Recommendations on Leadership-Employee Relationship - Math Problem Example

Practise Management In any circumstances, the identification of the problem is the first step to its solution. With out a well-defined problem, decision makers will end up with inappropriate solution. Problem identification should include those issues in agreement and issues not agreed upon. It means that all partners of the firm should agree what the problem is. When the partners agree to the problem, then there is little uncertainty that the problems and goals of the firm are clear and so are the standards of performance (Draft 2004). The fact that the architectural firm Priestley, Bacon and Upland has been on financial trouble for two consecutive years may imply that the firm is having a financial control problems, particularly 36,000.00 pounds on this year alone. However, balance sheets, most often are just the tip of the iceberg of any firm. Usually, there are more underlying causes for such financial instability of the firm. Other concerns that need to look at are the issues on time management, leadership, job satisfaction, motivation, organisational style, and especially the proper collection of fees from the clients. All factors in any business are usually inter-connected from the lowest level-employee to the top management. Domino effect is very apparent in any organisation’s fate. Based on record, in financial year 2004-2005, the firm’s fee income was £1.050.000 plus fees invoiced before 31st March 2005 but to date (October 2005) unpaid of £87,000, this seem to imply that the firm indeed has a significant amount of business and client base. The firm does not lack significant projects, therefore other circumstances have to be examine in order to identify the causes of the firm’s financial losses. The leadership Running an architectural office whether individually or collectively requires not only competency in the architectural and engineering field, but also a thorough knowledge of business operation. The architectural firm Priestly, Bacon and Upland is blessed with diverse senior partners. Each senior partner has his or her unique set of qualities not often found in any architectural firm. Most firm architectural firms consist of good creative partners, however very weak in human resources management and financial control. This is mainly because most architects focus on the creative works neglecting the financial control aspect of the business. Creating the most attractive and creative design solution to the project at hand seems to overwhelm the hearts of the architects. The practice of architecture although a profession by nature, is still a business enterprise that needs to be run as any other business. Although she might seem to be very strict to some employees, Ulrica Upland has the personality that could demand attention. People with such personality are usually, decisive, born-leader, and express their feelings well. However, Ulrica Upland, being less experienced should share the leadership other more experienced partners. On the other hand, extreme differences in partner’s personalities can cause serious problems. For example a young 35 year old attorney, Mark S. who split from his law partner said; "It became very dear that both of us would just be better off on our own," "We were fighting about everything from what kind of work we should be going after to what kind of paper we should put in the copy machine. It was almost comical."(McGrath, 1998). However, if managed properly through open communication, partners can benefit from each other’s unique differences. "About a year after we opened our business we were at each other's throats," says Monica H., co-owner of a catering business in the Pacific Northwest "We were actually talking about who would buy the other person out when we had a heart-to-heart talk about what was going on with the business and where we wanted it to go. And it turned out we agreed on a lot more than we disagreed on." Monica and her partner decided to give their collaboration a one-year trial continuance. They've clarified some of the more onerous problems and more carefully divided their labours (McGrath, 1998). In psychology, there are four types of personality or temperament type namely; melancholy, choleric, sanguine, and phlegmatic (Childs 1995). The partners should understand and identify themselves with these types in order to know who should be given the responsibility and the most suitable for any given task. Paul Priestley being the most senior has the melancholic personality. People with melancholic personality are usually the most creative, deep-thinker, good listener, fair, non-talkative, and less to anger. However, due to Paul Priestly wide experience, he should take the lead role in negotiating for conservation projects. David Bacon on the other hand has a phlegmatic type of temperament. People with a phlegmatic temperament are usually easy going, sympathetic, low-key and often prefer to observe than to get involved. Any organisation or an architectural firm in particular needs all these personality types in order to be well balanced. In the Priestley, Bacon and Upland architectural firm’s case, each senior partner has his/her distinct personality, which complements each other. Both Paul Priestley and David Bacon lack the leadership and command personality that is needed in human resource management; this is balanced by the personality of Ulrica Upland. Although dealing with employees does not have to be sensitive all the time, it also required some degree of respect. Employees are also humans and they need some degree of sensitivity from the top management. Both Paul Priestlley and Davis Bacon deliver this need for sensitivity. The present set-up of responsibility amongst the partners is adequate, however, Ulrica Upland, being less experienced, should tone down a little bit and begin to listen to some of the opinions of others such as those of Paul Priestly. Paul Priestley with all his experiences should be given the opportunity to focus more on project design development and negotiations whilst David Bacon should continue his sensitivity in dealing with clients and employees. In the John Sweeney and Jamie Malanga partnership, Jamie Malanga is the most self motivated and independent thinker, therefore the partner John Sweeney always gave Jamie the complete autonomy and has been consulted in all aspects of a project whilst John Sweeney concentrated on other aspects of the business (A Successful Partnership, 2003). Partnership is at its best when partners complement each other. However, Should conflicts becomes inevitable amongst partners, taking time off could help ease the situation. John Sweeney and Jamie Malanga, architects, agree that absence makes the heart grow fonder, professionally speaking. Their five-year separation helped them realise they should not only work together but form a partnership in a new business venture (A Successful Partnership, 2003). Recommendations on leadership-employee relationship Leadership statements are effective in conveying the organisation’s goals and mission. However, if it is not followed by symbolic actions, such statement will fall on deaf ears. Once leadership statements and actions go in unison and not in conflict with each other, members will follow the good example, which would eventually lead to improve work performances and proper ethical values. Once good ethical values exist in the company, the less likely members will make bad decisions, which could contribute to the organisation’s downfall (Draft 2004). Moreover, value-based leadership is an important factor in order for any culture change to be successful in any organisation. Employees are very sensitive to the leadership main goals and mission. If they are conveyed to the employees properly, it will have a great influence on their work culture. It is a scientific fact that people would retain much of what they saw or experienced than what we had read. Even preachers now use symbols or drama on stage to relay his point to the congregation. The same is true with any organization. Value-based leadership with appropriate symbolic acts brings a very strong message that employees or members will not easily forget. Its value will go into their system and once it is in their system or way of life, it becomes naturally part of their own value system rather than trying hard to act one (Draft 2004). Bureaucratic culture is less employee-oriented because it is more focus on optimisation with little regards to the cultural diversity of its members. While clan culture gives emphasis on the individuality of members, which eventually leads to a better, understanding of their ethical values (Draft 2004). Good communication channels between the top management and the lower employees are very essential especially in today’s business. When employees do not seem to know what to do, it indicates that their immediate supervisors are not communicating with them effectively. Research has shown that on issues related to their jobs, employees prefer to get the information from their immediate supervisors. However, many supervisors are not equipped with the skills or the knowledge to do this task effectively. They might not know which company information to communicate to their staff, or how. They need help. There are special training programs that address Manager-Employee-Communication. That is the kind of training employees will need. Another effective way to ensure employees' concerns are heard by management is to hold "town meetings" in which all employees of one department, or all departments, meet with one top executive, or the organization's president, to exchange information and views. I organized one such meeting for a large corporation, called the event, "The President Forum: A Meeting of Minds" and selected a panel representing all functions and ranks of employees to ask the president questions they prepare in advance. After they finish asking their questions, and the president answers, the audience in the large hall can then ask the president any question. This format worked very effectively and enabled both employees and top management to hear each other on a regular basis. One thing that can turn employee morale around and boost performance is giving employees more ability to decide how they do their job, or at least the opportunity to propose ideas and implement meaningful changes to their work. This is the fastest way to make employees feel that they "own" their work. Only people who own their work would really care about it and get excited doing it (Basili 2005). Recommendations on resolving conflicts in the firm The appropriate use of conflict can serve the organisational goals. Conflict is a natural outcome of organizing. It is a natural organizational process for resolving differences among its members. Differences in goals, backgrounds, and tasks are necessary for organisational excellence. If properly handled by the leadership, it could lead to performance competition among different employees or department (Draft 2004). Tasks interdependence could lead to conflict amongst employees because they are inter-related. Differences in personal background also contribute to conflicts. The outgoing personnel would refer to have close social interaction with all personnel of different departments. However, other personnel are usually slow to words and prefer to work in a more quite place. Thus, the conflict in personality may arise. Foreign workers with different standard of learning may also have difficulty catching up with the new system and values for work. Conflict may arise when simple company reprimand becomes a racial discrimination issue (Draft 2004). The resentment shown by some employees whenever Paul Priestley parade Heather Shah to clients, should not be taken lightly. However, with proper communication, the partners could help the employees understand that such acts are beneficial to all. If the company operates in a global environment and has several offices around the world, having several subcultures within the company can be use to its advantage. This will enable the organisation to adjust and understand the culture of countries in which it is doing business with. In the context of local organization, having several subcultures within the company made it difficult for leadership to encourage unified ethical values within the company. Employees who came from different countries and culture will have their own set of work ethics and habits. In order to address dilemma, managers should identify the strength and weaknesses of each culture in relation to work ethics and establish a more cohesive and realistic goal in implementing ethical values at work since each culture has its own strength and weaknesses (Draft 2004). The need for motivation and job satisfaction Social capital is an important asset of any firm. Social capital is the existence of a some common norms or values among employees that enable them to cooperate with each other. If social capital exist in the company, employees seem to enjoy doing things to each other for the good of all. There is recognition and mutual understanding among them. This is better for the company than frequent bickering due to conflict and rivalry (Draft 2004). Delegating some important tasks to different departments will speed up the process. Information, materials, knowledge, and skills will be more focus. When the organisation depends on a particular department for information, materials, knowledge, or skills, that department will hold power over the others. It also empowers individual employees. The employee in return will produce better output, which eventually leads to increase in overall power of the company (Draft 2004). The resentment of Bridget Barnman regarding Ulrica not able to negotiate for higher fees on conservation projects should also be given due importance. Conservation projects require more brainstorming and man-hours to complete. Fees on conservation projects should be increased since conservations projects contribute to almost 1/3 of the firm’s yearly income. Any increase in the fees will greatly uplift the yearly income of the firm. Ulrica should work on, having to listen to other people’s suggestions this area. Although Ulrica’s decisive personality contradicts it, being a good listener can be learned. The laziness and bad the bad habit of lateness of Heather Shah should also be looked at. Her cultural background should also be considered when dealing with her work habits since each culture has its own way of doing things done. The fact that Heather projects mostly break even implies that the fees for new-build projects are reasonable. Regarding Heather inability to complete more detailed workings as expressed by several contractors, the partners have no choice but to provide a job captain to support Heather in overseeing the detailing and express their concerns to Heather that company rules and protocols must be followed. Heather is good in overall concepts and designs however weak in detailing so Heather can concentrate on the design work. This is a dilemma for some architects. The promptness and quality of work by Bridget Barnman should be highly praised to bring the message to other employees that promptness and the leadership recognizes good works. Recommendations on management style Bureaucratic management style should be avoided. Bureaucratic style of management makes use of stiff rules and system that makes the organization less personalized. Managers, staff, and departments communicate through memo and email instead of the traditional face-to-face communication that encourages openness among employees, which could open up the gap between the top management and the employees. Such are essential ingredients to encourage innovation. Innovation can be encouraged in the organization by allowing the individual to grow freely, sharing their thoughts and solutions in an open way (Draft 2004). On the other hand, the firm should use the Learning organization concept aims. In a learning organisation, each is given the opportunity to express his opinion about task, problems, and solutions for the common good of the organizations. Treatment of equality is important so that suggestion and information will be treated without prejudices (Draft 2004). Recommendations on time management Having no time sheet in an architectural firm may sometimes seem applicable more the design team. Architecture involves creative design and creative design ideas pop up at any time of the day. Most creative designers don not work on regular hours. Some spent more after office hours in order to get the concepts or ideas into the drawing board. However, this system of time management maybe a hindrance to the overall operation of the firm. For example in the case of clerical employees, draughtspersons, and other non-designing staff, a time sheet is a fair time management tool (Philips 1996). Therefore, time sheet, no matter how rigid the system maybe is the only effective means of quantifying the number of hours that employees and managers spent on a particular project. Having such knowledge will enable the firm to know whether they are losing or gaining profit on a particular project. The firm must keep record on which particular project has gained profit and which one is losing money, also which project could compensate the loses of the other. In order to ensure profit on each project, the efforts being made by the staff on a particular stage of the process must conform to the RIBA plan of work. Time sheets also help the firm calculate the fees for projects that are paid on time basis rather than on percentage basis. Projects such as surveying are usually paid on time basis, therefore the time sheet is very important on this particular case. Time sheet will also enable the partners to predict the time that will be spent on the next project. The design process is difficult to predict sometimes. It needs an experience staff or partner to accurately predict the time that will be needed to complete the design task. But with the absent of such experienced individual, a time sheet from previous projects could be used as a basis for calculating the design fees. The need for change and flexibility The firm needs an organisational change. Of the five elements required for a successful change--ideas, needs, adoption, implementation, and resources—managers will more likely to overlook the ideas element. In today’s global environment, changes need to be done quickly in order not to be left behind. The dilemma is, there are little or outdated books and studies on the matter that need to be consulted in order to make the right decision. The main organic characteristics of organization poise to meet the challenges of the new economy are; flexibility, empowered employees, and the absence of rigid work rules. An organic, free-flowing organisation is typically associated with change and is considered the best organization adapting to a chaotic environment. During technology and administrative change, the core organic characteristic of the organization will greatly be affected. Administrative change could mean downsizing which will lead to demoralization of the workforce. Additionally, technological changes such as the adaptation of computerize automation system could lead to major restructuring of all departments and eventually mass layoffs. Such processes would affect the employee’s commitment to work as well as their work ethics and values (Draft 2004). Recommendations in maintaining stability during organisational change (Managing organizational change 2005): 1. Establishing a guiding coalition.  Large scale organisational change requires the support of leaders at all levels who understand the change and its implications, can create a sense of urgency, can model appropriate values and behaviors, and influence the people around them to support the change and do what is required.   2. Creating a clear and compelling vision.  Real organisational change, even positive change is hard if it requires new ways of working, thinking or behaving.   People need to have a clear picture of the change and understand it at the gut level to be motivated to act. 3. Define clear goals and measures.  Without defined targets and the means to quantify progress and results, the organisational change effort will eventually break down due to lack of focus. 4. Communicating to build understanding.  Communication is a unique process that can be used to distribute information, simulate experience, and create a connection between current change, the organization, and the day-to-day work of employees.   5. Providing organisation members with the right knowledge and skills.  Too often, major organisational change is announced and people are left in the dark regarding how the change will be implemented and what they need to do.   6. Establishing appropriate rewards.  To sustain progress through organisational change. 7. Creating the proper change structure. One of the classic errors in organisational change initiatives is to assign change responsibilities on top of the person’s day job.  Do not do it.  Either the day job or the change effort – or worse yet, both – will suffer. 8. Maintaining a systems view. All organisations are systems that take inputs, like ideas alternatively, raw materials, and create outputs of services or products. Such changes have the potential of making a huge impact on other parts of the organisation System (Managing Organizational Change 2005). Recommendations to avoid losses There are some identifiable practises that could contribute to loss of profit on a particular project. One obvious practise is offering the professional fee at a very low price. Due to intense competition of the profession, partners sometimes are often tempted to offer lower fees in order to win the client and the project. The firm should look into this in order to avoid too much low fees that could eventually result to loss in profit. Other factors include over-demanding clients and contractors. In this case, the firm must devise a strategy to present the design scheme in a clear manner before jumping into the detail drawings phase. This will save much time spent by the staff on revisions of the design. Contractors that are too demanding must be avoided next time. Also, the innovation in design must also be proportionate to the amount of fees to be collected from a project. If the fee is low, the design staff must avoid complicated designs and consider simple designs that require less staff hours. Innovations must be introduced in time management of the design process. The more experience partner or staff should be given the task of overseeing the design time. He must see to it that those staff who need information first must receive the information first, therefore maximising the time spent in information flow. Partners should not be afraid and hesitant to delegate tasks to those who are more suited to it. Favoritism should be avoided at all cost. Important tasks must be priorities than urgent tasks. This could be done by listing all tasks in an orderly manner. With regards to outstanding fees, the firm needs to develop an effective system of collecting outstanding fees from the clients. The schedule of fees payments should be made clear at the onset of the transaction to avoid future disagreement with clients. Any new transaction should comply with RIBA conditions of engagement. Moreover, the firm needs a proper financial control restructuring. Financial control is vitally important to any well-run business. Financial control mechanisms ensure that the organisation continues to progress toward achievement of its financial objectives. Effective financial control allows the organization to detect problems at the earliest possible stage. The use of responsibility centers is one of the most established and widely used techniques in financial control. An understanding of responsibility centers and, its corollary, responsibility accounting is beneficial for all professional who have a stake in the financial management of a practice. Responsibility accounting breaks a large organization into smaller, more easily manageable units known as responsibility centers. Each unit is looked upon as a small business (Freeman 2004). Managers bear an element of responsibility for the performance of their respective centers. The principle of controllability applies to responsibility accounting. The presumption underlying controllability is that every dollar earned or dollar spent is under the control of, and can be traced to, at least one manager. Responsibility accounting represents decentralisation of a business enterprise. (Freeman 2004). Conclusion Business cannot survive if it does not flow with change in the business arena. Business will always try to please and satisfy its customer. The customer is the lifeline of any business, thus giving them more power. In today’s global arena where competitiveness is required in order for business to survive, the management should do the necessary radical changes in order to stay competitive. However, resistance to change is a natural reaction for most managers. Managers are used to face day to day in a routine and predictable manner. So the pressure for the need for stability becomes more apparent when the proposed change guarantees no success. Another source for the pressure is the employees. Employees are real people with real needs for their family. For most, it is their only source of income, and given the uncertainty of facing the possibility of mass lay-off or early retirement, their work performance and loyalty to the company will be affected (Draft 2004). Some of the reasons for resistance to change are; excessive focus on cost, failure to perceive benefits, lack of organizational coordination, and individual uncertainty avoidance and fear of loss. Managers can do a lot minimize or overcome resistance by aligning with the needs and goals of the employees, including the employee in the change process, providing psychological safety and a rare case, forcing the innovation if necessary. Managers should provide open communication and frequent open discussion to its regular members in order to minimize misconception and encourage cooperation during the process (Draft 2004). Much of the causes for the financial loses of the Priestley, Bacon and Upland architectural firm are the lack of communication between the leadership, continued resentment of some employees especially Bridget Barnman, the lack of promptness and work ethic of Heather Shah, the low fees on conservation projects, and the lack of proper financial control system. However, no matter how complicated things might seem, these problems can be resolved with proper communication and open forum where employees are free to express their feelings and suggestions. After all the firm belongs to all, the losses of the firm affect everybody. Another reason for the firm’s financial trouble is the lack of enforcement of contract between the firm and its clients. The RIBA conditions of engagement should be followed in every case and payment conditions should be abided by all sides. The firm should not be worried about collecting the needed fees as well as those overdue fees as they are the bloodline of the firm. Clients who are neglecting their side of responsibilities may not be an ideal client after all. Reference List A successful partnership - Profile of the Week - John Sweeney and Jamie Malanga, architects. (08 Jan, 2003). Real Estate Weekly, Hagedorn Publication, Available from:  [01 Dec. 2005]. Basili, Francois. (2005). Communication Ideas, TGIM Newsletter, available from :< http://www. communicationideas.com/manager-employee-communication.htm> [20 Nov. 2005]. Childs, Gilbert. 1995. Understand Your Temperament! A Guide to the Four Temperaments : Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic. Rudolf Steiner Press. ISBN: 1855840251 Draft, Richard L. 2004. Organization Theory and Design. West Publishing Company (Publisher), 8th Edition. Effective Leadership. (24 November 1999), Biothinking.com, available from: [20 Nov. 2005}. Freeman, Neal L. (15 Aug. 2004). Responsibility centers promote effective financial control, Ophthalmology Times, available from: [20 Nov. 2005]. Managing Organizational Change. (19 Oct. 2005). Headwinds Ltd., available from: http://www.headwindsltd.com/changeMgmt.htm [20 [Nov. 2005]. McGrath, Tom. (Feb. 1998). How to fire your partner - terminating partnerships Success, Success Holdings Company, LLC, available from: [01 Dec. 2005]. Philips, Jack J. 1996. Accountability in Human Resource Management (Improving Human Performance). Gulf Professional Publishing. ISBN: 0884153967 Read More