Diverse Approaches of Managerial Roles

Discuss about the Management and Chaallanges In Littlepay.

In the current business scenario, one of the major sources of gaining competitive advantages for the contemporary business organizations is the leadership roles or managerial roles. This is due to the reason that managers are the one who are responsible for driving their business organizations through challenges and gaining profit in the long term. However, the approach being followed by the managers is different and varied in nature (Boc, Vaculik & Vidrikova, 2013). This is due to the reason that the situations being faced by the business organizations are different and varies from organization to organization. There are number of instances where the different approaches initiated by the managers got failed or succeed. Thus, it is important to consult with a particular manager in order to identify the attributes managing in the organization.

The aim of this report is to discuss about the managerial roles being played in Littlepay. Moreover, the roles played by the managers along with the challenges being faced by them will also be discussed in this report. A few recommended steps will also be discussed to enhance the future effectiveness of the managers.

In this report, the manager and founder of Littlepay, Michael Walters are being interviewed in order to gain the insights about his attributes and approaches in relation to managing his organization. The approach to the managerial roles will also be critically evaluated with the help of the different articles. However, this report will not cover the feedback and opinion of the employees regarding the managerial approach in the organization.

There are number of authors who are given different opinions and views in regards to the effectiveness of the managerial roles in the organizations. According to Kozina (2014), one of the major roles played by the managers in their daily business operation is negotiating with different internal and external stakeholders. According to the authors, negotiation is one of the important roles for the managers due to the reason that the negotiation skills of the managers determine the profitability of the organization. In addition, as per the authors, negotiation skills of the employees also determine the relationship with the suppliers, relationship with the employees and with other stakeholders.

Another effective view given by Rae (2013), regarding the alternate roles played by the authors. According to the author, it is the responsibility of the managers to manage the level of motivation and satisfaction of the employees. This is due to the reason that benefits and facilities offered to the employees in their workplace are initiated by the managers. The authors have also stated that it is the effectiveness of the managerial skills of the managers that determine the extent to which the employees will be motivated in their workplace and are satisfied with their job roles. According to the authors, this will in turn determine the productivity of the organizations due to the reason that having satisfied and motivated employees will help in enhancing the performance of the organization.

Interview with Littlepay Managers

On the other hand, there are some different views given by some authors regarding the managerial roles in the organization. According to de Oliveira, Escrivao, Nagano, Ferraudo and Rosim (2015), managerial roles in the small and large business organizations are different. This is due to the reason that in the case of the small business organizations, managers are having added roles over the managerial roles played in the large organizations. This is due to the reason that in the small organizations, managers are given the role of leadership also in addition to the core managerial roles. Thus, the role of the managers in the small business organizations are more diversified that that in the large organizations. On the other hand, it is also stated by the authors that in the large organizations, managers are only given the role managing the daily operations of the organizations. They are not entitled for the added role of leadership.

Thus, it can be concluded that managerial roles are having different approaches in different organizational situations and there are number of diverse roles being played by the managers. It is also concluded that the roles played by the managers are different in different size of the organizations. However, it should also be noted that managerial roles are one of the most important roles played in the contemporary business organizations and it is also the major factor in determining the potentiality of the business.

Littlepay is one of the most innovative and successful startup of Australia in the recent time. They provide cloud based financial solutions to different transport operators and other service providers. The major competitive advantages of their business is that they provide ban grade secured service to the operators quick and swift open payment system. The major objective of Littlepay is to offer the online and cloud based payment facilities to the small organizations that do not have the access to lager source of capital (Stockwell, 2018). Currently, they are only having their branches in London and Melbourne and the total employee size is also limited within few thousands. Michael Walters is the founder of Littlepay and he is also entitled for the daily managerial roles. Apart from him, there are some other managers for the respective roles and departments in the organization.

From the interview that is conducted with the managers of Littlepay, there are number of findings being identified including their core roles and challenges they are facing in initiating their roles and responsibilities. The following sections will discuss about the findings from the interview process.

Setting objectives

Findings from the Interview

One of the major roles played by the managers in Littlepay is setting the objectives. According to the opinion of the respondent managers, they are responsible to set the business objectives for the future. It is also being stated by them that the more experiences of the managers also helps in setting the objectives of the business. This is due to the fact that there are number of factors that should be considered in setting up the objectives. One of the major factors is the necessary infrastructure for the fulfillment of the objectives. Thus, it is one of the major roles played by the managers in determining the organizational infrastructure and setting up the objective accordingly.

According to Volberda, Van Den Bosch and Heij (2013), responsibility of setting up objectives is one of the major roles for the managers and it determines the future potentiality of the organizations. This is due to the reason that organizational stakeholders will play their respective roles only according to the determined objectives. Thus, according to the authors, the more effective will be the objectives, the more favorable will be business potentiality.

From the interview process, another major role of the managers being identified is organizing the organizational tasks. According to the respondents, it is their responsibility to properly organize the organizational elements and present it in more presentable manner. This is one of the most complex roles for the managers due to the reason that majority of data inputs stays in unorganized manner and it is the role of the managers to come up with the solution in organizing the data inputs. In the case of Littlepay, this is role is having more importance for the managers due to the reason that it is a small organization and they are not having much hierarchical levels. Thus, it is the responsibility of managers to organize all the elements of the business and run the business accordingly.

According to some authors such as Scott and Davis (2015), organizing is also one of the major and most important roles of the managers. This is due to the reason that according to the authors, managers are the responsible stakeholder in the organization who is entitled to manage the daily business operation. Thus, it is important to have the capability of organizing in order to effectively run the daily business operation. In addition, it is also being stated by the authors that in the case of the small organizations, the organizing role of the managers is more evident due to the fact that in the small organization managers are having less supports in the organizations. Thus, they have to play the organizing role singlehandedly.

Challenges Faced by Littlepay Managers

Motivating the employees is actually a prime responsibility for the leaders. However, in the current business scenario, the difference between the leader and the manager is much less. This is due to the reason that according to the respondents, managers in the Littlepay also pays the role of motivating their employees in the organization. They have stated that Littlepay is having smaller number of employees and it is the responsibility of the managers to enhance their effectiveness and the productivity by means of motivating and engaging them in their workplace. Moreover, due to the fact that Littlepay is a small organization with having smaller employee strength, it is more important for the managers to act as leader for the employees. Managers are the one who are responsible to maintain the favorable working environment in the organization.

According to Buble, Juras and Matic (2014), in the current time, it is important for the managers to play the leadership roles in the organization. This is due to the reason that the current working culture is much different than it was a decade ago and thus it is important for the managers to maintain the effective and ideal working environment in the organization in order to achieve the maximum productivity. It is also being stated by the authors that in the small business organizations, the difference between the leaders and managers is much less compared in the large business organizations. This is due to the reason that in the case of the small business organization, managers are only one who belongs in the upper level management and they are one who looks after every single organizational aspect. Thus, it is more important for the managers in the small business organizations to portray their leadership skills in addition to their basic managerial skills.

In addition to the roles played by the managers in the organization, there are number of challenges also being identified from the interview process. The following sections will discuss about the challenges faced by the managers in the organization.

One of the major challenges being faced by the managers in fulfilling their managerial roles is maximizing the performance of the employees. This is due to the reason that in the current business organizations, employees are more diversified in nature and thus they are having more different and varied expectations and requirements from the managerial levels. Thus, it is a challenge for the managers to meet all the diverse requirements for the employees. According to Van Wart (2013), one of the major challenges for the managers and leaders in the current business scenario is meeting and managing the diverse need and requirements of the employees. It is stated by the authors that with the change in the business and organizational culture, the approach of the employees is also changing and it is much difficult for the managers to cope up with this change. This led to the reduction in the organizational as well as employee productivity.

The current business scenario is plagued with number of crisis originating from different business contexts. Thus, it is also one of the major challenges for the managers in the contemporary business organizations to cope with the frequent origination of the crisis in the business. According to Herbane (2013), managers are having an important role in the crisis management in the organization. This is due to the fact that the strategies initiated by the managers will determine the effectiveness of the crisis management. However, it is also being stated by the author that the current business scenario is witnessing more frequent emergence of crisis in the organization. Thus, it is becoming difficult and challenging for the managers to change their managerial approach frequently. Thus, in majority of the cases the managerial approach of the managers gets ineffective.

Another major challenge being faced by the managers in the current business organizations is implementing the change management in place. This is due to the reason that the current business scenario is rapidly changing and evolving and thus it is important for the managers to change the existing business processed and policies and implement the new and more effective one. However, in this case, the major challenge being faced by them is from the side of the employees. According to Jackson (2016), one of the major challenges being faced by the managers in implementing the change in the organization is the resistance from the employees.

According to the authors, employees tend resist in change management in fear of not adopting the new system in the workplace. Moreover, it is also stated by the author that there are different considerations of the employees should be determined by the managers in the process of change management that is not possible and difficult for the managers. Thus, this is also another major challenge being faced by the managers.

One of the most interesting lessons leant from the experience of conducting the interview is the relationship between the employees and managers. This is due to the reason that it is during the time of the interview that the managers are having single information of their employees. This is actually helping them in determining the requirement of the employees and initiating the strategies accordingly. Thus, the interesting part of this evaluation is that effective managerial roles can only be played when the relationship between employees and managers will be favorable and effective. Managerial roles in Littlepay are effective only due to the reason that each and every internal stakeholders of the organization is involved in the managerial process.

Conclusion

Thus, it is concluded that in the current business scenario, managerial roles can only be effectively played by considering different aspects. This is due to the reason that external factors in the current time are changing rapidly and it is important for the managers to cope up with the change. This report recommends that future managers should be more knowledgeable in current business affairs in order to effectively fulfill the managerial roles. This is due to the fact that without having the proper knowledge in the current affairs, it will be difficult for the managers to forecast the business potential and will face difficulty in setting up the objectives. In addition, it is also being recommended that future managers should be more open-minded in order to accept the change in the business scenario. They should be ready and equipped to accept the change and effectively organize the business process accordingly. If the managers are flexible enough in the business change process, then it will be beneficial in motivating the employees also in change with the situation and scenario.

References

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Buble, M., Juras, A., & Mati?, I. (2014). The relationship between managers’ leadership styles and motivation. Management: journal of contemporary management issues, 19(1), 161-193.

de Oliveira, J., Escrivão, E., Nagano, M. S., Ferraudo, A. S., & Rosim, D. (2015). What do small business owner-managers do? A managerial work perspective. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 5(1), 19.

Herbane, B. (2013). Exploring crisis management in UK small?and medium?sized enterprises. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 21(2), 82-95.

Jackson, D. (2016). Dynamic organisations: the challenge of change. Springer.

Kozina, A. W. (2014). Managerial roles and functions in negotiation process. Business, Management and Education, 12(1), 94.

Rae, K. (2013). How perceptions of empowerment and commitment affect job satisfaction: a study of managerial-level effects. Accounting, Accountability & Performance, 18(1), 35.

Scott, W. R., & Davis, G. F. (2015). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural and open systems perspectives. Routledge.

Stockwell, P. (2018). littlepay. Retrieved from https://littlepay.com/about.html

Van Wart, M. (2013). Lessons from leadership theory and the contemporary challenges of leaders. Public Administration Review, 73(4), 553-565.

Volberda, H. W., Van Den Bosch, F. A., & Heij, C. V. (2013). Management innovation: Management as fertile ground for innovation. European Management Review, 10(1), 1-15.