Introduction
Electronics, a software engineering company that had been enjoying the prospects of immense capital funding as well as bragging of having big named customers has been dealt a big blow by the emergence of the dot-com generation firms. In this regard, the company undertook several measures in a bid to regain its lost customer base and ensure a reduction in the operation costs. As such, the company undertakes various measures to cuts costs including dismissals to curtail the number of its personnel (Fryer et al, 2004). Also, the firm’s executive board dismissed the organization’s founder and took into service George who was an experienced and veteran manager. George had remarkable engineering qualifications as well as noteworthy familiarity in the sector enterprise-scale systems and operations. In this regard, George is appointed to help the company bounce back its proceeds thereby attracting the investors that were being magnetized by the other firms (Fryer et al, 2004).
Generally, the Retronics firm is unable to achieve its objectives and targets. In this regard, the company lost its visibility, vision as well as trade. Noteworthy, the chief executive officer, George is in charge of the operations of the firm and thus would be liable for the achievements and the failures of the organization (Fryer et al, 2004). The inability to meet such objectives would lead him to lose the job. Therefore, George must work extra hard together with the company’s employees to achieve the organization’s goals and expectations.
As the CEO of Retronics company, George has to impose his style of leadership that would be best suitable to manage the employees of the organization about the development of new products, setting goals for the sales team as well as promoting assertiveness in new press releases. However, Shelley, the promotion executive who boasts of experience in marketing feels that the CEO’s leadership style is authoritative and oppressive thereby making the working relationship between George and Shelley uncomfortable (Fryer et al, 2004).
George’s leadership style
The management approach that George applies in the running of the Retronics operations is authoritarian and oppressive. In essence, Shelley feels micromanaged in the assigned duties thereby affecting the overall productivity as well as the employees’ self-esteem (Chambers, 2004). George, the micro-management boss exhibits his suppressive style of control in several ways. To begin with, George asserts the leadership styles and power on the marketing manager with an uncompromising sense and self-interest. For instance, George decisions are to be implemented as specified within the plan. Also, Rich, the company’s project manager informs the marketing executive that when the CEO takes an interest in an issue, it is done according to specifications. Secondly, George’s totalitarian leadership approach is portrayed through the control and manipulation of Shelley’s work time by dictating the priorities as well as setting strict deadlines for the submission of the releases and assignments.
Further, the CEO does not have conviction in Shelley’s assessment of workload and thus George has to evaluate the marketing executive’s work before it is released to the press. The CEO is infamous for interrupting and mismanaging the operations of the marketing manager thus creating unnecessary crises (Chambers, 2004). Thirdly, George works with the presumption that the boss knows best. In this regard, George presumes that each task performed according to the aforementioned method. For example, George dismisses Shelley’s ideas, knowledge, and experience just by hovering over the reports and crossing some parts of the releases to make sure that things are done by the specifications.
Fourth, the suppressive nature of George is exhibited through unwarranted approvals of the employees’ reports. In essence, Shelley is prohibited from moving forward with prepared reports without passing through the CEO for authorization. Further, the tyrannical approach of leadership is evident through the drive-in demanding to know whatever is happening in the firm. In other words, the boss monitors every move of the marketing manager as well as requiring a stream of redundant reports that only focus on activities instead of results (Saxena, 2009).
Suitability of the leadership style
In this case, the approach of leadership undertaken by George is appropriate in the realization of Retronics goals and objectives. In any firm, the CEO has the mandate of ensuring the achievement of the company’s goals and targets. Therefore, the marketing manager has to adjust the feelings towards work and perform the duties according to the boss’ anticipations. In essence, Shelley has impressive credentials in marketing. However, in the operations of the firm, Shelley has been unable to meet the expectations required. Therefore, the promotion manager should not only concentrate on the proficient experience but also demonstrate leadership by being result-oriented to convince the CEO of the ability in solving the organization’s visibility and problems (Saxena, 2009).
Further, Shelley is rigid in incorporating George’s ideas basing the argument on the CEO’S background in engineering. Invaluable ideologies in the operations of firms can originate from any area. Nevertheless, Shelley dislikes the CEO’s advances aimed at the employees’ mentoring and decided to design an agenda that takes into consideration considers imperative at the expense of the clients’ expectations (Chambers, 2005). In general, the marketing manager needs to reorganize the attitude towards the company’s boss. Moreover, ignoring the directives of the boss should only be possible if there is an effective strategy that can help the organization achieve its long term goals.
In any organization, any employee must be prepared to work within the strictness in the work environment. As such, good performance among the personnel attracts the attention of the boss thereby giving workers the fulfillment of making their decisions independently and creatively (Chambers, 2005). On the other hand, strict control of the employees suppresses their creative space. In other words, the need of Shelly to develop a career at Retronics is shrinking due to the strict control. Consequently, Shelley’s initiative shows a diminishing trend portrayed by deliberation on calling in sick and complaining to her colleagues.
Conversely, George should accommodate other employees’ views in the operations of the business. In this case, George subverts Shelley’s decisions through regular regulations and approvals of the reports thereby providing Shelley with no opportunity to develop and grow (Chambers, 2005). Also, such acts of contrition are significant in remediation. For example, George should correct his control habits and offer Shelley with an adequate workspace condition to effectively articulate and manage the considerable elements of the job. On her part, Shelley should comprehend the management approach undertaken by the company boss.
Strategies for Shelley
In the case, Shelley suffers the woes of being micromanaged by George. As such, several tactics are available to Shelley that can help in managing and succeeding in the “my way” approach of leadership. George fails to recognize that he is a micromanager. On the other hand, Shelley believed that George’s micromanagement has reached the highest levels. Therefore, to circumvent interpersonal crises in the organization, the solution of such differences is inevitable (Chambers, 2005). In this context, both George and Shelley are portrayed as dedicated and talented executives with established records of accomplishment in the management and operations of successful firms. However, the two executives have diverse management approaches that knock them off-track. For example, George embraced an inflexible and detail-oriented leadership approach. On her part, Shelley’s career development faces the risk of derailment due to how she handles her disagreements with George.
The appropriate strategy that can enable Shelley to manage her career in the firm is to be aware that there are always changes in the management of any firm and managers come into the firm and leave. On the same note, she must recognize that careers are long-lasting. Therefore, to accomplish her strategy, Shelley should realize that she is not a victim and thus has the alternative of adapting to the work environment. Also, the marketing executive should devise her authority to disseminate the disruptions of the Micromanager. Moreover, Shelley should exhibit her motion of priority schemes of the firm by communicating in awareness, reassurance as well as meeting the strict timelines. Being preemptive of the set deadlines as well as staying clear on the company’s expectations is another strategy that is suitable in dealing with the micromanager (Chambers, 2005).
References
Chambers, H. (2005). Surviving the micromanager. How to succeed with a my way boss. Canadian Manager, 30(2), 24-25.
Chambers, H. E. (2004). My way or the highway: The micromanagement survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Fryer, B., Goodnight, J., Goulston, M., Lawrie, J. M. & Chappelow, C. (2004). The micromanager. Harvard Business Review, 82(9), 31-39.
Saxena, P. K. (2009). Principles of management: A modern approach. New Delhi, India: Global India Publications.