Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/89769
24 • NOVEMBER 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS The decision of employees to ex- press their opinion in the workplace on work related subjects, policies or pro- cedures, especially when that opinion is contrary to the commonly held views of senior management, can be a risky one. But a good manager will never summarily reject any opinion, right or wrong, on any subject. Instead they should encourage an open exchange of ideas and philoso- phies, and be willing to offer an expla- nation of why a company holds to certain policies and procedures. They should seek to reach a common con- sensus. Sometimes the management will underscore their rationale and pre- vail, and other times they may actually see the point of view of the employee and change the policy or procedure in question. Employees should not just accept Having a voice in your company BY TOM LUBY, PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL controversial policies and/or proce- dures; instead, they should understand why a certain position is held by man- agement and come to grips with that decision and accept it, change the opinion of management to their point of view, or move on to find other em- ployment. Never work under an oppressive veil or uncomfortable circumstances; understand and accept the rules of management. This policy will lead to a healthier and happier work experience. A sign of a healthy work environ- ment is when the point of view of em- ployees is heard and responded to, but unfortunately this is not always an ac- cepted senior management practice. It requires that management explain why a different opinion is adhered to or fol- lowed (within reason) and why the view or opinion of the employee is not. 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Before going any further I want to point out that the operative words here are "happy and content," because if an employee is not satisfied with their work and position in the company and they do not work in a "happy" fashion, everyone within the firm will suffer. I am sure that at one time or an- other someone in your organization has felt out of place or been unhappy with his or her work. They have been underproductive or sometimes even counterproductive and often uncom- fortable to be around. Before any man- ager can promote an employee and assign responsibilities and authority to that individual, the first order of busi- ness is to make sure all the employees are happy in their respective jobs. Once a healthy rapport has been established in your company and a mechanism is in place for creating un- derstanding and trust, the next order of business is that managers must realize that there is a definite relationship be- tween authority, responsibility and ac- countability. Without a distinct understanding of this relationship, clear lines of re- porting and communication become a distinct improbability. Authority requires the ability to give orders properly. Responsibility re- quires the ability to follow through, as- suring that the orders are carried out properly. Authority must always equal responsibility, and must be sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the job. But never more than that which is nec- essary to get the job done. Also note that authority and re- sponsibility must never be dual, shared or overlapping. One person, and only one person, is responsible for the suc- cessful completion of every assign- ment. As long as there is singular dele- gation of authority and responsibility, the individuals with responsibility may be assigned accountability; however, when more than one person shares the authority and responsibility for some- thing, neither can be held accountable for what might go wrong, and "finger pointing" rears its ugly head. Every individual, from the presi- dent of the company down to part-time employees, must know the limits and scope of the authority of his or her po- sition. These limitations – this scope – must never be circumvented. When an individual circumvents the authority of any other, he effectively relieves that individual of responsibility and ac- countability for an unspecified length of time. Additionally, such circumvention harms the morale of that individual. The side effects will spread downward to the individual's subordinates. Authority must always equal responsibility, and must be sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the job. But never more than that which is necessary to get the job done. Remember, authority may be del- egated along with equal and corre- sponding responsibility. The extent of such delegation must be clearly spelled out in writing. Also, authority does not imply autocracy, but it does require the use of orders and instruc- tions. Giving direct orders, however, may be handled slightly differently than giving responsibility and corre- sponding authority. An order may be defined as the signal, which makes co- ordinated action possible. Orders should not be given blindly; each must be tested to assure that it is necessary, clear, complete, and reasonable, with compliance both possible and probable. A complete order will supply a specific goal or ob- jective, with permissible variations, and a time frame for completion. It will note a method or means of performance. It will state who, what, when, where, and how, specifying the individual who will be held responsi- ble and accountable for its proper per- formance. That being said, a prime task of every manager is the assumption of re- sponsibility. To accomplish that you must measure performance in terms of what you or your subordinates were continued on page 26