read the case and answer correctly thequestions one by one A Management Team in
ID: 359537 • Letter: R
Question
read the case and answer correctly thequestions one by one
A Management Team in Crisis by Steven D. Charlier and Martin M. Brennan Steven D.
Charlie and Martin M. Brennan wrote this case solely to pro-vide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Martina Jones shut the door to her office in downtown Pittsburgh, collapsed into her chair, and contemplated the predicament that she found herself in with her client, Skills For Tomorrow (SFT). It was Friday night on September 28, 2012, and she faced a long weekend in preparation for a meeting with the SFT management team at the Harris-burg, Pennsylvania, location on the following Monday. Jones was a lead consultant for Hancher Consulting, a small boutique management-consulting firm that specialized in the public sector. Her client, a satellite location within SFT, signed a contract with Hancher in early August 2012 to help with "morale issues" among its management team. Jones and her team of consultants had been busy ever since, learning about SFT and the problems facing the Harrisburg campus. Through a series of interviews with the Harrisburg management team, several issues had come to life—many of which went well beyond poor morale. She opened her laptop, began to review the data that she and her team had collected, and wondered how she was going to present their findings while preserving any hope of a continuing relationship with SFT and the Harrisburg executive director, Ted Alvarez. Skills for Tomorrow (SFT): SFT was a government sponsored organization tasked with helping at-risk young adults gain vocational training toward preparing them for a successful career in one of several areas, including automotive and machine repair, construction, health care and information technology. The program provided support to student’s beyond of technical training, including the development interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and skills in effectively conducting a job search and interview—all toward the goal of graduating individuals that were prepared to live independently and become productive citizens (and tax-payers). SFT was founded in the 1960s, and had been widely hailed as a success story. The SFT organization was highly decentralized, operating out of a total of 180 locations across the entire United States as of the end of 2011. While the headquarters was located in Washington, D.C., each location had its own management staff that oversaw the operations within its jurisdiction. The Harrisburg location handled SFT activities for the entire south-central Pennsylvania region. Like in much of the country, unemployment was an issue in this region (around 7 per cent in the summer of 2012), and the demand for entrants into the SFT was high and stable. Harrisburg was one of six SFT locations in the state of Pennsylvania. All of the SFT locations went through an annual appraisal process conducted by a team from corporate headquarters. During the appraisal process, locations were rated based on a variety of criteria, including admission rates, graduation rates, hiring rates, disciplinary issues and student satisfaction. Based on the data from these yearly appraisals, locations were ranked from top to bottom across the entire organization. These rankings could have a significant impact on the individual locations, in that consistently low-performing locations had their charter revoked in recent years. SFT Harrisburg and the Yearly Rankings: In terms of the yearly rankings, Harrisburg consistently placed in the lower half of the SFT locations. While the location met the baseline standards in a number of key performance areas, Harrisburg had not been able to break into the upper half of the rankings for several years. Jones knew that this was a potential source of concern for everyone at the Harrisburg location, but this was especially true for the executive director, Alvarez, who said: We've got to figure out a way to get our ranking up in the next year or two, at the latest. Four locations were axed last year, and I don't want to be the next! I know that D.C. is keeping an eye on things here, and if we don't right the ship, we'll all be looking for a job. Everyone needs to understand how vitally important the rankings are to our future. How to "right the ship" seemed to be a topic of conversation in many of the interviews that Jones and her team conducted with SFT management. The comments of staff members covered a wide variety of topics and issues facing the organization. The quotes below typify this diversity of opinions: I don't think our students are as well prepared for life after the program as they should be. I mean, we focus our efforts on giving them technical training to do their jobs. But what about everything else that you need to know to live on your own? The curriculum that's in place now only covers the bare essentials, and I think many of our graduates still struggle with basic life skills after they leave SFT. (Nancy Cummings, director of career services) Our executive director is a nice guy, and I know his heart is in the right place, but I think he's in over his head. He's never been an executive director before, and from what I've seen, he's still got a lot to learn about leading an organization. (Walter Blackmon, dean of students) How do I define the culture here in Harrisburg? Every man for himself. We have to fight for funding, fight for staff, fight for programs . . . everything is a battle. If we just had more money, I think you'd see a lot more camaraderie around here—instead, we're just constantly bickering amongst ourselves for whatever we can get. (Jake Rasmussen, director of outreach) The instructors are pretty cool, I guess.... I mean, I've learned a lot in the six months that I've been here. But I don't think anyone understands how hard it is for us when we get here, you know? I've got three kids, no money.... I'm trying to make my life better for my family, but sometimes I just need a break. But the system is set up so that we never get time off? I think if these folks walked a day in our shoes, they'd have more respect for what we're going through. (Tabitha White, current SFT student) Jones closed her eyes and pondered these quotes in particular. She knew that Hancher Consulting had been brought in to help with "morale issues" in the management team—trying to fix everything at the location was beyond the scope of the assignment. Also, Alvarez had made it clear to Jones that he felt that the potential for the location to lose its charter was having a severe impact on morale. But what about the other issues that came up in the interviews? Was all of this connected in some way? She pushed this thought aside and pulled up the organizational chart for the Harrisburg location on her screen. The Harrisburg SFT Organization: The management team at Harrisburg was relatively flat, with most of the senior managers (all with the title of "director") reporting directly to the executive director, Alvarez. Eleven directors (including Alvarez) comprised the central management structure at Harrisburg. Many of the directors had worked for SFT—and in the Harrisburg location—for more than a decade. As a whole, they were dedicated to their jobs and believed in the mission of the organization. Time and again, graduates of the program were able to make a new start in life, and success stories were commonplace. Thus, it came as no surprise to Jones that turnover among this group was very low—openings in the management team at Harrisburg generally came either through retirement or a promotion/relocation to another SFT location. Alvarez was a relative newcomer to the Harrisburg location. He had been with SFT for 14 years in a variety of roles and locations, but had only been in the executive director position at Harrisburg for four months. When he arrived at Harrisburg in May 2012, Alvarez also brought two other directors (Nancy Cummings and Lucinda Smith) from his previous stint in the Tidewater region of Virginia. It just so happened that two other vacancies in the Harrisburg management team were available at the time of his acceptance of the executive director position (one former Harrisburg director had retired, while the other had taken a position at the SFT headquarters in -Washington, D.C.). Alvarez had worked with Cummings and Smith for several years prior to their relocation, and found them both to be highly reliable and competent individuals. Alvarez had known about the consistently lower-than-average ranking of the Harrisburg location before he took the job, but felt that the location had a lot going for it—after all, the raw scores for Harrisburg on many of the criteria had been consistently above the baselines set by the SFT headquarters for many years. He was confident that with the right leadership, the Harrisburg location could quickly improve in its rankings and avoid the potential of losing its charter. But his first few months on the job showed him that this task would not be so easy. First, Alvarez had to deal with the fact that he was replacing a beloved executive director, Herbert Brooks. Brooks had led the Harris-burg location for nine years—when he announced his retirement in January 2012, the Harrisburg staff pooled together a fund to throw Brooks an elaborate going-away party.
Pictures from the party could still be found in many of the cubicles at the SFT office. Alvarez told Jones: Herbert was a hard act to follow. I met with him several times to discuss the transition, and I was really struck by his passion for this place and his incredibly positive outlook on life and SFT. Everyone around here loved him! I knew that the transition would be tough, simply because of the personal relationships that he had developed with the staff here over the years. That was something that I knew I wouldn't be able to change over-night. But I think I've done a good job at fostering those relationships since I got here. After the first week on the job, Alvarez noticed that communication between the directors was not always good. He was accustomed to management meetings at the Tide-water office that were often loud, passionate and energetic. At the Harrisburg location, his first status meeting with the directors could not have been more different. Boy, that first status meeting was a nightmare! I laid out the agenda for the meeting and dove into the first order of business—it had to do with some mandated curriculum changes that were coming from D.C. Andy [Dr. Wong, director of student education presented an overview of the changes, and there was nothing. Stone-cold silence. I tried to get feed-back from the other directors, but no one really had anything to say! It was like no one cared . . . or that everyone was afraid to speak. Status meetings have gotten a bit better since then, but I still feel like people are holding back. After Alvarez was on the job for about a month, the annual budgeting process began for all of the SFT locations. Budget proposals were due to SFT headquarters by the end of June for the upcoming fiscal year (which began on September 1). Alvarez was proud of the work that he and the staff did on the budget proposal—they had been hit with a 10 per cent cut across the board, and tough decisions had had to be made. Alvarez commented on this period to Jones: The conversations that we had around the budget for this year were some of the hardest conversations I've ever had as a manager. Many of the directors already felt like they were under-staffed, and the budget cuts weren't going to help. I solicited proposals from all of the directors, and had to make some tough choices in terms of who would get their request, and whose areas were going to fall short. It wasn't fun—especially for someone new to the position. Alvarez also stated that while the Harrisburg location was able to get a budget approved, he felt like some of the staff took the decisions personally. My overarching goal during the budgeting process was to protect the students from feeling the brunt of the budget cuts. So naturally, education and res life stayed relatively safe, while other areas felt more pain. I know this created some bad blood between some of the directors, but I felt that it was the right thing to do. We'll never be successful as an organization if our students aren't successful. They have to remain our priority.
Interviews With Harrisburg SFT Employees: Because Jones's main initial contact in Harris-burg was with Alvarez, she was keenly aware of the issues that Alvarez believed should be the focus of her consulting efforts. But Jones knew that to get to the heart of the matter, it was necessary to talk to as many members of the Harris-burg SFT management team as possible. Between Jones and the rest of her colleagues the Hancher Consulting team conducted one-on- one inter-views with all of the senior management team, along with a number of students, instructors and support staff at the location. While many of the same themes were evident across the overall set of interviews, the blame was placed on many different facets of the organization. And some new issues arose from these interviews, as well. As Jones reviewed the interview data again (for what seemed like the hundredth time), it was clear that there were several problems that needed to be addressed. With just a weekend to prepare for the Monday meeting, Jones barely knew where to begin. Final Preparation Meeting With Alvarez: As if the situation were not dire enough, Jones thought back to the meeting that she had with Alvarez earlier that day. As Alvarez entered the conference room for the meeting, it was clear that he was under a lot of stress. And while the meeting was brief, Alvarez made it clear to Jones about the direction that he wanted to take things. (Alvarez rushes into the conference room) Alvarez: Hi Martina—sorry I'm late. We just finished a status meeting on recruitment, and the numbers for the upcoming winter session are lower than I expected. Had to give the troops a pep talk on getting the word out about the program, and trying to drive those numbers up in the next few weeks! Jones: No problem, Ted! I know you're very busy, but I just wanted to take a few minutes to review some of the things that came out from our interviews. I don't want our presentation on Monday to come as a surprise to you! Alvarez: Oh great! I hope that all of my staff have been accommodating to you and your team. Jones: Yes, they've been very forthright in their feelings about SFT and the team! We've been very pleased with their candor. Alvarez: Good . . . good. Listen, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I really believe that we all just need to take a day or two outside of the office and really have an honest conversation about how we do things here. You know, a management retreat of some sort! I think I could get some-thing scheduled for next weekend, and would love your help in organizing the meeting. I'm sure the team will grouse about having to go away for the weekend, but I know it will pay huge dividends! Jones: Well, Ted, I think we ought to talk about some of the things that emerged from our research before we dive into planning a retreat. For example—Alvarez: Listen, Martina—I know that we brought you and your team in to provide an outside assessment of what's going on, but things are going from bad to worse around here, and I need to get everyone on the same sheet of music. Personally, I've found that getting folks out of the office, in a neutral environment and away from the daily grind, and focusing everyone to really open up about their concerns—you know, lay everything on the table, no holds barred—is the best way to resolve these kinds of touchy-feely issues. We can't beat around the bush, especially with our next round of audits and rankings around the corner. I've got to get results now, or we're all cooked. I think if we just incorporate your thinking with my thinking—at the retreat—we'll get these problems solved! Jones: Frankly, Ted, I'm not sure it's that easy! I'd really like to go over some of the data that we've collected over the past month, and—Alvarez: But isn't that what the Monday meeting is for? I think your presentation will be a great way to intro-duce the need for the retreat. You know, here's what you all said, these are the issues . . . let's go off-site for a day or two and hash it all out together! It's got to work! Jones: Well, I think you might be surprised about—Alvarez: Oh, I doubt that there are any surprises there! I've been around the block a few times, and I know this organization and these folks well enough to know what's going on. We'll get everyone in the room for your presentation on Monday, and I'll get Lucinda to figure out the logistics for the off-site by the time we meet. Remind me again, the presentation is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday, right? Jones: Yes, but—Alvarez: Super—that's more than enough time to find a place for the retreat! I'll get Lucinda on it right away. I look forward to hearing your presentation and working with you on the retreat! I know you guys will be a big help in clearing the air with the team. Having an outside facilitator for these things is so important! I'm sure that you all will do a great job, and we'll leave the retreat as a much more cohesive team. Ted, I'm sure that we can add a retreat to our statement of work without too much difficulty—Alvarez: Oh right, the contract! Yes, let's plan on meeting right after the presentation to draw that up. I know you consultants need to have the i's dotted and the t's crossed before you do anything! (Laughs) We'll get that worked out on Monday. I'll see you then! Got to run to another meeting, but thanks for all of your hard work! I'm so glad that you all are here! (Alvarez leaves the conference room) A Long Weekend Ahead: As she sat in her office, tapping her fingernails on her desk, Jones figured that she had two significant dilemmas facing her. First, what were the major issues facing the Harrisburg location—and what was the root cause (or causes) behind those issues? And second, how should she handle the Monday presentation with Alvarez and the rest of the Harrisburg directors? She knew that Alvarez expected her to "rubber stamp" his solution of an off-site management retreat—but was this really the answer? She knew that whatever course of action she took, the Monday presentation was going to have a significant impact on both the Harrisburg location and her prospects of seeing this project to a successful completion. Jones picked up the phone, ordered some beef lo Mein and contemplated her strategy.
read the case and answer all the questions
1. How does management consulting work? What is the role of the management consultant in this particular situation?
2. What are the main issues facing the SFT Harrisburg team of directors? What are the root causes of these issues?
3. How would you characterize Alvarez as a leader?
4. What recommendations would you make to help improve the situation?
5. If you were Martina Jones, specifically how would you approach the Monday-afternoon meeting with the directors? What would you do before, during and after the briefing with the directors?
6. Is an off-site retreat advisable at this time? If so, what would be the focus of the retreat? Specifically, how would you organize the retreat?
Explanation / Answer
1) To visit Frances, first he will have to go to either Madison or Carl and then he should go to Frances.
The probability of each of this is 1/3
So, the probability that he will visit Frances = (1/3 +1/3) x1/3
= 2/9
2) To only vist 2 friends, Steven have to go to Madison's or Carl's after visiting Dixon and then go home.
Probability of all these trips are the same,
So, probability of visiting only 2 friends = (1/3 + 1/3) x 1/3
= 2/9
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