ASSESSMENT 1 - Individual essay

Businessorganisation: the manager's perspective

Task details:

Let there be light! (case)

It is more than five years now that Rasha is working as payroll officer at ConstruVic. It is a medium size Melbourne based home builder. She considers herself happy working there, although she often finds her work stressful.

The construction industry is in a COVID shakeup. Still today big and small companies are shutting down alike. How much is it taking a toll on Rasha's work-life balance? Interestingly, she noticed that her colleagues used to complain constantly about their workplace on workload, pay, benefits and the like - much in the same way ConstruVic's clients use to do. Funny that none of these complains ever reached their project manager Greg. Instead, all of them rush to impress Greg whenever they come across him. She too wanted to complain. However, if at all, her points of complain would certainly differ. She was the only staff who worked every workday during the first year of COVID. She was working as receptionist in Diana's absence, as cash officer in absence of Sean, and as finance officer to fill the void of Anna. So, she received a lot of thanks. But no thanks when she asked for a leave. Who's there to ask about a bigger scar in her life - losing her parents and siblings in Syrian war? So, she stops short of complaining or expressing her sense of isolation in the office.

Rasha does not know what her future holds in this project management team or anywhere. She would not possibly worry this much, had other staff behaved themselves at work. She once heard Diana complaining about immigration when she said, "This flow is too much". Sean started from there, "It's a necessary evil anyway. Look at our number of housing contracts and the industry is booming". Rasha wished that was the end of it. Oh snap! The recent hikes in interest rate, fuel, food, and construction materials, choked off supply chain and fall in housing contracts became the staff discussion points during yesterday's lunch break. At one point, Anna blurted out, "I know about Australian economy all too well. No wonder we are facing because the immigration has become too much on our plates. I mean, look at the inflation, and our industry collapse seems like knocking at the door!". Others nodded their heads in sheer agreement, and they were all frequently looking at Rasha during this conversation. The kitchen again became the same melting pot as her office when Greg asked, "Rasha, where did you say you came from?" Rasha knew about the country of origin for all other staff and that it never lost its crown in immigration. She kept her usual cool, and instead of reminding this, she only replied before she left, "Save 3.2% indigenous, aren't we all immigrants?" While getting back to her desk, Rasha asked herself, "What to expect from my workplace, at all?" and "When would these people grow?" She wonders whether the 'grumpy' engineering department has any similar scapegoat at all. "How would I ever know", she laments.

At 4:55 PM yesterday, Rasha heard Sean telling Anna, "Do you know payroll, finance, and cash positions could soon merge into one?" "Yea, I do", Anna's reply. Rasha composed herself believing that she was an Australian citizen, a Monash graduate with excellent academic records, and a staff with potentially high level of talent, experience, service and so far. Uncomfortably though, she now has crippling thoughts: "So, what am I missing? Is it my time to go?" Rasha did not need to look at the clock at 5:00 PM, when she could easily count the number of chairs moving around her for the day.

This morning Rasha is driving back to office, although she does not really feel like getting there. She quickly recalls Sean's attempt a few days ago to get too close to her. She murmurs, "It is now harder to stay clear of the male colleagues." She recently overheard the CEO John Sense taking pride in making bold moves and pioneering risky ventures for the sake of employees. She tells herself, "I am not sure what this means for my workplace." And, "If we are rebounding, then why positions are combining? Why this company fights so many legal battles with clients?". She continues, "Home or office, I am now more anxious than ever before." Driving close to office, she thought that happiness was a relative circumstance.

Questions:

1. Apply the management knowledge you gained from this unit to identify and analyse one problem at ConstruVic.
2. Apply your management knowledge from this unit to analyse a second problem in the workplace.
3. Synthesise your ideas and suggest a solution which works for Rasha.

WORD COUNT SHOULD BE 1200 WITH INTRODUCTION, BODY PARAGRAPHS AND CONCLUSION