1. BACKGROUND
ERIC
Eric is a new product information manager with a company wholesaling electrical
components. Upon completion of management training, he was assigned to manage a
new office comprising over 35 employees.
Day to day operations
• The operators receive calls from the salesmen in the field using operating
consoles. A green light indicates an incoming call.
• Calls are assigned sequentially to waiting operators
• The stock number is determined and the relevant information such as stock level,
delivery times and price is provided and relayed to the salesmen
• At the end of the call the green light would extinguish itself and the operator will
wait for another call.
A visit from the Vice President indicating falling sales, high error rate and number of
delays currently being experienced by the salesmen caused Eric to devise a programme to
deal with these issues. Eric’s programme however was met with opposition from both
employees and supervisors. Although the plan appeared to have worked for a few days,
it failed to motivate employees and had a spiral effect which impacted on his relationship
with supervisors and the general staff.
KIPSY
Kipsy applied for a job at the company because she heard it was great place to work, and
since it was rapidly expanding, that meant she can move up the corporate ladder. Her
excitement quickly changed to boredom as the job became monotonous. She was
frustrated also due to the fact that there appears to be very little chance for advancement
for operators. As a result, more and more employees were leaving the office. The
possibility also exists that the entire operation will be automated which meant the
operators will be laid off.
Kipsy was seen as leader by her fellow operators which caused her to act as a liaison
between management and the operators.
The relationship between Eric and Kipsy was good at first but diminished after Eric failed
to deliver on an employee proposed flexibly work plan, which Kipsy and 2 other ladies
from the office developed. The programmed devised by Eric also caused a breakdown in
the relationship as Kipsy thought staff input should have been sought and the
programmed was too rigid in nature.