Management of Technology essay
– How can motivational theories help in guiding technology managers toward effective leadership of technical professionals?
Motivation theories are very helpful in guiding technology managers toward effective leadership of technical professionals because these theories help managers to find effective approaches to the rise of motivation in their subordinates. At the same time, motivational theories help managers to understand what factors influence motivation of employees and what tools can increase motivation. In fact, motivational theories uncover the essence of motivation. Therefore, managers can create the highly motivating environment that stimulates employees to perform better and to increase their productivity.
-Discuss how you could use some of the management models for organizational development or management development in your organization. Consider models such as the Managerial Grid, Project Life Cycle, Inducement-Contribution Model, and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory.
Such models as models such as the Managerial Grid, Project Life Cycle, Inducement-Contribution Model, and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory can contribute to the increase of the efficiency of employees’ performance and the organizational performance at large. The managerial grid model contributes to the enhancement of the functionality of professionals working in the organization since they grow aware of their specific functions and functions are distributed proportionally between all employees that decrease the risk of overlapping functions performed by several employees. The project life cycle model helps to optimize the performance of the organization throughout the life cycle of the specific project from the emergence of the idea of the project to its implementation and completion. The inducement-contribution model is an effective tool that helps to induce the growth of productivity and the overall improvement of the organizational performance based on the personal contribution of each employee into the organizational performance. Therefore, managers can implement this model to maximize the using of the resources available to the organization to improve the organizational performance and to increase productivity. The Vroom’s expectancy theory is also important, especially in terms of forecasting business development of the organization because this theory focuses on the accurate prognosis of the future development of the organization and the industry and helps to correlate the prognosis to the organizational resources and potential. Thus, managers can use this theory to forecast and to plan the organizational development.
-What leadership skills are learnable in the “classroom” and which ones can only be gained experientially?
Leadership skills are very important in terms of the effective management. However, leadership skills cannot be learned in the classroom solely. Instead, leadership skills are acquired through the practice and hard work of the leader, while the classroom provides only the theoretical framework, within which the manager can develop as a leader. Therefore, theoretical knowledge may be learned in the classroom, while practical skills can be acquired experientially solely.
-How do you explain the fact that the same manager is being perceived as “auto-critic” by some people and “democratic/team-oriented” by others within the same work team?
The difference in the perception of the manager depends on the cultural background of subordinates, their position in the organization and relationships with the manager. For instance, if employees are of different cultural background, they may perceive one and the same person’s management style in different ways. For instance, a manager may be perceived as democratic by an employee of the Asian background just because the leader communicates with employees, while the employee of the western origin may perceive this leader as autocratic, if the leader’s communication style is authoritarian.
