Reference no: EM132973715
Case study: Beryl and Yuko
You are the Manager of a team of telemarketing staff for an online rental property business. The business specialises in finding both commercial and residential tenants for landlords, as well as matching landlords with tenants.
All staff work an eight-hour day from 9am to 5.30 pm, with 30 minutes for lunch.
Beryl is the Team Leader of the telemarketing group responsible for:
- supervision and mentoring of a telemarketing team of 8
- outbound sales calls to real estate agents, property managers and landlords
- appointment setting for field sales teams
- inbound query resolution and customer service
- maintenance of all customer contacts in the Customer Relationship management system.
Beryl, aged 62, has been with the company for 3 years. She was born in Australia. She has worked in sales most of her life. Beryl was hoping to retire at 60, but personal circumstances have meant she is continuing to work. Beryl is a very hard worker and achieves above the required results for signing up tenants and landlords.
One of the telemarketers that Beryl is responsible for is Yuko. Yuko is Japanese, aged 40 and has been in Australia for 2 years. She speaks good English and gets on with her team members, although she is generally quiet. She has always been very reliable with her attendance at work.
As the Operations Manager of the company and the overall manager of the team, you have noticed recently that there is tension between Beryl and Yuko.
You have noticed that Beryl often ignores Yuko or addresses her though another member of the team. You have also noticed Beryl whispering to other workers and you sense that this is in relation to Yuko.
Yuko's work performance is suffering and she is not making the required amount of daily calls to sign up new tenants and landlords. Yuko has also become more withdrawn recently and tends not to sit in the staff room anymore or attend staff social functions.
This situation is stressful for you as the Manager, as the team's performance targets are not being met and the conflict within the team seems to be having an effect on other staff members with sides being taken.
You have heard through another member of staff that Yuko feels that Beryl is racist and that Beryl complains that she can't understand Yuko's accent and she feels Yuko is never very enthusiastic about her work.
You would like to resolve this situation by getting Beryl and Yuko to understand each other's perspectives and to manage their emotions at work. At this stage there are no options for moving either member of staff to another team.
Please answer the following questions.
1. Based on a review of the scenario, what do you think could be possible range of emotions that Yuko could be feeling? List at least five possibilities.
2. Based on a review of the scenario, what are the possible ranges of emotions that Beryl could be feeling? List at least five possibilities.
3. Based on a review of the scenario, what do you think could be the effect of the workplace situation on the manager and possible emotions they could be feeling? List at least five possibilities.
4. Would you expect any cultural differences in emotions? Research differences between Australian and Japanese expressions of emotions and describe differences you identify. List at least two.
5. During a meeting, what techniques would you use to ensure that Beryl and Yuko have the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings? List at least two.
6. During a meeting, what techniques would you use to ensure that Beryl and Yuko have the opportunity to reflect on the effect of their behaviour and emotions? List at least two.
7. What advice could you give to Beryl and Yuko to assist them in self-managing their emotions?
8. Document a step-by-step approach for resolving the workplace situation.