Background information
The company is known as R & S electronic service company. The company has several employees whose majority are service technicians. The company deals with servicing electronics for customers, and service technicians get paid in terms of commissions (Ellis, 2005). The company is owned by Brad, who has a close relationship with Eddie, the company’s general manager. The payroll department is headed by a new employee known as Jane, who notices a lot of irregularities within her first month in the organization. One of the service technicians was known as Greg, who enjoyed monetary favors because he was a brother to the general manager.
There were serious issues that needed to be addressed to ensure services provision was improved. For example, the general manager used his power to intimidate other managers since he had the power to hire and fire employees. This was evident when he fired Jane’s predecessor in the payroll department (Rowe, 2011). The firing was illegal since the employee questioned him about the unfair allocation of commissions to Greg. This issue was complicated more by the relationship between Brad and Eddie. In fact, Eddie threatened other managers so that they could keep his illegal deeds away from Brad. This was because Brad could have fired Eddie on learning how he awarded commissions to his brother unfairly.
Problem identification
The main issue in this company that needs to be resolved is the abuse of office by the general manager. This is because he uses his power to intimidate other workers. For example, a manager at the payroll department was fired because of questioning the general manager. This is dangerous since Eddie may keep on firing personnel in the payroll department for questioning the credibility of some actions. Every manager at the payroll department wanted to understand why Greg received better commissions than other service technicians. In fact, he threatened the new manager in the payroll department when she found him giving work tickets to his brother.
It was illegal for the general manager to give work tickets to his brother personally. Greg should follow the procedure, just like any other employee in the company. It is against labor laws for managers to threaten their juniors for questioning their deeds. In fact, a skillful manager should welcome criticism, which helps in correcting their personalities (Rowe, 2011). The owner of the business must intervene by investigating the cause of firing in the payroll department. This is the best way Brad can get to know what Eddie is doing in the company in favor of his brother.
Alternative solutions
The best solution to this problem is firing or demoting Eddie. This is because he has abused his office by allocating illegal commissions to his brother. In addition, Eddie threatens managers at the payroll department for questioning the illegal commissions awarded to his brother (Ellis, 2005). The owner of the company should come up with a way of investigating the conduct of his employees and punish those found to be benefiting illegally from the organization. The owner should come out clearly to terminate Eddie’s employment for being so unfair to his juniors. If he fires Eddie, the company may get a new face where managers respect employees. On the other hand, Greg may be unable to stay in the company since he cannot get massive commissions without doing the job.
Problem solution
The facts of the case would affect each proposed solution since they reflect what the general manager has been doing. Depending on the owner’s view on the atrocities, he will be able to come up with the best solution, such as firing or demoting the general manager. Firing the general manager is the best solution as he will be a lesson to other managers who might be doing illegal business at the expense of the company.
References
Ellis, C. E. (2005). Management skills for new managers. Michigan: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Rowe, J. (2011). Management Skills. New York: Carina Press.