Brandon Newbridge was sitting alone in the conference room of the laboratory. The rest of the group had gone. One of the support staff members had stopped and talked for a while about her husband’s coming enrolment in graduate school. Brandon, now alone in the laboratory, slid a little further down in his chair, looking with satisfaction at the results of the first test run of the new photon unit…………………………………
…..Goh did not make any attempt to meet Newbridge. In a way, he felt aggrieved about the whole thing. Zapf, too, was surprised at the suddenness Newbridge’s departure. When Goh asked Zapf whether he preferred to stay with the photon group instead of the new project for the Air Force, he chose the Air Force project and went on to that job the following week. The photon lab was hard hit. The leadership of the lab was given to Link with the understand that this would be temporary until someone could come in to take over.
Introduction
In an organization, the behavior of the management with employees should be favorable. Good organizational behavior provides a lead to employee retention and work sustainability. Good organizational behavior forms a good organizational culture that improves business sustainability and performance. Many factors are affecting organizational behavior, and these entire factors are visible in this particular case. In this case analysis, it seems interesting to demonstrate a particular organizational behavior that goes against a talented and experienced employee. The most important thing is to identify the problem and causes through comprehensive case analysis. The purpose is to find and streamline some solutions to eliminate the issue. Organizational behavior should be pertinent to retain the best employees, and it should be one of the top priorities of an organization.
The Problem (Employee Dissatisfaction & Turnover)
Simmons Laboratories is in the limelight due to the research and development process. The firm invests in the research and development process to derive some new outputs and differentiate the process from other rivals. To meet this purpose, the firm intends to improve the internal workforce and culture. For Instance, it promotes top performers and streamlines efforts to enhance the visibility of the motivation. Brandon Newbridge is a key stakeholder of the company, works in a group in the lab. He is leading a group of different members, who have been assigned different tasks and responsibilities. Dr. William Goh, head of the lab, has promoted Brandon Newbridge as a project head in the next project. It created the sense of accomplishment or achievement for Brandon Newbridge. He was satisfied with his performance and the company’s behavior, and therefore, he always wanted to spend more time in the lab. The organizational behavior changed when Dr. William Goh hired Lester Zapf, and included him, in the team without mutual concerns. Even without telling stakeholders about his position in the team, he included Lester Zapf. Initially, Brandon Newbridge welcomed him in the team. However, with time, he came to know that it Lester Zapf was the replacement. It was Dr. William Goh’s plan to replace Brandon Newbridge. It led towards dissatisfaction in the group. Brandon Newbridge was dismantled from the leadership role. He resigned without an exit interview.
Simmons Laboratories disgraced the top group leader and lab expert to gain personal benefits. The company appreciated and admired the performance and contribution for a while and then changed its behavior. It is a major problem and is a major lead to employee turnover. It seems tough to retain or sustain top employees in the company. Now is the best time to identify some causes of this issue. It seems imperative now how lab head changed his mind. On the other hand, it is also important to investigate the core reason for dissatisfaction.
Causes of the Problem
Several causes of dissatisfaction for Brandon Newbridge are visible in this case. Following are some key causes of the problem
· Impairment of Self Concept
The impairment of the self-concept is the main cause of this issue. It can be understood by illustrating the four selves of self-concept. The four selves of the self-concept are self-enhancement, self-verification, self-evaluation, and social self. In Simmons Laboratories, Brandon Newbridge maintained his positive behavior. He seemed a positive group leader, and accordingly, promoted the positivity in the group. However, Lester Zapf came in and destroyed the positivity due to his unnecessary intervention in the work process. Also, the entry of Lester Zapf in the lab suppressed the self-affirmation of the group leader regarding work excellence, ability, credibility, and responsibility. The big factor in self-control is the locus of control. Due to personal preferences of the lab head, the head of the project squandered the self-focus, which created a negative impact on the group work or performance. Social- Self-comes into life when a group member or leader defines himself in the work environment. Due to extensive knowledge of Lester Zapf, the project head was not able to express his intentions to lead the group. Thus, the self-concept was destroyed that provided a lead to this problem.
· Job dissatisfaction
The employee dissatisfaction was due to job dissatisfaction. It is a second cause of the problem. In this case, Lester Zapf took control of the whole lab. Intentionally, he defined new roles for group members. Brandon Newbridge saw this coming in the lab, and it provided him with reason to depict its dissatisfaction. However, he could have depicted his dissatisfaction, but restrained due to the control of the upper management. He could not afford to lose control of the work being an existing leader. Thus, he decided to leave the company.
· Management Preferences
The big reason for this problem is the favorable management preferences. These favorable management preferences did not motivate the project head. Brandon Newbridge involved four drivers to gain success. For instance, drive to acquire, drive to bond, drive to learn, and drive to defend are four drives, which create an impact on the motivation. Concerning the drive to acquire, Brandon Newbridge tried to keep control of the group process due to experience and his role. This intervention hit this drive that causes dissatisfaction. It is a fact that Brandon Newbridge knew how to control the group because he understood the US cultural norms and integration with the culture of the company. He wanted to drive the strong bind or integrity in the group. However, the lab head wants to disband the team that created the individualistic culture. It goes against both the group and Brandon but in favor of Lester Zapf and lab head. The four-drive theory also depicts the drive to learn. However, due to this intervention by the lab head, learning opportunities were eliminated. The drive to defend is also a part of the four-drive theory, and it can be aligned with this particular case. For Instance, Brandon was not able to defend himself due to the limited knowledge than Lester. Therefore, he made this decision.
· Communication Gap
The communication gap was the cause of the problem. He was dismantled from his role in the group. Also, he was not satisfied with the network techniques of the new lab leader. Unfortunately, the company did not have any criteria to consider ideas, opinions, thoughts, and reservations. Due to this communication gap, he suffered from stress. The management, including Goh, was listening to Lester. The communication breakdown caused the lack of psychological safety in the organization. Ineffective or unequal top-down communication process eliminated the opportunity to raise concerns regarding this new and controversial work collaboration.
· Missing Leadership Effectiveness
Working in an organization and playing a role of the leadership needs some good leadership qualities and characteristics, including emotional intelligence, collaboration, decision making, and control. Brandon led a team for a while but failed to create effective followership. He intended to call meetings but canceled due to different opinions and intentions. Interestingly, the leadership traits of Goh were also controversial. For Instance, he tried to focus on the future, but failed to create a vision. He could communicate the vision with all key stakeholders in the company. If Goh was not replacing Brandon, he could communicate the future vision. On the other hand, Lester did not depict the knowledge of US culture. Having specialized knowledge is not enough. He could integrate with the cultural values to enclose emotional and sentimental attachments with team members, including Brandon.
· Relationship Conflict
In an organizational culture, relationship conflict may occur due to differences in personalities and job roles. It seems normal in an organization. However, the most important thing for the management of the company is to eliminate or minimize this conflict. Unfortunately, Brandon depicted the relationship conflict with Lester in the group. There was not an effective criterion to minimize relationship conflict. The team was not supportive and cohesive. Also, the lack of emotional intelligence increased contradictions between Brandon and Lester.
Ways to eliminate the problem
Now, Simmons Laboratories must focus on different ways to eliminate this organizational behavior issue. The implementation of these solutions is necessary to retain the best talent, increase satisfaction, and reduce employee turnover.
· Managerial Leadership
Managerial leadership is a key concept that is quite visible in the organizational process. It is key to improve the internal business process regarding employee handling, performance improvement, and job satisfaction. To avoid this issue, it is mandatory for Goh to initiate managerial leadership effectively. Instead of focusing on future visions or perspectives too early, he has to focus on daily work activities to improve the performance of employees. Every employee, despite of containing the extensive knowledge or skill, will be evaluated regarding his job contribution. Managerial leadership can depict the humble support for all subordinates to integrate with ideas and reservations.
· Open Discussion Policy
The open discussion policy can break the ice, especially when the company is operating without a good or suitable communication pattern. The open discussion policy with this company is workable because it allows employees or leadership at the bottom-line like Brandon to raise their voice. The intervention of Lester was unethical and unnecessary. Brandon can participate in the open discussion policy to illustrate the negative impact on the group, members and whole lab process. The open discussion policy is also good to have effective performance reviews. It can help derive performance insights and make decisions about the future roles of employees.
· Cross-Cultural Training
Transformational leadership and managerial leadership are interlarded with each other. Thus, playing the role of transformational leadership, Goh can introduce the cross-cultural training program. It is the best way to eliminate stereotypes and perceptions and let people understand the culture and respect each other. The relationship conflict between Lester and Brandon was due to cultural differences apart with the unclear role and replacement issues. Thus, the cross-cultural training can help employees like Lester and Brandon to find their places in the company and contribute in an effective manner
· Employee Retention Strategy
Another effective way to eliminate the issue is the implementation of several employee retention strategies. For example, instead of focusing on monetary benefits, the management can hire the right person at the right time at the initial stage of the project. The intervention of Lester in the group was a mistake, and it forced Brandon to leave the company. In modern organizations, employee motivation has been increased by reducing pain. The management is emotionally attached to employees, especially with top performers, to retain them in the company for the long run. Understanding the employee’s needs and working with them is a better retention strategy that can save Brandon.
· Ethical Culture
The last way to eliminate the issue is to create an ethical culture. It makes the management more responsible than employees. Ethically hiring a person and giving a rationale to all key stakeholders, including Brandon, is a good approach. In this case, Lester ‘s appointment seemed unethical. It was done intentionally, and employees (Top Performers) usually had no choice but to leave the organization.
Results
The result of all these solutions is positive for Simmons Laboratories. The prominent output that the company can gain is employee satisfaction and integrity. It is a fact that this company has to work on different projects in the future, and group cohesiveness is required. The firm can retain the best employees. Another advantage of all these solutions or strategies is the working consistency. Retaining employees, managerial leadership, cross-cultural training, ethical culture, and open discussion policy are ways for management to regulate employees and provide them with a platform to interact with the management and each other. The behavior of the management with Brandon was controversial despite having plans or vision. The company could do it differently to retain Brandon and enable consistent workflow. The result is performance improvement, effective communication, and employee sustainability at the end. Interestingly, the departure of Brando has helped the management identify some key weaknesses and opportunities. Now is the right time to use internal business resources to implement these strategies to improve the internal business process. The development of both organization and employees is necessary to emerge in the competitive landscape. By strengthening the internal business process or control, the firm can produce remarkable outputs.
Conclusion
In the end, it is to conclude that Simmons Laboratories can retain employees like Newbridge at the workplace. IT is good to use the experience and skills of an employee for a long run instead of prioritizing future planning. No doubt, future planning is a part of the business. However, the management cannot use it against the best performers in the company. It is a behavior which can be reinforced in the future. After a comprehensive analysis of the case, some causes of the problems and elaborated. Interestingly, these causes depict all key stakeholders. By using some organization behavior theories and concepts, these causes are described. By using the self-cognition and organization behavior perspective, key solutions are presented. It is time to change, and Simmons Laboratories is quite up to it.
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