What Can the Two Managers Do To Raise Company Morale?
Employee morale can break or build the success of a company. Effective managers and supervisors should monitor the morale of the employees closely. The two managers should find a way of resolving their differences and enlist creative and simple approaches to strengthen employee morale. They should also make the employees feel that the company values their work. Furthermore, the managers should establish a healthy workplace relationship with the employees. Employees should know that the managers care about them and are willing to help them solve their problems. The two managers should find a way of honoring each employee and celebrating their achievements. For example, they can create a scheme of rewarding highly productive employees who meet targets or exceed set expectations.
How Can Senior Management Solve This Problem?
The management should be actively involved in the process of solving the problem between Ms. Weiss and Mr. Santos by mediating in the situation to help them solve their conflict. The senior management should also inform them that the problem is affecting the employees’ morale and productivity. However, if the senior management realizes that Ms. Weiss and Mr. Santos are unable to work together, they should consider having one manager or finding two partners who can work together. Research indicates that two heads can be worse than one if it produces negative results (Banissy, et al. 2010). For example, the inability of the two partners to establish a harmonious working relationship is lowering the workers, morale and productivity.
Summary
The case study titled “Are Two Heads Better than One?” presents a typical scenario of operations management and employee relationships. Mr. Santos and Ms. Weiss are two managers who are tasked with the responsibility of managing a production line that manufactures household electronics. They have different opinions about the way the plant should be managed. Their professional backgrounds differ significantly. Ms. Weiss is an MBA graduate that understands new approaches that are implementable in a business environment while Mr. Santos has a background in employee relations and is more experienced. The company deemed it necessary to have two skilled managers in operations management and employee relations to boost its profitability. However, two managers are unable to establish a meaningful working relationship, and their differences are having a negative impact on the employees’ morale as well as their productivity.
Critical Analysis
“Two heads is better than one” is a notion based on the premise that groups or individuals make better decisions and become more productive when they work together than working alone (Mazer, 2002). However, the case study depicts a scenario that makes the reader question whether the notion is true. Past studies suggest that there are instances when collaboration yields success; however, it in some situations collaboration may not result in success (Bushe, 2010). When two individuals can work together optimally, they are more productive than one person is.
The two partners in the case study are not right for each other because of their opposing approaches, thoughts, feelings, and views that they are not willing to compromise. For example, Mr. Santos believes in delegation of duties while Ms. Weiss feels that employees should be firmly controlled and not given much freedom. They also have different opinions about how to relate to the employees as well as how to improve employee morale and boost productivity. Ms. Weiss is of the opinion that Mr. Santos is keen on being friends with the workers and less interested in the quality of work. It is important that two managers find a way of addressing their disagreements because operations management and employee relations both influence the performance of the workers and the company.
Two heads are only better than one when the two partners can discuss their disagreements and resolve their differences (Banissy, et al. 2010).They should also acknowledge the differences in their competencies and should work in a complementary manner. When a team member is incompetent, it becomes difficult for joint decisions to work well.
Conclusion and Recommendations
“Two heads are better than one” is only true when one finds a right partner. Individuals or entities can collaborate if they are both competent, can communicate effectively, and discuss their disagreements freely. The problem with the case study is that the two participants, Ms. Weiss and Mr. Santos, have varying levels of competence and are not able to discuss their disagreements freely. They are both clinging to their individual feelings and opinions about each other as well as how to manage the workers instead of finding a realistic way of working together for the good of the company. As a result, the two managers should establish ways of communicating effectively with each other and working together. Communication plays an integral and crucial role in fostering meaningful working relationships that yield success.
References
Banissy, M. & Kanai, R (2010). Are two heads better than one? it depends. Retrieved from <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-two-heads-better-than/.>
Bushe, R. (2010). Clear leadership: sustaining real collaboration and partnership at work. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Mazer, A. (2002). Two heads are better than one. New York: Prentice Hall Press.
