Case 2-1 Developing a Problem-Solving Attitude—a7
Know thyself, urged Aristotle, but accurate and complete self-insight, especially among senior executives, is a rare quality. Consider the case of Ronald Jennings, head of a division of a big manufacturing company in New York City. He is hearing the results of a recent assessment of his performance.
"Our findings, Mr. Jennings, indicate that you have superior intelligence, are technically very competent in your job, and overall [are] a dedicated, compulsively hardworking executive," said his evaluator.
"On the other hand, you seem to experience some difficulty in delegating authority to your subordinates. You not only take a very active role in defining their goals and objectives, but also you make it clear precisely how, when, and where your people are to achieve those objectives.
"Furthermore, anything that represents even a slight deviation from established practice must first be cleared with you. You tend to overstructure and constrain the autonomy and freedom to act of those who report to you. You permit them very little independence, flexibility, and decision making. This stifles their creativity and inhibits their growth."
Mr. Jennings's response was immediate: He exploded. He agreed entirely with the first part of the assessment but declared:
"I regard my skills as a delegator as one of my greatest strengths as a leader. I am the laziest man in my entire enterprise. I have always surrounded myself with strong, competent subordinates to whom I delegate a maximum amount of authority, consistent, of course, with their capabilities."
"Why
then," queried the evaluator, "do you require that Les
Richards, your plant manager
in Minneapolis, confer with you weekly to clear all of his activities
on a routine basis?"
Mr. Jennings replied: "This regular review is absolutely essential. In my estimation, Richards is little more than a novice. He needs weekly guidance and support from me. He has been in this position for only seven years."
What is the real problem in this case?
What is your opinion of Jennings as a delegator of authority? Does it appear that he follows the principle of delegating explained on page 38? Explain.
How do you classify the leadership style shown by Jennings? Do you feel that his managerial style is effective in his relationship with his subordinate, Richards? Discuss.
Case 2-2 Developing a Problem-Solving Attitude—в
The Osaka Company has expanded steadily over the past 20 years and recently has received several large orders from the government for small computers. The expansion of the office activities has taken place under three vice-presidents, each of whom is in charge of one of the main functions of manufacturing, marketing, and finance. However, no one person in the company has been assigned responsibility for administrative office services.
The three functional vice-presidents maintain their own records storage, secretarial, mailing, and reproduction departments. Supervisors are in charge of the functional activities under each of the vice-presidents. Part of the organization chart indicates that in the manufacturing area there are supervisors in charge of purchasing, receiving, storing, accounts payable, factory payroll, cost accounting, and shipping. Under the heading of marketing, there are supervisors in charge of sales, advertising, credit, and accounts receivable. Under the direction of the vice-president in charge of finance, there are supervisors of financial accounting, taxes, government reports, and office payroll.
Many of these supervisors have been shifted into supervisory positions with little knowledge of systems or methods. The supervisors find it difficult to complete the work because of inefficiency, lack of knowledge, and needless duplication of records and work. Office equipment is ordered periodically and placed where it is thought it will be used later.
The president of the company, T. J. Osaka, has recently been overwhelmed by the difficulty of obtaining information. Whenever information is needed, several different sources must be contacted; and much time is wasted locating the information. Osaka is also beginning to notice idle equipment in the offices and delays in the preparation of important operating reports.
Osaka has recently had a conference with the three vice-presidents in charge of manufacturing, marketing, and finance and has indicated his dissatisfaction. The three executives feel they cannot change any of their work routines or give up any of their personnel.
What major problem areas do you see in this case?
Are there any principles of management being violated by the officers of the company? Explain.
Under which form of organization is the company presently operating? Do you find any evidence of decentralized managerial authority? Explain.