Management Gap: A Hatchery for Problems
What is the job of a Manager?
The job of a manager is to solve problems.
Is it a full time job?
Yes….. Because we work in organizations that have legitimized poor quality of products and processes.
Products include goods and services…….Processes include manufacturing and non-manufacturing processes.
How did this happen?… Let me explain.
All work can be described in terms of what planning you do?…. And what operations you do?
It is a fact that God has equitably distributed ‘time’ to Workers who do the work; Supervisors who supervise Workers; Managers who manage Supervisors; Directors who direct Managers.
Workers invest a few minutes planning their daily work; and spend almost all of their working day in operations. They take pride in their quantum of operations.
Supervisors, by design, should invest tenfold more time than workers in planning. They, in turn, should spend lesser time in operations. But this does not happen.
Supervisors are born from the population of workers. They are attached to the operations they have been doing all these years and are reluctant to shed the same. So, in reality, supervisors do more operations than they should; and lesser planning than they should. This results in problems.
The process is similar as Supervisors become Managers; and Managers become Directors. All this results in problems, more problems and even more problems.
The impact of problems on customers and stakeholders increases exponentially as one migrates from Workers to Directors.
The problem is further compounded when we have multiple layers in Supervisors, Managers and Directors. As for example: Assistant Manager, Manager, Senior Manager, Assistant General Manager, General Manager…..I guess you can see the trend that multiplies chaos and with that problems.
Therefore, as you will note, we run organizations with a chronic ‘management gap’. A gap that serves as a hatchery for problems.
In order to succeed, Managers must be adept at Problem Solving…… Solving the vital problems of the organization….that result in effective products and efficient processes.
