Actions for Jean Hall Case Study
First and foremost, Jean should get rid of her anxiety by being confident of her capability in solving this problem. She should follow her own leadership approaches without stopping to use the previous processor approach as it is stated in the Contingency Model Fedler theory. The theory states that, people come up with their own style of management and neglect to follow the previous processor approach which profits the company. The implementation of this approach will enable her to gain the trust of the company again. She has to be a transformational leader (Suissa, 2012, Para. 2).
First issue
Jean’s actions regarding the first issue about the company loosing revenue is to ensure that the leadership approach that she employs should have a perspective of implementing long term and short term actions. This mechanism will have a positive impact in solving the situation that the company is in. The first step is identifying the malfunctioning sections of the company as a short term solution. The marketing and the manufacturing personnel believe the problem is caused by the production and the inventory sections. Jean should therefore establish the section that has caused it as a short term solution. This can be achieved through asking the people working in that section what the main causes of the problem are. She should set meetings with people and communicate with them and try to solve the problem with them. This should be done quickly to determine solutions and the drawbacks of the plan and then redesign it and the way it can be implemented. The direct involvement of employees will make them feel valued. However, the challenge with this approach is that, some people might not be willing to share their opinion thus; she will lose her time and eventually money by setting up meeting to ask people their opinions. Thus, this solution is time consuming and it is not applicable in this case (Suissa, 2012, Para. 4).
The group members and I believe that the problem is in the inventory and production system. This is because the system is old due to the fact that it was installed three years before hence inefficient in its functions. The biggest contributor is the fast technological advances and therefore there is a need for it to be changed. Due to the fast technological advances in today’s society, the production system cannot keep up with the pace and therefore, there is a need for it to be changed (Suissa, 2012, Para. 6).
Long term
Type of behavior
In order for jean to implement the long term solutions, Jean must create an environment where everyone is able to tell their opinions without being ignored. This is achieved by adjusting the type of behavior to motivating employees. The environmental set up within this company has to be in a way that there is trust among employees. She is obliged to set long term goals which all the employees should work along in order to achieve the company’s objectives. Jean is also required to set clear strategies that the company will use to solve the problem. In addition, she has to convince the head office to change their ways of dealing with employees in order to gain loyalty from employees. The head office has to build a new culture of behavior and way of handling employees (Suissa, 2012, Para. 7).
Furthermore, she has to follow Path Goal Theory as it is stated in the book that, it is the leader’s job to assist followers in attaining their goals and provide them with the necessary support and direction to ensure that the company’s goals are compatible with the overall objective of the group. She has to use this theory in order to achieve the company’s goals. Moreover, Jean’s long term solutions include motivating employees by providing them with good pay, bonuses and other tangible rewards (Suissa, 2012, Para. 9).
In conclusion, Jean’s strategies and approach to the problem should not be limited to her personal opinion but include the entire staff of the company. This helps to create transparency and accountability which is beneficial for the company. Both the head office and the employees will feel to be part and parcel of solving the company’s problem and hence carry the responsibility of producing outstanding results.
Suissa, Z. (2012). Jean Hall's Dilemma. Retrieved on 19 April 2012< http://meilai.wikispaces.com/Updated+Case+Study+as+of+Friday+Afternoon>
