M1d1: managers and employees. in past decades,

M1D1: How do You View Management?•    What factors influence the relationship between managers and workers then and now?•    What do you think has stayed the same and what has changed? Support your responses with examples. A major factor that influences the relationship between managers and workers, past and present, is each individual’s personality.  Per Hellriegel and Slocum (2011), personality describes a person’s dominant characteristics and this profile of characteristics will tell us about the behaviors that can be expected from one another.  For example, someone who has an outgoing personality may perform better as a salesman.

Therefore, personality can be helpful in determining an individual’s behavior toward others.  Also, the assumptions that one makes based on a character profile will also influence a person’s behavior towards others.  This almost seems like a vicious cycle.  That is why Hellriegel and Slocum (2011) state, “ to be an effective employee means to understand what affects her or his own behavior before trying to influence the behaviors of others.”  Some other factors that should be taken into account, when looking at the dynamics of the relationship between managers and their subordinates, are culture and regulation.

These have an enormous effect on the relationship between managers and employees.  In past decades, the worker was treated purely as an object rather than a person.  Meaning, an individual was meant to come to work and perform their job without much consideration given to the complexities of the person, such as disability or birth or adoption of a child. The culture of the world is changing causing a change in policy and regulations.

For example, with the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disabled individuals are guaranteed fairness in all aspects of employment, and in some cases given reasonable accommodations in the performance of their duties.  In the past, managers may not have been as open to hiring disabled individuals. There is also the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides job protection if an employee has a qualifying medical condition, needs to care for a family member, or needs to bond with a newborn or a recently adopted child.  Also, as of January 1, 2018, New York has become the latest to offer a Paid Family Leave (PFL) program.  Providing job protection for an employee when they are out of work for was not always intuitive, but in the current culture, it is expected.

Furthermore, some employers may also offer education/professional leaves or education reimbursement programs for employees who meet specific criteria. As Nooyi states, “ It’s important to create an inclusive culture: a place where people can bring their whole selves to work.” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011).

In today’s society employees are being treated more like valuable assets rather than replaceable objects or machinery in an assembly line.  The culture shift has enabled managers to be more flexible with employees and in turn, may lead to a happier more productive workforce. Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J.

W.  (2011). Organizational behavior (13th ed.

). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.