Introduction
Every company desires to represent itself before the clients as one unified brand. This means that value teamwork is seen as important. The same happens with Morgan Stanley, an investment bank in the United States. The senior managing director is faced with a dilemma many would not desire to have. His top employee and rare talent in capital markets services is not a team player. The aim of this paper is to discuss the key problems facing Morgan Stanley, suggest possible solutions, and give the best method to deal with the issues.
Background
Morgan Stanley is among the top investment banks in the United States and has maintained such status since 1935. Currently, it faces the issue of organizational renewal whereby it targets to have certain employees out of work. Under John Mack’s new leadership, the firm was gradually transforming into a One-Firm firm, an ideology derived from the mission statement of the organization. After becoming the president, Paul Nasr sought individuals that would cause a change in the company. He recruited an individual named Rob Parson from a rival bank. In order to the justification of the decision, it is safe to state that Nasr had twenty years of experience in the field and was credited with establishing a formidable capital markets business.
Among the areas, Morgan Stanley had been weak in for a long time in delivering capital markets services to financial services companies such as insurance companies and banks. This is a field that is known well by Parson, who had success in it in the past. All this information shows that he had brought value to the firm, thus, his recruitment. The problem that appears is that the company prides itself on teamwork, which is something that Parsons does not seem to support. In addition to that, if it were a different employee, it would have been easier to fire them, but in this case, the culprit is talented and the main reason for the success of the firm.
Evaluation of the Case
There are two main problems impacting Morgan Stanley, as represented in the case study. The first one is that despite efforts to encourage a culture of teamwork, one of the company’s most talented employees is not a team player. This can be evidenced by the report that he has a sharp tongue, is impatience, and is hard to deal with at work (Burton, 1998). Another is that the senior managing director had intended to promote him. This seems to be difficult as it is the responsibility of the managing directors to ensure that the organization represents a united face in the eyes of clients. If he does not promote him, it could mean that Parson leaves the firm. It is hard to find who replaces the expertise and experience that Nasr has in capital markets services.
The company has reached a point where it heavily depends on him. In the event this was another member of the workforce at the organization, it would have been easier to release them. The Capital Markets Services department at the firm was made as part of an effort to create a firm more responsive to the client’s needs (Burton, 1998). Before, it was an interdisciplinary entity meant to act as a connection between the sales and training arms of the company, the Investment Banking Division, Fixed Income, and Equity. The organizational structure was aimed to offer clients more focused attention as well as service.
Additionally, it was a tactic that enabled cross-divisional cooperation and avoided conflicts over how to distribute fees across various sub-units. Showing a unified team before the clients gives them an assurance that they can trust the company with their needs (Burton, 1998). However, the opposite might mean a poor reputation, which is bad for business. It is important to find a solution that could help deal with both problems without affecting the normal operations of the firm.
Recommended Solutions
There are three possible solutions to the above-mentioned problems, including organizing an all-staff event, sending all employees to a seminar or workshop meant for educating on teamwork, and promoting Parson but keeping him on probation. My personal experience shows that organizations seek the three measures even though they do not have the same success rate. For example, I worked in a firm where every time an issue emerged that threatened the harmony at the work setting, a sporting event was organized at the end of the week.
Additionally, the human resource manager would always advocate for the employees to receive training on different matters concerning work environment, including teamwork. Personal experience shows me that the two methods have a higher chance of working than promoting someone and placing them on probation. Many companies every year arrange for days when the members of the workforce can meet and participate in one activity (Gonzalez, 2021). For instance, a sporting event or tournament is structured in a manner that departmental members form a side to rival other departments (Gonzalez, 2021). This is a realistic solution since when this happens, individuals find a way to relate and speak to each other in order to achieve a goal (Gonzalez, 2021). It is among the few tactics that only have an advantage which is uniting people for the purpose of accomplishing something in the end.
Apart from that, the senior managing directors and others at the executive can organize a seminar or workshop. This has proven to work even in my previous work settings. Members of affected departments are subjected to mandatory training centered around a particular area that is affecting the company. For example, in this case, the education would be based on teamwork and its importance. The pros are that this tactic has a success rate of seventy-four percent, according to the survey (Gonzalez, 2021). While this might be a higher-than-average score, there is still a chance the company could fail in its efforts and lose much money.
Lastly, another solution is to promote the culprit but have him be on three-month duration probation. Within the period, task him to train the second most talented employee in the organization with regard to capital markets services (Gonzalez, 2021). The pros are that it will force him to work with other individuals closely and teach them to do their work when absent. The disadvantage is that the tactic may fail, as Parson will feel disrespected by the idea of probation after all his experience and the value he brings (Gonzalez, 2021). My personal experience shows that this is unrealistic as it appears that management is devaluing the specific staff member (Gonzalez, 2021). This means that the best solution to employ is arranging for an event. The pros include it is cheap to organize, brings people close, and forces them to work in unison and harmony to ensure success.
Conclusion
The paper has discussed the key problems facing Morgan Stanley, suggested possible solutions, and given the best method to deal with the issues. It is reported that a top talented employee in a crucial department in the organization has failed to portray team player characteristics even though he is eligible for the promotion. The information above shows that the best solution to this is organizing an event. This would ensure that people are brought close and forced to work in unison and harmony to ensure success.
References
Burton, M. D. (1998). Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A),(B),(C). Harvard Business School.
Gonzalez, R. V. D. (2021). Effects of learning culture and teamwork context on team performance mediated by dynamic capability. Journal of Knowledge Management, 25(8), 2000-2021. Web.