Posted on : 2023-05-21 16:53:22
Article : Good morning, Monday Management Solution for the TASK 242- Learning how to manage and take advantage of conflicts can help business owners build better teams and a healthier workplace culture.
This is in continuation of task 242 as a solution brief. The best conflict management style that could have worked in the TASK referred situation is the win-win, also known as the collaborating or problem confronting/solving style. Here in, it seems that Mankad’s approach to getting more personnel for himself has been problematic not only to Dave but also to Rawat, Dave’s predecessor. Both view Mankad as being too ambitious, but Rawat was able to curtail Mankad’s attempts to poach his personnel while Dave has been unable to do so. Instead of waiting to a point where both managers developed animosity and hard feelings towards each other, one or both of them would have tried to find a solution that would have been beneficial to both of them. One such solution would have entailed letting Mankad gain some of Dave’s personnel through the right channels. This would have helped Mankad get the talent he needed in his department while Dave would have a manageable personnel size to manage since he could not deal with a big one. He would also have the chance to develop the kind of working environment that had characteristics in which he could optimally work in.
One of the problems highlighted in this case was one of lack of communication. Dave seems to be out of contact with personnel working under him. He is so busy trying to figure out how to start managing his new department that he has forgotten to run the department as effectively as he should. He has delegated all his manager-employee duties to his assistant. This lack of communication from the manager to the employees and vice versa has created a work environment where the employees are not content. Mankad has seen an opportunity in this situation and he has been busy ‘stealing’ technological development personnel while at the same time using their dissatisfaction as a reason to discredit Dave’s managerial capabilities. There is also lack of communication between Dave and Mankad; therefore, they cannot solve their differences amicably. Dave should have tried to spend more time knowing and understanding those working under him, instead of leaving this important duty to his assistant. As the person in charge of the department, he should have a better communication strategy that will bring him closer with his personnel and this might create a good working relationship between them.
Being a reserved kind of manager, Dave has very little contact with his team members. In this case those employees who work under Dave report that they rarely have regular meetings and he appears aloof. Before Dave took over the department, it had been under a manager who was considered a good team player and he was able to manage his large workforce without any problem. Dave’s inability to deal with large teams results mainly from his reserved personality, but as a manager, he should be adaptable to any level of management. Mankad, his interactive opponent has clearly seen his weakness and capitalized on it by poaching personnel from his department. Having an assistant who interacts readily with personnel is not enough to build a strong team that is also loyal to its leader. Dave will have to come up with an effective hands-on strategy of interacting with members of his personnel. This will make them feel wanted and may even create some level of loyalty towards the manager. They appeared to have different attitudes and value. Mankad is described as being highly ambitious with great interpersonal skills. Dave of the on other hand comes out as a private kind of person who does not work well with big teams of people.
End Point-The personnel in Technological Development headed by Dave feel like they are underutilized, mainly because they are many of them and there is little work to be done. The best solution would be for Dave to be more of a people–person than he is. He should be more involved in what they do. This way his people will feel less neglected and they will not so much want to be transferred. If this happens, Mankad will not have an easy time poaching Dave’s people.
Log on to www.wingsofmanagement.com to know more about our “Strategy” Management consultancy’s versatile capabilities, global clients and to read our weekly posts and projects.