The Subordinate's Predicament
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The Subordinate’s Predicaments
DO
No. 79507
Eric H. Neilsen and Jan Gypen
T NO PY CO
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 1979
The Subordinate’s Predicaments
Eric H. Neilsen and Jan Gypen
How can subordinates improve relations with their superiors? And how can superiors help their subordinates feel comfortable in what is often a tense relationship? These questions have usually been dealt with only indirectly in management circles. Yet the relationship is so threatening to many subordinates that they react in ways that are damaging to themselves and their organizations. Drawing heavily on the work of psychologist Erik Erikson, the authors present dilemmas that commonly confront the surbodinate. They point out that being aware of these dilemmas can make them more manageable and then offer advice to superiors to aid subordinates in handling such situations. Mr. Neilsen is associate professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the School of Management of Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of numerous articles on the organization and development of groups and a coauthor (with Dexter C. Dunphy, David Fraser, and Ricardo Zuniga) of The Primary Group: A Handbook for Analysis and Field Research (AppletonCentury-Crofts, 1972). Mr. Gypen is a Ph.D. candidate in organizational behavior at Case Western Reserve University. Before starting his research there, he served as a consultant at the Management Development Center at the University of Leuven, Belgium.
the superior’s. Ignored is the fact that most managers will always be working under someone else and that being an effective subordinate is just as important a professional task as being an effective superior. But being a subordinate means dealing with special tensions that often result in debilitating selfprotective responses, as the following examples illustrate: A senior manager of a major retailing company returns to the home office after spending 15 years developing new divisions all...
DO
No. 79507
Eric H. Neilsen and Jan Gypen
T NO PY CO
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 1979
The Subordinate’s Predicaments
Eric H. Neilsen and Jan Gypen
How can subordinates improve relations with their superiors? And how can superiors help their subordinates feel comfortable in what is often a tense relationship? These questions have usually been dealt with only indirectly in management circles. Yet the relationship is so threatening to many subordinates that they react in ways that are damaging to themselves and their organizations. Drawing heavily on the work of psychologist Erik Erikson, the authors present dilemmas that commonly confront the surbodinate. They point out that being aware of these dilemmas can make them more manageable and then offer advice to superiors to aid subordinates in handling such situations. Mr. Neilsen is associate professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the School of Management of Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of numerous articles on the organization and development of groups and a coauthor (with Dexter C. Dunphy, David Fraser, and Ricardo Zuniga) of The Primary Group: A Handbook for Analysis and Field Research (AppletonCentury-Crofts, 1972). Mr. Gypen is a Ph.D. candidate in organizational behavior at Case Western Reserve University. Before starting his research there, he served as a consultant at the Management Development Center at the University of Leuven, Belgium.
the superior’s. Ignored is the fact that most managers will always be working under someone else and that being an effective subordinate is just as important a professional task as being an effective superior. But being a subordinate means dealing with special tensions that often result in debilitating selfprotective responses, as the following examples illustrate: A senior manager of a major retailing company returns to the home office after spending 15 years developing new divisions all...