Concluding Case
In the case study, The Law Offices of Jeter, Jackson, Guidry, and Boyer we can see the firm growing and during that process many components were not looked into or analyzed. When the evolution began, the firm’s main focus and vision was put aside and the result was that it began to lose its essence, employee morale, and its customers. In regards to Howser’s suggestion to just “sit tight and ride out the storm” I would have to disagree and believe that the partners should get involved immediately. The decision to just do nothing and let it try to correct itself is an inadequate statement to make. The partnership can take that in many ways, but the fact of the matter is that it shows no interest or an attitude of “I don’t care”. For this, the partnership has to get involved because Howser’s attitude is straining the partnership and the employees. The partners should have Howser step aside so that new changes can be implemented to bring the business back to its core to bring back the organizational structure that was in place, where the employee morale was high and business was growing. Obviously, the main focus by the partners should be on looking for ways to improve the internal relationships first and then proceed externally.
To better the morale within the company, they have to go back and implement the flexible schedules to the employees and offer rewards, more freedom and independence to make decisions on their own, thus empowering the staff. The focus should not only be in one location, but the message should be spread throughout the three towns that they have offices in as well as seek ways to augment and maintain the customer base by looking for ways to offer better services, and this is where empowering the employees could prove beneficial. With our current society and where a business succeeds or fails depends on understanding, approaching and taking care of its customer base, it is important to address the issue of the customer (Simonds, 2013). There are many ways in which a customer could be provided with better service and one could be that of the payments for the services rendered.
This would be because of the demanding of payment from their customers which have been loyal for many years, they have sought other businesses. With the most important piece to keep its client base which can be done by offering a discount if payment is paid early could help or maybe offer the ability for the businesses to delay their payments after all, they have always paid, even if they took months to pay. With the company having internal and external issues, the partners have to address them to look for ways to get the trust back from the communities that they serve the business partners and their own employees. They would have to be ideas in which all areas are involved which could be by offering educational programs for the immediate community, thus putting out the name and in the process rebuilding the trust that it had before the transition period. And this could be achieved by having the employees volunteer their time or pay them, again providing the employee with the freedom and flexibility to do as they choose, after all, the company is only as good as its employees.
After looking into the various leadership styles and types and looking into the current situation of the company and where it’s heading certain type would bode well. That would be that of the style being a transformational leader. This leadership style brings with it social equality that it’s lacking as well as the flexibility that seems to be the most important part of its success. This leadership style would be best to bring in, after Howser changed his style to that of an authoritarian leader which proved to be unsuccessful due to his decisions. And basing it on his prejudices and judgments (Cherry, 2013), and not taking into account the partnership and this by saying, “sit tight and ride out the storm”. With the individual having a transformational leadership style, positive relationships within could be maintained and in turn this would help the employees in improving their performance by this transformational leadership style. Due to their various strengths, transformational leaders have the ability to adapt (adaptability) and make difficult decisions when necessary (Hogg, 2012).
This leader type can help mitigate the change by explaining to the employees of why it’s needed thus bringing on board the employees and certainty of their support as well as being open minded. This leadership type is always and willing to adapt to challenges and with the constantly changing business environment, is crucial. More so, by having the ability to make tough decisions could mean success, because the decisions of a transformational leader are set to their vision, values, goals and objectives. In regards to my leadership style (participative leader), I’d be prone to seek ways to garner the support of the entire staff. A participative leader makes the final decision, but takes into consideration the team members and may be a slow process (Leadership styles: Choosing the Right Style for the Situation, 1996-2013), but with the current situation, proceeding methodically would be the best course of action. This way, positive relationships could be created because it would lead to the employees speaking and in turn would allow me to listen and get the feedback. At this point, the approach that the company wants to take and move forward with would be communicated so that they would not feel left out of the equation, but rather part of the solution. Next the GM position would be brought up and why it would be the best decision for the future of the organization. With this, feedback would also be received from the staff which would allow the facilitation of communication amongst the entire staff. References
Cherry, K. (2013). What Is Autocratic Leadership? Retrieved October 25, 2013, from psychology.about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/autocratic-leadership.htm Hogg, B. (2012, March 13). 10 Characteristics of Transformational Leaders. Retrieved October 26, 2013, from www.billhogg.ca: http://www.billhogg.ca/2012/03/10-characteristics-of-transformational-leaders/ Leadership styles: Choosing the Right Style for the Situation. (1996-2013). Retrieved October 23, 2013, from www.mindtools.com: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm Simonds, L. (2013, July 9). The 4 Keys to Killer Customer Service. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from business.time.com: http://business.time.com/2013/07/09/the-4-keys-to-killer-customer-service-2/
