Kassam Moez: Consulting Intern

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary 1 2. Problem Identification 2 2.1 Key Facts 2 2.2 Problem Statement 2 3. Analysis 2 4. Alternatives 4 4.1 Decision Criteria 4 4.2 Alternatives 4 5. Recommendation 5 6. Action plan 6 7. Annotated Bibliographies 7

1. Executive Summary
Ebrahim El Kalza’s internship at Matthews Management Consulting has taken a turn for the worse. After initially being rejected for the Abu Dhabi assignment, he found his way onto the team after inception, to assist with client interviews. However, being unprepared for the intensity of it all, has his head spinning. Despite exerting a great deal of effort, his work is constantly being criticized, and he can’t seem to get on the same page as his supervisor (Sherif Mahfouz), leaving him to wonder how he can salvage something positive during his remaining days in Abu Dhabi, and secure a job offer.
Mahfouz is charged with growing the Middle Eastern business; his success is tied to the existing engagement, and he is somewhat dependent on El Kalza to support his efforts.
At the heart of the problem is ineffective communication, which has led to interpersonal conflict between them. Their poor communication perpetuates the perception of conflict, further eroding the relationship, and jeopardizing the mutual goal of successfully completing the project, which will negatively impact their individual goals.
In order to resolve this problem, it is recommended that El Kalza take measures to improve the communication process, and employ a problem solving approach to resolve any future conflicts.
Through active listening, and by extension - rephrasing, El Kalza will be in a position to decode Mahfouz’s direction, establish an accurate understanding of what is required, and how it is to be done. He must also reinforce, through verbal and written communication, their subordinate goals in order to reduce the perception of conflict, which should improve their communication.
As an action plan, it is recommended that El Kalza schedule daily face-to-face meetings in order to solicit feedback in all aspects of performance; ask Mahfouz to identify appropriate and inappropriate behavior involving the client and tasks; when providing updates, include logic explaining the approach taken and ask for feedback prior to inclusion in final reports; work in the same physical area as the team whenever possible, and engage in social interaction with Mahfouz and others to strengthen cohesiveness and build social support.
Finally, as a way to protect his interests, he is encouraged to build a relationship with the project manager (Singh), and if possible, the partner, in the event his efforts are futile and he needs someone to intervene.

2. Problem Identification

3.1 Key Facts 1. Matthews Management Consulting (MMC), a top tier consulting firm with 2,000 people in 20 countries; 2. Toronto office known for being hard working and sociable; analysts will be needed to meet demand; 3. MMC has a highly competitive culture where you earn the right to be heard; 4. Intense commitment required, which produces stress and burnout (60-90 hr.’s per week); 5. Client (PE firm) is the largest user of consultants in the Middle East and MMC’s first engagement with them; 6. Project viewed as vital to establish a presence in Middle East; 7. After a satisfactory review, El Kalza requests the Abu Dhabi project via e mail to his manager and partner; 8. After an initial rejection, El Kalza is asked to help by completing customer interviews; 9. El Kalza charged with completing 50 interviews across 5 countries in two weeks; 10. El Kalza unprepared for the intensity – 16 hr. days, 7 days/week; 11. Mahfouz hired to grow MMC’s Middle Eastern presence; his goal is to leverage this into a partnership; 12. Client is disgruntled due perceived bait and switch; 13. El Kalza scolded three times for various work related issues.
1.2 Symptoms * Mahfouz is critical of El Kalza’s reports, berating him, and demanding better; * El Kalza showed up 10 minutes late to breakfast; part way through Mahfouz leaves without saying anything to El Kalza; * El Kalza felt uncomfortable when speaking with the client and was later chastised for doing so; * El Kalza is tired, frustrated and angry; wonders if he can salvage something positive in his remaining days. 3.2 Problem Statement
Ineffective communication between Mahfouz and El Kalza has led to interpersonal conflict, negatively impacting his future employment prospects, and the project. 3. Analysis
Communication is the way in which people clarify, and coordinate their efforts for a mutually beneficial outcome (McShane and Steen, 2009. pg. 212).
At the outset of the assignment, EL Kalza hit the ground running with several assignments, and little direction. As a way to clarify expectations and be effective, he drafted a list of questions for his supervisor. Neither the message nor the medium was well received or understood, as he was told to be a source of solutions, not questions.
In the first incident El Kalza reviews his errors, and believes them to be subjective and frivolous, which is evidence that Mahfouz’s message has not been understood (how we wants things done); this is reinforced due to the fact that Mahfouz did not stop to look for evidence that it was (he merely walked out of the room, and did not follow up).
In addition, there are signs of information overload as El Kalza admits to not being prepared for the intensity of the project (several assignments, 50 interviews in two weeks). The resultant work (1st report) is reflective of spelling mistakes and errors; a sign that he could not process the volume of information within the time given.
In the second incident, nonverbal communication is problematic as Mahfouz says nothing when El Kalza shows up late to breakfast; while it appears El Kalza correctly interprets this as disapproval (he feels awkward), he does not immediately apologize, and instead gets up to gather breakfast. Perhaps not clear as to the message he sent back, Mahfouz, shortly thereafter, proceeds to leave without saying a thing, walking ahead of El Kalza all the way back to the office.
Furthermore, a sheer lack of communication results in El Kalza being reprimanded for speaking with the client. At no point was he advised this was inappropriate, and when he tries to discuss the situation, Singh walks out of the room.
In the third incident, a combination of information overload, i.e. once again running short on time as he had two interviews and a report to complete, and perceptual noise, lead to conflict. As Mahfouz commended El Kalza on his updates, he merely amalgamated them to create a report for Mahfouz’s client meeting, perceiving this as acceptable. The result was Mahfouz scolding him, and advising he must perform at a higher level. Once again, Mahfouz advises (in an aggressive manner) he wants a proper summary/report, but does not communicate what that entails, and/or, he overestimates how well El Kalza decoded the original message concerning the commendations.
El Kalza was often working alone providing updates via e mail (understanding he conducts interviews, I presume they can be completed without distraction of other team members), while other members of the team worked throughout the weekend in another room. While the task may be somewhat routine, the situation is novel to El Kalza and thus, this channel of communication is not effective for receiving guidance (which is Mahfouz’s responsibility).
The above noted communications problems create the perception of interpersonal conflict in the eyes of both Mahfouz and El Kalza.
Mahfouz has been hired to grow the Middle East business, is a couple of months away from being promoted to manager, and has aspirations of being a partner. El Kalza’s errors and mistakes are perceived to undermine his efforts as there is a level of interdependence in their relationship. This is evidenced by his remarks - “I trust you to help me prepare for a client meeting, and you give me this?”… submit trash to me… I can’t put my name on this.”
This in turn, leaves El Kalza feeling frustrated, angry, and stressed, and resulted in his poor performance and decisions. As an example, El Kalza knew producing the final report in the timeframe requested was essentially unrealistic, but nonetheless promised to have it done, solely to not jeopardize Mahfouz’s good mood.
This yielding response appears to be a reaction to his previous scolding/chastising. El Kalza also appears to employ avoidance as means to reduce the conflict, as he worked in a separate room from his team, as noted above (after the first two incidents).
People who experience conflicts are less likely to communicate or try and understand the other person. This is observed via nonverbal cues, i.e. Mahfouz not looking directly at El Kalza when speaking to him, walking three paces ahead of him, and casting him a sideways glance, as well as verbal tirades, i.e. calling El Kalza’s work trash/yelling at him. El Kalza’s response is to yield and/or avoid.
There is also some differentiation which increases the perception of conflict (Mahfouz relating the work to serious business not, a school project).
Ultimately, poor communication between them only serves to perpetuate the conflict process, further eroding the relationship, and jeopardizing the mutual goal of successfully completing the project, which is correlated to El Kalza obtaining a job offer and Mahfouz eventually becoming a partner. 4. Alternatives

5.3 Decision Criteria
Timeliness: Can it be implemented with little time left in Abu Dhabi?
Feasibility: Does El Kalza, and/or the team have the resources/capacity to implement?
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Does it address the root cause(s) of the problem/conflict? 5.4 Alternatives 1) Allow the situation continue and continue to work hard.

Pros: * Little time left in Abu Dhabi for things to get worse.

Cons: * Situation likely to get worse which will most likely result in a poor performance review; no job offer; * May be at least partially blamed if project fails. 2) Ask the partner to change supervisors.
Pros:
* Will remove the source of direct conflict; * New supervisor may be a more effective communicator; * Alerts the partner to the problem;
Cons:
* If request rejected, existing problems will most like get worse; * Request may be perceived as his failure, negating a job offer; * Little time to develop a new, positive working relationship; * New supervisor may have a close relationship with Mahfouz; * Entire team is under immense pressure to complete the project; same issues may arise. 3) Address the situation proactively with a communication and conflict resolution plan.
Pros:
* Provides an opportunity to improve current situation and his confidence; * Show’s resolve and determination regardless of outcome; * Should demonstrate his desire to help Mahfouz succeed, thereby increasing his chances at securing a job offer; * Will help to develop skills beyond this immediate situation; * Will allow him to clearly understand what he should/should not be doing and how best to accomplish his task(s).
Cons:
* Mahfouz may have felt nothing was wrong, potentially making things worse; * Mahfouz may interpret the approach as an attack on him and react defensively; 5. Recommendation
Ineffective communication between Mahfouz and El Kalza has led to interpersonal conflict, negatively impacting his future employment prospects, and the project.
Allowing the current situation to continue is not an appropriate response given El Kalza’s desire to salvage something positive from his remaining time in Abu Dhabi. In the same vein, asking for a different supervisor with little time remaining carry’s more risks than benefits.
Therefore, I recommend alternative three. In order to improve the relationship, El Kalza must eliminate the noise to ensure he understands (decodes) Mahfouz’s messages, and at the same time, have an effective mechanism to address any future conflicts which may arise.
One approach that should be employed is active listening; sense the signals being given, evaluate the situation, and then respond.
By rephrasing Mahfouz’s direction to establish an accurate understanding of what is required, and how it is to be done, perceptual noise will be removed. As important, communicating that their goals are aligned (emphasizing subordinate goals), will serve to reduce the perception of conflict, and as a result, should improve communication.
With respect to errors in the reports, El Kalza believes them to be subjective, and therefore should solicit feedback from Mahfouz asking him to be more descriptive of what he is looking for. Again, he should rephrase what he believes Mahfouz’s corrections are telling him so as to avoid them in the future.
While the information overload and intensity of the project is temporary, El Kalza must put aside his fear of looking incapable, and ask for some help to buffer the situation. If obtained, this should eliminate the careless mistakes and allow for better decision making.
The conflict is an issue of perception, not of competing interests. The main source involves communication, with slight differentiation. By improving communication through the techniques noted above, the perception of conflict should subside.
That said, should interpersonal conflict remain, a problem solving approach should be engaged as their interests are not opposing. Even though Mahfouz is busy, El Kalza could use some of the time in their debriefing sessions to share the information he has gathered from the interviews, and lend his support to finding a solution to any team or client specific problems/issues. This approach will be more effective than avoiding as the cost of fixing does not outweigh the benefits, or yielding, as that approach sends an inappropriate message of apathy towards the situation. 6. Action plan
Short Term: 1) Schedule daily face-to-face meetings in order to solicit feedback in all aspects of performance; 2) Ask Mahfouz to identify appropriate and inappropriate behavior involving the client and tasks; 3) When providing updates, include logic explaining the approach taken and ask for feedback prior to inclusion in final reports (where possible); 4) Work in the same physical area as the team whenever possible; 5) Suggest social interaction with Mahfouz and others to strengthen cohesiveness and build social support.
Long term: 1) Continue to practice active listening in daily interactions to improve this skill; 2) Obtain conflict resolution coaching.

Contingencies: 1) Build a relationship with Singh, and if possible, the partner (who asked for his help) in order to secure support for obtaining a job offer, and/or intervening if necessary; 2) Maintain notes and positive emails from Mahfouz in the event his performance is questioned.

References
McShane, Steven L., Steen, Sandra L., (2009). Canadian Organization Behaviour/ Seventh Edition, Canada. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. 7. Annotated Bibliographies
Wertheim, E.J. (2008). The Importance of Effective Communication. NorthEastern University, College of Business Administration. Retrieved 10/10/08 from http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/interper/commun.htm (No page numbers provided).
The author indicates that “Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, intragroup, organizational, or external levels.”
The author further indicates that the communication process is difficult because there is opportunity to lose the message in each step of the process, as illustrated below.

Furthermore, at each step, there are multiple sources of error. This is so prevalent, that social psychologists estimate 40-60% loss of meaning between sender and receiver. He also notes that a major source of communication is nonverbal.
Barriers to Communication: “In a work setting, it is even more common since interactions involve people who not only don't have years of experience with each other, but communication is complicated by the complex and often conflictual relationships that exist at work.”
One aspect of noise relates to interpersonal relationships: “How we perceive communication is affected by the past experience with the individual. Perception is also affected by the organizational relationship two people have. For example, communication from a superior may be perceived differently than that from a subordinate or peer.”
In order to minimize this noise, one must develop listening skills and illicit feedback to ensure the message has been understood and received. The author states: “There are a number of situations when you need to solicit good information from others; these situations include interviewing candidates, solving work problems, seeking to help an employee on work performance, and finding out reasons for performance discrepancies (italics added for emphasis).
The focus within the case relates to interpersonal communication between Mahfouz and El Kalza, or more specifically, their lack of effective communication between one another. Mahfouz provides little direction, but demands things be done “properly.” In addition, inconsistent or mixed messages are being sent, as he sometimes commends El Kalza on a job well done, only to chastise him on the final product, which is reflective of the previously approved work. Moreover, Mahfouz’s nonverbal cues serve to create additional noise.
The author identifies reasons as to why this happens, as well as offers tools/methods that can be employed to help improve the communication between individuals, and therefore, assist in removing the performance discrepancies, and improve relationships.
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Dijkstra. M, De Dreu. C, Evers.A, and Dierendonck.D. (2009): Passive responses to interpersonal conflict at work amplify employee strain. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 18:4, 405-423. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320802510880
“Interpersonal conflict at work correlates with stress related outcomes such as psychological strain and exhaustion. Consistent with conflict theory, we argued that this relationship is moderated by the way conflict is managed.”
They assert that of all factors that turn the organization into a stressful place, interpersonal conflicts between employees and their superiors, their peers or their subordinates assume a rather prominent role…
They go on to argue that active conflict management styles weaken the relationship between interpersonal conflict and employee strain, whereas passive conflict management strategies amplify this relationship.
“Interpersonal conflict refers to the perceived and felt opposition and disagreement, whereas conflict management refers to the behavioural reaction to perceived opposition.”
Their findings indicated that there was less psychological strain when conflicts were managed through problem solving. This was not true with respect to forcing, avoiding, or yielding. In fact, they noted that avoiding was positively related to psychological strain and exhaustion.
Finally, they noted that managing interpersonal conflict in an active way is associated with feelings of self-worth, self-efficacy, and reduced tension…
This research is applicable to the case in that, Mahfouz clearly perceives a conflict between him and El Kalza. It is not only evidenced by his various remarks, but also by his nonverbal communication. Given El Kalza’s desire to salvage something positive during his remaining days, the approach of problem solving (as their interests are aligned, despite the perception) will not only serve to weaken the conflict and it’s relation to his strain (frustration, feelings of anger) and exhaustion, it may also serve to restore the confidence in his abilities (self-efficacy).