Reluctant workers
(Name)
(Institution)
(Instructor’s Name)
(Course title)
22nd July
2013
Reluctant workers
Introduction
In the case study,
Aston who is a young and enthusiastic project manager has faced difficulties in
handling the staff in the company. He therefore approaches the project director
Mr. Phil Davies so as to find solutions for the reluctance of employees in the
company. In their conversation, Aston is urged to exercise patience and
tolerance because most of the employees are in their forties hence may have
ignorance towards a younger project manager. The following are the core skills
that have been explained in the case study:-
Analysis of the core
skills observed in the case study
Team building
Team building is
defined as the process by which an organization develops team work in its
operations. The company’s employees lack the skill of team work in their daily
operations thus others opt to leave meetings which are in progress, attend
different functions at the expense of the company; and also retain employees in
departments because of the selfish interests of some officials. Even though Tim
Aston struggles to bring together and consolidate the employees assigned in the
project; his efforts are futile because each of them seems to have had a prior
engagement. For this reason, the customers who had planned to travel and get
the fast hand observation about the project are bound to be disappointed.
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
is the seeking of methods that would eliminate disagreements and
misunderstanding within an organization (Kerzner, 2009). In the case study, Tim
Aston was able to identify the conflict in time hence seek clarification from
the director of project management Phil Davies. During the process of conflict
resolution, Aston clearly explains to his boss the situation that he faces as
the project manager of which Phil advices him accordingly. Though Phil’s
explanations were not satisfactory; they gave Aston an insight on how the
company’s employees operate. Moreover, Phil has shown an important step of
conflict resolution by listening to the grievances raised by Tim Aston.
Leadership
Leadership is
defined as the action of those in authority to issue guidance and direction to
the junior employees. In the case study, both Tim Aston and Phil Davies have
shown good leadership qualities. As a leader, Aston tries to bring together the
employees in the project into working extra hours and satisfy the customers in
the upcoming test observation. In addition, he encourages junior employees to
communicate directly to him in the event of any problem. On the other hand,
Phil Davies has shown exemplary leadership qualities by listening to Aston and
providing the relevant advice to him. Also, he is able to recommend a book for
Aston to read so that he can have good managerial ability by understanding the
human behavior.
Analysis of Tim
Aston’s effectiveness
Tim Aston had the
core skills of leadership, conflict resolution and team building in the case
study. The following is the analysis of his effectiveness in these skills
Team building
In regard to the
nature of the company, Tim Aston was ineffective in the skills of team
building. Though he encouraged employees to work harder, looked for competent
skilled employees from other departments and attended meetings together with
other employees; Aston failed to motivate the employees. He should have also
proposed employment of new personnel and team work training so that a competent
and hardworking team of workers in built.
Conflict resolution
Tim Aston is
effective in conflict resolution because he was able to identify the occurrence
of conflict between the company’s interests and the employees’ personal
interests. In this regard, he takes the step of seeking help from his superiors
hence contributing to solution to the conflict. Also, Aston’s conflict
resolution capability is shown by his efforts to personally contact the
accounting department and ask them if they could assign him one of the
hardworking employees in that department. This shows that Aston had already
identified the possibility of work conflict and he was trying to resolve it
before he faces a shortage of willing employees.
Leadership
In regards to
leadership qualities, Tim Aston is ineffective in his leadership skills. This
is because he is unable to take control as a project manager and impose rules
and regulations that would curb the unwillingness to perform work. Also, Aston
fails to motivate the employees; a trait in which a good leader should posses.
Moreover, Tim Aston has poor leadership qualities because he is unable to
relate properly with juniors. Through good relationships, Tim would have built
respect and recognition among the employees hence they would not have to disregard
him due to his young age.
Analysis of the degree
of support required by Tim Aston
In the case study,
Tim Aston requires proper support from the management in order to curb the
problems he faces as a project manager. The company should assign more
personnel to the project, issue rules governing negligence of work and employee
motivation
Employment of more personnel
The company should
employ willing and younger personnel who would be able to carry out the work of
the project more seriously. The employment of younger personnel would allow the
prevalence of respect between the employees and Aston as the project manager.
Rules and regulations
The company should
impose rules and regulations that ensure commitment of employees to their daily
jobs. Through these regulations, the laxity and unwillingness to work by the
employees would be curbed.
Staff motivation
Aston requires
assistance from the management on giving motivations to the employees. This can
be done through the issuance of incentives, high salaries, insurance, gifts and
allowances. Through motivation of staff, the employees would be able to operate
fully in the project.
Analysis of the degree
of support received Tim Aston
Tim Aston has
received minimum support by the company in handling of the problem he faces in
the project management. After contacting Phil Davies, his response seemed
ignorant on the matter as he regarded the problem as an old tradition. Phil however
encouraged him to motivate the employees so that they would be able to work
more cordially. Also, Phil proposed that Aston should read books on human
behavior so as to improve his skills as a project manager.
Recommendations to the
company management
Employee motivation
The employees
should be properly motivated so as to boost their perception of their working
environment. These motivations may be in the form of cash or the issuance of
basic services that would help to boost the employee loyalty. Therefore the
employees would remain committed in their project job.
Staffing
The company should
supply the project management department with more workers. The selection of
these new employees should be based on merit and their passion for the projects
of the company. This would limit the incidence of laxity in the company thus
boosting the production rates of the company.
Company’s code of conduct
The rules and
regulations governing the company employees should be fully enforced and
wherever necessary revised. Seminars should be organized to remind the
employees on the importance of following the rules and regulations of the
company. This would boost the employees’ commitment into hard work hence smooth
running of the project management department.
Recommendations to the
Tim Aston
Exercise good leadership skills
Aston should improve his leadership skills by
having a good relationship with the employees. The creation of the bond between
him and employees would limit their possibility of ignorance towards him due to
his young age. Also, through proper leadership skills, he would be able to
motivate employees in to working extra harder.
Proper planning
Aston lacks proper
planning methods as a manager. This can be seen by his lack of advanced
planning on the possibility of the customers visit and his lack of
communication to other employees. Therefore, Aston should learn proper planning
skills that would help him to avoid inconveniencing other employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the
core skills identified in the case study involved conflict resolution,
leadership and team building. Even though Tim Aston posses these skills, he is
ineffective in team building and the exercise of leadership. In the analysis of
Aston’s case, he requires assistance such as in the employment of more
personnel, motivation of employees and follow up of rules and regulations by
the management. In addition, Aston requires exercising of good leadership
skills and proper planning methods so as to deliver fully as a project manager.
References
Kerzner,
H. (2009) project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling and
controlling 10th Ed. New York: Wiley publishers. Print
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