MANAGING THE ì

WORKPLACE

Challenges and Opportunities of

Librarians and Information
Professionals in the Age of New
Technology
Dr. Mary Margaret Que

28 April 2011
Dipolog, Zamboanga Del Norte
Managerial Objectives
Technology in the Workplace
Impact of Technology in the Workplace

ì Requirements
ì Financial resources
ì IT equipment and software
ì Maintenance and upgrading
ì Online database subscriptions
ì Training
ì Use and management of IT infrastructure
ì Change in job design
ì New security challenges
Impact of Technology in the Workplace

Todd, Jason. “What is the impact of new technology in the workplace?”. July
4, 2007. http://www.helium.com/items/436615-what-is-the-impact-of-new-
technology-in-the-workplace. Retrieved on April 11, 2011.
 ì
Sustainability
MANAGING THE WORKPLACE
 Organizational sustainability

ì “The ability for a group of persons to

endure the internal and external
pressures of a culture, through change
and innovation, as they endeavor to
deliver their specific products”
http://organizationalsustainability.com/ Retrieved on April 20,
2011.

ì Continuous operations
 Organizational Sustainability

http://organizationalsustainability.com/ . http://managementhelp.org/org_sustain/org_sustain.htm. Retrieved on April 20,

2011.
 Organizational Sustainability

http://organizationalsustainability.com/ . http://managementhelp.org/org_sustain/org_sustain.htm. Retrieved on April 20,

2011.
 ì
“MANAGING” PEOPLE
MANAGING THE WORKPLACE
Managing vs. leading

AUTHORI
TY

INFLUEN
CE
Rost. 1993.
Impact of Technology in the Workplace

“Bad” Conflict in
Stress Employee the
Relations Workplace
 ì
Stress Management
 STRESS

ì “Stress is a
normal physical
response to
events that
make you feel
threatened or
upset your
balance in
some way.”
Smith, M.; Jaffe-Gill, E.; Segal, J. “Understanding stress”.
November 2010. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm.
http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm. Retrieved on Retrieved on April 11, 2011.
April 19, 2011.
 Impact of Stress

“Bad” Conflict in
Stress Employee the
Relations Workplace

Effectiveness * Efficiency
 SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE
WORKPLACE
ì “I have too much work to do.”
ì Am I doing what I am supposed to do?
ì KRAs and KPIs
ì Am I clear about my priorities?
ì Can I schedule my work better?
ì What can I delegate?
ì Balancing and redistributing work load
 SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE
WORKPLACE
ì “My staff’s output is either incorrect, late,
or both!”
ì Are they qualified / trained to do the work
expected of them?
ì Are they clear about what they are
supposed to do?
ì KRAs and KPIs
ì Instructions
ì Can I help them set priorities?
ì Can I help them schedule work?
 SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE
WORKPLACE

ì Our workplace is a war-zone

ì Hostile work environment
ì Counter-productive relationships
ì Superior vs. subordinate
ì Bullying in the workplace
ì Warring co-employees / factions
ì Inter-departmental conflict
 SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE
WORKPLACE
ì My subordinates do not have the right
attitude / are hardheaded
ì How do I impose discipline?
ì How do I get them to cooperate? è
MANAGING STRESS IN THE
WORKPLACE

WELLNESS
ACTIVITIES
Conflict Management ì
 Conflict

ì Definitions
ì Fighting
ì Difference in opinion, perspective or
personality
 Causes and Consequences of
Conflict
STRESS
CH
ANG
E
EFFECTIVENES
S

IES
TERRITOR
CONFLICT EFFICIENCY

CIPLES BAD
PRIN
NSHI RELATIONSHI
LATIO PS
RE PS

Finding a Definition of Conflict. http://www.practical-management-skills.com/definition-of-conflict.html. Retrieved on

April 19, 2011.
 Role Conflict

ì Are KRAs (Key Result Areas) clear?

ì What tasks have to be completed?
ì How much authority do employees have to
make decisions on their own?
ì In what ways are they expected to use their
initiative?
W. Edwards Deming told Ford that management actions were
responsible for 85% of all problems in developing better cars.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming. Retrieved on April 19, 2011)

Finding a Definition of Conflict. http://www.practical-management-skills.com/definition-of-conflict.html. Retrieved on April 19,

2011.
 Team Conflict

ì To ensure synergy, are the ground rules

clear?
ì How are we going to use our individual
strengths in the team?
ì How are we going to divide the tasks and
measure success?
ì What are the ground rules on how we will
work together and communicate?
Finding a Definition of Conflict. http://www.practical-management-skills.com/definition-of-conflict.html. Retrieved on
April 19, 2011.
 Values / Moral Conflict

ì Difference in the most fundamental and

cherished assumptions about the best
way to live
ì Difference in standards of rightness and
goodness
ì Difference in ideas about the good life
ì Stress the importance of different things
ì Develop radically different or incompatible goals
Malese, M. “Moral or Value Conflicts.” 2003, July.http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/intolerable_moral_differences/.
Retrieved on April 11, 2011.
 Values / Moral Conflict

ì Shared values
ì Corporate culture
ì Values orientation
ì Values as a hiring consideration

Making Ethical Decisions - Josephson Institute of Ethics.

http://www.hent.org/world/rss/files/ethics/ethics_values.htm. Retrieved on April 21, 2011.
 Addressing Conflict
ì Accommodation
ì Surrender one's own needs and wishes to accommodate
the other party.
ì Avoidance
ì Avoid or postpone conflict by ignoring it, changing the
subject, etc.
ì Collaboration
ì Work together to find a mutually beneficial solution.
ì Compromise
ì Bring the problem into the open and have the third person
present
ì Competition
ì Assert one's viewpoint at the potential expense of another.
(Thomas &Killman, 1976)
 Conflict Prevention

ì Open communication

ì Acceptance and understanding of

differences
ì Setting & leveling expectations

ì Shared values
Employee Relations ì
MANAGING THE WORKPLACE
 Employee Relations

ì Managing relationships towards

satisfactory productivity, motivation, and
morale
ì Managers as agents

ì Preventing and resolving problems

involving individuals which arise out of or
affect work situations
http://ohcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/employee_relations/whatis.htm. Retrieved on April 20, 2011.
 Managing and maintaining
relationships

http://ohcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/employee_relations/whatis.htm. Retrieved on April 20, 2011.

 Employee Relations:
Recognizing and respecting
rights and responsibilities
 Employees’ Rights &
Responsibilities
ì Rights and duties as human beings
ì Rights to life and worthy standard of living, including
right to proper development of life and to basic
security (Pacem in Terris, #11);
ì Rights of cultural and moral values, including the
freedom to search for and express opinions (Gaudium et
Spes, #60);
ì Freedom of information, and the right to education
(Pacem in Terris, #12-13; Populorum Progressio, #6).

ì Responsibilities
ì Responsibility to acknowledge and respect the rights
of others (Pacem in Terris, #30),
ì Responsibility to act for others responsibly (#39).
 Employees’ Rights &
Responsibilities
ì Rights (man’s economic rights)
ì Freedom of action and the right to work
(Quadragesimo Anno, #74);

ì Right to just wage (Quadragesimo Anno, #63);

ì Right to join workers associations (Octogesima

Adveniens, #14; Pacem in Terris, #23)

ì Right to uphold religious values (Rerum Novarum, #s 5,

9, 48, 55, 62, 63, 69)
 Employees’ Rights &
Responsibilities
ì (Economic) Responsibilities / duties
ì To work well (Rerum Novarum, #30)

ì Not to harm the property of the employer

(Rerum Novarum, #30)

ì To refrain from violence and rioting (Rerum

Novarum, #30)

ì To be thrifty (Rerum Novarum, #30)

Managers’ Rights &
Responsibilities
 Managers’ Rights &
Responsibilities
Common Good Model

ì Do the right thing

ì Acknowledge and respect the rights of others (Pacem in Terris, #30)
ì To act for others responsibly (Pacem in Terris,#39);
ì To serve the common good (U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1986, #s 110-111)
ì Moral obligation to work to ensure that our places of
employment build rather than break down the human
spirit” (Pfeffer, 2003)
ì Help people reach their full potential
ì Be responsible for the moral consequences of our actions
Managerial Objectives
Thank you!
Good day!