Are Assumptions Impeding Communications at Nikunj Builders? November 30! 2017 wasa special day for Ankit Sharma (Ankit), exactly 6 months ago the company Nikunj Builders under his leadership launched is fisc commercial real estate project in the city Gwalior at Madhya Pradesh. As this was their first commercial project it was crucial in making or braking the image ofthe company in the industry. Ankicwas confident that he and his team have given their best co make it a success. While Ankit was signing the attendance register, one of bis colleagues informed him about the complaints coming from the team working on the site of new recently launched commercial project. He was also informed that there was a widespread buck-passing within the Centre for Proposal Selection (CPS) department which was circulating in the entte office through grapevine. Most of the team members were blaming Ankit for wrong selections of the proposals. They were talking about how hasty decisions were made without consulting anyone “This Cause was wrnen by Dr. Archana Shivasava, Aviat Profesor, Head-Buines Communication Ars, Facus Conn aa ce oe rn Reon, Baste of Manages Teneo, ree No, inended ob wd = he bs 0 Fee cert han ols ether fice or ineffective haan fa aragenent sian, Thi ia tonal Ct teed om he waa publi infomation and ath independent search, Names characte, eines Pes ‘vents and cs quoted inthis exec ae ether she produc of the author’ imagination of wsed ina caus mana ‘Any resemblance 10 cual persons, living ot dead or actal evens is purely coincidental © sewetcaes.com No pare this pblason mayb cope, ore eanmitesreprodies! or diiburedin any fem ot mem whasaces whe the Fermin eh copyright oeAce Acsanplioes tpt Communnoer from the team. They ce ay They also shared that they were not allowed « We theit opinion freely du = eo to hear this, He started mulling, “How can they say that? They were always a ‘of the discussions that were taken in the CPS and appeared to be agreeing with the final decision. What went wrong?” = = Centre for Proposal Selection (CPS) at Nikunj Builders After working for two years as a Civil Engincer at a private firm, Ankit chose to pursue ‘management course from a reputed Business School in India. Soon after completing his course, hhewas hired by a highly regarded company with around 110 employees called Nikunj Builders (Nikun)), He was offered a senior managerial position in the CPS department, primarily dealing with construction biddings. Based at Gwalior in central India, the company was in real estate business for more than 20 years, constructing structures and buildings. Good construction quality and timely delivery was their USP, The company handled many commercial and residential projects and were now expanding into retail and industrial project co. During the entire expansion plan, the company’s goal was very clear. They wanted to maintain their USP of delivering the best, on time co the customers. But running a construction company cannot be a one man show as there were many outside partics which were involved in the business. To ensure that they engaged the services ofthe best contractors who could align their personal goals with the goals of the company, the MD of Nikunj introduced a Centre for Proposal Selection (CPS) aligning it to the existing organisational structure. Ankit was in-charge of CPS department. He was given the responsibilty of selecting 7 efficient engineers who can work along with him asa team. Their major task was to review, evaluate and analyse and do a background verification to get the the bid specifications, check contractor’ reput right party into the business “This was Ankit first job as a manager and as a leader of a team. He was highly enthusiastic about the assignment. He personally shortlisted profiles ofthe engineers and sat in the hiring process o ge ight people in the team, He hired qualified engineers with diverse work experiences, He looked for experienced engincets, particularly those who have worked with the existing coneractors in the industry. Though happy with the role, Ankit was aware that his leadership skills were on test. 2 | Caselet www Scanned with CamScannerProcess Flow at CPS ‘Once the team was formed, Ankit share jo details and his working vember thet main ask vas ont only study che ids subi by she contrast also research about their image i the market, he knew that it was fo Heedizconsed with hia rear in deal on the challenges shat the tea might have of Onthe first day the entre team sat and made a working staegy they wil fl Ii was decided tha all the proposals will be divided equally among the team Wy cmbers for preliminary evaluation and later for short idding specificationsand doing the background check fhe contractor’ profil the proposes wil be orate for further dsev Iewas decided that the shortlisted proposals will be submited to the Senior Manager's (Ankits) office on very Friday. ng, Afterstudying the [As Saturdays and Sundays were weekly off days, the eam decided to have review meetings om very Monday: Each team member was expected fo present the strongest and weakest areas of the proposals that were approved by him in che prlimingy round, Rest of the members were expected to listen carefullyand engage in the discussion, ‘Once all presentations were made; the Fond sclection/rejection was done through discussion and common consensus. The meetings vere very lively. The process was designed and ducted in such a way that everybody in che team felt involved, responsible and accountable aging and the brainstorming exercise brought rnaged 10 identify right “The review meetings on Mondays were highly €n ‘excellent results. Within few months, the team ma ‘vere signed with various contracors, Exhibit) parties and the contracts Proposals tobe equally distributed among all team members Preliminary evaluation and short listing Shor listed proposals tbe submitted to Senior Manager ‘every Friday evening Followed by review meeting ‘on Monday prepared by the author Caselet | 3 Gvnnwetcases.comten peg Ca Soo this exercise started giv seceived appluy nl his tea, recognising the b onths, MD spoke at lng abour the analytical abilities, of the employees working in CPS. directions. Special event was « ‘work they have done in the past few collaborative approach and team i ‘Ankit was satisfied with his group aswell a his individual performance, With exch passing ay ‘Work increased and pressure to complete the task on time also increased. Despite al effort, # week's time was proving short, Ankit demanded: power which was denied by dhe management. In the process of introspection, Ankit realized that out of the 5 working days full day was spent in review meetings done on every Monday. Though reractve, participatory and product ned almost half aday in discussions and Finalizing the parties; the luxury which he felt they cannot afford at cis point. As discussions ‘were open ended, he also observed that the number of proposals discussed per meeting were very les. Though asa leader, Ankit accorded due respect to this internal ‘was proving very productive, as a manager he had to now sce how he can manage time issues with limited human resources, He started analysing all the components to resolve this issue the meetings were ine process which Revised Strategy at CPS [After contemplation, Ankit felt thatthe preparedness related tothe proposals to be discussed con Monday will not only reduce the total time involved but also can increate efficiency im seleeting the right parry, Since he recived the recommended bids on Frida, he decided rake them along and study at home, during the weekend, He started reading the proposals and arrived athis own tentative conclusions. ‘As Ankithad his answers ready, he felebetter prepared for Monday review meetings. Afer short discussions, he found himself in te postion ro take decision and conclude. Slowly the duration, cof presenting the proposal reduced to almost hal. This resulted in shortening the overall duration ofthe meeting. Asa result, they could discuss more proposals in a day. Within two months, the team was able wo finalise many paris for various projects. But there were some unintended consequences also that cropped up. Unlike previous meetings, Ankit unknowingly and unintentionally became central figure in the meetings. He intended to familiarise himself with the proposal to save time, but he ended up forming conclusions that were reflected in his discussions. Meeting after mecting discussions squeezed, The team did not realise when the discussions that ‘were done in the past mectings converted into a dialogue between the presenter and the senior ‘manager. There was visible change inthe pattern of the review meeting, (Exhibie I); most of the talking was done by Ankit, while other group members appeared holding thei ideas back, 4] Caselet (© wwweteases.com Scanned wiit M: Process, Cr Process of Meetings tera Change in statgy Number of sronoacasons |D> ronson lp, Deas! WC main ‘This was alarming, Ankit knew tha the succesful deals which were done in ast were the result of the contributions done by the dynamic team, using their analytical and technical expertise He kenew thac chese skills are still very crucial co arrive at the soundest bid/no bid decision. ‘While Ankic was still pondering on what went wrong, he realized that this was their first commercial project and it was crucial in making or breaking the image ofthe company. What should Ankie do co stop the grapevine at CPS? How can Ankit bring back the team spirit in the team so that they share their opinion freely during the meetings? Assignment Questions I. Identify the organisational communication barriers that hindered the free flow of information in the weekly Monday review mectings. Identify encoding and decoding of information issues related to Ankit and his team. Elaborate I. the implice assumptions being made by Ankitand his team members that may be disrupting, IL. According co you, what would have been the bes strategies to avoid such situations inthe organisation? Caselet| 5 GS wwvwercases.com Scanned with CamScanner