Kesmer took over as leader of an established footwear company with long-term employees. She quickly implemented changes like group sessions and an open-door policy that were resisted by employees accustomed to the old ways. Kesmer failed to consider employee feedback and preferences, and changes needed to be made gradually to avoid negative reactions. In the future, Kesmer should have individual meetings to understand employee views before instituting changes step-by-step rather than all at once. As a leader, she needs to collaborate with employees and adapt her approach to their needs and experience levels.
Kesmer took over as leader of an established footwear company with long-term employees. She quickly implemented changes like group sessions and an open-door policy that were resisted by employees accustomed to the old ways. Kesmer failed to consider employee feedback and preferences, and changes needed to be made gradually to avoid negative reactions. In the future, Kesmer should have individual meetings to understand employee views before instituting changes step-by-step rather than all at once. As a leader, she needs to collaborate with employees and adapt her approach to their needs and experience levels.
Kesmer took over as leader of an established footwear company with long-term employees. She quickly implemented changes like group sessions and an open-door policy that were resisted by employees accustomed to the old ways. Kesmer failed to consider employee feedback and preferences, and changes needed to be made gradually to avoid negative reactions. In the future, Kesmer should have individual meetings to understand employee views before instituting changes step-by-step rather than all at once. As a leader, she needs to collaborate with employees and adapt her approach to their needs and experience levels.
Kesmer took over as leader of an established footwear company with long-term employees. She quickly implemented changes like group sessions and an open-door policy that were resisted by employees accustomed to the old ways. Kesmer failed to consider employee feedback and preferences, and changes needed to be made gradually to avoid negative reactions. In the future, Kesmer should have individual meetings to understand employee views before instituting changes step-by-step rather than all at once. As a leader, she needs to collaborate with employees and adapt her approach to their needs and experience levels.
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GROUP ASSIGNMENT 1
Case study #2: Right Boss, Wrong Company
SUBJECT: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
GROUP: M10 LECTURER: MARHAINI BT IBRAHIM
NAME STUDENT ID MAZHAR MUHAMMAD TAIMOOR 62214118521 1. What factors should have alerted Kesmer to the problems that eventually came up at Fancy Footwear?
Kesmer took over Fancy Footwear and there were many employees there that have been there for decades. While she did a lot of reading on how to handle this, reading and real life are two different things.
While she wanted to bring about positive change, there was resistance to her group sessions, people were used to the way the business was run, and her "open door" policy was totally opposite of what they were used to.
Many of the employees were hesitant about her policies and about volunteering. This takes extra time and effort. When you have employees that have been there for decades, there is going to be a problem regardless.
Kesmer was not taking any of these factors into account and as a result, several problems were the result.
Elaborate on my answer above. When there is a drastic change in any company, change needs to be implemented at a slow pace. You need to observe, listen, and talk with the employees. Hear their wants and needs and structure the company around the way the employees work best. Kesmer took it upon herself to make these decisions. That is a major mistake. Again, her ideas are great for a new company or for new employees. But, not for a well established company with lifetime employees.
2. Could Kesmer have instituted her changes without eliciting a negative reaction from the workers? If so, how?
Yes, Kesmer definitely could have implemented these changes without eliciting a negative reaction from the workers. Her ideas were good and her vision was fresh and new. She dove in right away and started implementing changes without talking with the workers and seeing what they wanted and what made them happy. While her style of management is considered an "open door " policy in many regards, many of the workers were used to the old way of doing their work. Many were nearing retirement age, and at that point, change is more of a challenge and a negative force.
Kesmer should have had individual group meetings to see what everyone liked about the old management style and to see what they did not like. She should have listened to the employees and created her role slowly so that this major change in managerial style was not a "shock" to the company's employees. People need the time to get used to a new boss, and she never adjusted her plans with the timing of events. While I think her policy was a good one-it would work wonderfully for new employees and those that are younger than the employees that have been with the company for decades. Those that have been there for a long time did not like change and wanted to go back to the old way. This is quite often what is referred to as human nature. People get used to the way the system works and this makes them comfortable. Change makes them uncomfortable.
She needs to slow down and observe and talk to the employees prior to making these drastic changes. If she did that, her system could have worked well for all of those involved.
3. As leader what should you advice on Kesmer leadership?
Run the division from an office top of the building
Summons a messenger or a secretary to send a memo to one or another group of workers.
An absentee Autocrat - making all decisions all by himself.
Highly centralized and Authoritative
Creates gap from employees. Highly isolated and closed company environment. Belongs to traditional and non-collaborative school of management. Employees are viewed as standard working units. Employees should provided highly standardized and repetitive tasks.
What Kesmar should do
Implement new policy step-by-step, not at once. Take into account information about employee needs, values, perceptions and opinions. Distribute worker groups based on their seniority, experience, position, and etc. Subordination should not be eliminated entirely.
Create a new group. Teach them, show the work from inside and adapt them to her system. Old ways should be replaced by new and fresh ways, which will be able to perceive new methods and adopt to changes - therefore bringing new creative ideas.
Instant ebooks textbook (Ebook) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, and Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier, John R. Hendon ISBN 9781544324487, 1544324480 download all chapters
