The readiness of the Indian IT middle manager: To lead change as the industry transforms

The global economy has been in a state of disruption brought about mainly by advances in technology. The Indian IT industry is poised to lead this change, given its previous achievement in this area and the country's young, educated population. However, the cost advantage it has thrived on so far is soon waning due to rising talent costs and automation replacing most routine IT work. This calls for a new set of skills that include both tangible technical skills as well as intangible ones such as critical thinking and decision-making, which are currently in short supply in the Indian IT talent market. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and accelerated this change and raised new talent challenges for Indian IT companies in the form of the necessity to enable remote work quickly, ensure employees wellbeing-both physical and mental-and deal with employees reassessing their what they seek from their employer.The position of the Indian middle manager in these conditions might seem fragile as organizations try to restructure themselves to meet these challenges but research shows that this layer can play a crucial role in keeping workers motivated and engaged, connecting various layers of management and employees, and offering innovative solutions due to their involvement with day-to-day work. But how can it be enabled to drive and nurture this change and play a key role in it? What changes will these professionals need to make to not only survive this transformation but to lead it? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Middle leaders and managers' perspectives of distributive leadership during COVID-19

On a global level, COVID-19 has shaken the foundations of every sector. In the South African education context, the traditional methods of teaching, learning, and managing schools changed drastically overnight and management roles and responsibilities were pushed to unprecedented levels. Moreover, the roles of middle leaders and managers took place within a more distributive framework, encouraging school leaders to adopt varying styles of leadership to cope with the demands of COVID-19. For this study, middle leaders constitute departmental heads, grade heads and subject heads. This study utilised a qualitative research design, adopting a case study approach within the interpretivist paradigm. Three departmental heads and seven post level one educators who occupy grade heads/leaders' roles in a primary school constituted the sample. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants to gain their understanding of how distributive leadership was practiced during the pandemic. Four themes emerged, namely leadership styles and factors informing the leadership behaviour and leadership growth of middle leaders and managers in schools;middle leaders' and managers' perceptions of distributive leadership and the responsibilities of the different stakeholders;the impact of COVID-19 on distributive leadership as perceived by middle leaders and managers;and the advantages and disadvantages of distributive leadership practices. The study recommends that School Management Teams (SMTs) involve middle leaders and managers to a greater degree to secure an effective 'buy-in' to the concept of distributive leadership and that middle managers offer opportunities for others to lead, by developing leadership-specific courses for them. SMTs must also ensure that individuals have a stable working environment where their psychological, sociological, and emotional needs are respected, fulfilled, and validated during any pandemic.

Measuring Occupational Fatigue among Higher and Middle Management at a Specialized Cancer Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: This study aims to measure the occupational fatigue level and describe the sources and consequences of occupational fatigue among middle and higher management at an international specialized cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A mixed-method design was used in this study. A convenience sampling technique was utilized to select the participants from King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire included both quantitative and qualitative sections. We utilized Fatigue Risk Assessment and Management in High-Risk Environments (FRAME)-26 items scale for the quantitative section. Two main questions were included in the survey to identify the sources and consequences of occupational fatigue. RESULTS: The results show that the average mean of occupational fatigue was 2.95/5 (SD=0.70). The level of changes in fatigue levels after the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 0.87/3 (SD=1.45). The sources of occupational fatigue could be categorized into five themes: workload, work environment, staffing, psychological, and physical sources. There are four themes categorizing occupational fatigue: social, economic, health, and daily activity and lifestyle. CONCLUSION: This study affords valuable insight into the level, source, and consequences of occupational fatigue among middle and higher management at an international specialized cancer hospital in developing countries. The results indicate that the occupational fatigue level was moderate, and the fatigue level was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Effect of Covid 19 on Workers Compensation Evidence from GCC Countries

The year 2020 has turned the world upside down with the outbreak of the disease COVID 19. It forced the companies to shift their work focus from office to work from home. Every sector of the economy got affected by the pandemic and a financial crisis was faced by almost every firm. To deal with the financial crisis, many firms have altered their compensation packages. The world of The Middle East is nowhere left behind. The firms of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries known for their attractive pay packages were forced to make modifications, adjustments, and variations to their compensation. The current paper analyzes various amendments made by firms in the Gulf Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain to their compensation management system to cope with the challenges of the pandemic. It also highlights the remittances provided by the governments of these countries to tackle the situation. Analysis was done based on secondary data which includes the Gulf Health Council Report, International Labor Organization reports, Mercer Consultant Report, publication of Arab Reform Initiative, OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) publication on MENA countries, and World Bank report (2018). The findings highlighted the turbulence experienced by employees working in gulf, as majority of GCC countries lacked in providing pay protection and job protection. It also describes to what extent the remittances provided by the government in these countries were helpful to the expatriates.

A work engagement study on healthcare middle managers in the United States

Work engagement of healthcare middle managers involved in strategy implementation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was examined in this quantitative study. The amount of time was quantified that healthcare middle managers spend in the strategic implementation of evidence-based practices. A quantitative correlational survey design research method was used to collect data from 123 healthcare middle managers currently employed in for-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations in the United States. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) model was used to measure work engagement. Descriptive and correlational statistics were used to answer the research question. It was found that work engagement was significantly higher (p=0.001) before COVID-19 (M=5.2) than during COVID-19 (M=4.63). The drop in work engagement during COVID-19 was found to be higher for healthcare middle managers who were female, had less total management experience, and were older respondents. Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests were employed to determine if there were differences in the amount of time healthcare middle managers spend in the strategic implementation of evidence-based practices before and during COVID-19. The p-value in the Wilcoxon matched-pairs test indicated no statistical difference in the time healthcare middle managers spend in each of the four roles. Recommendations were made that future research should focus on studying what other underlying factors lead to a decrease in work engagement during a pandemic. Such underlying factors should include either resilience, job-demand-resources, or both at a minimum. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Leading through a pandemic

In a time of immense stress and pressure on all levels of the organisation it was most important to ensure that staff knew what we knew - and did not know - and that they saw the confidence we had in our ability to manage this crisis. Being honest about this was a key part of every leader's toolkit. Personal protective equipment was in high demand and staff needed to know they would always have access to it.

Decision-Tree Based Methodology Aid in Assessing the Sustainable Development of a Manufacturing Company

Nowadays, achieving the objectives of sustainable development (SD) within a manufacturing company, through introducing and integrating sustainability into a development strategy, is a key parameter in gaining a competitive advantage in the market. The objective of this study was to develop a decision-tree based methodology to facilitate SD assessment in a manufacturing company, which consists of five main components: (1) Determination of SD indicators based on literature analysis, (2) Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method which determines the priority of the SD criteria, (3) Collecting data to determine the values of the key objectives SD, (4) Using a decision tree to build scenarios of possible actions to increase the level of SD, (5) Indicating recommended actions for continuous monitoring of progress towards reaching SD objectives. In the proposed approach, the use of the AHP method allowed for indicating the most important SD indicators, which made it possible to limit the number of queries to manufacturers on data from real companies regarding the values of SD indicators. Finally, the methodology was applied and verified within a real manufacturing company in order to assist the Management Board in making projections about future actions regarding an increase in SD level.

A Theoretical Analysis of Managerial Growth in the Context of Organizational Change

In analyzing the theoretical literature on managerial growth in the context of organizational change, an absence of research has been observed, especially that which comprehensively analyzes growth prospects and opportunities at the micro (individual), meso (group), and macro (organizational) levels, which considers organizational, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Therefore, one of the outstanding problems of this research was to select the relevant scientific literature to synthesize the theory and create a conceptual theoretical model based on it. The aim of this paper is to explore the context and preconditions for managerial growth during an organizational change at different levels and aspects of organizations. Therefore, six theoretical approaches from the fields of management, psychology, and education were chosen (Hiatt, Kotter, Kübler-Ross, Goleman, Mezirow, and Marcia). Conclusions provide insights into the context, aims, and directions of managerial growth within organizational change. First, the context of organizational change is understood as an educational environment that creates incentives for managerial growth at the macro, meso, and micro levels and encompasses the development of personal and professional skills and the conscious evolution of inner perceptions related to work. Second, managerial growth in the context of organizational change is targeted toward three objectives at the organizational, group, and individual levels: productivity, connection, and self-realization. Third, managerial growth in the context of organizational change is directed toward three dimensions: (1) the strategic-operational dimension overlaps with the development of leadership skills to ensure successful change implementation in the organization;(2) the social-emotional dimension overlaps with the development of psychosocial skills, enabling coping with challenges through relationships and an emotionally supportive workplace environment;and (3) the perceptual-spiritual dimension overlaps with the development of personal maturity and professional motivation, disclosing authentic performance during organizational change. These findings become a framework for further research but also provide practical guidelines for managers, HR specialists, and organizational leaders.

COMPARISON OF EMPLOYEE SALARY AS A MATERIAL FACTOR OF WORKPLACE SATISFACTION WITH OTHER INTANGIBLE FACTORS OF WORKPLACE SATISFACTION

Employee salary is an indispensable factor for which workers come to work every day. Without wages, people would not be able to live or meet their basic living needs. Is the salary only the main motivating factor for employees to come to work, or are there other factors of employee satisfaction in the workplace, which are also important to them? Employees work for a salary and it is the main reason for coming to work. However, what are the attitudes of employees when they have a choice, higher salary or job security? Higher salary or good work atmosphere, correct superiors and correct work colleagues? The aim of this paper is to use the method of scientific research to obtain data on the questions asked, statistically process the collected data and draw conclusions after the research. The survey was conducted in January 2022, on a random sample of 233 respondents (employees) in the Republic of Croatia. Respondents are employees of private and state-owned companies in the Republic of Croatia. Three hypotheses have been set: H1: Intangible factors of satisfaction are more important to employees than high salary, H2: Employees have the most important intangible factor - correct behavior of superiors, H3: Employees want a higher salary for their work. Hypotheses H1 and H3 were accepted by the results of this research, while hypothesis H2 was not accepted because the most important intangible factor of satisfaction for employees is a good work atmosphere.

Home Office - Firmly Established Working Model Also After the Corona Pandemic?

Compliance with the Covid-19 pandemic measures required many companies to introduce and implement home offices. Not only the work processes, but also the team leadership had to be adapted to the new requirements within a short period of time [1, 6]. Spatial decentralization and management at a distance represented a challenge, especially for executives in middle management [7,11]. The AOK - Die Gesundheitskasse Sudlicher Oberrhein - has also enabled its employees to work from home as part of the corona pandemic measures and offered the work model as an option. The executives of middle management gained experience and knowledge during the Covid-19 pandemic and wish the flexible home office working model to be firmly established in the future.

Women in hospitality and tourism: a study of the top-down and bottom-up dynamics

Purpose>This study aims to investigate the impact of women’s representation at one hierarchical level on women’s representation above or below that level. No past research investigated these effects in the hospitality and tourism industries. The mixed results of research in other industries and across industries demand tests of curvilinearity and moderators.Design/methodology/approach>Using annual equality reports, a panel data set for 2010–2019 was created for the hospitality and tourism industries. The sample of 581 organizations had up to 5,810 observations over the 10 years.Findings>The analyses show the following effects of women’s representation: an inverted U-shape from management to non-management, a U-shape from non-management to management and a U-shape from management to the executive team, with more pronounced effect in small organizations.Practical implications>To increase the number of female employees, organizations should invest their resources in hiring and retaining female managers until a gender balance is reached while managing any backlash from men. The results suggest that organizations with more than 40% of women non-management employees and 50% of women managers start `experiencing positive bottom-up dynamics. Thus, efforts need to be made to attract and retain a women’s pipeline at the non-management and management levels.Originality/value>This study delivers pioneering evidence of the top-down and bottom-up phenomena in hospitality and tourism. It refines evidence of such effects found in past research conducted in other industries and across industries.

Leading From the Middle: How Principals Rely on District Guidance and Organizational Conditions in Times of Crisis

COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges to schools, leaving principals to lead rapid organizational change with limited guidance or support. Drawing on interviews from a larger, national study of principals at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed the experiences of 20 principals in four large, urban school districts—Boston, Denver, New York, and San Diego. We found that principals relied on both district guidance and preexisting school structures and conditions as they led through the crisis. Although no principals were satisfied with district guidance, principals responded to guidance on a spectrum—from abiding, to challenging, to subverting guidance. Principals’ responses were associated with their perceptions of the internal capacities of their schools, as well as the district guidance. Our findings support an emergent typology of principals as middle managers during crisis, which sheds light on how principals act as middle managers and how districts can support their work. © The Author(s) 2022.

Agile strategies for middle managers

PurposeThis paper takes a holistic and process-based view on agility from a Middle Management (MM) perspective. Its purpose is to identify subjective factors of agility emerging from people's interpretations and perceptions and to integrate them into the process of agile strategy-making.Design/methodology/approachTo provide a theoretical foundation, literature was reviewed in the area of agile diversity and strategy-making. A qualitative study based on interviews was conducted to uncover the hidden subjective factors from the personal experiences and perceptions of the participants.FindingsThe study has revealed that individual opinions in terms of agility can originate from three sources: individual understandings, contextual drivers and personal beliefs.Research limitations/implicationsThe research contributes to dynamic capability theory by providing a better understanding of agile diversity at the MM level. The findings can help mid-level executives to cope with the complexities and ambiguities in managing agility by aligning the different understandings and people's perceptions. This is crucial, as missing alignment of team members can lead to poor dynamic capabilities of business entities and thus threatens overall organisational agility.Originality/valueA model was developed to align the subjective factors of agility during the process of agile strategy-making at the MM level. The framework allows a flexible adaptation to the individual demands of organisational units, as well as concentrated measures for effective agile management. It contributes to organisational agility and business success by scaling the dynamic capabilities of MM.

How do middle managers deal with uncertainty in the strategy process?

The current pandemic of Covid-19 manifested that uncertainty is an unavoidable dimension of organisational life. During these times, coping with uncertainty is more challenging even for the most competent managers. However, there is no comprehensive framework encompassing various forms of uncertainty coping responses used by individual managers. Thus, we examined middle managers' uncertainty responses during the formulation and implementation of the strategy process. In this qualitative article, we intended to expose the sources of uncertainty, and managerial responses, which are essential for middle managers to cope with uncertainty. We interviewed 22 middle managers in civilian and military organisations, resulting in six sources, including a new classification - international instability and disasters - and five different responses: collaborative responses, emotional responses, cognitive responses, value-based responses, and bureaucratic responses. Based on fine-grained coding, we showed how middle managers construct response patterns to uncertainty from suppressing to embracing. We exposed consistency of the uncertainty sources perceived by the manager over the years and added a new classification thanks to the increasing global challenges and instability.

Experience of middle management nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To explore the experiences of middle management nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. BACKGROUND: The outbreak of COVID-19 has placed extraordinary demands on health care systems worldwide, which were found mostly unprepared. In this situation, middle management nurses played a strategic role because they acted as a link between organizational directives and the clinical practice. METHODS: This is a qualitative study that used a face-to-face interview with semi-structured questions to learn about the experiences of middle management nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. After recruiting participants through purposeful sampling, data were analysed by means of thematic analysis using Nvivo 12. RESULTS: In total, 12 middle managers were interviewed. Data analysis identified four macro-themes-Changes; Conflicting emotions; Relation; Role-and 20 sub-themes. CONCLUSION: The sudden challenges posed by the pandemic required middle managers to shift their focus from advanced planning to negotiation for meeting the rapidly evolving needs of nursing staff and top management, in order to guarantee the nursing team's well-being and organizational efficiency. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Lessons learned from the pandemic suggest the need for fine-tuning organizational models and the importance that nurse middle managers affirm and uphold the core values for nursing and engage patient and staff advocacy.