Criteria for defining performance

There are many ways in which the performance of various departments in an organisation can be studied. Some of them are:
The average sales per salesman and the comparison of such average sales with those of other good salesmen would be the best way to assess the performance of the salesman. These comparisons should be treated very carefully, as factors such as the varying degrees of mechanisation would make them completely misleading. The average processing time for handling customer’s enquiries or spare parts service can also be a useful indication to judge the efficiency of the handling of such matters. The ratio of emergency transportation costs to the total costs could be a good guide to judge the general efficiency of the transportation department. A good ratio for judging efficiency would be the ratio of selling expenses of various types such as public relations, advertising, etc.., to the total value of sales. If the ratio of sales to the other operating expenses are carefully examined and studied regularly, a constant check over the performance can be maintained. This is an important task of the management.

Make it an effective change

A change is best effected when all the people concerned are consulted and are asked to give their opinions without a feeling that they will be belittled for what they do or say if they know that they will at least be listened to and their ideas and impressions will not be adjudged stupid or nonsensical. Even the least talkative must be encouraged to participate, when there is a major change being planned. It is best if agreement to change a programme is obtained, well before, in a small meeting. Better results will be obtained if the manager participates publicly and approaches everyone to discuss the change. The discussion should be healthy and constructive. It is the duty of the manager to see to it that there are no conflicts due to this. A company that encourages conflicts among the employees will not gain cooperation. Thus the role of a manager is very important, right from planning the change to installing it successfully.

Installation of changes in a management

With the rapidly developing technology, change is something which every organisation goes through the whole time. But to put through a change smoothly involves a great deal of thinking and tact. Most persons are conservative and resist change. Most people usually fight change, because it stirs feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and aloneness in them. They wonder how the change will affect their own jobs and prospects in future. Will the change mean that they will have less or more control over their own destiny? Will they have to work harder in future due to the change? What effect will the change have on their relationship with the employees? All these are the basic queries that come up, whenever the employees come to know that there is going to be a change. If the change that is to be installed is really an effective one, it is the duty of the manager to see to it that the need and the effects are very clearly explained to the employees. The employees should get set to accept the change, with a positive energy.

Centralisation & decentralisation

Centralisation is quite wide spread. One man control is still probably found in more organisations and effects more employees than control by a team of managers. One man control system stems partly from human nature. Men in important positions like to believe they are indispensable and they secretly hope that they will always be there to carry on. They dislike delegating authority because they think it might create separate empires and tend to reduce their own importance. A study recently made on 38 companies revealed that while decentralised organisations had a larger ratio of administrative employees than the centralised firms, the decentralised firms had lower rates of labour turnover, absenteeism and accident frequencies. This is because high morale and a feeling of belonging apply to a much greater extent in decentralised companies. Thus, splitting of the departments into smaller units and monitoring those units will lead to a better managing method.

HANDLING FRUSTRATIONS, AS A MANAGER

Demands for increased wages are often made where employees are working in an atmosphere of boredom, repetition, frustration and failure. Such demands can be viewed as compensation for continuous boredom and frustration, not as reward for hard work and greater responsibilities. This aspect is seldom realised but it does emphasise the need to make every job as interesting as possible and also to give each individual in an organisation, no matter how low down he might be in hierarchy, a feeling of responsibility and importance. This is an important role of a manager. The employees should never develop a hatred feeling towards the organisation. This will lead to the decrease in efficiency of their work. This will in turn lead to losses in one form or the other, to the company. Every employee should be made to work, complete their tasks, but in a way that will make them feel that they are doing the task, which they like. This will make them do the job more efficiently.

FLOW OF ORDERS IN A MANAGEMENT

One important problem being faced in any organisation is the giving of orders. The most important role of a manager is to see how any order is announced. The orders should be always declared by the senior personnel. None of the employees would like to take up any orders, even if they are passed through their juniors. This has resulted in many unhealthy situations in recent times. An interesting study was made some time ago in a restaurant, where there was a considerable resentment in the kitchen, because of the waitresses, who were all young and junior. The senior chefs did not like the system of young people giving them orders to cook stuff. Later, this was solved by putting all the orders in a spindle which was sent to the kitchen periodically. The head chef started giving the orders. Thus, the flow of orders should always be from the higher rank to the lower rank, in the scale of hierarchy.

AUTHORITY IN MANAGEMENT

It is not often realised that the amount of authority possessed by a superior is really defined for him by the extent of the acceptance of this authority by his subordinates. Discipline and authority are only effective to the extent to which the subordinates are willing to accept this authority. That is why it is important that the subordinate should have only one boss to whom he can give whole hearted respect and obedience. This may not happen if there are too many supervisors. At the same time, it is the responsibility of the manager to see to it that authority given to him is utilised in the best possible way, only for the goodness of the company. It should not be used to show that power has been bestowed upon him. It should be exercised in such a way that every employee is very well satisfied to work under such a superior. This is also an important task for a manager.

CONTINUOUS STUDY ON WORKMEN NEEDED

There are universities in America and research organisations where large groups of scientists and research workers are examining similarities and differences in systems at all levels and in many very different types of organisations. They scrutinise single cells, individuals, groups, small organisations, large ones, and examine how these various groups cope with their own problems. All this effort and study is directed towards evolving and thinking out more suitable types of products, procedures and organisations. It is only because of this type of research work, that we are getting fantastic technological improvements, every now and then. Similarly, a manger should not only monitor the proper working of his people. Bit also study them and make a detailed analysis on every single subordinate working under him. His aim should be to help them increase their working efficiency. He must also help them sort out problems. This is the best way a manager can get closer to his group.