In the past, control over the work environment was a task which was often delegated to managers and supervisors. Because they are the individuals which are responsible for the implementation of specific business functions, it should come as no surprise that they were often responsible for this task.
Despite this, many young workers today feel that the corporate environment should be more tailored to their needs, and there is a great deal of evidence which proves the truthfulness of this claim. For instance, while most corporate workers were required to dress in business suits in the past, today many corporations have an avant-garde dress code.
However, this phenomenon is not only prevalent within the way many corporate workers dress, but the way in which their work environments are organized. For example, many offices now allow workers to be hooked into their Ipods so they do not have to worry about social interactions.
Despite this, the big issue that many corporations must deal with is whether or not this change in the work environment is actually conducive to the efficient and timely completion of assignments. If you are running a firm, or even a department within a corporation, you must be able to analyze the work environment to determine whether or not it is conducive to helping your organization achieve success.
There are many people who agree that management within many organizations today have given up a certain degree of control over the work environment. While there are many things which have changed over the last decade or so, management is still not very sensitive when it comes to following both procedures and policies.
Overall, young employees who are employed by a corporation will be expected to adhere to the culture of that corporation as opposed to themselves. However, a dichotomy has appeared in the workplace environment today, one which has given employees more freedom to look and act in the the manner they choose. This has inevitably lead to the rapid increase of micromanagement.
Role of Micromanagement at Workplace
Strong connection exists between micromanagement and allowing employees to act and look as they please. One thing that most of us can agree on is that micromanagement is not a good thing, because it leads to a situation where management has to spend too much time dealing with employees on issues that the employees should be able to handle themselves.
While it is important that employees have a say in the decision making process of the organization, many managers have been reluctant in providing it to them. One reason for this is because when employees have an appearance which is unprofessional, and act in an unprofessional manner, it is hard for the manager to trust them.
After all, if something goes wrong due to a mistake made by the employee, it is the manager, not the employee, who will be hammered by upper level management. In fact, a manager could lose their job as a result of a mistake which was made by an employee working in their department.
Having said this, is it any wonder that many managers are reluctant to allow their employees to be a part of the decision making process? The good news in all of this is that I believe a balanced medium can be found. However, this will require the organization to carefully examine their corporate culture.
Once the corporate culture has been reviewed, many companies will find that there are many changes that will need to be made. And while the employees may not like some of these changes, it is necessary for the discipline, efficiency, and accountability of the organization as a whole.
To make the right changes, the company must take control of the work environment. By taking control over this environment, and placing some level of control over how employees look and act, organizations can effectively reduce the amount of micromanagement that they currently face. One thing that I should also emphasize is that there are both physical and logical ways of altering the work environment.
Controlling the Work Environment
The physical attributes of any given work environment are things which effect the five human senses. Of course, we know these five senses to be taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound. The physical attributes are important because they are responsible for having an influence on the perception of people.
What this basically means is that management must pay close attention to the room temperature, lighting, appearance of the employees, and colors. The logical side of controlling the work environment involves how management operates, and their core values. This includes motivation, dedication, as well as social interaction.
To increase logical control over the work environment, management will want to pay attention to things such as empowering workers, delegating tasks, and holding employees accountable for their actions. In order for management to succeed, they must avoid micromanagement at all costs.
Micromanagement has always been proven to be a disaster, because management spends so much time dealing with every issue of their department, which exhausts their energy and reduces their efficiency in the tasks they ought to be performing. The best way for a manager to avoid micromanagement is to avoid dealing with small details. Give an employee a task with a set goal, and let them decide how best to accomplish it.
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