DECISION MEMORANDUM

To: President, TechniCo <lfraser@business.rutgers.edu>

From: RBS-OB Amol Gandhi <amolg@rutgers.edu>
Date: February 3, 2016
RE: Jane Epstein

Dear President,
For this assignment, I have evaluated many factors that need to be taken into consideration when deciding whether
TechniCo should continue its relationship with Jane Epstein as well as Andy. Included in the evaluation will be
management style at multiple levels, analysis of both employees, potential alternatives and outcomes, and a final
recommendation. Through these parameters a decision can be made effectively to resolve the ongoing internal
conflict.

Management Style of Jane Epstein and TechniCo.

It is clear in Jane Epsteins short employment period with TechniCo, that many of the issues were already occurring
upon her arrival. She decided to begin the position by embracing the culture of the company rather than
implementing some of the policies that allowed things to run more effectively in her prior experiences. (case, p.3)
Jane also interacted with her employees on a personal level quickly and was emotionally involved in their personal
lives. (case, p.2) Her management style was one of Human Relations in the classical school of thought, by Elton
Mayo. This style was centered around the concept of managing individuals and making decisions based on
communication and interactions in the workplace addressing their emotional and motivational thoughts. An
advantage of such an approach is that it helps shape the organization and its units together where the individuals
have a closer relationship to create a more comfortable environment, such as that of a community. (lecture Notes 1)
Overall, this style of management will significantly improve the emotional intelligence of the manager, making
more informed decisions based on this type of thinking. (book, p.165) The disadvantages include the fact that not
every individual will excel with this management style as their personalities may not be fit to such an approach.
Many other factors of success with this style include the role of the individual in the company as well as senior
managements style of focusing on the employees. The senior management style was one that reflects a lack of
hierarchy, tolerating barely average performance if the people are well liked, which translates to human relations
style as well. (case, p.3) For senior management to practice this style can be potentially dangerous in an organization
as it may not provide enough structure for middle management to follow, creating issues such as the one Jane
Epstein was part of.

Evaluation of Andys Employment & Management Improvement

The evaluation of Andys success should be not only measured by the direct value contribution through his numbers,
but also by the analysis of the harmful nature of his behavior to his potential value as well as to other employees
values. (tough, p.1) Overall, Andy shows a lack of control in emotions, which in turn, decreases his human capital
value to the company (case, p.5; book, p.16). This was harming the flow of thoughts during meetings as well as
causing conflicts among his direct peers, which in turn can have a negative effect on the company that could spread
to others in an effect known as emotional contagion and outweigh the value of Andy to the organization. (case, p.3;
book, p.163) A more effective interaction with senior management is necessary in order for him to see the big
picture (tough, p.1) Additionally, counselling is recommended in an attempt to uncover any underlying root cause of
this behavior (tough, p.3; lecture notes 2). Ultimately, after a three-month period with weekly evaluation, if no
progress is shown, the recommendation is to terminate his employment with TechniCo.

Alternative Options & Recommendation of Situation

Jane could have handled the situation more effectively by being more assertive with her management style as well as
better communicating that she was trying to improve his skills and cared about the success of the employees. (tough,
p. 2) Developing a close and personal relationship by showing emotion with the employees and without thinking of
the best strategy in which to handle it shows that alternative approaches should have been considered. Reaching out
to an old co-worker is also against policy, sharing information and internal politics that would be considered mostly
confidential. Being a new manager, she should have known better to be more careful in attempting to counsel an
employee that she was still learning about (tough, p. 3) Due to her lack of sensitivity to the matter during early
stages of employment, the final recommendation is to terminate the relationship with Jane Epstein. She chose the
attempt to adapt to what she perceived as the culture of the organization, displaying cognitive dissonance through
her actions (book, p. 162). Lastly, she underestimated the principle that employees attitudes reflect their behavior
which would have given Jane a notice to deal with the situation more sensitively (lecture Notes 2)