MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Cognitive rules and culture
bargaining frameworks that we are familiar with. But I have
certainly found post-merger here that there has been no great
reaction against the idea that we should set up a new type of
management structure that emphasises more the management
process. I think there has been a general acceptance that this is
something we ought to be doing. It is not universally the case
but I think that most officials see the sense of it. I mean, clearly
they don't want to be managed on a day to day basis and that's
not our intention. The intention is to provide a framework of rules
within which they can operate. So we're not seeking to, in a
sense, tie them down. (Interviewee A)
Similar experiences are reported from regional level:-
I think one of the things that I noticed is that it is extremely
difficult to manage a group of committed trade union officials
because they see their own self motivation as being what keeps
them going than they do not see that management plays any
role in that. I disagree with that. I think that is something which
you probably would not get elsewhere -- you would probably
have people coming to work for you because they want the
money but here we have people coming because they are
committed to the job they do (Interviewee M)
My experience is that was I have started the process with
people, they have begun to recognise that there is a value in at
least sitting down and talking through what your objectives are,
how we might enhance their capabilities and whatever, and
people find that helpful. It is a struggle to get them to the
meeting in the first place but I think that once they are there
certainly in my experience here, with a number of the officers,
they actually welcome doing it every six months (Interviewee M)
Evidence tends to support the view that the situation is rather more
complex than the stark characterisations in some of the literature would
suggest:-
As a manager myself, I think I have encountered a variety of
different reactions from full time officers that I have been a
manager of. From very much a positive approach to having a
creative, developmental management relationship to maybe
having a rather detached, defensive and individualistic, rather
than directly hostile approach (Interviewee G)
In managerial terms, therefore, there are cultural and cognitive forces
bearing on the roles of PCS managers. This leads to their perceiving
constraints which affect their ability to undertake their roles. We have
seen that training has been commenced, although it has been criticised
as not being experiential enough:-
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