What It Means to Be an Effective Manager in a Diverse Workforce

Managers in the modern workplace have a pivotal role to play in the success of a company. Today, managers have ever-expanding roles as society has progressed its preferred managerial style from a more rudimentary style of management, found in the classical viewpoint, to a more forward-thinking method in the contingency theory. Managers today must have the required managerial traits and be able to correctly apply them when needed. These traits include, but are not limited to; understanding of ethical, social, cultural and team issues, strong communication skills, and high emotional intelligence. Managers must also have the skills to work cross-generationally and be able to effectively manage older employees from the Baby Boomer generation and integrate new and younger employees from the Millennial generation. In my opinion, an effective manager is someone who can encompass all the traits of a successful leader and apply it to their business model. Not all managers have the same employees, and certain traits will need to be emphasised more than others for different companies, but the greatest leaders of our time are those that are able to make the most of their team and skyrocket a company’s success internally.

Being an effective manager requires you to have the skillset to operate a functional team and optimise the traits that are extremely valuable in a diverse workforce. This involves understanding the various ethical, social, cultural and team (ESCT) issues which have risen in the past decade (Buelens et al., 2011). Adhering to ethical standards in the workplace means doing the right thing as a corporate citizen and creating a more inclusive workplace for all. This involves no tolerance for sexism, racism, ageism and creating a clear set of rules and punishments for breaking those rules. Businesses thrive and prosper when they are more diverse as they can reach diverse customer markets and make decisions from a variety of perspectives (Nair and Vohra, 2015). From a social perspective, managers should recognise changing social demographics, including an increase of women in the workforce, an aging population and a change in the generational traits. Similarly, a diverse workforce will have people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds, therefore managers must have high emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence and communication skills.

Communication is vital and was ranked number one in importance to business from CEO’s of 5000 U.S companies. As society has progressed, so has the workplace. The outdated model of the classical viewpoint, which held the notion that people only have physical and economic needs, has been disproven and more modern theories of management have taken its place. I believe the Contingency Theory is a relevant notion in the modern workplace. Peter Trkman in his article about ‘The critical success factors of business process management’ defines the Contingency Theory as the idea “that there is no best way of organising and that an organisational style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others”. This approach to management is so relevant because in a diverse workplace, management is contingent on the situation. However, the outdated model of the classical viewpoint is still being used in some areas of society, making work “monotonous, meaningless and soul-deadening” (Schwartz, 2014). While all work cannot be fulfilling and exciting, managers in that field still need to take a more modern approach to management and improve the working conditions for their employees, starting with their managerial style.

While the role of a manager in the modern workplace is ever expanding, effectively dealing with a diverse workforce has become much more prevalent. Diversity in the modern workforce is not limited to racial backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, and religious beliefs anymore, but also relates to the various generational differences. Over the last 75 years, different societal experiences have divided generations and created varied personalities that need to be managed accordingly. The Baby Boomer generation (55-73 years old) are reputed to be loyal, driven and competitive workaholics. According to the ‘Generational Differences in the Workplace’ article, the most effective method of managing them involves motivation via money and overtime, recognition through praise and position, and trust in their loyalty. In stark contrast to this, Millennials have been raised in a technology savvy society, where instant communication and social media have been at the forefront of their world. Many have been shaped by social change and movement including the legalisation of same-sex marriage and the climate change protest by tens of thousands of students earlier this year. This places millennials in a much more willing position to accept diversity making a diverse workplace much more accepted and easily integrated. However, millennials pose their own difficulties including a lack of face-to-face communication skills and the tendency to be more self-absorbed and more self-entitled. “Managers should try to make work exciting and relevant for this group, being careful to show them verifiable career opportunities if they exist. Where Baby Boomers will do their job and like to be left alone, Millennials wants attention and feedback.” (Whitney Gibson et al., 2009)

The role of a manager in the modern workplace is changing and evolving as society develops.Managers must integrate and apply modern styles of management to optimise their teams’ values, they must have the skills and traits to be a leader and an effective manager and finally, they must balance the multigenerational workforce that has become so predominant in the modern era. Uniting all these skills into one unified and cohesive manner is the key to an effective manager in a diverse workforce.

References

1. Buelens, M., Fassin, Y and Rossem, A. (2011). Small-Business Owner-Managers’ Perceptions of Business Ethics and CSR-Related Concepts. [eBook] Journal of Business Ethics, p.425. Available at: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10551-010-0586-y.pdf [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].
2. Clark, K. (2017). Managing Multiple Generations in the Workplace. 4th ed. p.379. [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].
3. Hartman, J & McCambridge, J 2011, ‘Optimizing Millennials’ communication styles’, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 22-44.
4. Kinicki, A., Scott-Lad, B., Perry, M. and Williams, B. (2018). Management: a practical introduction. 2nd ed. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education, pp.3-117.
5. Nair, N. and Vohra, N. (2015). Diversity and Inclusion at the Workplace: A Review ofResearch and Perspectives. [eBook] Ahmedabad: Indian Institution of Management