Les' Management Challenge on See-Me Sheffield (SMS) Company

Case Study: Les' Management challenge
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Sociological studies of organizational theory identify organizational structures and the associated activities carried out within companies. In order to increase the success of the business, organizational theory analyzes the performance and productivity of organizations as well as employee and group behavior. As a result, the general purpose of organizational theory is to investigate managerial and leadership styles, group behavior, motivation, efficiency, and leadership. Corporate analysts must study organizational theory to assess the value of structures between business leaders and staff and links between social and professional interactions among employees to boost workplace efficiency. Managers must pay close attention to managerial theories to help businesses focus, communicate, and progress. By doing this, the leadership streamlines its top priorities and concentrates on achieving its core objectives. Failure to implement managerial theories can cause issues with the organizational management system, which could lead to a manager's failure to carry out their managerial responsibilities.
Question One
Analysis of the case study
Given the case study of the See-Me Sheffield (SMS) Company, it is clear that the newly appointed manager has performed poorly in her duties. German parent business See-Me Sheffield has whole ownership. It is one of the smallest but fastest-growing marketing companies with values like honesty, innovation, compassion, excellence in execution, and inclusivity. The business has been operating for about ten years with roughly one hundred people. It serves small and medium-sized businesses from a range of industries. Les, a recent university graduate, has been hired by SMS to perform the function of a line manager. Sam is in charge of Les and serves as her boss. Sam is an incredibly kind person, but Les believes that her softness makes her less effective than she should be.
Les is responsible for managing three teams within the company. These includes the Printed team, the Billboard team, and the Social media team. The billboard team is in charge of various enormous physical billboards attached to the company's buildings and small electronic billboards on bus shelters. On the other hand, the printed team is tasked with marketing in physical media like newspapers and magazines. The social media team oversees everything that occurs online on websites like Facebook, Tik Tok, and other platforms.
However, none of the team members get along with others and always prefer to operate independently. This behavior once prompted Zach from the billboard team to commission a billboard opposite a school to advertise a fast-food restaurant, despite knowing well that this action was improper and perhaps a violation of advertising guidelines. The action drew numerous complaints and made the top page of the neighborhood newspaper. His focus on the brand was excellent since he accomplished more than he could have done within the budget. He believed the advert was highly successful. Zach abandoned his responsibilities due to embarrassment and now only concentrates on two clients as opposed to his previous 20 clients. He also arrives late for work.
The social media team is made up of individuals who are all under 30 and have never worked for the company for more than two years. Les is constantly forced to find new members for this group because of the high employee turnover and numerous leaves. The printed team is made up of males who have all been employed by the company since its founding and are all older than 50. The group is highly resistant to change and dislikes being pushed to do more than usual. On the other hand, the billboard crew is made up of people from all over Europe who are of different ages and genders. The members of this group speak either English or French, which makes it challenging for them to collaborate owing to linguistic barriers. Les proposed a solution that she thought was the best. She suggested the need to physically and psychologically separate the three teams into various parts of the building.
Team separation has created specific development issues, which has forced Les to be prejudiced in how she treats the teams. The social media team ultimately consumed les' development project because they had access to the most current company knowledge. The billboard team requested additional training but was turned down for the opportunity. The possibility to work with other teams to increase revenue is being lost by the printed team as well. In addition, Les evaluated the success of the billboard and social media teams but not of the printed team. The team's pay evaluation has not been adequately welcomed because the social media team receives the greatest pay, the billboard team receives a medium share, and the printed team receives a small prize. The enmity between the teams has only grown wider due to this salary gap. In general, team differences have caused Les to confront severe concerns and obstacles in managing the business, and she is constantly in a predicament to make wise judgments for business growth. Les is regularly concerned about how to eliminate unprofessional behavior among the teams and wonders why members are not adhering to the company's value of integrity.
Key Issues and Challenges that Les Faces
In her capacity as an SMS line manager, Les faces significant challenges. Managers must adopt a variety of management development strategies. The interplay between individuals and their surroundings inside an organization is supported by contemporary organizational theory. According to Vidgen et al. (2017), executives who accept this idea can learn to make corporate decisions while considering employee pleasure and satisfaction. The issue of turnover among the social media teams is a significant challenge in relation to the violation of this notion that Les experiences. This crew has a high turnover rate, and those who leave frequently complain about their salaries and the absence of prestigious clients. The staff could experience a lot of stress since customers frequently demanded viral promotions, but the business did not provide them. The turnover makes it impossible for Les to recruit new members for the social media team. After learning about the pay rates and the difficulty of moving to Sheffield, most applicants frequently decline the position. Les should always talk to her staff members to discuss and get their views in order to solve this difficulty. One can boost employee retention and productivity by addressing team members' issues.
Process management is a problem for Les. Managers typically use process management to ensure that their team follows the best procedures for quickly finishing tasks. The management must establish policies and procedures and determine which practices, if followed, add value. It is also advantageous for a manager to pay attention to the issues brought up by their staff and give those points significant thought. Les, nonetheless, is not adaptable enough at SMS Company to listen to and fully comprehend the function of the teams and whatever they must do. For instance, when Les conducts performance reviews, she only does so for the billboard and social media teams, leaving the printed team to work independently and establish some helpful team goals. Additionally, Les hasn't established any rules or directives to instruct the teams on how to conduct themselves.
Insufficient teamwork in SMS is a big concern as well. Employees that work well together can accomplish a common goal. According to studies, productive teams produce more for their organizations and make tasks easier to complete. In See-Me Sheffield, poor teamwork has primarily resulted from Les' preference for particular individuals. Others may feel unappreciated because she prefers the billboard and social media teams above the printed team. Additionally, Les divided the teams into various buildings so they could not work together. There has been poor communication inside the organization also as a result of Les' failure to organize team meetings where everyone may voice their problems and come up with solutions.
The challenge of role specification is another issue. This means selecting the most competent candidates for a position and giving the most imaginative and suitable worker the task at hand. Role specifications that aren't up to par can mess up workflows, reduce team communication, and hurt a company's productivity. For instance, in Les' situation, a lack of role clarification led Zach from the billboard team to order a billboard next to a school that promoted a fast food restaurant. Because it did not adhere to advertising rules, this action was deemed unsuitable. This indicates that Zach may not have been adequately interviewed to determine his qualifications for the position by learning about his skills and qualities.
Question Two
* How Les Could Improve the Performance of the People in her Teams
Managers can empower a company's teams in various ways to increase productivity. Employee empowerment is crucial to ensuring a firm's success since it helps employees feel more satisfied. Increased creativity, mutual trust, self-assurance, and performance are possible results of this. As a result, it uses the workers' capacity to alter duties to guarantee that the project's goals are achieved. Les, the line manager, might also make her team members perform better to prevent her difficulties.
According to the "context theme", line managers can increase employee performance by taking on line management responsibilities and delegating HR to them. Les could consider how she was getting more involved in overseeing HR-related tasks. Les might carry out the HR tasks delegated to line managers, such as hiring, employee incentive and recognition programs, performance evaluations, and staff development. As a line manager, she would ensure that the activities mentioned above are appropriately carried out for the latter. She may, for instance, support incentive schemes that reward employees for their performance. This is because motivational factors, particularly financial ones, make employees more productive. Consequently, their managers must be appreciative of their work.
According to a recent survey, 85% of workers feel most motivated to give their best when receiving a reward (Purcell and Hutchinson, 2007). A problem like employee turnover from the social media team could not have happened if Les had been praising and thanking the team members. She might also make sure she hires the most suitable individuals for particular departmental...