Case Study 1: Building a Team

Joe is Maintenance Coordinator for a public university. Joe is responsible for all the building maintenance and physical systems on campus. He has a number of departments to accomplish the assigned workload. He has an Electrical Department, a Plumbing Department, an HVAC Department, a Carpentry Department, and a Painting Department. The workload for his departments has increased in the last several years as the physical plant continues to age. Joe requested to hire additional workers, but the budget did not allow for it. It became apparent that Joe needed to find more creative ways to better utilize his current resources in order to get more accomplished. Joe had observed that his departments were not working together well, or even at all, in some cases. It was common for one department to go into a building, fix a problem, and then leave a mess for the next department coming in behind them to do their part of the work. Workers seemed to think only about maximizing the output of their own department and finishing their own work quickly, with little regard for the impact on other departments and the long-term impact on the university. What could Joe do to better coordinate the work of his departments and make better use of the resources he has, so that more work can be accomplished with the limited budget? Allow your groups to discuss this and come up with strategies. After discussion of the case, ask the question: How could these same ideas be applied in our organization?

Possible answers (for the Trainer or Facilitator). Joe could: Have each department select a team leader to represent them Call a meeting of all team leaders, share his budget numbers with them, and explain that they will be expected to work together more closely Have each team leader identify what he could do to help each of the other departments Continue to hold weekly meetings with team leaders so they get to know each other better, to share information, and to hear requests from each department for what they could use from others Begin cross-training people in more than one trade in order to promote sharing of available workers between functions when the workload permits this

Case Study 2: Poor Interpersonal Skills

Jennifer is the Accounting Department manager for a regional chain of convenience stores. Jennifer is an accounting superstar. She has a bachelors degree, recently passed her CPA exam, and is really exceptional in her accounting knowledge. She was so good, in fact, that she was promoted to department manager in her previous company after only two years on the job. She has been at her current company for ten months. She has implemented two accounting procedural changes that have streamlined the work and resulted in cost savings for the company.

She reports to the CFO, and he is concerned about Jennifer, despite her obvious talents. There is no denying that she has had a positive impact, but Jennifer is not fitting in so well. Jennifer is a poor communicator and seems to have alienated quite a few of her peers and her employees. She is often aloof and distant, and her usual way of motivating performance is to simply dictate what will be done and expect compliance with her orders. She has good ideas but has little ability to present them well or to work as part of a team. You are Jennifers CFO, and you believe you can coach Jennifer. How would you approach her and what would you say? What issues would you work with her on? How would you hold Jennifer accountable for improvement on the issues you identified? For the Trainer or Facilitator The CFO could: Make an appointment with Jennifer to talk privately Offer specific and detailed feedback and observations about what he/she has seen that is of concern. Be direct but kind; Explain why her methods may be of concern and the impact they are having on others Identify a maximum of three change goals to which Jennifer will agree Set specific behavioral objectives and ask her to document what she does in regard to each goal Agree to meet again (weekly?) to discuss progress Consider assigning Jennifer an in-house mentor in another department if available or securing the services of an outside coach to help train her in and encourage practice of human relations skills Let her know that her performance appraisals will reflect how she is performing in her leadership role in addition to her accounting role Be a good role model for building teamwork and collaboration Your group may think of additional appropriate things that will help improve Jennifers performance.

Case Study 4: Supervising Experienced Workers

Aden is considerably younger than most of the people he supervises. He has a degree, and is mechanically inclined. Right out of college he went to work for a local manufacturer in an on-the-job training program with an eye toward becoming a team leader. Aden learned his trade well and was promoted in just under a year to team leader. He is not only younger than anyone he supervises; he is better educated, too. How can Aden turn this situation into an advantage? How can he become a good supervisor of his older and more experienced workers? How can he better assure that he does not alienate his team members? For the Trainer or FacilitatorAden could:

 Observe carefully and show interest in the jobs of all operators whose work he does not know how to do well Get them to explain things to him Ask simple questions so they can respond and train him Spend time one-on-one with people Ask each worker what he can do to support them Advocate for his people with his own boss and upper management Make good on promises or explain why he cannot do what was asked Apply equitable performance standards and address any performance issues Be friendly with his employees and keep his sense of humor Your group may think of additional appropriate answers. If so, commend them.

Case Study 6: Improving Productivity

Coastal Bank is a large bank in a southeastern city. As a part of a comprehensive internal management study, Harris Meade, the data processing vice president, examined the turnover, absenteeism, and productivity figures of all work groups in the organization. The results Meade obtained contained no real surprises except in the case of the check-sorting and data-processing departments. The Research The inquiry revealed that in general the departments displaying high turnover and absenteeism rates had low production figures, and those with low turnover and absenteeism were highly productive. No surprise there. When analysis began on the check-sorting and data-processing figures, however, Meade discovered that both departments were tied for the lead for the lowest turnover and absenteeism figures. What was surprising was that the check-sorting department ranked first as the most productive unit, whereas the electronic data-processing department ranked last. That inconsistency was further complicated by the fact that the working conditions for check-sorting employees are extremely undesirable. They work in a large open room that is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They work alone and operate high-speed checksorting machines requiring a high degree of accuracy and concentration. There is little chance for interaction because they all take rotating coffee breaks. The computer room is air-conditioned, with a stable temperature year round; it has perfect lighting and is extremely quiet and comfortable. It was known that both groups are highly cohesive and that the workers generally function well with others in their department. This observation was reinforced by the studys finding of the low levels of turnover and absenteeism in both departments. The Interview Data In an effort to understand this phenomenon (similar productivity despite vastly different conditions), Meade decided to interview the members of both departments. Meade hoped to gain some insight into the dynamics of each groups behavior. It was discovered that the check-sorting department displayed a great deal of loyalty to the company. Most of the group was unskilled or semiskilled workers; although they have no organized union, each

person felt that the company had made special efforts to keep their wages and benefits in line with unionized operations. They knew that their work required team effort and were committed to high performance. A quite different situation existed in the data-processing department. Although the workers liked their fellow employees, there was a uniform feeling among this highly skilled group that management placed more emphasis on production than on staff units. It was their contention that pay increases had been better for operating departments and that the gap between the wage earners and salaried employees did not reflect the skill differences. Because of that, a large percentage of the group displayed little loyalty toward the company, even though they were very close among themselves. The Challenge There is some degree of urgency to improve productivity in this situation. A major competitor in the region is increasing its market share, while Coastal Banks marke t share is trending downward in the last two quarters. One challenge the bank faces is how to make the data-processing unit more productive. Other low-performing departments may need focus as well, particularly in the areas of absenteeism and turnover. It is possible that system-wide change may be needed. You are Harris Meade and you are tasked with improving productivity throughout the bank: HOW do you decide on the best course of action? What is the best method to make the decision? HOW do you implement any change that may be needed? Suggestion for use: have learners answer the case study individually. Then break them into small groups to discuss and come to some consensus. There is no right or wrong answer in this case study, as is true of many leadership decisions. The best a leader can do is to align with organizational priorities, seek the input of others, develop reasonable plans, and try to make a thoughtful decision. It is probably a good idea, in this case, to appoint a cross-functional team composed of workers from each department and other bank departments, too, to make recommendations to management.