Managing Organizations
Managing Organizations
MGT701, 2015
Assessment Task 3: Case Study Analysis
Goal:The goal of this assessment is to encourage the student to incorporate multiple course concepts in an applied way.
Product: Report.
Format: Case study analysis.
Length: 3000 words
Due Date: Monday week 14 (2 November) at 5:00 p.m.
This assignment can be completed individually or as part of a group (Max 4 members)
Criteria:
Possible Marks Grade
1. Analysis of behavioural and organisational issues exemplified in the case studies.
70
2. Application of appropriate conceptual frameworks/models/ theories/examples supported by scholarly references.
100
3. Quality of argument in support and development of recommendations.
100
4. Specific and actionable recommendations (minimum six) for changes that address the issues identified.
80
5. Quality of report presentation including clarity of expression, professionalism of layout and formatting, grammar and spelling.
50
Total
400
Case Study Overview
After a recent re-structure three business units that operate in a large government organisation have been merged. The departments previously operated independently and now will report to you (your team) replacing the previous Group Manager. The three areas merged are:
⢠Facilities Management (30 staff)
⢠Acquisitions (45 staff), and
⢠Transport services (22 staff) have been merged.
The new group (FAT) is structured as part of the Corporate Services Area of the organisation. The FAT group collectively has an important role in supporting the entire Organisation to achieve its strategic goals and vision.
You have recently reviewed a consultantâs report that was commissioned due to significant conflict that exists between the department managers. The conflict is particularly negative between the Facilities and Acquisitions managers. The conflict has become so significant these managers no longer speak to each other and both have received counselling and have made complaints about each other to Senior Management and Human Resources. The transport services manager is also challenging and there is no love-loss among this management team.
The Management Team:
The general orientation of the leadership team is to have a tendency to emphasise task outcomes rather than peopleâs well-being. This can lead to stress and decisions based on status rather than expertise. There was evidence during the interviews that several Managers and Staff presented stress related symptoms and emotional reactions to the interview process. In general the team are described as:
⢠Dogmatic, rigid and abrupt
⢠Runs things by themselves instead of collaborating with others
⢠De-emphasis of team emotion
⢠Blaming others for mistakes
⢠Cynical
⢠Not allowing for mistakes
Also present in the leadership team was a style that described people who subordinate themselves to the organisation but in the process, end up creating stress for themselves and allowing the organisation to stagnate. The cost to the organisation and its teams is often the ability to learn and adapt to change. Specific behaviours that depict this orientation include:
⢠Evasive and leaving decisions to others
⢠Conforming; thinking rules are more important than ideas
⢠Agreeing with everyone
⢠Avoidance in dealing with difficult situations and conflict
Dave â Group Supervisor you are replacing (reported to Andrew the Area Supervisor who reports to the CEO of the organisation).
Dave is described as a manager known to start things and not follow them through. This manager does not deal with major issues in a timely fashion and he seems to be highly reactive to external clients to maintain âfaceâ. An implication of this is a tendency to accept work and then pile that on to already potentially overworked department Managers.
It appears that this manager had limited âleadershipâ credibility, except in a few isolated cases, both inside the team and around the Organisation. It appears this has occurred due to a perception of a lack of substantive engagement with staff in the Group and a general politically orientated management style that involves subjectivity and personalities ahead of objectivity and performance. It was a common perception that this style has led to the Group Manager âplaying favouritesâ and operates with âdouble standardsâ. It was suggesting that Dave may change his behaviours dependent on who he is working with. It was also a common perception that his decisions may lack objectivity.
Alana â Supervisor Facilities:
Evidence suggests that Alana has a range of positive leadership behaviours/qualities including a consistent focus on high standards. In general, the staff of the area was positive in their orientation towards this manager and felt that she had made significant positive impacts in the section. They described her as âa very focused personâ, âvery encouragingâ, and having an âopen door approachâ. They said she âprovides feedback in a diplomatic wayâ, âactively supported peopleâ and âchallenges people to do their bestâ. On the other hand, there was evidence to indicate that this Manager can be overly âaggressiveâ that can lead to an overemphasis on the task at the expense of people issues within the team. It was apparent that this manager has been impacted significantly by the breakdown of communication in the FAT leadership group is displaying high levels of stress.
Diana â Supervisor Acquisitions:
This manager was described as a âmicromanagerâ who was ânot consultative enoughâ on several occasions. It was identified that she has an overly autocratic leadership style and at times could be highly aggressive with staff, colleagues and internal customers. While she has high standards of delivery, it appears that she attempts to control the work flow too closely. It was felt that this manager does âtoo much firefightingâ and there was evidence of a controlling style that may be frustrating for some members of her team. It was also suggested that many tasks given to staff are disjointed leading to a lack of understanding of the âbig pictureâ. It is highly likely that this manager (or section) has too much responsibility or difficulties with delegation and staff motivation. It was suggested she is âextremely busyâ and âbeing pulled in too many directionsâ. It was also regularly suggested that this manager is âchallenging to deal withâ and showed an âinflexibleâ style.
Peter â Supervisor Transport Services:
This manager has been promoted relatively quickly through the organisation and may not have been provided with appropriate training to support his continued promotion. He appears overtly stressed and there was evidence of ongoing emotional outbursts. He was described as âhaving good days and bad daysâ, and can âget pretty emotionalâ. It appears his passion for the role may be communicated inappropriately in some instances and that he experiences significant frustration with many areas of the position. This manager also is known as having an Aggressive Styles described as being in the high to very high range.
It appears as if this manager has few formal skills in managing people and received limited training in areas associated with leadership and performance management. He has received very little support or encouragement for him to do well from the previous group leader and this is likely to be extremely frustrating given that his area has been identified as having pockets of difficult staff behaviours which are non-responsive. It appears, like the other managers he has very limited power to performance manage under-performing staff.
The Culture
It was often suggested that that âthe FAT group are heavily constrained by bureaucracyâ, âred tapeâ and âpoor group leadershipâ. Further, there was a general criticism of the area that a âone-size fits allâ approach was detrimental to many operating areas. A further theme noted that communication from the group was often convoluted and could be a lot better.
In terms of service delivery the interviewees were highly critical of some areas due to poor processes and high levels of inefficiency. This criticism was directed predominately at Acquisitions. Transport was also criticised but to a lesser degree. Facilities were generally described in very positive terms regarding their service delivery.
While there were relatively few commonalities between the areas of the FAT Group there was an overarching view that this organisation was a âgood place to workâ, with âgood peopleâ. It was suggested that there was appropriate âflexibilityâ and a generally positive âwork life balanceâ. The participants described the Organisation as a âfamily awareâ environment. It was also regularly noted that âitâs a good environmentâ that is âmostly flexible in terms of working hoursâ and there is âappropriate job securityâ. In general, it was thought that âthere are lots of opportunitiesâ and âtraining available to help you improve at your jobâ. In general, the members of each area spoke highly of other staff members in the Group and it was thought that most people âare doing the best they canâ.
However, many participants suggested they âwere under a significant amount of pressure from workload and poor resourcingâ and that people were âunder the pumpâ. Many staff indicated that they are âjust keeping their heads above waterâ and they were often âin damage controlâ. Further, it appeared that many areas felt that they are under staffed and that âwhile the workload is growing, the manpower is shrinkingâ and âwork just continues to build upâ. Finally, it was felt that âthings are regularly dropped on staff at the last minuteâ with no explanation of what is happening. This has led to a situation where staff feels they are âalways on the defensiveâ and creates a âhighly stressful environmentâ.
The apparent âhyper-busyâ nature of some areas appears to be having important implications. It was a view of the participants that many problems are amplified because clients of their areas do not do the appropriate diligence or âalways want it done nowâ. The staff of many areas felt that their clients are âtoo demandingâ and âdo not take responsibilityâ. There was also a theme that this is caused to a degree because Management at the Group-Level and above was overly âpamperedâ and they use their position to drive outcomes outside of the normal processes. This refers to some staff in organisation using their position in their hierarchy and personal connections to receive special treatment. Related to this was the view that the ârules of the gameâ were consistently changing and staff was not informed.
Other descriptions of the culture in the areas of FAT included âpretty negativeâ, âhas been deterioratingâ, âpeople often sulkâ, and there is âno fun at workâ from some participants.There are problems of motivation across all sections and a distinct lack of teamwork within and between departments. It was also suggested that many staff are âhighly resistant to changeâ. In general staff appeared very busy and there was evidence of some staff being âhighly stressedâ, âdefensiveâ and âemotionalâ. Claims of significant inequity in workloads and concerns about job security in some areas where staff are kept on month-to-month acquisitions for inappropriately long periods of time were also flagged. Finally, there was evidence of high levels of micro-management and a general lack of trust from the staff regarding management intentions.
There was a theme of defensiveness and high levels of caution from some members of the area. Staff appeared to be concerned about being identified in the review and the ramifications of saying the wrong thing. This may be a function of a wider Organisational culture and may not necessarily be specific to the FAT area.Finally, there is generally a relatively weak customer service culture across the FAT group.
Departmental Descriptions:
The following outlines views of external clients who use the services of the different areas of FAT.
Facilities:
Participants had few concerns regarding the service provided by Facilities. There were almost no criticisms of the area and the section received significant consistent praise from the interview participants. They were described as having âgreat serviceâ, the âbeacon of FATâ, âresponsiveâ, âproactiveâ, and a âdream to deal withâ.
Transport Services:
There were a range of views when describing the services provided by the Transport area. There were many positive examples of outstanding customer service in the area of help with car servicing and handling. It was suggested that âTransport Services works really wellâ and that it has âgenerally picked up a lotâ, and âthey are lifting their gameâ.On the other hand, there were suggestions that there is a ânegativeâ culture in the area and that parts of the area are very frustrating to deal with. There were specific criticisms, from different participants, directed at some staff members in the area who were described as ânastyâ, ârudeâ, âarrogantâ and âunresponsiveâ. Some participants described areas of Transport Services as âterribleâ and âhighly inefficientâ, and they described their experience with Transport Services as being âunwelcomeâ and a sense of being âattackedâ over issues when equipment was returned. There was a view that some key people in the area were highly âdefensiveâ and âavoided responsibilityâ and this led to a âlot of finger pointingâ rather than focusing on fixing the problem.
Acquisitions:
Acquisitions received a great deal of criticism from internal clients. In general, people described many of their processes as problematic. Interviewees described the group as âpedanticâ, âhighly risk adverseâ and that it was often âexhausting dealing with Acquisitionsâ. One of the main concerns of the participants was associated with a lack of clarity around operating processes employed by Acquisitions. It was suggested that poor communication about the progress of requests was a significant issue. Claims that Acquisitions were not responsive and that their service is generally very poor were common. Specific comments included âleft in the darkâ, âthe process is long and highly bureaucraticâ, âthe area is highly ineffectiveâ, âthere is a lot of confusionâ and they are âtoo detailed with the documentationâ.It was felt that Acquisitions are very poor at communicating with their clients and âthey are trying to tell us what to doâ. It is felt that clients have to âjump through hoopsâ and there is very little appreciation for the need (of other areas) to be responsive to the Organisationâs external customers.
The Assignment:
Drawings on concepts (particularly Module 3, 4, and 5) from Managing Organisations (MGT701) develop a report that outlines a strategy to turn the FAT group around in 12 to 18 months. The two KPIs you will be measured against in 12 months are staff engagement and customer satisfaction â currently both are below internal and external benchmarks. To improve the group you will need to address issues of staff motivation, teamwork as well as change management.
Managing Organizations Task 3
Plan:
1. Background on Case Studyâ 200 words
2. Analysis of Managerial Team
Alana â Supervisor Facilitiesâ200
Good and bad about each
Organizational Cultureâ 200
3. Theory
Relate back to the analysis
Provide a theory and then use peter as the example for instance
Team workâapprox. 250
Staff engagement â approx. 250
(zone of engagement)
Inter-department communicationâ approx. 250
4. Recommendations
Alana and Organizational Culture â 2 recommendations each â 200
Reference List