You made a good point in that "Listening is absolutely critical to creating a work environment in which employees will decide whether they will be highly motivated, committed and fully-engaged." That is very true! Manager's behavior is directly related to productivity levels and job satisfaction. According to the Gallup Organization, "the single most important variable in employee productivity and loyalty isn't pay or benefits or workplace environment; it's the quality of the relationship between employees and their direct supervisors" (Schwartz, 2000, para. 2). Professional relationship is the key word here. And employee satisfaction is directly related to the productivity. Personally, I have been in situations where micro-management was used and it was not very effective. The morale of the employees was reduced and productivity, while maintained, was usually because of "have to" not "want to." Any thoughts?

Schwartz, T. (2000). The Greatest Sources of Satisfaction in the Workplace are Internal and Emotional. Life/Work. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/40847/life-work-issue-40.