A Report on the case gen y in the workforce

In partial fulfilment of: Written Analysis & Communication course

Submitted To: Prof. Madhushree Shrivastava IIM Indore

Submitted By:Satyajit Behera 2011 IPM 093 Section-H

Memo of Transmittal

To: Prof. Madhushri Shrivastava Date:-February 12, 2015

From: Satyajit Behera, IPM2011093

Subject: Report on the case Gen Y in the Workforce

As per your instructions following the preliminary discussions in the class, I am submitting a report on Gen Y in the Workforce that analyses the dilemma Sarah faces between keeping the young employees motivated and maintaining the organizational hierarchy.The following pages will give a detailed situation analysis, alternatives available, recommendations and the action plan. I will be happy to address any clarifications required regarding the report.

Thanks and regards,Satyajit Behera, Section HIPM2011093

Executive SummarySarah Bennet, Marketing Chief of Rising Entertainment is facing a situation where her subordinate Josh has surpassed her in the hierarchy and has presented his ideas to the CEO of the company without informing her. Joshs ideas are appreciated by the CEO and he has called him to the meeting to provide details of his plans.Josh had earlier tried to convey his ideas to Sarah in a meeting on companys new release Fire Force Five series but was knocked down on account of soft budget and infeasibility. Sarah has now to decide whether to support Josh or to oppose Josh in the meeting and punish him for violating organisational hierarchy. She is recommended to support Josh and at the same time caution him against bypassing her in future.Situation AnalysisRising Entertainment is one of the top three multimedia production and distribution houses in the world. The company boasted large film, television, home video, music, and licensed merchandise units, with a catalogue of thousands of properties. Josh Lewis a recent graduate of the University of Southern California had joined the company with ambitions to realise his creative potential and make a difference to society. Josh had expected the place to offer him lots of excitement and at the same the opportunity to meet and enjoy with industry stalwarts. But 10 months down the line he is frustrated with the monotonous nature of the work he was doing. Joshs relationship with his manager seems to be reasonably good on the surface but lacking understanding, value congruence and trust. This is the reason why Josh does not share his managers excitement about her current project. He complained to his friends about how his views and out of the box ideas were snubbed by his manager Sarah and instead she had resorted to an old and tried and tested plan that did not guarantee if it is going to bring success to the company. Josh on one hand was trying to make a note about how the market has changed and how the current marketing strategy offered by Sarah would certainly not help in reaching out to large number of audiences. Sarah on the other hand was pondering about how restless the current generation of employees have become and how different things were during her time. Rising Entertainment is planning for the next release of the Fire Force Five (Triple-F) series. Sarah is asked to prepare the branding and promotion plan for the next Fire Force Fire film. Her plans involve the use traditional media channels such as network TV ads and print media extensively which were key to the success of previous release. Josh argues that instead of using traditional channels they should use new media channels like Gaia, Hulu, etc. But Sarah snubs the ideas and rather asks him to come up with numbers and projections for her plan. Unhappy with the way he was treated, Josh finds a way to to pitch to the CEO about his innovative ideas and succeeds in his endeavour. CEO Sam, asks Josh to present his ideas and prepare the point by point comparison of P&L projections of his plan and the plan using which they used to market. Just few days before the presentation Sarah finds her boss praising her for cultivating the new guys. She is perturbed with the fact that the CEO knows Josh and has asked Josh to present in the meeting. With few hours to go, she calls Josh immediately to the office.

The Problem StatementHow should Sarah respond to Josh so that they can work together more effectively?Options before Sarah1.Sarah should accommodate the ideas and views of Josh without getting into any sort of confrontation or argument. (Encourage Josh)2.Sarah should be strict in her approach and dismiss the ideas of Josh and hence not inviting him to the meeting to present. (Discourage Josh)3.Sarah should be diplomatic in her approach by listening to his ideas but at the same time letting him know that the organizational hierarchy in no way should be tampered with. (Caution Josh)Evaluation Criteria1. Impact on Gen Y2. Impact on Gen X3. Impact on overall organizationEvaluation of Options

Impact on Gen YImpact on Gen XImpact on overall organization

Encourage JoshPositiveNegativeConflicts

Discourage JoshNegativePositivePoor Performance

Caution JoshPositivePositiveCordial Relationships

1. Encourage Josh PROS: If Sarah encourages Josh and allows him to present the ideas in front of senior members, he would be motivated to come up with new ideas. This will enable him to contribute to the cause of the organization in a much better way and his productivity will certainly increase.CONS: Other employees would follow the example of Josh and would not hesitate to bypass the hierarchy established in the organization. Secondly, they would devote more time in their own ideas instead of task at hand. Senior managers would feel lack of authority and sometimes ego issues might evolve and lead into serious conflicts.

2. Discourage Josh PROS: This could create impact in young employees to not take the organizational hierarchy for granted. Young employees would learn the lesson that seniority and praise are to be earned. CONS: Young employees would be demotivated to come up with innovative ideas. They would work with low morale and this would further have negative impact on organizational performance.

3. Caution Josh She should invite Josh to accompany her to the meeting. But she should remind him that he needs to keep her informed so she can manage the details of the project and the expectations of the CEO. PROS: Josh would be motivated and other employees of the organization would also be encouraged to have their own unique ideas. Employees would also understand that it is in their favour to tell their immediate boss in case they have such creative ideas as he/she would be able to ameliorate those ideas and give them a better form. They would then see their own ideas implemented.CONS: Josh might feel offended in the beginning and in remote possibility this might create negative image of Sarah in front of other employees.RecommendationThe analysis shows that Sarah should take his ideas into consideration and at the same time caution him about his wrong doing. She should encourage young employees so as to increase their motivation and enthusiasm to work for the organization.

The Action Plan1. Sarah should confront him and tell him about keeping her informed in future.2. She needs to discuss the new ideas in detail and make the necessary changes in her presentation.3. She should let him present in front of officials to increase his moral and this would also earn her attention in the CEOs eyes to encourage young talent in the organization.Contingency PlanShe have to herself present in case she finds Josh is ill prepared and is not able to convince the senior executives.