Summary of the case
WebEx Communications, Inc is an online company that offers Web conferencing services to people. Subrah Iyar and Min Zhu who are the current CEO and CTO of the company respectively, founded the company in 1996. Zhu developed software, which he was unable to sell. Iyar and Zhu then strived for three years to bring the company to its feet before getting the opportunity to offer a variety of inexpensive, subscription-based services. These enabled users to create online meeting rooms in which they could share documents and software applications via the internet. The company has been recording tremendous growth in the services it offers since then.
The company CEO, Subrah Iyar, has a characteristic way of pursuing customers. He is energetic, sincere, charming and does not easily give up the pursuit. One of the WebEx board members, Vivek Randive, acknowledged that Iyar has the ability to lead and manage the company. That is the reason why the forty-five year old CEO has a grand goal of reaching every customer with his products. To achieve this, he travels a lot to meet his customers. The motivation that drives Iyar to his current success comes from a major setback he encountered when he was marketing Apple’s Newton in the early 1990s. When the project failed, he felt discouraged and he lacked the energy to start all over again. Currently, building WebEx has brought him the satisfaction he needs.
Statement of the Problem
In spite of the success Iyar has in managing WebEx, he hardly finds extra time to spend time with his family and bond with them. Being the manager of the company, he travels for eight to twelve weeks to meet face-face with the customers. Iyar is obsessed with his work. He acknowledges this by saying, “if you ask my wife, I’m mentally absent though physically present.”
Solution to the problem
Subrah Iyar should perhaps practice an alternative work option of telecommuting that will ensure that he has enough time to spend with his wife and two young daughters. In practicing this alternative work arrangement, Iyar will be able to have flexibility in time and location of doing his job (Meltzer, 2009). Instead of travelling daily to the place of work, he can replace those by having reliable telecommunication links. In minimizing the many travel arrangements he has per year, Iyar ought to understand that “work is something you do, not something you travel too” (Woody, 1995).Online conferencing can enable him meet with his customers “face-to-face” instead of having to travel to meet them.
Why the proposed solution would work
This proposed solution would work for Iyar since he would have enough time to recharge himself in occasions when he needs to withdraw into solitude. In practicing this, he would not be frazzled since he would find some time every week to relax and reconnect with his loved ones. Iyar would save enough time by minimizing time-consuming travelling habits of going to work and meeting his customers. This would give him enough hours of rest at home.
Additionally, he will have time to spend with his family during short breaks (Lillie, 2001; Hawthorne, 2004). Application of this will increase his productivity, as it will eventually improve his morale and capability of handling customers across multiple time zones.
Reference List
Hawthorne, N. (2004). Weigh the Pros, Cons of Telecommuting. Web.
Lille, J. (2001). Telecommuting Pros and Cons. Web.
Meltzer, B. (2009). Pros and cons telecommuting programs. Web.
Woody, L. (1995). The Underground guide to telecommuting. New Jersey: Addison-Wesley.