Conflict between the Managers in Beijing EAPS Consulting Inc - Case Study Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: 1. What caused the conflict between the project managers and the other employees? Introduction Beijing EAPS Consulting Inc (BEC) became the first consulting company that provided assistance services to employees of different companies in mainland China. Through its Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), BEC in conjunction with the health insurance plan provided employees with perfect techniques of dealing with psychologies problems that could affect performance at their work places.1 Their target customers included among others, numerous multinational corporations operating in China such as IBM and Siemens. Others included China Development Bank among other Chinese organizations. Since the introduction of a project management structure the company has experienced an enormous growth in its profits.2 At the same time, the company has also experience managerial challenges resulting from poor communication structures. Analysis of the case Mr. Young, manager at the training department and Ms. Song, a project manager, seemed to have a problem resulting from confusion in their managerial responsibilities as a result of the project management structure that BEC had adopted. There was duplication of employees as they were heard complaining that they were receiving tasks from both the departmental managers and project managers. The conflict that arose in such situation was that of confusion on which task deadlines to draw priorities on.3 The employees were confused by the fact that they were unable to accurately identify their direct supervisors. The confusion arose from confusion of roles by the project managers and department managers. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that both managerial roles belonged to the same level of the BEC hierarchy. The employees found it difficult to understand the link between the two kinds of management and their job description. As managers at the same level of the BEC hierarchy, it was difficult for one side to impart its authority on the other especially when the project department wanted to give directions to the departmental employees. It is evident that the managers and the employees had a problem of understanding the procedure required in this type of organizational structure. There was need for the overall management to improve the existing structures and procedures as a way of ensuring that there was clarity of work relationship and responsibilities for different levels of management and the employees. The employees felt overworked and in some instances they had to work overtime to meet the demands of the projects that had strict deadlines. The project management system can be said to be the main source of the problems that BEC was experiencing. This was because; the system necessitated the creation of two project management departments and five additional functional departments. This meant that employees were bound to receive instructions from both the functional departments and the project departments.4 In situations where there was conflict between the two kinds of management, it became the role of employees to prioritize tasks and adjust schedules as they wished. This trend by employees brought with it frustrations between the management and employees. One major effect of such a crisis in business is the fact that it threatens the overall success of the business. BEC may be experiencing an increase in its profits and the overall growth of the business. However, duplication of roles caused by the difficulty of understanding the organizational structure and the procedures involved, there is a potential problem of failing to satisfy the demands of the customers especially when they fail to get timely responses to their questions. When such situations are prolonged, the business maybe at risk of losing its already acquired clients, loose reference and the ability to attract new clients. This will in turn reduce the company’s profits and this is considered as enough to damage the entire business. 5 Identification of major issues One major issue is lack of a proper channel of communication between the functional managers and the project managers. Another issue arises with the employees of the business. They do not understand the organizational structure of the business and the procedures involved in ensuring they work according to their job description. The project management structure is in itself an existing problem. The overall management has identified that the main reason for the existence of confusion in the operations of the business is failure to understand the existing organizational structure in terms of its operations and procedures. Possible solutions BEC needs to institute procedural changes as a way of altering work procedures to avoid conflict between its managers and employees. This is through redefining the authority of different departments and the managers the employees answer to. This will ensure cooperation between the two kinds of management to ensure that directions are given to employees to work on projects and responsibilities that are agreed upon as urgent.6 Personnel changes can also help the business minimize conflict between different levels of management. Personality conflict between managers can reduce the overall output of the business. If one of the experts is transferred to a different project, then both parties will be able to make sufficient contributions to their individual department and the business as a whole.7 Authority changes can also serve to reduce the existing confusion especially in situation where functional managers and the project managers do not seem to agree on how to give instructions. 8 Bibliography Christensen, Chris. Solving organizational problems: a proven method for groups to permanently resolve difficult. [S.l.]: Authorhouse, 22, 2012. Li, L. Beijing EAPs Consulting Inc. Richard Ivey School of Business,1-6, 2009 Ziegenfuss, James T. Organization and management problem solving: a systems and # consulting approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 20-21, 2002 3. BEC is still growing and needs to hire more employees. For the future, do you have any suggestions for Mr. Zheng about employee qualifications and training sessions? Introduction Since 2001, when Mr. Zheng founded BEC, until 2006, the company had only six employees. By the end of 2007 the number of employees increased to 20. The business has been experiencing an exponential growth. This has raised the need for more employees to provide much needed manpower in the execution of projects and other daily responsibilities on a timely basis. Analysis of the problem After the introduction of a project management organizational structure, Mr Zheng, the company’s CEO, felt the need to have more employees. This was related to the fact it had become more market efficient. In addition, the company was able to foresee rapid growth in its size and profits. BEC had become a major consultant on psychological issues affecting employees in different companies. 9 The organizational structure that had been adopted introduced more projects and the employees felt overworked. This was attributable to the fact that they had to work on numerous tasks at the same time while executing various demands from a variety of projects while fulfilling their daily responsibilities. Moreover, the clients sometimes demanded extra reports and analysis. The work plan of these employees included extra hours to ensure that they met all the deadlines.10 This necessitated the need for more employees to ensure efficiency in the delivery of existing programs. Identification of major issues The company is growing in terms of its size and the profit margin and this means that it is not only able to efficiently pay its employees; it is also able to hire more employees to ensure that the expansion of the company has sufficient manpower. The popularity of the organization has led to an increase in the number of projects that it is expected to handle. This means the existing employees are overwhelmed with the existing work. The current conflict between different departments requires that every manager or employee in the business must understand the organizational structure and his or her job description to ensure that they work in accordance with their employer’s expectations. Possible solutions Mr. Zheng has a responsibility of advertising vacant positions that are to be filled after developing a proper job description tool that outlines the responsibility of every employee. This will be essential for the overall understanding of the tasks an employee is expected to perform once he or she is hired. This is one way of ensuring that only competent and qualified candidates apply for the available positions. 11 The value of qualification should be a screening tool for the organization. This tool will also act as an assessment instrument that will ensure that personnel selection is in line with the characteristics of the candidates that is to be selected. These include factors such as motivation, persistence and technical skills.12 Training of employees forms an integral part in determining the level of competence and expertise of any new employee. A new employee has a responsibility of familiarizing with the daily activities of an organization and successful orientation can only be realized through thorough training. 13 There is need for the maintenance of periodic trainings on different development programs as way of ensuring that every new employee and the existing employees improve their capabilities. Such an investment is essential in the improvement of the knowledge and skills of every employee.14 There is need to ensure that the training of new employees equips them with functional competence and understanding of different aspects in the operations of the business. Training must also cover the organizational structure and how different departments interrelate. In addition, the training has to help the new employees understand the techniques setting priorities for work efforts and life goals.15 Conclusion The process of hiring and training new employees as in the case of BEC should be based on the need to increase output and be efficient in service delivery. The procedure of hiring the said employees must incorporate measures that will ensure that only the qualified and competent are hired. This can be done by the development of an elaborate job description sheet. Bibliography Li, L. Beijing EAPs Consulting Inc. Richard Ivey School of Business, pp. 4-6, 2009 Paetkau, Tyler M. Hiring and firing. [Irvine, CA]: Entrepreneur Press, p. 45, 50-51, 2007. Read More