Management Assignment: A Literature Review on Managing Low-Class Employees
Question
Task: Your task is to write a well-researched management assignment representing a literature review on the topic “leadership and manipulation techniques in management for Low-class employees”.
Answer
Introduction
Herein management assignment, the reviewed literature aims to illustrate the existing evidence on the impact of manipulation techniques on low-class employees and the company's overall productivity. There is a difference between leadership and manipulation applied by middle-level management to enhance the productivity of lower-level employees. The reviewed literature reflects mainly on the difference between the leadership and manipulation techniques implemented to encourage and motivate the lower-level employees to work better.
The reviewed literature also highlights the impact of manipulative techniques on low-class employees or the lower level employees and the motivational factors related to manipulation techniques. In this case, low-class employees means the workers who belongs to lower-level employees in an organization who are paid least such as workers, labours or workers in manufacturing site, worklesr in customer serrvice and they job role differs from one organization to other.
Leadership techniques for motivating employees
Effective leadership plays a crucial role in enhancing employee motivation and encourage them to work better. According to Fang et al. (2019), employees' innovative behavior at the workplace is a significant thing towards enhanced productivity. Innovative behavior is mainly the process of generating new ideas and their implementation. Effective leadership depends on the adequate leadership style implemented to enhance employee creativity (Fang et al., 2019). Among all the leadership styles, the transformational leadership style is most suitable to stimulate the employees' innovative behavior. Transformational leadership is most significant leadership style that enhances the motivation of lower-level employees. Transformational leadership plays crucial role enhancing the creativity and productivity of the employees who works at lower-level in an organization(Risambessy et al., 2012). It also motivates the employees to perform better and work according to the organizational goals. The employee works more innovatively with a high engagement level when they feel that leaders praise their efforts.
Along with employees' innovative behavior, effective leadership plays a crucial role in employee performance and organizational commitment of employees. The study of Eliyana, Ma’arif, and Muzakki (2019) supports the previous study and reflects that effective leadership is crucial to enhance employee performance. Transformational leadership is an effective leadership style to enhance organizational commitment, work performance, and acts as a simultaneous factor for the employees' job satisfaction (Eliyana, Ma’arif, and Muzakki, 2019). Transformational leadership influences the work performance of the employees partly or as a whole positively. Certain disadvantages of transformational leadership such as employee burnout, disruption at work and feedback loop can lead towards demotivation for the employees. The disadvantages of the leadership need to be tackled properly in order to handle the negative impact of transformational leadership on employee motivation. However, the transformational leadership style needs to be appropriately implemented to positively impact work satisfaction (Eliyana, Ma’arif, and Muzakki, 2019). Along with employees' work satisfaction, transformational leadership also works positively on organizational commitment and the work performance of employees.
Manipulation techniques to motivate employees
The application of manipulation tools in the workplace is another way to motivate employees and accelerate their performance. The study of Bogdanovi? (2016) provides the idea of ideal manipulation that illustrates ideal manipulation is instrumentalization, in which the manipulated person thinks he is following his own goals. Still, in actuality, he is following the goal of the manipulator. Manipulation techniques are mainly used to influence the behavior of others. Human mind manipulation is used as a general management strategy in many workplaces to keep their employees motivated in order to fulfill organizational objectives (Bogdanovi?, 2016). Different types of manipulation techniques are used to motivate employees, such as indirect, direct motivational manipulations, and organizational manipulation techniques. Entities such as manufacturing, retailing and those are involved directly with customer service, apply direct motivational manipulations by scaring the employees with loss or fine, and such type of manipulation is a form of coercion.
In indirect motivational manipulation, there are severe methods implemented by organizations such as a disposal, problem creation, diverting attention, and many more. The indirect motivational manipulation is not wholly counted as a part of manipulation technique as these acts as consequences of employees’ performance. In the case of organizational manipulation techniques, the manipulation techniques are used to enhance work motivation, job engagement of the employees, and enhance the entity's overall productivity. Organizational manipulation techniques are mostly applied in workplaces, and there are many ways to implement the manipulation for the employees(Risambessy et al., 2012).
One of the most common manipulation techniques is a material reward to boost the productivity of the employees. Material reward works better to enhance the productivity of the employees compared to other techniques. Material reward creates an environment; employees feel motivated to work more to achieve the material reward. Comparison with other employees' performance is another manipulation technique in which the performance of an employee is compared with the performance of other employees to show how they are working better than the individual (Bogdanovi?, 2016). Comparing an individual with their peer's performance, a manager manipulates them to work better to get on track.
The reflection of Kazak (2017) adds another idea about manipulation techniques in workplaces. Positive manipulation is purposeful behavior that a manager acts to meet the need of the organization and individual goals. Positive manipulation involves the employees' personality characteristics, adequate selection of the approach, and proper implementation of the approach to motivating employees (Kazak, 2017). Manipulation is two types unconscious and conscious. In the unconscious type, the employees do not have any idea about whether their managers are manipulating or not, and in conscious manipulation, the employees have a close idea about the manipulation implemented by their entity.
Difference between the leadership and manipulation techniques to manipulate employees
There is a huge difference between the implementation of leadership and manipulation for employee motivation. Leadership is about influencing the employees, whereas manipulation is about controlling the employees to achieve the organizational objectives. While implementing manipulation technique means the leader does not have any faith in the employees and believes that they cannot work well without a single push of monitoring, direction, and oversight (Risambessy et al., 2012). However, the leadership perspective is totally different from manipulation, and it makes the leader believe in the independence of action that is based on reasonable and pre-defined objectives.
In the case of positive manipulation, it works differently than the other manipulation techniques. Positive manipulation is based on skillful handling or control of employee performance (Zivaljevic, 2011). In the case of positive manipulation, the process involves motivating the workforce to achieve organizational goals by the realization of organizational goals. The process of this manipulation requires skillful handling to keep a balance between the job satisfaction of the employees and the organizational goals (Risambessy et al., 2012). Positive manipulation is not the form of manipulation technique in which the employees are forced to do things using the organization's power. Positive manipulation theory reflects that a manager is responsible for the practical implementation of manipulation and effectively communicates the messages between the upper and lower levels of management. Positive manipulation is more efficient compared to another type of manipulation and benefits both parties.
In the case of monetary-based motivation, it may enhance the performance of an employee a little higher. Still, in the case of positive manipulation, the employee will try to enhance the performance as much as possible because of fear of losing the employment. Sometimes, positive manipulation works more effectively compared to the only implementation of leadership technique or monetary motivation. While implementing the positive manipulation or leadership technique to motivate the employees, the managers need to know about the key driving factors that encourage employee motivation at the workplace(Zivaljevic, 2011). In that case, certain motivational theories can be followed: McGregor's X and Y theory, Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory, and Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory. Each of the theories defines a different way of employee motivation.
For example, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory focuses on two key motivational aspects and hygiene factors, whereas Maslow's theory focuses on five factors of employee motivation. Positive manipulation can be used with the support of motivational theories as certain factors are relatable to the appropriateness of positive manipulation(Zivaljevic, 2011). The lower level needs of Maslow's Theory works as strong motivators while implementing positive manipulation. Using lower-level needs as the base of positive manipulation will work effectively to enhance employee performance, as the individuals will try to fulfill their lower-level needs. On the other hand, the factors listed under hygiene factors of Herzberg’s theory, such as job placement and salary, can be useful for positive manipulation.
Leadership traits that can be considered manipulative
Manipulation is the practice of using indirect tactics and methods to control behavior, emotions, and relationships. It has a significant role to play in the field of leadership and organizational behavior. The organizations are lead by leaders who sometimes practice manipulation as a tool to control the lower-level employees. Manipulative leadership can be described as the leadership style that the leaders use when they try to achieve organizational goals by exploiting the weaknesses of the firms' lower-level employees. The employees' requirements, needs, and aspirations are used as tools for the achievement of organizational objectives (Avantika Monnappa, 2015). High-level leaders in industries manipulate the lower-level employees in convincing them to do things they would otherwise have not attempted to do. There are many ways a leader can manipulate, like encouraging, coaching, motivating as well as threatening employees to achieve what needs to be done at their will. It has both negative and positive aspects that are instrumental to employee attitude and behavior. It is considered a form of corporate exploitation used as a tool for some leaders to achieve what they want.
However, there are some traits and leadership qualities that help them in becoming manipulative in the workplace. They can either be pushy and friendly to the employees and subordinates or be verbally and emotionally abusive (Wang, Liu, and Liu, 2021). They generally have no personal interest in the lives and wellbeing of the low-level employees and can go to any extent for getting what they want to achieve. They can also be pretentious in attitude and nature, which is very hard to understand for other people. They operate in ways that can often cause the truth to be distorted and disoriented and cause confusion and disorder in the workplace (Xenikou, 2017).
There are primarily four traits of manipulative leadership that can affect the organization and its low-level employees.
a) Manipulative leaders often use the power of position and coercion to obtain the outcomes. They generally confuse the employees so that they can make some mistakes in the workplace, which leads to taking undue advantage by the leaders (Belschak, Den Hartog, and De Hoogh, 2018). They tend to possess a false notion that manipulative traits and features will help them obtain success in the workplace.
b) Manipulative leaders usually possess no value or respect for the employees they try to manipulate. They often take the help of their positional power and title to impose their views on the employees. It results from the leaders' personalized self-interest that they indulge in manipulation at the workplace (Tommi Auvinen et al., 2013). It is considered to rise from low self-respect and emotional intelligence. The lacking of emotional intelligence is noticed in the behaviors of manipulative leaders.
c) A common trait and characteristic of a manipulative leader is the poor ability of listening skills. It can also be absent or nonexistent for some extremely manipulative leaders. A manipulative leader is mainly driven by selfish values and usually has an aversion to listening to other employees' views or opinions, especially the lower-level employees. The lack of listening skills as a leader can prove disastrous to any organization and have a detrimental impact on the organizations' skilled employees.
d) Transparency and openness in communications are mostly absent in the cases of manipulative leaders (Chandra, 2020). This difference between the leadership and manipulation technique can result in the generation of many inflexible or rigid definitions, which can prove harmful for the organization. This action will ultimately force other low-level employees into agreeing with their decisions by the enforcement of manipulation and coercion by the leaders. This event also allows the leaders to impose their views and agenda on other employees with creating no room for any resistance. Manipulation is not considered a sound leadership technique as it can hamper long-term leadership success and organizational goals.
Impact of manipulation on low-class employees
The manipulation of employees' feelings, especially the lower-level employees such as workers, labors or employees who works for customer service in the organizations, is not considered an ethical practice according to organizational behavior. It can cause a long-lasting impact on the employees' psychology, and lower-level employees are the primary targets of manipulations within the organizations. Manipulation can have insidious consequences on the mental well-being of the employees. It is mainly related to the emotional abuse of low-level employees the middle-level employees in the organization. It is primarily considered harmful because it is associated with the physical, emotional, and physical health of the people being manipulated (Futner, Maran, and Rauthman, 2017). The urge to control the environment and surroundings is one prime reason leaders need to use their lower subordinates and employees. According to behavioral and psychology experts, it often originates from deep-rooted anxiety and fear and is not considered a healthy behavior.
Engaging in workplace manipulation is harmful to lower-level employees and for the manipulator as it prevents his connection with the inner self and conscience. It can also have many consequences and ill effects on the manipulative leader (Myung and Choi, 2017). In the workplace, the lower-level employees such as workers and labors are subject to manipulation by the middle and higher-level employees. It can considerably affect the mental health and wellbeing of the employees and lower their self-esteem and morale (Myung and Choi, 2017). Overall, it can be said that manipulation can lead to poor mental health outcomes for lower-level employees in companies. It is also thought to affect the individual employee performance because manipulations often lead to distracting thoughts and loss of concentration and focus in victims. There are various mental and other consequences of manipulations like depressive thoughts and anxiety development (Gkorezis, Petridou, and Krouklidou, 2015). Lower-level employees can also develop unhealthy coping patterns as they can constantly try to please the manipulative person or leader. A behavioral change may also be noticed in the victims of manipulation as they can lie about their feelings and hide their mental state from everyone.
Negative aspects can also grow due to manipulation on behalf of the employees, like putting other people's needs before their own and finding it difficult to trust other people. Therefore, it can be seen that being victims of chronic manipulations in the organizations have many ill effects on the mentality of the lower-level employees (Gkorezis, Petridou, and Krouklidou, 2015). In extreme cases of regular workplace manipulation, it can become persuasive enough to cause a loss of perception of reality for the victims. Low-level employees can also lose interest in their work, and it can affect their social life status. Their average performance at the workplace can significantly decrease, and work optimization can be disrupted to an extent. According to Gkorezis, Petridou, and Krouklidou (2015), some techniques can help in reversing being manipulated at the workplace. Addressing the situation can take stock of the problems that arise when the victims are subjected to manipulations. Disengaging oneself and being confident in one's beliefs can help to mitigate the effects of being manipulated. Staying focused on the employees' roles and responsibilities can help in dealing with manipulation in organizations.
The motivation behind manipulation techniques
The absolute power of power dynamics governs manipulation in the workplace. The act of convincing and influencing others to adopt beliefs and behaviors that match the manipulator's interests is the immediate implementation of manipulation in organizations. As per Lidow (2019),the main motive behind using manipulation in the workplace is the possession of personality disorders like narcissistic complex. People also engage in manipulation out of fear and anxiety, especially the fear of abandonment. There are specific motivations that ignite the use of manipulation techniques in organizations. Leaders often need to advance their agenda and purposes at any cost. To achieve this, leaders indulge in such practices. Manipulation can instill feelings of power and superiority in leaders, and they also want a requirement to feel in a commanding position with total control over themselves (Good therapy, 2013). The narcissistic complex dominates the more significant part of the leaders with manipulative behavior. Most of the time, the lower-level employees are victimized by the manipulations of company leaders. Leaders often desire to gain a feeling of power over others and raise their conception of self-esteem, resulting in a negative motivation.
Frustration, boredom, and anxiety are also considered a primary motivating cause of exerting manipulative behavior on the lower level staff. Manipulators often view it as a game more than hurting other employees. There are many different possible motivations for manipulation that need explanation, like not identifying with underlying emotions, commitment phobia, and subsequent rationalization (Guarino 2016). A lack of self-control over impetuous anti-social behavior can also be attributed to manipulation techniques' motivation. The power of position and coercion can be attributed to increased self-confidence and pride (Hyde, Grieve and Scott, 2016).. Egoism is considered one of the foremost causes of manipulative behavior. The leaders often get feelings of superiority on the work front and like to display their dominant behavior. It leads to the generation of thoughts regarding authority in behavior and attitude towards junior subordinates. Loss of disrespect towards the employees can result from increased self-awareness and superiority (Hyde, Grieve and Scott, 2016).
Leaders usually engage people to follow them; in other words, they are the source of inspiration for other employees and coworkers. Emotional is generally used to attract manipulation and is an effective tool for manipulation. According to Kislik (2017), the building of faith and trust in the leaders demonstrates the amount of respect that an employee has for the leader. The leader breaks the employees' confidence by using manipulative techniques, and most of the time, the employees are not conscious about the manipulations. Partiality and bias attitudes towards the lower-level employees are some of the most common causes of leaders' manipulative behavior. These negative aspects are integral to the motivation behind manipulations in the workplace (Kislik, 2017). Psychological problems related to the leaders are also considered the cause for using manipulation techniques. Various forms of disorder like borderline personality and narcissistic personality can be attributed to manipulation techniques in companies and organizations.
Therefore, the overall literature review displays the various aspects of manipulation and its uses in the leadership circle. The main factors for initiation of the manipulative techniques are instrumental in affecting the behavior and performance of the low-level employees and can significantly impact their psychology (Shahzad et al., 2012). The main reason leaders use manipulation as a tool for controlling and dominating lower-level employees is self-satisfaction.The various leadership traits explained in this literature review act as the primary causes of impacting employee and leadership performance in the long run. Using these techniques on the lower-level employees can have a disastrous effect on their mental and physical wellbeing and can consequently affect their overall work performance psychology (Shahzad et al., 2012).. Fear and anxiety are contributory factors in leaders' manipulative behavior and are instrumental in determining the future predictability and profitability of organizations. Various physical conditions and disorders can be attributed to the motivation behind the leaders' manipulation techniques in dominating the lower-level employees in multiple organizations across the globe.
References
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