S03a - The Moral Character of Management Practice

The Moral Character of Management Practice - John Roberts
We are not accustomed to doubt the effectiveness of managers in achieving what they set
out to achieve and we are equally unaccustomed to think of effectiveness as a
distinctively moral concept. Whether a manager is effective or not is on dominant view
quite a different question from that of the morality of the ends which his effectiveness
serves or fails to serve
Morality - Private sphere of our lives, realm of our immediate personal relationship and
Management- Realm of public affairs. These two words seem to belong to different
sphere of our lives
Managers’ practices are not judged by reference to moral standards but merely in terms of
the effectiveness with which they secure given objectives In opposition to such a view of
management practice, Macintyre asserts that the pursuit of effectiveness cannot but fail to
involve moral issue as effectiveness of manager’s day to day practice depends upon his or
her ability to manipulate other human beings into compliant modes of behavior
Case Study
PYT Ltd
In early years PYT Ltd had achieve a very rapid growth, with most of its increase in
revenue coming from selling to new customers. However in recent years, company had
begun to reach the limits of its customer market and it failed to repeat business from over
30 percent of it customers.
Senior management blamed on its style of management They felt that the use of high
sales target, incentive payments, threats to job security was creating a situation in which
sales people were selling with only short term personal interest in mind. The use of
relatively sophisticated sales techniques enabled staff oversells to customers, thereby
achieving their targets and commission payment, and freeing them from management
pressures, the company gained short term revenue. In long run, however, sales people
who had oversold to customers preferred to leave the company rather than return for
repeat orders. Consequently, management was facing both high turnover and strong
customer resistance.
Dave - Style of management characterized in ‘Theory X’
Dave is a twenty-nine year old male manager. He was perceived as a hard and too
detached manager. To him, familiarity also has its dangers and it’s easier to make
objective decisions when there’s no friendship. Dave could see no ‘advantage’ in finding
out more about the people he worked with. Indeed knowledge gained in personal
relationship might actually interfere with his ability to make ‘objective’ decisions.
He refused to take advantage of an opportunity to get closer to staff and deliberately

avoided ‘getting involved’ with staff.
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His relationship with his staff was consequently viewed in purely instrumental terms as
means to achieve future promotion. The assumption was that staff were generally
unwilling to work and required to be forced to do so.
Val – Style of management characterized in a shift from ‘Theory X’ to ‘Theory Y’
Val is a twenty-six years old female manager. In her early days as manager, Val had
managed her staff like Dave. However Val’s values changed when she got married, she
began to realize that there was more to life than being a success in the job.
Rather than controlling her staff, she now had to concentrate on stopping herself
controlling, she seemed to recognized that treating staff ‘like kids’ might have been a
contributory factor to the high rate of turnover in staff. Now rather than forcing them to
work, she had force herself to let others be responsible.
She was now able to present herself to staff as an advisor and co-ordinator of their
activities. Rather than staff working for management, managers were now presented as
the servants of staff and it was up to staff to come to her for help. Her aim now was not to
take over responsibility from them, but to help them develop their own capacity for self-
direction and self-control. Val had much more developed relationships with her staff and
she appeared much more responsive to individual differences in beliefs, feeling and
aspirations.
Case Study - Rita
Rita got demoted due to her poor sales rate. She was demoted being a T.A.R instead of
the position T.A.E she was holding. Dave’s dominance and aloofness makes Rita either to
accept a demotion or a dismissal. This demotion totally undermined Rita’s confidence
and thus diminished her chances of proving herself further.
Rita was under Val’s supervision as T.A.R after her demotion. It was not only Rita but Val
too who had to deal with Dave’s actions; she had to spend time rebuilding Rita’s
confidence. Rita thought that Val handled her just right, this way Val is able to serve both
her own and Rita’s interest.
Val seem very similar to Dave, and this similarity lay in the motives that informed their
different styles. Both of them were seeking to control staffs; its just that Dave felt that
relationships would interfere with his capacity to manage, whereas Val sought to manage
her staff through relationships.
Case Study – Christine
Christine was under Val’s team. She had constantly been missing her sales target.
Therefore, Val approached her and asked what was bothering her. Christine confided in
Val. However, Christine’s problem was exacerbated when Val divulged her problems to
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the management. Christine saw this as a betrayal and was careful with what she said to
Val thereafter. Val had lost Christine’s trust.
Conclusion
Dave’s style of management –

Strength
- The most effective means for achieving his targets
- Led him to impress his superiors and be indifferent to the consequences of his
actions for his staff
Weakness
- Staff were generally unwilling to work and required to be forced to do so. High
turnover rate
Val’s style of management-

Strength
- Her close relationships with her staff enable her to understand the needs and
concerns that informed their behavior.
- More effective practice, good sales results and low turnover rate
Weakness
- Personal sense of dependence and impotence in relation to the ‘company’
- As for the case of Christine, Val’s appearance of concern, led her not into
conformity but into resistance.
Their practices demonstrate the significance of their personal motives and beliefs.
The effectiveness of management practice must be explained and understand not as the
mechanical outcome of the application of appropriate techniques, but as the product of
communicative interaction between managers and their staff.
Manipulative forms of control work, not through giving a manager automatic control
over staff, but because staff frame their resistance within their individualism. It is
individualism that turns organization life into a series of vicious circles of control and
resistance and thereby increasingly diverts energy, resources and attention away from
realization of the productive potential of organized relationships.
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Done By: Karin & Joyce
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The Moral Character of Management Practice - John Roberts

Dave - Style of management characterized in ‘Theory X’

He refused to take advantage of an opportunity to get closer to staff and deliberately

Val – Style of management characterized in a shift from ‘Theory X’ to ‘Theory Y’

Case Study - Rita

Case Study – Christine

Dave’s style of management –

Val’s style of management-

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