Foreign Auto Shop Free Essays

Running Head: Foreign Auto Shop Final Case Paper jose terrs Submitted To: Dr. torres October 21ST, 2012 GEBB515 – ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP Abstract Many companies around the world have different styles of management. Some companies have â€Å"laid back managers† others have â€Å"drill sergeant managers† both types of managers are like and disliked. We will write a custom essay sample on Foreign Auto Shop or any similar topic only for you Order Now Management plays a very important role in any job field. The overall supervision and leadership shown by the management is what I think, constructs a business to a successful business. Every business needs a foundation. Once the foundation is settled, it’s just a step by step dedication with the owner and its leadership trend team. In this case analysis, Alan shows a mellow characteristic of a manger. But when things get serious, he has a â€Å"strong willed go getter manger characteristic†. The owner of the foreign auto shop has a much laid back personality informed to us by the case. Alan has a very well wanted leadership phase that many employees look for in a boss. Usual leadership situations in the auto repair shop consist of making sure every employee is doing the right job the right way, but without being to â€Å"on top of them† while they perform their work talent. The owner is also head supervisor of the overall shop. He has 7 employees working for his shop in which two of them (Gil amp; Hans) are the easiest to supervise due to the fact that they are more experienced in all subjects of the mechanical work field. Along with his other two employees (Bart amp; Herbie) which are dedicated in to their specific parts of the mechanical workforce. Bart works more on motorcycles, whereas Herbie is a whiz at trouble shooting engine problems. Three other employees require closer supervision by Alan because they are less skilled oriented. By going back to the abstract you will see how a â€Å"foundation† is needed to create a wonderful and successful business. Well Alan has his overall view of what he is dedicated to, and has built a wonderful and creative team that are focused on making sure the client is always happy. Alan’s typical leadership style is considerately appropriate for his leadership situation. Alan is described to be a less â€Å"on point† supervisor amongst his employees. He knows that they are doing their job. He always makes himself available to on the floor to his employees if they are in need of any help or have specific questions. His fairness and openness have earned him the continuing respect and trust if his employees. Sometimes always being a mellow â€Å"laid back† kind of manager is not always a good thing also because many employees can take that and use it against the management. For example, seeing the manager being easy going and not too â€Å"put forward† can sometimes escalate to the actual employee not accomplishing his work goal and just taking it easy. In this case, Alan shows his double side. â€Å"Things are not always greener on the other side of the fence†. There is certainly something very interesting regarding the cause and effect of running a laissez-faire organization, particularly corporations. Ultimately, when it comes to laid back management, it is not really a matter of whether to be lenient or not. Oftentimes, it is a matter of when to be indulgent, because there are certain circumstances that will cause either an advancement or failure. Laid back management is actually a good strategy. Needless to say, workers have to be entitled with certain rights and privileges. Lenient management is often the core of empowering the laborers. More often than not, empowering laborers proved to boost the overall prosperity of the corporation. Oftentimes this may come into explicit forms of idealistic gestures, such as enabling the worker to make any constructive suggestions regarding the company policies. Some companies find this method too lenient to a point of negligence, but there are those that abide by its format. An example of a popular tactic of promoting lenient management is the establishment of friendly relations with employees, although such a gesture could be taken as an extreme idealism for many traditional types of corporations. In certain ways, friendly relationship between the laborer and overseer would result to easy productivity because both parties could defer to one another and even work together to overcome certain challenges. A friendly relationship is often deemed good like-minded academic school of thought for the simple reason that respect for fellow human beings, especially in terms of their dignity, is a non-negotiable aspect of civil law. Alan’s leadership style during the flood was put out to be his â€Å"Dr. Jekyll amp; Mr. Hyde† side. When he noticed that the storm was advancing rapidly towards the valley where his shop is located, Alan to be on the safe side went out to roll up the windows of the clients cars that were in the parking lot waiting to be worked on. Then he noticed that the creek was already rising high and ran back to the shop but got soaked by the rain. His employees laughed at him for: not having enough sense to come in out of the rain. † After 15minutes of hard rain, he realized it wasn’t just a rainstorm, but an actual flood. He ran into the shop and announced in a loud voice that the creek was flooding and instructed all his employees to do certain jobs but nobody seemed to be moving. An employee walked over to Alan and told him, does he really think it’s gonna flood because it’s rained like this before and it doesn’t even reach more than an inch. Alan looks at the employee in the eyes and interrupted his employee by saying in an assertive manner, â€Å"Listen, ad listen good! You and the rest of the crew are going to do what I say, and you’re going to do it now! We can talk later about whether it was a good idea. † By coming out and managing in this manner, Alan shows himself to no longer be a mellow â€Å"laid back† manager but be an assertive and â€Å"drill sergeant† manager. Another very concrete situation from which laid back management will truly not go as planned is when the corporate heads issue an urgent massive quota on such a short deadline. For instance, bombarding laborers with tasks in streamline payroll processing. If the management allows the workers to have a say according to their preference, nobody would be willing to work with such a given condition. The greatest error of imposing laissez-faire supervision is when it comes to the point that the laborers would feel entitled to defy a corporate order. There is a fine line between liberty and anarchy, and the latter could sometimes result from high expectations that are stifled by necessity. His effective behaviors were implemented as being an easy going manager when things are not a risk or are being done incorrectly and a serious go getter when he sees that his business is in danger or an employee is performing incorrectly. After the flood subsided his way of management was very well performed by showing each of his employees that he is highly appreciative of each contribution each employee performed while the flood was in effect. Assertiveness is a key component to being an effective manager, and is particularly important when dealing with difficult employees who thrive on testing your boundaries. Why do employees behave badly to begin with? Because the manager who is in authority is allowing them to behave that way, â€Å"laid back† managers Some techniques that can be used to become a more assertive — and, therefore, more effective — manager: Set and communicate clear boundaries and expectations. Managers who fail to clearly define and consistently enforce boundaries are just asking for trouble from their employees. Your employees are not mind readers,† Shepard emphasized. â€Å"You have got to clearly, clearly, clearly define what you expect and what you will not tolerate. † The good news, he pointed out, is that â€Å"the firmer you are and the more people realize you don’t budge, the less they will test the boundaries. † Hold everyone accountable, even when you don’t want to. â€Å"You have an obligation to your company to do the right thing; they are paying you to make the tough decisions,† stated Shepard. You also â€Å"owe it to your good employees not to let problem employees get away with things they shouldn’t. Although this can be particularly hard when you’re dealing with someone you like or with whom you empathize, said Shepard, â€Å"you are a manager, not Dr. Phil. Don’t get involved in personal lives. † Don’t stomp on your employees’ rights or be disrespectful. â€Å"You don’t have to be a jerk to be assertive,† he noted. A dysfunctional, authoritarian manager will be able to get employees to comply, but not to commit. â€Å"You want people to commit, because that’s how you get your employees to give more than you ask for. † Choose your battles carefully. A smart manager knows that it’s better to lose the battle, sometimes, in order to win the war,† Shepard observed. Choosing not to fight a battle you know you can’t win is a sign of wisdom, not weakness. Being assertive will earn you respect, but only few know how and when to become assertive. High level executives and managers are generally very assertive. However, if they use their positions of power and authority in order to belittle, intimidate, and control those beneath them, it will cause a lot of trouble and loss of respect over the long term. Employees will begin to resent such executives and managers. Their productivity will eventually begin to fall, and if the dictatorial behavior of the executives and managers continues, it will not be long before the organization begins experiencing a high employee turnover. To avoid this problem, it is important to understand the difference between being assertive and being an autocrat. While some managers avoid dictatorial behavior in favor of being passive, this too is just as bad. The problem with passive managers is that employees often do not know what is expected of them, and they will often take the manager for granted. Employees may violate company policy while working in their department, and they will do this largely because they feel the passive manager will let them get away with it. A manager or executive who is assertive is an individual who maintains a balance between these two extremes. If you are passive or dictatorial, your behavior will have a negative impact on your career sooner or later. A manager who is assertive is an individual who can lead their employees, and they can do it without having to use a firm hand, or raise their voice. Some managers do not understand the difference between assertiveness and aggression, so they choose to be passive. But there is a critical difference between the two. An aggressive manager tends to be an individual who is quick to anger. They will usually bang their fists on the desk when an employee does something wrong, and they have no problem raising their voice or yelling at their subordinates. The aggressive manager will generally treat his employees like children. The problem with this form of behavior is that employees are not children, they are adults, and when you treat adults like children, they tend to harbor a great deal of resentment. The aggressive manager is also quick to criticize the work of his employees. If he sees something wrong with the work of his subordinate, he will be quick to point out all the negative aspects of it, as opposed to the positive aspects. In contrast, a passive manager is someone who is easy to walk over. Because he does not take things seriously, the employees will not take things seriously, and they will often do what they want despite the company’s rules and regulations. The primary reason for this is because the passive manager does not bother to enforce the rules. A passive manager will typically avoid doing anything with his employees that might cause conflict, as they do not want to disrupt the workings of their department. The ironic thing about this view is that those who try to avoid conflict the most are the individuals who are most likely to run into it. While the assertive manager is not aggressive, they make everyone understand that their rules must be followed. In conclusion, changing Alan’s way of managing and supervising shouldn’t be changed because of the way he makes himself available to his employees and thanking each employee for their contributions when the flood happened. Hi manner of managing is what makes his business what it is today. Having his clients respect and trust his provided services. References * Yukl, G. (2008). Leadership in organnizations. (7th ed. , pp. 259-257). Upper saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. * Exforsys Inc. (2009, January 29). Traits of an assertive manager. Retrieved from http://www. exforsys. com/career-center/assertive/traits-of-an-assertive-manager. html * Alexander Hamilton Institute. (2012, April 23). Keep employees in check through assertive management techniques. Retrieved from http://www. businessmanagementdaily. com/19465/keep-employees-in-check-through-assertive-management-techniques * HR system: The pros and cons of laid back manpower management. (2012, October 9). Retrieved from http://hrxpayroll. com/blog/hr-system-the-pros-and-cons-of-laid-back-manpower-management/ * Shannon, E. (2004, December 12). The six different types of managers and How to cite Foreign Auto Shop, Papers