Feb. 3, 2018 "What will always be true of management?": Today I found this article by Harvey Schachter in the Globe and Mail. First it's about management, and then it goes into how to ask for a raise.
From the e-mail inbox:
From the e-mail inbox:
If you take the long view of leadership and management, what has really changed over the years? And what remains bedrock true regardless of the fads that come and go?
I'm influenced by Ole Ingstrup, former head of the Correctional Service of Canada, who I assisted on his book The Three Pillars of Public Management, co-authored with Paul Crookall.
Mr. Ingstrup delineated two streams in management over the years, one analytical and the other human relations-oriented, which oscillated in importance over time, starting with Frederick Winslow Taylor's studies on industrial efficiency in the late 1800s.
As I think back, when I studied management at McGill in the 1960s, human relations was ascendant. The excitement was over the human-relations findings from people such as Douglas McGregor and Abraham Maslow, but we were also being prepped for the next wave as we studied, for the first time, operations research and took our Fortran cards to the computer lab.
As I think back, when I studied management at McGill in the 1960s, human relations was ascendant. The excitement was over the human-relations findings from people such as Douglas McGregor and Abraham Maslow, but we were also being prepped for the next wave as we studied, for the first time, operations research and took our Fortran cards to the computer lab.
These days, I'm not sure if either approach dominates, as we benefit from the latest studies in psychology and big data simultaneously. The field of behavioural economics may symbolize that co-mingling.
At the same time, artificial intelligence and the rise of Amazon, a data company, and algorithmic-focused operations such as Facebook, suggest we may be headed towards an era of analytical supremacy.
At the same time, artificial intelligence and the rise of Amazon, a data company, and algorithmic-focused operations such as Facebook, suggest we may be headed towards an era of analytical supremacy.
Canada has benefited from a management gadfly I came to know initially back at McGill: Henry Mintzberg.
Perhaps of most relevance to your question are two powerful notions he advanced. He helped us to understand that strategy can be emergent, from the grassroots, rather than just be delivered top down, from the executive retreat.
He has received less attention for his recent organizational model, notably in the book Managing, in which he shows managers at the centre of a circle rather than atop a hierarchy. In a networked world, managers operate with and through a myriad of people, inside and outside the organization.
He has received less attention for his recent organizational model, notably in the book Managing, in which he shows managers at the centre of a circle rather than atop a hierarchy. In a networked world, managers operate with and through a myriad of people, inside and outside the organization.
A final change worth highlighting is that we can benefit these days from people such as Jim Collins, a dedicated researcher on management who tries to analyze success in a rigorous way, digging out "the truth." We are armed, if we choose, with better knowledge of what works, although as with medicine, each study has flaws and no single one has all the answers.
What's the best way to broach the topic of a pay raise?
That's something I have never done, so you are asking the wrong guy. But I did get pay raises, unasked, so my approach wasn't a total disaster.
First, it's important at the outset of a job to settle on the best remuneration you can obtain. You lose out if you don't. Studies show women, who are less likely than men to push for more money, have a significant shortfall over a lifetime.
If when you take the job your boss says for now you need to accept less but down the road an adjustment can be made, that's an obvious starting point. If not, think of your request through the eyes of your boss. When you ask for a raise, she is probably thinking, in order, of:
- Her own boss’s likely reaction.
- Her budget.
- What the request says about you and her future dealings with you.
- Whether it’s justified.
Unfortunately, the tendency is to start with the bottom factor: performance. You go in armed with all sorts of proof of your value, which is perhaps only a minor part of the decision, mainly to arm your boss to deal with her boss.
You don't influence budget. But you should be sensitive to it. If somebody has just left – particularly somebody with a hefty pay packet – your boss may have room to respond to your request. Budget time is also a good time to ask, since money for the coming period is being considered.
The boss will be evaluating what your request means down the road in dealing with you. Are you going to be a nuisance, always asking for money and other things?
If denied, will you become demoralized, a pain to have on staff?
So you want to provide some reassurance about your commitment and that she won't have you in her office every six months.
If denied, will you become demoralized, a pain to have on staff?
So you want to provide some reassurance about your commitment and that she won't have you in her office every six months.
Good luck.
Cannonballs
- Any board of directors that doesn’t spend much of its time in the next few months considering the risk of a senior manager being accused of sexual assault is taking a big risk. You need a process to handle such claims that is seen as fair but also highly responsive to allegations, backed by credibility in advance, preferably through leaders who have shown passion for the issue, not just jumping on it now as flavour of the month. Talking to women’s groups probably beats talking to the lawyers.
- Keep in mind that sexual harassment is not a random occurrence. John Sullivan, who has been called “the father of HR metrics,” says it’s more likely to occur in certain places than others, for example IT rather than HR.
- In Mr. Mintzberg’s circular schema, and others, leaders are ambassadors who represent their organizations outside. The media may like to poke fun at the glitzy aspects of Davos, as it did last week, and the left has reason to question such a gathering. But a prime minister or president – even from the left – has to consider being there, at least from time to time.
"Amazon wins patent for a more hands-on approach to productivity": Today I found this article by Ceylan Yeginsu in the Globe and Mail:
LONDON — What if your employer made you wear a wristband that tracked your every move, and that even nudged you via vibrations when it judged that you were doing something wrong?
What if your supervisor could identify every time you paused to scratch or fidget, and for how long you took a bathroom break?
What may sound like dystopian fiction could become a reality for Amazon warehouse workers around the world. The company has won two patents for such a wristband, though it was unclear if Amazon planned to actually manufacture the tracking device and have employees wear it.
The online retail giant, which plans to build a second headquarters and recently shortlisted 20 potential host cities for it, has also been known to experiment in-house with new technology before selling it worldwide.
LONDON — What if your employer made you wear a wristband that tracked your every move, and that even nudged you via vibrations when it judged that you were doing something wrong?
What if your supervisor could identify every time you paused to scratch or fidget, and for how long you took a bathroom break?
What may sound like dystopian fiction could become a reality for Amazon warehouse workers around the world. The company has won two patents for such a wristband, though it was unclear if Amazon planned to actually manufacture the tracking device and have employees wear it.
The online retail giant, which plans to build a second headquarters and recently shortlisted 20 potential host cities for it, has also been known to experiment in-house with new technology before selling it worldwide.
Amazon, which rarely discloses information on its patents, could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
But the patent disclosure goes to the heart about a global debate about privacy and security. Amazon already has a reputation for a workplace culture that thrives on a hard-hitting management style, and has experimented with how far it can push white-collar workers in order to reach its delivery targets.
But the patent disclosure goes to the heart about a global debate about privacy and security. Amazon already has a reputation for a workplace culture that thrives on a hard-hitting management style, and has experimented with how far it can push white-collar workers in order to reach its delivery targets.
Privacy advocates, however, note that a lot can go wrong even with everyday tracking technology. On Monday, the tech industry was jolted by the discovery that Strava, a fitness app that allows users to track their activities and compare their performance with other people running or cycling in the same places, had unwittingly highlighted the locations of United States military bases and the movements of their personnel in Iraq and Syria.
The patent applications, filed in 2016, were published in September, and Amazon won them this week, according to GeekWire, which reported the patents’ publication on Tuesday.
In theory, Amazon’s proposed technology would emit ultrasonic sound pulses and radio transmissions to track where an employee’s hands were in relation to inventory bins, and provide “haptic feedback” to steer the worker toward the correct bin.
The aim, Amazon says in the patent, is to streamline “time consuming” tasks, like responding to orders and packaging them for speedy delivery. With guidance from a wristband, workers could fill orders faster.
Critics say such wristbands raise concerns about privacy and would add a new layer of surveillance to the workplace, and that the use of the devices could result in employees being treated more like robots than human beings.
The patent applications, filed in 2016, were published in September, and Amazon won them this week, according to GeekWire, which reported the patents’ publication on Tuesday.
In theory, Amazon’s proposed technology would emit ultrasonic sound pulses and radio transmissions to track where an employee’s hands were in relation to inventory bins, and provide “haptic feedback” to steer the worker toward the correct bin.
The aim, Amazon says in the patent, is to streamline “time consuming” tasks, like responding to orders and packaging them for speedy delivery. With guidance from a wristband, workers could fill orders faster.
Critics say such wristbands raise concerns about privacy and would add a new layer of surveillance to the workplace, and that the use of the devices could result in employees being treated more like robots than human beings.
Current and former Amazon employees said the company already used similar tracking technology in its warehouses and said they would not be surprised if it put the patents into practice.
Max Crawford, a former Amazon warehouse worker in Britain, said in a phone interview, “After a year working on the floor, I felt like I had become a version of the robots I was working with.”
He described having to process hundreds of items in an hour — a pace so extreme that one day, he said, he fell over from dizziness.
“There was no time to go to the loo,” he said, using the British slang for toilet. “You had to process the items in seconds and then move on. If you didn’t meet targets, you were fired.”
He worked back and forth at two Amazon warehouses for more than two years and then quit in 2015 because of health concerns, he said: “I got burned out.”
Mr. Crawford agreed that the wristbands might save some time and labor, but he said the tracking was “stalkerish” and feared that workers might be unfairly scrutinized if their hands were found to be “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“They want to turn people into machines,” he said. “The robotic technology isn’t up to scratch yet, so until it is, they will use human robots.”
Many companies file patents for products that never see the light of day. And Amazon would not be the first employer to push boundaries in the search for a more efficient, speedy work force. Companies are increasingly introducing artificial intelligence into the workplace to help with productivity, and technology is often used to monitor employee whereabouts.
One company in London is developing artificial intelligence systems to flag unusual workplace behavior, while another used a messaging application to track its employees.
Max Crawford, a former Amazon warehouse worker in Britain, said in a phone interview, “After a year working on the floor, I felt like I had become a version of the robots I was working with.”
He described having to process hundreds of items in an hour — a pace so extreme that one day, he said, he fell over from dizziness.
“There was no time to go to the loo,” he said, using the British slang for toilet. “You had to process the items in seconds and then move on. If you didn’t meet targets, you were fired.”
He worked back and forth at two Amazon warehouses for more than two years and then quit in 2015 because of health concerns, he said: “I got burned out.”
Mr. Crawford agreed that the wristbands might save some time and labor, but he said the tracking was “stalkerish” and feared that workers might be unfairly scrutinized if their hands were found to be “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“They want to turn people into machines,” he said. “The robotic technology isn’t up to scratch yet, so until it is, they will use human robots.”
Many companies file patents for products that never see the light of day. And Amazon would not be the first employer to push boundaries in the search for a more efficient, speedy work force. Companies are increasingly introducing artificial intelligence into the workplace to help with productivity, and technology is often used to monitor employee whereabouts.
One company in London is developing artificial intelligence systems to flag unusual workplace behavior, while another used a messaging application to track its employees.
In Wisconsin, a technology company called Three Square Market offered employees an opportunity to have microchips implanted under their skin in order, it said, to be able to use its services seamlessly.
Initially, more than 50 out of 80 staff members at its headquarters in River Falls, Wis., volunteered.
My opinion: If the watch makes you stop from making a mistake, that's good. It also shows how productive you are. By all means it can show you that you have been on a task that's too long.
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