Download Answer – Tim Aston had joined the company with a lot of motivation

The Reluctant Workers (Chapter 6, Page 294)
Case Study Questions:
1. Tim Aston had a normal expectation to be the "best project manager" in his new
assignment. What seems to have caused him to change his outlook?
Answer – Tim Aston had joined the company with a lot of motivation and ambition and had confidence in
his ability to delivery what was expected from a project manager’s role. However, over a period of time he
found out that he was not able to motivate or convince his project team to work in the best interests of the
project, and found that his views and requests were not being met in a very positive way by the
employees. Various initiatives that he was trying to implement and suggestions he was making for
improvement were being turned down and not being taken up by the team or his colleagues. Due to all
these reasons his motivation levels dipped causing him to change his outlook about being the best project
manager.
2. What approaches would you take to improve communications between Tim and the team
members?
Answer – Given that Tim is a new employee, he is almost considered as an outsider in the company,
where people have been working for a long time and in a particular manner they are used to. Most of the
employees are much older and a lot more experienced than him, and probably in senior positions, due to
which they would not want to be ordered or told what to do by Tim. The first thing that Tim should do is to
gain the confidence, respect and trust of his team members by showing that he is knowledgeable,
professional and a good person. This relationship building would ensure that he is able to make healthy
working relationships with his team. Post this, he should engage in a very democratic, open and
participative style of management, where he includes the team, engages with them and involves them in
major decision making for the project. This would help the team become involved in the project, see that
they are working in a team, accept Tim as one of them, and over a period of time help improve the
communications within the project team.
3. If you were in Tim’s position and were listening to his manager, Phil Davies, refer more
than one time to the average age of the staff, what would be your reaction? How would
you use this information to improve your working relationships with the staff?
Answer –Phil Davies referred to the average age of the staff more than once and was hinting about the
employees being much senior and not inclined to listen to Phil who was very much a junior. If I was in
Time’s position, I would analyze this in relation to the way the staff was reacting to the various
suggestions given and also the amount of motivation and commitment that they had towards the project.
This would help me better understand the situation and appreciate why there is lack of expected
response. I would use this information to make my communication, team motivation and planning
strategies, and change my approach that would hopefully lead to a mutually value creating relationship
that is based on respect and trust.
4. Tim seems positioned to respect the customer’s wishes to attend a test. How would you
(as his manager) counsel him about honoring or rejecting that request? Support your
answer with examples of managing customer relations.
Answer – As Tim’s manager I would encourage him to work in the best interests of the customer, and by
all means organize a test of the customer wants to. However, I would talk with him to plan the test better,
like checking on the availability of the team and project readiness before he confirms and schedules a
date for the test. In this case, as Tim has already scheduled a test, and there are conflicts in availability
due t planned leaves, I would suggest to Tim that he talk with the customer, and plans for a different date,
explaining to them that people are on planned leave, and hence it would be better if the customer visits
once they are back. This would be a good way of managing customer relations where Tim would be
maintaining a good relationship due to proactive and responsive communication, while setting the right
expectations in a professional manner, which would lead to a fruitful and value creating long term
relationship with customers.
5. Phil Davies said, "...people think that they come first and that the project is second." What
message is he really conveying? What does Tim seem to be missing in his next statement
or reply?
Answer – Through his statement that says how people approach work in the organization, Phil is trying
tell Tim about the organizational culture, structure and organizational dynamics that exist in the
organization. He was also trying to tell that the way people approach their work, and where their priorities
lie, which is very important to understand why they are behaving in that manner. In his next statement,
Tim does not consider what Phil has said about the way the people work at the company, and again
complains that people do not seek or suggest if they need any help. He should have probably observed
from Phil’s initial statement that the project team suffers from a will issue and not a skill issue and hence
the problem has to be addressed in a different manner.