Analyzing Relationship Management in Business: A Case Study

This essay analyzes the importance of relationship management in a business context, using a case study of Sheila Baker, a production controller facing team challenges. It explores the significance of effective communication, teamwork, and coordination, highlighting the lack of these elements within the team. The essay proposes various relationship management strategies, including establishing clear communication channels, promoting teamwork, and guiding the team toward common goals. It emphasizes the need for interpersonal skills and mutual respect among team members. The essay also delves into relevant theoretical concepts, specifically Belbin's team role theory, to enhance team effectiveness. Furthermore, it outlines ways to make relationship management approaches more effective, such as active listening, open communication, and regular training. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and reinforces the benefits of effective relationship management for business success, emphasizing the need for clear roles, responsibilities, and team building.

Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Different actions taken by manager........................................................................................3
Measures to improve relationship management processes.....................................................4
Relevant theoretical concepts.................................................................................................5
Ways to make relationship management approaches more effective.....................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In a business it is essential to have proper management over employee and other relations
so as to have efficient flow of information and to cover up all the business flaws in considerable
manner. Effective business environment is required to have high performance of business and
employee as well. A manage is having major responsibility to enhance business relations and for
measures are to be taken. Relationship management approaches are used by business manager in
order to enhance team building skills and internal communication with the view to motivate
employees and avoid any confusion in roles and responsibilities. This essay is written for a case
study which is based on Sheila Baker, she is doing job of production controller and facing so
many issues. This essay is the sum of those approaches which could be used by the management
to resolve those major issues and have effective management over relationship in business
organisation (Manning and et. al., 2016).
Different actions taken by manager
From the situation given in this case, it is viable that there is lack of Effective
communication, Teamwork and co-ordination between the team members. The senior experience
researchers being higher in age as well as experience they are not ready to accept Sheila being
less experience as manager and moreover the team consists of both experienced and junior
researchers there should have proper understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities.
The research workers do not properly understand the importance of other team member’s
contribution. Below given relationship management strategies and actions can be taken to
overcome the situation: -
a. Effective Communication: - Sheila should establish a two-way formal and proper
communication with team altogether and clear roles and responsibilities of each
member and provide the importance of each other’s role in achieving the
organizational goal to avoid any conflicts internally.
b. Teamwork: - There should be proper teamwork hierarchy established between team
such that everyone has each other’s back and consider the responsibility ultimately of
team instead of individually.

c. Guide them towards common Goal: - It is important for Sheila to guide the team
members towards one common organizational goal so that it can help in establishing
proper coordination and teamwork between team members.
d. Focus on Interpersonal Skills: - from this situation, it can be seen that it was first
time Sheila came across challenging work so to tackle this kind of situation Sheila
should improve her communication, relationship management and interpersonal skills
to get team members believing into her and improving relationship and also keep the
team members motivated (Giappone, 2017).
Measures to improve relationship management processes
The above-proposed Relationship Management Strategies can lead Sheila in improving
the current working environment and managing the team members effectively in below
mentioned ways:-
a. Developing Mutual Respect: - There is lack of mutual respect currently between
team members, therefore effective communication of importance of role and
contribution of each team member to whole team will lead to mutual respect for each
other among team. This will lead to trust between team member and listening of each
other’s ideas (Chang, 2016) .
b. Clear Understanding of roles and responsibilities: - Effective communication
might help every team member in understanding each other’s roles and
responsibilities towards achieving the common organizational goal and this will result
in avoiding confusions and improve coordination between team and will result into
effective teamwork.
c. Motivated Team: - Since all the major problems would be taken care, team members
will be concentrated towards their work and complete focus will be devoted towards
achieving common organizational goal. Motivation of team would result in achieving
organizational goals effectively and efficiently
d. Effective Communication: - Once the members are clear on their roles and
responsibilities there will not be any grudges and confusions between sender and

receiver so, this will lead to effective communication i.e. through proper mode,
proper way and proper information, in the best possible manner.
e. Increase in trust and developing work friendly environment: - This all steps
would ultimately lead to better trust and understanding among team member as they
will understand each other’s ideas patiently and that will develop a happy work
friendly environment (Lin, Su and Higgins, 2016).
Relevant theoretical concepts
The above case study is highly focused on ineffective team building as Sheila was not
able to make her team understand about their roles and responsibilities which created confusion
among team members and lead the situation of conflicts. Sheila is handling product development
unit under which research is being conducted on regular basis. In order to manage the team
effective team work approaches is required to use (Ruch and et. al., 2018). Sheila realised that
her team mates are very rigid to perform effective communication as they were not happy to face
any interference of other person in their job role which made the teams ineffective and less
productive. With this issue Belbin’s theory proven to be most effective, this is elaborated as
under:
Belbin’s team role theory
This theory is having nine roles which a team is required to possess in order to become
effective and avoid any sort of confusion in roles and responsibilities. By using this theory in
organisation the manager can perform and execute roles and responsibilities is more prominent
manner by which high success can be achieved by the business. These nine roles are enumerated
as under:
a) Shaper
b) Implementer
c) Completer Finisher
d) Coordinator
e) Team Worker
f) Resource Investigator
g) Plant

h) Monitor Evaluator
i) Specialist
This theory exhibits the way of team behaviour in the business by which tendency to build
strong team can be enhanced. By using these roles in her organisation Sheila can integrate their
teams and team mates which will enhance teamwork and individual responsibility. This leads to
have positive growth of business in marketplace and attainment of high sustainability (Oke and
et. al., 2016).
Ways to make relationship management approaches more effective
In a business it is highly required that relationship approaches should be effectively
managed so as to enhance their impact on business as increasing in profitability and overall
efficacy. There are certain ways by relationship management approaches can be enhanced which
are elaborated as under:
Hear to arguments of each team mates: Each team member is equally important for the
team and for the business so in order to make relationship management approaches more
effective grievances of team member should be heard in such a manner that they feel free to
share their argument and come up with their query (Hawkins, 2017).
Open communication channels: Employees are assets of the organisation, and open
communication helps to enhance their efficiency as they do not face any restricted zone within
workplace. So it is necessary for the manager to have one to one communication with team
mates and establish open communication channels in order to get more effective relationship
management.
Regular training and development sessions: In organisation daily training sessions are
required to be organised so as to render full information about roles and responsibilities to
employee and enhance their skills in order to achieve business objective in effective manner. By
organising training sessions effectiveness of relationship management can be enhanced.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that relationship management is an essentials
aspect of business which is helpful for the organisation in enhance team work and manage
business objectives in prominent manner. There are several methods which can be used business
to enhance effectiveness of relationship management such as one to one communication or
effective team building. By use of Belbin’s team role model, team efficacy can be enhanced with
clear understanding of roles and responsibilities (Kim, 2019)
.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Chang, J.F., 2016. Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC
Press.
Giappone, C., 2017. Does It Pay to Be a Manager: The Significance of the Manager Role in
Analyzing Retaliation Claims under Title VII. . John's L. Rev., 91, p.981.
Hawkins, P., 2017. Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational
leadership. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kim, B., 2019. ICT-Based Business Communication with Customers in the 4th Industrial
Revolution Era. Business Communication Research and Practice. 2(2). pp.55-61.
Lin, H.F., Su, J.Q. and Higgins, A., 2016. How dynamic capabilities affect adoption of
management innovations. Journal of Business Research. 69(2). pp.862-876.
Manning and et. al., 2016. Place managers in entertainment districts: the role of third party
policing in shaping place manager actions. Policing and Society. 26(8). pp.889-906.
Oke and et. al., 2016. Importance of team roles composition to success of construction
projects. International Journal of Construction Project Management. 8(2). p.141.
Ruch, W., Gander, F., Platt, T. and Hofmann, J., 2018. Team roles: Their relationships to
character strengths and job satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 13(2). pp.190-199.