Question

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MGT211

I need new and unique answers, please. (Use your own words, don't copy and paste)

THE RELUCTANT WORKERS

Tim Aston had changed employers three months ago. His new position was project manager.

At first he had stars in his eyes about becoming the best project manager that his company had ever seen. Now, he wasn’t sure if project management was worth the effort. He made an appointment to see Phil Davies, director of project management.

Tim Aston: “Phil, I’m a little unhappy about the way things are going. I just can’t seem to motivate my people. Every day, at 4:30 P.M., all of my people clean off their desks and go home. I’ve had people walk out of late afternoon team meetings because they were afraid that they’d miss their car pool. I have to schedule morning team meetings.”

Phil Davies: “Look, Tim. You’re going to have to realize that in a project environment, people think that they come first and that the project is second. This is a way of life in our organizational form.”

Tim Aston: “I’ve continually asked my people to come to me if they have problems. I find that the people do not think that they need help and, therefore, do not want it. I just can’t get my people to communicate more.”

Phil Davies: “The average age of our employees is about forty-six. Most of our people have been here for twenty years. They’re set in their ways. You’re the first person that we’ve hired in the past three years. Some of our people may just resent seeing a thirty-year-old project manager.”

Tim Aston: “I found one guy in the accounting department who has an excellent head on his shoulders. He’s very interested in project management. I asked his boss if he’d release him for a position in project management, and his boss just laughed at me, saying something to the effect that as long as that guy is doing a good job for him, he’ll never be released for an assignment elsewhere in the company. His boss seems more worried about his personal empire than he does in what’s best for the company.

“We had a test scheduled for last week. The customer’s top management was planning on flying in for firsthand observations. Two of my people said that they had programmed vacation days coming, and that they would not change, under any conditions. One guy was going fishing and the other guy was planning to spend a few days working with fatherless children in our community. Surely, these guys could change their plans for the test.”

Phil Davies: “Many of our people have social responsibilities and outside interests. We encourage social responsibilities and only hope that the outside interests do not interfere with their jobs.

“There’s one thing you should understand about our people. With an average age of fortysix, many of our people are at the top of their pay grades and have no place to go. They must look elsewhere for interests. These are the people you have to work with and motivate. Perhaps you should do some reading on human behavior.

1. “Employees are not showing interest in meetings and discussion”. Why do you think such culture exists in the company? Share your views.
2. What are the challenges Tim is facing to execute his project. Explain.
3. “Motivation is a key to change”- what according to you should be Tim’s approach towards employees.
4. What is Work, Life balance? What role does it play in day-to-day life of an employee?

Answer 1

Ans- The reason behind not showing interest in meetings and discussion in the company would be that the employees are not given appreciation for their work or maybe they do not find their work to be an interesting and challenging one or it may be like that they have personal problems and because of which they are not able to show their interest in meetings and discussion.

The challenge which Tim is facing to execute his project is that his team members were not cooperative with him in the work. They seem to lose interest in team meetings and did not communicate with Tim even if Tim asked them to come to him if they had any problems in their work. Also, it can be seen that the employees from different department were not cooperative and always thought about themselves only as when Tim found one guy in the accounting department who was very much interested in project management he approached that guy's boss to allow him to work in project management but the boss denied instantly telling him that guy was working well for him and so he would not allow him to go anywhere else.

Tim should talk with the employees personally and should try to know the reasons behind their lack of interest in meetings and work and should try to motivate them accordingly. He should get involved with his team while doing work and should ask about their opinions on different matters of the project and not just tell them to come to him if they face any problem. By doing so employees will feel valued and will be cooperative in the work.

Work-life balance is the balance between work and personal life of an employee. When an employee finds a good amount of time to spend with their family and friends outside their work activities then we can say that person has a work-life balance which means that they do not have to overwork and remain stressed all the time. They have a balance in their work life.

Work-life balance plays an important role in the day to day life of an employee as a human being needs to have a social life too other than their work so when their work is balanced and there is no overload of work, they find time for their family and friends and they remain happy and motivated to do their work but if there is overwork then they do not find any time for their family and friends and thus remain demotivated in their work which affects their productivity level. They remain stressed always and cannot do their work properly or make mistakes in their work and a higher level of stress can cause various health problems in that person and they may not continue to do their work.