Managerial Issues In An Organization: A Case Study Analysis

Issues affecting the organization

Question:

Discuss about the Analysis Of Managerial Issues In Organisation.

The analysis of the case study shows that there are certain managerial issues that affect the working of the organisation. The issues include:

Selection: The first problem that the organisation had was the selection of Tim. Without a proper background check of the work that he had done, Shannon had given Tom the job over dinner and due to a prior relationship that they had.

Biases: Frank had sent an email to Shannon over Tom’s performance due to the failure to meet the standards of the organisation. The fact that Frank’s indifferent attitude towards Tom led to such an email indicates that Frank is being biased and wanting to fire Tom.

Motivation: According to Schermerhorn et al. (2014), motivation plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of the employees. In this case, the attitude and mistrust shown by Frank over Tom had a de-motivating influence on the individual.

Leadership: Leadership is another factor that is required for growth in an organisation (Chemers 2014). However, due to the indifferent attitude of Frank on Tom discussions regarding the meetings and open communication were not done.

Unprofessional behaviour: Every organisation has the policy to treat its employees with respect. However, the indifferent attitude showed by Frank over the appointment of Tom indicates unprofessional behaviour as efforts were made to get rid of Tom from the organisation.

The above-mentioned issues can have a serious negative impact on the quality of work of the organisation. The fact that sudden selection is done without proper procedure indicates that the organisation may not have a proper system for selection and recruitment (Cascio 2018). This can lead to huge losses for the organisation as the selected employee may not be effective for maintaining the quality and reputation of the organisation. The biased attitude shown by Frank over Tom is indicative of the violation of organisational policies.

As stated by Marchington et al. (2018) performance appraisal needs to be done without any type of biases. Apart from this, it has been seen that Tom was not motivated enough by the organisation. This may lead to employee turnover as without motivation employees cannot work in an organisation. Leadership also need to be provided so that the employees can be guided to continue the good work. Lack of leadership may lead the employees to provide inefficient services to the organisation (Antonakis and House 2014).

Impact of improper selection process on the organization

The lack of professional attitude shown by Frank over Tom can deplete the organisation of its resources. The fact that Tom had done well in his previous position as sales executive speaks highly of the talents of Tom. Hence, getting rid of such an individual due to personal issues can cause a huge problem for the organisation. The fact that Frank has been putting pressure on Tom to achieve certain improbable goals indicates his dislike for Tom. Such problems between two members in an organisation can bring about the downfall of the organisation, as both the individuals hold the important position in the organisation.  

Despite the indifferent attitude showed by Frank on Tom, the urgency of the project that he had assigned Tom, need to be considered. With a low-performance appraisal, score and the fact that Tom had been pressurised to work on Frank's project instead of the kiosk project is a cause of de-motivation for Frank. In this regard, it can be said that certain theories related to motivation can be used so that Tom can complete the work on time.

One such motivational theory is Herzberg’s dual factor theory of motivation. This theory suggests that human beings are driven by two factors, the hygiene and the motivating factor, in order to work efficiently. Job security, proper supervision on the job, policies of the company is some of the factors that if not met can lead an individual to be dissatisfied with the job (Ozguner and Ozguner 2014). Hence, it is necessary for Frank to maintain a proper supervision of the work done by Tom and provide him with the required support necessary for completing the work.

In this regard, it can be said that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be applied to motivate Tom. As stated by Cherry (2014) one of the needs of an individual is the security of a job. Without a proper job, security employees can never be motivated to continue to work in an efficient manner. In the case of Tom, the indifferent attitude of Frank and the emailing of the performance appraisal letter had him insecure about his job. Frank need to reassure him that such is not the case and that Tom can keep his position as well as his job if he completes the project on time.

Hence, it is necessary for Frank to set small goals for improving the performance of Tom. Specific goals can help an individual achieve the target rather than working without goals (Pinard 2014). This can be done by using the goal-theory which states that small goals are required for the success of an organisation. Frank needs to impose the urgency of the project in a lenient manner so that Tom does not feel any added pressure and continue with the project by providing his best efforts.

Importance of adopting unbiased performance appraisal methods

After analysing the performance of the organisation and the role that the individuals play in achieving an organisational target, it is necessary to apply certain human resource theories that can help in improving the efficiency and overall performance. In this regard, it can be said that the immediate issue that can be spotted is the issue related to a selection of employees. According to Sparrow, Brewster and Chung (2016), recruitment and selection are important for the success of an organisation. Without recruiting proper and talented candidates, organisations cannot hope to gain success in the competitive market.

Hence, it is necessary for a candidate to undergo a proper recruitment process that involves various steps such as background check on the eligibility of the job, experience and the skills that are required for gaining success at the job. This is a long process and every individual needs to undertake this process for having a proper selection in the organisation. However, in the case of Tom, such a process was absent ass Tom got the job due to the goodwill of Shannon. This huge human resource issue led to the dislike of Frank, as Tom was a junior person in the organisation in which he worked earlier.

Another important theory that can be applied is the performance management theory. It is to be noted that during performance management, the managers need to be unbiased on any of the employees (Pervin 2015). The employees need to be judged based on the work done during the work period. Personal issues need to be cast aside while conducting such an analysis. This leads to effective judgement of the performance of an employee.

In the case of Tom, this was not the case as Frank had delivered sent the performance managementemail to Shannon based on his dislike for Tom. This is an indication of de-motivation as well as based behaviour regarding a particular employee. The result of the email led to jeopardising the professional career of Tom. Thus, this acted as a de-motivating factor for the individual.

The attitude showed by Frank over Tom led to the rise of leadership issues within the organisation. It has been seen that the refusal to communicate properly with Tom and provide him with the empowerment to make decisions are indicative of the adoption of the autocratic type of leadership. According to Dinh et al. (2014), autocratic leaders take every decision-making powers in their own hands. The employees are not given any liberty to make decisions that can help in the success of the organisation. An autocratic leader dictates the things that they want the employees to do so that the team goals and the organisational goal can be achieved.

In the case of Frank, this type of approach towards Tom can lead to more disappointment for the individual. Frank need to keep in mind that the project in which Tom is working on is important and need to be completed within the deadline provided. Hence, it is necessary for Frank to adopt a more subtle approach and adopt the democratic leadership style to help Tom be motivated in doing his work. According to Northouse (2015), democratic style of leadership acts as a form of a motivational factor for the employees as employees are provided with the opportunity to make their own decisions.

Employees can be involved in the decision-making process and leaders following a democratic style encourage employees to innovate their thoughts. This leads to an improved performance among the employees and the efficiency increases. In the case of Frank, the adoption of this leadership approach can help him to motivate and encourage Tom from completing his work on time. Tom even has the urge to shift his job position to another department that does not involve Frank as a leader. Hence, to prevent such issues it is necessary for Frank to change his style of leadership.

Reference

Antonakis, J. and House, R.J., 2014. Instrumental leadership: Measurement and extension of transformational–transactional leadership theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(4), pp.746-771.

Cascio, W., 2018. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.

Chemers, M., 2014. An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press.

Cherry, K., 2014. Hierarchy of needs. Retrieved Aug, 16, p.2014.

Dinh, J.E., Lord, R.G., Gardner, W.L., Meuser, J.D., Liden, R.C. and Hu, J., 2014. Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), pp.36-62.

Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A., 2016. Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.

Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Ozguner, Z. and Ozguner, M., 2014. A managerial point of view on the relationship between of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's dual factor theory. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(7).

Pervin, L.A. ed., 2015. Goal concepts in personality and social psychology. Psychology Press.

Pinard, L., 2014. goal setting theory. Learning, 4, p.06.

Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Woods, P., Simon, A. and McBarron, E., 2014. Management: Foundations and Applications (2nd Asia-Pacific Edition). John Wiley & Sons.

Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016. Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.