Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships - Case Study Example

What critical error did head nurse Penny Jerome make in her one-on-one exchange with Molly Stern? Answer: Head nurse, Penny Jerome made the critical error by saying, “It seems to me that you are never wrong, Molly”. That is why the case title is, “Always is a dangerous word”. Dick Rauscher (2011) is a therapist noted eight different words in English language that are dangerous to use. Two of them are; blame and revenge. Penny Jerome blamed Molly Stern that she at any cost always wanted to be right. The sentence in the article, “Feeling that Molly had given her cause to bring up something that had been nagging her quite sometime” - shows head nurse’s dormant hatred towards Molly Stern. Communication (“Role of communication in employee relationship”) plays a pivotal role in employee relationship, especially in healthcare services. Healthcare professionals ought to realize that they are taking care of some others health, which is a responsible task. A positive environment at work (“Role of Managers in Employee Relationship”) helps the employees to stay focused, and it will produce better output. Communications between the manager and subordinates should establish a cordial relationship and not hate to each other. The one – and - one communication described in the article did not show that there exists a friendly relationship between the head nurse Penny Jerome and Molly Stern. On the contrary, it showed opposite. Head nurse Penny Jerome did not want to analyze if performance and behavioral problems of Molly Stern are the cause of the mistake. Revenge overpowered her wisdom. Penny Jerome in her one – and – one conversation with Molly Stern as a manger instead of solving an existing problem incited a new problem. Why was that particular action of Penny’s wrong? Answer: One of the major tasks of human resource personnel is to develop a suitable solution of Employee and Management Relationship. Employee relationship and customer relationship are two fundamental parameters (“Employee Relationship Management”) for establishing a successful business. Employee relationship gives a complete product while customer relationship markets the product. Healthcare industry is not different from others when it goes to marketing of a product. Health care industries are marketing services, though the motivations are noble. Head nurse Penny Jerome did not setup a strategy and goal before initiating one-and-one conversation with Molly Stern. The attitude and tone of Penny Jerome show her anger towards Molly played the central role in their conversation. Molly Stern might be a difficult personality. Penny Jerome knew it. Penny Jerome did not accomplish anything thru her conversation with Molly Stern. They did not find the solution of the problem. Penny Jerome’s conversation should have been designed (Pieterse, J., 2008) to turnaround Molly Stern. That would have been a success for Penny Jerome in building Employee Relationship with Molly Stern. Penny Jerome initiated a confrontation with the words,” It seems to me you are never wrong, Molly”. She brought confrontation to its highest point of saturation by saying, “Just that the incident is not to be considered closed. Dr. Benson insists that it be written up as formal warning”. Penny’s particular action brought antagonism and aggravation in her relation with Molly. That is why her particular action was wrong. How would you recommend that Molly and Dr. Benson resolve their misunderstanding? Answer: In this story, there are three individuals; Dr. Benson, Penny Jerome, and Molly Stern. Considering hierarchy, Dr Benson is at the highest place, and Molly Stern is at the lowest place. It is clear that the relationships among these three people are in trouble. On the other hand, quality medical services depend on their proper relationship. All of them ought to remember that they are in healthcare business, and their services directly affect health of another human being. Their relationship already shows negative impact on overall performance of their organization. I would recommend them to build a relationship as described by Chrise Musslewhite (2008). Chris Musselwhite (2008) proposes three-step relationship among the employees. The steps are; Promote understanding of shared goals and task relevance, Ensure adequate knowledge and resources, Facilitate effective interaction. All three individuals in this case blamed each other. Though many organizations prefer personnel change in such cases, but it will not produce the permanent solution. Each individual in the group must recognize individual and group goals. This would be the solution for Dr. Benson, Penny Jerome, and Molly Stern. It is Dr. Benson whose responsibility will be to explain these goals to her employees. Dr. Benson can cultivate an atmosphere that will bring prosperity to their organization. Again, it is Dr. Benson whose responsibility is to see if Penny Jerome and Molly Stern are equipped with enough knowledge and resources to complete the task. Lack of these components will produce mistakes and discourages among employees. Providing with information and resources to employees is an ongoing process. Dr. Benson and Penny Jerome’s role will be to support this ongoing process. At last and not the least, all three of them need to make sure that they have a strong interaction and coordination. Only a strong interaction and coordination ( Musselwhite, C., 2008) will stop happening mistakes that took place in this case. My suggestion to Dr. Benson is to sit down with Molly and find out what went wrong, and then to follow Chris Musslewhite’s (2008) three step relationship among employees to avoid future mishaps. How would you respond to employees that are always right? Answer: There is no one in this world that could always be right. An employee who claims to be always right should be considered as a difficult employee. As a manger, I will have difficult employees in my professional life. It will be my duty to deal with them. I cannot close my eyes and think it gets solved in someway. This will worsen the situation in the organization. Most of the time difficult employees do not realize that they are difficult. To work with the difficult employee, I need to identify myself first. I need to understand my own motives, preferences, and biases (Reh, F). This is crucial because my self-confidence, emotional intelligence and self-control are essential tools to deal with the difficult employees. Molly Stern, no doubt, is a difficult employee. However, Penny Jerome did not possess enough self-confidence, emotional intelligence, and self-control to deal with Molly’s problems. To deal with a person that are always right, I will develop a program that incorporates (Reh, F.); employee evaluation, developing of a plan, confronting the problem, dealing with the behavior, and not the person, and provide a solution. I will also use reactive and responsive approaches (Tegano, D.) to find the solution. These approaches include management within the system and counseling at a personal level. References Emploee Relationship Management. (n.d.). Management Study Guide. Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-in-employee-relationship.htm Musselwhite, C. (2008). Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships. TM talent management. Retrieved from http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/three_ways_to_build_successful_manageremployee_relationships Pieterse, J. (2008). Why Employee Relationship Management. Toolbox.com. Retrieved from http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enterprise-design/why-employee-relationship-management-21687 Rauscher, D. (2011). The Eight Most Dangerous Words In English Language. Stony-nuggets.com. Retrieved from http://stonyhill-nuggets.com/2011/happiness/the-eight-most-dangerous-words-in-the-english-language/ Reh, F. (n.d.). Dealing With Difficult Employees. Management.about.com. Retrieved from http://management.about.com/od/employeemotivation/a/DifficultEE0605.htm Role of Communication in Employee Relationship. (n.d.). Management Study Guide. Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-in-employee-relationship.htm Role of Manager Employee Relationship. (n.d.). Management Study Guide. Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-in-employee-relationship.htm Tegano, D. (n.d.). Dealing With Difficult People: You Can React or Respond. Spe.org. 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