Question

a) 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 (20marks).

Answer 1

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?

1. As the situation is complicated at the moment, when I am going to join this team as manager, the first thing I would try to understand the cultural environment at the workplace along with different ethnography which my team has. In order to make the complex task simpler, I would prefer to create a work breakdown analysis, and based on this analysis the labor of division needs to be established. I would also learn to set up the role clarity and clear accountability among the team members. In order to achieve this level of competence, The overall situation will help me to understand the various level of complex abilities I need to handle as a manager and the importance of human relationships in order to manage the team and get the organizational objectives delivered.

ii, Max Weber’s bureaucracy theory has got the following elements or ideals:

1. Division of labor
2. Hierarchy of authority
3. Formal rule
4. Formal selection process
5. Impersonality

In this case, while the company has made the selection of manager with relevant experience and technical expertise and competence rather than doing any sort of favoritism to an internal candidate or candidate from particular cultural background leads to the application of following ideals of Max Weber’s bureaucracy theory

1. Formal selection process: The selection process was based on technical knowledge and skills, education, training, and qualification.
2. Impersonality: the selection and promotion were made objectively rather than doing favors or subjectivity based on the person being considered for the promotion.