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Amy'ssampleassignment

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Amy'ssampleassignment
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AssignmentTopic
Casestudysummary
Lawton,Langridge,LyptonandLawlessisalargeSydneylegalfirm.Amongitsstaffare22dataentry
clerkswhoworkintheWordProcessingCentre(WPC).Theirjobistoprocessthelargevolumeof
legaldocumentsproducedbythefirm'ssolicitors.WPCclerksarecarefullyselectedandmusthavea
TAFEdiplomaorYear12withgoodpassesinbusinesssubjects.Whentheyjointhefirmtheyreceive
aweekoftraininginspecialisedlegaldocuments,andextratrainingsessionsareheldregularlyto
ensuretheykeeptheirknowledgeuptodate.
Thefirmoccupies10floorsofanewbuildinginthecentreofSydney.TheWPCislocatedonthe35th
floorandhaswonderfulviewsaroundthecityandharbour.Thecentreisverywellequippedwith
excellentfurnishingsandaverypleasantstaffroom.Thefirmisabletoattractgoodqualityworkers
becauseitoffersaboveaveragewagesandmanyotherbenefits.However,allisnotwell.Seniorstaff
andsolicitorshavecomplainedtoArthurLawton,theManagingPartner,thattheyneedtocheckthe
workofWPCclerkswhoworkasreliefsecretaries,becauseofthefrequenterrorsmade.Theyalso
believethattheseworkersareunreliableandlackinitiative.PersonnelrecordsshowthatWPCstaffdo
notstaywiththefirmforverylong,despitetheopportunitiesforpromotion.
NoneofthesolicitorsknowtheworkersintheCentreverywell,butallpraisethehardworkand
serviceprovidedbyMrsBlakely,theWPCsupervisor,whohasworkedwiththefirmforover20years.
Indeed,theytendtoseetheproblemastheresultofsomethingwrong"withyoungpeopletoday."
WhenMrLawtonraisesthematteroftheWPC'sproblems,MrsBlakelyreactsalittleangrily.She
defendsherclerks,sayingthatdespitetheerrors,theydocompletealotofwork.Sheadmitsthat
manyofthemfindthejobboring,asitmostlyinvolveskeyingininformation.Theclerksalso,often
cometoworklate,chatateveryopportunity,andgenerallydon'tworktoohard.Tostopthis,shekeeps
afirmeyeonthembutshebelievesshecan'tbetoohardortheywillleavethefirm.
MrsBlakelythenexplainstheWPCsystem.Theworktobedonearrivesfromeachsolicitorandis
allocatedtotheclerksonadailybasis.Toensuretheyknowwhattodo,shegoesovereachpieceof
workwiththembeforetheydothejob.Wheninformationneedstobeclarified,MrsBlakelygoestothe
relevantsolicitorherselfandthenpassestheinformationontotheclerks.Shecollectstheoutputwhen
thejobisfinishedandreturnsittothesolicitors.

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Herjobhowever,alsomeanssheliaiseswithsolicitorsonotherfloors,sosheisoftenawayfromthe
Centre.MrsBlakelyagreesthattheworkersdonotperformverywellasreliefsecretaries,butthinks
thisisbecausetheworkismorecomplexthantheyaretrainedtodo.Shesaysthesolicitorsdonot
helpthereliefsecretariesenoughandexpectthemtoknoweverythingstraightaway.
Whenquestioned,theWPCclerkssaytheylikeworkingforthefirmandwouldliketoearnpromotion,
butfindithardtostayinterestedinajobthatissorepetitiousandboring.Mostsaytheygetsickof
seeingthesamefaceseverydayastheyareisolatedonthe35thfloorandhavenocontactwithother
staff,exceptwitheachotherandMrsBlakely.Aftertryingtoimproveefficiencythroughtheuseof
pipedmusicanexperimentwhichfailsMrLawtonturnstoyou,asanexternalmanagement
consultant,foradvice.

Assignmenttopicquestion1
InternalOrganisationalProblemsof
Lawton,Langridge,LyptonandLawless,Solicitors
PreparedforArthurLawton
ManagingPartner
ByEffectiveManagementConsultants

Tableofcontents
ExecutiveSummary
1ProblemIdentificationandAnalysis
1.1ThelackofmotivationamongsttheWPCemployees
1.2MrsBlakely'sleadershipstyle
1.3Insufficientcommunicationatthefirm
1.4NoteamworkexistsintheWPCunit
2StatementofKeyProblems
3GenerationandEvaluationofaRangeofAlternativeSolutions
3.1SolutionsformotivatingtheWPCemployees
3.1.1AppointaWPCemployeetotwosolicitors
3.1.2Havedifferentlevelsofdataclerks
3.1.3CreategoalsfortheWPCemployee
3.2Solutionsforeffectivecommunication
3.2.1Haveregularmeetingsineachdepartmentandalsobetweenthedifferentdivisions
3.2.2Haveregularinformaleventsforallemployees
3.2.3Developnonidentificationquestionnairesanddiscussthefindings
3.3SolutionsforprovidingeffectiveleadershipoftheWPCemployees
3.3.1FireMrsBlakely
3.3.2HaveMrsBlakelytakeapersonalevaluation
3.3.3CreateamanageroftheWPC
4Recommendations
4.1IncreaseMotivationamongsttheWPCemployees
4.2Increasecommunicationinthefirm
4.3CreateeffectiveleadershipfortheWPCemployees
5Implementation
5.1ImplementingmotivationoftheWPCemployees
5.2Implementeffectivecommunicationinthefirm
5.3ImplementingeffectiveleadershipoftheWPCemployees
References

Executivesummary
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Executivesummary
ThepurposeofthisreportistoinvestigatethemajorproblemsthatareprevalentatLawton,Langridge,Lypton
andLawless,Solicitors.
Oneofthemajorproblemsthatthefirmisexperiencing,isthatthedataclerkspossessalackofmotivation.
Thisisbecausetheyareisolatedonthe35thfloorandtheirworkismonotonous.Alsotheyarenotgivenany
responsibilitywhichthenresultsinalackofinitiative.Furthermoretheydonotpossessanygoals.Another
majorproblemisthatMrsBlakely,theWPCunitsupervisor,doesnotpossessadequateleadershipskills.She
doesnotencourageorinspirethegirls,delegatesimpletasks,orteachthem.Shealsodoesnottrytosolve
theproblemofdataerror.Lackofeffectivecommunicationisalsoanotherproblemthatthefirmsuffersfrom.
IneffectivecommunicationispresentintheWPCunitandbetweenthedifferentdivisionsofthelawfirm.This
wasillustratedwhenMrLawtonheldameetingwiththeWPCemployees.Thegirlstoldhimthattheyfound
theworkboringandthattheyfeltisolated.Hissolutionwastoinstallasoundsystem.Hedidnotaskthem
whatwasthebestsolution,hencenoactivelisteningwaspresent,nordidheaskwhetherinstallingasound
systemwasthebestanswertotheirproblem,hencenotallowingfeedbacktooccur.
Itisrecommendedthatifthelawfirmresolvedthesymptomsofineffectivecommunication,thelackof
motivationamongstthedataclerksandMrsBlakely'spoorleadershipstyle,thenthetwootherproblems,the
weakorganisationalcultureandthelackofteamworkwouldalsobeeradicated.Thereforethesolutiontothe
lackofmotivationofthedataclerksistoassignaWPCemployeetoamaximumoftwosolicitors,onthe
samefloorasthesolicitors.Thiswouldthenallowthemtoimprovecommunicationwiththeotheremployeesof
thefirm.Anothersolutionisforgoalstobesetbyindividualemployeesanddepartments.Thiswouldcreatea
moremotivatedemployeebasethatwouldpossessclearobjectives.Thereforesolutionstothelackof
communicationistoimplementinformalsocialeventsaswellasregularmeetingsforeachdepartment,and
meetingsforallthedepartmentheads.Thiswouldallowalltheemployeestocommunicatewithoneanother.
InregardstoestablishingbetterleadershipskillsintheWPCunit,itisrecommendedthatMrsBlakelyshould
undertakeaworkappraisal,whichwouldidentifytoherandtheorganisationthatsheisnotmanagingtheWPC
unitverywell.AmanagershouldthenbeappointedtotheWPC.MrsBlakelycouldstillremainasasupervisor
oftheWPCunitandmeetweeklywiththenewmanager.InregardstothelackofmotivationintheWPC,itis
suggestedthatasindividualsandasgroupstheycreategoals.WPCemployeesworkingonthesamelevel
couldhavetheirownworkarea.Consequently,thiswouldincreasetheirskills,senseofresponsibilityand
motivation.

1.Problemidentificationandanalysis
1.1ThelackofmotivationamongsttheWordProcessingCentre(WPC)employees
TheWPCemployeesgreatlysufferfromalackofmotivation.Motivationisthewillingnesstoexerthighlevels
ofefforttoreachorganisationalgoals,conditionedbytheeffortstosatisfysomeindividualneed(Robbins,
Bergman,StaggandCoulter,2000,p.549).Maslow'sHierarchyofNeedsTheoryidentifiesthosesymptoms,
whichcontributetotheWPCclerks'lackofmotivation.Theclerksstatethattheyfeelisolatedonthe35thfloor
andhavecontactonlywithoneanotherandMrsBlakely.Alsothereisahighturnoverrate,withonlythree
clerksintheWPChavingworkedforthefirmformorethaneighteenmonths,withthemajoritystayingonly
about12months.Asaresulttheydonotpossesstheinitiativeforgrowthandachievementoftheirpotential.
Theclerks'esteemneedsarealsounderminedbecausetheyperformthesamemonotonousactivities.They
possessnoautonomyasMrsBlakelyassignsthetasks.Moreover,theywouldliketoearnapromotionbutfind
ithardtostayinterested.Herzberg'sMotivationHygieneTheoryisalsorelevant.Itidentifiestheintrinsic
factors,themotivators,thatarerelatedtojobsatisfactionandmotivation,whereasextrinsicfactors,the
hygienefactors,areassociatedwithjobdissatisfaction(Robbinsetal.,2000,p.553).Aspreviouslyidentified
above,theonesthatarerelevantaresupervision,relationshipwiththesupervisor,workingconditionsand
relationshipwithpeers(Robbinsetal.,2000,p.553).
1.2MrsBlakely'sLeadershipstyle

Mrs.Blakely'sleadershipstyleiswhattheUniversityofIowaStudieshasdeterminedasautocratic:sheisa

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Mrs.Blakely'sleadershipstyleiswhattheUniversityofIowaStudieshasdeterminedasautocratic:sheisa
leaderwhotendstocentraliseauthority,dictateworkmethods,makeunilateraldecisionsandlimitsubordinate
participation(Robbinsetal.,2000,p.596).Sheachievesthisbyallocatingwhatistobedonebytheclerks
eachdayinsteadoflettingthemdecide.Alsoshelimitstheirinteractionwithpeoplefromtheotherlevelsby
notallowingtheclerkstoclarifyissueswiththesolicitors.KathleenPearcestatedthatshefeltlikeshewas"in
school,withsomeonewatchingwhatyouaredoingandtellingyouwhattodo"(ManagingPeopleand
OrganisationsCaseStudy,Semester2,2000,p.4.).TheOhioStatestudies(Robbinsetal.,2000,p.596)
suggestthatasuccessfulstyleofleadershipwillprovideinitiatingstructure,theextenttowhichaleaderis
likelytodefineandstructureherroleandthoseofsubordinates,insearchforgoalattainment.MrsBlakelyis
awarethattheclerksthinktheirjobsareboring,butshehasnotestablishedanygoals.Shelacksinterpersonal
skillsandshedoesnotspendagreatdealoftimeontheWPClevel.Shedoesnotteachtheclerkshowtodo
theirjobcorrectlybecauseifshedid,therewouldnotbeanyerrors.Nofeedbackisprovidedbecauseshedoes
nothaveenoughtimetochecktheirwork.HerstatementtoMrLawton"...thatthetroubleisthatyoungpeople
thesedaysdon'twanttowork..."illustratesthatshedoesnotbelieveinherworkunit.Shealsodoesnot
possessdisciplineskillsassheallowstheclerkstoarrivelateandtakelongbreaks.
1.3Insufficientcommunicationatthelawfirm
ThereisalackofcommunicationbetweentheotherlevelsofthelawfirmandtheWPCunit.Asmentioned
previously,theWPCclerksgenerallydonotassociatewiththeemployees.FurthermoreMrLawtondidnot
listeneffectivelytotheclerks'grievances.Ifhehad,hewouldhaverealisedthatinstallinganewmusic
systemintheWPC,wouldnotmaketheclerksworkmoreproductively.AfterspeakingtoKathleenPearce,he
shouldhaverealisedthatthegirls'secretarialskillsweredeteriorating,andthatMrsBlakelydoesnotgivethem
adequatetraining,preparingthemforworkasasolicitor'ssecretary.Thesolicitorsdonotknowtheclerksvery
wellbutonlyknowMrsBlakely,asissuggestedbyPeterLawless'sremark,"andIhearonthegrapevinethat
alotofworkissubstandard...."
1.4NoteamworkexistsintheWPCunit
Thereareninecharacteristicsthatreflectwhetherateamiseffective.Unfortunately,inregardtotheWPCunit,
thegroupofdataclerksandMrsBlakleydonotpossessthese.Thedataclerkshavenocleargoals.Bytheir
arrivinglateandtakinglongworkbreaksillustratestheyareuncommittedtotheirjobs.Thisthenhindersthe
opportunitytoestablishunifiedcommitmentamongsttheWPCemployees.Theyalsodonotpossessthe
relevantskillsforbeingdataclerksbecausetheycontinuallymakemistakes.Becausetheorganisationhasa
weakculturetheycannotdevelopanymutualtrust.Aspreviouslymentioned,theorganisationlacksgood
communication,whichthenaffectstheWPCunit.Theclerksalsoappeartolacknegotiatingskillsbecauseif
theyhadthese,theWPCproblemswouldprobablyhavebeenfixed.MrLawtoninhismeetingwiththedata
clerksshowshelackstheseskillstoo.Aspreviouslymentioned,MrsBlakelydoesnotpossessthe
appropriateleadershipskill,toproperlyestablishaneffectiveteamenvironment.Sheisnotpresentalotofthe
timeandshedoesnotencouragegroupbehaviour.Intermsoftheinternalenvironmentofthefirm,theisolation
oftheWPCemployeesalsoaffectsthedevelopmentofteamspirit.

2.Statementofkeyproblemsandissues
AlthoughitisevidentthatLawton,Langridge,LyptonandLawless,Solicitorssuffersfromanumberof
dilemmas,themajorproblemsarethelackofcommunicationandmotivationamongsttheWPCstaff,andMrs
Blakely'sinappropriateleadershipstyle.Ifthefirmcaneradicatethesethreeproblems,theotherminorones
willbefixed.IftheWPCstaffcangainahighdegreeofmotivation,thedifferentunitsofthefirmcommunicate
effectively,andMrsBlakelychangesherleadershipstyle,thenastrongorganisationalculturewillbecreated
andapositiveteamworkenvironment.

3.Generationandevaluationofarangeofalternativesolutions
3.1SolutionsforMotivatingtheWPCEmployees
3.1.1AppointaWPCemployeetotwosolicitors

Eachdataclerkshouldbeappointedtotwosolicitorswherepossible.ThiswouldallowtheWPCemployeesto

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Eachdataclerkshouldbeappointedtotwosolicitorswherepossible.ThiswouldallowtheWPCemployeesto
haveincreasedcontactwithotherpeopleinthefirm.EachWPCemployee'sworkareacouldbeneartheoffice
oftheirdesignatedsolicitor.Alldataclerksonthesamefloorshouldbelocatedtogether.Thiswouldenable
themtoperformagreaternumberofactivitiesinsteadofdoingthesamethingallday.Consequently,this
wouldimprovetheirworkskillsandallowtheWPCemployeestoshowgreaterinitiative,establishing
responsibilityandloyalty.Itwouldalsoprovidebettertrainingforbecomingareliefsecretary.Alsothedata
clerkscouldmeetasagroupeveryweektodiscussproblemsandissues.However,WPCemployeeskills
maynotimprovebecausetheclerkscouldfeelintimatedbythesolicitors.Itmaybedifficulttodisciplinethe
girlsandpreventthemfromarrivinglate,talkingandslackingoff.Theymaynotbeabletokeepupwiththe
extraworkloadandtheirskillsmaynotimprove.
3.1.2Havedifferentlevelsofdataclerks
Thiswouldcreateaworkenvironmentwherethegirlswouldbewillingtoworkharderinordertoreceivemore
interestingworktasks.Consequently,itwouldlimitundisciplinedworkbehaviour.Itwouldprovidebetter
efficiencyandcreatefewererrorsbecauseinordertograduatetothenextlevel,theemployeeswouldneedto
performtheirtaskscorrectly.Itwouldalsoidentifywheretheerrorsareoccurring.Theclerksonthehighest
levelwouldbethemostcapableofrelievingthesecretariesduringtheirholidays.Neverthelessbecausethe
girlsarebasicallydoingthesameworkeverydayitcouldstillbeconsideredboringandstillmayresultinerrors
occurring.Itmaycreateaworkingatmospherewhereanimositiesarepresentbetweentheemployees,
becauseofthebureaucraticenvironment.Itdoesnotsolvetheproblemofthegirlsfeelingisolated.
[Pleasenote:forreasonsoflength,sectionshavebeenremovedbelow.]
3.1.3CreategoalsfortheWPCunit
...
3.2SolutionsforEstablishingEffectiveCommunication
3.2.1Haveregularmeetingsineachdepartment,andalsobetweenthedifferentdivisions.
...
3.2.2Haveregularinformaleventsforallfirmemployees
...
3.2.3Developnonidentificationquestionnairesanddiscussthefindings
...
3.3SolutionsforProvidingEffectiveLeadershipintheWPC
3.3.1FireMrsBlakely
FiringMrs.Blakelycouldincreasetheclerks'initiativebecausetheycouldgainmoreresponsibility.Atpresent,
shedoesnotgivethemenoughresponsibilitynordoessherespectthem,althoughshegenuinelyseemsto
careforthem.Shehasnottriedtomotivatethegirlseventhoughsheisawarethattheyfindtheirjobsboring.
Further,shecannotdisciplinethem.HoweverMrsBlakelyiswidelyrespectedbythesolicitors,andsheis
efficient.Becauseshehasworkedforthefirmforovertwentyyearsitwouldbedifficulttofindareplacement
withthesameamountofknowledge.
3.3.2HaveMrs.Blakelyundergoaworkappraisal
ItisevidentthatMrs.Blakelyhasbecomecomplacentincarryingouttheroleofsupervisor.Byundertakinga
workappraisalevaluationshewouldbeabletoredefineherroleinthefirm.Shecouldreviewandchangeher
ineffectiveleadershipskills.ItwouldalsoidentifytothefirmthatMrs.Blakelyneedstoimproveherleadership
skills,asMrLawtonwouldundertaketheevaluation.However,thereviewmaynotbeproductivebecausethe
firmalreadythinksveryhighlyofher.ItisevidentthatMrsBlakelydoesnotbelieveherleadershipskillsare
inadequate,soshemaynotbenefitfromtheevaluation.Theevaluationmaynotcontainthecorrectquestions
whichidentifythatMrsBlakleyislargelyanincompetentleader.
3.3.3CreateamanageroftheWPCunit.
...

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...

4.Recommendations
4.1IncreasemotivationamongsttheWPCemployees
InordertoreducethelackofmotivationamongsttheWPCemployeesacombinationofallocatingthemto
solicitorsandsettingindividualgoalsshouldbeimplemented.Goalsettingisveryimportantasitwillmotivate
eachindividualtoassessherroleinthefirm.GoalscanbeestablishedforeachWPCemployee,theWPC
employeesasagroup,andalsofortheWPCseniorstaffandsolicitors.ByappointingaWPCemployeetoa
solicitor,eachclerkcanlearntorecognisetheirneeds,especiallytheiresteem,socialandselfactualisation
needsinthefirm.Motivatorssuchasachievement,recognition,responsibility,advancementandgrowthcan
alsobeachieved(Robbinsetal.,2000,p.553).
4.2Increasecommunicationinthefirm.
Thereshouldbeacombinationofallthreesuggestions,theregularmeetingsineachdivisionandwiththe
departmentheads,theinformaleventsbetweenthedifferentdepartments,andthequestionnaires.The
questionnairescouldbeadministeredeverysixmonthsandthefindingscouldbediscussedatthemeetings.
Thesechannelsareeffectiveandwouldallowthefirmtocommunicatemoreeffectivelybecausetheypermit
differentmethodsofcommunicationtobeusedincludingoral,nonverbalandwrittencommunication.The
meetingswouldencourageactivelisteningandprovideanopportunityforfeedback.
4.3CreateeffectiveleadershipoftheWPCemployees
AcombinationofMrsBlakelyundergoingaworkappraisalandappointingamanagertotheWPCunitwould
combatinadequateleadershipskillsthere.MrsBlakelyshouldstillremainassupervisoroftheWPCunit
however,thereshouldbeamanagerpresentatalltimeswiththeWPCstaff,whoisabletodisciplineand
motivatethem.Withthepresenceofamanager,thereisahighpossibilitythatamoredemocraticstyleof
leadershipwouldbeadoptedandaninitiatingstructurecreated.ThismanagercouldthencontactMrsBlakelyif
anyproblemoccurs,givenherknowledge.MrsBlakelyshouldtakeapersonalevaluationbecauseitwould
identifybothtoherandthefirmthatsheisunabletoeffectivelyleadtheWPCunit.

5.Implementation
[Pleasenotethattheassignmenttablecannotbedisplayedonthisscreenbecauseitistoocomplex.]

6.Referencing
Robbins,S.,Bergman,R.,Stagg,I.AndCoulter,M.,(2000),Management,PrenticeHall,(2ndedn),Sydney.

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