Organizational Behavior of Meeker, Needham & Ames - Case Study Example

The Case of the Part-Time Partner BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION HERE HERE HERE The Case of the Part-Time Partner Case Summary The firm in the case study, Meeker, Needham & Ames, conducts yearly reviews of candidates within the organization who have excelled in their performance to determine which employee is best eligible for promotion to partner. The business is currently in the midst of a crisis and needs top help to fill the position of the partner role and, due to budget restraints, can only promote a select group of employees. The people up for promotion in this firm include a top performer with an excellent track record, an employee who excels but has elected to only work part-time, and another with a high performance record, but is weak in areas of new client development. A meeting was conducted with senior leadership at the law firm to discuss which of the three nominated employees should actually make partner. In this meeting, different attitudes regarding certain human resources policies were quite mixed as were the reactions from the attending leaders about which employees could provide the most long-term value in the role of partner. The main issue in this case is that there is a lack of unity when it comes to decision-making regarding who to elect as partner in the group. This is an organizational culture where policy is open to multitudes of different interpretations and nobody seems to have a clear handle on how these policies should be communicated regarding promotion opportunities. For example, the part-time employee up for partner nomination was not necessarily informed that moving to part-time status would impact her potential for reaching partner. None of the senior leaders can seem to agree on whether this is beneficial for the business long-term or whether it actually causes more harm in areas of corporate employee dedication. There are concerns within the senior leadership group that promoting Julie, the part-time employee in question, could set a policy precedent which gives too much flexibility to part-time staffers and could impact their ability to effectively carry out the role of partner. This division at senior leadership level is noticeable at the colleague level and at the employee level when they have access to read the meeting minutes. In terms of organizational behavior and culture, the lack of senior leadership unity regarding policy creation and implementation and their belief about how human resources impacts the business creates a culture of division. The process of promoting an individual to partner also seems to be ritualistic at the senior level, where they feel they must perform this annual event with strong motivation and dedication. However, at a time where the budget is strained and the business is in crisis, the business leaders should be conducting an audit to consider whether there is actually a need for a new partner or whether the culture simply dictates the activity. There is ongoing concern within the leadership group, the meeting attendees, that the role of a new partner is going to be vital to the future success of the firm and that the decision for promotion should not be made lightly this year. Again, this shows division in the leadership group as each leader involved in the decision-making process has different views about the overall importance of the partner role. Some seem to view the decision as one which requires significant thought while others are simply concerned about the decision’s impact on future business success and corporate image at the employee level. Issue Most in Need of Resolution At Meeker, Needham & Ames, the problem with lack of unity at the senior level regarding the part-time human resources policy needs to be resolved. Employees often look toward senior leaders for mentoring and helping them to develop into stronger, more contributing employees. In a centralized business hierarchy, which is what this law firm seems to have at the organizational level, senior leadership unity is important especially when decision-making comes from the top and then trickles down through the business tiers. There is very little consensus about the impact on future job promotions when employees decide to take the part-time scheduling options recently introduced at the firm. When employees see that there is division at the senior levels, employees can develop a lack of trust in the business about meeting their needs. For example, employees cannot be expected to take policy seriously if senior leaders argue or disagree (which is publicized in meeting minutes) about policies such as the part-time employment option. Discovering that there may be problems with future promotions only after the part-time option has been taken clearly shows this senior-level division, creating a culture of not only division but mistrust at the employee level. This business clearly has some policies in place which focus on employee development and coaching, however the activity of administering these policies, at the senior level, is not consistent. Analysis of a Potential Solution One potential solution to this problem is to have an immediate meeting scheduled with all members of senior leadership to iron out the details of the human resources policy regarding part-time employment. Senior leadership needs to, in a unified manner, come up with a clear policy as to whether part-time employment can impact promotional opportunities. This new, flexible policy designed to build motivation in employees has no clear-cut description and is not being communicated to employees very effectively. The meeting minutes represent a considerable amount of confusion and concern about part-time partners and worry that it could set an organizational precedent which could anger employees who have given full-time dedication and motivation to achieving organizational goals. This would only enhance the culture of mistrust which already exists due to lack of senior level unity regarding certain employee policies and could cause problems with turnover and retention of quality employees. There is a risk of creating a negative organizational culture. This meeting to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the part-time policy should be handled prior to making the announcement of which employee has been chosen for partner. A secondary solution is to make use of internal communications tools, such as the employee intranet or human resources newsletter, where the business can use internal promotion to describe their efforts to become more unified regarding policy implementation and administration. The promotion to partner, in this firm, acts as an incentive for employees to give their maximum performance in the hopes of achieving partner status. The criteria for what builds an effective partner, and those which must be met, should be clearly listed in the policy which dictates who is eligible for promotion. At the senior level, there seems to be too many gaps in policy related to employees, again causing confusion and disorientation at the employee level. It should be stated in the communications that part-time employees are either eligible or ineligible for promotion. Announcing that Julie Ross has been nominated and is being considered, prior to launch, can also let employees know that an exception to this policy is being tolerated just this one time and all future promotions will rely on part-time versus full-time status. This could also show employees that the business is willing to create even more flexible business policies and is able to come up with meaningful solutions at the senior leadership level. The drawback to this meeting solution is that it might show employees that senior managers are willing to write and rewrite policy when it suits their needs. There is already evidence that there is a culture of division at this firm and one where ritual is important, such as the annual nominations of promotion-eligible employees for partner role. If senior leaders are willing to abandon their criteria for partner, or adjust it, in order to make even further accommodations for certain employees, their peers in the lower-levels of the organization could begin asking questions about the ethical make-up of the senior decision-makers and begin looking for new job opportunities elsewhere. This could impact areas of budget for training new employees and also the depletion of human capital and internal business performance. A drawback to the use of internal communications as employee advertising is that it might get other employees considering taking their own part-time options to have more flexible schedules, thereby impacting productivity and dedication to reaching organizational goals. Giving the part-time policy this level of promotion could put the idea into employees’ heads in an area of policy where senior leadership is already concerned it could cause long-term problems. Recommendation for the Firm Using internal communications to spotlight the efforts of senior managers to clearly communicate the eligibility requirements for promotion is the recommended solution to this firm’s organizational culture and behavior problems. Even though Julie Ross has already been nominated, the precedents being set regarding flexible scheduling are concerning many members of the organization. The company needs to come up with a unified strategy for handling promotion eligibility and promoting these efforts through intranet or newsletter is a good way to let employees know that leadership is competent, trustworthy and capable of making promotional decisions. Read More