Analysis of the Dick Spencer’s Case Essay Example

(Presutti, 2006, p. ). Micromanagement in some cases, as implied by White (2010), may increase productivity over the short- term but long-term problems such as workers’ frustrations, dried-up creativity, and no longer taking risks attitude will eventually defeat any short-term gains. Dick’s diseased management practice helped to improve the performance of the branches but killed employees joy, happiness, initiatives, and creativity which in the long term can cause the branches to start failing because of inefficiencies and high employees turnover.

Employee’s Resistance to Organizational Change Dick’s inability to actively advance the morale and performance of his employees greatly led his employees to resist the change he wanted to introduce. It is relevant to recognize that implementing change is one of the most challenging and critical responsibilities any manager can face as well as those participating in the change process. A major problem in driving change in organizations is dealing with and managing the resistance that will be encountered (Atkinson, P. 2005).

Ford and Ford (2009) explained resistance as a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do. It can be turned into a vibrant conversation that gives your change effort a higher profile. Management at Tri-American and Dick failed to recognize the consequences of implementing organizational changes in their company; all they cared was to implement the changes and achieve the results they want, neglecting how the structural and process changes can affect the employees’ work schedule, performance, and especially, their morale.

Despite management’s failure, the role of dick at Modrow branch was to interact effectively with the employees, enhance their motivation and performance

so that they would appreciate the reasons for the changes but he failed as a result of his micromanagement practice. Ineffective Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) Approach Peters and Waterman (as cited in Boardman,2004) described MBWA as a leadership style intended for managers to get out of their corporate office to connect with, communicate with, and relate to all levels of employees.

Positively, it was a great idea for Dick Spencer to practice MBWA; it was a pathway for him to reestablish his leadership style and strengthen his human relations with the employees, to get a better understanding of their operations (Lorenzen, 1997), interact with them, exchange ideas, and get feedback concerning developments. Certainly not! He failed to note that MBWA is an excellent strategy that he could use to improve his human relations, listen effectively to his employees, empowers them, and learn technical skills that he lacked.

It is a strategy that could help him to build healthy relationship with his workers but not to micromanage: “One problem that has been identified with MBWA is that some managers do not know how to ‘wander’” (Amsbary & Staples as cited in Lorenzen, p. 54). It is not surprising that the supervisors, managers, and foremen did not feel comfortable whenever they saw him in the plant area because his presence imparted tension, frustrations, and intimidated (Amsbary & Staples, 1991) them. Dick’s Managerial Problem Solving Behavior

Problem solving is generally seen as the most constructive conflict management strategy (Blake & Mouton; Miller, Lefcourt, Holmes, Ware, & Saleh as cited in Dijkstra, Beersma, & Evers, 2011) because of “its focus on own outcomes while -

at the same time - respecting social relationships” (Dijkstra, Beersma, & Evers, 2011). Wartenbery as cited in (Grosse & Simpson, p. 6) asserts that: “the mandatory skills for the 21st century manager are motivation, communication, coaching, conflict resolution, problem solving, decision making, and change management. The incident at the sidding department shows Dick’s managerial incompetency to apply a problem solving strategy to resolve work-related problems, thus, creating conflict between him and his subordinates. This can be alluded this to the fact that there were so many managers, employee’s resistance to change, and his inability to transform his leadership style that will make him fit in the firm’s environment. Continuing pressure, frustrations, and employee’s resistance to change were signs of his inability to handle and resolve problems in the workplace.

Recommendations necessary for correcting the above discussed managerial issues Reinforcing Dick’s management style to strengthen his relationship with the employees Effective leadership is vital to the success of any organization as well as the promotion of healthy morale among employees. Being a leader does not mean that what you the leader want is what to be done rather leadership is about having an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do.

Dick should have noted that it is followers and not the leader who determines if the leader is successful or not and as such should have done whatever possible to avoid micromanaging his employees. Marino (1998) in his article makes a point that the result of excessive interference in employees work is failure, despite the successes you expect your employees to deliver. Micromanagement leads to a situation

whereby followers or employees lack confidence in their managers, thus diminishing their morale level and making them uninspired.

Dick excessively managed and controlled his employees’ activities to the extent that he neglected the effects of his actions on his subordinates’ morale, confidence, and their relationship with him. Dick needed to know better with regard to his over-bearing attention to employees’ work leadership style. The reactions of employees towards him as he migrated from branches to branches should have signaled him that there is something not right with his management abilities.

Peters and Austin (1985) writes that Neither superior customer service and nor constant innovation-the two sustaining edges of excellence- is built upon genius in the executive suite, sleight-of-hand techniques or mystical strategic moves on a game board that allow one to gain a five- or ten-year advantage over one's competitors. Both are built on a bedrock of listening, trust and respect for the dignity and the creative potential of each person in the organization. (p. 1) Klann (2004) also notes that high productivity and creativity, and strong relationships are evidenced in organization or teams that recognize the importance of strong morale, pride, and spirit through effective leadership. Dick needs to view his workers’ activities from new perspectives that will stimulate their interest, motivate and empowers them to look beyond their own interests toward those that will benefit the company, and develop his workers to higher levels of ability and potential.

In this sense, the tension and frustrations that erupted would be eliminated and their performance would be enhanced as well as gain employee’s trust and respect. Using Dick’s MBWA Approach Relevantly to

Enforce Changes in the Organization The core value of MBWA is to form interactive, informal communication links where employees’ issues are addressed as well as management innovations. Dick should have used this practice to spend time with his employees irrespective of the place and genuinely show interest in their work (Chamberlin, 2012).

It has to be done on the basis that it is an opportunity for him to understand what the employees do, and how he might help them to do it by removing some of the hindrances (such as fear, low morale, lack of a sense of taking initiative, frustrations, conflicts) that demoralized the employees (Chamberlin, 2012). Michelman (2007) made a point that no matter how well planned management’s efforts are, they cannot avoid change resisters; they are a fact of organizational life and as such management should be wise to accept them, to plan for them, and indeed to love them because they often hold a value many firms never bother to tap.

Knowing this fact, dick should have used his MBWA approach to effectively and clearly communicate to his foreman the change he wanted to establish, listen attentively to his views and enhance a sense of understanding so that the change to be implemented will yield. Croft and Cochrane (as cited in Atkinson, 2005), added that change strategies can only be embraced by staff if they are given a context for the change, and if they understand the need for change. Dick must establish a two-way communication, encourage his employees to interact and keep up a constant dialogue with them.

The emphasis should be on face-to-face channels, necessarily wander

around the workplace and ensure that feedback loops are incorporated into every channel. His aim is to engage and motivate the employees and ensure that they are behind the initiative. Michelman (2007) noted that for an organization to overcome resistance to change, it must consider where resistance would be most harmful, where it will have spreading power, and where resistance might run the deepest.

Assessing these factors as he suggested would enable management to designate the areas of greatest resistance and as such an aggressive plan should be developed to understand it, make use of it, and overcome it. At the most basic level, Dick should try to build flexibility into the organization as he effectively manage by wandering around to create a work environment that is open to change and able to accept it, removing all tension and frustrations as well as establishing effective communication between him and his employees.

An effective approach that Dick can adopt to solve managerial problems without creating conflicts Hewlett-Taylor (2012) made a conclusion in her research that when a problem is identified in practice, it is essential to note exactly what it is and establish the cause before seeking a solution. She went further to say that the solution-seeking process should include input from those directly involved in the problematic situation, to enable individuals to contribute their perspective, appreciate why any change in practice is necessary and what will be achieved by the change.

If Dick wants to be a leader who can resolve problems effectively without creating conflicts, he needs to communicate; listen; as well as sort and evaluate alternatives on how he can

efficiently implement his policies. In that sense, the department would make some cost savings (totally avoiding the purchase of heavy gloves and the removal of the power saws) as well as eliminating any conflict between him and his subordinates.