What is management?

According to the OU* management is about adapting plans as you go while being clear about why you are doing so. They suggest that in undertaking an intervention be prepared to learn about your own strengths and weaknesses and reflect on what you can take forward to improve your effectiveness in the future.

And what is a management job? The OU suggests it is difficult for managers to define. The response maybe that the job is made up of a series of ‘events’. Research suggests that a common characteristic of management is its ‘fragmented’ nature. Studies of management work suggest the manager switches every few minutes from one subject or person to another, rarely completing one task before being involved in another. Arguably, the opportunity to use the internet and laptops at home does provide some balance, allowing some more concentrated time to get to grips with more complex tasks or report production.

In developing managers the OU suggests that the linear approach of ‘plan-do-check-act’ or the control loop may work for more operational and repetitive processes but far less fit for purpose for a manager needing to prove themselves capable of negotiating more complex and less well defined management challenges.

So in dealing with more complex challenges what approach could a manager take? The OU suggest an approach based on the general model of planed change. The model is premised on the idea that rather than following a procedural framework the model can be a guide for what elements you need to look for when engaging with the process of ‘making a difference’. What this model is said to offer above the linear model is an opportunity to look in more depth at the issues you may encounter.

As the drawing suggests you may need to iterate through the previous stages of the cycle at several different points. For example evaluation after implementation may reveal that anticipated outcomes are not occurring, so there will be a need to return to further diagnosis and study of the issues. Similarly it could be that whilst taking action problems maybe encountered leading to the need for further quicker diagnosis to refine the implementation plan. Or a problem identified at the entry and contracting stage may have been resolved effectively but another problem may have emerged as a result requiring a further cycle starting with the step of entry and contracting with a new group of stakeholders.

Quinn suggests that managing at higher levels means confronting change, ambiguity and contradiction**. The OU suggests that managers have to process a bewildering array of information in order to make their organisations function effectively. They suggest that the role of the manager is to identify rich questions which redefine the problem rather than point to immediate solutions. They are keen to assert that the manager cannot hide behind rationality and analysis and should be able to admit that they maybe as lost as the rest and are in actual fact often experimenting in ‘unchartered waters’ seeking answers to their questions and understanding the limitations of their power.

Quinn further suggests that there are no simple solutions or single domains of action. What exist are contradictory pressures. He suggests that much of the time the choice is not between good and bad but between one good and another or between two unpleasant alternatives. He suggests that for this you need to make complex, intuitive decisions and that many people fail to cope with the resulting tension, stress and uncertainty**.

* References to OU material in this blog are from the course book ‘Issues and Approaches: Integrating Practice, Learning and Theory (B830)

**Beyond Rational Management – Robert E Quinn (p3)

Creating shared spaces in which people can meet, exchange and learn

Culture and sport can be a unique tool for creating shared spaces in which people can meet exchange and learn. Alone it will not sort out the economy, make us more employable, provide us with better housing or improve our general well-being. Suggestions that it will are arguably misplaced. However, it can be part of a response to supporting people be more active, healthier and build their resilience.

A recent paper on co-production on housing estates reminded me of the role culture can play in supporting communities in tackling anti-social behaviour. Suggestions from participants of focus groups included improving interactions between residents through various activities including holiday programmes using sports and arts fun days. I remember in the early 90s visiting various ‘housing estates’ in the summer holidays in a mini bus full of face paints and arts materials to offer residents, particularly the young, a chance to take part. In most cases we received a warm welcome!

I am currently supporting a number of projects locally whose ambition is to provide people with an opportunity to get to know other people locally; to learn new skills; to support family relationships. One such project is Tana Bana delivered by Shared Heritage. As a trustee I attended some of the programmes we ran and spoke to the leaders and participants of the centres we visited who were telling me how much the textiles projects we had supported for families were valued by mums, dads and guardians. It gave the adults a fun and rewarding way of linking with those they look after. We’re planning to continue working in these communities so that amongst other things participants may emerge from within these communities able to take this work on further. We would also like to publicise their achievements as a way of enhancing self esteem and motivation.

The paper ‘Expressive Lives’ contains an essay by Bill Ivey, that I have referred to in earlier blogs, that starts to touch on the kinds of possibilities culture can unlock. He suggests that the economic downturn could make us re-look fundamentally at what we value. Rather than dreams of bigger cars, grander houses and more exotic holidays we may need now to re-instill in ourselves new values linked to the idea of an ‘expressive life’ which for Bill Ivey is about belonging, continuity, community and history. He suggests that the ‘expressive life’, for example channeled through the arts, helps link us to place and makes us feel we are not alone. Sounds appealing.

(In)capable Communities (2)

I wrote recently about challenges we are facing on our estate and that we had planned a meeting between the residents and public officials – this is an update.

The meeting opens with a request for people to separate fact from fiction. On one level it maybe understandable but on reflection it feels insensitive and a comment that sets the wrong tone.

Around the table a list of incidents are shared yet the overriding response is ‘yes but without the evidence and specific details we cannot do anything…’. Is it a sign of the times that officials basically do not trust the public? Does that in turn contribute to the public not trusting the officials? Of course ‘facts’ need to be established to prosecute but surely meetings such as this are about much more than this.

The fact is that there is trouble on the estate. There are some very unpleasant people who have come onto the estate and all the agencies know this. What is our plan to deal with them? What will they be doing? Will they have work or training? How will they be kept occupied? How will they know what is acceptable and unacceptable? The recent introduction of a ‘family intervention’ approach to address issues for  ‘problem’ families maybe provides clues for what we may need to do to address issues at an estate or localised level.

The old man who shakes with nervousness when you visit him from endless nights spoilt by the doors slamming till 2 or 3 in the morning and the aggressive and unacceptable behaviour in his block of flats. The young woman who says she stays in on nights because she is too frightened to go out. Then there are…the fireworks, the BBQs, the fires, the scooters being driven on the pavements around the flats, the young men in hoods with violent dogs hanging around, the dog mess left uncleared, the constant smell of drugs, the break-in, the window smashed, the phone lines ripped out, the storage of stolen or illegal items. An elderly gentleman says that having lived on the estate for 25 years he has only over the past two years seen things turn this bad.

We have been asked to keep a log of all incidents over the next two to four weeks. A plan is being prepared to provide the estate with more support. We are told this has worked successfully on a neighbouring housing development. Will it be enough? In the meantime I for one certainly sit in fear – will that aggressive dog not on a lead decide to attack; will those young men hanging around look for a fight; will my flat be safe; will I be safe coming home at night from work?

If we are prepared to fight wars in foreign lands to challenge aggressors what about aggression on our own estates? What happens when residents lives are made so uncomfortable by a small aggressive and anti social minority? Who comes to defend residents who want to conduct their lives in a reasonable and considerate manner? Should this not be made a far more pressing priority than it appears to be currently?

(In)Capable Communities

You wouldn’t believe it…but its true. A few days back at most an incident happened on our ‘estate’ where all the phone lines were ripped off the walls, allegedly for the lead they contain which could be sold for scrap. This is the latest in a line of incidents on the estate and for some it feels like the last straw.

Amongst neighbours the rumours, guess work and anecdotes are being shared. No one is quite sure who has done what. Is it visitors to the estate who have a drug habit that needs to be fed? What was clear today was that some residents were very upset. A man in his 60s crying and wanting to move out (the gentleman who took such pride in keeping his little garden at the front of his flat beautiful) or the woman too frightened to be seen pointing things out.

We have called a meeting with our local housing manager and the police. The housing manager was concerned but seemed to suggest that unless we could get the evidence it may be difficult to progress matters. Is it that he’s heard it all before or as the BT engineer said, we’re getting lots of calls out for this kind of thing at the moment? How much can the public official take? Do they become numb to what’s going on? He should have been there seeing this man cry after all the fear and aggravation he has been through.

What if the officials were living on the estate day and night? Would they appear so nonchalant? Where will the sense of urgency come from? On private housing developments they have CCTV, gates, wardens? Is that what is required? How are we going to make our community safe and remain open? Do we need to take responsibility ourselves? Make the case that the money that currently goes to the housing partnership or the police or other local bodies responsible for this area is shared with local residents and ways are found for them to take control back of their homes and communities?

Can this community be resilient? One lady suggested that someone needs to go round ‘sorting’ the perpetrators out? Is there an answer apart from violence? How does a community or its capabilities emerge when there is so much fear? What happens when the public officials seem so uncertain? Will we pull together? Will we form a network or an association to protect our interests? Or are we too frightened, too untrusting to get involved? Have we become too reliant on someone else sorting out the problems – the council officer, the housing manager and the police – and become resigned to a poor result? Is it that we have lost faith in our power to make any significant change? Maybe more worryingly what if the public officials themselves have lost faith?

The IPPR and PWC recently published ‘Capable Communities’. It states that it is part of a project to examine the potential for greater community participation and explore the barriers to greater co-production*. Is our community capable or incapable? Would what is happening locally to us be worth considering as one part of this project? If colleagues have any similar experiences or would like more details please feel free to respond to the blog or contact me directly.

*increasing interest in the role of mutuals to allow people to own and run local services appears to be crossing party divides. Labour is said to have launched a ‘mutuals manifesto’ whilst the Conservatives have launched ‘Big Society Not Big Government’