Faith Integration (Employer/Employee Relations)
Harry should change the current management philosophy in his family’s firm, as well as its structure. The reason is that the management in the company is realized according to the principles of Theory X, but the shift to Theory Y is required. Even if the textile company seems to compete within the market, the followed management approach cannot guarantee that it will be productive in several years in the context of industry changes regarding the relations between employers and employees.
Currently, the firm operations are based on a strict scheme, according to which managers and employees perform their roles and interact with each other (Hill, 2008). To increase productivity and improve performance in the context of Theory X, it is necessary to raise employees’ wages, but the overall situation in the company will not change.
It is appropriate to act according to Theory Y principles and increase employees’ motivation and productivity with a focus on developing their commitment and relations with managers. It is necessary to change the structure of the firm to make employees more personally involved in the process, self-directed, responsible for their activities, and interested in outcomes (Dharejo, Baloch, & Jhatial, 2017).
Following the principles of Christian ethics, Harry should use the techniques of covenantal management to guarantee that all employees and managers are the part of one team, they are respected, and their interests are addressed. The workforce should be informed regarding the company’s values and goals, teambuilding activities should be organized, and training on respect, dignity, and accountability in the workplace should be conducted.
If Harry does not make any changes in the work of his firm, he will face such risks as decreased productivity, no possibilities for improving employees’ performance, the lack of their commitment, and the impossibility to effectively compete in the market. Furthermore, the absence of changes in management can lead to a turnover and developing a bad reputation for the firm in the market. The reason is that many modern companies try to change their focus from Theory X to Theory Y.
In the past, employees were regarded as not interested in the firm’s success, they disliked their work, and much control was required in order to guarantee high-quality performance (Hill, 2008). Today, the focus is on stimulating employees’ inner motivation and responsibility in the context of Theory Y (Lawter, Kopelman, & Prottas, 2015). As a result, many employees choose to leave companies where they are not provided with opportunities for effective cooperation and development of their abilities and talents.
The absence of any actions means that Harry can lose his employees and suffer from a continuous turnover because, in this firm, employees are treated only as human resources and not as talented individuals. Even if employed immigrants continue to work in Harry’s firm, it will be rather problematic to effectively motivate them to improve performance or demonstrate high results without developing positive relations with them. Thus, the principles of covenantal management should be applied in the company because Harry is at risk of losing the position in the market if an old management strategy is followed.
Applying Situational Leadership
Betty’s maturity level can be described as moderate to high because of her experience in the field but the lack of education and weaknesses in interacting with subordinates in terms of their motivation. Therefore, the leadership behavior that is appropriate for working with this manager is the participating style (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2015). The leader is expected to provide little direction but still be highly supportive to help Betty improve communication with her subordinates. In turn, Chuck’s level of maturity is moderate to low, and the leader is expected to apply his selling style in order to become highly directive and supportive in cooperating with Chuck to explain to him how to promote the company’s values and goals among employees.
Jay has taken the leading position in the company only for a month, and he lacks experience in working with his team in 30 persons in spite of his knowledge and skills. Therefore, the level of maturity can be discussed as low (Hughes et al., 2015; Yukl, 2013).
At the current stage, the leader should demonstrate the telling style in order to direct Jay in addressing the company’s goals and overcoming the issues associated with the ineffective work of the previous manager in this position. As a result, the leader should be highly directive but less supportive in his behavior while working with Jay (Hughes et al., 2015). Thus, three different approaches should be followed in order to work with each of the mentioned managers because of their different maturity levels.
In order to increase Betty’s level of maturity, it is necessary to provide her with support and education regarding teambuilding and employee motivation. It is important to help Betty improve her attitude toward employees and facilitate their interactions (Hughes et al., 2015). Moreover, the problem with Betty’s management is in her lack of education, and it is possible to recommend training for the purpose of improving her leadership and managerial skills (Yukl, 2013).
Chuck demonstrates problems in following the corporate culture and retaining employees that can lead to his comparably low level of maturity as a manager in spite of his experience in this position. Therefore, Chuck needs to receive additional training regarding corporate culture and techniques to improve employee retention (Hughes et al., 2015; Salehzadeh, Shahin, Kazemi, & Shaemi Barzoki, 2015).
Jay seems to have the lowest level of experience as a manager despite his education and the overall level of knowledge and skills. Therefore, to contribute to Jay’s adaptation and development of professional skills in working with his team, it is important to recommend different types of teambuilding activities (Yukl, 2013). In addition, Jay should also receive certain guidelines on how to cope with problematic situations according to the corporate code of ethics and standards in order to address the consequences associated with the previous manager’s work (Hughes et al., 2015). These interventions will be effective to help these three managers to increase their maturity level, to influence their motivation, as well as to contribute to the company’s further development.
Integrating Teams at Hernandez & Associates
It is possible to effectively use the Team Leadership Model (TLM) in order to successfully diagnose possible problems related to the input, process, or output component. In order to identify leverage points for implementing required changes, Marco needs to analyze inputs in terms of available resources, environments, employees’ competencies, and specifics of leadership (Hughes et al., 2015). The second step is the analysis of processes with the focus on employees’ activities, actions to address clients’ needs, the progress in completing tasks, the coordination of work, and the communication within the team (Matthews & McLees, 2015).
The final step is the analysis of possible weaknesses in providing certain outcomes (Hughes et al., 2015). Marco is expected to examine produced outcomes and state whether the results of the team’s work can effectively meet clients’ needs or requests in the context of a changing business environment. From this perspective, the TLM provides Marco as a leader with many opportunities to identify weak and strong points in the work of his team. Referring to this analysis, Marco can decide on further actions to take.
Having analyzed the input, process, and output associated with the activities of Marco’s team and its characteristics, it is possible to state that the key challenges are related to the process. The problem is that team members are expected to change their usual activities and achieve success while performing completely new tasks. Therefore, the key processes in the company need to be transformed and adapted to clients’ new expectations, and this aspect creates challenges for Marco and his team.
Changes will affect the use of resources, employees’ daily activities, interactions, and monitoring (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014). Inputs and outputs are not challenging areas for Marco because he has efficient human and material resources to adapt to alterations in a business environment, and outputs will depend directly on the process. Therefore, most changes are expected to be observed in the process category of the TLM, but some changes can also be noticed in the input when training employees.
It is possible to assume that one of Marco’s goals for outputs is the creation of a well-integrated team, the members of which are fully involved in the firm’s processes to change each other if necessary. The associated goal is the development of the team, the members of which have wide knowledge regarding different areas and operations associated with the firm’s activities (Hughes et al., 2015). Thus, it is necessary to guarantee that the knowledge of all employees is broadened in order to ensure they can perform multiple tasks. As a result, the quality of provided services will increase, and outputs for clients will also be improved (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014).
In this context, one more goal is the provision of required training and education for employees in order to help them adapt to new conditions and develop skills and abilities in unfamiliar areas (Hughes et al., 2015; Matthews & McLees, 2015).
To implement a change strategy in the company, Marco should use the following three types of resources: the level of experience of team members, the ability of employees to work and develop as a team, and the leadership qualities of Marco. Thus, Marco’s employees are well-qualified and professional individuals who can add value to the further development of the company because of their skills and experience.
In addition, the second potential resource is associated with teambuilding activities and strengths of employees related to their teamwork (Matthews & McLees, 2015). It is important to note that Marco’s team has access to all required resources, it is comparably large, and team members know how to effectively work with each other (Hughes et al., 2015). The third group of resources is connected with the qualities of Marco as a leader because he must help the team adapt to new conditions with the focus on providing the necessary guidance, motivation, support, and assistance. Marco needs to apply his leadership skills to overcome the challenging change process and guide his team to success.
References
Dharejo, N., Baloch, M. N., & Jhatial, A. A. (2017). People management at workplace: Applications of Theory X and Theory Y in public and private organizations sector in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 6(2), 193-206.
Hill, A. (2008). Just business: Christian ethics for the marketplace (Rev. ed.). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
Hoch, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. W. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 390-412.
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2015). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw-Hill Companies.
Lawter, L., Kopelman, R. E., & Prottas, D. J. (2015). McGregor’s Theory X/Y and job performance: A multilevel, multi-source analysis. Journal of Managerial Issues, 27(1-4), 84-101.
Matthews, R., & McLees, J. (2015). Building effective projects teams and teamwork. Journal of Information Technology and Economic Development, 6(2), 20-28.
Salehzadeh, R., Shahin, A., Kazemi, A., & Shaemi Barzoki, A. (2015). Proposing a new approach for evaluating the situational leadership theory based on the Kano model: The case of university students. International Journal of Public Leadership, 11(1), 4-20.
Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations (11th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Publishing.