Week 5 Assignment: Case Study Analyses

Read the New Performance Objectives case at the end of chapter 9 and answer the questions. Also read the Who Wins? Group case at the end of chapter 10 and answer the questions. Include topics/concepts in your answers from the respective chapters.

Use APA format as shown in the APA Template provided.

Template for MGMT5800 (.docx). Template for MGMT5800 (.docx) - Alternative Formats

The Case Study Paper should provide a cohesive narrative fully addressing the questions and recapping the relevant data, problems/causes, and outcomes from the article.

• You should include citations to the source case, as well as to the textbook where appropriate, throughout your paper and in a References page on the last page of your paper.
• In-text citations for the textbook are (Daft, 2023) or (Daft, 2023, p. XXX) when you have a quote in the sentence for which you are providing the citation.
• Be sure to include both sources on the last page of your paper. Won't need to identify and include any additional references beyond the source case and textbook for this Case Study paper.

Readings from the Book

Chapter 9- New Performance-

Educational administrators are bombarded by requests for innovation at all levels. Programs to upgrade math, science, and social science education, state accountability plans, new approaches to administration, and other ideas are initiated by teachers, administrators, interest groups, reformers, and state regulators. In a school district, the superintendent is the key leader; in an individual school, the principal is the key leader. In the Carville City School District, Superintendent Porter has responsibility for 11 schoolseight elementary, two junior high, and one high school. After attending a management summer course, Porter sent the following e-mail to the principal of each school: "Please request that teachers in your school develop a set of performance objectives for each class they teach. A consultant will be providing instructions for writing the performance objectives during the August 10 in-service day. The deadline for submitting the performance objectives to my office is September 21." Mr. Weigand, principal of Earsworth Elementary School, forwarded Porter's e-mail to his teachers with the following message: "Please see the forwarded e-mail from Superintendent Porter. As he explains, you will need to write performance objectives for each course you teach. These are due one month from today. This afternoon, during the in-service meeting, you will receive training on how to write these performance objectives." After receiving this e-mail, several teachers at the elementary school responded with a flurry of hastily written e-mail responses. One well-respected and talented teacher wrote the following e-mail, accidentally sending it to Mr. Weigand instead of her colleagues: "This is nonsense! I should be spending my time focused on the lesson plan for the new advanced English class the board of education approved. Porter is clueless and has no idea the demands we are facing in the classroom. We never even hear from him until he wants us to complete some empty exercise. I am going to start looking for a school district that values my time!" Mr. Weigand was stunned by this e-mail, wondering if he was close to losing a valuable teacher who was admired by her peers and others in the school system. He knew this e-mail had been written in haste and that this teacher would be embarrassed to know that he had received it. He was concerned that other teachers may have reacted in similar ways to his e-mail. He also wondered how to respond to the angry e-mail and how to improve morale at the start of a new school year.

Questions

Evaluate the e-mail communications of Mr. Porter and Mr. Weigand. To what extent are they communicating effectively about the new performance objectives? Explain. If you were a teacher, how would you have felt after receiving the e-mail? Why?

If you were Mr. Weigand, how would you respond to the angry teacher? Be specific about how you would communicate with her and what you would say.

What communication channel would you have used to tell teachers about the new performance objectives to influence the teachers more positively? Discuss the positives and negatives of using e-mail versus another channel to communicate this message.

Chapter 10- Who Wins?

Who Wins? Ben Davidson and Casey Sarr had agreed to stop for coffee in the atrium Starbucks before heading up to the 35th floor for a board meeting. "You seem deep in thought," Ben said, placing the two cups of hot coffee on the table. "Watching Joan and Robert in previous board meetings helps me to understand why the folks in Congress can't get anything done," Casey mused. "Both sides have stated their positions and nothing, nothing will budge them. I dread this meeting. I'd rather have a root canal." "Well, while the two giants battle it out, the rest of us will have to work out some sort of compromise. We outsourced manufacturing operations to China several years ago to cut costs and now things are changing rapidly and we have a major decision. Does Bishop's Engineered Plastics make the best of the situation in China ...?" "... Or do we re-shore?" Casey added. "Someone will have to be the voice of reason today," Ben said. "Robert Ma has overseen the outsourcing to China and, initially, it was a great move." "I agree the cost savings were pretty amazing. The retooling and creation of a state-of-the-art factory in Wenzhou by the Chinese really propelled us to a new level within the industry." "Well, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, and the dragon is having a problem," Ben replied. "Yes, Robert is going to have to face the fact that if we stay in China, we have to move from Wenzhou," Casey pointed out. "The worker shortage is bad and getting worse. The last estimates for that region were one million workers short. As wages go up and other opportunities present themselves, manufacturing jobs are losing their appeal in the cities. In our plant the managers have to come down and work on the lines. That's not good. Now, to try to stave off a mass industrial exodus, the Chinese are offering a stimulus to industries to relocate into the interior of the country. The interior offers more workers and lower wages...." "And a factory move will delay manufacturing and make shipping even more difficult," Ben replied. "Add to that the Chinese insistence on full payment before shipping, and we're looking at some potentially serious delays." "Joan, on the other hand, is going to argue that the situation in China is an indication that now is the perfect time to re-shorebring the jobs back to the good old U.S. of A.," Casey said. "She's going to dig in her heels on this one and you and I know that at least two members of that 'august' board are going to back off and let her have her way with no careful analysis of the pros and cons. I sometimes think Frank is a people pleaser, always agreeable, especially toward Joan, because she is the chair. And Martha usually doesn't say anything, much less offer an opinion. She stares down at her hands when the going gets heavy." "The pros for Joan are obviousbring jobs home when jobs are needed, shorten the supply line, reduce shipping costs, offer faster response to customers, and, I believe, offer a better quality product. It is worth a little higher labor cost." "And what are the cons?" "The problems are the higher wages here and the cost of retooling factories in this country that have been down for a few years." "But," Casey asked, "Would we have to build a new factory deep in China's interior? No. And will their interior workforce be adequately trained? I would guess not. The Chinese government will help with building and relocation costs, but still..." "So both Joan and Robert have a strong argument and some glaring weaknesses. Is there room in here for a compromise? That's what I would like to see. They would both get something," opined Ben. "I don't know. I'm eager to see what each one of them presents. It should be an interesting conversation." "Or an afternoon in hell," Ben said as the two headed for the elevator. "I wonder what you and I might do to help Joan and Robert resolve this conflict. What do you think we should do, Casey?"

Questions

What styles for handling conflict appear among the board members? Explain.

What options do Ben and Casey have for helping resolve the conflict between Joan and Robert? What conflict styles might they adopt for this meeting?

Do you think suggesting that members "disagree and commit" would help the team move forward toward a good decision? Explain.

Please list any references use or in-text citation.