Proceedings of 10th Global Business and Social Science Research Conference
23 -24 June 2014, Radisson Blu Hotel, Beijing, China
ISBN: 978-1-922069-55-9
Towards the Soft Side of Management: the Changing Roles of
Managers in Caring Organisations
Ricky, Yuk-kwan Ng*
It is not new to learn that in some of the South East Asian organisations,
strictly obedience, all-time present and totalitarian state-of-mind are the
basic requirements at work. Workplaces are hierophantic spaces and their
sites of performance are regulated by the absent author-creator from afar in
order to turn the individual ‘I’ into the collective ‘We’ (Höpfl, 1996). In many
organisations, mangers are expected to function as ‘bureaucratic
apparatus’ (Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003) to ensure smooth
operations. However, as contemporary organisations become aware that
manpower is the most valuable assets under keen sector competitions,
managers come to realise the urge to soften the sharp edges of the
collective and repressive management culture.
This trajectory may
generate desirable work conditions for staff commitment, satisfaction and
retention and draws managers to reconsider their management styles.
Making reference to the above, it is of benefit to look into the soft issues of
management, such as reflections on culture, meaning, identity and
specifically leadership as opposed to traditional administrative management
(Kotter, 1990). Findings of this study challenges the deep rooted collective
and repressive management culture by proposing to change the role of
manager into a strategist, visionary and culture-creator. Furthermore,
results of this study also indicate that employee-centred, equality, flat
hierarchy, work-life balance and mutual respect/support at work constitute
a caring organisation while conversely; the emerging issue of ‘over-caring’
and ‘over-protecting’ management practices should not be overlooked.
____________________________________________________________________
* Dr. Ricky, Yuk-kwan Ng, Centre for Learning and Teaching,
Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong.
email:rickyng@vtc.edu.hk
1. Introduction
It is not new to learn that in some of the South East Asian organisations, strictly obedience,
all-time present and totalitarian state-of-mind are the basic requirements at work.
Workplaces are hierophantic spaces and their sites of performance are regulated by the
absent author-creator from afar in order to turn the individual „I‟ into the collective „We‟
(Höpfl, 1996). From struggles, negotiations, resistance to acceptances, employees may
use a strategy of „converts‟ to demonstrate their commitment to the values and customs in
order to cope with the organisation‟s collective one roof goal. In organisations, mangers
are expected to function as „bureaucratic apparatus‟ (Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003) to
ensure smooth operations. However, as contemporary organisations become aware that
manpower is the most valuable asset under keen sector competitions, managers come to
realise the urge to soften the sharp edges of the collective and repressive management
culture. This trajectory may generate desirable work conditions for staff commitment,
satisfaction and retention. For a better understanding of the above, it is of benefit to look
into the soft issues of management, such as reflections on culture, meaning, identity and
specifically leadership as opposed to traditional administrative management (Kotter, 1990).
With case studies from literature and views collected from employees, this study looks into
the controversial topics concerning about the authoritarian style of management at work in
an Asian context, and discuss the changing roles and practices of managers in
contemporary organisations.
2. Literature Review
The collective ‘We’ and the isolated ‘I’
The relationship between the management and the employees may be exacerbated in
some workplaces because of an authoritarian style of management. Authoritarianism is a
management strategy commonly adopted by organisations: “the more management thus
feels mobilised and legitimated to set the tone and to determine the choice of appropriate
instruments and structures, the more it enforces other role holders collectively to submit to
authoritarian, organisational cultures which generate the „totalitarian state-of-mind‟ in the
participants in the situation” (Lawrence, 1995, p.11; cf. Stein, 1995, 1997 in Sievers, 1999,
p. 596). In the authoritarian style of management, organisational goals and the personal
goals are in constant conflict and most of the time, there is a lack of consensus or an
uneasy compromise between the organisation and employees. In some contexts,
managers generally believe that the implementation of an authoritarian management
strategy would be able to enhance productivity and efficiency and thus to generate
desirable outcomes to fulfil the organisation‟s goals through the imposition of will. The
„totalitarian state-of-mind‟ can be considered as both a physical state-of-an environment
and a psychological state-of-mind. Cohen and Taylor elaborate the Marxist concept of
„alienation‟ of individuality at work and assert that “as individuals become increasingly
divorced from the creative and social rewards associated with their productive labour, they
are only able to make sense of who they are in the world through the things in their
procession” (Cohen and Taylor, 1992 as cited in Bell, 2008, p.165). The above also
coincides with Goldin‟s view that in production plants, most employees follow work
instructions and are being shaped into the „sleep walker‟ type of labour (Goldin, 2009).
Addressing both physical and psychological „authoritarianism‟, Höpfl, using Derrida‟s
(1980) comments on Artaud‟s Theatre of Cruelty, claims that the site of performance as
seen in religious rituals is regulated by an anterior authority; metaphorically, organisations
are hierophantic spaces and their sites of performance are regulated by the absent
author-creator from afar in order to turn the isolated „I‟ into the collective „We‟ (Höpfl,
1996). In a similar way, this can be applied to the way in which organisations function as
sites or arenas of performance. As such, the activities at work are all connected to form
an omni-directional authoritarian style of management. Under the eyes of the „big
brother‟, it is no surprise to learn that in some organisations, personal activities are limited
to a given time or even prohibited, for example, browsing the Internet is restricted at office
hours, accessing personal emails and private phone calls are regarded as misbehaviours
in the workplace, and are only permitted during lunch or off-work breaks as means of
enhancing work effectiveness and disciplinary control (Ackroyd and Thompson, 1999).
The award-winning film “Devil Wears Prada” best illustrates Hopfl‟s concept of „the absent
author-creator from afar‟ and Ackroyd‟s notion of the controlling of misbehaviours in the
workplace. In the opening scene, when the employees are alarmed by the news that their
authoritative boss is on her way back the office, the employees, in panic and rush, stop all
kinds of personal activities such as eating breakfast, Internet browsing, personal phone
calls as well as changing their pumps into the required high heels.
Work Culture and Management Practices in South East Asia
Certainly, work culture is bounded by ideologies and traditions and it is instructive to take
another look into the issue in South East Asia for a better understand of the issue in a
Chinese context. It is undeniable that authoritarian style of management prevails in
contemporary China. Chang‟s ethnographic study unveils us the contemporary work life
and conditions of factory assembly lines in Dongguan, an industrial city in China‟s Pearl
River Delta (Chang, 2008). Repressive management regimes are being used, overtime
paid is never mentioned and as the manager of one of the factory announced “this is your
task and if you have to stay up three days and nights, you do it” (Chang, 2008, p.114). It
is a result of traditional Chinese‟s work culture that absolute obedience is expected in
workplaces. With the increasing of Chinese‟s overseas investment in manufacturing
industries, it is not hard to imagine that similar work cultures and management practices
are being implemented in South East Asia countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, India and
Thailand. Unfortunately, such an account is not confined to factory work but also occurs
in many occupations and roles. Being a global city with mixed east and west culture, it is
assumed that organisations in Hong Kong may have adopted the Western management
practices and that work conditions are relatively accommodating and managers are more
caring about employees‟ feelings. Surprisingly, Ng and Hopfl‟s (2014) study reveals that a
controlling management culture is rather popular in Hong Kong‟s organisations. In
general, managers stress on the discipline of the employees. Time is regulated,
attendance is monitored and behaviours are governed by rules of conduct. High
competition, long working hours with low salary seems to be the well-accepted norms in
some types of office work. Employees said the earliest they can be home for dinner on a
working day is seven o‟clock and there is an underlying practice that one should not leave
earlier than their supervisor or boss. An incident experienced by the author illustrates that
absolute control and prejudice are common in Hong Kong‟s workplaces. Disregarding the
feelings of her colleagues, the head of a unit published a job promotion advertisement in
newspapers without informing and encouraging her colleagues to apply. It is also well
known that in Japan, strong hierarchy prevails into all aspects of life. Nagy‟s earlier study
of a Japanese organisation shows the strong hierarchical work system and organisational
culture. Offices in generally adopt an open office design, employees sit side-by-side,
face-to-face on desks with no partitions in between. Work are desk-bounded and under
the monitoring of their senior colleagues to create a no privacy work environment (Nagy,
2010). In such circumstances, it is arguable that the employees‟ activities are exposed
and under constant surveillance at their sites of performance. This kind of open office
design by some organisations is meant to generate the authoritarian style of management
so as to “increases labour control” (Hofbauer, 2000 as cited in Thanem, Varlander and
Cummings, 2011). While these kinds of management culture aims to emphasise unity,
efficiency and productivity in the workplace, employees may struggle, negotiate, resist or
accept the repressive management culture and most of the time they will gradually turn
themselves into „converts‟ and commit to the organisation‟s collectivism value. On the
other hand, these types of management practices may lead to loss of job satisfaction,
impaired performance and the deprivation of employee‟s individuality. To a certain extent,
the above generated adverse psychological effects such as loss of loyalty, job satisfaction,
sense of belonging and finally the reduction of work performance and effectiveness.
Towards the Soft side of Management: Caring Organisations
Clearly, most employees are not willing absolutely to sacrifice themselves to cope with the
totalising tendencies. When the Theory X of regulated time, monitored attendance and
governed behaviour (McGregor, 1960) goes to an extreme, it is not surprised that it will
provoke a range of resistances. Employees may make social and human rights
movements against the totalitarian style of management. Recently news reported that in
one of China‟s OEM manufacturers, a few workers jumped off the roof because of the
unfairness and anxieties raised from pressure at work. It is also heard that riots took
place in one of the Japanese car manufacturing plants in China as well as some of the
Chinese owned industrial plants in Vietnam resulted from the employees‟ anger of the
repressive style of management. Although these are extreme cases, it is clear that these
upheavals are the wake up calls for managers to realise the importance of maintaining an
employee-centred work culture. As managers become aware that manpower is the most
valuable asset in contemporary organisations, there is a need to soften the sharp edges of
„totalitarian state-of-mind‟ to generate desirable work conditions for staff commitment and
satisfaction. Furthermore, a number of studies have suggested the correlation between
productivity and the employees‟ job satisfaction. Taking Nike as an example, Klein found
Nike‟s emphasis on corporate social responsibility to change the working conditions in
many of its Asian production factories not only generate employees‟ work commitment
and satisfaction but also nurtured Nike‟s distinctive corporate brand (Klein, 1999).
Koblenz contends that organisations create positive work environment for employees and
take social responsibilities for their internal and external communities will generate greater
employee commitment, business results and sustainable future (Koblenz, 2003). Liedtka
also argues that nowadays organisations focus on persons instead of quantity and profits
will exhibit better economic performance (Liedtka, 1996, 1998). Ng and Höpfl (2014)
study the relationship of management style, workspace personalisation and job
satisfaction and found that most employees felt that office workers performed and felt
better in a self-regulated work environment. In an interview by University of Science and
Technology, Hong Kong‟s Business School, Nicholas Tse, a Hong Kong singer, actor, and
now CEO of a media production company with 150 employees in Beijing, China expressed
his view that managers should not forget to promote culture of mutual respect, flat
hierarchy, trust, ownership, sharing and caring in contemporary organisations. Tse‟s
management style is well appreciated because in the entertainment business, the labour
intensive and long working hours are in a way similar to the work conditions of China‟s
manufacturing factories. Tse‟s management style indicates a paradigm shift in some of
China‟s business and manufacturing industries. In views of the above, it is learnt that
nowadays, organisations are gradually changing their management styles towards „a
company that cares‟ with the characteristics of people-centred, work environment
grounded on dignity and mutual respect, value employees‟ contributions, promote staff
development and capability building, pursuit well-being and work-life balance, social
responsibility and ethical integrity.
The Changing Role of Managers
Certainly, it is interesting to explore the soft issues of management such as reflections on
culture, meaning, identity and specifically leadership as opposed to traditional
administrative management (Kotter, 1990). Denison et al., (1995) and Jackall (1988)
argue that managerial work needs considerable flexibility and in contemporary
organisations, role of manger is moving away from its „apparatchiks of various forms of
bureaucracy‟ (Scarborough and Burrell, 1996) into „entrepreneurs‟, „leaders‟, culture
creators‟ or „visionaries‟ (du Gay, 1996). However, the changing of management style and
role is an on-going struggle for most of the managers because it depends on how they
“embrace, negotiate and reject roles” (Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003, p.1169). Argenti,
Druckenmiller (2004) contended there are quite a limited number of qualified managers
who have the experience and expertise to facilitate the changes. Following the tendency
of caring organisations, they suggest that leadership should replace management by
turning managers into a strategist, visionary and culture-creator. Citing the work culture of
Starbucks as an example, when requesting a job task, rather than giving hierarchical
orders, managers or colleagues will start by asking “Can you give me a hand on this…or
would you mind to…”. In Starbucks, this simple gesture and people-centred culture
enable the strong emotional links and trust between the managers and employees (Gills,
2007). Of course this is just a fraction of the changing role and style of a manager, in
order to become a manager-turned-leader in a caring organisation, it is argued that the
capability to coach, to help individual employee to develop his/her potential and build
capability for the mutual benefits of the individual, the organisation and the society.
To see how the concept of caring organisation (according to the welcome message in
Caring Company, Hong Kong‟s website 2014, to receive the name of „caring company‟ in
Hong Kong, the company has to fulfil a number of requirements and assessment similar to
those discussed in the literature but with a strong focus to “fulfil Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) through care initiatives for the community, employees and the
environment to help build a diversified and friendly community” to promote social inclusion)
and the changing role of manager being perceived in an Asian context, a pilot study was
conducted with six employees working in one of the caring companies in Hong Kong. The
composition of the participants was spread across three ranks and posts to provide a
broadly representative sample. Transcriptions of the interviews‟ dialogues were analysed
qualitatively to draw interpretive insights.
3. Findings and Discussion
In response to the concept of caring organisation, the overall responses from the
participants suggest that a caring organisation should be “considerate”, concern the
betterment of the society and well-being of its employees, “provide security in terms of
working environment, job stability”; it should be “people-oriented”, less “money-oriented”
“without (with least) disadvantaging anyone/ anything” and “show no discrimination of age,
gender, looks, health and race”. With the characteristics of people-centred, work
environment grounded on mutual respect, all participants thought those together with a
caring management style will lead to job satisfaction and work commitment in both
physical and psychological aspects. Responses such as “a caring manager not only cares
on the development of staff but also the development of relationship; he/she develops
relationships with employees and motivates them in different aspects to foster a
harmonious working environment and promotes a balance of work and life. This ensures
the enhancement of work efficiency and effectiveness”; “a caring manager will balance the
development of company as well as the development/well-being of staff, to maintain a winwin situation. A caring manager should have the vision that the satisfaction of staff is able
to drive the organisation forward”; “a caring manager should always think ahead of what
his/her teammates need for career development and what teammates can do to benefit
the organisation. There should be sense of fairness and motivations among the team. He
or she should also promote a healthy balance between work and personal life” as well as
“being considerate, provides support, fair to all staff”; also, the manager “should give
proper credits to employees, be responsible, respect differences, polite, friendly, openminded, kind-hearted and generous”. The above reveal that mutual respect, openmindedness, fairness, motivation, support, guidance and career development to staff,
pursuit of well-being and work-life balance and the ability to drive the organisation forward
are the essential characteristics of a caring manager.
Regarding the relationships between the changing role and manager, management style,
job satisfaction and work commitment, all of the participants believed that a caring
management style would nurture and shape a considerate work culture. One participant
found that “the caring management style improved the work condition” and she is able to
“balance the distinctive personal attributes and the office activities under the caring work
culture”. The participants also believed that an appropriate management style will lead to
job satisfaction, work commitment and thus to increase effectiveness and efficiency. One
participant said that “different management styles will affect the staff morale, thus an
appropriate management style in a unit results in an increase of job satisfaction and work
commitment”. Another participant asserted that “management style reflects attitudes of
manager deals with his/her work and the team. The work satisfaction and results depend
on the attitudes the manager has and his/her team‟s interactions and responses to those
attitudes”. Others also agreed that “a caring manager or organisation allow staff to work in
a warm and happy environment, the staff feel less stressful and can maintain a healthy
work-life balance. With the positive mentally, they will work more effectively”. Their views
on the relationship between management styles, job satisfaction, work commitment and
the increase of effectiveness and efficiency are positive and promising. It should be
resulted to the employees‟ prior experiences of the impacts from different management
styles.
Asking whether the participants think that the organisation and unit they are working
in bear the characteristics of a caring organisation; four of them agreed while two replied
with partially agreed. Those agreed admitted that their organisation promotes the caring
culture to staff at different aspects. They also felt that polices such as “issue of openended contracts and low dismissal rate secure a certain percentage of staff in the
organisation and stabilise its operation and lead to the “high staff retention rate”. One
partially agreed employee considered that she is working in a “protected unit rather than a
caring unit, as some of the staff are over-protected”. The other participant commented
that “when an organisation or a unit depends on a system too much rather thinking in a
more humane way, the kindness and compassion towards staff are overpowered by a
system somehow would make an organisation or a unit lose its grip on its staff‟s
expectations”. Their comments indicate the potential risk and the controversial debates
on the risk of turning a „caring‟ organisation into a „protecting‟ organisation, which may
eventually harm the overall effectiveness and efficiency and misalign with the mission of
caring organisation. These comments also shed the light to a range of aspects that worth
to pay more attention for consideration.
In sum, findings suggest that a caring organisation should focus on the contribution of the
society and well-being of its employees. People-centred, mutual respect, rapport building,
open-mindedness, fairness, motivation, support, guidance and career development to
staff and the ability to pursuit employees‟ well-being and work-life balance for the
advancement of the organisation are the good practices of caring managers. Another
noteworthy point is the concern on the potential risk of turning „caring‟ into „protecting‟,
which may cause favouritism, inequality and hinder the effectiveness and efficiency; and
contaminate people‟s perception of caring organisation.
4. Implications and Conclusion
Organisational culture is often, though it may be wrong, considered as a paradigm set by
the central management to achieve the common goal under one roof while work culture is
local and personal, subject to the particular department, unit, team and individual, and
oscillates between the individual „I‟ and the collective „We‟. Therefore, management style
plays a strategic role to change work culture, condition, job satisfaction and commitment.
This short paper suggests that in the organisation I studied, a caring management style
would able to influence employees and change work culture. In this caring organisation,
managers and employees are working closely to develop potentials and build capabilities.
This study also challenges the deep rooted collective and repressive management culture
by proposing to change the role of manager into a strategist, visionary and culture-creator.
Furthermore, results of this study also indicate that social contribution, employee-centred,
equality, flat hierarchy, work-life balance and mutual respect/support at work are the core
values of a caring organisation.
Implications raised from this study are, for academics and researchers, issues on
philanthropy and community enterprise, ethics, equality and social responsibilities, wellbeing and positive psychology in relation to the soft side of management should be further
explored to generate new knowledge. More specifically, the emerging issue of over-caring
and protecting organisation that causes the dark side of organisation should not be
overlooked. For practitioners, good practices and cases from caring managers and
organisations would equip would-be-managers or managers-turn-leaders for references to
improve daily practices in order to nurture the culture of caring organisations. Given this is
a pilot study and the small number of participants in one particular sector, a follow-up
study should be conducted in a larger scale to include different business and
manufacturing sectors. Most importantly, views from factory workers where voices are
seldom heard. It is hoping that the follow-up study will provide a more in-depth analysis
and views to advance the theory and to promote the changing roles and practices of
managers in contemporary organisations in the South East Asia region.
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