Case Consilate

The behavior of employees is the key to achieving effectiveness. Throughout this analysis of The Consolidated Life Case: Caught between Corporate Cultures, I want to explain the issues that arose for Mike Wilson upon his return to Consolidated Life, why I think these issues eventually caused him to quit the company, and finally, the ideas and concepts that I believe would have helped the individual managers create a positive working environment.

When mike Wilson left his division of Consolidated Life to manage an office across town, he didn’t realize the changes that would be waiting for him when he returned. Mike was confident that his management style had led his team to produce remarkable results, and according to his Vice President, Rick Belkner, there would always be a job waiting for him if he wanted to return.

After six months away, Mike returned to his original division and quickly realized things had changed. The organizational culture had molded into something other than the laid-back, no rules atmosphere. Employees no longer worked in a casual ambiance; instead, the environment was now task-oriented and serious. It was immediately clear why things had altered, and his name was Jack Greely.

Organizational culture, defined in the text, “is the pervasive system of values, beliefs, and norms that exists in any organization. The organizational culture can encourage or discourage effectiveness, depending on the nature of the values, beliefs and norms.” (Ivancevich, Konopanske, &Matteson, 2011) Jack had gone into the division and completely changed the atmosphere in a matter of six months, which created a hostile working environment for the employees.

It was obvious that Mike’s flexible management style hadn’t been carried over through his previous boss, Rick. Instead, Rick conformed to the managing styles of the newcomer, and focused on using power to drive results. The emphasis Mike had put on working on individual characteristics and finding what motivated each team member was vanishing. The organizational change that Jack developed was intended to drive results, but it had the opposite effect and employees were quickly getting discouraged.

Studies have found that employees work more efficiently in environments where they are encouraged, and have respect for their managers. When a supervisor tries to use power as the main focus of his management style, there will be negative reaction and employee turnover will be imminent. Mike was known for taking a different approach than Jack when managing employees, but he failed to mold to the new office culture and it was quickly noticed.

Mike could have done a better job of studying the new office culture, rather than just jumping in and using his power against Jack’s. When Mike wrote the memo about the Supervisor’s Forum, he focused on using his management style to correct the issues in the office. This was not effective because he knowingly violated the norms of expected behavior set by Jack. While Mike thought he had been cautious in writing the memo, he still went against the new culture Jack was hastily creating in the office.

According to The Schein definition, “an organization’s culture has three layers. Layer one includes artifacts and creations that are visible but often not interpretable (an example would be the Supervisor’s Forum Memo). At layer two are values or the things that are important to people (i.e. a fun work environment, a bonus and promotions). In layer three are the basic assumptions people make that guide their behavior (the new boss is tough; it’s his way or the highway).” (Ivancevich, Konopanske, &Matteson, 2011)

When Mike came back into the picture and continued to manage using his previous training tactics, it did not go unnoticed. He was driving results due to his ability to effectively manage a team through discourse, training and motivation. He had the top trained team in the business even though he had defied upper management. Mike’s perception was that as long as he was driving results, he would continue to move up the ladder; he would later find out that this wasn’t entirely true.

Motivation was a top factor for Mike while leading his team. Citing the Hawthorne Studies, “the focus is on both individual and group needs. Mike needed his division to hit results, and he used leveraging tactics to make it happen.” (Ivancevich, Konopanske, &Matteson, 2011)

Mike had a psychological contract with his employees, and therefore they respected and trusted him. According to the textbook, a psychological contract is “an unwritten agreement between an employee and the organization that specifies what each expects to give to and receive from the other.” (Ivancevich et al., 2011) It was simple: Mike would give them a trouble-free environment filled with rewards and bonuses, and they had to work hard and over-perform. Jack and Rick didn’t operate this way.

One of the reasons Mike and Jack never curbed their managing differences, is because of Mike’s emphasis on total quality management (TQM). “TQM is a philosophy and system of management that, using statistical process control and group problem-solving processes, places the greatest priority on attaining high standards for quality and continuous improvement.” (Ivancevich, Konopanske, &Matteson, 2011)

Mike continually trained his teams, and valued positive cultural change. In his first weeks with Consolidated Life, he implemented training classes and group meetings. Mike utilized the second stage of socialization,

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