HBR Case Study Analysis: Contemporary Management

This HBR case study analysis delves into the importance of effective management techniques, ethical code of conduct, and workplace diversity. It discusses the conflicts arising from merging different cultures and the negative impact of internal conflicts on employees. The analysis also covers the critical analysis of the work process, resolutions to the conflicting issues, and recommendations for integrating the top-level management structure. The subject is contemporary management, and the course code and college/university are not mentioned.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT
HBR Case study analysis
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Executive summary
Management is one of the basic concepts, which maintains the balance between the business
operations. One of the basic functions of management is regulating and controlling the
performance of the employees. However, if the managers indulge in internal conflicts, the
employees encounter confusions regarding their roles and responsibilities. The case study is
one such example from which the companies and organizations need to take lessons.
Application of ethical code of conduct is necessary in terms of averting the issues of
conflicts, discriminations and harassments. Moreover, it is also fruitful in terms of enhancing
the workplace diversity. Consciousness towards this enhancement upgrades the professional
standards of the managers.

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Table of contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Conflicting values at stake.........................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of the work process.........................................................................................4
Resolutions to the conflicting issues..........................................................................................7
Recommendation for working out the integration details of the top level management
structure......................................................................................................................................8
Effectiveness of the managerial and organizational theories...................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References and bibliography....................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Management is an important aspect within the business issues. Adopting effective
management techniques enhances the standards and quality of the business activities.
Management, in the present competitive scenario, can be defined as the initiative towards
attaining a higher position from the contemporaries (Wilkinson, Redman & Dundon, 2016).
Here, management refers to consistent evaluation, which possesses flexibility towards
regulation and control of the business activities. This assignment peeks into the approach of
the managers in terms of securing the market position.
Discussion
Conflicting values at stake
Merging of two different cultures is next to impossible within business. However,
merging different cultures enhances the cultural diversity, which is accounted as one of the
essential managerial functions. Organizational culture is one such aspect, which the managers
need to cater. This is in terms of attracting large number of clients and customers. Selection
of top level managers was one of the biggest obstacles. Conducting meetings proves
appropriate in terms of mitigating the conflicts and misunderstandings (Currie, Gormley,
Roche & Teague, 2017). Confusion of the staffs regarding their roles and responsibilities puts
their employment at stake. These confusions puts Steves’ employment at stake.
Cultural differences between the managers destroys the core workplace values. This
creates negative lessons for the employees. Herein, the Ethical Code of Conduct is negated,
as the higher authorities are themselves violating the norms. This negation adversely affects
the beliefs, attitude and behaviour of the employees towards the business aspects.

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Hostile relationship between the Steve and Kasper puts the management of the
workplace at stake. This indicates improper execution of the activities (Bratton & Gold,
2017). Internal conflicts between the managers destroys the integrity of the organizational
structure. This destruction contradicts the aspects of Sebercientific Theory of Management.
Especially, it contradicts the aspects of efficiency, productivity among others. The confusion
created within the employees can be considered as a deviation towards the propositions of the
Henry Fayol’s Administratitve Theory. This is because confusion creates chaos, compelling
the staffs to deviate from the identified goals and objectives. Within the administration,
culture occupies an important position. Careless attitude towards catering to the
administration, degrades the personality of the managers (Shields et al., 2015).
Confusions within the staffs increases communication gap, which is one of the major
issues in mergers and acquisition. These gaps create discrepancies in the structure. Improper
dissemination of the messages results in the achievement of negative outcomes within the
business activities, Aligning with the case study, the hostile communication between the
managers puts the employees at confusion regarding carrying out the activities. This indicates
one of the other challenges in the merger and acquisition is employee retention. Hostility
among the managers creates negative vibes within the employees, making the retention
difficult (Allen, Porter & Angle, 2015). This approach contradicts the aspects of Elton
Mayo’s Behavioural Theory of Management. Internal conflicts is against the characteristic
features of a manager. Moreover, it puts their professionalism at stake.
Critical analysis of the work process
Trading off the positions to the new organizations seemed beneficial in terms of
acquiring the mergers and acquisitions in a proper manner. The position considered here was
the top level managers. One of the CEO’s insisted on leading the HR operations in the
European markets. Strategizing globalization just after trading off new positions is

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inappropriate. This is because of training, which is needed in terms of making the new
candidates aware of the internal and external environment. Steve’s nervousness is against the
propositions of Behavioural Theory of Management (Saundry, Latreille & Ashman, 2016).
This is because the managers need to be confident about the strategy, which they are using
for conducting the marketing activities. Collapsing stock prices is the major drive behind this
nervousness. In this sense, nervousness is obvious, however, the managers need to be
conscious about the business conditions. This nervousness acts as a deviation from the
Administrative Theory of Management. This is because the managers expose negligent
approach towards managing the administration. The immediate outcome of this was
employee turnover, which made the CEO surprise. This surprise is again a deviation of the
aspects of Behavioral Theory of Management, as it is evident that falling stock prices would
compel the employees to switch over (Mishra, Chaudhary, Sharma & Mehendale, 2018).
9 to 5 mentality aligns with the essential characteristics of a workaholic. This also
proves true in case of a manager. Consciousness towards complexities in the staffing
decisions aligns with the behavioural tendencies of a manager. Concerns regarding retaining
the key people aligns with the consideration that the employees are the prime stakeholders
affecting the profit and loss of the company. Determination towards resolving the employee
retention issues indicates strategic approach towards management of the key people. Typical
examples of this is the plans regarding IQ tests on emotional intelligence (Baillien, Bollen,
Euwema & De Witte, 2014). In all of these, the main aim was enhance the reputation.
Conducting these tests was an attempt to influence the behaviour of the employees in terms
of moulding into the requirements of the workplace. In spite of all the operations, the
question regarding who is in charge of what activities, raises questions on the strategic
approach of the personnel towards the execution of the business activities.

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It is surely unwise of Steve to make the decisions now and later on try to modify
them. On the contrary, this is actually the correct approach towards undertaking decisions.
Implementing the decisions makes the personnel aware of the different approaches towards it.
Gaining an insight into the approaches assists the personnel in undertaking decisions for the
future courses of action (Gilin Oore, Leiter & LeBlanc, 2015). This approach aligns with the
scientific theory of management, as it is the strategies, which enables the personnel to execute
the decision-making process efficiently and effectively. However, time management is
necessary in terms of averting the delays within the project related activities. Time is crucial
in the business aspects. Negligence towards time means neglecting the needs of clients and
the customers. Planning to solve the issues related to decisions later, indicates lackadaisical
approach in terms of urgency within the business activities (Rahim, 2017).
One of the issues in the mergers and acquisition is that it does not create the expected
value for the shareholders. Shareholders enhance the cultural diversity within the workplace.
If value cannot be generated then the business and employment does not hold any
significance. Timely strategies are beneficial in terms of preventing the instances of customer
and employee turnover. Planning proves appropriate in terms of systematizing the activities
according to the priorities and requirements. Planning and strategies are important aspects
within the administration. Absence of shareholder value within merger and acquisition
reflects improper approach towards maintenance and management of the key people (Bolman
& Deal, 2017).
Communication plan, evaluation and selection process aligns with the components,
which are needed in terms of gaining the appropriate labour. Communication plan can be
considered as an attempt to mitigate the fears within the employees regarding confusions
related to the execution of the tasks. Plans regarding appraisal seems beneficial for Steve in
terms of assessing the competencies of the employees towards the allocated duties and

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responsibilities. Conducting personality tests aligns with the Behavioural Theory of
Management. Consciousness of the managers towards conducting the personality tests
reflects the initiatives towards preparing the employees for venturing into the path of
leadership (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
Resolutions to the conflicting issues
Planning is one of the major solutions towards resolving any conflicting issues.
Within the plans, communication occupies a major portion, as discussions with the team
members possesses flexibility to solve half to the problem. As a matter of specification,
discussing the issues with the team members enhance the perspectives of the managers,
enabling them to undertake effective decisions for the betterment of the organization.
Involving the stakeholders and shareholders in the decision-making process seems fruitful in
terms of gaining an insight into their opinions regarding the allocated duties and
responsibilities. Sending the proposed decisions to the higher authorities would assist in
carrying out the tasks efficiently and effectively. Moreover, it would avert any illegal
instances.
Revisions to the plan is essential in terms of improving the standards and quality of
the business activities. For doing the revisions, previous annual reports need to be considered.
In this revision, the presence of the top level managers is necessary, as the operations would
be conducted according to their instructions. However, if there are discrepancies in the
structural hierarchy, the integrated structure of the operations would be disrupted. Therefore,
the selection of the managers need to be properly executed for applying effective monitoring
the operations. Failure to conduct strategic planning would result in a chaotic situation, where
the employees would encounter confusion regarding their roles and responsibilities.
Therefore, training needs to be conducted for briefing the employees about their duties.

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Strategies need to be conducted for systematizing the activities according to the
priorities. Inclusion of time management within the preparation of strategies would reflect
consideration of Scientific Theory of Management. Developing goals and setting time limits
for achieving the goals would avert the delays in completing the projects and delivering the
orders to the clients and the customers. One of the obvious aspects in the workplace is
conflicts, harassments, discrimination and misunderstanding. All these destroy the congenial
workplace environment. Along with this, it also creates negative vibes within the employees
regarding fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. The case study highlights the internal
conflicts between the managers, which is itself against the workplace ethics that it does not
generate positive vibes in case of the employees. Violating the norms is a distortion of the
Behavioural Theory of Management. The managers need to encourage and motivate the
employees, so that they can perform their duties in an efficient and effective manner.
One of the essential functions of a manager is to control the behaviour of the
employees. In this control, they share their knowledge, experience and skills with the
employees. This knowledge transfer seems beneficial in terms of mitigating the knowledge
gaps. When conflicts occur, it is the prime responsibility of the managers to resolve them.
Herein lays the appropriateness of Ethical Code of Conduct, which needs to be strongly
implemented within the workplace. Statutory bodies need to be involved in the managing the
workplace activities. This intervention would be an external assistance in maintaining the
integrity of the workplace environment.
Recommendation for working out the integration details of the top level management
structure
Centralization can be adopted in terms of undertaking effective decisions regarding
top level management. For this, the top level managers need to be highly skilled, as the profit
and loss of the organization depends on their decision. However, sometimes centralization

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leads to ineffective decision making, degrading the personality of the top level managers.
Ineffective decision-making contradicts the propositions of theory of planned behaviour and
reasoned actions. Reason and judgment are the two most important components of a
managers’ behaviour.
Board of directors can indulge in meetings for deciding the current performance of the
managers and their maintenance. Revisions would indicate innovations within the managerial
posts. The decisions undertaken can be disseminated to the managers through the form of
meetings. These meetings would reflect transparency in the business processes, assuring the
managers that their values and opinions holds significance in the business operations. One to
one discussion can be conducted with the managers for maintaining the privacy of their
responses.
Formalization can also be adopted by the CEOs. This would assist the higher
authorities in predicting the behaviour of the managers towards the allocated duties and
responsibilities. The major drive behind this is the explicit representation of the policies,
procedures and job descriptions. Dominance of this representation would act assistance in
terms of controlling the behaviour of managers. Initiatives need to be taken by the CEOs
towards making the policies and procedures clear to the managers, so that they can transmit it
further to the employees. Adhering to the integrated process helps in the achievement of
positive outcomes and would reduce the chance of conflicts, harassments, misunderstandings
among others.
Scientific theory of management would reflect in the consideration of the different
type of structures while planning the hierarchy. This would be dependent on the nature of
operations and the flexibility of the personnel in handling the operations. Here, the role of the
CEO is prime in terms of deciding which type of structure would be implemented in the

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workplace. Bureaucracy theory of management can be implemented in terms of assessing the
effectiveness, appropriateness and feasibility of the decisions. This assessment is crucial for
examining the bureaucratic structure and its effectiveness on the business operations.
Departmentalization would be effective for the CEO in terms of equal allocation of
the resources and tasks among the staffs. The CEOs need to make planning about allotting the
charge of specific departments to the managers. This allocation would result in the
upgradation of the individual departmental units. If strategic planning is conducted, slowly
and gradually it would result in the growth and development of the workplaces. The plans
proposed need to be informed to the higher authorities for gaining their approval, which helps
in preventing the illegal instances and scandals.
Records need to be maintained for the decisions undertaken for the top level
management. Record keeping policies and procedures can be referred for proper execution of
the managerial duties and responsibilities. These records would be beneficial in terms of
revising the policies and practices in future.
Effectiveness of the managerial and organizational theories
Scientific theory of management proves beneficial in terms of exposing judgmental
approach towards decision-making process. Along with this, the theory is appropriate in
terms of developing appropriate strategies for executing the business activities according to
the requirements. Consciousness towards executing the tasks according to the requirements is
required from the higher authorities, which brings behavioural theory of management into the
discussion. This consciousness can be considered as the reasoned action from the managers in
terms of enhancing the efficiency of the business. However, internal conflicts between the
CEO negates the aspects of scientific theory of management, theory of planned action and
reasoned behaviour in the case study.

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Bureaucratic theory of management reflects the actual management structure, which
needs to prevail within the workplace. However, rationality within the bureaucratic decisions
is necessary in terms of regulating the employee performance. Absence of rationality
indicates immature behaviour, making the managers inappropriate amidst the workplace
scenario. This aspect contradicts the behavioural theory of management. However,
behavioural science is crucial for the managers in terms of disseminating the correct and the
appropriate information to the employees. Internal conflicts degrade the personality of the
managers, making them a mocking stuff before the employees. These conflicts destroy the
congenial workplace environment. It is at this stage, administrative theory is needed in terms
of maintaining the balance between the business operations. Meetings is one of the means,
through which the higher authorities can assess the effectiveness of the plans towards
managing the administration.
Conclusion
Internal conflicts between the managers degrades the congenial workplace
environment. These conflicts also creates negative vibes among the employees regarding
execution of the allocated duties and responsibilities. The case study is a typical exemplar of
how the managers demotivate the employees. Negotiation means need to be adopted in terms
of resolving the conflicts. Strategic planning is needed in terms of creating the personnel of
the top level managers.

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References and bibliography
Allen, R. W., Porter, L. W., & Angle, H. L. (2015). Organizational Dynamics and
Intervention: Tools for Changing the Workplace: Tools for Changing the Workplace.
Routledge.
Anderson, N., Potočnik, K., & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A
state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding
framework. Journal of management, 40(5), 1297-1333.
Baillien, E., Bollen, K., Euwema, M., & De Witte, H. (2014). Conflicts and conflict
management styles as precursors of workplace bullying: A two-wave longitudinal
study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(4), 511-524.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage
learning.
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conflict: Contrasting pathways in the HRM literature. International Journal of
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Dalton, M. (2017). Men who manage: Fusions of feeling and theory in administration.
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Dhar, R. L. (2015). Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of
organizational commitment. Tourism Management, 46, 419-430.

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Einarsen, S., Skogstad, A., Rørvik, E., Lande, Å. B., & Nielsen, M. B. (2018). Climate for
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Folger, J., Poole, M. S., & Stutman, R. K. (2017). Working through conflict: Strategies for
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Psychology/psychologie canadienne, 56(3), 301.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
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Mishra, A., Chaudhary, A., Sharma, H., & Mehendale, S. (2018). Impact of Conflict
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of Management, 9(1), 853-858.
Rahim, M. A. (2017). Managing conflict in organizations. Routledge.
Saeed, T., Almas, S., Anis-ul-Haq, M., & Niazi, G. S. K. (2014). Leadership styles:
relationship with conflict management styles. International Journal of Conflict
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Saundry, R., Latreille, P., & Ashman, I. (Eds.). (2016). Reframing Resolution: Innovation
and Change in the Management of Workplace Conflict. Springer.

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Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., ... &
Plimmer, G. (2015). Managing employee performance & reward: Concepts,
practices, strategies. Cambridge University Press.
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management: text and cases. Pearson Higher Ed.