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Micromanagement: An Employers’ Perspective

October 2019

Authors:

Namrata Mishra

The ICFAI University, Jharkhand

Raj Kumar

The ICFAI University, Jharkhand

Dr Rajiv Mishra

Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India

Abstract — Leadership is a crucial component of any organization for its smooth and successful functioning. There are various types of leadership styles being followed in organizations, and Micromanagement leadership is one among them, wherein managers closely monitor and controls their subordinates. Although micromanagement is often perceived as negative leadership style, it can sometimes even benefit the employees and the organization. Effects of micromanagement leadership on employees are widely studied earlier, but there are no studies on employers’ perspective for practicing micromanagement. This study also analyses the perception of Micromanagers on the reasons and benefits of micromanaging.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 10, OCTOBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

2949

www.ijstr.org

Micromanagement: An Employers’ Perspective

Namrata Mishra, Dr. M. Rajkumar, Dr. Rajiv Mishra

Abstract — Leadership is a crucial component of any organization for its smooth and successful functioning. There are various types of

leadership styles being followed in organizations, and Micromanagement leadership is one among them, wherein managers closely

monitor and controls their subordinates. Although micromanagement is often perceived as negative leadership style, it can sometimes

even benefit the employees and the organization. Effects of micromanagement leadership on employees are widely studied earlier, but

there are no studies on employers’ perspective for practicing micromanagement. This study also analyses the perception of

Micromanagers on the reasons and benefits of micromanaging.

Index Terms — Employers’ Perspective, Leadership Style, Micromanagement, Micromanagement Leaders.

——————————  ——————————

1 INTRODUCTION

ue to increased participation of the organization in global

markets, the business environment is constantly

changing. These globalized markets have put the

demand on the increasing role of leaders in today’s

organization. The emerging global business has aspired the

companies to become world-class, as in [1]. They believe that

leaders can play an important role in making an organization

effective and successful. Today’s organizations are putting

more pressure on employing efficient leaders due to growing

competition and strategic development. Leadership is

considered as one of the most important factors of any

organization, whose function is not only to enhance the output

but also to develop strategies to compete with others. The goal

of today’s organization is to focus on the improvement of the

performance of the employees. Therefore, academicians and

practitioners are emphasising more on good leadership styles

in order to make efficient employees, who can face the

competitive environment of today, as in [2]. Leaders are found

to exhibit inefficient leadership styles, which compels

employees to leave the organization, as in [3].

Micromanagement is one among the various forms of

leadership, which is beneficial in some short-term

circumstances like handling new employees, enhancing the

efficiency level of underperforming employees, managing

high-risk areas and when there is no one to take charge of any

work. However, the long-term association with

micromanagement can have a huge impact on costs. It can

result in high turnover, low employee morale, decreased

productivity and customer dissatisfaction. It is considered

that managers, who are too much worried for daily

operational matters are missing the broader prospect, and are

unable to plan for expansion of department and organization.

Wright [4] suggested that the degree of micromanaging and

the amount of sovereignty that the team members of the

micromanaged-team own are negatively correlated. Managers,

in that case, must know as how to differentiate between fixing

the goals and executing each detail for achieving that goal.

Effective Micromanagement facilitates managers to get

involved actively as also to leave the matter to the team

members. A good leader is able to detect some bigger

problems of the future by focussing on minute details like -

budget preparation, reviewing of problems and analysis of

critical reports. Key tasks requires monitoring for better

performance; however, this monitoring sometimes takes the

form of micromanagement if the manager starts becoming too

much concerned and interfering.

Therefore, this paper is an attempt to analyse the

perception of employers for reasons of micromanaging and its

impact on fellow members. If Micromanagement leadership is

perceived as negative by many researchers, it carves out a way

to know why leaders micromanage, and how & to what extent

they micromanage, and what are the effects of

micromanagement on fellow-employees, as in [5].

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Sidhu [6] represented micromanagement as managing

things with attention to details and excessive control. The

online dictionary Encarta has defined it as giving attention to

minute details in management and taking control of a person

or situation. It is generally believed that Micromanagement

has a negative impact on employees. White [4] defines

micromanager as ‚the bothersome boss who second-guesses

every decision a subordinate makes‛. Knight [7] describes

micromanager as ‚a boss who lasers in on details, prefers to be

cc’ed on emails, and is rarely satisfied with your teams’ work‛.

Micromanagement leadership is very much similar to

autocratic leadership as the entire power and decision-making

authority lies with the leaders itself, as in [8]. The staff

opinions are not considered before making any decisions and

therefore they are affected and are unable to provide any

inputs. Another study shows that employees who felt that

they are being observed constantly perform at a lower level, as

in [9]. Micromanagement has also been linked to narcissism,

which prompts leaders to use their powers excessively and

abuses employees in order to meet their own ends, as in [10].

Micromanagers are accused of being control freak, suspicious,

————————————————

 Namrata Mishra, Research Scholar, ICFAI University, Jharkhand, India.

E-mail: namrata_0586bvp@yahoo.co.in

 Dr. M. Rajkumar, Assistant Professor, ICFAI University Jharkhand, India.

E-mail: dr.rajmkumar@gmail.com

 Dr. Rajiv Mishra, Associate Professor (Hospitality & Tourism),

Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal Academy

of Higher Education, Manipal, India.

E-mail: rajiv.mishra@manipal.edu

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incompetent and their psychopathic personalities are always a

hindrance to organizational effectiveness. Chambers [11]

pointed out that micromanagement becomes a hindrance in

the growth and the development of the people and entire

team, as every minute details need to pass through leader’s

recommendation, which prohibits team-members to think and

decide of their own. Micromanagers monitor all types of work

in the same manner without prioritizing the work, as in [12],

which creates a negative impact on the people. But

micromanagement is sometimes very effective in supporting

and guiding inexperienced team.

3 CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH MICROMANAGEMENT

IS ESSENTIAL

Though micromanagement leadership style is considered

as a negative way of handling people and has earned a bad

reputation, it can yield better positive outcomes if it is

exhibited in a right manner in right time, as in [13]. It can be

adopted when the assignment is new and complicated, as in

[14]; employee is new to a task, as in [15]; organizations is in

crisis and problems, as in [6]; lesser productivity, as in [16];

decisions on critical tasks affecting the business, as in [17];

employees are underperforming, as in [16]; resolving the

problems among teams and groups, as in [18]; fixing up

smaller issues before it becomes big, as in [19]; changing its

strategy, taking a new endeavour, when projects are delayed,

serious complaints arising from the customers and poor

results, as in [20].

4 CAUSES OF MICROMANAGEMENT

Leaders in various aspects exhibit micromanagement

leadership style. In words of Chambers [11], some of the

individual causes which were found to be positive where the

leader's perception about himself as more capable when

compared to others, familiarity towards a crisis, self-reliance,

and capability. Major causes that make the leader/manager to

exhibit micromanagement leadership were reported to be

negative. Some of the organizational related factors, which

makes a leader to micromanage, were insecurity about their

positions, as in [21]. Organizational culture, as in [22];

Organizational structure and hierarchy, as in [23], [24]; Fear of

negative outcomes, as in [24]; Lack of trust on the subordinates

capability, as in [22]; Attributes of subordinates, as in [25] and

Feeling powerless, as in [26].

Chambers [11] pointed on the root cause for

micromanaging as fear, confusion, and comfort of the leader.

Chambers also highlighted some of the factors contributing

towards fear and in turn towards micromanagement as lack of

confidence, the potential failure of others, being ignored, the

threat of other competence, and loss of recognition. Chambers

[11] also depicted the reason behind the manager's

micromanagement style as their lack of patience, emotionally

insecure and increased pressure. Walters [27] reported some of

the reason for micromanaging as fear in the leader, elements of

ego, lack of prioritization, failure in the subordinate in

providing meaningful feedback on the job assigned and

confused environment. Artale [28] stated the reasons for

micromanaging as fear in terms of becoming disconnected,

failure in the job and getting back to the older job.

Berchelmann [29] highlighted the underlying reason behind a

supervisor’s micromanaging leadership as perceived need.

The other reasons stated were Perceived or real lack of

competency, trust, and overdeveloped personal ego. Fear from

a different perspective as fear of control and fear from a

healthy ego were also represented as a cause for

micromanagement, as in [30]. Crossby [31] highlighted the

causes as confusion in the lead, as in [32] between

accountability and micromanagement, feeling uncertain about

a project and intent to feel like an expert and lack of control.

5 BENEFITS PERCEIVED BY THE LEADER BY ADOPTING

MICROMANAGEMENT STYLE

There are various benefits which the leaders or managers

feel when they micromanage. As cited by Dhingra [33], leaders

who practice such style of leadership are actually controlling

the output and not their fellow members. The micromanagers

feel that they know their team members in a better way than

the others who does not micromanage. Barishansky [34]

clarifies that by micromanaging, the leaders are preparing

their subordinates to handle bigger problems in the future.

Micromanagers suggests that by interfering and monitoring

the smallest of detail they are able to predict the future and

avoid any negative consequences. Isla [35] pointed out that

micromanagement is the best leadership style as it guides and

leads its team-members in new or unknown projects and thus

facilitates its employees to move in a new direction. He also

argued that although many perceive micromanagement as a

negative leadership the micromanagers are always found to be

trustworthy and strong people. By micromanaging the

employees, it gives a platform for them to accept their

feedback and correct their mistakes. Another benefit as

highlighted by micromanagers are about employees who

need constant guidance and monitoring and they are able to

perform better under these circumstances only. Since

micromanagers are known to guide and advise their

subordinates on a continuous basis, it helps the employees to

improve themselves and to perform better. Thus,

Micromanagement is considered to bring out some of the best

talents, as in [35]. Micromanagers have also accepted that they

are motivated to practice such style as it has helped them to

avoid any negative outcomes whether it be in terms of

failures, poor performances or customer satisfaction, as in [4].

6 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study facilitates to interpret the employers’ perspective

of micromanagement, and explicates the employees and

organizations to know the benefits associated with

micromanagement. It develops a better understanding among

employers and employees, as micromanagement is sometimes

considered as positive style of leadership. The study also

distinguishes between leaders who simply micromanage and

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who micromanages because of demanded situation. This

study can become useful in further analysis of

micromanagement and its impact on employees’ performance.

7 CONCLUSION

Chambers [11] stated that Micromanagement lowers down

the growth and development of employees who are being

micromanaged. It also obstructs the individuality of team and

its growth because of continuous interference of leader. As per

Bobinski [36] Micromanagement certainly helps in upgrading

the skills and abilities of employees and helps them to perform

better, if the subordinates are not able to perform properly

without nurturing. Micromanagers may be referred as

perfectionists, as they are very structured and organized

leaders.

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Bilgi çağıyla birlikte örgüt iklimi ve yöneticilerin çalışanlara olan yaklaşımları, çalışanların sahip oldukları potansiyeli ortaya çıkarmaları açısından son derece önemli hale gelmiştir. Değer gören, yaptıkları işte inisiyatif alan, kararlara katılan ve işle ilgili bilgi sahibi olan çalışanlar örgütsel amaçların gerçekleştirilmesine daha fazla katkı sağlamaktadırlar. Son yıllarda çalışanların yetersiz bilgiyle sadece talimatların yerine getirilmesini isteyen mantar yönetim anlayışı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu yaklaşım, çalışanların mantarlar gibi karanlıkta bırakılarak sadece işleriyle ilgilenmelerini, yöneticilerin kararlarının sorgulamamalarını savunan ve çalışanlarla kasıtlı olarak bilgi ve tecrübe paylaşımından kaçınan otokratik bir yönetim tarzını ifade etmektedir. Çalışanlardan bilgi saklamak, bazı durumlarda olumlu sonuçlara; bazı durumlarda ise olumsuz sonuçlara neden olabilmektedir. Bu sebeple yöneticilerin işletme özel sırlarını ve mahremiyetini korumak için stratejik bilgileri kiminle paylaşacağını öğrenmesi gerekmektedir. Yöneticilerin art niyetli olarak yüksek ego ve abartılı gurur içerisinde bilgiyi çalışanlarından saklamasının arkasında karanlık liderlik özelliklerinin yansımaları olduğu söylenebilir. Ayrıca çalışanların işletmeyle ilgili yetersiz bilgiye sahip olması, çalışanların örgüte karşı olumlu tutum ve davranışlarını azaltmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, yöneticilerin işletmeyle ilgili bilgileri çalışanlardan art niyetli olarak saklamalarının ya da işletmeyle ilgili tüm bilgilerin çalışanlarla paylaşmalarının yanlış bir yaklaşım olduğu ifade edilebilir.

Chat GPT Lecciones para el Desarrollo y la Innovación Empresarial

Book

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Jun 2023

Juan C. Correa

Detrimental Implication of Micromanagement

Article

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Jun 2022

The concept of micromanagement might appear suitable to managers, but it does more harm to employees than good. This study examined the detrimental implication of micromanagement on employee performance by obtaining data from one hundred and eighty-six non-teaching staff of a public school in Nigeria. A statistical package called RStudio was used to analyze the data. The study discovered that micromanagement harms employee productivity, retention, and satisfaction. The study suggests that managers should ensure employees have maximum autonomy when assigned tasks.

Micromanaging: An Incurable Management Trait?

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Jan 2016

Patrick Sanaghan

Micromanagers create a lot of pain for others, we suggest see strategies on how to work for them

Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations

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Jan 2009

Naresh Khatri

The cultural milieu has a profound influence on employee behaviour in the organisations. In an increasingly diverse workplace and in a more globalised business world, managers, to be effective, need to appreciate behavioural implications of cultural values that employees, organisations, and societies hold. One of the most cited frameworks to understand behaviour of people across the national cultures was proposed by Hofstede (2001). In this paper, we take a look at the behavioural implications in the organisations of power distance (status differences), which is one of the five cultural dimensions in Hofstede's framework. Specifically. we explore the impact of power distance orientation on employee participation, nature of job descriptions, organisational communication and decision-making, discipline and control, deference to senior employees, management development, and organisational structuring and adaptation. We conclude that: (1) employees in a high power distance context are unwilling to participate in decisions and are content with their managers making decisions and giving them instructions, which they follow passively. (2) jobs are narrowly and tightly specified, giving the employees limited discretion. (3) communication takes place vertical downwards, with no or little horizontal communication. Overall communication is anemic. A large communication gap exists between superiors and their subordinates because it is hard for the subordinates to air their views. (4) power distance gives managers unlimited power and control over subordinates. Employees, in turn, have an unquestioning, submissive attitude. (5) older and senior employees get respect from junior employees not because of former's competence but because of age and long tenure in the organisation. (6) in a high power distance culture, decisions are made by a few at the top autocratically Further, because of little resistance from lower level employees, decisions are made and implemented faster in a high power distance organisation. However, because of lack of input from lower level employees as well as poor communication and information sharing, quality of decisions is poorer in a high power distance organisation. (7) high power distance organisations are prone to unethical behaviour. This is because top managers have not to justify or defend their decisions to lower level employees or to the larger organisation. Unethical behaviour gets covered up or goes undetected. And (8), in a high power distance organisation, managers tend to micromanage and even minor decisions go to the top. Thus, higher level managers are inundated with routine decisions.

Choking Under Pressure: Multiple Routes to Skill Failure

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Full-text available

May 2011

Poor performance in pressure-filled situations, or "choking under pressure," has largely been explained by two different classes of theories. Distraction theories propose that choking occurs because attention needed to perform the task at hand is coopted by task-irrelevant thoughts and worries. Explicit monitoring theories claim essentially the opposite-that pressure prompts individuals to attend closely to skill processes in a manner that disrupts execution. Although both mechanisms have been shown to occur in certain contexts, it is unclear when distraction and/or explicit monitoring will ultimately impact performance. The authors propose that aspects of the pressure situation itself can lead to distraction and/or explicit monitoring, differentially harming skills that rely more or less on working memory and attentional control. In Experiments 1-2, it is shown that pressure that induces distraction (involving performance-contingent outcomes) hurts rule-based category learning heavily dependent on attentional control. In contrast, pressure that induces explicit monitoring of performance (monitoring by others) hurts information-integration category learning thought to run best without heavy demands on working memory and attentional control. In Experiment 3, the authors leverage knowledge about how specific types of pressure impact performance to design interventions to eliminate choking. Finally, in Experiment 4, the selective effects of monitoring-pressure are replicated in a different procedural-based task: the serial reaction time task. Skill failure (and success) depends in part on how the performance environment influences attention and the extent to which skill execution depends on explicit attentional control.

Transformational leadership in business organisations ascending to world-class status: A case study in the petrochemical industry

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Oct 2003

One of the most important prerequisites for economic competitiveness in the global economy, is the delivery of a unique product or service. In order to achieve this level of competitiveness, transformational rather than transactional leadership should be a core element in organisation’s ascent to ‘world-class’ status. Inline with other researching results, the most important finding of this study, which was conducted in a petrochemical industry, is that transformational leadership is not up to standard. Opsomming Een van die belangrikste voorvereistes vir ekonomiese kompetering in die globale ekonomie, is die lewering van ‘n unieke produk of diens. ‘n Voorvereiste wat slegs kan realiseer indien transformasionele leierskap eerder as transaksionele leierskap ‘n kernboublok in organisasies se strewe na ‘wêreldklas’ status vorm. Inlyn met die bevindinge van verskeie ander studies, is die vernaamste bevinding van ook die studie wat in ‘n petrochemiese bedryf gedoen is, dat transformasionele leierskap nog nie op standaard is nie.

Micromanagement: A costly management style.

Article

Nov 2002
Radiol Manag

Micromanagement can be advantageous in certain short-term situations, such as while training new employees, increasing productivity of underperforming employees, controlling high-risk issues, and when there can be no question of who is in charge. However, the costs associated with long-term micromanagement can be exorbitant. Symptoms such as low employee morale, high staff turnover, reduction of productivity and patient dissatisfaction can be associated with micromanagement. The negative impacts are so intense that it is labeled among the top three reasons employees resign. Ultimately, micromanagement leads to decreased growth potential in a department. Managers who put too much emphasis on daily operational details can miss the broader picture and fail to plan for departmental expansion. Eventually, many micromanagers find themselves at considerable risk of burnout. Changing behavior associated with micromanagement can be a lengthy and difficult process. As with most problems, the first step is to realize that there is behavior that needs to be changed and to understand how it negatively impacts the department. Conducting a self-assessment of one's leadership style can be advantageous in this process. The true task is to find a balance between effectively performing daily obligations and strategically planning for the future. This task typically involves proper delegation of duties, and that in itself is a difficult challenge. Proper delegation of tasks may be the primary key to combating micromanaging behavior, however, some other suggestions include: 1. Develop a vision of what the department will look like in the future. 2. Hire people with the right skills for the job. 3. Develop a policy and procedures manual. 4. Develop solid lines of communication between managers and subordinates. 5. Expect some employee errors. Mistakes are an important process in the learning experience and should be viewed as a training expense. Employees who are allowed to be self-directed will be motivated to be more productive. Staffing issues such as low morale and high turnover will decrease; patient satisfaction will increase simultaneously.

Using Micro Management Techniques to Overcome Problems in Group Assignments

Conference Paper

Jan 2003

Group assignments are becoming increasingly popular in education, including Information Technology education. This paper explores problems with the use of group assignments and offers a new strategy designed to keep the good features of group assignments while removing the negative. Many students in Information Technology believe they should have group assignments because they will be working in groups in industry. Staff sometimes justify the use of group assignments as preparing students for team work in industry. However, we suggest that many problems with group assignments can be overcome by making group assignments more closely replicate conditions in industry. We propose a three-phase strategy using management techniques on a small scale.

Economic crisis, accountability, and the state’s coercive assault on public education in the USA

Article

Sep 2013

Pauline Lipman

This article examines education accountability as a mechanism of coercive neoliberal urban governance in the USA. Drawing on Gramscian theory of the ‘integral state’ as the dialectical synthesis of coercion, consent, and resistance, the author argues that as the crisis gives the state less room to win consent, it intensifies coercion as a strategy of governance. The author discusses three aspects of coercive state responses to the crisis in relation to education: (1) cannibalizing public education as a site of capital accumulation; (2) imposition of state austerity regimes and selective abandonment of education as a mechanism of social reproduction and legitimation in African-American communities that have become zones of disposability; and (3) governance by exclusion of African-American and Latino communities through school closings, state takeovers of elected governance bodies, and disenfranchisement. Systems of accountability are integral to this process as they make schools legible for the market, mark specific schools and school districts as pathological and in need of authoritarian governance, and justify minimalist schools in areas of urban disposability. This paper concludes with the potential of emergent resistance to dominant neoliberal education policy and argues that breaking with the framework of accountability and testing is critical to a counter-hegemonic alternative.

Strategies for avoiding the micro management trap

Article

Jun 2000
MANAGE DECIS

Robert F. Wright

In the highly competitive business world of today, many managers have a tendency to micro manage their field sales employees. These managers have good intentions of trying to help the representatives accomplish the various tasks and directives that have been set by upper management. However, this type of approach often results in a lack of productivity. Managers and representatives become focused on tasks and often lose sight of the big picture. This article presents four key strategies to help sales managers avoid the micro management trap and to increase productivity of the field sales representative.

Profiling the Leadership of Project Managers

Article

Apr 2009

Leadership is a concept rooted in human relationships, personal experience, and introspection. Teaching leadership, therefore, is best done by placing students in simulated situations where each individual can recognize within a short time the systemic consequences of personal behaviors and actions affecting others. A 52-action-card game was developed for this purpose. The game reveals a “player's” current management or leadership preferences and also elicits questioning and team discussion of the consequences of alternative actions. The cards provide a choice of actions that are plausible in responding to a deeply troubled construction project. Unbeknown to the players, each suite of action cards represents a different style. The game consists of selecting and recording 10 action cards, which, first in the opinion of the individual and then by consensus after vigorous team discussion and negotiation, will improve the troubled construction project. The individually selected cards are plotted on a four quadrant spider graph, profiling the students' leadership and management preferences, both at the beginning and at the end of the course or seminar. By selecting again 10 preferred action cards at the conclusion of a session, any shift in preferences can be assessed.

Jan 2013
J MANAGE
366-391

R R Kehoe
P M Wright

R.R. Kehoe and P.M. Wright, ‚The Impact of High-Performance Human Resource Practices on Employees' Attitudes and Behaviors,‛ J. Manage., vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 366-391, 2013.

Micromanagement: An Employers’ Perspective

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