ABSTRACT

This chapter moves away from the assumption that the world of work is reasonably stable and that the role of the manager is to lead in the definition and achievement of objectives through people. This chapter introduces some potentially problematic issues for managers in which their assumptions of predictability and control may need to be modified and they may need to respond to situations rather than creating them. There are three main clusters of problem areas: one dealing with diversity within the workforce; one dealing with the dynamics of organizational life such as power, conflict and stress; and the third dealing with the institutionalization of issues such as grievances and discipline.