Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Case Analysis
Pertinent Facts of the Case
The Translation Unit of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority is a good example of dysfunctional leadership that has led to immergence of other undesirable factors, which have resulted to a decline in the overall performance of the unit. The major problem observable in the case is bad leadership. The nature of leadership affects the attitudes of employees and also their morale. The Translation Unit manager style of leadership has affected the morale of his subordinates through creating a working environment full of fear, intimidation, and mockery. The unit lacks motivation in every aspect, which is observable through the desire for many employees willing to quit their jobs prior to securing another job. In any unit or department, the supervisor being the knowledgeable should be the mentor of most employees, whereby he or she has role to play in training them on the procedures and policies of the department in order for them to be valuable members of the department and the overall organization. The manager in our case however does the contrary by withholding important information from his subordinates who also ought to familiarize themselves with the procedures of the department. Moreover, the manager seems to be threatened by some employees because he rejects the application of one of the employee where she was requesting for the organization to sponsor her in furthering her studies to the masters’ level. The manager rejected her application since he, the head of the department had only attained a degree, which meant his subordinate would overtake him. This implies that the manager is insecure of his employees’ achievements since their achievements are a step towards promotions.
An Appraisal of the Situation in Relation to Broader Issues Theories, Concepts, and Principles
In relation to the leadership style portrayed in the case, the autocratic leadership style is evident. The autocratic leadership is based on the concept that leaders who consider the dictatorial style to be harsh, opt for the autocratic which is authoritative. This kind of leader is the sole decision maker who does not give others an opportunity to give their opinions and share their ideas (Pride, Hughes and Kapoor 177). Autocratic leader do this in the belief that they are the most qualified and competent and therefore consider their ideas to be more valid. As such, they do not have confidence in the abilities of others and are often critical of their views. Moreover, autocratic leaders are competitive and do not like their subordinates looking more competent and qualified than they do. Additionally, autocratic leaders fail to recognize the abilities of other people and therefore them the opportunity to exhibit and put their skills to work. Some traits portrayed in this kind of leadership are acceptable in the military but not in the normal organizations. This kind of leadership affects morale and leads to resentment between the leader and his subordinates. This is evident in the case since, Mr. Abdullah the manager, considers himself as the best person the unit to make decisions and is constantly seen rejecting the ideas of his subordinates, which he later adopted the ideas and presented them to his boss as his own ideas (TRA 6).
The toxic situation in the Translation unit has destroyed the relationship between the unit leader and the members. The subordinates’ morale is at a critical low level with most of them opting to quit. The morale of employees plays an essential role in the overall success of an organization while low morale may reduce individual productivity impacting the success of the whole organization. In the translation unit, almost all employees’ morale has been strained due to the leadership style of their manager. The morale of an individual is their psychological wellbeing that is determined by their sense of usefulness, confidence, and purpose. Employees’ morale can be uplifted through the motivational principles. Though a hefty pay is a motivational factor, financial reward is not always a strategy that an organization can use to retain its employees. There are other needs within an individual that need to be motivated in order to improve their morale. This include the sense of belonging, recognition, esteem needs, achievement, and opportunities for growth.
For instance, the Herzberg two-factor theory identifies two factors that affect motivation in any work environment. The theory’s two factors include; hygiene factors and satisfiers factors (Davies and Hertig 81). Hygiene factors consist of salary, good supervision, job security and the organizational structure and policies. These factors are not motivators however; they can lead to dissatisfaction if not provided. Motivators or satisfiers on the other hand comprise of responsibility, recognition, and achievement. These factors are considered the greatest contributors to employee motivation and satisfaction. In the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority case, the hygiene factors have been made available by the organization since the organizational policies put in place are able to satisfy an employee such as sponsorship for furthering one’s education. However, the motivator factors are lucking particularly in the Translation unit, which has caused so much dissatisfaction and low morale in the unit.
An assessment of plausible alternative strategies and likely consequences
The main problem in the case is dysfunctional leadership that has led to low morale, disinterest in work and overall low productivity in employees.
Fact and Symptoms
- Lack of involvement in decision making
It is observable that the subordinates are not involved in decision-making since their manager directs them on what to do despite the fact that they are learned and qualified.
- Damage of self esteem
This fact is evidenced by the tendency of employee to fear their boss and doubt their own ability of completing a task. Self-unworthiness is evident with subordinates even failing to do their responsibilities since they have been made to believe that they are not capable.
- Lack of motivation
Motivation is lacking due to lack of responsibilities, achievement, and recognition. This is observable since most employees are not committed to their responsibilities are often do not complete their tasks.
- Fear
The work environment created by the manager is fearful. This symptom is evident when one employee even dreads to go to work and even started having panic attacks (TRA 9).
- Suspicion and mistrust
These facts are observable especially in the manager. The manager seems to mistrust his subordinates, a particular incidence is when one employee requested for leave to attend his daughters burial but the manager made him to bring the death certificate for him to believe. Additionally, two weeks later the employee lost his sister but was not granted permission to attend the burial since the manager considered it a ‘second trick on him’ (TRA 6).
- Lack of engagement
The employees are not engaged and updated with important information concerning the unit and the organization. This was observed when the subordinates were asked in the absence of their leader about the policies and procedures of the unit but none of them since to know. This is a sign that the manager uses available information for his own benefit and does not involve his employees.
- Disinterest with works
This fact is evident since most employees did not perform their duties and hence made one employee to suffer while trying to meet deadlines. This lack of interest is caused by the manager’s failure to follow up on his employees’ progress, which has resulted to laziness and lack of accountability.
- Poor communication
The communication between the manager and his subordinates can be described as very poor. This is because the manger rarely interacts with his subordinates to an extent of going a whole day without realizing whether his subordinates showed up for work. Moreover, when delegating work, the manager’s communication is ineffective since when giving instructions he does it by disclosing less information expecting the employees to read his mind rather than giving clear instructions.
An assessment of plausible alternative strategies and likely consequences
| # | Solutions | Impact | Risk |
| 1 | Alternative 1
Participative leadership |
– Employee involvement in decision making – Improvement in employee commitment – Improves team work and collaboration – Builds self esteem |
– Likely hood of supervisor shunning employees ideas – Risk of competition |
| 2 | Alternative 2
Support from manager |
– Career growth – Improves employee morale – Increase in productivity – Self-belonging feeling – Building employee abilities |
– Likelihood of favoritism – Risk of some employees being ignored
|
| 3 | Alternative 3
Training and Development |
– Employee empowerment – Development of necessary skills – Building employee competence – Psychological satisfaction |
– Employee resignation after gaining more skills for better opportunities |
| 4 | Alternative 4
Social activities |
– Build employee cohesiveness – Build morale – Improve communication |
– Too much of social activities affects work commitment |
Justification of choice of action and strategy
Chosen Alternative: Participative leadership
Action Plan
Participative leadership is implemented through the manager involving the employees in decision-making. This mainly done through a unit holding short meetings to deliberate on key issues that need to be solved where everyone is given a chance to address the issue through offering possible ideas. Moreover, the manager to avoid belittling of ideas should ensure that all ideas presented are analyzed by the members to identify the most viable opinion that is solve the issue. When presenting the ideas to his seniors the manger should give credit to the employees who participated in solving the problem.
Justification:
Through this kind of leadership, teamwork is built since the feeling of belonging is developed among them. Moreover, employees’ decisions making skills are developed through participating in problem solving meetings that enable them to analyze different situations (Pride, Hughes and Kapoor 177). This alternative also builds the commitment of employees since most people become devoted to actions that involve the implementation of decisions that they assisted in making.
Chosen Alternative: Support from Supervisor
Action Plan
The support given by a supervisor plays a major role in the growth of an employee. Support in this case involves receiving mentorship from the manager. Mentorship in a workplace environment is achieved through a manager teaching his or her employees about the procedures, correcting them, delegating challenging tasks to employees, supporting them through their personal issues, enhancing their growth at both work and education wise among other ways.
Justification
Constant support from a manager has a lot of benefits not only to the employee but also to the organization. Through a manager’s support, employees are able to learn and be updates of new techniques and methods in an industry since, managers as heads of departments are in most cases sent to represent an organization in industry and business conferences where they get an opportunity to learn new things. As such, this information should be shared with other employees through teaching them and delegating tasks that will enable them apply the knowledge. Support also applies through a manger enhancing the growth of an employee, which is achieved by giving them opportunities to further their education.
Chosen Alternative: Training and development
Action Plan
Training and development is achieved through identifying the specific needs of employees in order to establish the skills to be nurtured (Goss 63). This is done through employee self-assessment, where the employee identifies areas that they need to be trained and also through employer assessing the needs of the employees through analyzing the industry trends that the employees need to trained on. Training can be either on-job or off-job. On job training is done through daily work routine, field trips, job rotation, peer assistance, forums and conferences. Off-job training is mostly done through classroom training such as professional courses in a college.
Justification
The major benefit associated with training is the development of employees’ skills and abilities (Goss 63). Through training and development employees are empowered and hence their confidence in undertaking particular assignments is built. Moreover, employees’ competence is developed and hence their skills become competitive.
Chosen Alternative: Social Activities
Action Plan
Social activities are those that physically engage employees. They include trips and visits to amusement sites. Social activities may be implemented through taking employees of a specific unit for a trip for relaxation purposes and for change from the usual work environment to another environment that will make them unwind.
Justification
Social activities are rarely conducted in most organizations though they have a great impact on employees. Through these activities, employees’ cohesiveness is built through personal interaction (Vesantham 2). Moreover, teamwork in a unit is enhanced and also communication between employees is built since such activities require much communication.
An analysis of generalizations
As earlier stated, autocratic leadership is ineffective in most work settings, however, the style is applicable when dealing with employees who need to be controlled due to laziness. Moreover, the style is applicable in a military setting since soldiers are taught to obey all instructions given by their superiors and are never given opportunities to speak out their views. Additionally, in an organization with rigid rules and where there exist dangerous conditions, autocratic leadership is acceptable in order to keep employees from harm. In some work place settings, employees may be incompetent and inexperienced and hence a leader has no alternative but to be authoritative since such employees require total oversight to avoid errors and mistakes (Daft 45).
Works Cited
Daft, Richard. The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning, Stamford. 2014. Print.
Davies, Sandi J, and Christopher A. Hertig. Security Supervision and Management: The Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, 2008. Internet resource.
Goss, David. Principles of Human Resource Management. London: Thomson Business Press, 1998. Print.
Pride, W., Hughes,R. and Kapoor,J. Business. Cengage Learning. 2013. Print.
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Case Study. N.d. Print
Vesantham,S. Employee Morale and Employee Retention. International Journal of Management. 2014. Web.