If you were Al Hanoof, what would you do?
Al Hanoof is still a new employee at her new company, Al-Rashid Enterprises. She has not yet had enough time to assimilate into the new corporate culture that she has found herself in or to make friends with her new coworkers. She is trying her best, but her coworkers are aloof of her because she is an outsider to them, and are jealous of her because she was immediately hired into the same position that they had to work for years to reach. In Chapter 9 terms, she and her coworkers are in the first stage, the forming stage, of the five-stage group development process. Her new colleagues are uncertain of her because they have not become well-acquainted with her yet, and their jealousy of her is fueling their mistrust and uncertainty.
Do you think Al Hanoof made a mistake in moving from one organization to the next?
Al Hanoof did not have much choice in moving from her previous organization, which was downsizing and no longer had a place for her as an employee. She may be feeling discouraged by her lack of success in integrating into her new company, she should not expect to be immediately successful. It is a common problem for new employees to face tension from their peers, especially when cliques have been established. However, there seems to be no reason for her to believe that she will never be successful in making friends and getting along with her coworkers. She needs to give herself time to adjust to her new environment. Eventually, she will win their respect just by demonstrating competence at her job. If, in time, she finds that she is unable to make friends, she should consider seeking friendships and a social life outside of work. Thus, I do not think she made a mistake in moving from one organization to the next. I think she just hasn’t figured out how she “fits” into Al-Rashid Enterprises yet.
What do you think was Al Hanoof’s position at both organizations?
I believe that Al Hanoof was most likely working in mid-level management. She probably developed strong motivation and leadership skills at Dhahran Organization, which helped her secure her current position at Al-Rashid Enterprises. Based on the fact that she received three promotions while at Dhahran Organization, I would expect that she had at least two lower levels of staff subordinate to her by the time she left the company.
What ideas from Organizational Behavior does this case illustrate?
The difference in management style between Dhahran Organization and Al-Rashid Enterprises may be an example of the difference between transformational and transactional leadership. Al-Rashid Enterprises appears to be run according to transactional principles such as laissez-fair, or hands-off, management, and contingent reward. For example, upper-level managers at Al-Rashid are described as professionally unavailable, since their signatures – necessary to obtain before any sort of decision can be made – are “hard to get.” This strikes me as an impersonal and hands-off, consistent with the transactional leadership model. In contrast, the employees at Dhahran Organization received individualized consideration and participated in the office culture in a more personal and involved way.
The difficulties that Al Hanoof is facing as a new employee may be due to status effects. Al Hanoof has come into her new group as a high-status member, but her peers do not perceive her as having earned her high status. Rather, they perceive her status as inequitable, and they are subjecting her to “corrective” treatment by excluding her from social outings and turning down her invitations to coffee.
On the other hand, the ease with which Al Hanoof got along with her previous group of coworkers could have been a function of cohesiveness. Her previous group was small, and her position there was long-standing. The group members spent time together, getting coffee every Saturday; furthermore, her work was appreciated, and she communicated freely and openly with her coworkers.
