MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Cognitive rules and culture
Other managers confirm their experiences of managers as deriving
from that environment. A functional manager, observing managerial
behaviour, comments:-
I think that the main problem is with the word manager or
management because the trade union negotiator is always
against -- well not always but generally speaking they are
against what the management is saying. If the management
wants to rid themselves of an inadequate member of staff, the
trade union negotiator is there to defend the person. So when it
comes to them being in the role of manager and they have an
inadequate person that they need to do something about, they
are reluctant to take it on. (Interviewee J)
A Senior National Officer confirms from personal experience that
management has a problematic character:-
I think that is true (management being problematic). It is true
because most of us have come through that apprenticeship
route, of being an activist and then being on the National
Executive and then full time officer. (Interviewee B)
Another functional manager identifies what he regards as one of the
consequences of this:-
I mentioned the Masters degree I did a few years ago and I used
a quotation from Alexandra Ouroussof in all the pieces of work
that I did which was that trade union managers were
uncomfortable with the concept of management. They had come
to where they are through opposing management and were very
uncomfortable with it. And what they do is they reward various
things to throw some money at it. So as a consequence I think
people's terms and conditions are generous in comparison to
whatever job you happen to be doing in your environment. That
does not get over the difficult issues of management and how
you manage an organisation (Interviewee E)
So some managers have difficulty adapting to a role in which they are
expected to behave in ways that their ‘opponents’ have behaved
throughout their previous careers. But others’ experiences are not as
direct as that. They feel that they are working in an environment where
their management roles are undervalued – the cognitive rules of the
game are working against them:-
I think it's a fact that you get your Street cred from your
bargaining role rather than from your management role. Some of
the skills you need for bargaining are obviously some of the
skills you need for management but there is a whole other sort
of skill set which is not necessarily there and which is required in
people's roles if they get promoted to a certain point.
(Interviewee G)
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