Reaction Paper on Pygmalion in Management by Suzette B. Viñas

Being in a managerial position is hardly a walk in the park. One has to portray various roles such as being a role model, a mentor, a pacifier, a negotiator, and so many others. In so many cases, they say that a good manager should be someone who has rose from the ranks so that he/she can easily relate with his colleagues and subordinates. But the article on Pygmalion in Management talks about a very essential characteristic a manager or a leader should possess that is: to be able to inspire others to work hard and meet expectations.

I believe that is where standards are for so that employees can measure their performance vis-à-vis a benchmark to which managers gauge their improvements. The experiments presented in the article suggest that employees tend to work hard to meet managers expectation thus managers are duty bound to give out expectations which are both realistic and achievable. Honesty is still a very important key element to foster manager-employee relationship. If a manager gives out instructions to deliver an output yet the employee does not have what it takes to perform then both parties would end up being frustrated. Hence, managers and employees should communicate well as to what can be done given the set of skills and capabilities and what needs to be augmented so that expectations have to be met.

I have been a manager with subordinates twice my age. I agree with Livingston’s statement that it is really way better to train the young ones compared to those who have been in the organization for quite some time. But it is also undeniable that you need this people for their wisdom and experience. At the end of the day, it is a manager’s duty to form managers out of subordinates may it be from different generations. One way of doing it successfully is to keep them motivated, assign challenging tasks and develop an attitude of initiative and due diligence. And the best part is having the opportunity of giving them appreciation and a pat on the back for a job well done. As stones take time to become diamonds, so as people need time and proper guidance to bring out the diamonds in them.