Менеджеры и менеджмент (Executives and Management). Коломейцева Е.М - 49 стр.

UptoLike

ВУЗ: 

ТГТУ | Тамбов

Составители: 

Рубрика: 

223
g) catch up on your sleep with your eyes closed (letting out and occasional snore);
h) observe others and take mental notes of their behavior;
i) drift off into your own thoughts in total isolation;
j) plan the next day schedule;
k) mumble under your breath.
NOTE:
1. Tick the 3 or 4 points that are the most relevant to his/her behavior in such situations.
2. Compare and discuss the questionnaire.
T a s k 6. Read, translate and discuss the following text.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY AT MEETINGS
Do you ever feel as though you spend all your time in meetings?
Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Managerial Work, found that in large organizations managers spent
22 per cent of their time at their desk, 6 per cent on the telephone. 3 per cent on other activities, but a whopping 69 per
cent in meetings.
There is a widely held but mistaken belief that meetings are for "solving problems" and "making decisions". For a
start, the number of people attending a meeting tends to be inversely proportional to their collective ability to reach
conclusions and make decisions. And these are the least important elements.
Instead hours are devoted to side issues, playing elaborate games with one another. It seems therefore, that meet-
ings serve some purpose other than just making decisions.
All meetings have one thing in common: role-playing. The most formal role is that of chairman.
He (and it is usually a he) sets the agenda, and a good chairman will keep the meeting running on time and to the
point. Sadly, the other, informal, role-players are often able to gain the upper hand. Chief is the "constant talker", who
just loves to hear his or her own voice.
Then there are the "can't do" types who want to maintain the status quo. Since they have often been in the organi-
zation for a long time, they frequently quote historical experience as a ploy to block change: "It won't work. We tried
that in 1984 and it was a disaster. " A more subtle version of the "can't do" type, the "yes, but ... ", has emerged recently.
They have learnt about the need to sound positive, hut they still can't hear to have things change.
Another whole sub-sets of characters are people who love meetings and want them to continue until 5. 30pm or
beyond. Irrelevant issues are their specialty. They need to call or attend meetings, either to avoid work or to justify their
lack of performance, or simply because they do not have enough to do.
Then there are the "counter-dependents", those who usually disagree with everything that is said, particularly if it
comes from the chairman or through consensus from the group. These people need to fight authority in whatever form.
Meetings can also provide attenders with a sense of identification of their status and power. In this case, managers
arrange meetings as a means of communicating to others the boundaries of their exclusive club who is "in", and who is
not.
A popular game is pinching someone else's suggestions. This is where someone, usually junior or female, makes
an interesting suggestion early in the meeting, which is not picked up. Much later, the game is played, usually by some
more senior figure who propounds the idea as his own. The suggestion is of course identified with the player rather than
the initiator.
Because so many meetings end in confusion and without a decision, another more communal game is played at the
end of meetings, called reaching a false consensus. Since it is important for the chairman to appear successful in prob-
lem solving and making a decision, the group reaches a false consensus. Everyone is happy, having spent their time
productively. The reality is that the decision is so ambiguous that it is never acted upon, or, if it is. There is continuing
conflict, for which another meeting is necessary.
In the end, meetings provide the opportunity for social intercourse, to engage in battle in front of our bosses, to
avoid unpleasant or unsatisfying work, to highlight our social status identity. They are, in fact, a necessary though not
necessarily productive psychological side-show. Perhaps it is our civilized way of moderating, if not preventing change.
(from The Independent On Sunday)
Decide whether these statements are true or false, according to the article.
1. According to Henry Mintzberg, managers spend most of their working time having meetings.
2. According to him, the purpose of meetings is to solve problems and make decisions.
3. At а meeting every person is playing a role.
4. The writer mentions eight roles that people play at meetings.
5. A "can't do" type is in favor of tradition and against new ideas.
6. People who aren't invited to meetings are regarded as less important by those who do attend.
7. It's normally junior people who steal other people's ideas at meetings.
8. Men at meetings no longer treat women as inferiors.

Страницы