Month: April 2013

Interview with Dr. Richard Daft, Professor at Vanderbilt University

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Internationally renowned expert, Dr. Richard Daft has been an industry leader in organizational management. He has published 12 books, dozens of articles, and presented at more than 45 universities around the world. Being a former Associate Dean at Owen, Dr. Daft has also developed and managed the Center for Change Leadership, participated in more than $500,000 in research grants, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Management. Dr. Daft is currently professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University. He is the author of the textbook (10 edition), Management. He shares his insight on several management topics this week:

Discuss how you got involved studying management and becoming professor at Vanderbilt University.
During my last semester of college, I met a young professor in the business school. As I learned about his work, I was intrigued, but felt that becoming a professor was too far out of reach. A couple of years later while working in Marshalltown, Iowa, I was in the library and came across a textbook on organizational behavior. I was so interested in the subject matter that I realized in that moment that I would try to be become a professor in organization studies. I came to Vanderbilt 24 years ago when a position opened up and I was ready to make a move from a large state university to a smaller private university. I applied for the position and got it.

What do you feel are the major challenges for American businesses faced with the realities of globalization?
For me, the issue comes down to qualities of both leadership and management. Globalization makes every industry more competitive. Thus businesses have to be super efficient, which is a function of management control and accountability. Businesses also have to be forward-looking and innovative, which is about employee creativity and engagement that are awakened by leadership.

What key leadership traits will be important as the world faces an uncertainty future?
I would say a certain amount of courage, vision and/or purpose, persistence, great soft skills, and knowing oneself. By knowing oneself, I mean knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, and choosing situations that take advantage of your strengths and accommodating weaknesses through others’ strengths. By great soft skills, I mean that people who genuinely care about and get along with others seem to thrive in any environment.

There are 20 million unemployed in our country. What are the positive things for these people to look forward to in 2014 and beyond?
It is hard for me to be positive about the huge number of unemployed people in our country. The trend I am most aware of is the growth of technology that is replacing the need for workers. More businesses are creating or buying technology to do work more efficiently and for less cost than hiring employees to do the work. Hence businesses are thriving while unemployment is decreasing very slowly. I also feel a personal frustration with the legislative and executive branches of our government which seem more loyal to their respective ideologies than to solving the unemployment problem. I would like to see the government focus on designing an economic system that ranks full employment as a top priority.

Any other comments:
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your questions. I hope the Management text is working well for your students.

Best regards,

Dick Daft
Professor
Vanderbilt MBA Program 

Please share your comments on this topic.

Richard-Daft

ABOUT THIS EXPERT

Byline

Professor Daft is among the most highly cited academics in the fields of economics and business. Richard Daft is studying high performance mental models – which include cognitive models of high performing managers – and examining high performance management systems. He has been involved in management development and consulting for companies and organizations such as the American Banking Association, Bell Canada, Bristol-Myers Squibb, J.C. Bradford & Company, Ford Motor Company, Pratt & Whitney, USAA, First American National Bank, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Central Parking Systems, Performance Food Group, the National Science Foundation, Northern Telecom, State Farm Insurance, the United States Air Force, the United States Army, and Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Education:
B.S., University of Nebraska, 1967
M.B.A., University of Chicago, 1971
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1974

The Human Factor

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man-fingers-crossed

Businesses that don’t under the value of their human capital resources are in error.  In spite of the power of technology and automation, it takes people power to make business operations work.  Failing to understand this reality will leave an organization vulnerable to their competition. This week we will cover human factor buy-in, the last element in socio-technical systems.  

Organizations must shift their paradigm to viewing workers as more than mechanical parts for their organizational objectives. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, maintain that managers have a responsibility to effectively oversee their human resources which includes the people involved in the creation and distribution of goods and services. [1] Given this reality, the ability of managers to leverage their talent is crucial.  

Talent management is the process through which employers anticipate and meet the needs for human capital.[2]  Peter Cappelli, author of Talent Management, explains how mismanaging employees in organizations is problematic for an organization’s sustainable success:  “The failures in talent management includes mismatches between  supply and demand on the one hand, having too many employees, leading to layoffs and restructuring, and on the other hand, having too little talent, leading to talent shortage. [3] 

In the United States, talent management miscues fall into the following categories:  (a) Do Nothing Mode – makes no attempt to anticipate human resource needs and develops no plans for addressing them and (b) Reactive Mode – relies on outside hiring to meet human capital needs, but this approach has begun to fail now that the surplus of management talent has eroded. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTMs3hp-LFU

Trust is the cornerstone of any meaningful relationships in organizations.  Yet, many employees do not trust their organizations due to the lack of employment security in most companies.  According to a USA Today poll, nearly half of those interviewed said that corporations can be trusted only a little, or not at all, when it involves looking out for the best interest of employees.[4] 

Michael Hackman and Craig Johnson, authors of Leadership: A Communication Perspectives, argue that a leader’s credibility is directly related to the quality of his relationship with followers.[5] Marios Katsioloudes, a researcher specializing in Socio-technical analysis, explains that as profitability of mechanization increases, the importance of technology is implied while there is a devaluation of the workers. U.S. businesses cannot point to the lack of employee performance on a global front for mismanagement errors.[6]

Japan, a long-time benchmark for American companies, is being defeated by American employees; today, the average U.S. worker puts in 36 more hours per year than Japanese workers (1,825 vs. 1,789). 

Over the last two decades, balancing work and home life have been difficult since Americans have added 200 hours to their annual work schedule.[7] Employees want to be valued. 

Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of The Human Equation, acknowledges that organization success is directly related to implementation, and this capacity comes from the workers, how they are treated, their skills, and their efforts as it relates to the organization.[8] 

Leaders should see followers as more than mechanical parts for their organizational objectives. Managers assume that giving employees new technology is enough to keep them happy. Likewise, leaders should view followers as a vital component of the socio-technical system. 

Discuss the concept of human factor buy-in for today’s organizations.

 © 2013 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

[1] Contemporary Management by Gareth Jones and Jennifer George

[2] Talent Management by Peter Cappelli

[3] Talent Management by Peter Cappelli

[4] “Leading others while supporting organizational values” by Daryl D. Green

[5] Leadership: A Communication Perspectives by Michael Hackman and Craig Johnson

[6] “Leading others while supporting organizational values” by Daryl D. Green

[7] “Leading others while supporting organizational values” by Daryl D. Green

[8] The Human Equation by Jeffrey Pfeffer

 

Technology Relevancy

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Components of Technology

We can’t survive without technology.  Are we too dependent on it?  When the computer network is down in our office, it’s a pretty wasted day because we are paperless.  Yet, you won’t find many modern organizations that can operate when their technology malfunctions. 

This week we will focus on technology relevancy as part of the three practical applications (i.e. value modeling, technology relevancy, and human factor buy-in) in socio-technical systems.  

Organizations must understand that technology needs to be relevant as it relates to benefiting the whole socio-technical system.  Technology relates to the combination of skills and equipment that managers use in the design, production, and distribution of goods and services.[1]   

Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, argue the significance of technology forces on organizations:  “Technological forces can have profound implications for managers and organizations. Technological change can make established products obsolete….”  The graveyard of many businesses is littered with numerous failed opportunities of senior executives to understand market shifts and technology opportunities.   

As an engineer myself, we are taught to use theory in order to build, design, and operate technical systems, whether mechanical, digital, or otherwise. Sometimes this creates a technical superiority over the other components of this socio-technical system. 

Organizations should obtain input from employees to ensure that the organization has not only the best technology for its operations but the right technology.[2]  This sharing of information can only come with mutual trust of leaders and followers.  Gary Yukl, author of Leadership in Organizations, notes, “Empowerment is more feasible when there is a high level of mutual trust…Leaders can affect the psychological employment of followers in many ways, and participative leadership and delegation are only two of the relevant behaviors .”[3] 

There have been numerous cases where organizations have purchased new technology to solve a problem or to become more efficient when a simple conversation with impacted employees would have produced better results at a lower cost. Therefore, organizations should invest their time in identifying the relevant technologies for their socio-technical system in a participatory manner.    

Discuss the concept of technology relevancy for today’s organizations. 

© 2013 by Daryl D. Green                                    

[1] Jones, G.  & George, J. (2009). Contemporary Management

[2] “Leading others while supporting organizational values” by Daryl D. Green

[3]Leadership in Organizations by Gary Yukl