Problem solving is the aspect of seeking solutions to complex situation, while decision making is the process of resulting in a particular course of action. The selected News Website for this paper will be from BBC News. In particular the story featuring ‘why you need to question your hippo boss.’ The term “hippo” in this context will refer to the highest paid or in other words, your senior or boss (Silverberg, 2017).
Richard is an employee in a TV production company in Toronto and occasionally project attends meetings where the ‘hippo’ dominates all proceedings. According to a news interview with Richard, he affirms having meetings where staff brainstorm, share ideas and ultimately the boss goes with what he came up with at the end of it all. He states the reaction of the subordinates as shocked as they glance at each other defeated.
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In close relation to this story, BBC also featured a story on Concerns over Barclay’s boss's conduct, Jes Staley. This story, as narrated in the BBC feature reflects on bad business decisions that would be prevented if management is willing to have a collective approach on decision making. Apparently, according to the story an anonymous letter was sent to the board on concerns of someone hired by Jess Staley from his old firm, JP Morgan. The author of the anonymous letter doubted the suitability or expertise of the candidate in question. Mr. Staley was accused of not following due protocol and tactfully with due diligence of being a long-term friend, hired JP Morgan. Barclays had by then introduced a rule called Senior Managers Regime which allowed concept of anonymous reporting in general. Due to this rule, this unlawful act was known and it now stands a mystery whether Barclays will stand to reprimand its chief executive officer or not.
Balazs Szatmari in a study reveals that surprisingly, high-status project leaders fail a number of times. Balazs (2014) in his study, he looked at 349 video game projects in the industry; after interaction with employees in this industry, he concludes that staff is likely to fear consequences that may arise from criticizing work of their boss or high status employees.
BBC News seeks different opinions from different informants, and these are the key learning points to learn from them. Most employees, just like Richard have had to work for a dominating ‘hippo’ –a boss who people find hard to criticize. His domineering tendency makes it hard to question any of his strategic decisions. The company employees are obliged to agree with him regardless of their reservations about his moves. Often, the unchallenged boss makes incorrect detrimental decisions that spell dwindling fortune to the business. Rotterdam School of Management study shows that projects spear headed by junior managers have a high likelihood of being successful than those led by senior bosses. This is simply because employees felt more comfortable voicing their ideas, opinions and grievances to the junior manager than the ‘hippo.’ (Volberda, 2013)
Fostering effective communication and to expect feedback in an adopted culture of fear in the workplace is a challenge for most of the organizations. Sarah Biggerstaff, a lecturer at Yale School of Management agrees that companies ought to strive towards allowing staff questions their seniors’ decisions without fear of reprisal (Volberda, Van Den Bosch & Heij, 2013). Lack of openness creates a kind of organization where people pay lip service to seniors instead of constructive feedback in order to get promoted or retain their positions.
The article on ‘why you need to question your hippo boss’ by Silverberg is relevant to today’s managers. It shows them the need to create a corporate culture of openness, where employees are not restrained to air out their opinions or speak candidly of issues affecting the organization. Similarly, managers should be keen on the tone of communication that they use on their employees in gatherings or in a meeting. Senior figures should avoid ridicule or brushing off employees’ opinions in order to boost their confidence and productivity.
Managers can make good decisions or swiftly run their departments by first identifying the problem in question. To make a decision, the problem must be clearly understood and defined prior to the staff meetings. At the same time, an alert manager should try to understand the problem from their employees’ perspective without neglecting their views. Secondly, it is relevant to make evidence/factual-based decisions relevant to the challenges in the organization. This can either be through reviewing data or records available for example in the story featuring Barclays, the manager ought to have reviewed job applications and qualifications before hiring JP Morgan.
The third aspect of effective management seeks to challenge the status quo in the organization by trying to choose and justify the organization’s course of action from available alternatives in place. This step is followed by seeking the employees’ views to get an outside opinion on that particular issue at hand. Such a move is necessary since it is not usually certain to act or make a decision that will be flexible without errors. Getting a wide range of views will help a manager adjust or completely change their line of thought. This will similarly encourage a culture of openness and information sharing in your company (Papadakis, 1998).
Finally, a manager must be decisive; after reviewing all possible alternatives and coming to a level ground with the employees, select the best suitable course of action. Strategize on the decision made appropriately and plan on how to execute it. This decision having involved all stakeholders will be effectively executed without difficulty of dealing with change or violations/resistance from employees.
Reference
Szatmari, B., Deichmann, D., & Van den Ende, J. (2014). Irrational Resistance or Irrational Support? Performance Effects of Project Leader Status. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 17350). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Silverberg, D. (2017). Why you need to question your hippo boss. Business Reporter: BBC News (20 April 2017). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-3963349.
Papadakis, V. M., Lioukas, S., & Chambers, D. (1998). Strategic decision‐making processes: the role of management and context. Strategic management journal, 19(2), 115-147.
Volberda, H. W., Van Den Bosch, F. A., & Heij, C. V. (2013). Management innovation: Management as fertile ground for innovation. European Management Review, 10(1), 1-15.
