Can Larry Fit In? Melissa, Office Manager You are the manager of an auditing tea

Question

Can Larry Fit In?

Melissa, Office Manager You are the manager of an auditing team sent to Bangkok, Thailand, to represent a major international accounting firm headquartered in New York. You and Larry, one of your auditors, were sent to Bangkok to set up an auditing operation. Larry is about seven years older than you and has five more years’ seniority in the firm. Your relationship has become very strained since you were recently designated as the office manager. You feel you were given the promotion because you have established an excellent working relationship with the Thai staff as well as a broad range of international clients. In contrast, Larry has told other members of the staff that your promotion simply reflects the firm’s heavy emphasis on affirmative action. He has tried to isolate you from the all-male accounting staff by focusing discussions on sports, local night spots, and so forth. You are sitting in your office reading some complicated new reporting procedures that have just arrived from the home office. Your concentration is suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on your door. Without waiting for an invitation to enter, Larry bursts into your office. He is obviously very upset, and it is not difficult for you to surmise why he is in such a nasty mood. You recently posted the audit assignments for the coming month, and you scheduled Larry for a job you knew he wouldn’t like. Larry is one of your senior auditors, and the company norm is that they get the choice assignments. This particular job will require him to spend two weeks away from Bangkok in a remote town, working with a company whose records are notoriously messy. Unfortunately, you have had to assign several of these less desirable audits to Larry recently because you are short of personnel. But that’s not the only reason. You have received several complaints from the junior staff (all Thais) recently that Larry treats them in a condescending manner. They feel he is always looking for an opportunity to boss them around, as if he were their supervisor instead of an experienced, supportive mentor. As a result, your whole operation works more smoothly when you can send Larry out of town on a solo project for several days. It keeps him from coming into your office and telling you how to do your job, and the morale of the rest of the auditing staff is significantly higher. Larry slams the door and proceeds to express his anger over this assignment. Larry, Senior Auditor You are really ticked off! Melissa is deliberately trying to undermine your status in the office. She knows that the company norm is that senior auditors get the better jobs. You’ve paid your dues, and now you expect to be treated with respect. And this isn’t the first time this has happened. Since she was made the office manager, she has tried to keep you out of the office as much as possible. It’s as if she doesn’t want her rival for leadership of the office around. When you were asked to go to Bangkok, you assumed that you would be made the office manager because of your seniority in the firm. You are certain that the decision to pick Melissa is yet another indication of reverse discrimination against white males. In staff meetings, Melissa has talked about the need to be sensitive to the feelings of the office staff as well as the clients in this multicultural setting. “Where does she come off preaching about sensitivity! What about my feelings, for heaven’s sake?” you wonder. This is nothing more than a straightforward power play. She is probably feeling insecure about being the only female accountant in the office and being promoted over someone with more experience. “Sending me out of town,” you decide, “is a clear case of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’” Well, it’s not going to happen that easily. You are not going to roll over and let her treat you unfairly. It’s time for a showdown. If she doesn’t agree to change this assignment and apologize for the way she’s been treating you, you’re going to register a formal complaint with her boss in the New York office. You are prepared to submit your resignation if the situation doesn’t improve. Meeting at Hartford Manufacturing Company Hartford Manufacturing Company is the largest subsidiary of Connecticut Industries. Since the end of World War I, when it was formed, Hartford Manufacturing has become an industrial leader in the Northeast. Its sales currently average approximately $25 million a year, with an annual growth of approximately six percent. There are more than 850 employees in production, sales and marketing, accounting, engineering, and management. 33545 07 377-441 r3 tt 10/27/06 3:45 PM Page 428 MANAGING CONFLICT CHAPTER 7 429 Lynn Smith is general manager. He has held his position for a little over two years and is well respected by his subordinates. He has the reputation of being firm but fair. Lynn’s training in college was in engineering, so he is technically minded, and he frequently likes to walk around the production area to see for himself how things are going. He has also been known to roll up his sleeves and help work on a problem on the shop floor. He is not opposed to rubbing shoulders with even the lowest-level employees. On the other hand, he tries to run a tight company, and employees pretty well stick to their assigned tasks. He holds high expectations for performance, especially from individuals in management positions. Richard Hooton is the director of production at Hartford Manufacturing. He has been with the company since he was 19 years old, when he worked on the dock. He has worked himself up through the ranks and now, at age 54, is the oldest of the management personnel. Hooton has his own ideas of how things should be run in production, and he is reluctant to tolerate any intervention from anyone, even Lynn Smith. Because he has been with the company so long, he feels he knows it better than anyone else, and he believes he has had a hand in making it the success that it is. His main goal is to keep production running smoothly and efficiently. Barbara Price is the director of sales and marketing. She joined the company about 18 months ago, after completing her MBA at Dartmouth. Before going back to school for a graduate degree, she held the position of assistant manager of marketing at Connecticut Industries. Price is a very conscientious employee and is anxious to make a name for herself. Her major objective, which she has never hesitated to make public, is to be a general manager some day. Sales at Hartford Manufacturing have increased in the past year to near-record levels under her guidance. Chuck Kasper is the regional sales director for the New York region. He reports directly to Barbara Price. The New York region represents the largest market for Hartford Manufacturing, and Chuck is considered the most competent salesperson in the company. He has built personal relationships with several major clients in his region, and it appears that some sales occur as much because of Chuck Kasper as because of the products of Hartford Manufacturing. Chuck has been with the company for 12 years, all of them in sales. This is Friday afternoon, and tomorrow Lynn Smith leaves for Copenhagen at noon to attend an important meeting with potential overseas investors. He will be gone for two weeks. Before he leaves, there are several items in his in-basket that must receive attention. He calls a meeting with Richard Hooton and Barbara Price in his office. Just before the meeting begins, Chuck Kasper calls and asks if he may join the meeting for a few minutes, since he is in town and has something important to discuss that involves both Lynn Smith and Richard Hooton. Smith gives permission for him to join the meeting, since there may not be another chance to meet with Kasper before the trip. The meeting convenes, therefore, with Smith, Hooton, Price, and Kasper all in the room.

Here is the Question: In about one page, identify the underlying problem and what you, as the Office Manager, would do to resolve this situation. Be sure to make specific recommendations, as though you were consulting with the Office Manager.

Explanation / Answer

Can Larry Fit In

In this case, there is a clear misunderstanding as well as miscommunication happening between Melissa and Larry. Melissa feels that Larry tries to corner her while on the other side, Larry feels exactly the same about her. Melissa had assigned certain audits to Larry because of lack of manpower as well as to make him an individual player as his behavior is not good in team setting. However, Larry feels that Melissa wants him to be out of mind of the top management and that’s why she has been assigning him outdoor assignments.

To solve the conflict, both of them must adopt the collaborative style of conflict management. They need to discuss their issues and inhibitions about each other and then come up with a mutual solution. Melissa must ask Larry to take a seat with a calm mind and she can start the conflict resolution. She needs to ask Larry about the problems and opinion he has from Melissa. Melissa can clear her part after Larry has concluded. Similar be the case with Melissa talking about Larry and Larry defending his actions. Larry needs to understand that his behavior in team settings has not been appropriate and junior staff is not comfortable working with him. This has been the prime reason behind his outdoor assignments.

After discussing about the problem, both Larry and Melissa can think about ways in which the problems can be sorted:

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