Organizational Structure, Leadership & Change: Lancia Case Study

This report analyzes the 'Consulting for George Lancia' case study, examining organizational behavior issues within the company. It identifies problems in organizational structure, including departmental conflicts, lack of clear communication, and unclear management roles. The report proposes changes such as restructuring leadership styles, improving communication strategies, and fostering employee engagement. It highlights interpersonal issues like poor communication and lack of leadership expertise, and analyzes how key players' attitudes and motivation impact the organization. The impact of Linda's leadership style is assessed, identifying its limitations in driving organizational change. The report suggests alternatives, including adopting transformational leadership and centralizing the organizational structure, and recommends a restructuring of the organizational structure along with conflict resolution strategies and the implementation of both online and offline communication portals. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of restructuring the organizational hierarchy, improving leadership, and addressing unrecognized concerns for better financial and operational performance.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Issues in organizational structure:..........................................................................................2
Required changes and proposal of change management:......................................................4
Interpersonal issues:...............................................................................................................5
Demonstration of attitudes and motivation by the key players and employees:....................6
Impact of Linda’s leadership on organizational changes:......................................................7
Alternatives:...........................................................................................................................7
Recommendations:.................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The study involving the performance of both individual and group performance in an
organization is known as organizational behaviour. In organization behaviour, the study helps
in examining the human behaviour within a working environment and depicts the influence
of performance, motivation, communication and leadership (Rothaermel, 2017). The three
categories of organizational behaviour are work groups (meso-level), micro-level which deals
with individuals within an organization and macro-level, which determines the behaviour of
the organization. The purpose of the paper is to understand the issues within an organization
to identify the need for changes and responds to the need for problem resolution and change
management in the organization. The paper will construct the responses based on the case,
‘Consulting for George Lancia’. In this paper, the interpersonal issues will be reflected in the
discussion on how attitudes and motivation can affect the employees and key player
relationship in an organization. The paper will be concluded by presenting suggestions on the
potential alternative, which can improve the current situation of the organization.
Discussion
Issues in organizational structure:
Organizational structure of an organization serves as the guidance, which allows
employees and management to understand the official reporting links within an organization.
Organizational structure helps in demonstrating the relationship or link, which governs
workflow in an organization (Ahmady, Mehrpour & Nikooravesh, 2016). The organizational
structure should be able to incorporate flexibility, readiness for growth and well-defined
positions in an organization.
A strong and effective organizational structure is positively influenced by
communication, unity in approach and message creation as well as a well-structured

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hierarchy. Any issue in the organization structure can directly impact on the overall
productivity of an organization and causes internal conflict (Winnubst, 2017). For the
purpose of maintaining robust frameworks in an organization, a strong organizational
structure is very crucial.
The issues identified in George’s organization with respect to the organizational structure are:
Conflict in the departmental loyalty- This is one of the most concerning aspects of a poorly
structured organizational hierarchy. According to the case, every venture in George’s
company, the departmental personnel are experiencing and causing various conflicting
practices, which is directly impacting the productivity and profit maximization motive in the
company.
Lack of response plan for the pending change requirements- From the case, it is clearly
evident that the organization is behind in responding or restructuring for the identified need
of changes and concerns in various ventures of the organization (Bolden, 2016). The industry
changes like the governmental policies and restrictions as well as the requirement of the
change for managing the losses or loss of control faced in the sections like restaurant and the
home (Linton, 1994).
Lack of clear communication- There is a lack of communication between the organizational
hierarchies. According to the case, the restaurant staffs are unaware of the actual owner of the
company, which reflects a huge gap in the communication between the higher management
or owner and the employee groups (Linton, 1994). Moreover, the case depicted ineffective
communication strategy adopted by George in handling the restaurant business as the
majority of the communication between George and Kevin in from grilling sessions.
Unclear management structure and lack of employee involvement- The case demonstrated
that George solely made every decisions and approval. The decisions and approvals of the

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organization were dependent on the financial statements, which were prepared by the
department with conflicts, or by the department on which George has lesser trust (Linton,
1994).
Required changes and proposal of change management:
As an owner of the organization, George should be aware of all the functional
operations, which accommodate the functioning of the business goals. The organization was
led by George and he was also the main decision-making body in the organization. However,
his decisions are majorly dependent on the financing department (Nohria, 2017). The first
and foremost change in the organization needs to be brought in the finance department, due to
the conflict of control and unproductive distractions of Sharon and Caroline.
George needs to practice the responsibility of managing his workforce, by
understanding their concerns and insufficiency in resource availability. The venture of
restaurant needed the change in communication strategy as George let Kevin take control of
the whole business, which created the dependency of the restaurant staff on Kevin (their
immediate owner). The communication between George and Kevin was ineffective and
demonstrated a lack of clarity as the only communication they had was on the telephone and
in ‘grilling sessions’ (Linton, 1994). Grilling sessions itself sounds very negative, in these
sessions, Kevin was asked to justify each of his failed decisions (Hayes, 2018). An owner
should be able to implement effective communication with the employees or sub-ordinates.
The main changes that need to be implemented in the organization are:
 Changes in the leadership style of George
 Restructuring the dependency of the decisions
 Practices in employee engagement
 Changes in communication strategy

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 Changes in organizational structure for an aligned rate of functions
 Employee motivation and engagement
 Conflict management (Linton, 1994)
These changes can be implemented by:
 George adopting the role of transformational leadership
 Creation of a common vision amongst the employees and higher management
 Stimulation of learning programs in all the departments, as it will allow the business
to thrive with the integration of a vast range of skills and expertise and through group
forces
 Involvement of employees or subordinates in the decision-making process and change
implementation based on the governmental policies
Interpersonal issues:
The interpersonal issues witnessed in the organization are:
 Lack of communication between George and employees of various departments or
ventures
 Lack of leadership expertise in George, as his position needs him to be a
transformational leader, who can respond to the pending changes in the industry by
engaging and motivating the workforce
 The base of dependability in the organization is itself shaken due to the lack of
coordination between Sharon and Caroline as well the alignment between the overall
goal of the organization and the employees’ personal objectives (Linton, 1994).
 The reason of miscommunication and failed decisions by the Kevin, Margaret Dennett
and other managers was the lack of resolving the conflicts and reaching out for the
right source of resources.

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 The managers of each venture are given complete control with the only intervention
of reviewing.
 Managers could not suffice or could not receive responses to the conflicting issues or
problematic situations, which demands an urgent reaction.
 The main issue that was identified from the case was the lack of connection or
understanding between George Lancia, the owner of the organization and various
business/unit managers as the owner was unaware of the seriousness of the conflicts,
interpersonal issues, lack of clarity and financial conditions of the organization.
Demonstration of attitudes and motivation by the key players and employees:
The key players in this organization are George, Sharon, Caroline, Kevin Gibson,
Linda Baxter, Heather Irvin and Margaret Dennett. The attitude of George was negative and
he did not invest time in understanding the concerns and obstacles of the venture managers.
George failed to respond to the concerning situations. The unawareness or lack of a response
plan for responding to the challenges in the organization, demonstrated the lack of active
listening skills (Podsakoff, MacKenzie & Podsakoff, 2018). When employee concerns are not
accommodated with an immediate response plan, it may lead to a lack of satisfaction and
satisfaction. Kevin was in full control of the restaurant but lacked the assistance from upper
management. Sharon maintained dominated control over the whole division in spite of
motivating the employees (Linton, 1994). All the managers, owner and employees need to
have a common goal through the practice of employee motivation and engagement (Gagné,
2018). There was a lack of effective leadership practices, which was reflected in the overall
performance of the organization.
Impact of Linda’s leadership on organizational changes:
Linda’s style of leadership demonstrated the features of autocratic leadership, which
is believed to be affecting the overall production of an organization. Although, the final

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decision is usually made by the owner or senior management of the company but the
decisions should engage the ideas or expertise of the employees. The knowledge and skills of
Linda Baxter were inadequate in terms of the technical skills, supervision and time
management (Brones, de Carvalho & de Senzi Zancul, 2017). The autocratic leadership style
of Linda restricted the opinion of even the owner of the company, George. The sense of
dominance and autocracy led to the state of threatening on disagreements. This leadership
style affected the performance of her team and created a shield for accepting other opinions
or need for changes.
Alternatives:
 George should adopt and encourage other unit managers or administrators to adopt the
skills of transformational leadership and transactional leadership, which enable the
flow of innovation and workforce engagement.
 Although the practice of employee engagement is encouraged, the organizational
structure needs to be centralised due to the lack of aligned control and a common goal
in the organization.
Recommendations:
 Restructuring of organizational structure (Král & Králová, 2016)
 Conflict resolution strategy- Collaboration between higher management, owner and
various unit staffs (Tasselli, Kilduff & Landis, 2018)
 Implementing both offline and online portal where queries and concerns can be
submitted
 Regular team and organizational meetings at a centralised office

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Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded by the paper that the organizational structure,
ineffective communication process and poor leadership style is directly impacting on the
overall operational and financial performance of the employees. The organization needs to
restructure the organizational hierarchy, implement improved leadership style and address the
identified and unrecognized concerns.

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