MP Chuck Mackinnon SCRPKA
Chuck graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelors in Foreign Service after which he started work at Corporate Bank International (CB) and pursued an MBA in Corporate Finance while at work. He rose up the ladder in CB and even had a stint in Hong Kong. In 1 992, after working with CB for more than a decade, following Cab’s merger with the Merchant Bank of Canada, Chuck accepted a position managing a full service branch in Saudi Arabia. Chuck found a host of robbers plaguing the Saudi Arabia branch including the staff cheating on credit cards, putting foreign exchange tickets in their personal desks and having outside business interests that were in conflict with their jobs at the bank. He dealt with it by firing most of the old corrupt staff and brought In new team to handle the bank operations.
However, he felt it was time to move on. He felt he had cleaned up the operations and, given the cultural issues it was time for someone else to come in and take it to the next level. In August 1993 Chuck was offered a new position as the Managing Director, Financial Institutions, with MBA in New York by Eldon Frost, Senior Vice President of the Company. His role was to manage Mob’s relationships with a range of financial institution clients as well as lead a team in marketing Mob’s and Cab’s corporate financial services and products. Eldon portrayed the New York group as one that was working very well and making money. The real picture though was not all rosy.
THE ORGANIZATION Presented below is the organizational chart of Mob’s team: Of this team, Eldon Frost, Steve Salmon, Neil Forsyth and Glenn Wright operate from the office in Montreal. The rest of the team operates from the office in New York. THE TEAM A profile of the team is presented below: NAME AGE YEARS IN BANK YEARS IN POSITION Chuck Mackinac 39 3 Patrick Kin nard 52 17 7 Neil Forsyth 53 15 5 Dale Cameron 18 Glenn Wright 35 10 Drier Policeman 12 Steve Salmon 50 20 yen Morris 25 Bill Russell 45 MARGARET MATTSON, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT She sent conflicting signals to Chuck – initially telling him to ‘fix’ the Financial Institutions Group and ‘get rid of the weak staff, but later changed her tune and suggested that Chuck’s management style may have been too severe.
She faces conflicts with Eldon Frost, her next in line, to an extent that they try hard not to even be present in the same room. ELDON FROST, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Eldon seems driven by the concept of keeping everyone happy He is a ‘survivor who does not like to ‘rock the boat and hence faces conflicts with both Chuck and Margaret. He is also resentful of Margaret as he believes he deserved the post of Executive Vice-President Eldon is not forthright with Chuck about his performance appraisal. NEIL FORSYTH, DIRECTOR Neil is extremely resistant to the changes proposed by Chuck and believes his reference ratings fell solely because of a personality conflict with Chuck.
Chuck had to seriously consider moving Neil out of the group GLENN WRIGHT, ASSOCIATE Glenn is supportive of Neil, but not Steve, which leads to tension, considering that Glenn reports directly to Steve. While he wants to become a Director, his performance is not up to the mark. Chuck tried to empathic With his needs, and gave him his own portfolio. However, Glenn only gave his attention to some clients, grossly ignoring others. Chuck has received numerous complaints about Glenn from both Eldon and Margaret regarding his poor ark habits – he takes many Monday/Friday absences and plays Solitaire on his computer during work hours. DRIER POLICEMAN, ASSOCIATE Drier is an average performer, facing problems particularly in communicating verbally and orally in English.
Drier lives in denial, refusing to accept his obvious weakness in English, instead expecting others to make allowances He also has a wont of ruffling feathers, even calling people liars on email and sending copies of the email to everyone, including the bosses. DALE CAMERON, DIRECTOR He was considered an exceptional performer initially but later dropped down o a quality performer He is erratic and unpredictable at work. Some of his memos were well written while others were unintelligible and incoherent. Chuck suspects that Dale might have a drug or alcohol problem. He has a long standing relationship with Chuck and supports and implements the new strategy, which results in Chuck being protective of him. PATRICK KINDER, DIRECTOR Patrick is considered to be an exceptional performer despite getting a demotion, and is recognized as being very capable in cash management.
He was only partly supportive of the strategy, but went straight to Eldon Frost to implant about the strategy, rather than facing up to Chuck. Patrick has taken many random sick days and is suspected of being an alcoholic STEVE SALMON, DIRECTOR Steve is regarded to be an average performer but someone who is well liked and produces consistent results Importantly for Chuck, he supports the new strategy and does his best to implement it. LYNN MORRIS, MANAGER Lynn is regarded as an exceptional performer, a team player and someone who made the transition to new products fairly successfully. Chuck relies on her to handle cash management issues as well as implement the new strategy.
Lynn seems to be a motivated person who is able to form very effective working relationships BILL RUSSELL, MANAGER Bill is an exceptional performer who is committed, motivated and is not averse to bringing new ideas and opinions to the table. Bill is also relied upon to handle traditional cash management inquiries and problems. BRUCE WILSON Bruce is based in Los Angels with 50 people reporting to him Bruce runs a quality operation, with high service levels and satisfied clients Brace’s employees also have high morale ISSUES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND COMMUNICATION The issues in emotional intelligence and communication begin at the very top f the organization, in the form of the conflict between Margaret and Eldon.
According to Daniel Coleman, the top two tenets of emotional intelligence are Empathy and forming Effective Relationships. This is clearly lacking in the working relationship shared by Margaret and Eldon and results in conflicting expectations of Chuck. According to Eldon, he and Margaret share a ‘you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone and well just work together but keep our distance’ type of arrangement. Both exhibit classic signs of defensive communication, adopting a passive approach of alienation. According to T. Wells, defensive communication can create barriers be;en people in organizations, resulting in poor working relationships. This is exactly what has resulted here between Margaret and Eldon, leading to a confused vision set forth to Chuck.
Chuck did express this to both Margaret and Eldon, but he needs to re- emphasize his predicament to both of them. Unless there is a shared vision, the organization cannot succeed. Margaret and Eldon must resolve their differences and give Chuck a clear goal to achieve. Given the importance of communication at the top of the organization, sec ring the services of a immunization coach to resolve issues between Margaret and Eldon may also be useful. Chuck faces another major communications issue with his team in Montreal. Chuck attempted to keep the communication lines open through conference and group calls. However it was important to use more technology.
Chuck faced a major barrier here in that the team in Montreal was very backward in terms of using new technology. They did not even use e-mails or notebook computers. Introducing technology and training the team to use technology for communication is critical to improve the effectiveness of the Montreal team. Within the Montreal team, there also exists conflict between Neil, Glenn and Steve. This is explained in greater detail in the next section. From a standpoint of effective relationships, Chuck needs to exercise emotional intelligence in dealing with Neil. Neil is very resistant to the new strategy and Chuck needs to empathic with him first.
According to Moss and Sanchez, active listening is a key communication skill in closing the feedback gap between managers and employees. This involves listening empathetically to the problems an employee faces. Better managers are known to listen actively to suggestions and complaints. Greater empathetic listening by Chuck will help him in better understanding Nil’s reason for resistance, and thus help bring Neil around. Glen’s poor work habits seem to stem from a lack of motivation, an indication of a low emotional quotient. Chuck needs to adopt a more authoritative form of leadership with Glenn. This is covered in the section on Motivation and Leadership. Drier presents a unique communications and emotional intelligence issue for Chuck.
Drier faces a language problem, but to add to that he believes it is others who should make allowances for him. He is partly right in his claim. It is important to accommodate his lack of proficiency in English by using simple, direct, declarative language with him. However he should be encouraged to attend English lessons and improve his command on the language. This may be achieved by Chi suck offering incentives for an improvement in Drier’s level of English. His lack of etiquette on e-mails may stem from a lack of understanding of the use of Information Communications Technology. According to studies conducted by C. Brood, the use of technologies results in an increase in making rude or obscene outbursts by computer.
This may be due to the usual tact and politeness associated with face to face conversation not being present in e-mails. Driers lack of command on English may have only exaggerated his apparent rudeness on e-mail. For the sake of harmony in the team, Chuck must help Drier in resolving these issues. It is however important that he exercises empathy and is sensitive to Drier’s feelings in doing so. This is further covered in the section on Motivation and Leadership. Both Dale and Patrick are challenges to Chuck in terms of their self- regulation. Chuck suspects a drug or alcohol problem with both of them. However, Chuck has not faced the problem head on so far, and has instead resorted to covering up for Dale and Patrick.
While it is generally perceived that persuasive leaders make better managers, and that patience plays a key part in this, it is sometimes important for managers to be directive and assertive. In both Dale’s and Patriot’s case, Chuck does need to be more assertive. This is further discussed in the next 2 sections. In Patriot’s case, Chuck may have missed a trick with regards to motivation. Chuck has not exercised his emotional intelligence by not recognizing that Patriot’s major strength lies in traditional Cash Management. By relying more on Lynn Morris and Bill Russell for handling traditional cash management issues, Chuck has taken away from Patrick a major motivational factor. This is further discussed in the section on Motivation and Leadership.
With a better understanding of each person’s level of emotional intelligence and by employing effective communication skills, Chuck can then proceed to resolving conflicts in the organization and motivating and leading the team to better results. This is now discussed in the next 2 sections. GROUP DYNAMICS AND CONFLICT Group dynamics is defined as the interaction of complex intra and interpersonal forces operating in a group which determine its character, development, and long-term survival. Issues of power, influence, and interpersonal conflict all affect dynamics and group performance. As revealed in the case study the interpersonal relationship between the group members is highly inefficient resulting to many conflicting issues. There are two main forms of conflict, functional and dysfunctional conflicts.
Functional conflicts, from an interactions perspective conflict, are responsive ND innovative aiding in creativity and viability. Dysfunctional conflicts occur when conflict disrupts, hinders job performance, and upsets personal psychological functioning. Majority of the conflicts in the organization are dysfunctional conflicts. One of the main conflicts the organization is facing is an interpersonal conflict, which is a conflict that occurs between two or more individuals, between Margaret and Eldon. The defense mechanism employed by the two is one of withdrawal and can be seen when they avoid having to deal and work with one another. This is resulting in an intolerable conflict for Chuck, as e is receiving contradictory instructions from thee two bosses.
Margaret and Eldon should adopt a collaborative and compromising style instead of avoidance. They need to confront the conflict at hand and negotiate a working compromise. The geographical distributions of the organization is adding to the existing conflicts at hand and creating an intercrop conflict between the team at Montreal and New York. There exists a communication barrier, as they are reluctant to shift to the new upcoming technologies offered by Chuck several times. There is a requirement for face-to-face and personal interactions in the earlier stages, later allowing the teams to move towards electronic and virtual communication once the trust has been established.
Another conflict between the team in Montreal and New York is based on the remuneration package as the American dollar has a higher value. This conflict could be resolved by linking performance to pay, allowing high performers in Montreal to earn a higher package. The conflict between Glenn, Neil and Steve epitomizes an integrator conflict, which is conflict between members of a single group. This is a clear case of motivational gap. Here Chuck attempted to solve the problem by making the roof attend some skill enhancing course in the hopes to build team spirit. He also attempted changing Structure when he gave Glenn his own portfolio of clients to handle.
Chuck should attempt at providing the group With a subordinate goal, an organizational goal that is more important to both parties in a conflict than their individual or group goals, which will force the team to work together in order to succeed. An example of this would be making sure that the remuneration package is linked to group performance. In addition, he should have made them attend some emotional intelligence rockroses so as each person would be able to look at the problem from their individual as well as their team members perspectives. Neil is a blocker who stubbornly resists the group’s ideas; disagree with group members for personal reasons.
Kurt Lenin considered that change ensued from the competition between driving and restraining forces. In other words, when a change is instigated, some forces drive and facilitate it while others create resistance to it. The required change can be achieved by decreasing the restraining forces and increasing the facilitating forces. The conflict teen Neil and Chuck was due to new strategy implementation and is a classic example of interpersonal conflict. The cause for this conflict is the perceived goal differences between the two and the lack of skills and abilities On part Of Neil to carry out the new strategies. This was being displayed by Neil through fixation, negativism and displacement.
This issue can be resolved and made into a functional conflict by Chuck if he uses a collaborative style of managing conflict. He needs to confront the conflict at hand by allowing his disgruntled team members to put forward their reasons or opposing the new strategy should and then provide them with reasons why the strategy is a good idea and is necessary giving the current market conditions. This will make the team feel that they are a part of the decision making process and their opinions matter and that Chuck, himself, is a team player. In addition, he needs to introduce a training program for those employees who desire to update their skills and understand the new products in keeping with the new strategy.
