1Well, you've both been looking at different styles of managing individuals in companies and the workplace.
2How's the research going, Philip?
3Well, I've been looking at why individualism...
4I mean individual differences, are such an important area of management studies.
5When you think about any organization,
6be it a family business or a multinational company,
7they're all fundamentally a group of people working together.
8But it's what these individuals contribute to their places of work that makes you realize how important they are.
9Of course they bring different ideas,
10but it's also their attitudes and their experiences of learning.
11Diversity is important in these areas too.
12So why do people behave so differently from one another at work?
13There are lots of reasons
14but research has shown that a lot of it comes down to personality.
15And the other factor is gender.
16It's a well known fact that men and women do lots of things in different ways,
17and the workplace is no different.
18Did you look at the effects of this variation on companies?
19Yes, I did.
20On the positive side,
21exposure to such diversity helps encourage creativity
22which is generally an asset to a company.
23But unfortunately individual differences are also the root of conflict between staff
24and they can lead to difficulties for management, which can sometimes be serious.
25Thanks, Philip.
26So, now, I guess the two main things to remember here are to identify individual talent and then to utilize it.
27So, Janice, you were looking at identifying different talents in workers.
28Do you think this is easy for managers to do?
29Well, currently teamwork is in fashion in the workplace
30and in my opinion the importance of the individual is generally neglected.
31What managers should be targeting is those employees who can take the lead in a situation
32and are not afraid to accept the idea of responsibility.
33That's true Janice but...
34unfortunately, many managers think the entire notion of encouraging individuality amongst their staff is far too hard.
35Yes, that may be true
36but I think one of the most important tasks of managers is to consider the needs of the individual on one hand
37and group co-operation and conformity on the other.
38It requires creative thinking on the part of management to avoid tension.
39So Janice, what kind of people do you think companies should be looking for?
40Well, it has to start from the very beginning
41when companies are looking for new employees.
42When the personnel department is choosing between applicants
43they need to look for someone who's broken the mould and can think for themselves.
44Instead, people making these decisions often use a range of psychological tests
45to see if a person is a problem solver, or will do as they're told.
46I'm not convinced these qualities are actually the most important.
47So, do you think being a good team player is overrated?
48No, it's not overrated.
49You do need to learn the rules and learn them fast.
50No individual can get around this if you're working in an organization.
51So how should managers deal with this?
52Rewards.
53When an individual demonstrates the behaviour the organisation expects,
54some kind of incentive can be given.
55What's important here is that this happens right at the beginning
56so new recruits learn the rules of the system immediately.
57Also the incentive should be something the individual actually wants,
58and this isn't always just money.
59To come back to you, Philip.
60You were saying that recognition of good performers is essential.
61What else should managers be looking for?
62Well, managing people means you not only have an understanding of your employees,
63but you also recognise the culture of the organization.
64In fact, for some organizations, creativity and individuality may be the last thing they want to see during working hours!
65Very true.
66Yes, but managing people isn't as easy as it looks.
67For example, change in the workplace can be quite tricky,
68especially if there's a need to increase profit.
69And at times like these,
70managers may have to give priority to profit rather than individual staff needs.
71Yes, and that creates difficult situations for people.
72Yes but what's important is that managers are able to deal with quite high levels of personal stress.
73During times of change,
74they should be thinking not only about the strain on their staff
75but take time out to think of themselves.
76Absolutely.
77So what are the implications...