Summary

 COVID 19 changed how the entire management systems work.  The disruption of existing systems forced an overhaul of the entire framework. American Management Association sought to unveil the extent to which the recent pandemic ways of life among its members. It is vital to note the fact that out of the 500 respondents, 95% were severely affected by the pandemic. For instance, 70% of the respondents worked at home. The transition period hampered the manner in which the people had to come up with daily routines hence this created new mechanisms of going about their daily business (Palazzo, 2020). Moving from office settings to domestic frameworks encouraged people to invest more in online professional training. Out of the 500 respondents, 81% had acquired an interest in webinars and an estimated quarter claimed that they considered enrolling in numerous online classes so that they could horn their skills. An additional 65% of the rest were managers or sat on the board of well-known brands and organizations. Based on the information from this survey, managerial leaders remained committed to professional advancement of their careers during the pandemic period. Due to the widespread confusion and disruption, effectual management was key in sustaining or maintaining significant company performance, cohesive cooperation and morale. Working from home, whether on a day to day basis each week, became the new normal for most organizations hence changing the entire organizational structure of most companies. Managers had to seek better ways of training their workforces and build additional skills for maintaining the supplementary demands of working under a virtual work surrounding. Workers had to develop a strong work ethic and still have a constant relationship with fellow workers. In order to achieve a balance and adapt a new ways of working and still retaining top performance among workers, managers motivated, delegated, communicated effectively and coached other workers on the importance of team work and the objectivity of the work at hand. This way, the teams were able to stay focused on contribute to the vital aspects of the company without paying much attention to the pandemic and other interruptions caused on its wake.

Relevancy

 The relevance of this article is seen in the application of the various management skills. Most of the time delegating duties helps in completing a huge workload in a shorter time span without increasing the number of resources needed to fully complete one task. For instance, within a virtual work environment, managers had to learn how to communicate with all the workers without adhering to hierarchy regulations (Ansoff et al., 2018). More so, in a virtual surrounding everyone hears each other and communicates based on the arising needs or the situation at hand. Furthermore, agreeing with people is easier and streamlines the operations of the day as compared to physical environment where the formalities and work schedules hinder proper application of real time decision making and skills. Furthermore, cooperating with team members ensures that each one of them adheres to strict deadlines and conduct themselves with the same serious required of them. Thus the article details the actionable mechanisms top managers used in the management of various workforce without giving interfering with the previous workflow (Wheelen et al., 2017). The ease with which one can attain maximum performance depends on how people can interact with each other harness proper mechanisms developing an effective work ethic within a virtual and external surrounding.

Reaction

This student seems to think that the article focuses on the management advancements managers have put in place to manage and maintain good performance despite of the changing external environment. In the wake of the pandemic, most people were losing their jobs and some businesses seem to thrive while others made losses. Nevertheless, in such an unpredictable surrounding, making changes and focusing the cost-effective interventions to fight off the negative effects of the pandemic and keep the workforce motivated and satisfied with the workflow. Most managers are normally unreachable but the virtual environment has forced them to be at the center of everything the company does. In the meantime, managers have to delegate duties while developing stable relationships with the rest of the workers. Additionally, having the ability to use the mechanisms needed to steer the workforce to top performances assists in shaping the vision of the company and retaining the needs of the entire company. Besides, effective communication is at the center of everything a manager does, from meeting people to instructing the rest of the workers on what needs to be done by certain companies shapes  and influences the morale of the entire company. Even though moving from an office setting to a more relaxed domestic framework does not in any way indicate sluggish work ethic, coaching and retaining the needs of the workers may be a challenge as they might have to cope with the psychological effects of the pandemic as the pandemic might affect their families, friends or even children. Thus, the managers have to strategize the management of its personnel from a different perspective and manner.

 

 

 

 

 

References

Ansoff, H. I., Kipley, D., Lewis, A. O., Helm-Stevens, R., & Ansoff, R. (2018). Implanting strategic management. Springer.

Palazzo. P., (2020) Improving Management Skills Remains a Priority During Pandemic, Says American Management Association Survey

Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy (p. 55). Boston, MA: pearson.