final edit of case analysis

Do you think MacGregor's approach is efficient and/or effective? Explain your position.

Although MacGregor’s unique management style is unconventional, he was able to efficiently and effectively manage one of the largest refineries in the country. MacGregor was able to define his role and his subordinates’ role very clearly, integrating his values of self-development and independence. MacGregor spent time planning out what the key responsibilities of the executive in charge of a large operating facility should be. One of his primary strategies that makes his planning method so different is that MacGregor never makes any decisions for his subordinates. He enables his subordinates to grow in terms of their ability to make decisions even under conditions of uncertainty. This opportunity allows them to have the complete freedom to make and act on decisions without interference. Instead of solving their problems, he offers to listen to their decisions, appraise their technical and managerial skills, and encourages them to collaborate with others for help and support. MacGregor’s subordinates are motivated by their jobs themselves. His leadership style essentially empowers his subordinates to become problem solvers and prepares them for future positions. Each problem, MacGregor deemed, was a self-teaching opportunity. This strategic plan grants his subordinates great responsibility, giving them incentives to actively engage analytic and teamwork skills to come up with produce solutions. In addition, MacGregor makes himself readily available was easily accessible to individuals inside and outside the corporation. Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: Add something about job enrichment to this statement. You could say, “MacGregor practices job enrichment to make his subordinates feel self-motivated and accomplished. Not providing steps of the decision-making process for his employees helps increase their productivity and their level of satisfaction.” For reference, the definition of job enrichment is: increasing the complexity of a job to provide a greater sense of responsibility, accomplishment, and achievement Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: Add something here about how MacGregor uses “on the job training” and how he uses the Thursday Man as somewhat of a mentor for people to come ask for help.

At first glance, this system seems like it can be easily abused. However, his subordinates are motivated and highly committed to their job objectives. MacGregor provides opportunities for his employees to address issues themselves and find the solution on their own. He sets the expectation that he will not find the solution for them, but he will provide council on whether their plan of action should proceed as described or be reconsidered. MacGregor clearly expresses his expectations for his team to be able to address issues and create solutions themselves. And although he does not make a solution for them, MacGregor does advise whether or not his subordinates’ plans should be proceeded or reconsidered. However, subordinates should already have ideas for a solution before discussing with MacGregor. Although some might view this type of leadership as a leader being too “hands off”, he still practices control over his team by holding meetings every Thursday to stay so he is informed on everyone’s statuses and decisions. MacGregor has developed a reputation for having strong subordinates who deserved promotions, especially those who were MacGregor’s “Thursday Man”. This position is the person who often replaces MacGregor on Thursday meetings because he or she is the one who other subordinates sought seek advice and solutions from. Not only does this encourage working with other subordinates, but this also creates a competitive environment that further incentives’ them to meet MacGregor’s expectations and demands. Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: Talk about how his employees have turned from just a “group” to a “team” because they have a common goal that they are all committed to achieving. (Group and team descriptions are in Ch. 10) Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: You could specifically say that the “Thursday Man” job is a positive reinforcement for the men because they know that if they help others, their name will be brought up during meetings, and if their name is brought up in meetings, they might become the Thursday Man.

Overall, by not being directly involved in decisions of operations, MacGregor is reducing the amount of his own work and time and optimizes his and others time to focus on other parts of the company. MacGregor was able to use the time he saved to play golf and deal with community relations. Furthermore, to the success from this specific type of management, MacGregor’s approach enriches the work experience because he allows his subordinates to make mistakes. Because MacGregor knows that his refinery is was the most efficient producing unit, so MacGregor has had already considered space for mistakes to be made. In fact, MacGregor allows mistakes to happen even though he can could anticipate them. He understands that it could be “a tremendous learning experience” and will would do more good than harm for his workers. MacGregor is a very smart man who came up with a way to help his subordinates grow, and at the same time, gave himself more freedom “free” time at work.

MacGregor was able to create accurate manning and equipment charts for increasing production by certain percentages over certain time periods, which was the job he was hired to do correctly. He believes that his executive higher role is was to make irreversible decisions about the future of the company, so he focuses heavily on planning decisions and figuring out the answer, not the solution. Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: You could say that he focuses on production at 1, 2, 5, and 10 year intervals (just to be more specific). Also, “figuring out the answer, not the solution”. I know what you’re trying to say, but I’m not sure if that comes across with this part. Maybe say, “…figuring out the desired outcome, but relies on his men to determine the specific steps necessary to achieve the desired solution.”

To conclude, MacGregor has created a thriving great work environment, where subordinates are able to grow individually and professionally. and learning platform for young managers who want to grow and learn. MacGregor teaches his employees how to be independent. MacGregor works worked constantly on improving his unit, to adapt it to changing environmental conditions, and to allocate present and potential organizational resources for optimal present and future effectiveness. Since No technique is absolutely perfect, but this one is far superior to the average and creates a great stress-free office atmosphere. McGregor is someone all managers can should look to, if not for complete techniques, to understanding his thinking and organizational skills in small increments would undoubtedly benefit.

The efficiency of his operations speaks for itself. MacGregor’s team is the highest producing of the company and his skills as a manager are is very apparent as it is clear that he knows his worth as noted in the case study. All his subordinates have top notched skills that gives them the edge to be highly qualified candidates for career advancement. Comment by Jaclyn Wescott: I think this is “notch”