Page 316 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 12 • The Manager as Leader

Human Relations

Managers are continually in contact with employees, other managers, customers,
and others who have interest in the work of the business. Because of these contacts,
managers need human relations skills. They must be able to work well with others
both inside and outside the business and help employees work well together.
Human relations involve several skills. Those skills may be just as impor-
tant to the success of a business as the ability to make decisions or operate a
complicated piece of equipment. Important human relations skills are (1) self-
understanding, (2) understanding of others, (3) communication, (4) team building,
and (5) developing job satisfaction.

SELF-UNDERSTANDING
In order to work well with others, managers must have self-understanding. Self-
understanding involves an awareness of your attitudes and opinions, your leader-
ship style, your decision-making style, and your relationships with other people.
Employees look to managers for information and direction. They want man-
agers to be able to make decisions, solve problems, and communicate expectations.
If managers understand themselves and what other people expect of them, they can
decide on the best way to work with people and the leadership style to use. They
can use the understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and how others perceive
them to improve their skills as managers.

UNDERSTANDING OTHERS
Every individual is different. Each person has a different background as well as
different attitudes, skills, and needs. A manager cannot treat everyone the same Many human relations prob-
way. Some people want a great deal of support and regular communication from lems occur when managers fail
their supervisor; others do not. Some employees want managers to consult them to recognize the unique quali-
when making important decisions, whereas others do not care to be involved in ties and differences among
decision making. Some people work harder when praised; others expect managers employees. Should all employ-
to tell them when their work needs improvement. ees be treated the same by a
Managers need to know the best way to work with each employee. They manager? Why or why not?
need to be able to satisfy individual workers’ needs and, at the same
time, accomplish the goals of the company. The leader who works hard
to get to know each person and his or her needs will be a better manager.

COMMUNICATION

In Chapter 10, you learned the importance of communication in busi-
ness. Managers spend much of their time communicating. When commu-
nication breakdowns occur, human relations problems will likely develop.
Managers must understand what information needs to be communi-
cated and what methods to use. They need to know when too much com-
munication is occurring and when there is not enough. Managers must
have skill in using official communications channels and in understand-
ing informal channels.
Managers do not just provide information, although they must be PHOTO: © GETTY IMAGES/PHOTODISC.
skilled in both written and oral communications. Listening is an impor-
tant communication skill as well. By listening to employee concerns,
managers can identify problems, determine needs, and respond to them
more effectively.

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