Dear Senior, please help me to solve the case study below.
Joseph, a plant-level worker, has twenty years of experience in Zeal Zink Ltd, a large-scale industrial establishment in Maharashtra. He is a hardworking, competent, punctual, and reliable employee of Zeal Zink Ltd. He has good interactions and interrelations with his superiors, co-workers, and other members of the organization. The management has a good impression of and appreciation for his performance and commitment. The only disagreement the management has with him is his affiliation with one of the trade unions in the organization. Management doesn't have a favorable impression of the existence of trade unions within the organization as they believe that trade unions mislead and exploit the workforce and are a big hurdle in the smooth progress of the organization.
To make Joseph more work-oriented, management decided to promote him to a supervisory level. The promotion decision was beyond his expectation. He found himself very happy with the situation and felt obliged to the management. Only hardworking, competent, and skilled employees are promoted to higher positions. The supervisory positions in the organization have better compensation packages, power, and authority in relation to the responsibilities. Joseph was highly motivated to work for the organization and felt highly obliged to the management. He acquired better acceptance and recognition in the supervisory position from his superiors and co-workers within a short span. He performed his duties in accordance with the expectations of the management.
As per the official communication, Joseph met one of the senior-level officials, Mr. Kiran, in his cabin. Kiran detailed new responsibilities and tentative targets to Joseph, inducing management expectations on him. After making some formal discussions, Kiran started an informal discussion with Joseph, inquiring about employee welfare, satisfaction levels, and many other topics. He also inquired about Joseph's family members. During the conversation, Kiran also inquired about Joseph's trade union activities and his strong affiliation with them. He informed Joseph that management is unhappy about his trade union affiliation, as he performs a managerial role in the organization. He demanded a gradual separation from the trade union and asked him to work for the management for a better career. Kiran asked him to think about it and make a decision without losing time. Reserving his comment on Kiran's demand, Joseph returned to his plant.
Kiran's demand to quit the trade union membership was really disappointing to him. He felt that to protect his rights and privileges, the trade union had always been with him. With the existence of the trade union, employees feel safe and secure in their jobs. Many questions arose in his mind, such as "Shall I quit the trade union? Is it fair to quit the trade union as they supported me in many contingent situations? Will the management support me in my future? Do they follow their promises? Who am I, a Worker or a Manager?" as there is a wide disparity between employees and employers. As many employees have had similar experiences in the past, is it safe to do so? Many conflicting thoughts made him more confused about making an appropriate decision in this matter.
Though he had plenty of information about management's approach towards employees in the organization, he decided to make a decision in favor of management, considering future prospects. As an initial step, he started getting aloof from many of the trade union meetings and activities in the organization. The trade union closely observed their party men. They noticed the changes in Joseph's attitude and behavior. The trade union leadership demanded clarification from him. Joseph continued to get aloof from the trade union activities by showing some personal grounds and engaging himself more in work activities. He informed management that he started his gradual separation from the trade union. Management became quite happy about his decision and extended full support in his occupational career.
Having a peaceful mind, with a decision to involve himself more in work as a managerial supervisor, he started his newly allotted task. His new task required more members and had to be accomplished as a team. Supervisors from different departments also took part in the task performance. Though the members worked as a team, they had to follow the timely instructions of the senior managers. They didn't have much freedom and autonomy to make decisions on production and to take initiatives to achieve the target with better alternative measures. As per the guidelines of the top management, they performed their duties and responsibilities. Joseph and other supervisory members worked hard to achieve the predetermined result, as expected by the management.
The annual production statistics were published. The department where Joseph had been working reported low-level performance. The inspectors pointed out problems related to quality levels. The top management, as usual, flayed junior and middle-level managers and supervisors who were in charge of the department for low-level performance. While the middle and junior-level managers, as usual, redirected those allegations to the supervisors and members in the department, showing their sheer negligence and lack of commitment on their part. The supervisory members, especially Joseph, who had worked hard to get better output, disagreed with the allegations made by the superiors. He had the impression that, after all, they simply followed the instructions of their superiors. The supervisory members decided to meet top management to inform them of the real facts. They drafted a memorandum and handed it over to the top management officials, indicating the real situation that led to poor output.
After two days, top management asked Joseph to meet Kiran, the Senior Manager in the organization, for further discussion of the problem with due consideration to the memorandum. Kiran informed Joseph of the top management's decision about the issue, stating that they were totally dissatisfied with the performance of the supervisory members. During the meeting, Kiran informed Joseph that, as a step to curb the situation and maintain the quality of the production, top management decided to transfer a few of the supervisory members to other departments and decided to transfer a few members from this organization to the sister concern. The transfer list contained Joseph's name as well. Kiran informed Joseph that his knowledge and competency were not sufficient to handle new responsibilities as they require more training and attention, which he needed to get from another organization. Kiran also informed Joseph that management decided to withdraw the extra incentives that had been extended to them, as the nature of the transfer was more of a training program and a punitive measure.
Joseph was shocked to hear the management's decision in this matter. He became totally depressed about the management's decision. He felt that the management had shown their vested interest and partiality to protect middle and junior-level managerial members. They tried to protect management members from negative consequences and corrective measures from the top. The management's decision to transfer him and his fellow supervisory members to different departments in other sister concerns was a measure to marginalize and victimize them. He could not find any justification on the part of management. Joseph felt that instead of understanding the problem in an impartial way, management tried to resolve the issue by developing new strategies that safeguard the management and victimize the members. He felt that the attitudes of the management always behave as 'big bosses' and are never going to change. He felt that managers do not have any intention to support employees in their crisis.
Joseph became more aggressive and decided to continue his membership in the trade union and forwarded the complaint to the trade union, indicating the victimization.
Questions
1. Is the management's attitude towards the trade union justified?
2. Does the annual decline in the yearly production reflect Joseph's inefficiency as a Manager?
3. "Business World indulges in Organizational Politics by showing carrots of Career Planning." Comment.
4. Does this case reflect Joseph as a poor decision maker?
5. How are the theory of equity and the theory of expectancy related to this case study?
Regards, Renuka
Joseph, a plant-level worker, has twenty years of experience in Zeal Zink Ltd, a large-scale industrial establishment in Maharashtra. He is a hardworking, competent, punctual, and reliable employee of Zeal Zink Ltd. He has good interactions and interrelations with his superiors, co-workers, and other members of the organization. The management has a good impression of and appreciation for his performance and commitment. The only disagreement the management has with him is his affiliation with one of the trade unions in the organization. Management doesn't have a favorable impression of the existence of trade unions within the organization as they believe that trade unions mislead and exploit the workforce and are a big hurdle in the smooth progress of the organization.
To make Joseph more work-oriented, management decided to promote him to a supervisory level. The promotion decision was beyond his expectation. He found himself very happy with the situation and felt obliged to the management. Only hardworking, competent, and skilled employees are promoted to higher positions. The supervisory positions in the organization have better compensation packages, power, and authority in relation to the responsibilities. Joseph was highly motivated to work for the organization and felt highly obliged to the management. He acquired better acceptance and recognition in the supervisory position from his superiors and co-workers within a short span. He performed his duties in accordance with the expectations of the management.
As per the official communication, Joseph met one of the senior-level officials, Mr. Kiran, in his cabin. Kiran detailed new responsibilities and tentative targets to Joseph, inducing management expectations on him. After making some formal discussions, Kiran started an informal discussion with Joseph, inquiring about employee welfare, satisfaction levels, and many other topics. He also inquired about Joseph's family members. During the conversation, Kiran also inquired about Joseph's trade union activities and his strong affiliation with them. He informed Joseph that management is unhappy about his trade union affiliation, as he performs a managerial role in the organization. He demanded a gradual separation from the trade union and asked him to work for the management for a better career. Kiran asked him to think about it and make a decision without losing time. Reserving his comment on Kiran's demand, Joseph returned to his plant.
Kiran's demand to quit the trade union membership was really disappointing to him. He felt that to protect his rights and privileges, the trade union had always been with him. With the existence of the trade union, employees feel safe and secure in their jobs. Many questions arose in his mind, such as "Shall I quit the trade union? Is it fair to quit the trade union as they supported me in many contingent situations? Will the management support me in my future? Do they follow their promises? Who am I, a Worker or a Manager?" as there is a wide disparity between employees and employers. As many employees have had similar experiences in the past, is it safe to do so? Many conflicting thoughts made him more confused about making an appropriate decision in this matter.
Though he had plenty of information about management's approach towards employees in the organization, he decided to make a decision in favor of management, considering future prospects. As an initial step, he started getting aloof from many of the trade union meetings and activities in the organization. The trade union closely observed their party men. They noticed the changes in Joseph's attitude and behavior. The trade union leadership demanded clarification from him. Joseph continued to get aloof from the trade union activities by showing some personal grounds and engaging himself more in work activities. He informed management that he started his gradual separation from the trade union. Management became quite happy about his decision and extended full support in his occupational career.
Having a peaceful mind, with a decision to involve himself more in work as a managerial supervisor, he started his newly allotted task. His new task required more members and had to be accomplished as a team. Supervisors from different departments also took part in the task performance. Though the members worked as a team, they had to follow the timely instructions of the senior managers. They didn't have much freedom and autonomy to make decisions on production and to take initiatives to achieve the target with better alternative measures. As per the guidelines of the top management, they performed their duties and responsibilities. Joseph and other supervisory members worked hard to achieve the predetermined result, as expected by the management.
The annual production statistics were published. The department where Joseph had been working reported low-level performance. The inspectors pointed out problems related to quality levels. The top management, as usual, flayed junior and middle-level managers and supervisors who were in charge of the department for low-level performance. While the middle and junior-level managers, as usual, redirected those allegations to the supervisors and members in the department, showing their sheer negligence and lack of commitment on their part. The supervisory members, especially Joseph, who had worked hard to get better output, disagreed with the allegations made by the superiors. He had the impression that, after all, they simply followed the instructions of their superiors. The supervisory members decided to meet top management to inform them of the real facts. They drafted a memorandum and handed it over to the top management officials, indicating the real situation that led to poor output.
After two days, top management asked Joseph to meet Kiran, the Senior Manager in the organization, for further discussion of the problem with due consideration to the memorandum. Kiran informed Joseph of the top management's decision about the issue, stating that they were totally dissatisfied with the performance of the supervisory members. During the meeting, Kiran informed Joseph that, as a step to curb the situation and maintain the quality of the production, top management decided to transfer a few of the supervisory members to other departments and decided to transfer a few members from this organization to the sister concern. The transfer list contained Joseph's name as well. Kiran informed Joseph that his knowledge and competency were not sufficient to handle new responsibilities as they require more training and attention, which he needed to get from another organization. Kiran also informed Joseph that management decided to withdraw the extra incentives that had been extended to them, as the nature of the transfer was more of a training program and a punitive measure.
Joseph was shocked to hear the management's decision in this matter. He became totally depressed about the management's decision. He felt that the management had shown their vested interest and partiality to protect middle and junior-level managerial members. They tried to protect management members from negative consequences and corrective measures from the top. The management's decision to transfer him and his fellow supervisory members to different departments in other sister concerns was a measure to marginalize and victimize them. He could not find any justification on the part of management. Joseph felt that instead of understanding the problem in an impartial way, management tried to resolve the issue by developing new strategies that safeguard the management and victimize the members. He felt that the attitudes of the management always behave as 'big bosses' and are never going to change. He felt that managers do not have any intention to support employees in their crisis.
Joseph became more aggressive and decided to continue his membership in the trade union and forwarded the complaint to the trade union, indicating the victimization.
Questions
1. Is the management's attitude towards the trade union justified?
2. Does the annual decline in the yearly production reflect Joseph's inefficiency as a Manager?
3. "Business World indulges in Organizational Politics by showing carrots of Career Planning." Comment.
4. Does this case reflect Joseph as a poor decision maker?
5. How are the theory of equity and the theory of expectancy related to this case study?
Regards, Renuka