People management: meaning, skills and training in Nigeria
Preparing and searching for top managers capable of handling the challenges and opportunities of the modern world is a question that is asked by both the best universities, global companies, and new start-ups. What skills should top executives have? What programmes are used for training top managers? Let`s find out everything about people management.
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These questions are needed to be answered both in the academic environment, where training programmes for top managers are formed, and in the corporate sector, where the task of searching, evaluating candidates and their effectiveness is worth daily.
Meaning of the people management
The staff of the organisation is the most difficult object to control. Unlike tangible assets, people can make decisions and evaluate their requirements. Besides, the staff is a team, each member of which has its own interests and is very sensitive to managerial influences. It is often complicated to predict their reaction.
Modern concepts of people management are based on the recognition of the increasing importance of the employee’s personality. It includes the study of their motivations, on the ability to shape them correctly and adjust following the strategic tasks.
Even though the primary goal of business is to make a profit, modern theory and practice of people management pay considerable attention to provide not only the material but also the social needs of employees.
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Such an administration should have a systemic nature. It means that a coordinated approach is needed in all areas of the formation and regulation of the company's staff namely recruitment, management, training and development, selection and employment.
What are the skills of the manager?
We have studied a variety of sources, the purpose of which was to identify the skills that are in demand for candidates for top positions. As a result of the obtained data, we concluded that professional requirements are only in 11th place. And the most popular are the following 10 skills:
1. The philosophy of critical thinking, analysis, argumentation and decision making. The ability to doubt and willingness to ask the question, "Is it really true?" Summary of what is happening and the ability to make decisions in any of the possible situations are vital.
2. The ability to see what is popular now. It includes a deep understanding of the trends, their causes, factors that affect them; ability to understand signs, to generalise them, to model new directions that have not yet emerged but are in the process of acquiring outlines. It makes it possible to create future competitive advantages today, thereby allowing you to be one step ahead of the competitors.
3. Broad knowledge and vision of the future of the industry, the ability to work with the stream of information. This process is so great that one of the essential skills is the ability to filter data, discarding unnecessary information garbage and choosing the most valuable. It means deeply analyse the industry, inter-sectoral trends and, thus, to see the possible directions of transformation and development of each of the sectors.
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4. The ability to predict the consequences. Possessing such quality suggests understanding what results specific actions or omissions will lead to; each decision is the management of risks, future challenges, and opportunities. It is also essential to have an ability to predict the effects, both positive and negative, and manage them.
5. The capacity to act and make effective decisions in conditions of uncertainty. A good manager should focus, concentrate and mobilise all resources in any situation. It is also necessary to work quickly, find practical solutions while understanding and managing their consequences and future risks.
6. A constant concentration of the whole spectrum of efforts on customer needs. Consumers and their preferences in a competitive environment continually change and become more complex, which requires continuous feedback and work with customers. Their orientation in all business processes is a pledge to anticipate and create new demands.
7. Wisdom and perseverance as a leader and manager. Today it is one of the critical characteristics of this profession. The intelligence is the ability to find a compromise and be flexible; but persistence is the ability to follow beliefs, thought, and instinct in any situation. Their combination determines leadership today.
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8. Knowledge of the full range of purposes, business strategy and job responsibilities of the CEO. A clear understanding of what you need to do in the business strategy is essential, even if the candidate is considered for the position of vice president or head of the department. It is necessary to realise what the tasks and pre-eminence of work in this position are.
9. The ability to form teams and objectively manage them. Departure from building organisational structures based on functions is found in most companies now. Making flat corporate structures with a minimum level of the hierarchy is very valuable. In this connection, the ability to form teams and manage them is one of the keys for top managers.
10. Profound knowledge and skills of quantitative and qualitative assessment of your work and the work of the team. The ability to understand the relevance of an activity, isolate the most critical aspects and discard unnecessary, evaluate all types of resources for their implementation is vital in the profession of the manager. Achieving good results is possible with increasing quality of work and minimising all kinds of costs for its application. You need to analyse, quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate your job and the effort of your subordinates.
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A manager as a creator must have the skills of putting together puzzles (fundamental discoveries, trends, facts and influence factors), select the necessary ones, study and propose new pictures that were not present before him. It is the ability to see the future faster than others and realise it today. These qualities determine the real leader. Keep reading, and you will know more.
How can I be a successful manager?
If you want to become a successful manager, you need to know the strategies and methods of staff administration. It is the primary objective in the formation of a professional, competitive, responsible and friendly team of the company. It is understood that such a group helps to achieve long-term goals and follow the general concept of enterprise development.
There are two main characteristics of people management strategy. The first one is the long-termness. A procedure involving the development and modification of mental attitudes, motivation, the entire staff structure, and even the whole system cannot be implemented in a short time.
The second characteristic is a close connection with the general strategy (development concept) of a company, that means consideration of external and internal environmental factors. Their changing entails modifying or even altering the approach of the enterprise and requires appropriate adjustments of the whole system.
There are five types of organisational strategies that are strictly related to current staff administration policies:
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1. Entrepreneurial approach. It is typical for companies engaged in a new kind of activity. Their focus is on meeting all customer requirements without careful consideration of the consequences. The following features distinguish this approach:
- selection of employees who are willing to take risks and possess such qualities as self-starter, in-touch capabilities, and focus on long-term work;
- remuneration on a competitive basis, which satisfies employee expectations;
- assessment by real results;
- informal development of personality, and orientation to a mentor;
- planning personnel changes taking into account the interests of employees.
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2. Dynamic growth strategy. In this case, the degree of risk is much smaller. The foundation is laid for the future of the company. All decisions are made by a comparison of goals and means which are necessary for achieving. The main features are the following:
- selection and placement of workers are aimed at finding employees who are flexible and loyal to the company, and are ready to take risks if necessary;
- fair remuneration;
- assessment by clearly defined criteria;
- emphasis on personal development in the field of primary activity;
- planning of transformations is taking into account the real possibilities of the company and various forms of promotion.
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3. Profitability approach. Attention is paid to maintain the existing level of profit of the enterprise. The main features of this policy are the next:
- selection and placement of workers as tight as possible;
- the reward is based on merit, seniority and intra-company perceptions of justice;
- the score is narrow, focused on a specific result;
- personal development focuses on increasing in the field of assigned tasks;
- planning of transformations is strict, following the guidance of the administration.
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4. Liquidation strategy. It also means selling assets of the company to eliminate losses. It suggests that the reduction of personnel is possible in the future which entails the collapse of the marginal efficiency of capital. Let`s consider its main points:
- recruitment is hardly probable;
- payment is based on merit, and practically does not increase, without additional incentives;
- the assessment is strict and formal, following administration criteria;
- development and training take place only in case of business need;
- promotion is possible just for those who have the required skills.
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5. Cycle strategy. The primary goal is to save the company. So, reduction of personnel is also possible. Human resource control has the following characteristics:
- only diversified and qualified employees present in such company;
- payment on the system of incentives and verification of merit;
- careful selection of applicants for advanced training.
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The science and practice of people management have developed three groups of methods:
- Economic methods. They include all means of material stimulation of employees. Wages is a key here, as well as participation in profits, a reward system for the quality of work and its efficiency, a system of penalties in the form of deductions and fines. This group also includes some elements of social security of workers namely payment for nutrition, travel, provision of medical insurance. The use of economic techniques is based on their payback. Investing in material incentives should have a return in the form of profit by improving the quality of work.
- Administrative, or organisational methods. They are based on the use of power and regulatory support of employees' work activities. Usually, they are implemented in the form of orders, rules, instructions and are focused on such motives of human behaviour as a sense of duty, awareness of the need to observe labour discipline, the desire to work in a particular organisation. Such a system has a direct impact. It means that any order or instruction of the authority must necessarily be carried out.
- Socio-psychological methods. One of the most important results of their use is the minimisation of personal conflicts. Besides, they can be practised to manage the career of each employee, to form a corporate culture based on the image of an ideal worker. This approach helps determine the place of everyone in a team, identify informal leaders, and resolve industrial conflicts.
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Thus, the involvement of professionals makes an essential contribution to the development of the company as a whole, providing the system with independent audits and reducing legal risks.
People management training in Nigeria
Training programmes before approval are checked for the development of skills and their compliance with the requirements of the employer for the period 2019-2020. Companies can measure the level of a manager`s capabilities with their qualifying sessions. In this way, they enhance competitive advantages. Let's look at such training.
You can take a course of introduction to managing people from various places. You can also choose an appropriate month, region, and location. It can be Lagos or Abuja, or virtual session at all. Fees vary on choice.
Source: UGC
Today's professionals use a lot of the most various techniques and methods studied through training at every stage of their work. Each of them has specific systems aimed at achieving maximum efficiency. The offered courses form a confident specialist who can manage various areas of business.
The manager has to see the world trends in all spheres of life, to understand the directions of the development of science, politics, economics, and society. Discovery in one area affects some others, which leads to the emergence of new industries and the disappearance of old ones. We wish you good luck on your way to the desired results and success.
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