Organizational and Leadership Issues Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Lack of Communication

This is another important factor that needs to be addressed at TransCanada. The company has been lacking communication between the management and its employees. The problem which the company has faced over the period of time is the problem of lack of communication. The senior management has been unable to coordinate and communicate with the assembly line workers. The reason has been the centralized organization structure and the gap between the top management, middle management and the lower level workers. This has actually resulted in the decline of quality standards of the products offered by TransCanada. The company has been unable to match the competition and has been outclassed by competitors in various accounts (Bono, 2002)

The main reason that has been identified in the company is aboutthe communication gap at different levels of the company. Therefore, to overcome this issue and to make the overall situation in favor of the company TrasnCanada, it is important that the management builds a bridge that can bring close the management and the assembly line workers. Along with this, lack of communication at TransCanada has resulted in poor efficiency (Howell, 2012). The company has been unable to manufacture products at the same level it has been doing in the past. This is again because of the fact that management and the employees are not on the same scale. The employees feel they are not reacting fairly and the communication has been hampered because of this issue. On the other hand, management has a view that the employees are in fact not keen to perform their duties with commitment and dedication. This situation has actually resulted in lack of communication and problems with the company.

Short-term and Long term strategies to address the challenges

Decentralized Organization Structure:

The long term strategy or the option available for TransCanada is to transform the organization structure in to decentralized structure. As for now, the organizational structure that is being followed in the company is centralized organizational structure. This has been the main reason which has resulted in poor leadership and problems between management and the senior and junior level workers. Currently, the management has actually made such structure where departmental heads have the decision making power. They are the ones who actually drive the growth, decision making and performance of the company (Abbass, 2003).

Although the hierarchy of TransCanada is such where there are various departments, but since the decision making lies to a single person, it becomes rather difficult to convey and convince him to actually implement a certain idea. Keeping this issue in mind and since being one of the most well developed energy company in Alberta, it is therefore advisable for the company to revamp its leadership structure. The management does not trust the employees and on the other hand, employees have similar views and feelings for the management. This has been a two way and a common problem at TransCanada. To actually resolve it and to make the overall process of trust and communication, improve at TransCanada, the long term strategy that is advised to the management is to opt for decentralized organizational structure. The reason for this recommendation is quite simple; since the decision making is solely on the departmentalheads, they actually do not have time to resolve lower level issues and concerns. Along with this, the middle management is unable to make any decisions.

In fact, they are dependent upon the higher management or the departmental head to make a decision. This has actually hampered the importance and significance of assistant managers and team coordinators at TransCanada. For each and every decision regarding the operations and strategic implication, the assistant managers have to go back to the unit head and convince him about the idea. However, in spite of all the efforts the final decision is still in the hands of the head of the department. This needs to be changed in the long run and the decentralized structure of leadership should be introduced. This will help the company in allotting decision making powers to the assistant managers and the team coordinators. The direct reporting authority for any company is the one who directly interacts with the junior staff or the assembly line workers.

Team Effectiveness Model

The short term option for the company is to introduce team effectiveness model at TransCanada. The reason it is necessary to overcome the challenge on hand, which is lack of communication between the employees. The challenge of this issue can be resolved by simply introducing team effectiveness model at the company..................................

This is just a sample partial case solution. Please place the order on the website to order your own originally done case solution.

Share This

SALE SALE

Save Up To

30%

IN ONLINE CASE STUDY

FOR FREE CASES AND PROJECTS INCLUDING EXCITING DEALS PLEASE REGISTER YOURSELF !!

Register now and save up to 30%.