The Case
This case deals with a man by the name of Chuck MacKinnon who was newly appointed the role of Managing Director of Financial Institutions at the Merchant Bank of Canada in New York City. In MacKinnon’s newly appointed position he was unfortunately faced with some ongoing employee problems, coupled with ancient business strategies that were becoming more harmful than helpful.
Background Statement
As Chuck began to try and combat the multiple issues within his new position, he found that it was not going to come easy. Chuck and his supervisor soon came to realize they had different opinions on the “problems” that face the organization. His supervisor seemed to have the “if its not broken, don’t fix it” attitude and was not on board with chucks idea to implement a new strategy. This supervisor was more complacent and worried about employee morale instead of maximizing business opportunities. However, Chuck also was under the Executive Vice President of the company, and she voiced to Chuck how she was unhappy with how the company had been performing and wanted to cut the dead weight so to speak. She told Chuck that she supported his idea of newer business strategy solutions.
These differences of opinions only added to the problems that were in from of MacKinnon already. He found that it would be very difficult to make the change he wanted while keeping the company happy since he was receiving conflicting feedback from his two superiors. This issues continued to grow over the first year only adding to the existing employee issues, company productivity, and overall business strategies.
Major Problems and Secondary Issues
One of the biggest problems that was first foreseen with this case was issues involving different groups of employees having animosity between them. These constant frictions make it very difficult for MacKinnon coming in as a new hire. Chuck was ultimately trying to find a way to update the outdated business strategy that was currently being used, all while trying to manage the problems between employees. These employees were very hesitant and resistant to change, making Chuck’s already difficult job even harder. Like Chuck’s boss, they were happy with the current situation because they knew it. Feeling change was unneeded and unwanted. Chuck began to see major issues develop with the employees such as frequent absence from work, poor customer service, as well as drinking problems. Because MacKinnon was new and had goals of his own, he unfortunately overlooked and condoned these bad behaviors, eventually making things worse.
Alternatives and Recommended Solution
The biggest problem was not that of resistant management or poor employee attitudes, but was poor management from Chuck MacKinnon. MacKinnon should have taken more time in the beginning to mesh better with his team of employees, learn how they operate, ask for their important feedback, and really understand the multileveled dynamic he was being thrown into. By doing this, I feel the employees would have learned to trust, and most importantly, respect Chuck, which could have led to less initial kickback. I believe that instead of trying to implement and delegate things right away, MacKinnon should have led by example a little more. Showing employees how invested he was in them and the company. MacKinnon also lacked the proper motivational strategies to keep employee morale up. Ultimately, if the employees are unhappy, productivity will suffer regardless of the situations. By lying this solid foundation of trust, respect, and leadership, Chuck would have been able to create and productive healthy work environment where everyone was striving toward the sale goals. Finally Chuck should have understood he was ultimately their boss and not their friend. He should have take the proper steps to disciplining unruly employees rather than looking the other way and letting it continue. One toxic employee can quickly spread to many, causing a breakdown in team morale and productivity.