Under such a concept as subordination at work, we understand the set of rules of business etiquette, the function of which is to establish relationships among employees. This concept denotes the rules of communication with both senior managers and among subordinates. Subordination is associated with respect for authority, the fulfillment of orders, the culture and manifestations of personal initiative, as well as the occupation of a specific niche by each employee.
Who is required to comply with it
It is peculiar not only to subordinates. The duties of any leader imply a similar observance of the principles of business ethics, the issuance of orders that have the correct form, the absence of attempts to humiliate juniors in office and criticize their personal qualities.
There is always a certain order in the matter of subordinating bossy orders to subordinates. At the same time, each employee is required to have an idea of the acceptable forms adopted in this organization, in which management is informed how the work is done. In certain situations, a lower-level employee has the right to appeal against the actions of his immediate superior.
Why work subordination is so important
Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about the topic of business partnership, which allows any employee to become a single member of the team. This ultimately strengthens the corporate culture and helps solve common problems. Partnership function - elaboration of important goals and ways to achieve them. Due to subordination, the situation in the team remains healthy, manifestations of familiarity, conflicts, insults and neglect are excluded.
What is regulated by the rules of subordination? If there are no officially established standards at the enterprise, the workflow may be disorganized. Any employee has the right to information about who is capable (moreover, obliged) to give him the necessary advice, from whom orders should be expected, and whose duty is to obey. If the structure is large enough, you cannot do without clear regulation. In such cases, as a rule, there are prescribed principles for the subordination of some units to others. Documents regulating the principles of subordination - specific orders and instructions, as well as the charter of the organization.
Where is written about her
The service hierarchy is also built according to the principles set forth in specific documents - job descriptions, internal regulations, and collective agreement clauses. They are also contained in the text of the labor agreement concluded between the employer and the employee.
Certain structures (for example, the army) involve the wearing of special insignia in the form of uniforms, etc., but in small companies the main core around which subordination is built in the team is bosses.
Familiarize a new employee with the basic principles of corporate ethics should be directly on hiring. This happens in the process of negotiations about its functionality, official powers and responsibilities.
What is it like
Service relationships can be vertical and horizontal. What is meant? The names speak for themselves.The first (vertical) relations are from top to bottom (boss - subordinate) and from bottom to top (employee - manager). Speaking of them, by default they mean obeying the orders of senior management.
A true boss who adheres to the rules of corporate culture will never tolerate familiarity with those who hold the lowest positions. In order to avoid working troubles, the distance must always be respected, and in a mutually beneficial manner. After all, there are situations of incorrect behavior on the part of employees in relation to the leader. This can be expressed in banter or inappropriate categorical tone.
Similar familiarity goes to workers sideways. Regularly violating the principles of subordination are usually the first candidates for downsizing. For his part, a leader who delves into the personal problems of subordinates, is able to share personal experiences with them, forgiving optionalness and lack of discipline, behaves short-sighted and ultimately loses his authority.
Is the boss always right?
But, of course, the measure is good in everything. Many modern leaders suffer from just the opposite qualities - they are not shy about behaving arrogantly or treating subordinates with undisguised contempt. Of course, all these extremes do not contribute to the improvement of the working environment.
An overly authoritarian style of leadership is accompanied by a reduced level of employee initiative. When there is only a constant stream of commands, orders and orders from the bosses, subordinates automatically cease to be interested in the essence of the production process and are focused only on blind (sometimes formal) execution of instruction points. In the event of emergencies, you do not have to wait for responsibility from them, as well as the right decision, not supported by an order from the management.
A flexible style of interaction with subordinates is much more productive. The leader may well allow himself some deviations from the rules in those situations where listening to an independent point of view is required. It is for such a case that meetings and brainstorming sessions are held when a decision is made by applying joint efforts, and the plan for further operations is optimally worked out.
How to communicate with peers
Horizontal relationships are understood to be those that are characteristic of communication between colleagues of the same level in their own environment. This also includes those that are formed between leaders who are equal in office. This is a subordination between colleagues of the same "weight category". Horizontal relations are built on the principles of partnership and equality. The principles of corporate ethics are based on friendly interactions in the work environment, fair distribution of workload.
Attempts to belittle and constantly pointless criticism of colleagues are unacceptable. Any employee who professes this line of behavior risks irrevocably ruining the relationship in the team. And not every leader will put up with a squabbler in the working environment.
It is no secret that in any team there are sometimes cases of attempts by the employees to shift their own responsibilities onto the shoulders of colleagues, using, for example, friendly relations. But the loafer in the workplace sooner or later is still calculated and punished both in a disciplinary and in a monetary sense.
When the deputy director is out of work
What are the most common mistakes that can be cited as characteristic examples of violations of the principles of subordination? One of them - the most common - giving orders to a subordinate to senior management, bypassing who is the immediate superior of the latter. For example, the shop manager is trying to give instructions to the workers, bypassing the master or foreman.Thus, the authority of the head of the unit can be significantly reduced, and employees cease to take him seriously.
Such an error leads to an imbalance in the manageability of the entire corporate system. The Director should not include in his many duties an additional burden regarding personnel management. The task of monitoring the implementation of his instructions is the work of another employee.
Another danger - that very controlling link (immediate boss or deputy director) sometimes sins with arbitrariness and requires the organization of the work process to your taste. In order to avoid misunderstandings, his powers should be immediately clearly agreed. The danger is that the chief executive may not know all the intricacies of the situation. In the above example, the shop manager instructs the site master only the functionality that is clearly specified and fixed by the service instruction.
Other bugs
The third point - two different people are appointed as executors of the same task. In this case, the workflow can be disoriented, as there is a serious risk of the responsibility being shifted by the performers on each other.
Very often there are cases of appeals to senior management, bypassing the immediate boss. First of all, it is customary to inform the head of the unit about the problem that has arisen.
Inability to prioritize also applies to manifestations of impaired subordination at work. The task of the contractor is to clearly imagine what is planned to be done immediately, and what can be postponed for the next few days.
About rudeness and tactlessness
If you criticize the boss behind him, this behavior not only violates subordination, but is also frankly unethical. Such criticism will sooner or later reach the ears of management. And most of all are at risk for those who are "smart enough" to emphasize the incompetence of the boss in the event of a public conflict. Undermining their own authority, management, as a rule, does not forgive anyone.
Among the most tactless and gross violations of subordination are attempts to criticize not the official, but the personal qualities of employees. Here is the rude tone in the expressed negative assessments of the work done, which in all cases without exception makes a painful impression.
When criticizing an employee or subordinate, it is important to adhere to the desire to improve the work of both him personally and the entire organization. In attempts to discuss behavior, there should not be a tendency to humiliate or demonstrate power.
Sometimes in large and small teams the subordination at work, as well as the ethics of business communication, are completely absent. Small structures, where everyone knows each other well enough, are especially guilty of this. Appeal to "you" is not always appropriate in a business environment, blurring the line between superiors and subordinates, and it is difficult for a young person in a position in such an atmosphere to take leadership in a true light. His motivation for unconditional compliance with instructions is reduced.
What to fear
What are the consequences of non-compliance with subordination at work? All manifestations of familiarity with the authorities, the lack of compliance with his instructions, incorrect criticism, one way or another, affect the business principles of the enterprise and significantly reduce the authority of the leadership. As consequences in such corporations, one can observe a rampant disciplinary action in the form of reprimands, remarks, deprivation of bonuses, etc. Well, dismissal is an extreme measure of reckoning for errors against subordination.