General Overview of the Case: Identifying the Main Problems and Issues
The case under consideration reveals a conflict at managerial level that was caused by communication misfortune and reluctance of the managerial stuff to compromise.
The main problem of case lies in lack of ethical and organizational culture and communication problems in a business environment. In addition, the problem is also connected with business ethics because all operations should be carried out with regard to business objectives rather than based on personal values.
The stories presented by the conflicting parties, particularly by Lora and Doug, are largely based on personal failure to adjust to business environment. For instance, Lora focuses on Doug’s character traits emphasizing that he is a talented and professional manager. Similarly, Doug relies on Lora’s failure to make decisions, although she is a brilliant work as well.
Therefore, excessive attention to personal relations and behavior prevents the managers to take more concerns with the management process. For instance, Doug rejects to provide Lora with any kind of information about business operations merely because wants everything to be reported and recorded.
At the same time, Lora states that she is afraid of Doug because he is reluctant to work with her. Hence, the examples show that ethical conflicts take much more time than do the business operation itself.
One of the main problems in this situation is failure of managerial staff to successfully communicate. The problem consists in misunderstanding between Charles Grant and his subordinates because he is more focused on writing, rather than on communicating. Besides, he is not firm and assertive enough in making decisions and taking important actions in critical situations.
Theories, Approaches, and Concepts That Are Applicable and Helpful for Solving the Problems in This Case
Judging from the above-enumerated examples, it should be stressed that the managerial staff should reinforce their coordination and cooperation. Therefore, in order to settle the problems and provide viable solutions to it, it is necessary to consider such theoretical frameworks as human relations, leadership concepts, and business ethics, motivation, trust, and emotional intelligence.
According to human relation theory, work satisfaction and high performance largely depend on favorable social relationships between the staff members and their subordinates (Naoum, 2001, p.18).
In order to evaluate the situation, Pam Miller have chosen a viable approach by providing the interviewing program to define weather the workers feel comfortable about supervisors and their attitudes to each other. The interviews can reveal more information about group relationships, management, and the company itself.
Another concept to be implemented to the problem resolution is the analysis of leadership concepts. The process of leadership, thus, involves constant interaction between a leader and his/her followers. In this regard, it is necessary to distinguish between assigned leaders and emergent leaders.
The former type of leader is predetermined by a person position whereas the latter is evaluated as the way other staff members behave and interact. Therefore, there are frequent cases when an assigned leader is not always a true leader who is able to control the situation and to make decisions.
When other workers feel that this person is active and influential in an organization, he/she, then, becomes an emergent leadership (Northouse, 2009, p. 6). In the case under consideration, Charles Grant cannot be called as an emergent leader because he has failed to provide any ideas for resolving the conflict unless it has been recommended by the regional manager.
Therefore, before appointing a person at a leading position, it is, first of all, necessary to analyze their leadership traits.
The conflict is also based on a failure to consider ethical issues in business. This particularly concerns the problems of ethical decision making in organizational environment, which greatly differs from that presented outside an organization (Ferrel, Fraedrich, and Ferrel, 2009, p. 122).
In this respect, there are specific organizational factors and ethical-issues intensity that are directly connected with corporate opportunity and culture.
In order to settle the conflict properly, emotional intelligence theory should be taken into the deepest consideration. Hence, emotional intelligence refers to person’s ability to manipulate emotions and facilitate the process of thinking and decision-making.
In our case, this concept should be applied to all three managers because the reason for this conflict is primarily based on inability to suppress and effectively manage emotions and regulate relationships peacefully (Northouse, 2009, p. 23).
In addition, this concept will also assist in motivating the workers work more proficiently, if skillfully combined with motivation theories that provide solutions to monitoring the entire organizational process.
Summary and Recommendations
Based on the above-presented problems, theories and concepts, the case touches upon numerous aspects of business management, including human resource management, leadership theories, and business ethics.
Hence, the main causes of the conflict consist in lack of leadership, insufficient cooperation, communication problems and lack of motivations among the workers. Inability of managerial staff to work in team has led to failure to communicate and make viable decisions. In order to improve the situation, it is necessary to provide new management strategies.
Besides Miller’s recommendations, it is also imperative to introduce a new ethical code in communicating within the organization. In particular, the relationships should be subjected to business goals, rather than to personal preferences. Secondly, mutual understanding and compromising should be the chief elements of a successful cooperation.
Finally, the organization is in need of leadership reinforcement that will contribute to the improvement of discipline and specification of duties and obligations. In addition, all the above-considered strategies and leadership theories are possible to implement in case they are based on a long-term basis.
More importantly, in order to apply to those theories, the introduction of reinforced and solid management is an obligatory condition for those theories to work successfully.
Reference List
Ferrel, O. C., Fraedrich, J., and Ferrel, L. 2009. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. US: Cengage Learning.
Naoum, S. 2001. People and Organizational Management in Construction. Great Britain: MPG Books.
Northouse, P. 2009. Leadership: Theory and Practice. US: Sage.