1.

Introduction
The paper tells us about Daniel Oliver, a young manager who is working as a manager at
the leading fashion retail company called as Cloths and Accessories in Brazil. Oliver after
graduating from Business school in Sao Paulo a year before and was immediately
awarded one of the 20 positions in the company. This was beyond Oliver’s imagination
and was determined to work hard and impress everyone in the company. However,
Daniel Oliver was faced with several major stumbling points and faced a major set-back
in the very first year of his work.

2. Problems/ Key issues in the case Study

 Oliver’s overconfidence in his abilities: In the case study, it is evident that Daniel
Oliver had recent successes with the employees at the Recife store during his training
assignment. He carried the same overconfidence into the new office in Vitoria. The
young and confident attitude did not motivate the employees and it lead to the
employees showing disrespect and not following his orders and initiatives.
 Oliver’s expectation from his employees: Oliver was a young passionate manager
who always thrived for success. Therefore he expected all his employees of the
company to also have the same attitude. Oliver expected his employees to work
according to him and this created a doubt in the minds of the employees who were
older and had more experience than Oliver.
 Employees’ dissatisfaction: Though some of his solutions and initiatives might have
been valid solutions to the problems, he was unable to create meaningful change due
to unanimous employees’ resistance. This led to employees’ dissatisfaction with his
management and disrespected him and the changes he wish to implement.
 The company’s expectations of Oliver: Oliver’s location in Vitoria was facing a
major shift in the consumer market. Furthermore the company expected Oliver to not
only stop the declining performance, but also to increase the performance level of the
store as well.
3. Analysis of the Case :
The case study is about a manager who is unable to effectively manage his business,
therefore almost all the management concepts and theories are relatable to the case study.
i. Management Process:
In the case study, Oliver had used the management process but it was an ineffective
one, He planned the activities and objectives in the first week in the work. He had
also organized all the work and resources and the employees’ had a lot of experience.
However, he could not lead, motivate and control the management in an effective
manner as he would have desired.
ii. Theories of management:
Several theories such as scientific and Bureaucratic theories of management sate that
the main objective of a business is to maximize the productivity. However, Oliver
could not achieve the goal despite having many solutions to the problems. Scientific
Theory of Management by Fredrick Winslow Taylor states the importance of
interpersonal relationship between the employees and the manager is vital in the
success of the business. In contrast Oliver was not able to create the strong bound
with his employees.
iii. Communication:
Oliver had grate initiatives to improve the store in Vitoria; however the way he
communicated his information was solely based on downward and formal
communication whereby, Oliver did not care about the employee’s perspective and
kept on instructing the activities that he felt was right for the company.
iv. Change management:
The business in Vitoria had been declining and Oliver was expected to review and
change the course of the business. Oliver did not follow the change management
procedures as he kept on instructing the changes that he felt was effective.
v. Leadership Styles:
In the case study, Oliver’s leadership was more of an ‘Autocratic style’ whereby he
tried to make his own decisions and limited the employee participation.
 vi. Theories of motivation:
Oliver did not use apply any theories of motivation in his management process which
even lead to some of his employees applying for resignation.
vii. Understanding groups and teams:
The Vitoria store was divided into different departments and every department was
divided into groups and teams. Therefore, instead of understanding different types,
stages, and functions of each team and group, Oliver tried to directly change the
management structure of the business.
4. Recommendation for the problems mentioned above:
a) Understanding his abilities and evaluating employees’ problems:
Oliver being the manager of the store, he should be aware of all the difficulties and
problems faced by the employees. Oliver should have opened an honest and
convincing statement about what is happening in the marketplace and should have
encourage his employees’ to come up with the solutions.
b) Expectations from the company:
To solve this problem, a separation must be made between the factors that are within
Daniel’s control and those that are not. Decreased performance and employee
happiness is a one that is completely under Daniel's control. However, the economic
recession in Victoria and the loss of government facilities have had a serious impact
on the overall performance of the store. Once Oliveira had known about the
problem, he should have immediately conducted a meeting with his higher officials
to discuss managing expectations and creating solutions.
c) Installing effective communication in the business:
Oliver’s communication with his employees was major problem which had created
dissatisfaction among the employees. His Fischer had already warned him that: “The
first and most important thing you have to do is to get to know your people. Get
closer to your team before you try to change anything. Don’t fail into the same trap I
got caught in!” Therefore Oliver can have a effective communication with his
employees by encouraging informal and upward communication model and try to
eradicate all the communication barriers between him and the employee’s.
 d) Improvement in the process of change in management:
Oliver can apply the process of change in management such as doing a detailed
SWAT and PESTAL analysis of the business before he can change anything else.
Through this change process he can motivate his employees, communicate
effectively and engage all the employees in the decision making of the business. The
SWAT and PESTAL analysis along with the Potter’s five force model, Oliver can
understand the dynamics of all the departments of the business and will enable him
to apply the team and group activities in the business.

5. Conclusion
In conclusion, Daniel Oliveira must appropriately change the approach of management if
he wants himself and the company to successful. No matter how many mistakes he had
made in the past, he has been given with the opportunity of correcting it. Therefore the
problems must be solved from its root and Oliver must have trust in his team and push
through the hardship. Additionally, Oliver needs to take proper precautions and must
entirely change his perspective of management and changing the management structure.