You have just been hired as the new court administrator for a medium-sized court with approximately 90 employees. Once on the job, you discover that you have been preceded by two heavy-handed court administrators who together lasted less than 1 year on the job because of their inability to handle employee conflicts and to achieve a minimal level of productivity. They were more or less forced to resign because of a lack of employee cooperation and increasing talk of unionization. There is general turmoil and distrust throughout the organization. Employees do not trust each other, and as a group, they do not trust management. The courthouse runs on gossip and inertia. There is very little official communication throughout the organization. Prior court administrators made no attempt to solicit employees' opinions or ideas. The judges are all aware of the problem, but they have formed no clear consensus on how to respond to it. In fact, there is turmoil and conflict among the judges themselves. They engage in "turf protection" with operating funds and the court's cases and often take sides in office squabbles. As a result, they are unable to achieve a clear consensus or to provide the court administrator with any guidance. The chief judge, Dolores Cortez, has served in that capacity for 10 years and is known to be exceedingly fair, compassionate, and competent; however, she is approaching retirement (in 6 months) and appears unwilling to take a firm stand on, or a strong interest in, addressing intraoffice disputes and difficulties. In fact, she is not altogether convinced that there is a problem. Furthermore, in past years, she has been quite reluctant to intervene in arguments between individual judges.

Questions for Discussion

As the "new kid on the block," how would you respond to this organizational problem? What is the first issue you would address, and how would you address it? What additional problems require your attention?
As a court administrator, how would you respond to the inability of the judges to develop a consensus? How could the decision-making process be improved?
What techniques could be employed to improve communication throughout the organization, lessen tension and strife, and generally create a more harmonious work environment?
What would be your general approach to Judge Cortez? To her successor?