IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS
Project management: The importance of soft skills in the development of managerial effectiveness
Desirae Linton
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
Desirae Linton
By submitting this assignment, I attest this submission represents my own work, and not that of another student, scholar, or internet source. I understand I am responsible for knowing and correctly utilizing referencing and bibliographical guidelines.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Email: dclinton11@liberty.edu
Abstract
To develop managerial effectiveness, one has to develop some various soft skills which are suitable for the employees. Employees often find it hard to understand the areas that they are not good at; therefore, a manager needs to develop a technique by which he can communicate to the employees in such a way that they will not feel underrated by the managers. Managing people needs a comprehensive skill that can help the manager to cooperate with various kinds of people who have different habits. Therefore, it is a requirement that a manager trains himself on how to deal with different kinds of people in a much softer way that can soothe everyone. The skills might be gained from the people who already have managerial experience or even the religious books, which can give guidance on how to deal with employees and how important it is to apply soft skills when managing people.
The expectation of all the employees or a certain group of people from a manager is the best treatment regardless of the conditions in question. Hence, the best treatment from a manager only comes in if the manager employs basic skills which are soft for the people. Such skills include; being a team player, solving problems, be a creative thinker, being flexible, and be considerate. That is the reason why managers need to know the importance of soft skills in the development of managerial effectiveness.
Annotated Bibliography
Bak, O., Jordan, C., & Midgley, J. (2019). The adoption of soft skills in supply chain and understanding their current role in supply chain management skills agenda: A UK perspective. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 26(3), 1063-1079. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-05-2018-0118
The purpose of the study was to highlight the need for soft skills in the managerial fields of the supply chain. This study employed two phases of study methods; one being the questionnaire which was supplied to the employees of the supply chain in the United Kingdom, and the other one being interviewed. From the study, the findings were that soft skills are more important than other management. The strength of the study was that it uses two different methods of study to collect information about the research topic. However, the study had some limitations because the results were too general with respect to the settings of the context. In addition, the article did not provide full information about the topic since it did not indicate the significance of soft skills in managing supply chains and how to acquire soft skills. The argument of the author had not been supported by any evidence like an example of an incident of a photo revealing the importance of soft skills in managerial development. From the study, the author was perceived not to be biased or have any form of emotional influence during the research because the choice of words that he used was neutral. The study had left some gaps which were suggested for further research in the future, which left room for adjustments about the findings. The author had not defined any terms throughout the study, and the references support the points of the author. The challenge faced during the study was the delay of results from the respondents, but the results came out as they were expected.
Dean, D. J. (2017). Integration of Christian values in the workplace. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 9(1), 35-55. https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jbpl/vol9no1/Vol9Iss1_JBPL_3_Dean.pdf
The aim of this study was to find out the influence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, employees engagement, the spirituality of the organization, and job satisfaction. The method used in the study was the use of questionnaires which were targeting the employees of the organization. From the study, the findings showed that spiritual values were involved in job satisfaction, employees’ commitment, employees’ engagement, and the spirituality of the organization. The strength of the research was that there was a controlled study for all the variables such as age and gender. The article provided enough information for the argument of the author, who was not biased in any way. The study was supported by evidence from the research results. The references supported the author’s argument because the results clearly indicated that Christian values had contributed to the positive results in the organization. The results that were projected in the study were the same as the expected results because the research was positive; Christian values had an impact on managerial roles and influence on the employees.
Ibrahim, R., Boerhannoeddin, A., & Bakare, K. K. (2017). The effect of soft skills and training methodology on employee performance. European Journal of Training and Development, 41(4), 388-406. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-08-2016-0066
The study aimed at determining the effects of soft skills that were adopted on the employee’s performance. The method of research used was the distribution of questionnaires to the employees. The findings showed that soft skills gained and the training were the predictors of the performance of employees. The article did not provide enough information on the study since it did not indicate the strengths or the weakness plus the challenges faced during the study. The author had not indicated any specific area that could be discussed later. The author was not emotionally influenced, or he did not indicate any kind of biases in the study. It was not stated whether the article was research or a report. The sample size used was large as 260 trainees were selected among 810 employees, which was having a 95 percent confidence level. The factors that were affecting the results in the study were the availability of the employees who were used as the respondents and the willingness of the respondents to take part in the study.
Wesley, S. C., Jackson, V. P., & Lee, M. (2017). The perceived importance of core soft skills between retailing and tourism management students, faculty, and businesses. Employee Relations, 39(1), 79-99. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2016-0051
The purpose of this study was to determine how students valued soft skills and equate them with the tourism and retailing faculty. The method used during the study was a survey. The findings from the study showed differences in the significance of soft skills among the three groups. The shortcomings during the study were the differences in the sizes of the samples. The strength of the study was its ability to project the evidence in the comparison of the significance of the soft skills among the three groups that were involved in the study. The author of the article was not biased in his arguments since he stated the information according to the facts. There were no suggestions for further discussions on certain topics or areas. The references supported the author’s points, but he did not state whether it was a report or research. The study sample was very large because the author involved three groups of samples that were not even from the same physical location. The results of the study could have been affected by the wide range of the study sample used by the author.
Zuo, J., Zhao, X., Nguyen, Q. B. M., Ma, T., & Gao, S. (2018). Soft skills of construction project management professionals and project success factors: A structural equation model. Engineering, Construction, and Architectural Management, 25(3), 425-442. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2016-0016
The aim of this study was to identify and understand the effect of soft skills on the success of the project. The method of study was a questionnaire that was supplied to the project workers, and the data were analyzed by partial least square structural analysis. The key findings from the study revealed that soft skills from the managers of the project were a significant factor in the success of the project. The strength of the study was the use of a data analysis technique, while the limitations were the geographical disturbances and reluctance of respondents. The article gave enough information about the topic since it explained the information relating the soft skills with the success of the project. The author’s argument had been supported by evidence due to the success of the project. The author had not been influenced by emotions or been biased during the study as the language used was objective. No specific area had been left blank for further research. The references supported the points of the author since the soft skills had been successfully applied in a project. The results of the study were positive as expected from the objectives of the stated.
Conclusion
Soft skills have a positive impact on managerial skills; hence, managers ought to adopt the system of employing soft skills in their organizations. Excellent interpersonal skills in project management directly impacts the outcome of the project and are necessary in order to achieve positive results from employees. From the above researches, it is evident that soft skills are very important in the development of effective managerial skills.
