Executive Summary
This study contains a case study report of a finance department, which had issues between the account manager and the employees. The manager brought very many obstacles that it became difficult for the employees to develop and enjoy their job. This further resulted to high employ turnover rate. More employees were being employed but few were managing to work for more than one year. There were communication challenges too. The employees were not ready and willing to approach their leader, yet they could go for help to other leaders. The manager apparently discouraged her staff from approaching her directly. She preferred to use memos all through. Recommendations and implementations of alternative solutions have been included. Among the solutions is to these challenges is to apply the theory by Fredrick Winslow. Winslow’s theory emphasizes the principles of scientific management.
This emphasizes the application of scientific methods. There should be development of science in every element of work. The organization is to train, select and develops employees. This is to work as a tool of encouraging the staff, facilitate in creation of better strategies and development of teamwork. The principles are to encourage the workers and the management in working together to complete a given task. From Hawthorne theory, there is need to increase the productivity of the workers by appreciating their creativity and achievements within the organization. This theory emphasizes the need to learn how to work as a team in meeting the objectives of the organization. Workers are also to increase their innovativeness as an approach of being more efficient and effective. From the case study, Ms. Lee should be discharged off her duties. This will ease the company the cost of entire training and a change of atmosphere. This decision is based on the negative role she has been playing in challenging the workers. Positional training can be done on the workers who need to be promoted. However, there is the alternative of applying the above-mentioned theories in solving this organization’s issues.
Case Study Report
Introduction
This is a cases study report of Bahfen and Associates Company. The company has had financial and accounting challenges. The study analyzes the problems, and weaknesses. From the analysis, the study offers solutions through recommendations. Conclusion is based on the solutions and the way forward.
- Problem Identification and Analysis
The finance manager, Ms Yulya Petrova has realized with great concern grumbling from employees working under the Ms. Yong Lee (Chandler, J. & Bailey, 1983). Apparently, Ms Lee has been overworking her juniors by ensuring that they give the best account records. Because of the inhabitable atmosphere in the work place, Ms Lee’s subordinates have been resigning barely a year after they are appointed. Within six months, six of the employees have left the company. The basic procedures and principles in the accounting department are efficient. However, certain characters of the manager are making their lives unbearable.
In as much as most of them have had many years’ experience on the work and the positions they are holding, Ms Lee keeps on controlling them. She does this by questioning them on the actions they undertake and why they chose the direction they desire. This implies that the boss does not trust her subordinates. Ms. Lee fails in appreciating her staff. Even the staff does excellent work, she fails to thank and praise them. This has been detrimental to the staffs’ morale (Mukhi & Hampton, 1988). In spite of her lack of appreciation, she keeps on pointing out the errors committed by the staff.
In addition to the failures of the accounting manager, the staff is not given room to be creative (Chandler, & Bailey, 1983). This is felt when the staff comes up with initiatives to change and develop and they are not accepted. What Ms. Lee does is to take the proposals submitted to her for change, does some corrections and issues it out to relevant departments and assumes ownerships for the analysis carried out. Ms. Lee is perceived to have little concern over development of the skills. She has also failed in coming up with opportunities for promotion. For instance, several developmental proposals have been brought up. She updates the proposals and owns them up. This has further discouraged the workerss and hence, a high turnover rate in the department (Mukhi, Hampton, & Barnwell, 1983).
According to one employee, she has worked in the same job position for two years, yet that was the training ground for her promotion to the manager of the general accounting. In the position currently held, she was promised that she was to handle the increased duties in the manager’s officer. This was a position created just for her. In the last one year, she has reminded Ms. Lee over her promotion but the boss has arrogantly given her some feedback. The employee is devastated as she fails to know whom to approach with this issue. This is because Ms. Lee has failed to own up and keep the promise. In as much as the employee appreciates her job, she desires to get more responsibilities and control. This desire is because of the treatment she has received from other subsection managers. They keep her waiting when she enquires of some information. This is the same treatment she is accorded when she is to get some work done for accounting operations. She employee feels at loss, as she cannot achieve anything within the set deadline. She has resorted to get a Master’s degree to keep herself busy.
Another employee had different issue. This is his first job after graduation. The job he has found is very different from the rosy advertisement he read and applied for. In nine months, he is regretting for being made to believe that he is going to get the job he desired. According to him, the management painted the desired job but failed to honor the promise. The job is tiring, mind-numbing, and disinteresting. They is no room for creativity, and advancement. Even after coming up with some suggestions, Ms. Lee has failed to honor them and inform the workers of what is expected of them within a given period of time. The workers are therefore mot committed to the roles assigned to them.
Another concern is arising. When other managers in the accounting operations department come to Ms. Petrova for advice, they find it hard to seek the same from Ms. Lee. This obstacle is realized, as Ms. Lee is hard to approach and does not allow the subordinates to talk to her. Information is timely delivered. However, in most cases, the relied information must be interpreted. This is brought about by the technicality and accounting jargon. Instead of explaining to them, Ms. Lee usually communicates back in form of memo, which is also technical. This has further complicated the need for oral communication. In as much they work under the same office, memo is the most common mode of communication. Therefore, discussions are mostly through memos. When Ms. Lee is to orally communicate, she becomes very defensive and refuses to see issues at other perspectives. Hence, the departmental staff avoids direct contact with her. They prefer approaching other departmental heads for advice and recommendations.
- Statement of Major Problems
One main issue needs to be solved in this case. Ms. Lee has not created conducive work environment for growth and creativity. There is a high employee turnover rate. This has been brought about by the inhabitable job atmosphere. The staff has a hard time doing their job with little supervision. They are controlled even in situations where they need to personally shine out. This is felt even with the most experienced head staff. She keeps on supervising them in as much as they need not the supervision. She has failed to trust her staff even in simple exercises. This is a problem that can be solved through training and manager’s consideration of her responsibilities. Ms. Lee, the head of the accounts is giving the staff so many problems. This is seen when the staff desire to grow and develop by coming up with innovative moves for the benefits for the company. Instead of being appreciated, they are scorned and denied off the rights of showing forth. She fails to appreciate the staff and working out their morale by praising them and even promoting the staff. Instead, she keeps on scolding them for simple mistakes they commit. When a staff shows the innovative side, she downsizes it by assuming the role of the producer. The second issue to deal with is the problem of miscommunication. The subordinates have no problem of approaching the finance manager. They however find it hard to approach Ms. Lee for advice. This is because she is hard to talk to and that she does not allow her subordinates to approach her.
3.0 Generation and Evaluation of a Range of Alternative solutions
There are several alternatives in solving the problems at hand. First, there is need to understand the manager’s job description (Nadolny & Ryan, 2015). By understanding her roles, Ms. Lee ought to have worked and behaved better with hr subordinates. She ought to have understood the boundary and excellently achieve the expectations. This is experienced as she went on controlling all her staff disregarding their experience and skills. There was need to trust her staff in the job assigned. In order to understand the roles of the managers, there is need to understand their functions, roles, and skills. Then it is necessary to apply the given skills to the management levels. In the functions of a manager, managers are expected to plan, lead, and control and organize the departments (Steele-Johnson, 2000). The roles include interpersonal, informational and decisional. For manager to be appointed in the position there is need for her to be technical, conceptual and human. In working at the interpersonal roles, the manger ought to have interacted with the staff as the figurehead. She ought to have exercised the characters of a leader and liaise together to work as a team. In communicating and sharing information, the manger is expected to monitor how information is spread, be the main disseminator and lead in speaking out. As an entrepreneur, the manager is expected to make decisions. The manager is also seen as the one with the role of handling disturbances instead of being the cause of disturb within the organization. S/he is supposed to allocate any resource in fairness (Head, 2005). In tough situations, the manager is seen to negotiate for the rest of the team. This can only be achieved if the manager is a good communicator.
There are two categories of management (Jones, 1992). There is the traditional and the contemporary forms of management. In the traditional form of management, the company is mostly stable. It is inflexible as there are rules and conditions, which must be abided by. It is mostly individual oriented with a top-down command approach. Hence, the staff has limited opportunity to exercise control and command of situations. This type of management is homogenous, where there is the normal time for working and closing job. The works station is usually in one locality. This form of management is what Ms. Lee is exercising (Bowey, 2011).
There is need however of changing to the contemporary management. This is what the employees prefer. This form employs a flexible control. The workers are able to do other roles not previously assigned to. They are team oriented and hence meet the demand of the demands of the job within the set deadline. As a team, they can manage to back each other as they understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team members. The members are involvement oriented and practice participative decision-making. Hence, the team cannot rely on a given set of rules and directions. In order to save a situation, they can make rules and inform the management. There is a diverse workforce and there are no time boundaries. Hence, work can be done at anytime and anywhere. This approach is attractive to this company. This approach is attractive as the company is presently employing young and innovative people. They young employees come up with creative ideas and innovations, which would improve the status of the company. This approach will give each employee an opportunity for creativity, development and hence make the job more enjoyable. As a team, they would have a chance of meeting after a given time period and discuss the challenges experienced. This chance would also offer the team an opportunity of exercising their authority in attaining information. A sense of belonging would therefore be nurtured.
There are different roles of a manager. The main responsibilities involve coordination and overseeing of the activities of the subordinates. The main purpose is to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is achieved by doing the roles given right, and attaining the most of the results using the least possible inputs. Effectiveness is achieved by the right things, and working to help the organization meet its goals and objectives. Hence, effectiveness and efficiency are interconnected. In exercising the technical skills, the manager must exemplify knowledge and proficiency in the given specialization. This is seen with Ms. Lee. However, she failed to show that she could work well with the staff. This was to be seen as a team and individually. This, she needs to work on. Ms. Lee also needs to develop conceptual skills. This is the ability think in abstract form in complicated situations.
4.0 Recommendations
The best solution to these challenges is to apply the theory by Fredrick Winslow. This theory emphasizes the principles of scientific management. To achieve the best results, the organization is to apply the scientific methods. There should be development of science in every element of work. The organization is to train, select and develops employees. This should incorporate the staff and the management team. Training at this stage should incorporate every organization’s employee. This will work as a tool of encouraging them, creating better strategies, and developing teamwork. The principles are to encourage the workers and the management in working together to complete a given task. This principle will also help in equal distribution of the responsibilities within the management team. Hence, no manager will feel less of the position they are currently handling. From Hawthorne theory, there is need to increase the productivity of the workers by appreciating their creativity and achievements within the organization. This theory emphasizes the need to learn how to work as a team in meeting the objectives of the organization. Workers are also to increase their innovativeness as an approach of being more efficient and effective.
5.0 Implementation
From the study of the case, Ms. Lee should be discharged off her duties. This will ease the company the cost of entire training and a change of atmosphere (Adair, 1984). This decision is based on the negative role she has been playing in challenging the workers. Many workers can be promoted to her position. Positional training can be done on the workers who need to be promoted. However, there is the alternative of applying the above-mentioned theories in solving this organization’s issues. This must be implemented mostly from the managerial position, as the problem is executive, rather than employee. Ms. Lee must first come to understand her roles and responsibilities. Moreover, she ought to understand and meet the expectation of her fellow managers and staff. By understanding her role, she will be ready to lead by example in the strengths. Instead of being arrogant to her middle level employees, she should organize her structures clearly by openly classifying the jobs and the responsibilities as per the job description. Hence, the manager would get some authority to request for more information from her fellow administrators and get job done within the time limit from her junior staff. This will reduce the grumbling from the employees under the Ms. Yong Lee. It will also state clearly the work period and create room for overtime work and pay. This will solve the issue of overworking of the junior staff. A habitable environment will also be created.
The second principle emphasizes the need for training. This is to cover for all the employees. Training will guide managers and other administrators on how they are to behave with each other. This calls for respect, clear communication lines, and freedom for creativity. Through training, workers will be encouraged to be creative, open, and work as a team. The managers are to be the main beneficiaries of the training as it is will enhance their knowledge on how they are to treat the junior workers and work as a team. Through training, the issue of high employee turnover rate shall have been reduced. The young employees will be equipped with better skills of managing their roles, and the department shall experience a change in terms of willingness to work and enjoy their duties. This training will further enhance the efficiency of the basic procedures and principles in the accounting department. Ms. Lee will also learn how to trust her staff with the responsibilities charged upon them. She will overcome the need to question the staff on the actions they undertake and why they chose the direction they desire. From the training, the needs and purpose of appreciating the workers will be evaluated. This is practical of the administrators. Ms. Lee will understand why the workers felt offended when they failed to be praised for the work they are paid to do. The training will improve the worker’s morale. The manager will also realize her fault in pointing out errors every time and again.
Ms. Lee needs to apply the theory of Hawthorne. This theory emphasizes on the organizational behavior (Muldoon, 2012). It also highlights the need to appreciate workers in various ways. From training and application of the theory, the manager will learn how to handle her junior staff, praise and allow them to be creative. This will help her overcome her behavior of assuming ownership on the projects, proposals and ideas that were not initially hers. She will correct the proposals and update where necessary and recognize the efforts of the workers in coming up with changes within the job. Ms.Lee is will also learn to have concern over development of the skills. She will learn of various ways of coming up with opportunities for promotion. This will further help her encourage the workers and hence, the high turnover rate in the department will be reduced.
Winslow’s theory will necessitate the need to exercise effective communication. Failure to have proper communication results to the problems currently experienced by the employees. The organization must nurture a good culture where proper communications must be emphasized from the top to down. The organization must also be ready to change the approaches of addressing issues. A bottom up approach is recommended in this ca
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