Evaluate the impact Line Managers have on organisational performance' Assignment

Evaluate the impact Line Managers have on organisational performance' - Assignment Example As they are responsible for ensuring the operation of employees and monitor their performance on a day-to-day basis, their role in influencing staff performance is crucial. Researchers have highlighted the role played by line managers in producing an integrated culture of managing employees via line management while others have demonstrated the role that line managers play in increasing employee commitment, thereby leading to rise in productivity. The psychological contract between the employee and line manager is claimed to be the lens through which workers view the entire workplace. Organizational Culture and the line manager Organizational culture is said to have a significant impact on the way in which the organization, including line managers function. It includes beliefs values and behavioral patterns that form the foundations of organizations. The power of organizational culture in influencing line managers’ communication and leadership style cannot be negated. If the c ulture is open and encourages freedom of speech, the line managers will be inclined towards adopting a participative management style whereby employees’ views are incorporated during decision making. Under such an environment, tasks are delegated and the worker has the flexibility to accomplish tasks without being closely monitored. On the other hand, cultures where deference to authority and bureaucracy prevail tend to produce line managers which do not favor employee participation, are wary of employees’ intention to work and lack the trust necessary for successful delegation. An extreme form of such management prevails in the form of micromanagers which are typically found at lower levels of organizational hierarchy. Such managers often fall into the trap of over-scrutinizing employees’ work and adopting the â€Å"my way or the highway† philosophy (Chambers, 2005). It is no surprise that under such organizations communication is often top-down and line managers expect submissive behavior from employees who, in turn, seek to â€Å"please the boss† in every way possible (Chambers, 2005). The impact of both these styles on employee motivation and commitment is profound and shall be explored in depth later. However, it is important to note that a two-way relationship exists between line managers and organizational culture. The role of line managers is crucial in order to make any organizational culture functional. If the culture is directed towards the achievement of incorrect objectives then it can become largely dysfunctional. The management’s role is critical in that it determines whether the cultural orientation needs to be adapted to internal policies or individuals in the organization. This, in turn, determines and develops a dominant leadership style which results in a mutual relationship between the organization’s culture, efficiency and leadership styles. For instance, in a study conducted on over 32 lar ge corporations in Croatia (from the manufacturing, service and financial sector), the organizational culture was resistant to change and preferred the status quo which resulted in slow development of an entrepreneurial leadership orientation amongst managers (Buble, 2012). Complementing this