DeanHamster3397
Case Study: Leadership at ABC Mobility Van is the vice president of…
Case Study: Leadership at ABC Mobility
Van is the vice president of the Loyalty and Retention (L&R) department at ABC Mobility. During the past year and a half, her team successfully reduced customer loss by 50%. This was an outstanding result for the telecommunications industry and it was these results that helped the entire company meet its objectives for the year. It was fair to say that Van’s team exceeded the company expectations. An external observer would say that the L&R department was working at an exceptionally efficient pace.
At first glance, one would conclude that Van is not your typical vice president. She most certainly has succeeded at breaking the glass ceiling. Firstly, she is a female VP, the only female VP at ABC Mobility. Secondly, her hard work, determination, and goal-oriented style helped her climb the corporate ladder to a very challenging position. Now that Van’s department is the driving force behind the positive financial results of ABC Mobility, no one can doubt her ability to lead. She is well respected among her peers and ABC Mobility’s Board of Directors.
Every year, the Human Resources department at ABC Mobility conducts an “employee satisfaction” survey. Employees have the opportunity to anonymously express their satisfaction levels under various categories: salary, physical working conditions, stress levels, and so on. Overall, the survey’s objective is to measure employee job satisfaction and to determine the level of employee loyalty. Ultimately, ABC Mobility wants to keep its employees happy so that [a] they can continue doing a great job and be productive and [b] they will continue working at ABC Mobility. The cost of finding and training new employees is very high; therefore it’s in ABC Mobility’s best interest to retain and develop its employees.
The result of these surveys is given to each VP to analyze feedback about their respective departments. The purpose of the survey is to give VPs an inside view of their department and provide them with an opportunity to make any changes, if necessary, to ensure employee satisfaction, and to ultimately retain their employees.
When Van received the results for her department she was shocked. Her department had the lowest scores in the entire company across all categories. She was confused as to how this was possible given that her department produced the best results. She couldn’t afford to lose momentum on her department’s success. In fact, almost all employees answered “yes” when asked if they would consider leaving ABC Mobility. It was ironic that the department, whose main objective was to build customer loyalty, had the lowest rate of employee loyalty! The results made her look very bad to her peers and she took immediate action.
Van began by scheduling focus groups conducted by HR for all teams within her department. She wanted to find out why employees scored her department the way they did. These are the results that HR received through the focus groups:
Employees of the L&R team felt that they were overworked. They believed that they didn’t have work-life balance, their stress levels were high and it was taking a toll on their personal lives. Many team members would take their laptops home and work until late hours.
Almost all employees were upset that they didn’t get a raise. Given that the results of their hard work were the driving force behind ABC Mobility’s profitable results, they felt they should be financially rewarded accordingly.
Many employees felt that the role that they were hired for was not the role they were performing. For example, one team consisted of all marketing professionals. Prior to working at ABC Mobility, they held various jobs in a marketing capacity. It was their expectation that the job at ABC Mobility be a marketing one as well. As it turned out, the job ended up being very operational and lacked any creative component.
All employees felt that Van was a “micro-manager.” She would question everything her employees would do. Van would hold meetings directly with these employees to ensure they were on task, even though there was a manager between these two levels. Van would ask a number of questions and employees of this team felt that their abilities were being questioned. Due to Van’s micro-managing style, employees didn’t have any creative control over their projects.
Many employees felt that Van had an abrasive managing style. Her mannerisms were very abrupt. In fact, all employees were afraid of Van on some level and didn’t feel she was approachable.
Van was shocked at the feedback received and she felt it was an inaccurate picture of the reality of the L&R department. Here were Van’s reactions to the feedback given by employees:
With regards to work-life balance, Van thought that it was the employees’ fault for not working productively and efficiently. She said that she prides herself on “leaving work at the office” and being a mom to her son when she goes home. It was obvious to her that employees were working hard but not working efficiently.
With regards to salary and compensation for exceeding results, Van felt that it was their job to achieve these results. If they didn’t achieve these results, they would have lost their job. Therefore, the fact that they have employment at ABC Mobility is the reward itself. Furthermore, Van stated that salary raises were not in the budget and it was out of her control.
With regards to the job itself, Van argued that it was indeed a marketing role. It was up to the employees to make their job into a marketing role. If they wanted to be creative, then they should take the initiative to propose a marketing campaign to Van, as long as it made financial sense and was in line with corporate objectives.
Van was shocked that her employees considered her a micro-manager. She said that it was up to the employees to convince Van that they were doing their job so that she didn’t feel the need to question their work.
Van’s managerial style would go unchanged. She felt that her style was the only way to drive results and motivate employees.
The employees of the L&R department were not satisfied with Van’s reaction to the feedback received. If anything, they felt even more unmotivated and taken for granted. Within twelve months of the employee satisfaction survey, four out of seven employees of the L&R team had either taken a job elsewhere within ABC Mobility or left the company entirely. Today, Van’s team consists of 65% of the original staff from the date of the original employee satisfaction survey. However, the results of the survey, even with a different team, have gone unchanged. The financial results of the department are as strong as ever, which Van views as validation to the decisions she’s made. The CEO and board of directors respect the work she does. After all, according to them, she is a great leader who produces exceptional results!
After read this article please answer below question (create the table like below image!!)
Please make sure that all information included and also check the green box!!!
Image transcription text
3. By referring to the motivation theories you have learned in this course, analyze the L&R team’s
problems with employee motivation. Recreate a table similar to the following to organize your answers. Name
of theory Main theoretical points L&R team motivation Suggestions Hierarchy of needs ERG th…
Show more
