Managing Computer Professionals

Managing Computer Professionals Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D. George Mason University

Learning Objectives • Understand the supervisory role of managers • Understand the organizing role of managers • Understanding differences between IT workers and other professionals George Mason University

Managers Perform Many Functions George Mason University

You Have Been Managing Computer Professionals Motivate, coordinate and maintain control • Each project has a manager • The idea is to give you first hand experience of management • How have you done as team manager? • Most have run projects as separate contracts with individual team members • Some have brought entire team together • Others have done little coordination but enthusiastically participated as any team member George Mason University

Is Management a Science? • A science that we can learn through review of field and laboratory experiments. • An art that we can learn by doing. Most reasonable people can manage. • An insight that we can get from other successful managers. George Mason University

What Is Management? • Getting tasks done through others. • In small organizations, or for new managers, it is often easier to get the task done yourself. How many of the group managers felt it was easier if they had done the assignment themselves? George Mason University

How Does Management Differ From Clinical Work? • Managerial skills are different from technical, or clinical skills • Helping others accomplish the task as opposed to doing it yourself • Budget and planning as opposed to providing service with existing resources • System thinking as opposed to focusing on individual patients • Any other? George Mason University

Can Management Be Learned? • Good managers were not borne with their skills. • Management is not a personality trait. • The first step in learning management skills is accepting the need for them. George Mason University

Management Is Not Common Sense • The association between management and common sense is so strong as many equate a person "who cannot manage" with a person "who has no common sense and maybe is a little crazy" . • But management and leadership is a learned concept. George Mason University

If you pay someone for doing something they enjoy, they will come to like this task even more? Most people prefer challenging jobs with a great deal of freedom and autonomy Most people are more concerned with the size of their own salary than with the salary of others In bargaining with others it is usually best to start with a moderate offer -- near to the one you desire. In most cases, leaders should stick to their decisions once they have made them, even if it appears they are wrong. What Would Common Sense Tell Us Are the Answers to … George Mason University

The advice is often based on analogies & play on words that can be terribly misleading: “A camel is a horse put together by a committee." The image of camel as a distorted horse may make us believe that committees produce convoluted products. But in truth team work is useful. Organizations can become victims of the latest management fads. When advice is not based on data, organization may go from one guru to another in search of success that eludes them because they are not looking at data on what works. Problem With Common Sense in Management George Mason University

Management Functions • Forecasting • Planning • Organizing • Staffing • Influencing • Controlling • Negotiating • Un-organizing Which onedid you doin your team? George Mason University

Forecasting • Predicting the future is difficult. • One advantage that managers do have in forecasting the future is that they can takes steps to make the anticipated future come about. • Forecasts assume that history repeats itself; That there are lessons to learn from how events have occurred in the past. • Predicting future business operations and functions is by far more important than keeping pace with technology. George Mason University

Different Ways of Planning • Asking people to do as they are told • Parallel organizations • Creating a champion for the idea • Involving large number of employees in the planning process How did youplan fir your teams? George Mason University

Organizing • Managers organize by assigning tasks to various employees • Specialization • Departmentalization • Span of management • Assigning of authority • Assigning of responsibilities • Unity of command • Line and staff assignments • For computer professionals: Networked & remote tasks requires organization of social gatherings, legal contracts, etc. George Mason University

Staffing • Staffing is the process of hiring personnel to work on the task • Staffing also means looking after employees careers • The environment for telecommuting workers is specially difficult • Health insurance • Communication • Education George Mason University

Influencing • Self interest • Pay & benefits • Continued employment • Other • Challenge • Social network • Reminders • Communication • Attribution • Work norms What did you do? George Mason University

Controlling & Negotiating • Managers control budgets, resource allocation, and product quality • Direct control or self control through data • Version control • Fair play George Mason University

Un-organizing • It is seldom realized but one of the functions of a manger is to dismantle organizations. • Often the case with legacy systems. • Rarely, managers need to dismantle the entire organization. • Managers choose or may have to fire employees. • Managers need to continuously improve work processes. George Mason University

Supervision of Remote Workers • Data contradict the myth that office workers have an advantage over home based workers in their access to new training. • Home based professionals are more committed to the work than to the company. • Home based workers are more likely to be women, married and with children. • Judged based on their productivity than based on their effort. George Mason University

Supervision of Remote Workers • Office workers say that their work load is irregular. • Office workers say they are more productive outside the office. • Home based groups were more likely to visit customers. George Mason University

Supervision of Remote Workers • Less than 20% of home workers and more than 80% of office workers say that their work requires daily communication. • Home work is more likely to be organized in smaller self contained activities than office work. • Home based computer programmers assumed more responsibility for cost and time estimates for the job, testing the link among programs. George Mason University

Supervision of Remote Workers • Office based groups seem to put more emphasize on income (pay and promotion) • Home based group seem to emphasize the nature of the work (interesting work, flexible assignments, and keeping up their skills). George Mason University

Are Programmers Different From Clinicians? • Mogg says: “They are probably very task oriented, intelligent, and independent workers. They may lack the interpersonal skills of the average employee.” • Rabeno says: “Programmers are varied.” • Lloyd says: “The most obvious answer is that some are and some aren't.” • Wray says: “Absolutely, Programmers are 100% different.” George Mason University

Are Programmers Different From Clinicians? • On–site and off-site • Challenge, training, customer relation, etc • Working with machines versus people • Uninterrupted work process • Work hours • Language and communication styles • Disdain for hierarchy (cluster organizations) • Power based on shared information versus unique skills George Mason University

Learning Objectives Managers Perform Many Functions Is Management a Science? What Is Management? How Does Management Differ From Clinical Work? Can Management Be Learned? Management Is Not Common Sense Management Functions Forecasting Different Ways of Planning Organizing Staffing Influencing Controlling & Negotiating Un-organizing Supervision of Remote Workers Table of Content George Mason University

Managing Computer Professionals