Managing IT
An examination of the
effects of motivational
preferences in IT
management
It is Not All About
Technology
Traditional IT
Centralized control
Resource restrictions
Formal methodologies
and discipline
Careful planning
Administrative
support
New IT
Distributed control
Resource expansion
Few methodologies
and unrestricted
access
Rapid development
Strategic impact
Roles
Steering Committee
CIO
Manager
Project Manager
Analyst
Programmer
Systems Programmer
User
IS Organization
CIO
Development
Network
Architecture
Operations
Data
Administration
Situational Leadership
Most managerial tasks require
management of both task and
interpersonal relationships
Task specification refers to defining the
job to be done
Relationship management refers to taking
care of the motivational needs of
employees
Situational Principles
The appropriate motivational technique
depends on the development level of the
maturity level of individual employees on
the specific task being managed
Hierarchy of Needs
(Maslow)
Lower needs dominate behavior until they
are satisfied.
Self actualization
Esteem (recognition)
Social (affiliation)
Safety (security)
Physiological (food, shelter, clothing)
Maslow
Self
Actualization
Esteem
Social
Hygiene
Security
Physiological
Hersey-Blanchard
Task Orientation: Degree of specification
required for structuring or defining a task
for a worker
Relationship: Support required for an
employees attitudes and personal feelings
Relationship
Hersey Blanchard
Task-Relationship Grid
III
Consult
II
Sell
IV
Delegate
Task
I
Tell
Situational Growth
As people mature, their managerial needs
change from complete task definitions
with little concern for relationship to a
mature employees need merely for goals
and feedback
The most difficult managerial stage is
stage II (Sell) which requires maximum
time in both task and relationship
Management Styles
Most managers have one or two styles
that they are most comfortable with.
The art of effective management is
matching a managerial tactic to the
current needs of the employee
The most effective managers employ the
widest range of styles
Sub Optimal Strategies
Relationship
Abandonment
III
Consult
II
Sell
IV
Delegate
Task
I
Tell
Sub-Optimal Strategies
Relationship
Technical
III
Consult
II
Sell
IV
Delegate
Task
I
Tell
Sub-Optimal Strategies
Relationship
American
III
Consult
II
Sell
IV
Delegate
Task
I
Tell
Motivational Needs
(McClelland)
Need for Achievement
Need for Affiliation
Need for Power
McClelland
The Achieving Society
TAT and other evaluation tools
The value of power
Need for Achievement
Represents a need to accomplish.
Evaluators, not risk takers
Concerned more with accomplishment
than reward
Need feedback on work
High task, low relationship
Need for Affiliation
Represents a need for establishing,
maintaining or restoring a positive
friendship relationship from peers and
colleagues.
Peer acceptance more important than
managerial rewards
Good as support staff
High relationship
Need for Power
Need for accomplishment through others
Socialized vs unsocialized power
Respond to competition
Desire recognition
Risk takers
nAch and nPow
Both lead to outstanding activity
Power people understand and are active
in politics
Power people seek to control channels of
communication
Achievement seek to improve daily
performance
Achievement people are uncomfortable
with politics or control
Motivational Profiles:
It takes all kinds
Typical Profile
Sales
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
Entrepreneur
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
Corporate Manager
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
Politician
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
Support Staff
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
Teacher
Research
Instruct
Ach
Aff
Pow
Typical Profile
IT
Ach
Aff
Pow
IS Motivation
The computer field attracts people with
the highest growth need of all 500
occupations measured, they have the
lowest need for social interaction”
Couger, Computerworld, 1990
The Basic Profiles
The High Achievement
Profile
Evaluators who take calculated risk.
Prefer moderately difficult challenges, and
work harder on these tasks.
Objectives and challenges work. Accurate
feedback on task difficulty appreciated.
The High Achievement
Profile
Tend to perceive their probability of
success as high, but become more
accurate with information or practice.
Rely on facts with a generalized optimism.
Feel they are better than average. May
overcommit unless they are experienced.
The High Achievement
Profile
Work hardest for personal achievement or
when their efforts will make a difference
in the outcome. Not particularly
motivated by routine, unchallenging tasks.
Value a reward system that rewards
individual contribution. Assign challenging
work.
The High Achievement
Profile
Derive satisfaction from having initiated
an action that is successful.
Prize freedom and independence. Do not
take well to suggestions or directions
about what they should think or do. Set
collaborative goals.
The High Achievement
Profile
Need accurate feedback on performance.
Want feedback and evaluation based on
results rather than procedures or feelings
and relationships.
The High Achievement
Profile
Believe that pay for difficult tasks should
increase more rapidly than do non nAch
profiles.
Pay recognition for skills and performance
is important as a measure of success.
The High Achievement
Profile
Value experts over friends.
Expert power and expertise are necessary
in establishing managerial authority.
The High Achievement
Profile
Tend to avoid conflict.
May need to recast conflict or consciously
manage conflict situations to avoid
withdrawal or caving in.
The High Affiliation Profile
Tend to avoid leadership
Very uncomfortable making hard decisions
that will lead to alienation. Will go along
to gain approval rather than set the
pattern
The High Affiliation Profile
Value friends over experts
May choose poor advisors. Peer pressure
may be paramount. Necessary to sway
the whole group.
The High Affiliation Profile
Tend to lack discipline and organization
May need outside structure and
organization.
The High Power Profile
Comfortable with magager and leadership
roles.
Enjoy motivating and leading others.
Tend to collect trappings of power and
authority. Important to distinguish
socialized from unsocialized (selfish)
power.
The High Power Profile
Wish to control the means of influencing
subordinates
Likely to be status and position conscious.
Very concerned with process and
authority.
The High Power Profile
Enjoy conflict and disputes
May appear pushy and confrontational. May
get their way at the expense of
organizational growth.
Consequences
Motivational
Consequences
Hard to change fundamental character
Can reframe statements from one Need
structure to another
Useful to speak in the language of the
person being managed
Defined in terms of language
Evaluation of Profiles
Thematic Apperception Test
Analysis of stories and examples related in
free form by subjects.
Practical Evaluation
Approaches
Verbal cues from stories and
conversations
Hero
Subject or person that the individual discusses
Press
Environment around the hero that exerts
influence on the hero
Focus
Uniqueness, Intensity, Frequency
Evidence of nPow
Identifies self as hero
Influence or defeatr others in stories
Surroundings (office walls, car, etc.)
Evidence of nAff
Hero has one or more social ties
Hero is a member of a congenial group
Hero often seen at social events
Surroundings (pictures, activities, etc.)
Evidence of nAch
Others as hero, or may not have one
Tend to be reluctant in telling stories
Focus on success or professional activities
Surroundings (activities, etc.)
Sources of Power
(French & Raven)
Reward (ability to grant rewards)
Coercive (punishment)
Legitimate (leader has a right)
Referent (identification with what or who
the leader represents)
Expert (knowledge or expertise)
Motivation
Salary and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic and social motivation
Leadership and headship
Motivational Opportunity
All motivational profiles are valuable
Determine the primary motivational profile
of colleagues and associates
Offer appropriate social rewards for
performance in kind other than money or
promotion.
People
IT Motivational Profile
Recruiting and Retention
Teams and Projects
Rational Retention
Strategies
Train & Retain
Train & Replace
Entrepreneurial
Layered Skills
Restrict & Limit
Outsource