Organizational Iceberg of Makena Lane

Introduction

Many organizations are based on different cultures and norms. Organizational cultures determine the code of conduct of the employees as well as the management. The management has the mandate to ensure that the organization is run accordingly. In any organization, various shareholders contribute to the success of a particular business.

Employees and customers are some of the most critical shareholders in any organization. This paper analyses the organizational behavior of ‘coaching Makena lane case’ concerning its success. The report focuses on the theoretical overview of the contents of the case in question (Berstain and Lala 2017).

Organizational Iceberg

Coaching Makena Lane Case was based on various aspects of the organizational Iceberg. Researchers argue that changing corporate culture is one of the most difficult leadership challenges. Organizational culture comprises different elements, as shown in the Iceberg. Any organizational change is based on goals, values, communication practices, attitudes, as well as assumptions. The introduction of coaching and self-reflection in the Makena Lane case was an organizational change. The change was driven by the need to improve the performance of the employees and the organization at large.

Makena Lane had a gift of producing results. Regardless of the retail situation of 2010, she was determined to meet the organization’s goals. Like any other organization, 365 Emporium was based on formal goals. The goals acted as the driving force for the performance of employees. All employees worked towards the achievement of common goals that were organizational growth.

The organization was based on the formal purpose of gaining a competitive advantage. To achieve this, the organization needed to consider essential aspects concerning its success. The case study shows the strategies implemented by the management towards the success of the organization.

One of the aspects is employee promotion. The management of the organization knew that promotion is a way of motivating employees to achieve their potential. However, promotion is based on competencies and skills. As stated in the organizational Iceberg, skills, and competencies are some of the drivers of change in an organization.

Even though Makena Lane was committed to performance in the organization, she could not be promoted merely because of his enthusiasm to work. Instead, the management considered subjecting her into a coaching session for personal development.

Personal development is a crucial aspect of any organization. The management of the organization in question was concerned by the personal development of its employees. As a result, Makena Lane was subjected to coaching to boost her competence and skills. Therefore, the management was concerned by organizational performance as well as employees’ growth.

Ideally, employees are one of the most critical resources that the company had. Apart from the customers, employees play a significant role in the determination of the organization’s success. The need to develop the employees was a key strategy towards the success of the organization.

Additionally, the organization was based on rules and regulations. Employees were subjected to organized rules that governed their conduct. Despite being one of the preferred employees, Makena Lane could not be promoted without the ascertainment that she was competent and skillful. The rules and regulations of the company can be attributed to its leadership development idea. The coaching program acted as a leadership development agenda.

Leadership is an essential aspect of management. Scholars argue that managers are the leaders in their respective organizations. The fact that managers make decisions that affect the performance of the entire organization portrays that they are regarded as leaders. In this case, the management promoted organizational leadership by introducing a coaching program. The program also aimed at addressing leadership challenges in the organization (Knippenberg and Hogg 2018, p87).

In the long run, the organization aimed at having effective leadership that will run the business effectively and efficiently. The organizational design also played a vital role in the Makena Lane case. In other words, there was a laid down procedure for a promotion that the management considered. In summary, the case in question emphasized n employee promotion, leadership development, and organizational management at large.

Management

According to Mintzberg, managerial roles are divided into three categories. The first category is the informational roles. As the name suggests, these roles deal with communication and the search for information in the organization. Interpersonal roles deal with leadership and interaction skills that managers should portray.

On the other hand, decisional roles are based on the need to achieve new things (Management at Work, 2019). Ay manager who performs these roles is likely to succeed. These managerial roles are universally applicable. Therefore, all managers should be aware of the contents of each category.

In this case, Lane was keen to know more about 365. Before joining the company, Lane was working in another organization. Due to the availability of information, Lane was able to know about 365. This is an indication that the management performed informational roles. Mainly, monitoring and seeking information relating to employee performance was evident.

Before Lane could be employed, she was subject through an interview to ascertain whether she was competent and skillful. She also submitted her CV to provide more information about herself. The need to acquire knowledge is essential in recruitment and promotion. For an organization to recruit new employees, the management should ascertain that the recruits are competent and that they are up to the task.

In addition to this, the management also showed dissemination roles by finding out whether Lane could be promoted or not. Information is essential in any organization. It is the basis in which some organizations are formed. An organization with an effective information management system is more likely to succeed as compared to an organization that does not have an active communication channel.

As far as interpersonal roles are concerned, the organization in question was concerned by the leadership and management of its affairs. As part of the leadership aspects, the administration was keen on succession plans. This was a significant issue that could either affect the organizational performance negatively is to improve the performance positively. In other words, the management was concerned with the future aspect of the market as well as the growth of the business. The need to find the availability of preferred candidates fueled the best successor.

In this scenario, leadership was considered to have an impact on the overall performance of the organization. The fact that Makena Lane went through a self-assessment program could have given her an excellent chance to be promoted. However, the management considered other factors that could have an impact on the performance of the organization. Generally, the administration was concerned with long term benefits that leadership would bring to the organization. As a result, employee promotion was subjected to many rules and regulations.

Moreover, the management acted as the figurehead of the organization. The decision made by the administration was considered to be final. As the figurehead, managers were mandated to help the organization in times of crisis. For instance, the employees would hold the management liable for failures in the day to day activities of the organization. Employee’s roles were subject to the provisions of the management. However, the management liaised with the employees to make informed decisions that affect the organization’s performance.

The management also acted as resource allocators by deciding on the schedules and other essential aspects of the organization. Employee promotion was based on the approval of the administration. Any decision that was against the management’s provisions would not be implemented.

Furthermore, the managers acted as negatrons by defending the organization’s primary objective. Even though organizational leadership played an important role, customers were the most critical resources in the eyes of the management. The decisions made by the administration were targeting the promotion of the company’s products and market penetration.

Discussion

Organizational culture is an important aspect as far as management is concerned. Corporate culture differs from one organization to another. Some organizations prefer hiring new employees for top positions, while some consider the internal method of recruitment. The use of a particular recruitment strategy is attributed to organizational culture. It becomes a norm that the organization cannot go against.

In this case, the organization should have followed its recruitment norms to find the best successor. Notably, the organization in question had some aspects that are not evident in other organizations. For instance, the need to undertake a coaching session to promote employee’s personal growth and leadership development are not done in some organizations (Judge and Robbins 2017, p22). This portrayed that the organization was based on its culture.

Leadership development should be encouraged by the management of any organization. For promotion, all employees should be trained in leadership skills. As a result of the training, employees will be ready to work in any position. Moreover, internal recruitment is considered to be cheaper as compared to external recruitment.

Employees who have worked in the organization are aware of the organization’s norms and culture. Therefore, the management will not have to conduct another induction program to enlighten the employees on the organization’s rules and regulations.  

Employee promotion should be considered as an essential promotion strategy that enables employees to offer their best towards the achievement of organizational objectives. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, employees should be motivated to meet their needs. Employees who have achieved esteem needs are likely to perform better than those who are struggling to satisfy their psychological needs.

Therefore, employees should be motivated by their employers. One of the essential ways of motivation that comes with many benefits is a promotion (Osland et al., 2015, p3). Those who are promoted are likely to earn more than their previous salary. In this case, the organization could have promoted Lane in the first place to motivate her.

However, motivation should be based on employees’ performance. Those who perform better are likely to be promoted, unlike those who are under-performing. In this case, Makena Lane was committed to offering quality services. Also, her CV portrayed the ability to lead the organization. Having acquired experience in the relevant field, she was competent to secure the management position. Managers should lead by example.

Employees are likely to imitate their managers’ actions because they act as role models. If an organization has lazy managers, the employees are likely to be lazy as well. With this regard, managers should organize a succession plan to ensure that the organization does not suffer when their tenure elapses. This is a good strategy that should be encouraged by management. Succession is closely related to management functions.

The implementation of an information management system should be encouraged by organizations to promote effective and efficient management. In any organization, effective communication channel enables employees to address their issues properly. An active communication channel can identify the solution to employees’ problems.

About management roles, managers should be aware of their mandate. Managers should delegate some of the characters to relevant individuals. Delegation of duties is a way of preparing the individual for the senior position. For example, the Chief Executive Officer can delegate some of his responsibilities to the member of the board of management to prepare them for such roles.

Conclusion

In summary, the Coaching Makena Lane case is a good illustration of organizational culture. It depicts important aspects of organizational behavior that organizations should advocate for. As far as the success of the organization is concerned, the management was concerned with the need to promote leadership development for its employees.

Makena Lane was committed to the achievement of the organizational goals. She was considered as one of the best employees that could be promoted. However, the coaching program was meant for equipping her with the skills needed. Also, the coaching program was also intended for personal development.