Reference no: EM132914153

Case Study: WA MANUFACTURING

The president of WA Manufacturing, Richard Langston, wanted to facilitate upwards communication. He believed an open-door policy was a good place to start. He announced that his own door was open to all employees and encouraged senior managers to do the same. He felt this would give him a way to get early warning signals that would not be filtered or redirected through the formal chain of command. Langston found that many employees who used the opendoor policy had been with the company for years and were comfortable talking to the president. Sometimes messages came through about inadequate policies and procedures. Langston would raise these issues and explain any changes at the next senior managers' meeting.

The most difficult complaints to handle were those from people who were not getting along with their bosses. One employee, Larry, complained bitterly that his manager had overcommitted the department and put everyone under too much pressure. Larry argued that long hours and low morale were major problems. But he would not allow Richard Langston to bring the manager into the discussion nor to seek out other employees to confirm the complaint. Although Langston suspected that Larry might be right, he could not let the matter sit, and blurted out, 'Have you considered leaving the company?' This made Larry realise that a meeting with his immediate boss was unavoidable.

Before the three-party meeting, Langston contacted Larry's manager and explained what was going on. He insisted that the manager come to the meeting willing to listen and without hostility towards Larry.

During the meeting, Larry's manager listened actively and displayed no ill will. He learned the problem from Larry's perspective and realised he was over his head in his new job. After the meeting, the manager said he was relieved. He had been promoted into the job from a technical position just a few months earlier and had no management or planning experience. He welcomed Richard Langston's offer to help him do a better job of planning.

SOURCE: Based on Suters, E. T. (January 1987). Hazards of an Open-Door Policy. Inc., 99-102. In Samson, D., Donnet, T. & Daft, R. L. (2018). Management (6th Asia Pacific Ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia. Page 738.

Case Questions for Report:

1) Referring to Mintzberg's manager roles in Chapter 1 (page 29 to 32) in your textbook, which of these roles are relevant to Richard Langston.

2) Discuss the organisational culture in WA Manufacturing and comment Richard Langston's leadership style.

3) What changes, if any, can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of WA Manufacturing?