in the areas of markets, finance, production, and in the same way, the departments of industrial relations began to appear in the United States, as a consequence of the need to put such an important function in the hands of experts and leave to improvise in such an area.

In our country, the arrival of foreign books, in which this new concept was discussed, raised concerns about it. It was perceived, as in other parts, that this function did not consist only in the preparation of payroll and payments to Social Security but that day by day they became more complicated and that the chief of staff who pretended to be everyone's friend was not enough.

A lot of knowledge was brought together to be able to perform this function correctly. That is why this very important space has been included as a fundamental part of the degree in administration and accountant. It can be said that human resource management is multidisciplinary since it requires the participation of multiple sources of knowledge.

Principles and Objectives of Human Resources Administration:

The purpose of human resource management is to enhance the productive contributions of staff to the organization so that they are strategically, ethically and socially responsible. This is the guiding principle of the study and practice of human resource management.

Human resource managers and departments achieve their goals when they set clear and measurable goals. These objectives are equivalent to parameters that allow evaluating the actions that are carried out. Sometimes the objectives are recorded in writing, in carefully prepared documents. In others, they are not expressed explicitly, but are part of the “culture of the organization”.

The objectives can be classified into four fundamental areas:

Corporate objectives: It is necessary to recognize the fundamental fact that human resource management has as its basic objective to contribute to the success of the company or corporation. Even in companies where a formal human resources department is organized to support the work of management, each of the supervisors and managers continues to be responsible for the performance of the members of their respective work teams. The department's role is to contribute to the success of these supervisors and managers. Human resource management is not an end in itself, it is just a way to support the work of leaders.

Functional objectives: Maintaining the contribution of the human resources department at a level appropriate to the needs of the organization is an absolute priority. When the personnel administration is not adapted to the needs of the organization, resources of all kinds are wasted. The company can determine, for example, the appropriate level of balance that must exist between the number of members of the human resources department and the total number of personnel.

Social objectives: The human resources department must respond ethically and socially to the challenges presented by society in general and reduce as much as possible the tensions or negative demands that society may exercise on the organization. When organizations do not use their resources for the benefit of society within an ethical framework, they can be affected by restrictions.

Personal objectives: The human resources department needs to keep in mind that each of the members of the organization aspires to achieve certain legitimate personal goals. To the extent that the achievement of these goals contributes to the common objective of achieving the organization's goals, the human resources department recognizes that one of its functions is to support the aspirations of those who make up the company. If this is not the case, employee productivity may decline or the turnover rate may also increase. The company's refusal to train staff could lead to serious frustration of the personal goals of its members.

Global And Cultural Diversity:

One of the most important and wide-ranging challenges organizations face today is adapting to people who are different. We use the term workforce diversity to describe this challenge.

The diversity of the workforce means that organizations are becoming more heterogeneous based on gender, race, and ethnic group (female, disabled, gay, etc.).

Previously, the melting pot approach was used for differences in organizations, assuming that those who were different in some way would like to assimilate automatically. But now we recognize that employees do not put aside their cultural values ​​and lifestyle preferences when they go out to work. Consequently, the challenge for organizations is to give themselves more space to accommodate diverse groups of people by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs, and work styles. The melting pot hypothesis has been replaced by one that recognizes and values ​​differences.

The diversity of the workforce has important implications for management practices. Managers need to change their philosophy of treating everyone the same, to recognize differences and respond to them in ways that ensure employee retention and increased productivity, as long as they are not, at the same time, discriminatory.

Administration is no longer limited by national borders. Managers must acquire the ability to work with people of different cultures.

Globalization affects, in at least two ways, a manager's abilities to deal with people. First, if you are an administrator, it will be more and more likely that you will find yourself on an assignment abroad. You will be transferred to your company's operations division or subsidiary in another country. Once there, you will have to manage a workforce that is probably very different in needs, aspirations, and attitudes than you were used to at home. Second, even in your own country, you will find yourself working with bosses, colleagues, and subordinates who were born or raised in different cultures. What motivates you may not motivate them. While your communication style may be direct and open, they may find it uncomfortable and threatening.

Global village:

Our world has become a global village. Transportation and communications capabilities have made it easier to talk to or travel to people on other continents than it was for our ancestors a hundred years ago. Distance and national borders have been rapidly disappearing as a major barrier to business transactions. With the advent of the global village, identifying a company's country of origin and its product has become much more difficult.

The reality of the global village can be demonstrated by observing the growing impact of multinational corporations and the emergence of regional cooperation agreements between countries.

Cultural Shock:

Any movement from one country to another will create some confusion, disorientation and emotional upheaval. We call this culture shock. This is obviously more severe when individuals switch to cultures that are too dissimilar to their previous environment.

The adjustment to a foreign country has been found to follow a U-shaped curve containing four distinct stages:

The stage I is new. The newcomer is excited and optimistic. His humor is good. A temporary visitor to a country only experiences this stage. However, the employee who makes a permanent or relatively permanent change experiences first euphoria and then disappointment. In stage II, the "picturesque" quickly becomes "obsolete", and the "traditional", "inefficient". The opportunity to learn a new language becomes the reality of struggling to communicate. After a few months, the newcomer hits rock bottom. In stage III, each and every cultural difference has become blatantly clear. The newcomer's basic interpretation system, which worked well at home, is no longer working. It is bombarded by millions of sights, sounds and other clues that it cannot interpret. At this stage, frustration and confusion are highest and the mood is lousy. Finally, he begins to adjust, negative responses related to culture shock dissipate. In stage IV, you have learned what is important and what you can overlook in the new culture.

Diversity of the workforce and its relationship with organizations:

What we find is that the composition of organizations is changing to reflect a greater heterogeneity of the global population. The diversity of the workforce is bringing people with skills, experiences, and insights into organizations that, in the past, were frequently excluded or underutilized. Those organizations that learn to effectively manage diversity (gender, race, ethnicity, age, health, sexual preferences, and the like) will win the competition in hiring and retaining those individuals who are different.

UNIT II: Organizational Behavior

Individual Behavior. Fundamentals:

The human being constitutes the motor nerve of any organization. Hence the importance for any study of the organizational phenomenon, the analysis of its actions within it.

But in addition, organizations represent the context where men and women spend (and depending on which they live) a very high proportion of their existence, so the social significance of the human-organization interaction also acquires a very relevant value.

From the point of view of the human being, such an assertion is valid both for the director of a company and for the operator who performs repetitive tasks, both for the chemist and for the seller who goes out to offer the product. They all work as part of the organization. And in the development of this work they have their motivations, they face pleasant situations and the inconveniences or dissatisfactions that it brings them, they relate to their colleagues or colleagues forming groups, etc.

All of this translates into behavior, whether individual or group, in pursuit of their own ends and the objectives of the organization.

The human being who works is an integral part of an organization and, as such, has a certain organizational behavior.

Behavior essentially involves a selection of certain actions. This selection may or may not be conscious and deliberate.

When the individual studies a project, analyzes the best alternatives to carry it out successfully and chooses one of them, he is obviously acting in a deliberate way, with full awareness of what he is doing.

On the other hand, many times the selection is practically automatic, as in the case of the operator who handles a computer with total skill or the typist, in that they decide one action after another immediately with the security that continuous practice provides them, but virtually They do not think about the next move to make, that is, they decide unconsciously.

Be that as it may, this human behavior in the organization is conditioned by a number of psychological variables. The interaction between these variables determines this selection process, which is translated into organizational behavior.

Personality is not a sum of fragmentary attributes and characters. It is an organized structure called the self, where the different parts condition and interact with each other. If they are in internal balance, we are faced with an adjusted individual. If the personality is in balance with the environment, it is an adapted individual. If the balance is both internal and external, we are facing an integrated individual.

Theory of Needs:

David C. McClelland contributed to the understanding of motivation by identifying three types of basic motivational needs. He classified them as a need for power, a need for partnership, and a need for achievement.

These three drives (power, partnership, and achievement) are of particular importance to management, as it must be recognized that all of them enable an organized business to function properly.

• Need for Power: McClelland and other researchers have confirmed that people with a high need for power are extremely interested in exerting influence and control. Such individuals generally pursue leadership positions; they are often good conversationalists, although somewhat argumentative; They are determined, outspoken, stubborn and demanding, and they like to teach and speak in public. Need for Association:People with a great need for association often greatly enjoy being held in esteem and tend to avoid the uneasiness of being rejected by a social group. As individuals, they are likely to be concerned about maintaining good social relationships, experiencing a sense of understanding and closeness, being ready to comfort and assist those in trouble, and enjoying friendly interactions with others. Achievement Needs:Individuals with a great need for achievement possess an intense desire for success and an equally intense fear of failure. They like challenges, and set moderately difficult (though not impossible) goals. They are realistic in the face of risk; They are unlikely to be reckless as they rather prefer to analyze and evaluate problems, take personal responsibility for the performance of their duties, and like to get specific and prompt feedback on what they do. They tend to be indefatigable, like to work long hours, are not overly concerned about failure should it occur, and generally prefer to take care of their affairs themselves.

Motivation:

We will define motivation as the will to exert high levels of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the ability of the effort to satisfy some individual need.

The first theories of motivation appeared in the 1950s. Three specific theories were formulated during this period, which, although heavily attacked and now questionable in terms of validation, are still probably the best-known explanations of individual motivation. These theories are the hierarchy of needs theory, the X and Y theories, and the motivation-hygiene theory.

Hierarchy of Needs Theory: It is probably the best known of the theories and was devised by Abraham Maslow. He hypothesized that within the human being there is a hierarchy of five needs. These are:

• Physiological: Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other physical needs. Safety: Includes safety and protection from physical and emotional harm. Social: Includes affection, belonging, acceptance and friendship. Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement, as well as external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention. Self-realization: The urge to become what one is capable of becoming; it includes growth, achieving individual potential, making effective self-satisfaction.

As each of these needs is substantially satisfied, the next becomes dominant. From the point of view of motivation, the theory would say that although no need is fully satisfied, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. So according to Maslow, if you want to motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy this person is currently at, and focus on meeting those needs at the level immediately above.

Maslow separated these five needs into high and low orders. Physiological and security needs were described as low-order, and social, esteem, and self-actualization as high-order needs. The differentiation between the two orders was made on the premise that low-order needs are met internally (within the person), and high-level needs are met externally (for things like salary, union contracts, seniority).

Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor proposed two different positions of human beings: a negative basically named theory X and another positive basically named Theory Y. After seeing the way in which managers dealt with their employees, McGregor concluded that the manager's view of the nature of human beings is based on certain group assumptions and that he tends to shape his behavior toward subordinates accordingly. with these assumptions:

According to theory X, the four premises adopted by managers are:

• Employees inherently dislike working and will try to avoid it whenever possible. Since they dislike working, they should be repressed, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve goals. Employees will avoid responsibility and seek formal direction whenever possible Most workers place safety above all other factors associated with the job and will show very little ambition.

In contrast to these negative perceptions about the nature of human beings, McGregor listed the four positive assumptions that he called theory Y:

1. Employees may perceive work as natural as resting or playing People will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to their goals The average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility The ability to make innovative decisions is found widely dispersed throughout the population and not necessarily the exclusive property of those in managerial positions.

What are the motivational implications of accepting McGregor's analysis? The answer is best expressed in the framework presented by Maslow. Theory X assumes that low-level needs dominate individuals. Theory Y assumes that high-level needs dominate individuals. McGregor himself holds the belief that the premises of theory Y were more valid than those of theory X. Therefore, he proposed such ideas - such as participatory decision making, challenging and responsible jobs, and good group relationships. as methods that could maximize an employee's motivation.

Theory of Motivation-Hygiene: The psychologist Frederick Herzberg proposed the theory of motivation-hygiene. Believing that an individual's relationship to their work is basic and that their attitude toward their work may well determine the individual's success or failure, Herzberg investigated the question "What do people want from their jobs?" He asked people to describe, in detail, situations in which they felt exceptionally good and bad about their jobs. These responses were tabulated and separated by categories. From the responses separated by categories, Herzberg concluded that the responses people gave when they felt good at work were very different from the responses given when they felt bad. Intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition, self-employment, responsibility, and growth appear to be related to job satisfaction.On the other hand, when they were dissatisfied, they tended to cite extrinsic factors, such as company policy and management, supervision, interpersonal relationships, and working conditions. As a result such characteristics, such as company policy and management, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions and salary, were characterized by Herzberg ashygiene factors. When these are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; however, she will not be satisfied either. If we want to motivate people in their work, Herzberg suggests emphasizing achievement, recognition, self-work, responsibility, and growth. These are the characteristics that people find inherently rewarding.

Satisfaction and Productivity:

Job satisfaction is simply the difference between the amount of rewards workers receive and the amount they should receive. Job satisfaction represents an attitude rather than a behavior.

The belief that satisfied employees are more productive than dissatisfied ones has been a staple opinion among managers for years. Although much evidence questions the assumed causal relationship, it can be argued that advanced societies should be interested not only in the quantity of life - that is, with regard to high productivity and material acquisitions - but also in the quality of life. Researchers with strongly humanistic values ​​argue that satisfaction is a legitimate goal of an organization. Not only is dissatisfaction negatively related to absenteeism and turnover, but also that organizations have a responsibility to provide their employees with challenging and inherently rewarding jobs. So that,Although job satisfaction represents an attitude rather than a behavior, organizational behavior researchers typically view it as an important dependent variable.

Productivity: an organization is productive if it achieves its goals and if it does so by transferring inputs to production at the lowest cost. As such, productivity involves understanding both effectiveness and efficiency. A business, for example, is effective when it successfully meets the needs of its customers. It is efficient when it is done at a low cost.

Productivity involves measurement, which in turn is an essential step in the control process. Although there is a broad consensus about the need to improve productivity, it is not so broad regarding the root causes of the problem and its solution. The blame has been attributed to several factors. Some ascribe it to the largest proportion of low-skilled workers in the total workforce, with which others, however, disagree. There are also those who consider that the main cause is the cut in research and the emphasis on immediate results. Another reason that has been used to explain the productivity dilemma is the greater wealth of individuals, which makes them less ambitious. Other observers have mentioned the breakdown of the family structure,worker attitudes and government policies and regulations. However, the focus is increasingly on management as the cause of the problem, as well as the solution.

The leadership. Theories:

Almost everyone seems to agree that leadership involves a process of influence, the differences tend to center around whether or not leadership should be coercive and whether it is distinctive of management. Most experts have defended the idea that leadership and management are different.

Abraham Zaleznik argues that leaders and managers are two very different types of people. They differ in motivation, in their personal history, and in how they think and act. Managers tend to take an impersonal, if not passive, attitude toward goals, while leaders take a personal and active attitude. Managers prefer to work with people; they avoid solitary activity as it makes them nervous, among other differences.

Kotter argues that leadership is different from management, but for other reasons. Management, he proposes, has to do with overcoming complexity. Good management brings order and consistency by determining formal plans, designing rigid organizational structures, and monitoring results against plans. Leadership, on the other hand, is about change. Leaders set direction by developing a vision of the future; then they align people by communicating this vision and inspire them to overcome obstacles.

We will therefore use a broad definition of leadership, one that can relate all current methods to the topic. Therefore, we define leadership as the ability to influence a group to achieve goals. The source of this influence could be formal, such as that provided by holding a managerial rank, he or she could assume a leadership role simply because of the position he or she has in the organization. But not all leaders are managers. We find that non-formal leadership arises outside of the formal structure of the organization. It is often as important or more than formal influence.

Transition in leadership theories: We will consider various methods to explain what makes a leader effective. We started with the search for the universal personal characteristics that leaders might have to some degree greater than non-leaders. A second approach would try to explain leadership in terms of the behavior that a person observes. A third looks at contingency models to explain the inadequacy of earlier leadership theories.

Theory of Characteristics: Margaret Thatcher was described as confident, determined, determined, and determined. The media have long been believers in theories of leadership characteristics. They identify people like Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, Ted Turner, and Colin Powell as leaders, and then describe them in terms such as charismatic, enthusiastic, and courageous.

Research efforts to isolate characteristics of leadership resulted in several dead ends. For example, a review of 20 different studies identified about 80 personality characteristics, but only five of these characteristics were common to four or more of the investigations. If the search was done with the intention of identifying characteristics that were consistently associated with leadership, the results can be interpreted in a more impressive way. For example, the six characteristics in which leaders tend to differ from non-leaders are ambition and energy, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-assurance, intelligence, and relevant job knowledge..Additionally, it can be added that people who have a high qualification in introspection are much more likely to emerge as leaders.

Ultimately, some of these characteristics increase the probability of succeeding as a leader, but none of these characteristics guarantees success.

Theories of behavior: Some time ago researchers began to observe the behaviors that leaders exhibited. They wondered if there was something unique about the way effective leaders behaved. If there were specific behaviors that identified leaders: we could teach leadership: we could design programs that would implant those patterns of behavior in individuals who wanted to be effective leaders. We look at four theories of leadership behavior:

The Ohio State University Studies:

In the late 1940s, researchers sought to identify dimensions of leader behavior. They eventually narrowed the list down to two categories that substantially explained most of the leadership behaviors described by subordinates. The researchers called these two dimensions starting and considering structure

The starting structure refers to the extent to which the leader can define and structure his role and that of his subordinates in the pursuit of goal achievement.

Consideration is described as the extent to which a person is likely to have working relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates' ideas, and concern for their feelings.

The University of Michigan Studies:

Studies conducted at this university had research objectives similar to those in Ohio: to locate the behavioral characteristics of leaders that appeared to be related to measures of performance effectiveness.

The Michigan group found two dimensions of behavior that they named employee orientation and production orientation. Leaders who were employee-oriented were described as people who emphasized interpersonal relationships; they showed a personal interest in the needs of their subordinates and accepted individual differences between members. Production-oriented leaders, on the other hand, tended to emphasize the technical or labor aspects of the job, their primary concern was the accomplishment of group tasks, and group members were seen as means to that end.

The Management Matrix : Blake and Mouton proposed a management matrix based on the styles of "interest in people" and "interest in production", which essentially represents the Ohio State dimensions of the consideration and structure of the beginning o Michigan dimensions of employee orientation or production orientation.

The grid does not display results but rather the dominant factors in a leader's thinking about getting results. Managers were found to perform in a 9.9 style, in contrast to, for example, a 9.1 (authoritarian type) or a 1.9 style (country club type). Unfortunately, the matrix offers a better framework for conceptualizing the leadership style than for presenting any new tangible information that clarifies the leadership predicament, as there is very little substantial evidence to conclude that the 9,9 style is more effective in all situations.

The Scandinavian Studies: Today, researchers from Finland and Switzerland have been re-evaluating the possibility that there are only two dimensions that capture the essence of leadership behavior. Its basic premise is that in a changing world, leaders should display development-oriented behavior . These are the leaders who value experimentation, seek out new ideas, and generate and implement change. So Scandinavian researchers have been conducting new studies looking to discover if there is a third dimension (development orientation) that is related to the effectiveness of the leader.

The first evidence is positive, they have found strong support for development-oriented leading behavior as a separate and independent dimension. It appears that leaders who demonstrate development-oriented behavior have more satisfied subordinates and are considered more competent by their subordinates.

Theories of contingencies: For those who studied the phenomenon of leadership, it was increasingly clear that predicting leadership success was more complex than isolating some characteristics or preferred behaviors. It was one thing to point out that the effectiveness of leadership depended on the situation and quite another to be able to isolate those situational conditions. Here we will consider 5 approaches to isolate situational variables: Fiedler's model, Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory, member-to-leader exchange theory, and the path-goal and leader participation models:

Fiedler's model: Proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper fit between the leader's style of interaction with his subordinates and the extent to which the situation gives the leader control and influence. Fiedler developed an instrument, which he called the least preferred coworker questionnaire (CTMP), that sets out to measure whether a person is task or relationship oriented. He isolated three concepts:

• Leader-member relationships: the degree of credibility, trust, and respect that subordinates have with their leader Task structure: the degree to which the job task involves procedures Power position: the degree of influence a leader has on power variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.

Fiedler goes significantly beyond behavioral characteristics and approaches in trying to isolate situations, relating his personality measurements to his situational rankings and thus predicting leadership effectiveness as a function of both.

Fiedler assumes that individual leadership style is fixed. If a situation calls for a task-oriented leader and the person in the position is relationship-oriented, the situation has to be modified or the individual has to be removed and replaced if optimum effectiveness is to be achieved. The leadership style is innate in the person. You CANNOT change your style to accommodate changing situations!

Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory: Has been used as an effective training tool in some companies. According to this theory, successful leadership is achieved by selecting the appropriate leadership style, which is contingent on the level of availability of the followers.

The emphasis on followers reflects the reality that followers accept or reject the leader. This is an important dimension. The term availability refers to the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to carry out specific tasks.

Situational leadership uses the same two dimensions of leadership that Fiedler identified: task and relationship behaviors. However, Hersey and Blanchard go one step further by viewing each one as either high or low, and combining them into four specific leader behaviors:

• Communicate: (high task - low ratio). The leader defines roles and tells people what, how, when and where to do various tasks. Emphasize managerial behavior Sell: (task high - ratio high). The leader provides both directive and supportive behavior Participate: (low task - high ratio). The leader and the follower share decision-making, the main role of the leader being to facilitate and communicate Delegate: (low task - low ratio). The leader provides little direction or support.

Leader-member exchange theory: Argues that due to time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their subordinates. These individuals form the inner group (they are trustworthy, they get a lot of attention, etc.). other subordinates fall within the outer group. They get less time from the leader, fewer preferred rewards that the leader controls, and have superior-subordinate relationships based on interactions from formal authority.

Path-goal theory : The essence of the theory is that the role of the leader is not to assist followers in achieving their goals and to provide direction and / or support to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the leader. group or organization. The term path to goal stems from the belief that effective leaders clear the way to help their followers move from where they are toward achieving their work goals and to make the journey along this path easier by reducing obstacles and dangers.

According to this theory, the behavior of a leader is acceptable to subordinates to such a degree that it is seen by them as an immediate source of satisfaction or as a means of future satisfaction. A leader's behavior is motivational to the extent that it makes the subordinate need contingent satisfaction for effective performance and provides the instruction, guidance, support, and rewards necessary for effective performance. House identified four leadership behaviors:

• The directive leader: Allows subordinates to know what is expected of them, schedules the work to be done and gives specific guidelines on how to accomplish the tasks The supporting leader: Is friendly and shows concern for the needs of his subordinates. participatory: consults with subordinates and uses their suggestions before making a decision. achievement-oriented leader: sets challenging goals and expects subordinates to perform at their highest level.

The road to goal theory implies that the same leader can display any or all of these behaviors depending on the situation.

Leader participation model: Relates behavior and leadership participation in decision-making. Recognizing that the task structure has varying demands for routine activities, therefore the leader's behavior had to be adjusted to reflect the task structure.

It provides a sequential set of rules that must be followed to determine the amount of desirable participation in decision-making, as dictated by different types of situations. The model is a complex decision tree that incorporates 12 contingencies (whose alternative can be identified through “yes” or “no” options) and five alternative leadership styles. The model assumes that any of the five behaviors may be possible in a given situation: Autocratic I (AI), Autocratic II (AII), Consultative I (CI), Consultative II (CII) and Group II (GII):

• AI: Solve the problem yourself or make the decision using whatever facts you have at hand. AII: get the necessary information from subordinates and then decide the solution to the problem. It may or may not tell you about the nature of the situation you are facing. You only seek relevant facts from them, not their opinion or advice. CI: share the problem face to face with relevant subordinates, get their ideas and suggestions. However the final decision is yours alone. CII: Share the problem with your subordinates as a group, collectively getting their ideas and suggestions. Then you make the decision that may or may not reflect the influence of your subordinates. GII:share the problem with subordinates as a group. Your goal is to help them agree on a decision. Your ideas do not carry a greater weight than those of others.

Authority And Power:

Power, is a much broader concept than authority, is the ability of individuals or groups to induce or influence the opinions or actions of other people or groups. Authority in an organization is the right of a position (and therefore of the person who occupies it) to exercise discretion in making decisions that affect other people. It is, of course, a type of power, but power within an organization.

Although there are many bases of power, the power that interests us most is legitimate power. This normally emerges from a position and is derived from the cultural system of rights, obligations and duties, on the basis of which a position ”is accepted as“ legitimate ”by individuals. In private companies, the authority of a position comes primarily from the social institution (“set of rights”) of private property. In government, such authority comes basically from the institution of representative government.

Power can also come from the experience of one person or group. This is the power of knowledge. Doctors, lawyers and university professors are in a position to exert considerable influence on others by respecting them for their specialized knowledge. Likewise, power can also exist as a power of reference, that is, as the influence that people or groups can exert since others believe in them and their ideas. In this sense, Martin Luther King had almost zero legitimate power, but by virtue of the strength of his personality, ideas, and oratory skills, he greatly influenced the behavior of many people. In the same way, also a movie star or a military hero could possess considerable reference power.

Additionally, power can also be the product of a person's ability to grant rewards. Possessing little power in the position, purchasing agents can instead exert enormous influence through their ability to speed up or delay the acquisition of an indispensable part.

Coercive power is another type of power. Although closely related to the power of reward and product normally of legitimate power, this is the power to punish, either by firing a subordinate or by denying recognition of their merits.

While authority in an organization is the power to exercise discretion in decision making, it almost invariably derives from the power of the position, or legitimate power. When speaking of authority in an administrative context, it is generally referring to the power that a position confers. At the same time, other factors are involved in leadership, such as personality and style of dealing with others.

Groups In Organizations: Definition And Classification:

A group is defined as two or more individuals who interact and are interdependent and who have come together to achieve particular goals.

One of the characteristic features of organizations is the variety of groups that coexist within them, whose composition, functions and other properties differ notably. Different criteria can be taken into account to establish a classification of them. The most common (without being exclusive) are:

1. According to a temporal criterion: it has to do with the stability of relationships:

• Permanent groups: they are conceived as stable over time and are in charge of the normal tasks of operation and maintenance of the organization. The temporary permanence of these groups does not prevent changes in their composition. The different departments that make up a company are an example. Temporary or "ad hoc" groups: they are designed to carry out temporary tasks, projects or activities. The group has a limited duration, dissolving once its function has concluded or its objective has been reached. It can be a research and development group, a study commission, an advisory committee, etc.

1. According to a criterion of formality: it has to do with the origin of the groups:

• Formal: We refer to those defined by the organizational structure, with designed work assignments that establish tasks. In these groups, the behaviors one should engage in are stipulated by and directed toward organizational goals. The six members that make up a flight crew are an example of a formal group. These are groups defined and planned to achieve the organization's objectives. Work teams, departments, commissions… all of them, regardless of other criteria, share their formal character. Informal:In contrast, informal groups are alliances that are neither formally structured nor determined by the organization. These groups are natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact. Three employees from different departments who almost always eat together are an example of an informal group. They arise from the spontaneous relationships between the members of the organization and are oriented to the satisfaction of personal and social needs of its components. Groups that are formed by ties of friendship or attractiveness, groups of people who share the same problem, etc.

1. According to a criterion of purpose: it has to do with the objectives of the groups;

• Production: groups whose members jointly carry out certain work. They configure the work teams, departments and units of the organization. Problem solving: they focus on particular problems in the organization itself. For example, quality circles or project study groups. Conflict resolution: aimed at facing confrontational situations between different parts of the organization or between the organization and the outside world. These are mainly negotiating groups. Organizational Change and Development: include different groups and group techniques. Among others, training groups, team development or awareness groups.

1. According to a hierarchical criterion: it has to do with the location in the organizational structure:

• Vertical differentiation: made up of the different groups ranging from senior management ("strategic apex"), through intermediate management groups ("middle line"), to non-management groups ("operational core"). Horizontal differentiation: it mainly includes the different functional groups, groups that provide specialized services (related to production, research, etc.) based on particular competences, and temporary committees, created with different missions, mainly advisory and decision-making.

1. According to a hierarchical criterion: it has to do with the location in the organizational structure:

• Group activity: group with interdependent tasks, group goals and incentives, stable relationships, etc. Individual activity: the group as a context in which individual activity and values ​​predominate. Members have little more bond with each other than sharing a space, a task, a professional specialty or being under the same boss. For example, a "sales team" in which, among other conditions, individual commissions are provided (which generates competition among its members).

Functions They Perform:

Groups have many functions. They are especially powerful in modifying behaviors, attitudes and values ​​and in disciplining their members. As noted above, they exert pressure on members who break the rules to adhere to them. They are also useful in decision-making and negotiation. Members with diverse backgrounds can bring different perspectives to the decision-making process. This does not mean, however, that group decisions are always better than individual decisions.

Different group structures influence communication patterns. Thus, communication will differ when it is channeled through a key member or flows freely between all members of a group. Also, when group interactions are effective they can influence motivation. If, for example, members of a group participate in goal setting, they are likely to become more deeply committed to meeting group goals. Finally, leadership must be conceived in the context of group processes. The understanding of the concepts related to the groups contributes to the understanding of the interactions between leaders and followers, as well as the interactions between all the members of the group.

Groups also offer benefits to individuals. They provide social satisfaction to their members, as well as a sense of belonging and support for the needs of individuals. Another benefit of groups is that they promote communication and provide security.

Types of Groups:

• Command Group: It is determined by the organization chart. It is made up of subordinates who report directly to a given manager. A primary school principal and her 12 teachers form a command group, such as the postal audit director and her five inspectors. Task Group:They are determined by the organization, they represent those workers in charge of a certain job task. However, the boundaries of the task group are limited to its immediate superior in the hierarchy. You can cross command relationships. For example, if a college student is accused of a crime on the university campus, it may require communication and coordination between the director of academic affairs, the administrative director of students, the head of school services, the director of safety and the student's counselor. Such training would constitute a task force. It is to be noted that all command groups are also task groups, but since the latter can cross throughout the organization, the opposite is not necessarily true. Interest Group:People who may or may not be aligned with common command or task groups could affiliate to achieve a specific objective with which they are interested. This is an interest group. Employees who come together to alter their vacation schedules, to support a co-worker who has been laid off, or to seek better working conditions represent the formation of a union to further their common interest. Friendship Groups:Groups often develop because individual members have one or more characteristics in common. We call these formations friendship groups. Social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work situation, may or may not be based on similar age or ethnic heritage: on supporting the soccer team or holding similar political views, to name a few characteristics.

The Management Of The Workgroup. Structure:

A working group is a group that interacts primarily to share information and make decisions that help each member perform within their area of ​​responsibility.

The working groups have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. So your performance is simply the sum of the individual contribution of each member of the group. There is no positive synergy that could create a total level of performance greater than the sum of the contributions.

Group Processes. Group Decision Making:

The next component of our model of group behavior considers the process within the group - the communication patterns used by members to exchange information, decision-making processes, leader behavior, power dynamics, interactions conflict and the like.

The belief that two heads are better than one has long been accepted as a basic component of the legal systems of the US and other countries. This belief has expanded to the point where, today, many decisions are made in groups, teams, or committees.

Groups formed to make decisions are widely used in organizations, but does this imply that group decision-making is preferable to that made by a single individual? Let's look at some strengths and weaknesses of the groups.

Strengths of group decision-making: Groups generate more complete information and knowledge. By adding resources from diverse individuals, groups contribute more to the decision process. They offer an increased diversity of points of view. This represents a greater opportunity to consider more methods and alternatives. The evidence indicates that a group will always outperform the best individual. In this way, the groups generate high-quality decisions. Finally, groups carry a much greater acceptance of a solution. Many decisions fail after the final option is made because people do not accept the solution. Group members involved in decision making are likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage others to accept it.

Weaknesses of group decision-making: Despite the limited advantages, group decisions have their disadvantages. They consume time. It typically takes more time to reach a group solution than it would take if a single individual decided for himself. In groups, there are pressures to enter into conformity. The desire of group members to be accepted and considered as an asset to the team favors the overcoming of any open disagreement.

Group discussion can be dominated by one or a few members. If the dominating coalition is made up of members of low and medium ability, the overall effectiveness of the group will suffer. Finally, group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility. In the individual decision, it is clear who is responsible for the final decision. In group decision, the responsibility of any individual disappears.

Effectiveness and efficiency: The degree of effectiveness of the groups depends on the criteria you use to define it. In terms of precision, group decisions tend to be the best. Evidence indicates that, on average, groups make better quality decisions than individuals. However, if the effectiveness of the decision is defined in terms of speed, the individuals are superior. If creativity is important, groups tend to be more effective than individuals. And if effectiveness means the degree of acceptance of the final solution, acceptance is on the side of the group again.

But effectiveness cannot be considered without evaluating efficiency as well. In terms of the latter, groups almost always rank second in decision-making to the individual decision maker. With some exceptions, group decision-making consumes more hours of work than if one individual tackled the same problem alone. However, as we already noted, these efficiency advantages tend to be the exception. Groups are generally less efficient than individuals. Deciding whether to use clusters or not, then, should be determined by evaluating whether the increases in efficiency are more than sufficient to compensate for the losses in efficiency.

Decision-making techniques: The most common form of group decision-making takes place in Interaction Groups. In these, members meet face-to-face and rely on both verbal and non-verbal interaction to communicate with each other.

The Brainstormingit tries to overcome the pressures toward conformity, in interaction groups, that retard the development of creative alternatives. It does this using an idea generation process that specifically encourages any and all possibilities, while restricting any criticism of those alternatives. In a typical brainstorming session, six to twelve people sit at a round table. The group leader states the problem clearly. Then the members "release" as many alternatives as they can give in a given time. No criticism is allowed and all options are archived for further discussion and analysis. The lonely idea stimulates others, and the judgments of the strangest suggestions are maintained until the group members are later prompted to "think unusual."

Another type of decision-making is the Nominal Group Technique, which restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process. All members are physically present, as in a traditional committee meeting, but operate independently. Specifically, a problem occurs and then the following steps take place:

• Members meet as a group, but before any discussion takes place, each member independently writes down their ideas about the problem. After this period of silence, each member presents an idea to the group. Each member takes their turn, presenting a single idea until all ideas have been submitted and recorded. No discussion takes place until all ideas have been recorded. The group then discusses the ideas for clarification and evaluates them. Each group member silently and independently ranks the ideas according to their importance. The highest rated idea determines the final decision.

The most recent method in group decision making is one that mixes nominal group technique with complex computational technology. It is called an Electronic Meeting. The topics are presented to the participants, who type their responses on their computer screen. Individual comments, as well as votes, are displayed on a projection screen in the room.

The Work Teams. Main Features. Differences With Groups. Types of Work Teams:

A team is made up of a number of people endowed with the powers to achieve group goals. One of the team definitions is: "Small number of people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose, a series of performance goals and a working method for which they are all mutually responsible." There are different types of equipment. The function of some of them is to make proposals, others have decision-making authority and others are even in charge of directing operations. The reason for the existence of certain teams is problem solving, while others participate in cross-functional activities.

A work team generates a positive synergy through coordinated effort. The result of your individual efforts is a level of performance greater than the sum of those individual contributions.

Management seeks that positive synergy that will allow their organizations to increase performance. The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater results without an increase in contributions.

Types of Equipment:

Teams can be ranked based on their objectives. The three most common forms of team that you are likely to encounter in an organization are problem-solving teams, self-directed teams, and cross-functional teams:

Problem-solving teams : In problem-solving teams, members share ideas or offer suggestions on how to improve processes and work methods. Few times, however, do they have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions. An example of problem-solving teams is quality circles.

Self-directed teams: These are groups of employees (typically 10 to 15) who assume the responsibilities of their former supervisors. Generally, this includes planning and scheduling work, collective control over the pace of work, making operational decisions, and taking action on problems. Completely self-directed work teams even select their own members and have them evaluate each other's performance.

Cross-functional teams : These teams are made up of employees of the same hierarchical level but from different work areas, who meet to carry out a task. Cross-functional teams are an effective means of enabling people from diverse areas within an organization (or even between organizations) to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects.

Outstanding Features Of High Performance Teams:

The best work teams tend to be small. When they have more than 10 to 12 members, it becomes difficult to get the job done.

To perform effectively, a team requires three different types of skills. First, you need people with the technical expertise. Second, you need people with sufficient decision-making and problem-solving skills to be able to identify problems, generate alternatives, evaluate those alternatives, and choose competent options. Finally, teams need people who are good listeners, provide feedback, seek conflict resolution, and possess other interpersonal skills.

Teams have different needs. People should be selected to be part of a team based on the personality and preferences of each individual. High-performing teams fit people appropriately into various roles. We can identify nine potential roles on the team:

• Advisor: Encourages the pursuit of more information Connector: Coordinates and integrates Creator: Initiates creative ideas Promoter: Advocates ideas after they are issued Advisor: Provides insight analysis on options Organizer: Provides structure Producer: Provide direction and follow-up Controller: Examine details and enforce rules Defender: Fight external battles.

Successful team members spend an enormous amount of time and effort discussing, training, and agreeing on a common purpose. When accepted by the team, it provides direction and guidance under all conditions.

Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and realistic goals. Goals define the ultimate goals of the team. But high-performing teams also need leadership and structure to provide focus and direction.

Organizational Justice:

The study of "organizational justice" begins by trying to appreciate the substantivity and the effects that two types of perceptions of workers (teachers) have:

• The fairness with which the organization (its managers) distribute "benefits" (incentives, jobs, promotion, etc.), which is labeled with the expression "distributive justice"; The fairness of the procedures through the which organization makes the decisions to distribute “benefits”, labeled “procedural justice”.

The perception of “organizational justice” has effects that go beyond the attitudes and behavior of the worker (organizational commitment, effort, organizational civic behavior, for example), since, through them, it can exert an influence on the recipients of the services (clients), who respond to their assessment of the fairness with which they are treated with positive (or negative) affective responses both with respect to the worker and the organization.

If people have a high level of participation in decision-making, but perceive that the conditions in which this process is carried out are not equitable or “clean”, a feeling of ambiguity is generated in them regarding what is appropriate and not It proceeds, which produces insecurity and psychic exhaustion, first, and stress, later.

Perceived justice is an indicator of social support on the part of the supervisor / director, which generates comfort and well-being, both of which prevent the possibility of symptoms of stress manifesting.

When participation in decisions is accompanied by the perception of organizational justice, workers feel respected and taken into account, which generates high well-being and low risk of stress.

As a learning complement to this human resources administration manual, we recommend the following video-course, "Human Resources Management and Management", which deals with the most relevant issues of personnel administration in companies. (20 videos, 2 and a half hours)

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