Management Culture

by Denise Moreland

In Management Culture: Innovative and Bold Strategies to Engage Employees, author Denise Moreland provides a comprehensive and insightful guide for managers and employees. Readers are encouraged to redefine what it means to be "the boss," and are challenged to change dysfunctional patterns that lead to negative work environments. In traditional management models, employees are viewed as a means to an end. A boss's role is to provide strict supervision and detailed directives, which employees are expected to follow without questioning. Disempowering employees contributes to high turnover rates, low productivity, and poor morale. New management perspectives encourage leaders to develop positive relationships with employees. Unfortunately, new approaches fail to deliver their promised results because old behaviors linger, reinforced by traditional management culture.

Genres: Leadership, Business

226 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2012

About the author

My official bio:
"Denise Moreland has been an employee for 37 years, in a wide range of positions, including a driver’s education instructor, youth director, waitress, welfare worker, business analyst and technology manager. Twenty of those years she has been a manager for a large government agency. Throughout her career, she has been fascinated by hierarchical dynamics and relationships between employees and managers that often work at cross-purposes to business goals, which compelled her to write this book.
Ms. Moreland is a successful, highly respected middle manager, responsible for getting work done in a complex and bureaucratic organization. She has a passion for creating positive and respectful work environments, and offers her observations, examples and insights based on real-world experience.
With a reputation as an excellent leader, Ms. Moreland is often asked to be a mentor and coach, facilitate strategic planning retreats and develop workshops on leadership. In addition to her management work, Ms. Moreland has a business, LifeGuides, through which she offers life and leadership coaching, facilitation and public speaking on work-life balance and organizational culture.
Ms. Moreland has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Religion, and a Master of Arts in Public Administration. She is a certified associate in the Human Systems Dynamics Institute (HSDI) and has completed Co-Active Coaching core courses from the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). She lives with her partner, Deb, in Minnesota."

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http://mgmtculture.com

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Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Denise Moreland asked if I would review her book Management Culture, I had some reservations. I had once managed a large engineering office, but I retired ten years ago, and I hadn't thought much about managing practices since then. But I enjoyed Ms. Moreland's book. It's a well thought out guide to eliminating or moderating the divisiveness that often comes between managers and employees, to the detriment of the organization. She noted that older management theories were often based on assumptions that employees were lazy, selfish, and only motivated by money. In that kind of atmosphere, a manager's role was to command, control, and discipline employees. She acknowledged that current management thinking has moved beyond that approach, but the older culture can easily creep back in.

In discussing managers who are overbearing or won't listen to their employees, the author recommended establishing "safe zones" - identifying managers who will listen to problems that employees have with their own boss. I think this often happens informally at many businesses, but formalizing a process could be advantageous, giving employees a lifeline when communications between the employee and their manager have broken down.

The book included an interesting discussion on the issue of who "owns" the employees' work. This issue was critical to having employees fully invested in their work. Related to this was the issue of who owns the organization, and why it matters. The author noted that organizations are not monolithic entities, but are made up of a group of individuals, an observation that may be obvious, but the implications are not so apparent.

There was a chapter on coercion and compliance, the means by which managers sometimes force employees to bend to their will. The author called this the "superiority tango," a clever way to describe the turmoil and demoralization this can create.

Another chapter covered the "we are family" mantra that some organizations promote. The author wisely pointed out the possible pitfalls of this approach. After all, some families are dysfunctional!

The only part of the book that I didn't fully accept was the suggestion that organizations become democracies, allowing employees to have input into the hiring and firing of their bosses. In its purest form, democracy can mean chaotic, mob rule. I'm sure that in some limited form, this might work, but I still have my doubts.

Overall, Management Culture had some valuable ideas about management practices. This wasn't a quick management-by-the-numbers, either, it was a group of cohesive strategies intended to improve employee performance and ensure the kind of manager-employee relationships that strengthen an organization.

[Alain Burrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Management Culture: Innovative & Bold Strategies To Engage Employees” by Denise Moreland is a welcome addition to the literature on management. In an easy to read and refreshing style, Moreland writes about developing a positive culture in the workplace. It's a book aimed at employees and bosses and anyone else who wants to make the culture of their business more positive.

Each chapter starts with a scenario that doesn't go nearly as well as it could. After sharing her advice on the specific topic of the chapter, Moreland finishes by sharing the scenario again, but by incorporating the ideas from the chapter, the scenario plays out in a much more positive manner. I thought these little scenarios did a good job of illustrating how the ideas could be implemented and how such changes can make a positive impact on the workplace and those working there.

The topics of chapters include: Who Owns the Worker, Who Owns the Work, Who Owns the Organization, Coercion and Compliance, Control and Resignation, Domination and Submission, We are Family, Well-Oiled Machine, and Democracy at Work. There is also a conclusion that shares some about for types of power: coercive, competitive, cooperative and creative. I must also mention “Imagine A Workplace” that begins and concludes the book. I really liked these parts of the book. I can't help but wonder how organizations and workplaces would be if everyone read these two pages each morning and really acted on them. Idealistic? Maybe, but reading this and working toward it each day sure would do wonders for the organizations that gave it a try, Each chapter also includes specific advice for employees and specific advice for bosses related to that chapter's lesson. I liked that it addresses individuals in these different positions, because it really is up to everyone to create a positive work environment and culture.

The book is well written, interesting, and full of down to earth practical advice. Moreland has been there and done that, and it shows. The guide is for managers and employees and readers learn how to create a positive work culture and eliminate or fix the dysfunctional patterns that create negative work environments.

This book is aimed at those working in businesses that have typical management structures such as employees, managers, and then upper level management. It really focuses on the ground floor and how employees and middle level managers can create a positive work environment and culture. If you work in such a setting, check this book out, read it, and implement the ideas. Everyone in the office will benefit.

[Yeoh Lingxuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how she started every chapter with a real life story, and end with how it could be if management has handled it if they have provided necessary coaching.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for both managers & employees. For employees who are interested in learning how to deal with supervisors and managers. In each chapter, the author has "Advice for Employees" on how to confront your supervisor and gives ideas on how to deal with bad bosses which I really like!!! It also gave me ideas on how to think about management differently than I ever have. Denise Moreland offers insight about why bosses act the way they do, and how we all need to do our part to change the culture. I highly recommend this book to employees who are not supervisors or managers. I'm looking forward to her next book!