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Technosoft Russia; What is your evaluation of the Telesales Project at Technosoft Russia? What should Chaikovsky have done differently?
The telesales project was done piece by piece, this means that at any point there was a business plan for this specific project as a whole. They have been resolving issues as new situations develop without stopping the growth and align to the new needs, and then continue to add new people.
The project has moved locations without a specific plan, a team lead was assigned to the project, however this person had no managerial accreditation, the team grew from 1 to 12 without analyzing the business needs, and the guiding force, the person that was keeping everyone engage, stopped being part of the project.
Chaikovsky should have slowed down and designed the project a little bit more. He allowed himself to be excited about the successes that he forgot to plan for the future. After a while he withdrew entirely of the project giving it to someone that didn’t know the business needs or how to manage people. He should have work closely with the group, and keep looking for a team leader that would meet the needs of the company instead of settling down for the least bad candidate. The project was showing so much success, that he could have reached to offices in other countries to get a good candidate. He should have provided more guidance to the team lead and have biweekly meetings with her to offer guidance and coaching.
Chaikovsky should have also listened to his instinct, and in those occasions in which he felt uncomfortable with the decisions, he should have been more analytical and task oriented, he was non decisive, and in order to please others he made decisions that could have changed the direction of the project. As a manager you can’t allow yourself to want to please everyone because then you will fail everyone.
Elite, Inc.; what were some of the challenges Benson faced when she took the CEO position? How might Benson help Jakes change his behavior?
When Benson became the CEO we faced many difficulties including being the newest person in the team, a disengaged frontline staff, troubled labor relations between management and front line staff and lack of clear direction for everyone, she also had to deal with the fact that senior management was retiring and she had to change the business model to adequately meet stakeholders needs.
Benson might not be able to change Jakes behavior and she might have to let him go, this would be very difficult because he is appreciated by the staff and he has been with the company for so long. Before she lets him go, she needs to have a personable conversation with him, where she needs to be honest and ask him what is getting in his way of completing his projects in a timely manner. She wants to understand if it’s a competency or is it lack of motivation. When she gains understanding she needs to give him the tools that he feels he is lacking to get his job done, this might be additional training, or setting clear expectations, she might need to add someone to his staff to take care of some of the clerical work.
After she gives the necessary tools she can look at his progress or lack off, provide constant feedback and get his buy in, he needs to be in agreement that things need to change otherwise nothing will change. After continuous work with him she is going to do what is best for the company, that might be to demote him to an easier position, keep him at his job because he has shown dramatic improvement, or she might let him go. It all depends of her coaching, direction and involvement. .
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Based on the information provided, it is not really a surprise that Olga Peterson is not as successful as she could be in regards to the Telesales Project. She was hired for a managerial position without previous training or experience. In addition, despite the fact that Chaikovsky had concerns, he did not provide any formal training upon her employment to provide Peterson the skills she would need to be an effective team leader. At the end of 2001 and into January of 2002, Chaikovsky received specific feedback and, despite bringing it to Peterson’s attention, did not provide formalized opportunities for Peterson to correct these issues. And, it does not seem that Chaikovsky went back to these TSRs who had voiced those complaints to see if the concerns had been satisfied (Rowe and Guerrero, 2011). The annual poll results should not be a surprise.
In hindsight, Chaikovsky should have provided an opportunity for managerial training or required training within the first six months of employment as a condition of the employment. Then, when complaints were received, he should have followed up in a more formal way. This is a case of a leader needing to provide more direction and nurturing. To correct the situation, Chaikovsky must replace Peterson, spend more time mentoring her or provide an intensive training while providing a more micro-management approach until the comfort level rises between the TSRs, Peterson and Chaikovsky.
Again, according to the information provided, Benson had a number of challenges when she became CEO of Elite, Inc. The most significant being an unhealthy corporate culture. The second significant issue was regarding Greg Jakes, CFO. The quickest potential fix in helping Jakes change is behavior is, most likely, the basics of human resources 101. That is, Benson must sit down with Jakes, clearly communicate the concerns, and listen to Jakes’ response. Then, both must work together to come up with a strategic plan for him to effectively change in a way that is measurable and successful. There must be a deadline for the changes to be observed. Benson will need to either mentor Jakes through this situation or find a mentor for him to help assure success. If this is not effective, then either Jakes will need to be let go or removed from this position into one he is more able to handle. Personally, I would move him, if at all possible, instead of letting him go because of his tenure of service.
Reference:
Rowe, E. G. and Guerrero, L. 2011. Cases in Leadership. Second Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc.
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· Technosoft Russia: what are the key factors at play in the telesales office? What actions should the marketing manager take to improve the leadership skills of this supervisor?
There are several failures in leadership at the Technosoft telesales office. It is obvious from the results of the survey that Olga is not well received by her team. From the results of the poll taken by Chaikovsky it is clear that Olga is hard to communicate with and has little regard for her people. It was clearly stated that finding people with sales experience was a difficult task to say the least. Chaikovsky used his ability to mentor and train people to develop a top notch sales force only to see it torn apart by a substandard manager. There are several steps Chaikovsky can take to improve the morale of the sales force. The first step should be to reintroduce his weekly meetings with them to allow them to vent their frustrations and report on their successes during the past week. He should let Olga run the meetings and only provide input when she attempts to hold people back from speaking. The second step is that Olga was hired as a TSR on the same pay scale. This was a mistake on Chaikovsky’s part. He should have hired her as a manager at a different wage to fully differentiate her position as the leader of the team. If is often difficult for followers to give leaders their trust when they don’t earn it and are on the same pay scale. Chaikovsky must mentor Olga on how to improve her interpersonal skills and teach her how to be approachable and not overbearing. If finding talent is a difficult task then the talent that is hired must be kept happy and content. Properly trained sales teams can make or break a business.
· Elite, Inc.: what were some of the challenges Benson faced when she took the CEO position? How might Benson help Jakes change his behavior?
The first leadership challenge Benson needed to address was the communication channels between management and the employees. The second leadership challenge I feel she needed to address and while it is not specifically mentioned is the diversity at the company. A company structure that is 95% male would tend to lead to a competitive environment and severely limit the amount of communication. She took the bull by the horns and revitalized the issues with communication by having her coffee and doughnut time with all the departments and sharing information and answering questions of the employees. The biggest challenge was the work performance of the CFO Jakes. While he is highly respected and knowledgeable his work performance was not up to standards. As a leader in the company Benson needed to mold Jakes into the person she needed him to be or send him to pasture. She should communicate clear goals and give him her clear expectations. She needs to follow that up with a written development plan to ensure he has a playbook to refer to. She also needs to work on his delegation skills as he is not relying on his resources. No one person can do everything required and he needs to understand and trust his team. Under the situational leadership plan she needs to use D1 leadership and direct him until he has proven he can complete his tasks on time.
Rowe, E. G. & Guerrero, L. 2011. Cases in Leadership. Second Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc.
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With Technosoft Russia, the engagement behind this business was tackling problems or predicaments as they came up. This is very important because it shows the motivation to keep things true and legitimate as times keeps progressing. Many of the different ways to engage a situation require a thoughtful and methodical process because things must keep going regardless of what the company is doing. When different problems are tackled simultaneously while the specific area or business is still running, that creates good movement for people to follow and keeps things secure. Without this attitude, it would be an honest area and keeps things proper as things move forward. This is important in any business.
With Elite Inc., it becomes difficult when you are the CEO and the new person. Gaining your clout and leverage takes a long time because it requires them to perform the different duties from a serious perspective. Everything must be in order and intact when people are moving into key positions within a business. This is very important and shows initiative for different situations. As long as these things occur, it should be truthful and gives leaders the best thing for a specific situation. All of these different factors need to be taken into consideration. The CEO must be ready for the newest challenges and not be afraid to make decisions. It requires different aspects and keeps things very knowledgeable of what is happening as things push forward.
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What are the key factors at play in the telesales office?
Technosoft Russia is a company that produces hardware and software products for both the business market and the consumer markets (Rowe, 2011, p. 105). The key factors that affected the telesales office were the budgeting, staffing, team leaders, polls, and poll results. If the company did well during the year, managers had bargaining power and could ask to hire more TSR member to be added to the teams; however, if the company did poor, it would reflected on the general managers (GM) and the country’s reputation (Rowe, 2011, p. 107); therefore, leadership played an important and key factor for Technosoft. Another key factor at play in the telesales office was the performance review that measured the company’s internally. The poll was a lengthy questionnaire that asked questions on job and customer satisfaction, pay for performance, the work environment, and most important evaluating the leader’s performance (Rowe, 2011, p. 107).
In the evaluation of leadership for Olga Peterson, her team members gave her a low rating. Olga was a good team member and was very experience in telesales; however, she did not have much leadership skills. Mr. Chaikovsky the sales and marketing manager was aware that Olga lacked managerial skills when he offered her the management position, but took a chance in moving her to the position, over making her a team lead without additional pay, as suggested by Dubrovsky. Now, Mr. Chaikovsky is faced with a dilemma of trying to decide how to approach the situation with Olga low ratings because the low ratings are a reflection on him, as the GM.
What actions should the marketing manager take to improve the leadership skills of the supervisor?
The company policy for low rating on poll evaluations could mean a low bonus and, potentially, a demotion or dismissal from the company for not meeting the standards. The actions that Mr. Chaikovsky could take to improved the leadership and supervisor skills of Olga is to develop her team management skills by go over the poll questionnaires and results with her. Mr. Chaikokvsky needs to be more directing and nurturing, and he can send Olga to more training and development programs that would help Olga build relationship and task behaviors skills. Mr. Chaikovsky should not dismiss or demote Olga because she is a value employee with substantial sales experience and she is a first year manager.
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Saga Publications
Elite Inc.
What were some of the challenges Benson faced when she took the CEO position?
The challenges Benson faced in the new CEO position was a declining “corporate culture” among the employees and management. The relationship and task behaviors of senior management were isolation. The employees were use to having weekly meeting and they were being canceled. Senior management moved to the top floors in the build, and employees could not make decisions without getting approval from management first (Rowe, 2011, p. 155). The company’s morale was low, as people were being belittled for doing any thing wrong. The company also faced a situational leadership issues, as managers’ leadership did not foresee them being directive or supportive of employees in meeting deadlines on assignments.
How might Benson help Jakes change his behavior?
Jake is working in the development stage of a D2 employee who has the competence to do the work, but has low commitment to completing the assignment because he is overloaded with work. Benson can help Jakes change his behavior by being S2 high directive and (S3) high supportive. As Benson develops Jakes to a D4 to become more comfortable in delegating task, planning, controlling and goal clarification with his assignment, he will be able to function on his own at these levels more comfortable.
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Saga Publications
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Technosoft Russia: what are the key factors at play in the telesales office? What actions should the marketing manager take to improve the leadership skills of this supervisor?
The key factors of the Technosoft Russia telesales office are a lack of leadership and management skills, and a lack of communication. Olga does not lead, manage, or communicate well with seniors or subordinates. Simply put, she has no empathy or regard for members under her charge. Although the damage is done, reparation is still possible. Clear, concise, honest communication needs to be implemented. This can start with team meetings that emphasize two way communications. Further clear differentiation of the team structure is important. Everyone needs to know who is responsible for what and how that affects them.
Elite, Inc.: what were some of the challenges Benson faced when she took the CEO position? How might Benson help Jakes change his behavior?
Communication, in my opinion is at the heart of just about any challenge faced in these situations. Lack of or a breakdown in communication is at the heart of Benson’s problems. When members of a team frequently skip meetings and team members were not in direct communication with their leads a team fragments quickly. Further, when team leads isolate themselves they cannot effective lead the team. It seems to me that the leadership of the team polarized themselves by an elitist attitude and isolation being further complicated by lack of empowerment of the team members. These issues can be fixed by beginning with clear expectations of the leadership from Benson, all the way down.Getting to the root of the issues, early on is critical. A serious sit down, counseling session with Jakes to determine how to best proceed with Jakes is important. He needs to know he is a valued member of the organization. A development plan that addresses Jakes’ issues and defines the future is necessary for the organization as well as for Jakes.
Rowe, E. G. & Guerrero, L. 2011. Cases in Leadership. Second Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Technosoft Russia
The sales office at Technosoft Russia utilized the practice of review and reward. The subordinates of the supervisor answered the questions within a leadership performance review. The review highlighted her strengths but also her weaknesses. The weakness that was most considerably noted was the inability to be perceived as an effective leader. This was a result of the supervisor not having or pursuing formal training. While she had knowledge skills she lacked the skills required to effectively lead a team of people.
There are situations in which people assume their role only as supervisors or managers. In the context of this case study, it was required that the supervisor also be a leader with willing followers. Leaders can be molded and guided to establish their role and position. As Joan Marques discusses the perspective of Awakened Leaders. "Being awakened starts with the realization that you have the capacity to change your life. It also entails that you learn to adapt to different situations." (Marques, J.F., 2010) This perspective is relative to the situation of the supervisor in that if she is willing to grow then she can progress into a leader. Her abilities show that she is a good match with the position.
The marketing manager should speak with her directly and get her suggestions on how she can evolve into a leader. It would require commitment, drive and inspiration to evolve into an effective leader. She may be placed into a short term leadership program that would become the company's investment.
Marques, J.F. (2010) Awakening leaders: who are they and why do we need them. Retrieved August 9, 2013 from: http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/pqcentral/docview/194152873/13FCB4CD57D8C2C260/8?accountid=32521
Elite Inc.
Elite Inc. is a public relations firm with a newly appointed Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Financial Officers spends over 15 hours a day trying to complete their work and perform their duties. The first thing that comes to mind is that as the CEO has the responsibility of understanding the duties and role of their subordinate upper management. It would be productive for the CEO to speak with the CFO and get an understanding of the type of work they are faced with. With a bit of empathy or compassion the CEO would be more effective in understanding what could require more of the CFO's time. I have two friends who have busy work days and huge loads of work to accomplish. In some ways it relates to time management. Most of the time it is because their organizations are experiencing massive changes. Once the information is gathered and analyzed, the CEO and the CFO should speak about a strategy that would lessen the load and make the role of the CFO more effective. If the CFO is not allowing the finances to go mismanaged or "leak", then they should be given consideration and kept on. After a specific time then it would appropriate to evaluate the CFO. Hopefully by then they have incorporated changes that can be shown through clear results. Through this system the CEO will represent their leadership abilities and also gain further insight into the organization and its needs.
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quietspirit1234
week_2----bus691responses_8-10-13.docx
