Effective Human Resources managers successfully perform leadership functions

Important points of these functions are enthusiasm, persuasiveness, and close communication with co-workers. But there is no “ideal” image of the leader that is such in all conditions.

One of the main qualities of a manager is logical-realistic thinking. He must be able to gather information and make the right decisions. From many studies, it is clear that mistakes in management decisions are made not so much in the thinking itself, but in the stage of gathering information and evaluating it. Reference: “HR management in HR departments and organizations: psychological problems“, https://bpedia.org/hr-management-in-hr-departments-and-organizations-psychological-problems/

The main reasons for errors in decision making are:

– Incomplete perception of the information (only part of it), based on which arguments are built. It is often allowed in disputes in which each of the opponents “uses” only his position (information).

– Egocentrism (inability or unwillingness to look realistically; only one’s point of view is used; perceptions are distorted, data about the situation – too). Reference: “Functions of the conflicts in organizations and Human Resources Management department“, https://www.yahowto.com/functions-of-the-conflicts-in-organizations-and-human-resources-management-department/

– Self-confidence (the manager stops at the first decision he has reached and declares it the most correct; the logical endurance of the first decision is often not very high).

– Prejudice (similar to the above action – “justifies” its version; efforts are made to defend the first decision of its own, especially if it is related to preferences).

– Confrontation (logical maintenance of one’s position, especially if it is different from others, to prove that others are wrong, and only the leader is right). Reference: “Types of conflicts in organizations: Human Resources Managers challenged“, https://agileprogramming.org/types-of-conflicts-in-organizations-human-resources-managers-challenged/

– Self-defense (desire to exercise the rights through which the leader feels good and valuable; logic is used as a means of protecting the Self).

– Exaggeration (usually the source data; often used in advertising and negotiations).

– Extremism in the position (striving to bring a reality to the extreme absurdity; the aim is to show the absurdity of the decision and its certain negative effect, to prove their right; the contradiction itself is not harmful, but the way decision making can be “harmful”).  Reference: “Conflict Management in Human Resources Management“, https://securityinformationeventmanagement.com/conflict-management-in-human-resources-management/

Decision-making style is often the cause of mistakes, usually neglecting some point in the process (eg lack of sufficient information, subjective evaluation of information, lack of alternative solutions, incorrect way of choosing the best alternative, etc.).  Reference: “Human resource management (HRM) as a theory“, https://pgov.org/human-resource-management-hrm-as-a-theory/

Training of Human Resource Managers

Not only personal qualities are important for building the right style of management, but also skills (for communication, management) and knowledge (for the activity in the organization, for the management theories for social and organizational development). Reference: “Evolution of the concept of Human Resources Management (HRM)“, https://www.mu7club.com/evolution-of-the-concept-of-human-resources-management-hrm/ Therefore, a system of theoretical and practical training is needed in two main areas:

– management
– professionally (for the main activity of the organization)

Theoretical training is reduced to:

– professional, technical innovations;
– economic knowledge;
– marketing;
– psychological knowledge (regularities in working with people; organization and management of staff; search and selection of personnel; evaluation and stimulation; organization and control; management of conflicts and relationships; management of communications and information, etc.). Reference: “Development of the Human Resources Management (HRM) concept“, https://customer-service-us.com/development-of-the-human-resources-management-hrm-concept/

The practical work is mastered through:

– socio-psychological training (for communication, decision making, stress management, etc.); goal: to get to know the problems and look for alternatives to solve them.
– situational role-playing games (significant aspects of the role are mastered); goal: to increase the scientific substantiation of the decisions made, to create habits for group decision-making, to improve the techniques for conducting discussions, to make decisions according to competing opinions, to develop the ability to analyze and resolve conflicts, to increase the sense for responsibility. Reference: “Objectives of Human Resources Management (HRM)“, https://www.powerhp.net/objectives-of-human-resources-management-hrm/
They train sensitivity to themselves, sensitivity to others, and the acquisition of social skills through play.

Areas in the study of personnel management.

1. Taylor (beginning of the century) – “the economic man”. Economic and technical approaches prevail. The normative and bureaucratic principles are used.

2. Later Max Weber – a theory of the “ideal administrative organization” (bureaucratic). Its principles are still used today by some technocratic leaders.

3. Elton Mayo, Douglas McGregor, Argyris – direction for the role of human relations in the organization. Personnel management should be based on knowledge of human nature and the motives of his behavior, the achievements of psychology.

4. Follett (combines these concepts with empiricism) – the idea of ​​employee participation in management, to create conditions for common interests of managers and subordinates.

5. Theory of human relations: man is a social being; the rigid hierarchy and formalization of organizational processes are incompatible with human nature; solving human problems is an important part of a manager’s job.

6. The so-called empirical direction (pragmatically oriented, but with a predominantly descriptive study of management practice). The aim is for all recommendations and norms to be empirically proven. This is an effort to universalize norms on an empirical basis, but norms depend on many things and are difficult to draw up. Dale e.g. requires constant orientation to experience.

7. The so-called “new school” in management – the need to study operations that require a comprehensive approach and solving complex problems.

With the development of systems engineering, the emphasis is on the action of many factors and the need for a systematic approach. Mathematical and statistical methods for the evaluation of managerial activity are applied.

References

The essence of the “message” of this school is the formation of goals, structuring of hierarchy, preliminary analysis of activity, maximum efficiency in using alternative paths to the goal, and quantitative evaluation of goals.

8. Situational direction (latest) – always requires a specific analysis of the situation in the organization to make the right decision. The situations in which the manager operates are so different that it is difficult to determine in advance which method to use. However, theoretical knowledge is needed about the possible methods to be applied in the specific management situation.

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