Emerson, Ross and Partners - Essay Example

Emerson, Ross and Partners . Executive Summary “Winners are always firmly grounded in clearly stated ideas. They have an explicit central idea that explains why they are in business and how they intend to add value. They have organizational ideas about how the various parts of the organization will interact with each other. They have well-defined values about what constitutes desirable and unacceptable behavior. And most importantly, these ideas are shared and understood by everyone working in the organization. They provide every member with an intellectual framework and an internal yardstick for measuring the rightness of his or her actions. By defining the game and setting the rules, these ideas allow each individual to act independently and to take actions that will move everyone together towards success”. (Tichy & Cohen.2002. Page 101). Identification of the problems This is exactly what has not happened at Emerson, Ross and Partners. Expansion has happened without cohesion, and issues on people development, motivation and recognition, and communication have become threats to well being and survival. Recommendation and Conclusion After a careful study, the report states corrective action and advocates the following: Management and HR Interventions for people development, delegation and empowerment Management efforts towards providing a more proactive recognition and motivation initiative. All round efforts at improving and fostering growth of two way communication in order to achieve cohesion and stability. Problem Identification and Analysis It is prudent to begin with some questions which the case study should answer, with special emphasis on expansion. Is the expansion in the interests of the business or for personal glory? Has the team been taken into confidence for decisions on the 2 new branch offices? Are the six new appointed partners geared up for a general operations management role? Have the senior partners clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of the new partners before sending them out to new branches? Are the branches empowered to design their local strategy and conduct their business to achieve targets? Does the management recognize good performance? How? The answers which we get basis the case study details: The decision to expand has been taken by the two senior partners who believe that they can grow their market and sustain incremental business. They have a team of very talented designers working with them for sometime now, who have been designated as Partners and will head the two new branches. The two Senior Partners, Peter and Andrew assign work based on their own assessment of the employees’ capabilities. Both Peter and Andrew like to lay down specific guidelines and expect their team to follow it without questioning and challenging. There is lack of trust among the 6 new partners, their teams and top management. There is very little or no two way communication within the organization. Assumptions basis the gaps in information: The company has succeeded in recruiting good creative talent, but lacks strategic leadership. While Peter and Andrew like to lay down specific guidelines for assignments and tasks, they are unwilling to recognize innovation and initiative from the employees. HR function is dormant and sidelined. Peter and his wife Gail Emerson, who are Partners in the company, are simply unable to get along with each other-interpersonal problems at the top. The problems identified thus: Highly centralized management- branch heads feel like puppets-lack of delegation and empowerment. Employees have an uncomfortable feeling of ‘being watched’ by suspicious managers and senior team members. It’s like ‘walking on glass’. Employees leading teams dissatisfied with the company policies with regard to conduct of business, empowerment, future prospects. Lack of initiative seen because of the general feeling that the top management does not value inputs from team members Partners tending to cannibalize on the creativity of the younger designers, in their search for glory. Defensive approach to superior work from subordinates- lack of motivation and absolutely no recognition Owner partners whimsical about the business- while doing business with friends and acquaintances, they are not fastidious with their agreement and payment processes. Work overload imposed on the premise that Emerson Ross and Partners pay higher than the market does, for that kind of work -inconsiderate attitude. Unfavorable trend in employee turnover. Poor managerial communication and interpersonal skills. Lack of cohesion among the top management. Statement of Major Problems Three major problems thus emerge. People Management issues “The fundamental managerial consideration necessarily must be focused on the question: How do we meet both individual and organizational purposes?”(Levinson, 1970) Motivation and Recognition issues In his opening lines, in the Forward of “Maslow on Management”, Warren Bennis quotes Maslow; “Proper management of the work lives of human beings, of the way in which they earn their living, can improve them and improve the world and in this sense be a utopian or revolutionary technique”.(Maslow.1998). Gaps in Two- way Communication “The major channels of Management communication are talking and listening” (Rourke IV, 2006.Page 9). Generation and Evaluation of a Range of Alternative Solutions To combat People Development issues it is recommended that the organization must: Establish role clarity for each employee- KRAs to be defined and written down. Eligibility criteria for every level to be defined. Regular meetings for cascade of values, work in progress updating, operational reviews. Performance appraisals and mid year evaluations to be the norm. Empowerment and Delegation to replace top heavy management practices. Peoples development initiatives like Training in Behavioral skills, Team building exercises and group activity. To solve the issues regarding motivation and recognition, we first need to address the “Power of Expectations” (Livingston.1969) Often, positive feelings are not communicated clearly. ”What managers believe about themselves subtly influences what they believe about their subordinates, what they expect of them, and how they treat them.”(Livingston.1969). The solutions for the first problem set the stage for resolution of the motivation issues. In addition, the management must rigorously practice the following: Evaluate employees’ contribution to the organization. Measure employees impact on the organization in terms of innovative thinking and creativity. As a leader, impart vision and values to encourage employees and inspire their motivation. Review and streamline organizational policies as they are an important “hygiene factor” as stated by Herzberg in 1993. Recognize work done since this is an “intrinsic motivation” as propounded by Herzberg. But, “…if grief and pain are sometimes necessary for growth of the person, then we must learn not to protect people from them automatically…..”(Maslow.1998. Page 10) The absence of two-way communication is the biggest culprit and has obviously aggravated the first two problems. The existence of crisp and clear two-way communication helps each one manage the other’s expectations and avoid ambiguities. Therefore, the organization must: Create communication channels, both formal and informal. Formal i.e. written communications to be standardized and template driven to ensure uniformity, clarity and objectivity, but at the risk of becoming redundant if not used dynamically. Informal i.e. spoken or implied communication to be frequent; but at the same time must not impose on another individual’s space or freedom or be taken lightly. Use of Electronic connectivity and interactive sessions to be encouraged in order to stay in touch 24x7. Stakeholder communication, including employees, customers, partners, suppliers to be made compulsory, through meetings, newsletters, advertisements, above the line and below the line activities or any other appropriate communication tool. Recommendations The answer to the problems at Emerson, Ross and Partners lies in implementation of ‘The Carrot Principle’, as stated by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, (2007) which says that when recognition is applied to the “Basic 4”of good management, it serves as an accelerator. According to their observations, the “Basic 4” of leadership and good management are “Goal setting, Communication, Trust and Accountability”. All these must be backed by “Recognition” since it is the real accelerator. Following the same thought process, Henry Mintzberg, (1989) the guru of bottom-up management opines that the successful manager combines interpersonal, informational and decision-making roles- he sees the big picture. In a lighter vein, Mintzberg uses phrases like “calculated chaos” and “controlled disorder” to describe managerial work in an article that appeared in New York Times (Oct 29, 1976) “At a gut level, all of us know that much more goes into the process of keeping a [large] organization vital and responsive than the policy statements, new strategies, plans, budgets and organization charts can possibly depict. But all too often we behave as though we don’t know it. If we want change, we fiddle with strategy. Or we change the structure. Perhaps the time has come to change our ways”. (Peters & Waterman.1982. Page 1) Implementation Week 1 & 2 People Development HR to come out of the closet and create job descriptions, define KRAs in conjunction with the team leaders, finalize performance appraisal formats and schedules. Management and HR to initiate people planning in conjunction with strategic planning. HR to take appropriate action in case there is a disconnect or a misfit somewhere. HR to create organizational chart and personnel files with employee details for reference and records. Management to define reporting systems, formats and parameters. Heads of Functions and Team leaders to define meeting schedules, agenda, plan of action, start and end dates for specific activity, review meeting dates. Team to collectively decide on timelines, feedback formats, review formats. Motivation and Recognition Top management and HR to review compensation packages and other benefits and create a graded system, basis hierarchy. To state rewards and performance bonus at the outset to discourage speculation and bargaining. Team leaders to encourage adoption of values among team members. Partners to stress on participative management rather than a top down approach. Enhanced levels of ownership due to delegation and empowerment to be applauded by senior management with a celebration or get together. Communication Team leaders to create formats for inter office, inter branch, inter region correspondence, requisitioning, provisioning, proposals, communication with clients and customers, partners, suppliers. Partners to formulate and share mission and vision statements, value propositions, code of conduct documents, employment rules and regulations. HR to formalize and share implications of employment in the company, with information on compensation, rules governing an employee, his or her status on benefits, insurance, education policies, other policies. HR to create an orientation docket for new entrants so that they are aware of the company’s expectations, and also know how they can contribute and make an impact. Programs for people development and technological skills to be identified and scheduled every quarter. Week 3 & 4 and onwards Integrate the corrective actions in all the three areas to impact the big picture. Top management to control activity which has kicked off in week 1 & 2 and regularly measure organizational performance through Management Information Systems, Financial Control Tools, Benchmarking of Best Practices. Enhancing performance levels and troubleshooting during contingencies are two very critical functions of top management. Creation of a culture of trust as defined by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter(1995) is the icing on the cake. Note: Since this report focuses on behavioral issues and recommends changes in the way of work and management process streamlining, it is not possible to work out accurate tangible costs. However the variables that can be taken at actual costs would include cost of hiring and retaining competent workers; cost of retaining existing workers, costs of rewards and recognition. The enhanced costs would also include overheads and maintenance costs for new offices/branches. Increased travel costs, merchandising and collateral production would add to the expenditure. The points of discussion and problem resolution being behavioral and qualitative, I have not had any occasion to make charts or graphs, which as you know, are all quantitative representation of data. Thank you. References Gostick, Adrian & Chester, Elton. The Carrot Principle. (2007) Published in New York by Simon & Schuster Inc. Herzberg, Frederick. The Motivation to Work. (1993). Published in US by Transaction Publishers. Levinson, Henry. Management by Whose Objectives? (1970) First published in Harvard Business Review in 1970, and later compiled in the series Ideas with Impact –HBR on Motivating People, by HB School Press. 2003. US. Livingston, Sterling, J. Pygmalion in Management. (1969) First published in Harvard Business Review in 1969, and later compiled in the series Ideas with Impact –HBR on Motivating People, by HB School Press. 2003. US. Maslow, Abraham, H. Maslow on Management. Foreword by Warren Bennis. (Hardcover) 1998. Published in US by John Wiley & Sons (1st Ed) Maslow, Abraham, H. Towards a Psychology of Being. (1968). Published in US by John Wiley & Sons. (3rd Ed) Mintzberg, Henry. Mintzberg on Management. (1989). Published in USA by Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Mintzberg, Henry. Mintzberg on Management. (1989) quoted from his own Article in New York Times dated October 29, 1976. O’Rourke IV, James, S. Management Communication: A Case-Analysis Approach. (2006) Published by Prentice Hall (3rd Ed) Peters, Thomas, J. & Waterman, Robert, H. In Search of Excellence. (1982) Published in New York by CollinsBusiness Essentials. An Imprint of HarperCollins Puiblishers. Robbins, S.P., Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, M. Management 3e. (1995) Published by Prentice Hall. Tichy, Noel, M. & Cohen, Eli. The Leadership Engine-How Winning Companies Build Leaders at every Level. 2002. Published in New York by HarperBusiness. A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Read More