“We form organizations because, as human beings, it is a necessity. This is deeper and more profound than simply being a social animal and wanting to be included within a group. We have a keen sense of collective identity. As individuals, we must form our identity within a collectivity vis a vis other people.”
Dr. James (Jim) Barker
Dr. James Barker
Professor; Herbert S. Lamb Chair in Business Education
What do we know about management?
That is, what have we known about management for a long time with a high degree of certainty? Researchers have come to view two elements as essential qualities in the definition of an effective manager. We expect managers to be technically competent and to treat people with dignity and respect.
Competency and treating people with dignity and respect, first recognized in the late 1800’s, have shaped our management thinking since that time. All the evidence coalesces around these two points, which over the years, has been reiterated in courses, books, magazines and coaching sessions. To be an effective manager, be competent and treat people with dignity and respect.
If you are going to be an effective manager in a complex organization, you must possess a high degree of technical competence in creating value.
Why are those two elements so important? Well, the technical competency piece is evident. If you are going to be an effective manager in a complex organization, you must possess a high degree of technical competence in creating value. You must be skilled and knowledgeable in the work that you do and the way in which you manage people. We have all experienced what happens when a manager lacks the capability and requisite skillsets to manage successfully. It happens. These managers struggle and create considerable damage during their tenure. To be effective, managers must possess, and maintain, technical competency in their chosen profession, be it the financial industry, human resource management industry, the marketing industry, entrepreneurial endeavour or family business.
We clearly recognize that successful managers should foster positive environments based on dignity and respect. So, let’s ask the question: Why is treating people with dignity and respect so important?
Treat people with dignity and respect requires a deeper, more wide-ranging problem. Treat people with dignity and respect holds up well over time and is a subject of much discussion in the field of management studies. We clearly recognize that successful managers should foster positive environments based on dignity and respect. So, let’s ask the question: Why is treating people with dignity and respect so important?
Within collectives we have the potential to generate greater value together, as opposed to separately. Whether for profit, not-for-profit, NGOs, governments – it does not matter because they all produce value.
The quick answer: It is important because we are human beings, and we ought to treat each other with dignity and respect. But let us dig into that for just a moment. When we think about organizations and ponder why humans form organizations, we find three primary reasons for creating the phenomenon that we call an organization. The first, and most familiar motive for establishing organizations is to create value. Within collectives we have the potential to generate greater value together, as opposed to separately. Whether for profit, not-for-profit, NGOs, governments – it does not matter because they all produce value. That is the usual reason we think about forming organizations. But there are two other important reasons.
The second reason speaks to our need for community. We create organizations because that is what we do. We are social animals. We like interacting with each other. We form organizations because we enjoy participating within a collective. Organizational membership gives our lives meaning and purpose.
We have a keen sense of collective identity. As individuals, we must form our identity within a collectivity vis a vis other people.
The third reason relates to our need to find our place within society. We form organizations because, as human beings, it is a necessity. This is deeper and more profound than simply being a social animal and wanting to be included within a group. We have a keen sense of collective identity. As individuals, we must form our identity within a collectivity vis a vis other people. So, the collectivity is very important to us in shaping a sense of who we are and where we belong.
Being a member of an organization is something we must do to find our place and our own sense of collective distinctiveness. For that membership to be validated, we must be treated with dignity and respect
Why is treating people with dignity and respect so important? Because being a part of an organization, being a member of an organization is something we must do to find our place and our own sense of collective distinctiveness. For that membership to be validated, we must be treated with dignity and respect. Without this validation, there is a problem. We may try to bury or discount the problem, but it will eat away at us and, in some way, it with emerge and come to the fore. Managers who do not encourage or support dignity and respect within their teams, will see good people will leave, or their performance degraded. Feelings will be hurt. We have all been there. We have all seen it.
Today, our organizations are experiencing radical shifts in the way they conduct business. Without doubt, we live in a complex, fast paced global world. A successful manager will navigate the challenges of our current realities by embracing these two vital points – to be technically competent and to treat people with dignity and respect.
Dr. James R. (Jim) Barker is a globally recognized expert in complex organizational behavior, ethics, and strategy who holds specific expertise in leadership, safety, change management, and stakeholder engagement.