Tu Nguyen- Medisys Case PDF

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Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

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Organizational Behavior Tu Nguyen- 01712120 Background MediSys Corp is a company that produces medical apparatus. It was commissioned in the year 2002 and is renowned for its promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship among its personnel. Due to this strategy, the organization displayed various favorable initiatives at different developmental stages. One typical initiative of MediSys Corp is IntensCare that was established in a similar way to how most MediSys’s products are developed. Specifically, the innovative idea was created by a staff member before it was approved and funded by the company’s management team (Robbins & Judge, 2016). The entrepreneurial culture of the organization has made it have a superior competitive edge over its competitors as it encourages the development of creative and innovative ideas by its employees. However, in current times, the executives have noted that the growth rate of the company has started to decline, which is attributed to the entrepreneurial practice of the company that led to slow introduction of the company’s products in the market. The administrative board of MediSys decided to alter some of its production techniques to retain its competitive edge amongst new rivals. To begin with, Art Beaumont was hired as a new director to trigger the fast proliferation of the company and conserve its entrepreneurial culture. In particular, he tried to achieve this by restructuring the organization’s management framework. Beaumont created a senior team of administrative managers for every production department. In addition, all team representatives were obligated to finish work in their individual department apart from working in this core unit (Robbins & Judge, 2016). As a result, a decreased regulation spectrum was developed in the organization. Its primary purpose was to accelerate the pace of decision-making tasks in the firm, but it led to reduced freedom of its

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personnel due to the immense level of supervision. Consequently, a formal process of product development was gradually developed in the company due to official policies established by Beaumont (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). To enumerate, he compelled his cross-functional representatives to follow his new systems that were based on a speculation that the company would outsmart its competitors by boosting the product manufacturing procedures. Specifically, Beaumont established the core representatives and designated project heads to supervise the operations in their individual departments. In addition, they were expected to act as intermediaries to the executive team. Even though the contemporary structure created by Beaumont had specific benefits, it led to tension amidst staff (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). It is prudent to note that this new system did not change the evaluation and reporting approaches of the company. All employees were still required to report to their functional supervisors who used to analyze and monitor performance. Gradually, workers were compelled to shift their focus from their prime functional roles to work in the contemporary core team. Nonetheless, their performance and productivity in the functional sections were still being assessed. This led to decreased motivation in working with the new supervisory groups because their primary responsibilities were still aligned to working in their respective departments (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Comparatively, tension amidst staff members increased because they all had varying expectations in terms of their IntesCare mandates. Primary Organizational Problems in MediSys Corporation The new director, Beaumont, recognized some sections in the company that he thought needed new changes to boost growth. In particular, he noted that the level of strategic focus in the company was low; thus, there was a need to accelerate the rate at which new products were being introduced in the market. Consequently, he established an executive committee that was

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headed by five senior officials. All of them were required to report to him constantly, and Beaumont took the position of president to hone the company’s strategic focus. In regard to IntenseCare production team, there were numerous challenges that the company had to put up with. In addition, the stringent deadlines established by Beaumont had to be adhered to while solving problems. Firstly, Beaumont created a core team that would jointly develop and administer a technique that would accelerate the production pace of the company. Additionally, Beaumont facilitated the transformation of management techniques of all the company’s managers to a parallel administration system. Secondly, the creation of a core group decreased the control scope that was previously existing in the company. To put in other words, communication flow in the organization was impacted. The executive team was directly answerable to the president, while project leaders had to directly report to the core team. Notably, this technique added extra layers amidst lower rank personnel and senior management staff, which compromised the already existing entrepreneurial practice in the organization (Robbins & Judge, 2016). According to Beaumont, the prime aim of this limited control spectrum was to accelerate the decision-making tasks in the company. Notwithstanding, the autonomy of staff was severely affected by the high degree of supervision that was created. The existing organizational arrangement was extremely interconnected with several management layers in senior and lower levels (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). Therefore, the movement of information over these layers resulted in delays and breakdown of communication in the company. Additionally, both the assessment and reporting procedures were not altered by the new parallel managing system. Hence, all staff members maintained their reporting tasks to supervisors who analyzed and monitored their performance. As mentioned, personnel assessment

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was based on productivity levels in functional locations, meaning that employees’ output in the new product development teams was not considered. As a result, their motivation in the functional sectors and contribution to IntensCare project declined (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). Consequently, the employees did not focus on achieving a unified purpose; rather, they concentrated on performing well in their separate functions and departments. Not to mention, the strict IntensCare launching deadline decreed by Beaumont did not consider the numerous challenges that employees would face. The problems included lags in software development, hardware engineering, and modular designing tasks (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). Notably, these drawbacks were the prime dispute sources amidst most staff members. The overarching conflicting topic amongst most team members entailed modular designing problems. It is paramount to note that modular design enabled clients to individually modify and configure the company’s system depending on the required applications. Therefore, it offered the enterprise’s customers additional flexibility. They could adjust the devices depending on the intended medical use, such as neonatal intensive care. In light of this sentiment, the general opinion of some of the company’s staff, such as Merz, was that the most appropriate stage of introducing modularity was the second one. However, this employee did not reveal her opinion to her colleagues due to the feat that the engineering department would misuse it as an excuse to quit modularizing every product. In like manner, Bret O’Brien claimed that the Engineering and Design section did not plan to introduce modularization at the first stage of IntenCare development. Specifically, this was because the existing internal space was not sufficient for them to meet the set deadline. Coupled with this, the employee insisted that the respective modules were only recognized in the initial IntensCare business plan of the year 2007;

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR thus, the personnel it was not designed for the software development personnel (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). Likewise, hardware engineering delays were recognized as the prime factor that affected the efficiency of the engineering department’s personnel. In particular, O’Brien was an engineering representative in the established product development unit. Apart from him, two extra engineers were working on a full-time basis for the IntensCare project. Both of these professionals were under his supervision; however, they were compelled to work in other departments. On the other hand, Dipesh Mukerjee established a new outsourcing technique that created lags in the software development section (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). Even though outsourcing offers additional benefits in terms of expenses, it also decreases the profit margins and quality of job in an organization. Despite this fact, Mukerjee disregarded the additional disadvantages that could accompany this approach. In addition, he ignored Baio’s opinion concerning the duration needed for sufficient testing of all externally created software prior to incorporating it in the IntensCare system (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). In contrast to his confidence, a number of personnel held the general opinion that speculated that outsourcing of software development could create additional problems. Additionally, Mukerjee did not relay crucial information to other team representatives before making the concerned decision as shown by the lack of awareness of most personnel about software development tasks being carried out by people in India. Notably, there is no consideration of the integration of hardware and software like the initial times. O’Brien states that Mukerjee offers more attention to the software contractor based in India relative to integration importance. Therefore, this adds to the overall communication challenges in the organization. It is paramount to note that communication breakdown is the most crucial

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challenge that faces the IntensCare product development personnel (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). For instance, Mukerjee ignores the opinions of other members, while Merz is not free to state her opinion concerning modular design tasks. Hence, there is a need for this challenge to be addressed quickly due to the effect of effective communication on personnel’ productivity. Equally important is the fact that there is no designated team leader for the IntensCare project team. For instance, the group’s commissioned head, Jack Fogel, concentrates more on product development than market infiltration and business matters. Moreover, Valerie Merz has been appointed as the head of IntensCare launching department despite the fact that she lacks any informal or formal jurisdiction (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). For the leadership aspect of MediSys to be vivid and efficient, the company has to solve this challenge. Lastly, there is an overall feeling of distrust among employees and managers. What is more, staff members do not recognize each other’s competence and capacity to effectively discharge their duties. Additionally, team members have hidden animosity towards each other. Accordance to Lencioni, trust is the bedrock of any productive team. Whenever employees fail to acknowledge their weaknesses as well as mistakes and refuse to be sensitive to each other’ s needs, an element of distrust develops an organization. Not to forget, additional dysfunctions, such as negligence, accountability evasion, decreased the level of engagement and conflict fear, lead to a lack of trust among staff (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Notably, Lencioni has identified the primary factors that contribute to lack of trust in an organization as shown below: a) The unwillingness of employees to carry out meetings and spend time with each other. b) Maintaining conflicts amongst different team representatives. c) Inability to appreciate each other’s organizational experience and skills. d) Loss of energy and time in the management of individual negative behaviors.

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e) Hastiness in judging the tendencies and intentions of other team members’ minus evaluating them. f) Offering of contributions by personnel in matters they lack jurisdiction g) Unwillingness to seek for assistance or offer productive feedback. The IntenseCare group of MediSys is vividly ailing from distrust amongst themselves. Notably, this is demonstrated by the general perception of other members about Karen Baio. They view her as a staff member who intentionally decreases the progress of the company. On the other hand, Baio equally holds a hidden animosity towards Valerie Merz, meaning that there is a need for IntensCare team members to exhibit a high level of commitment and trust to each other (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). The following section explains possible solutions and recommendations to the company’s personnel. Possible Recommendations and Solutions In a bid to solve the various problems that the MediSys Corporation faces, it is paramount to apply alternative concepts, techniques, and tools derived from different companies. Firstly, all the executive members of the organization have to preserve the original entrepreneurial culture of the company. This can be attained by removing the strict control approach that is applied by most managers. Besides, senior personnel have to be actively involved in the development of devices and be free to express opinions minus the limitations imposed by the different team members (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Specifically, the company could establish a web platform that allows its personnel to show what they stand for, such as their primary source of motivation, management prospects, and cultural ideals. Notably, this would help the team managers comprehend the team dynamics of their personnel and know their preferences. For instance, the company could employ a blogging site, such as WordPress, to accelerate communication transfer

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amidst middle, lower, and senior level personnel (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Alternatively, this site can be referred to as a wiki in the sense that it can enable all authorized employees to change or add information. The primary advantage that can be gained through this Wiki site is the simplicity of use. To enumerate, it does not require individuals with web design skills. Similarly, it allows all employees to change or post contemporary information minus stringent regulation and acknowledgment by senior personnel (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Secondly, a flatter technique can be applied by the company to limit the scope of its organizational structure. The primary aim of this approach is to decrease the quantity of layers amidst lower-level and senior-level personnel. Even though there are specific advantages that can be gained by a tall organizational structure such as vivid promotion plans, distinct regulatory and accountability configuration, and employee supervision ease, such as scheme decreases the rate at which communication is relayed in an organization. Furthermore, enterprises that utilize flat techniques elevate their commercial visions and create additional contingencies for the success of their staff. The decreased quantity of layers leads to lesser misrepresentations and disruptions aside from streamlining the flow of communication within a company. It is worth noting that flatter configurations easily adapt to new changes and have a high flexibility level. However, for this technique to be effective, team managers ought to be tolerant and open to other personnel. They should fairly disseminate data and research to all employees minus bias or resentment to specific individuals. Nonetheless, the flat model equally possesses some weaknesses. A typical disadvantage of this method is its relatively vague nature. To put in other words, it at times creates a significant level of ambivalence, especially when particular staff fails to identify how and what to expect in discharging their mandate. In addition, specific personnel bears more responsibility

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in relaying communication in an organization. By the same measure, supervisors are prone to overworking in situations where several employees submit excessive information for monitoring. In spite of this, the MediSys Company ought to implement this structure due to its relevance in limiting the varying problems it encounters. Consequently, it would boost the rate of product development, decision making tasks, and streamline communication flow within the organization. In terms of evaluation processes, the company benchmarks its personnel depending on their efficiency in the functional sectors. Consequently, they lack the motivation of working in other departments apart from their functional locations. To eliminate this challenge, the organization can integrate the individual performance of its staff together with the objectives of the company. The preceding measure would elevate the commercial output of the concerned company. It is observed that in most organizations that integrate their organizational objectives with the performance of their workforce, staff members attain a personal stake in such a firm’s productivity. Employees are able to comprehend how their individual actions contribute to the fulfillment of their organization’s objectives and financial gains. Not to forget, this technique would allow MediSys to establish the performance of its specific staff. To attain this, the equilibrium evaluation technique developed by David Norton and Kober Kaplan can be used by the company (Donnellon & Margolis, 2009). This equitable scorecard utilizes financial outputs to assess the outputs of past procedures and its effects on the company’s improvement tasks, innovative index, internal activities, and gratification of clients. It is prudent to note that these functional measures are facilitators of the financial productivity of the organization’s future processes. In addition, they permit team leaders to compare the performance of varying departments.

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In like manner, the company should ensure strategy becomes everyone’s obligation. Therefore, personnel ought to focus on this measure to reap its effects. Corporations apply equitable scorecards to integrate the performance of their workforce with organizational strategies. Through this technique, managers can link personnel compensations with incentives, establish both the corporate and personal objectives, and initiate organizational strategic perception. However, it is crucial for all employees to comprehend this technique well before applying it. Particularly, the senior personnel of MediSys ought to relay its relevance, especially to lower-level workers. Lastly, an equitable personal scorecard created at the individual level can be applied by the executive personnel of MediSys to exemplify the aims of both the team and staff members. Relative to team scorecards, this tool assesses individual metrics, objectives, and targets of a worker in relation to the growth, learning, internal operations, and financial performance of an organization.

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References Donnellon, A., & Margolis, J. D. (2009). MediSys Corp: the IntensCare product development team. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Publishing. Robbins, P.S. & Judge, T., A. (2016). Organizational behavior, London: Pearson....