Question

1. You have just been hired as the new supervisor of an audit team for a national accounting firm. With four years of experience, you feel technically well prepared for the assignment. However, this is your first formal appointment as a ‘manager.’ Things are complicated at the moment. The team has 12 members of diverse demographic and cultural backgrounds, as well as work experience. There is an intense workload and lots of performance pressure. i. How will this situation challenge you to develop and use essential managerial competencies to successfully manage the team to high levels of auditing performance.

ii. If you were to apply Max Weber’s bureaucracy theory, examine the ideals which will be relevant in this case .

Answer 1

Max Weber’s bureaucracy

Examination of  the ideals which will be relevant in this case and Goals :

1.To maintain 100% service level .

2. To maintain an excellent response time . If the norm is attend a call within 24 hours then I have to make sure that 100% of the calls are attended within 24%.

3. There should not be any non confirmence to regulatory frame work and standard operating procedures adopted by the company.

4. To work within the budgetary limits and to give a saving of minimum 5% on year to year basis.

5. Training employees with diverse demographic and cultural backgrounds to work together.

The skills which will be important to me will be :

1. Communication skills : These will be most important as I will be managing employees with diverse demographic and cultural backgrounds so I must be able to communicate clearly with all of them on professional and personal basis.

2. Understanding of diverse demographic and cultural background of team members : To be able to take maximum out of my team members I will have to understand them and their needs . Unless I will not not understand team member's cultures their back grounds I will not be able to undrstand them and their needs. If I will not understand them and their needs they will not undersatnd me and follow my directives.

3. Ability to memorize and inspect against regulations and standard operating procedures : I must be aware of all legal regulations and standard operating procedures of the organization so that I can inspect the processes on a continual basis.

4. Time Management Skills : I am a role model for all the team members I have to take special care that I do not waste time .

5. Delegation: I must be able to understand the team members and accordingly delegate the jobs to them based upon the analysis who is the best among the team members to do a particular job.

6. Situation Analysis , Evaluation and Decision Making : I should be able to analyze every situation , evaluate it and make optimum decisions.

7. Team work : I should be able to work in a team with diverse backgrounds and cultures and inculcate same culture with all team members.

8. Organizing Skills : I need organizing skills to organize all the activities of the customer service centre.No activity should be missed out.