CASE ANALYSIS 1: TROUBLES AT GREEN MOUNTAIN

By

MGMT_4336 September 27, 2011 Ciro Baldiviezo Josh Salicco Sarah Schmitt Tawnie Buxton
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Executive Summary Leaders face challenges in the corporate world that can result in the success or failure of the whole company. Therefore leaders maintain a very specific skill set in order to be successful. One such skill is establishing successful communication. Role ambiguities, lack of structure in planning, and poor synergy are the three derivatives of the use of ineffective communication. Erik Peterson, new to the cellular telephone industry experienced severe growing pains during his time in Hanover. He brought in highly qualified supervisors, but did not communicate effectively with them. He reassessed and set a new startup date, yet he did not set small goals for his staff to communicate to them the direction he intended. Finally, synergy holds an organization together, having employees working towards one common goal. Without effective communication, synergy is unachievable... Having your employees understand what their job is, goal setting and planning, and improving how employees work together starts with leaders. In order to put this plan to action, Peterson would have to understand how to effectively communicate to his staff on what they need to do. Effective communication creates two-way feedback between associates and supervisors, thus relieving the stress of role ambiguity. Although, Peterson did reassess and set a new startup goal, by setting small, reachable goals leading up to the overall goal, he could keep them motivated and keep the project flow continuous. Furthermore, a medium or interactive network that would allow the employees to communicate throughout the company would help improve the synergy. Having a system in place that would track and monitor morale as well as progress or any other area of concern, peace of mind as well as necessary indirect feedback. If Erik Peterson could improve his communication skills, it would help with these symptoms and help him become an outstanding leader in the cellular industry.

Fundamental Leadership Failure A serious problem has taken root in Hanover. Role ambiguity, lack of structure in planning, and poor synergy have caused progress at GMCT to decrease substantially, but these are only symptoms of a much bigger problem: poor communication. Communication is the key element in any corporate structure; however, its importance is exponentially greater when a major project is in its planning and implementation phase (Schwalbe, 2010). During these stages, when a manager doesnt effectively communicate with his associates, the entire project is endangered. Peterson wasnt a bad leader, but his inability to effectively communicate made his role as a leader much more difficult than it had to be. Communicating is not just keeping in contact. The difference between effective versus ineffective communication is essentially a unified understanding between everyone involved. In all fairness, the ineffectiveness of the communication channels at GMCT did not begin with Erik Peterson. However, as the leader of this project, it was his responsibility to reorganize and establish better communication throughout his area of responsibility (See Figure A). Each shortfall that GMCT encounters is in direct correlation with the types of communication displayed throughout the organization. As mentioned previously, there are three definitive areas where ineffective communication adversely affected the mission of the company. One area affected by ineffective communication is the role in which associates are placed in a project in order to meet a successful completion. Role ambiguity occurs when associates with a particular skill set are placed in roles in which that skill set is either irrelevant or not utilized to the fullest potential. Role ambiguity is caused by misevaluation of the project needs, which is the result of ineffective communication between channels (See Figure B). A good example from that case that illustrates ineffective communication causing improper placement is the conflict between Andrews and Todd. Even though Curt Andrews was
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the Chief Engineer he lacked many of the qualities and education needed to be successful in his position. Todd Jones was below Andrews as Supervisor of the Radio Engineering Department. In several occasions Jones felt he was better qualified for Andrewss position causing a constant power struggle for the chief of engineering job. Todd has a considerable amount of cellular telephone experience and was also cooperative and an effective worker. Jones also completed most of Andrews reports for Peterson because Andrews had difficulties getting them in on time. Peterson failed to communicate his intent with hiring Todd as well as failing to communicate with Andrews himself about his poor performance. As a leader, it was Petersons responsibility to communicate the importance of Andrews role as the Chief of Engineering as well as reinforcing Jones in his role as Andrews subordinate. A second area affected by ineffective communication is lack of goal setting. Peterson did not communicate his intent for the direction of the project, which resulted in disorganization and confusion as well as many logistical issues and mounting tensions amongst his supervisory staff. Several points in the project, materials became scarce and work was being hindered by the lack of equipment needed to complete the towers. Also there were several licensing and land use agreement issues that were not addressed properly and inhibited progress. Peterson came to Hanover with one big, general goal and that was to be operational by April 1st. However, he did not create small goals in between in order to give that project direction and time adherence. One positive and effective communication attempt Peterson made was his implementation of weekly, company-wide meetings. In these meetings, they would discuss the issues each group was facing and have some time to interface with each other. These meetings were very helpful and generated a great amount of positive feedback. However, these meetings could have been all the more productive had Peterson established small, sequential goals for the company to focus on in

each of these meetings. It is important for employees to know what needs to be done each week prior to the main date. Small steps are important so people do not feel overwhelmed with what is getting done. For instance, if Curt would have had individual goals set for himself he would have ordered the parts needed and also the reports would have been finished on time. The final area affected by ineffective communication between Peterson and his company is the synergy of the organization (See Figure B). Synergy is a vital part of any organization because its acts as the thread which weaves the group together. A prime component of synergy is communication, and when a company lacks effective communication, it causes frays in the fabric. A good example of an apparent lack in synergy is the strain on relationships between several of the supervisory staff and even Peterson and his peers. The relationship between Peterson and his immediate supervisor, Jeff Hardy, is a prime example of how synergy is affected by poor or miscommunication. An important part of effectively communicating as a leader is being able to articulate your concerns in such a way that they will be seriously considered instead of dismissed or ignored. Likewise, as a leader you need to be attentive to the concerns of your subordinates and learn to queue-in on those indirect communications. Synergy can give a project a tangible interest throughout the company, but when its broken-down, it causes anxiety and disenfranchisement. Finding a Solution At a glance, it appears the solution to these shortfalls is simple, however, improving communication is much more complex, especially after an extended period of time. With that being said, Peterson can immediately improve his leadership ability by practicing more effective communication, especially in the problem areas mentioned previously. Effective communication applied to clearly defining the role of everyone involved in the project would relieve role

ambiguity in the company. Though it sounds as easy as just telling someone what their job is and letting them do it, its way more complex than that. Defining an associates role, whether they are a supervisor or a contractor, accountant or marketer, a persons role in a company goes further past their job and into their identity in the company. Another area effective communication would influence a positive change in is lack of goal setting. Utilizing those popular weekly meetings to target short-term goals would make the project seem much less daunting. Having a big goal in the beginning of a project is only one segment of beginning with the end in mind; the other is establishing smaller goals during the project in order to keep everyone motivated and on schedule. The other area effective communication can improve is synergy. Communication is very important to synergy, and one way effective communication can improve synergy is by binding everyone together to meet that common goal. Maintaining open channels allows for feedback to flow smoothly between everyone, which in-turn creates a synergistic atmosphere throughout the organization. Implementing the Solution Saying and doing are two very different things, and in order for Peterson to prove himself as an effective leader, he would need to first understand what it means to effectively communicate to his subordinates, peers, and those above him. Using effective communication, Peterson can rid his company of role ambiguity and mitigate any further problems in this area by establishing clear and concise roles and objectives for those he brings into the company. As mentioned earlier, a role goes deeper than an associates position at the company. It means their identity within the company. So by clearly communicating what he expects out of them as well as establishing two-way channels (See Figure B), Peterson will not only help them find their identity within the company, but they will be more productive and more satisfied with their

work. Implementing more effective communication will also allow Peterson to maintain better control of the project flow. By starting the project with a clear notion of the end result with milestones set in between, Peterson could keep track of the projects movement and effectively articulate his intent for the direction of the project week-by-week in those company-wide meetings they were already having. Also maintaining a close, but not over-bearing communicative relationship with his immediate managing staff would allow Peterson to have positive control of the project while enabling his associates to do their jobs. The final area in which the effective communication solution can have a positive affect is synergy. Networking within the company, say through a company-exclusive social media site, would improve the communication throughout the company because it would allow for multiple channels of communication to be constantly open as well as 24/7 tracking and monitoring of progress. This would give the company a sort of pulse for which Peterson could check periodically to ensure that morale, confidence, and satisfaction in the company were staying at desirable levels. Not to mention the improvements it would add to logistical needs. Erik Peterson is a good leader who was thrown into a situation in which he could either pass or fail. Improving his effective communication ability will allow him to overcome those seemingly impossible obstacles he is facing and transform him into an outstanding leader with a bright future at GMCT, Cellucom, and Cellular industry.

Appendices Figure A Main Issue: Communication Role ambiguity When the norms for a specific position are unclear, which creates disagreement in the workforce because there are no clear expectations. GMCTs management lacked on setting short term goals, such as, ordering equipment for the cellular towers. Therefore, GMCT had huge logistics issues, which affected and delayed GMCTs main goal: turn-on date. Synergy is the cooperative act of 2 or more individuals to reach a common goal within an organization. Role ambiguity and the lack of communications deteriorated GMCTs synergy and generated conflicts among employees

Lack of goal setting

Poor synergy

GMCT complete failure

Figure B Helpful Strengths: Large company to support and give direction. Well-educated and smart employees Harmful Weaknesses: Fairly new company Employees lack of knowledge and experience in the cellular industry.

Internal

External

Opportunities: Reorganization New staff hired for GMCT

Threats: Lack of communication Unknown line of reporting

Effective 1. Two-way communication between supervisors and administrators 2. One-on-one counseling sessions between Peterson and Andrews 3. Clearly stating the line of organization for CelluComm: exactly whom Peterson would report to. 4. DiCicco would need to inform Andrews in a decent amount of time to order radios, not waiting until last minute. 5. The Los Angeles office and Peterson working together to determine appropriate salaries for new staff. 6. Green needed to maintain an open mind when asking for Petersons opinion and impressions of the Fort Wayne operation.

Ineffective 1. One-way communication, without feedback 2. Andrews listening to Peterson, but not taking the advice 3. Peterson had never been formally toldof the reporting relationship (p. 4) 4. Peterson finding out about the shortage of radios from DiCicco, last minute requiring overnight shipping. 5. Peterson offering salaries to staff without discussing the salaries with the Los Angeles office. 6. Green attacked Peterson for his opinion on the Fort Wayne operation, and criticized his lack of experience in the cellular industry.