I.
CASE CASE BACKG BACKGRO ROUN UND D – MOUNT MOUNTA AIN WEST WEST HEAL HEALTH PLAN, PLAN, INC INC.. Martin Quinn, senior vice president for service and operations for the Denver-
based Mountain West Health Plan, Inc. is trying to look for opportunity to control costs of the labor-in labor-intens tensive ive departen departent. t. !he forer Director Director of "ustoe "ustoerr #ervice #ervice $velyn $velyn %ustafson retired and Martin Quinn sa& this opportunity to bring in a gae-changer in the person of $rik 'asussen, a young an in his late t&enties &ith a ne& bachelor(s degree in business adinistration. %ustafson, &ho &orked herself up fro being a custoer service representative easily related &ith the feale doinated, nonunioni)ed eploye eployees. es. #he copens copensated ated the stressfu stressfull &ork &ork &ith fle*ible fle*ible schedul scheduling, ing, providin providing g fre+uent breaks, and plenty of training opportunities. Her otto l&ays put yourself in the sub-scriber(s shoes earned respect fro her subordinates &hich resulted to a turnover rate of /01 as copared to the usual 231 to 431 range of the "#' industry. %ustafson ho&ever resisted all attepts to increase efficiency and lo&er costs in &ith salaries accounting to 501 of the budget. !his is &here $rik 'asussen &as tapped to bring costs under control by increasing the nuber of calls per hour and adopted statistical standards in easuring speed, recording of calls, and ipleented an auto-scheduler soft&are based on historical inforation and pro6ections. !raining &as also cut back. While Martin Quinn hailed the results because of the draatic increase of calls per hour, subscribers spent lesser tie on hold, and lo&ering costs as a result, the orale orale of the the eploy eployee ees s suffe suffered red.. !urnov urnover er rate rate increa increase sed d to 701 701 and and +uali +uality ty coplaints &ere noted fro ine*perienced representatives. II. II.
STA STATEMEN EMENT T OF THE PRO PROBLEM BLEM
Martin Quinn is no& faces &ith a dilea on ho& to conduct $rik 'asussen(s perforance perforance revie& given that facts and figures support an increase increase in efficiency efficiency &ithin the departent but he can also not ignore the increase of the turnover rate, +uality probles due to ine*perienced "#'s as a result of the cut back in training, and the lo& orale felt by the affected eployees. !he ain issues revolved around the high labor cost and the lo& efficiency rate of custoer service representatives.
III.
OBJECTIVES
/. !o provide provide &ays &ays on ho& to increase increase efficiency efficiency and lo&er lo&er do&n labor labor cost.
2. !o identify the strengths, &eaknesses, and source of influences of $velyn %ustafson and $rik 'asussen and ho& these characteristics affect the kind of leader both are. 7. !o differentiate the leadership styles bet&een $velyn %ustafson and $rik 'asussen and identify &hat &ould best &ork for Mountain West Health Plans, Inc. given the probles identified in ite nuber /. 4. !o coe up &ith a recoendation on the odification needed on $rik 'asussen(s leadership style and ho& these can be facilitated. IV.
ANALYSIS
!he follo&ing are the pertinent insights that could lead to the decision-aking8
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
9efore &e analy)e on the kind of leaders Martin ust place in the departent, it is but appropriate to look at the kind of industry the copany is involved. Mountain West Health Plan, Inc., a health insurance copany, is a challenging industry. I kno& for sure because I &ork as a financial advisor for #un :ife of "anada Philippines, Inc. offering health insurances and investents to custoers. !he ost difficult task of being a custoer service representative is actually on handling +uestions related to their health &hich could soeties re+uire enough sensitivity, copassion, accurate inforation, and patience. "#'s can also be the first point of contact of custoers &ho are not serviced by financial advisors. nd so they are re+uired also to eori)e all the products and services, including riders, inforation on contracts, beneficiaries, and other iportant inforation for the to be able to gauge on &hat coverage or services to avail. #oeties the scope of &ork &ould also include e*plaining the benefits and coverage of the availed plans, get pre-authori)ation for edical treatent options, ask on providers covered, and data on preius and payents. !he cople*ities involved in the coverage discussion, the calness re+uired &hen confronted by irate custoers &ho &anted to get inforation the soonest tie possible, and the difficulty in handling custoers &ith individual health concerns can take a toll on "#'s. In the case of Mountain West Health Plans, Inc., although the labor costs coprised 501 of the departent(s budget, the salary is still considered as lo&
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pay hence forer director of custoer service $velyn %ustafson ade up for it by allo&ing fle*ible scheduling, fre+uent breaks, and training opportunities. nd &ith this, the copany en6oyed a lo& turnover rate despite the stressful &orking environent. 9ut &ith the entry of a ne& director and &ith the absence of the once en6oyed stress reliever activities, the &orking environent decreased the tolerance of eployees against stress leading to higher attrition rate.
THE LEADERSHIP OF EVELYN GUSTAFSON
:eadership as defined is the ability to influence people to&ard the attainent of goals ;Daft, 20/2<. $velyn %ustafson &ho rose fro the ranks fro custoer representative to director earned her role by eans of e*perience and characteristics. #he displays in!"#$i%! &!#'!"()i* to her subordinates. Interactive leadership is coon as &oen(s style of leading and is a type of :evel 3 or the topost $*ecutive level in the hierarchy of leadership &hich builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will ;Daft, 20/2<. 9y sho&ing
&arth and concern, otivating &orkers that their 6obs are iportant, and understanding their plights after stressful calls, $velyn sho&s this type of leadership &hich endeared her ore to her subordinates. Ms. %ustafson also sho&ed *!+*&!+"i!n!' -!)#%i+" by being supportive of her subordinates and being indful of their situations. #he also displayed C+n"/ C&- M#n#0!1!n ;#ee =ig. / 9lake and Mouton :eadership %rid< as she is thoughtful
on the needs of people for satisfying relationships &hich lead to cofortable and friendly organi)ation atosphere and &ork tepo. In other &ords, she ensures that priary ephasis is given to people to ensure that they are cofortable in their 6obs over productivity. 9y encouraging her subordinates to put theselves in the subscriber(s shoes, urging the to take tie to have a thorough understanding of the concerns, and aking the feel iportant also prove that $velyn is a $)#"i(1#i$ &!#'!" . !he fact that her subordinates adore her supports this clai.
ON HER STRENGTHS Page of 9
$velyn(s strength lies in her being considerate given that she has e*perienced the sae difficulties personally. 'elating her previous stint as custoer service representative enabled her to understand the struggles of her subordinates propting her to be considerate and otivational by giving the &hat they need like continuous personal developent through trainings, break &hen needed to avoid burnout, fle*ible schedules to aintain &ork-life balance, and a &ork environent &ith good interpersonal relationship fro eployees to upper anageent.
ON HER WEAKNESSES
Mean&hile, $velyn(s &eaknesses include her being too fle*ible providing an environent prone to abuse and lesser control particularly on cost. =ocusing ore on eployee &elfare led to higher labor cost &hich has becoe a concern of Martin Quinn. $velyn(s resistance to increasing efficiency also becoes her &eakness as she had bo*ed herself in the status +uo &ithout thinking of possible iproveents in the current processes.
ON HER SOURCES OF INFLUENCE
s %eorge bler put it in his article Leadership is Not Title or Position , a leader should strive to establish a shared vision, to facilitate buy-in, and to otivate and inspire others. !herefore, effective leaders ust establish po&er and influence beyond their position, authority or titles at &ork. $velyn(s source of influence priarily stes fro her efforts to create a favorable relationship &ith her follo&ers. >sing personal po&er, she 1#'! *!+*&! &i3! )!" by sho&ing consideration, respect, fair treatent and trust.
'espect begets respect as the "&! +4 "!$i*"+$i/ says. $velyn gained the approval of her tea by providing the eotional support by assuring the that she understood ho& they felt after series of stressful calls. $velyn also used "#i+n#& *!"(#(i+n &ith the use of her otto in putting oneself into the subscriber(s shoes. #he also '!%!&+* #&&i!( by understanding their concerns and needs and by devising eans to address
the.
THE LEADERSHIP OF ERIK RASMUSSEN Page 5 of 9
s ?i "ollins stated, good-to-great transforations do not happen overnight or in one big leap. nd by scrutini)ing the background of $rik 'asussen as being a young and energetic individual and &ho 6ust earned his business adinistration degree, &e can conclude that he lacks enough e*perience in a leadership role. He is also a 6+- $!n!"!' &!#'!" &hich favors eeting schedules, keeping costs lo&, and achieving
production efficiency. He also displays an A)+"i/$+1*&i#n$! 1#n#0!1!n style &hich is high in task production but lo& in people leadership style ;refer to =ig. / 9lake and Mouton :eadership %rid< citing efficiency in doinance in operations results.
ON HIS STRENGTHS
$rik brings in the table a fresh perspective. He is goal oriented &ith definite ob6ectives, has focus on organi)ational efficiency, high productivity, and is &illing to innovate to align the organi)ation to the goals of the copany &hich is priarily to lo&er costs. He sho&s uch proise by being hard&orking, rational, and practical by ipleenting autoation and statistical standards.
ON HIS WEAKNESSES
Mr. 'asussen put too uch ephasis on the goal that he forgot to check on first on the current &ork environent including its culture and dynaics. !he 6ob &as stressful and ipleenting iediate itigation steps to achieve goals could have a negative ipact on the eployees. Proper analysis should have been initiated first to gather as uch pertinent inforation that could aide hi in ipleenting the ost iediate and applicable solutions. "hanges shouldn(t be drastic and instead increental to check on the possible effects on people and process. $rik forgot to get the pulse of the eployees through participatory approach that could have helped hi identify perennial probles and gave an avenue for internal sharing and understanding of the changes that could have been vital in the decision aking process. His decision to cut training could have also a negative ipact as eployees &ould feel neglected &ith regards to their personal gro&th.
ON HIS SOURCES OF INFLUENCE Page 7 of 9
$rik(s ain source of influence is fro his legitiate po&er or fro the position that he currently assue. With this eployees are e*pected to follo& hi solely based on the authority granted to hi by the copany.
E%!&/n
E"i3
Fig. 1 Blake and outon Leadership !rid
V.
ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION >sing the above analysis can aide Martin Quinn to decide on the follo&ing
alternative courses of actions8 Alternative 1. Balance Human Re!urce Strate"#$ E%%icienc# an& C!t Strate"ie $rik for his part, should study thoroughly the huan resource of the copany
and to coe up &ith a short-ter and long-ter strategies to iprove efficiency and inii)e turnover. Perforance-&ise, $rik have acted based on his andate &hich is to iprove efficiency and decrease labor costs. $rik, being young and ne& is a 6ob-centered leader. Martin can discuss about this during his perforance revie&. !he revie& should start by discussing first the strengths and positive perforance aspect of the $rik. He can stress ho& $rik have sho&n dedication in addressing the current Page 8 of 9
probles of the copany. Martin, can then e*hibit his leadership characteristics by using rational persuasion in discussing the areas for iproveent including the fact that &hile the figures are conforing to the goals of the copany on iproving efficiency and lo&ering labor costs, it has created a negative ipact on attrition rate and custoer +uality. He can suggest after that $rik could try shifting to an !1*&+/!!$!n!"!' #**"+#$) and look after for the needs of his subordinates to
ensure 6ob coitent to iprove retention. =ro 9lake and Mc"anse(s :eadership %rid, &ork accoplishent is achieved fro coitted people and that interdependence through a coon stake in organi)ation purpose leads to relationships of utual trust and respect. He can change fro an A)+"i/$+1*&i#n$! 1#n#0!1!n to T!#1 M#n#0!1!n (/&!. 'asussen ust use the interpersonal influence tactics to his advantage including use of rational persuasion, aking people like hi, developing allies, relying on the rule of reciprocity, and re&arding the behavior of subordinates he &ants. He should also try to be as honest, straightfor&ard, kno&ledgeable, credible and trust&orthy so that he doesn(t need to ipose this authority over the. s a business adinistration graduate, $rik has background on huan resource and he should try to incorporate these kno&ledge in his current 6ob. s the "ontingency !heory states that leadership traits and behavior varies depending on the &orking environent that the leader deals &ith. !he organi)ational situation influences the appropriate leadership style to use. nd huans, as ain assets of the organi)ation, should be treated not as instruents but as individuals &ho can create the copetitive edge for the copany. Alternative '. (!tivate Eri) Ramuen t! tr# *!+ enric,ment trate"#. Martin Quinn, as a leader should also be the source of otivation for $rik 'asussen and the rest of the eployees. nd being an e*perienced leader, he can provide insights based on the effects of the changes ipleented by $rik. !he current set-up puts the control ost to the leader and Martin can try to ipleent another strategy &hich is 6ob enrichent. !his strategy gives eployees control over the resource necessary for perforing tasks, ake decisions on ho& to do the &ork, e*perience personal gro&th, and set their o&n &ork pace ;Daft, 20/2<. $nriched 6ob enables people to have greater sense of involveent, coitent, and otivation,
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&hich in turn contributes to higher orale, lo&er turnover, and stronger organi)ational perforance. Most of the changes applied by 'asussen are deeed effective only on production environent and not on services &hich re+uire ore huan interaction thus, aking roo for higher variability. $ployee efficiency unlike achine efficiency is ade up of coponents of attitudes8
cognitions ;thoughts<, affect
;feelings<, and behavior. nd such attitudes influence ho& &ell a person perfor on the 6ob. :eaders should strive to develop and reinforce positive attitudes because happy, positive people are healthier, ore effective, and ore productive. Alternative -. Accet t,at Eri) Ramuen i till learnin" t,e r!e !n lea&er,i. It &as ephasi)ed in the case that $rik is still young and &hile there are
leadership traits that are innate to individuals, &e cannot discount the fact that leadership is still a &ork in progress. People gain insights through eaningful e*periences. Martin has the choice to let the situation pass given that it is $rik(s first leadership assignent and he &as hired in the first place to provide a ne& perspective. Martin on his part probably also under&ent the sae situation and aking istakes is part of the 6ob so giving $rik another chance aybe is acceptable for the oent. What he sa& &as the short ter effects of the changes and there ight probably be long ter effects &hich can be good like shifting the culture to strict copliance of eployee behavior like controlled breaks, adherence to schedule, and goal driven to achieve the re+uired efficiency and cost. He sa& soe potential in $rik and he ust follo& that instinct. Alternative /. Create a &ecentrali0e& team c!mmunicati!n c,annel decentrali)ed tea counication channel is an effective &ay to
counicate the goals of the organi)ation to eployees. #ubordinates ust be given the opportunity to air their vie&s on certain changes that ay affect their 6obs. With cople* probles like efficiency and labor cost increase, decentrali)ed counication net&ork &ould enable faster e*change of ideas. pooling of inforation through &idespread counications &ill provide greater input into the decision.
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VI.
RECOMMENDATION
fter careful consideration in order to eet the ob6ectives, the follo&ing alternatives are to be ipleented8 s Peter Drucker said, ll the effective leaders I have encountered @ both those I &orked &ith and those I erely &atched @ kne& four siple things8 a leader is soeone &ho has follo&ersA popularity is not leadership, results areA leaders are highly visible, they set e*aplesA leadership is not rank, privilege, titles or oney, it is responsibility. Martin Quinn, as a leader hiself, can greatly influence $rik to align his leadership style to the kind of &orking environent Mountain West Health Plans, Inc. has. Alternative 1. Balance Human Re!urce Strate"#$ E%%icienc# an& C!t Strate"ie best describes this shifting of leadership style. 9ased on assessent
and given that 'asussen is still young and hard&orking, he can ake necessary ad6ustents and changes. fter all, it &ill also be a test of character for hi to sho& his fle*ibility in adapting to changes, &hich is by the &ay an iportant trait for a leader. lthough there is also a possibility that $rik &ill not adopt to changes right a&ay given his idealistic vie& of things and &ith lack of e*perience. #o REFERENCES
bler, %eorge ;20/7< Leadership is Not Title or Position. 'etrieved 2 ?uly 20/B fro http8CC&&&.georgeabler.coCleadership-is-not-title-or-positionC Daft, '. ;20/0<. anagement ;th $d.<. Mason, EH8 "engage :earning. :eadership %rid FPhotoG. 'etrieved 2 ?uly 20/B fro http8CC&&&.progressivedairy.coCtopicsCanageentCevolving-the-authorityobedience-anageent-philosophy FPhotoG. 'etrieved 2 ?uly 20/B fro https8CC&&&.pinterest.coCe*ploreCatt-boerC
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