Nitish @ Solutions CASE ANALYSIS Problem Statement

In what ways can Nitish avoid dysfunctional conflict with Meera and advance in his career?

External Analysis

P The Indian political system changed in the 1990s. By 1999, the private and public sectors were booming. Economic liberalization was entering an effective phase. And so emerging excellent consulting opportunities was also competition.

E N/A

S N/A

T Technological changes, new economy, entry of Multinationals and return of the US born/working Indians created a demand for High Performance knowledge workers.

C Culturally, India was at cross roads. The high power distance Indian culture that valued conformism v/s low power distance, innovation led non-conformist MNC culture. (This is not explicit in the case, but is a logical statement well known to all to enable understand the problem and solve it better.

L N/A

Internal Analysis

Strength 1) Nitish was highly qualified. 2) The company decided to realign itself as an IT

consultancy firm and Nitish had the relevant domain expertise.

3) Solutions Unlimited had an employee in Nitish who was multitasking as he did several projects at the same time and excelled in it.

4) Had maintained a good rapport with the members of any group he worked in.

5) Solutions Unlimited is a MNC. 6) They had orientation programs across the

border for grooming of newly recruited employees.

Weakness 1) Feedback procedure was not properly defined. 2) Organizational Structure i.e. there was lack of

hierarchy as the CEO of the company was in touch with the top management only and seeing the current scenario of the company Mr Kapoor was also asked to resign and hence the number of key people in the company would reduce to 3 from 4 which is certainly not a good preposition for the company.

3) Lack of proper conflict-resolution channel: There was no proper conflict resolution channel which takes care of the problems related to employees. At present Meena and Alagu were handling this department in a very haphazard way.

Opportunities 1) In a start up company the scope of growth and

visibility is high. 2) Consulting Business 3) Multiple Projects under the belt.

Threats 1) There was a constant in the top management

position and many were left vacant. 2) Mr Khurana had decided to resign which might

affect the performance of the employees who were

working under his guidance which in turn could affect the overall performance of the company.

3) Nitish had bitter relations with Meena and Alagu which might affect his performance.

Listing Factors

Factors affecting Organizational structure Factors effecting people and their productivity Lack of Concrete organizational structure Legitimate power and Coalition power

Key Positions Vacant Defensiveness

Lack of information transparency Lack of Awareness

Processes were not explicitly defined Disconfirmation

Grapevine Culture

Analysis of Listing Factors

Factors affecting Organizational structure:

Lacks concrete organizational structure: Solutions Unlimited has been a software solutions provider since its inception. But now, it was trying to realign as a management consultant. The organizational structure should also be realigned according to the strategy of the organization. Hence, a lack of concrete organizational structure is observed.

Key Positions Vacant: The key position of DF and ADHR were vacant. The expertise and the lack of employees who could have handled the human resource efficiently were evident.

Processes were not explicitly defined: The relocation and other processes were not defined explicitly anywhere. The processes were not communicated properly. The standardized processes were fully functional as there was a difference of opinion from juniors and seniors of the same team.

Lack of information transparency: The communication about the important information was improper. The communication between various departments of the organization was not transparent. Also, the informational about the visa and the reimbursements was not communicated properly.

Grapevine Culture: Grapevine culture seemed visible at solutions unlimited. There were lots of rumors when Nitish was working with MD, Manish Chawla.

Factors effecting people and their productivity:

Lack of awareness: Venkat was unaware of the organizational policies and had committed on the reimbursements. This could have been avoided if there was employees had an awareness of the policies.

Legitimate power and Coalition power: Meena used her legitimate and coalition power on Nitish in issues where Nitish required Meena’s assistance.

Defensiveness: Nitish understood the need to protect himself when he had a feeling that he was been attacked by Meena, Venkat and Mr. Alagu.

Disconfirmation: Disconfirmation occurs when an individual feels his or her self- worth is being questioned. Meena, the HR, felt the same when she was questioned about the Nitish’s offer letter.

Constraints

Following are the constraints which limited the scope of the Solutions Unlimited and also for Nitish.

1) Opportunities for new recruits: The tasks were not properly defined for the new recruits. For e.g. Nitish was not given a particular task instead was instructed by Meena to pick any if the projects and start working on them.

2) Role and Responsibilities were not defined clearly: Meena who was working under the directors Operations was also taking the role of an HR. The role and responsibilities for Nitish were also not well defined.

3) Organizational Structure: The organizational structure was not defined clearly and didn’t advertise vacant higher management positions like Director Finance and Director HR as a matter of policy which led to ambiguity in quick and effective decision making. Also the new joiners like Nitish did not have any senior management who could motivate him and help him out in crisis which could be a demotivating factor for him.

4) Recruitment Procedure: There was no proper recruitment procedure. Meena took up the role for HR but she was completely unaware of the abilities and core competencies of Nitish and as a consequence she offered him a salary of only 2 lakhs p.a. which was very less than what Nitish deserved.

5) Organization: Solutions Unlimited decided to realign itself as a Management Consultant to be able to position itself as an IT consultancy firm. Whenever a company undergoes such transformation there is always a constraint of resources (here in the form of employees who have expertise in business processes in the software industry). Nitish was taken in the organization for his competency in IT and as a banking consulting firm but the company had the constraints on the projects of his competencies.

6) No formal HR department: There was no formal HR department in place and as a result company didn’t follow any of the formal HR practices. Venkat, assistant operations officer was not aware of the HR practices and in case of Venkat and Nitish talking about the severance and travel expenses, there was a lack of formal written communication via email.

Options

Decision Criteria and Alternative Solution

Alternatives available:

.Decision Criteria: In the order of priority

Work & Learning: The main reason for Nitish joining Solutions Unlimited was the kind

of work he was looking for and hence the learning involved. With Solutions Unlimited

he found a perfect strategic fit between his IT background and MBA in finance. So he

needs to consider about how his decision impacts his work & learning.

Impact on career: The frequent job hopping will give the prospective employers an

image of Nitish that he is not loyal to his company and is confused about what he wants

from his career. He should consider about how his decision would impact his image as

an employee to his prospective employers.

Financial Implications: His financial health will suffer, if he leaves this company. He had

undergone relocation for this particular job and it might be difficult to get a job in the

same city.

EVALUATION OF ATLERNATIVES:

VOICE: If Nitish stretches a little bit and makes effort to reconnect with Meena, then the

work environment would definitely improve for everyone. Nitish would proceed to Nagpur to

finalize the details of the project he was involved in. With distance too, there is a chance the

relationship between him & Meena would improve. This choice will not disturb his financial

position and prevent any inconvenience regarding relocation.

VOICE

LOYALTY

EXIT

VOICE: Make an effort to reconcile with Meena by

approaching her and having one-to-one talk.

LOYALTY: Stay in the company and hope Meena’s

attitude changes while working on his own behavior.

EXIT: Leave the company and look for another

job opportunity

LOYALTY: If Nitish were to stay in the company and tolerate Meena’s behavior towards him,

while hoping for a change of behavior on her part, there is a little chance of peace at

workplace. Though this option might hurt his already bruised ego and confidence, he can still

work on his own shortcomings and try to improve on his interpersonal skills. This choice will

not disturb his financial position and prevent any inconvenience regarding relocation.

EXIT: This will have an adverse effect on his professional growth as it would be difficult to find

a suitable job immediately and he would be forgoing all the learning experiences and rewards

of hard work he put in Solutions Unlimited. If he gets a better workplace, he may find his job

satisfaction back. There will a poor effect on his financial health, since he had undergone

relocation for this particular job and it might be difficult to get a job in the same city.

Alternatives Work & Learning Impact on career Financial Implications

VOICE

LOYALTY

EXIT Maybe

Recommendation

As we can clearly see, Nitish should continue working at solutions unlimited while trying to

foster a healthier relationship with Meena and avoid any further conflicts. At the same time

he should try to work on his interpersonal skills and improve the way he handles situations.

Further, at Organizational Level followings preventive measures should be taken:

An organizational structure with well-defined roles & responsibilities must be set up.

All senior positions should be filled, as the company is transforming.

Training sessions on interpersonal skills, corporate behavior and company policies.

A clear well defined conflict resolution method should be developed.

Regular team activities should be conducted for better group dynamics.

Outline

Step 1 He should go to the allotted city to finish his part and let things cool down for now

Immediately

Step 2 He should confront Meena while thanking her for offering him the job he should try to explain his part and emphasize on how he’d like to work well with her and not fight with her

After returning

Step 3 He should speak to Manish about the suggestions he believes the organisation could benefit from

A month later

FROM ORGANISATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Step 1 Plan all the events (festivals) and their celebrations in the office for the entire year to increase the feeling of belongingness and infuse a work culture in the organisation

Step 2 Plan and formalize a 4 day camping trip (in the month where there are no celebrations) as a part of the system of the organisation to take the entire staff (hierarchy ignored) as the means of enhancing group cohesion by building team spirit and reducing intra-team conflict. This activity should be repeated every three years and should be added as a part of the organisational culture.

Step 3 Plan and carry out a workshop for the entire staff on people skills on things like giving negative feedback. Introduce it as a part of organisational procedure carried out every 6 months

Step 4 Hire people that possess conflict management skills along with the required technical skills.