Essential Jobs, Skills, and Changing Roles of Managers in Today&rsquo;s World: Glimpses of Select Concepts, Stories, and Cases

Immanuel Christian  Cabello,; Maria Carmelle  Pedrosa,; Maria Mikhaela  Ponce,

Essential Jobs, Skills, and Changing Roles of Managers in Today’s World: Glimpses of Select Concepts, Stories, and Cases

Immanuel Christian Cabello | Maria Carmelle Pedrosa | Maria Mikhaela Ponce

Discipline: human resource management

Abstract:

The world has been undergoing multiple disruptions since the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) — a testament to this are the multiple disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. In this regard, the long-standing jobs, skills, and roles of managers are revisited and evaluated against the emerging needs brought about by the changing environment. This paper intends to juxtapose the traditional definitions of managers vis-a-vis the critical jobs, roles, and skills that are required of managers in the context of the world today. Based on the inductive approach using available literature, the researchers attempt to answer the key changes in the organizational environment, the transformation of the traditional roles of managers, and the essential jobs and skills they are now called to fulfill in light of the changes today. The findings show prevalent themes and characteristics. First, the changes created by the 4IR brought about a new breed of employed called knowledge workers — highly-skilled workers who apply theoretical and practical knowledge to develop products and services. Managing and leading these types of workers in a dynamic environment require managers to be forward-thinking and agile planners while being empathic, supportive, and inclusive leaders — in essence, a revitalizationof their traditional roles. Second, to complement these roles, managers are required to have strong interpersonal and communication skills to be able to collaborate and lead their people well. All things considered, managers of today are called to lead up, lead across, and lead below. With regards to the four traditional functions and skills, there is a need to improve the depth rather than the breadth of managers’ responsibilities. Going beyond cascading directives and monitoring performance versus targets, managers of today are reimagined and instilled a more creative, empathic, and inclusive role in leading the companies of tomorrow, today.

References:

Barnea, A. (2020, December 12). Dan Price announced a minimum salary of $70,000 to all of his 120 employees back in 2015. It paid off big time. The Toronto Star. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2020/12/11/dan-price-announced-a-minimum-salary-of-70000- to-all-of-his-120-employees-back-in-2015-it-paid-off-big-time.html?__twitter_impression=true
CFI. (2021). Knowledge workers. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/knowledge-workers/
Griffin, R. W. (2016). Fundamentals of management, (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
IDEO.Org. (2015). The field guide to human-centered design. Design Kit. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.designkit.org/
Keith, F. (2020, May 27). Co-elevation: Your way to leading without authority. Association for Talent Development. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.td.org/insights/co-elevation-your-way-to-leading-without-authority
Kropp, B., Cambon, A., & Clark, S. (2021, April 15). What does it mean to be a manager today? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2021/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-manager-today
Kung, J. (2018, February 9). The Home Depot story: Tiny things that great CEOs do. Senior Living Foresight. Retrieved January 17, 2022, from https://www.seniorlivingforesight.net/the-home-depot-story-tiny-things-that-great-ceos-do/
Levene, A. (2020, January 15). What is the right organization structure for the 21st century? Retrieved October 20, 2021 from https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/21st-century-organization-structure
Lewis, N. (2020, April 22). HR managers rethink their role during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Retrieved October 19, 2021 from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/hr-managers-rethink-their-work-coronavirus-pandemic.aspx
Miller, J. (2020, January 2). Why empathy separates good managers from great ones. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-empathy-separates-good-managers-from-great-ones-joshua-miller/
Pistrui, J., & Dimov, D. (2018, October 26). The role of a manager has to change in 5 key ways. Harvard Business Review, Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2018/10/the-role-of-a-manager-has-to-change-in-5-key-ways
Prossack, A. (2021, February 10). 5 statistics employers need to know about the remote workforce. Forbes. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashiraprossack1/2021/02/10/5- statistics-employers-need-to-know-about-the-remote-workforce/
Philbeck, A. & Davis, N. (2019). The fourth industrial revolution: Shaping a new era. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/fourth-industrial-revolution-shaping-new-era
Ricard, S. (2020, December 10). The Year of the Knowledge Worker. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/12/10/the-year-of-the-knowledge-worker/?sh=295ec20e7fbb
Schermerhorn, J. J. R., & Bachrach, D. G. (2018). Exploring management (6th ed.). Wiley Global Education.
Schermerhorn, J. J. R., & Bachrach, D. G. (2013). Management (13th ed.). Wiley Global Education.
Schwab, K. (2016, January 14). The fourth industrial revolution: What it means, how to respond. World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
Singh, L. K. (2019, September). A critical analysis of Theory X & Theory Y in the 21st Century. EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 7(9). https://eprapublishing.com//admin/admin/public/uploads/1239pm8.%20%20Lt.Dr.L.K.Singh.pdf.
University of Witwatersrand. (2021). Managers in the fourth Industrial Revolution lead with humanness. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://online.wits.ac.za/managers-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-lead-with-humanness/