Case: Growing Managers - Assignment Example

Module What are the issues facing Ms. Richardson? Be specific in your response to identify the issue and why it is an issue for managers. Melissa Richardson faces quite a number of problems that new managers encounter when they move to a new company in a different environment. The greatest problem seems to be the conflict between Richardson and her team members. The employees do not respect her and they barely do as she commands. Alex Hoffman is rude, disrespectful and does not listen to her. He questions Melissa’s ability to make decisions and does not see her as his superior.

Gregorio Torres has declining sales but he is uninterested in what Richardson tries to tell im and instead chooses to focus on other things. Chelsea Peterson conflicted with Richardson over a job position that was not available and she did not even qualify for it. Richardson conflicted with Sarah Vega with over lateness, absenteeism and having an unfocused nature. She also disrespected Richardson by texting when she was trying to offer her some advice. Richardson had problems with the sales report.

She had not been given adequate information about it, therefore, entered the wrong details, which led to a conflict with the regional manager. There was also the greenhouse that was attacked by a fungus, therefore, resulting to an anticipated delay to new customers. A regional customer visited the site without giving prior notification, which led him to discover a mistake that caused the team to repot the flowers. Richardson was also faced by the legal issues stemming from Peterson due to the confrontation about the promotion to a sales representative.

What did Richardson do right when she started her new job? What mistakes did she make? What might have helped Richardson get off to a better start?Richardson was right to attempt to make a connection with her team members for they needed to cooperate in order to work as a team. She right to arrange a meeting that would have helped foster a good relationship with the team members. Richardson also looked for other ways to solve problems for example, giving discounts to the new customers who were to be delayed.

She also was right to look for new clients as it would have boosted sales. However, Richardson did not establish some ground rules, which would have helped the team members to realize what they were expected to do. Richardson should have made rules to combat lateness, absenteeism, disrespect and communication in the firm. She should have solved the conflicts by calling another meeting and making sure that the rules and the team’s goals were discussed. The conflict should have been solved by giving each member a chance to explain their behavior instead of assuming the problems.

Richardson needed to show proper leadership skills to ensure that the team members respected her. Critique Ms. Richardsons first meeting. How could she have made a stronger impact on her team the first day? Describe some ways that Richardson might effectively build her team. Richardson first meeting was marred by lack of punctuality and disrespect by some of the team members. Richardson could have made a stronger impact by notifying the team members about the meeting’s venue, time and agenda a bit early to ensure that they were ready and punctual.

She should have asserted authority by starting with a formal meeting that would have seen everyone introduce themselves and ensure that there were no interruptions from the late comers or other employees. This would have helped her to make an emphasis on the punctuality. Richardson should have clarified the team’s goals, identify the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and delegate roles accordingly. She should have explained her roles as the leader and showed the team members that she was liable for their actions, therefore, making sure that they understood her role in the team.

This would have given the team members a clear picture of her duties and helped to align the team to work towards the organization’s goals. Miss Richardson should have confronted Sarah and Hoffman directly by letting them know that their behaviour was unacceptable. This would have assisted in asserting authority over rogue team members such as Hoffman. She could have created some norms by letting the team members know that punctuality was required, sarcasm and personal attacks were not allowed in the formal meetings and conflicts would be discussed directly to ensure that they are handled appropriately.

She could effectively build her team by minimizing conflicts, ensure that each team member has a valid input in the team, reward and appraise the team members, and ensure that there is constant communication. What should Ms. Richardson do right now given the series of events that occurred within her team? Be specific to address the actions she should take and cite your evidence to support the validity of your recommendations.The key to addressing Richardson’s problem is motivation and leadership.

Utilizing vroom’s expectancy theory, she can find out what each employee wants or expects from the job, therefore, delegating duties according to their abilities. This will motivate the employees as seen with Torres when he got the cut flowers job. Treating the team members equally would motivate them, therefore, she should explain to Peterson about the sales representative job and why she could not get it. Richardson could also lay some ground rules that should be followed in the firm. There should be training for team members who are not conversant with some areas for example, Sarah Vega needed training.

Using transformational leadership skills, Richardson could motivate and inspire the team to work towards the goals. This would involve showing them the value of respect, attending to their individual concerns, challenging them to work on different things, influencing them to go beyond their targets and rewarding them.