Reference no: EM133028286

Sujoy, the new Production manager of Rohan Industries Ltd., was wondering how to deal with what appeared to be a cohesive group comprising of 8 of the 30 machines operators in his department. This group worked on adjacent machines, exchange the joking remarks during working hours, ate lunch together, and frequently were involved together in after hours social functions. Manoj, a union leader, seemed to organize most of the group's after-hours functions, and his leadership within the group also was quite apparent on the job. Every time when Sujoy made are request to any of the group members, the operator would look to Manoj for his approval before he would cooperate.

The situation appeared particularly intolerable when a new entrant to the production shop, Shyam, was forced to hold down his output. Shyam found that his lunchbox had mysteriously disappeared and his questions put to his fellow operators had brought only naughty smiles but not his lunch. As Sunjoy leaned back in his chair thinking over the situation existing in his department, he could hear the group of 8 operators laughing and talking as they return from lunch.

Questions

What kind of dysfunctional influence of the group is clearly noticeable?

Can the informal group be liquidated?

What advice would you offer to Sujoy to deal with the problem effectively?