• Write two pages paper reflecting on your learning experience with the MGT 303 Online Class
• These are some of the areas you could reflect on (suggestions only!):

Using your critical reflective skills reflect on your online learning in the MGT 303 class. Tells us what and how you have learned, how have you changed in your journey to becoming a critically reflective professional/manager?

what you found stimulating and interesting, and explain why?

how your learning has helped you better understand your working/management life.?

how your perspectives on managing organizations have changed because of the cases, ideas, and models you have studied in the course, and why?

case

What is the People/Human Resource Frame about?

This frame zooms in on people as the key element of organizational success. It suggests that people are not mere cogs in a machine and that they are not merely interested in maximizing their monetary gains. They are complex individuals with personal and social needs, desires and inclinations; and when multiple people get together (like in an formal organization) these social and psychological needs/desires, and the formal rules and, technologies, and all structures of the organization (broadly understood as organizational technology) create specific informal dynamics and processes that have a bearing on organizational outcomes especially because they influence workers satisfaction, commitment, effort and productivity. The socio-technical system theory taught us that this informal, social side of every organisation is also significant so managers need to be aware of the informal side of the organization not only the technical side: managers need to be able to manage both!

The Human Relations Movement examined the specific social and psychological needs and how they are important in organizational behaviour and how specific social dynamics (for example linked with the fact that people working together often form informal groups) can become utilised and leveraged in careful management strategies and initiatives that increase work effort, effectiveness and efficiency, by increasing such things as sense of ownership and responsibility of the actual work processes and objectives, sense of commitment, empowering them in their work tasks pursuing organisational objectives.

Understanding how people engage with effort at work is key. There are many theories of motivation that managers might want to consider when dealing with employees.

Overall, the People/HR Frame focuses on the issue of how important it is to create a fit between people needs/ goals and organisational needs/ goal. Since a good fit is an important element to make sure that all people work effectively and in concert to achieve organizational goals. Human Resources Management is that branch of management that focuses directly on managing people, it is strategic when it moves beyond the usual business of compensation, benefits and promotions, but is openinly and purposefully (i.e. strategically) utilises all that we know about people in organisation to create fit and leverage employees best effort to be not only efficient and effective but to pursue continuous improvement and excellence in everything they do.

Psychological biases

Another important learning point of People/HRM Frame is that individuals have also many psychological and social biases and these can also negative consequences for work performance. So managers need to consider them, too.

For example, decision making processes are very important for organisations, in developing a new product or delivering a new service and deciding on the options available. We often think of decision making as a rational process: one needs to have clarity on the objectives, have the right data, have solid and reliable information to identify options, clarify the criteria, and this will be enough to achieve the right decision. This rational model though does not consider the fact that information are often imperfect, but also that managers (just like every individuals) have cognitive biases. Psychological biases are cognitive processes that individuals tend to use when producing or evaluating information, that are not logical therefore generate a bias/problem in the decision making process.

These are some of the most common cognitive biases: confirmation bias, anchoring, overconfidence and how to avoid them. I have also attached the article with the details on psychological biases to this BB page.

There are also social biases (stereotyping, prejudices etc) ways in which we are perceived differently and this difference is given a negative or positive value, especially in visible identifiers of differences (but not only), for example in differences in gender, ethnicity/race, age etc. Some of these differences have been historically socially associated with asymmetries and disparities (that vary in different locations) based on hierarchical power systems that benefit some groups over others. For example, the system of patriarchy tends to center on men while women are posited as a different "other", at best in a supporting role to men. The system of racism tends to center on "Whites" people of European ancestries who colonised different part of Africa, the Americas and Australia for example, as more powerful while other ethnicities/races are "other", again posited in a supporting but always lesser role. Despite huge changes in the laws in many countries due to civil rights struggles and enlarging democratic rights, these systems still impact many institutions (like education, healthcare) and industries (like technology, finance). They are based on material and symbolic power and still affect all of us, everyday. This is because one cannot ever "check out one's body" before entering the walls of a company, and enter an area of full neutrality where these systems of power relations are not operative, for example. We all carry specific identifiers that put us in a set of differential relations that generate penalties and benefits in every moment of our social life and that includes our careers and working lives. So, for example, women and people of color are subject to various forms of discrimination evident in occupational segregation, glass ceiling, and glass cliff. But companies and industries and institutions are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of reducing discrimination and social exclusions in practice not only in theory as the law indicates.

Diversity Management

Below you find a video from the DUPONT group that explains why diversity management is important and offers suggestions to its own managers how they can lead and manage in a way that advances social inclusion at work and therefore maximises the options for the company to fully use employees talent.

two pages long plz