Leadership of Tech Depot - Case Study Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Leadership Introduction to the Situation Leadership plays a vital role in the performance of an organization (Kashtan n.pg). Different forms of leadership come to play in the situation at Tech Depot, which influence the performance of the organization. Initially, the founders as well as leader of the organization seem to be more lenient with the workers and seem to have allowed them more freedom and flexibility in performing their work. This is acknowledged to have greatly contributed to the enhanced loyalty of the workers to the organization in addition to increased sales of the company’s product. Changes are noted when the management and form of leadership is changed. The new manager, Aiken appears to be implementing a different form of leadership from the founder. In his case, Aiken employs an autocratic form of leadership in which he puts more restrictions on the employees by requiring them to work extra hard. The new manager takes over control of the company’s decisions by centralizing the operations of the organization to one central outlet. These extreme measures greatly influence the performance of the employees as well as the organization. As evidenced by the situation at the Tech Depot, during the leadership tenure of Aiken, the sales of the company reportedly dropped after a while and the employees seemingly lost their loyalty to the organization and became less productive due to work frustrations. The results of the autocratic leadership influenced the employees’ work performances as well as perception of management. The introduction of a new manager, Francoli is received by mixed feelings from the employees. Whereas the employees acknowledge that the new changes are meant to address the existing challenges that they face, they are unsure of the strategies that are expected to be implemented. This paper seeks to examine the new management leadership style in addressing the situation in the Tech Depot Company. Like most organizations, the prospect of change can be received openly or resisted by the employees regardless of the benefits that the changes are meant to bring along. The employees at Tech Depot are divided with respect to the anticipated changes that the new manager wants to bring into the company. Statement of the Problem Tech Depot has experienced flexible working conditions over the years, which were encouraged by the founder. This flexibility enabled the company’s staff to perform their work effectively. With the change of leadership in the organization as well as the introduction of strict measures for working, the employees became less motivated and some left their work to join other companies that are competition for the Tech Depot. This high employee turnover resulted in the creation of a poor image of the organization. The employees started talking ill of the leadership at the management, and this eventually affected the sales of the organization. Essentially, the corporate image of the organization was affected negatively to an extent where customers to the organization left to conduct their business with other competing organizations. As a corporate organization, Tech Depot began to make losses, which were uncharacteristic of it considering the previous market shares that the organization held in early years of production. This negative publicity created concern among the stakeholders who sought to bring in a new manager who would contribute to the revamp of the company’s image as well as sales. Organizational performance largely impacts on the employee performance as well as their well being. The employees at Tech Depot seem to be negatively affected by the form of leadership from their manager. This has seemingly been translated into their loyalty to the organization. More often than not, employees need to feel as part of the organization for them to be able to better perform their work (Bolden and Gosling 1). This is not as is the situation in the Tech Depot; with the autocratic form of leadership, employees feel like their rights are being overlooked since they work over time and are not getting payment for the additional time. Consequently, their loyalty to the organization has considerably reduced because of the strict measures put on them by the managers. These apparent harsh working conditions translate into low production as the employees are not motivated to give their best for the organization as they had before. The rate of employees leaving the organization is reportedly high and the essential goal for establishing the organization appears to be unachievable because of the lack of motivation from the employees. In addition to this, the organization employees seem to be divided with respect to their years of working in the organization. Analysis of the Problem The situation at Tech Depot appears manageable if the measures taken to address the problem will be properly considered. At first, changing the problematic form of leadership seems a vital step into the start of addressing the issues in the organization. The organizational stakeholders move to replace the autocratic leadership with a new manager, Francoli, is recommendable. This is so because, in most cases, the form of leadership style employed in any organization influences the performance of the organization as well as the employees’ performance. Even though changing the management seems to be an extreme measure since it impacts on the whole organization, in this situation, it appears to be adamant. The leadership regulations placed on the employees in this organization determines the employee performance. For instance, the centralization of the organization’s distribution of products took the ability of the branch managers to make decisions with respect to the market location of the branch of the organization. Initially, the branch managers were able to make decisions on sales with respect to the market performance of the region in which the company outlets were placed. With the new directives, this made it difficult for them to balance the sales as they had to comply with the regulations from the central office. This influenced the supply of products and seemingly led to a reduction in supplies of products to the customers who were eventually forced to turn to the competing organizations for the products. Another major problem that stands out from the situation at Tech Depot is the apparent lack of loyalty and motivation from the employees. Employees mainly form the backbone of any organization. They contribute in large ways to the overall success of the organization as well as the achievement of the organizational goals. More often than not, the employees’ satisfaction at the workplace directly influences the organizational image and eventually the sales. The employees at Tech Depot are dissatisfied about the working conditions in the organization. This has led to a high turnover as some of the employees leave to join other competing organizations. While the new manager seeks to introduce OME regulations to improve the working conditions of the employees, the employees in their part are not sure about the possible looming changes. The older employees seem to be in disagreement with the possible changes as they feel that the younger employees stand to benefit more. A division between the employees can be very damaging for the organization and thus, the new manager needs to be strategic in how to handle the situation to avoid a fall out in the work force. Alternatives to the Problem Considering the replacement of the manager will help to solve the problem at the Tech Depot, it can also cause massive employee fall out, as the employees will perceive this as an unstable and poorly managed organization. To avoid this, the organization’s stakeholders can opt to instead decentralize the power in the organization by giving the branch managers power to make decisions as was before. The centralization of the organization’s supplies appears to be the main cause of the problems being experienced in the Tech Depot. Therefore, by decentralizing the supplies and allowing the other branch managers to also make decisions on sales according to the respective market locations can help in addressing the organizational performance. This will help to improve the sales of the organization’s products as the difference in market location will be addressed accordingly. Additionally, this will also enhance employee performance as they will presumably be in charge of the operations within their respective workplace. In decentralizing the power in Tech Depot, the management is indirectly enabling the employees to take part in the running of the whole organization by allowing them to contribute to its success through their independent decisions on sales of the organization’s products (Kashtan n.pg). Solution to the Problem The situation at Tech Depot can best be addressed through the change in leadership styles being employed at the organization. The new manager can best handle the situation through a mixed leadership style. This is whereby, the manager tries to balance the views from the employees to those of the managerial staff and try to come up with a solution that will better address the main goal of the organization. While sales and making profits can be considered the vital aims of the organization, employee satisfaction as well as welfare at the work place is also essential. The idea of introducing the OME as a solution for improving the situation at the organization is notably receiving mixed reactions from the employees who have been in the organization for some time and those that are apparently new to the organization. In view of these differences, the new manager can better employ varying leadership skills like being stricter on the new employees to ensure that they do not grow to be reluctant at the work place while employing flexible regulations for the older employees to make them feel appreciated for their long service to the organization. Balancing the views of the employees as well as those of the branch managers will help to create a favorable environment for the employees as well as the branch managers to work well together (Bryant n.pag). Implementation Plan Varying the style of leadership will mainly influence a number of things in the organization; for instance, when hiring new employees to replace the employees that have left their work for other competing organizations, the manager can begin by employing an autocratic form of leadership. This will help to initiate the new workers into the organization by sensitizing them on what is expected of them as well as ensuring that they follow the regulations set down by the organization’s management. Essentially, molding the new employees into a serious working environment will contribute to their focus on striving to achieve the organizational goals. As the new employees grow in the organization, the manager can strategically employ a different form of leadership (Kashtan n.pg). In the beginning, the new employees will obviously require much guidance and leadership as they familiarize themselves with the organization. Later on, the employees will require minimal supervision as this will allow them the freedom to perform their work hence making them feel as part of the organization and responsible for their actions. In the case of the older employees, the manager can employ a more relaxed but authoritative form of leadership. This is because, while the older employees are more aware of the operations within the organization, they also need to be put under supervision to avoid reluctance in work performance. Justification of the Solution It is vital to balance power while at the same time vary leadership styles. This is because; employing the same form of leadership over a long period of time can cause employee reluctance and at times lead to resistance. For instance, during the tenure of the founder of the Tech Depot, the employees were allowed the freedom to determine their work flexibilities. This can be said to have caused the great fall out of employees following the introduction of stricter regulations by Aiken. Consequently, implementing one form of leadership can also lead to minimal innovation in the organization as the employees have grown accustomed to the style of leadership. Therefore, varying the style of leadership helps to emphasize on the areas that better contribute to the achievement of the organizational goals while addressing the probable problematic areas (Nwlink n.pg). Works Cited Adam, Bryant. "Phil Martens of Novelis, on Consistent Leadership - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. . Bolden, Richard, and Jonathan Gosling. Leadership Competencies: Time to Change the Tune? Sage, 2.2 (2006): 147-163 http://www.uk.sagepub.com/managingandorganizations/downloads/Online%20articles/ch03/5%20-%20Bolden.pdf Kashtan, Miki. "Leadership 101 | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. . Nwlink. "Leadership Styles." Colocation | Broadband Wireless | Dedicated Servers | Web Design & Development | DSL | Web Hosting | Infinity Internet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. . Read More