HRM Coursework
Question:
CASE QUESTIONS
- Should Chris have informed Mary about the internal applicants before offering Mary the job?
- Was meeting with each employee as part of Mary’s orientation a good idea?
- Evaluate the agenda Mary How could it be im proved?
- How should Mary respond to the issues Juanita is raising?
- What are some general issues new managers and supervisors may face when assuming responsibility for a new job?
Answer:
A Leadership Challenge
In every organization, the recruitment of new employees is a critical undertaking. This essay addresses some of the various issues that may be experienced in the process. A case in point is the question of whether employers should inform external applicants for the managerial/supervisor job about the internal applicants who were eyeing the job position before they were hired. Other elements include the orientation process of these new managers, ways in which the process could be improved, how new managers should respond resentment from colleagues, and the main challenges that new managers face when assuming responsibility for a new job. These questions, contained at the end of a case study entitled “A Leadership Challenge” will be answered in the next section.
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- Should Chris have informed Mary about the internal applicants before offering Mary the job?
No. Chris should not have informed Mary about internal applicants before she got the job since would have contributed to the creation of an immediate conflict perpetuated by both the internal and external candidates. It also gives the new employee, in this case Mary, time to familiarize herself with other employees around while giving her adequate room to exercise her expertise on conflict resolution whenever it arises. Moreover, failure to inform Mary about the issue can enable the employer to know how well the new manager can fit into the position depending on how she addresses the issue of resentful workers.
- Was meeting with each employee as part of Mary’s orientation a good idea?
In this case, the methodology used was definitely appropriate since it helped Mary to not only know the employees in the organization but also to get first-hand details regarding their work. Such information would greatly help Mary to deal with management issues at an individual level. Orientation is paramount for any new employee in an organization since it acts as the first encounter with the new workplace. It helps the new employee to gather new information about the new work place. (Landy & Conte, 2004). This information includes aspects like culture, values and the core mission of the organization, and one’s role and responsibility in the organization. Moreover, it helps the new employee to know more about the organizations’ performance vis-à-vis- his/her own previous performance (Goodboy & McCroskey, 2007). Finally, it acts as a job description for the new employee because of the exposure it brings to issues like tasks allocated to various departments, description of duties and tools required to perform the assigned tasks.
- Evaluate the agenda Mary How could it be improved?
There are ways in which the orientation process can be improved. To begin with, a new manager can create a learning plan that allows new employees to undergo sequential skill and experiential development (Goodboy & McCroskey, 2007). Employers should also track knowledge and skill development among new employees in addition to adjusting goals and objectives to be achieved in order to match skills with organizational expectations. In this case, Mary should have invited employees to several meetings before taking note of the employees’ attitudes, abilities, and skills in addition to the changes they needed to make.
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In this regard, some blame may go to the employer who seemed to have scared Mary by alerting her about possible resentment by an internal applicant. At the same time, Mary should have been more patient with her subordinates before confronting one of them after facing resistance. At this point, employers can help by allocating more time to ensure quality coaching and orientation for new employees so that they are trained on how to adapt quickly and to deal with resentment. Finally, they should involve these new recruits in extracurricular activities as a way of facilitating many informal interactions between new and old employees in the organization.
- How should Mary respond to the issues Juanita is raising?
In the given case between Mary and Juanita, the former can request for a transfer of the latter to another department so as to reduce conflict and confrontations. Alternatively, Mary can try to involve Juanita in various informal sessions to try and improve their relationship and to pave way for efficient and uninterrupted organizational performance. Another option would involve Mary assessing Juanita’s performance and recommending her promotion to a position that is at the same level with or higher than her own. (Robert. 2013. Mary should also make sure that she gives Juanita a good job description to ensure that she understands her duties and responsibilities clearly to avoid errors. At the same time, the new employee should be ready to listen to Juanita’s demands and see how best to address them. If the latter becomes persistent in her resentment and rebellion, Mary would have no other option other than forward her case to Chris, their boss, for further action.
- What are some general issues new managers and supervisors may face when assuming responsibility for a new job?
Most of the many challenges that new managers/supervisors face when they get their new jobs relate to the issue of transition. Despite their experience in a certain field, new managers must confront the challenge of transition in an organization, something that comes with numerous challenges. For example, they have to understand issues relating to the management of new work groups and interactions with the existing supervisors and managers. Moreover, new managers might encounter difficulties in their efforts to manage performance (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). They face expectations of impeccable performance levels which they are instructed to improve on.
Moreover, as demonstrated by Mary’s case, it is normally difficult to handle rebellion from disgruntled existing employees who may be bitter because the position was not handed to them. With time, the situation may affect the morale of these workers and subsequently the company’s overall performance. Furthermore, many new supervisors and managers are unable to make or implement new changes. To do this, they must first take into account the amount of time needed to adapt to the new environment, to identify the company’s operational challenges, and to know what works best under the new organizational culture. Without this knowledge, they may not be able to implement change. Still under the topic of change, a manager may need to carry out workforce reform leading to more rebellion and turnover.
Lastly, time management can be a major challenge for a newly hired middle-level manager like Mary. It takes time for a new employee to get a strong sense of work-life balance in the context of a new position. Most newly hired workers end up dedicating too much time at the workplace at the expense of personal activities leading to stress. In many cases, the preoccupation may be justified since it is imperative that a new leader understands how an ongoing project should be followed through to successful completion.
Conclusion
Newly hired managers can encounter many challenges one of them being resentment from existing employees. The manner in which a new manager deals with such a situation greatly contributes to his/her leadership success. Moreover, it serves as evidence of his/her leadership abilities. As demonstrated in the conflict between Mary and Juanita, both the employer and the employee have a critical role to play in dealing with resentful employees.
References
Goodboy, A. & McCroskey, J. (2007). Toward a theoretical model of the role of organizational orientations and Machiavellianism on nonverbal immediacy behaviour and job satisfaction. Human Communication, 11, 293–308.
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge, fifth edition. London: Routledge.
Landy, F. & Conte, J. (2004). Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. Princeton, NJ: McGraw-Hill.
Robert, P. (2013). Toward a theory of organizational behaviour, Communication and Mass Media, 21(1), 48–72.
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