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| Source: http://www.universalfutbol.es/ |
Understanding the different management styles all around the world is not easy.
One of the most unknown management system is the german one. It is not easy for other managers to understand why in Germany trade unionists get such power, allowing them to share decision-making power with the managers or even voting for bonuses in favour of the managers. "In certain sectors, a works director, who has a trade union background, can be a member of the board of directors, the body in charge of daily management. He is elected and can only be dismissed by the unions".
Piette, Jean-Jacques. 2004. “Understanding Management German style”. Les Amis de L’ecole de Paris. Pp 3.
At the end, some researches have found that every decision in german companies must be taken by consensus. Employees play an important role within companies where each of the persons working there share as well a common sense of responsibility.
"Gaining a consensus is facilitated by trade union representatives not allowing the problems that company management may have with employees or company labour agreements to confuse the issue"
Piette, Jean-Jacques. 2004. “Understanding Management German style”. Les Amis de L’ecole de Paris. Pp 3.
The role of women in Germany has taken more importance over time. At the beginning of the career women and men in Germany had different tasks that are suppossed to continue in the work life. However, nowadays managers seek for equal opportunities for everyone keeping employees motivated with the benefits of working by a german company.
The followng video shows how the role of one woman in a senior management job is effective as if it were attended by a man. It has been demonstrated that women must be leaders at home, they have a lot of tasks to fulfilled and thus they are well capable to manage a company and to produce profits and harmonic environment within the company.
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| Source: http://www.jehanara.wordpress.com/ |
One of the main characteristics of the german management style is competition. The sense of responsibility that each employee has within a company can be translated as a goal to develop perfectly all the necessary tasks that they are required to do, looking sometimes for "congratulations" and finally making the people more competitive. Nevertheless, competitions is not seen as a disadvantage for german companies; they are well prepared to do exactly what they need, in the required time, with very high quality without feeling any kind of pressure because of the collegues. Despite this way of behave is very critized all around the world, things seem to work normally, allowing one to conclude that it is possible in Germany as a unique case of perfect respect for each other, harmonization of the environment and finally because German businesses are collections of highly specialized teams.
Analyze the potential implications of the Co-determination principles over the organisation’s decision making process from the perspectives of the managers and the employees.
"The principle of "codetermination" implies that one appoints people who are competent and capable of having discussions with the employers in a skilled supervisory board. Yet, the trade unions have their own academics and economists and even their own traders who invest trade unionists` money".
Piette, Jean-Jacques. 2004. “Understanding Management German style”. Les Amis de L’ecole de Paris. Pp 5.
It has been demonstrated that one of the main problems faced by companies nowadays is the lack of motivation that employees have at work. Sometimes, decrease in profits and a tension environment are produced beacuse of employess working because they want to gain some money but making it without any kind of pleasure. The power distance in the companies, mostly in Latinamerican countries is a good example to show that even when a chain of command must be follow from bottom to top, and respect for managers is a fact that must be grant, too much disinterests for the others`needs and the harmonization of the work place is a big disadvantge.
It is necessary for managers to take into account all the ideas of employees, moreover when they have some degree of expertise in one of the enterprises fields. This attitude can motivate employees making them to work much better, to feel proud of their company and finally to make them seek what is better for the organisation in terms of strategy and profits.
In the other hand, taking into account opinions from employees can never lead to a sense of "friendship" between managers and employees. A friendly manager can loose the respect from his/her employees producing nevative effects as well, in the sense employees feel any kind of responsibility or pressure for working well.
Thus, the effective application of the codetermiantion principle is a key issue that function properly for example in the german management style. It is not easy as it sees and it needs highly specialized teams which must know how to balance the inclusion of employees and trade union members into the decision making process of the company in order to make it effective and productive for the organisation, keeping relationships and work place environment in harmony while maintaining the chain of command in order.
"Labour codetermination is a higly important institutional factor for keeping political and social unrest down and maintaining a climate in which capital and labor cooperate despite all verbal attacks, controversis in collective bargaining and in the plants, and fights in the courts and the parliament. It is an antagonism that is channeled institutionally in a way that seems to work".
More interesting information of this topic in: deGruyter, 1994. "European economic and business law: legal and economic analyses on Integration and Harmonization. P 274. Available in: deGruyter, Vol. 14 No. 2, 1994
