Leadership Training Case Study Essay Example

Leadership Training Case Study Essay Example Leadership Training Case Study Essay Leadership Training Case Study Essay Improving Productivity Coastal Bank is a large bank in a southeastern city. As a part of a comprehensive internal management study, Harris Meade, the data processing vice president, examined the turnover, absenteeism, and productivity figures of all work groups in the organization. The results Meade obtained contained no real surprises except in the case of the check-sorting and data-processing departments. The Research The inquiry revealed that in general the departments displaying high turnover and absenteeism rates had low production figures, and those with low turnover and absenteeism were highly productive. No surprise there. When analysis began on the check-sorting and data-processing figures, however, Meade discovered that both departments were tied for the lead for the lowest turnover and absenteeism figures. What was surprising was that the check-sorting department ranked first as the most productive unit, whereas the electronic data-processing department ranked last. That inconsistency was further complicated by the fact that the working conditions for check-sorting employees are extremely undesirable. They work in a large open room that is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They work alone and operate high-speed check-sorting machines requiring a high degree of accuracy and concentration. There is little chance for interaction because they all take rotating coffee breaks. The computer room is air-conditioned, with a stable temperature year round; it has perfect lighting and is extremely quiet and comfortable. It was known that both groups are highly cohesive and that the workers generally function well with others in their department. This observation was reinforced by the study’s finding of the low levels of turnover and absenteeism in both departments. The Interview Data In an effort to understand this phenomenon (similar productivity despite vastly different conditions), Meade decided to interview the members of both departments. Meade hoped to gain some insight into the dynamics of each group’s behavior. It was discovered that the check-sorting department displayed a great deal of loyalty to the company. Most of the group was unskilled or semiskilled workers; although they have no organized union, each person felt that the company had made special efforts to keep their wages and benefits in line with unionized operations. They knew that their work required team effort and were committed to high performance. A quite different situation existed in the data-processing department. Although the workers liked their fellow employees, there was a uniform feeling among this highly skilled group that management placed more emphasis on production than on staff units. It was their contention that pay increases had been better for operating departments and that the gap between the wage earners and salaried employees did not reflect the skill differences. Because of that, a large percentage of the group displayed little loyalty toward the company, even though they were very close among themselves. The Challenge There is some degree of urgency to improve productivity in this situation. A major competitor in the region is increasing its market share, while Coastal Bank’s market share is trending downward in the last two quarters. One challenge the bank faces is how to make the data-processing unit more productive. Other low-performing departments may need focus as well, particularly in the areas of absenteeism and turnover. It is possible that system-wide change may be needed. You are Harris Meade and you are tasked with improving productivity throughout the bank: HOW do you decide on the best course of action? What is the best method to make the decision? HOW do you implement any change that may be needed? Suggestion for use: have learners answer the case study individually. Then break them into small groups to discuss and come to some consensus. There is no â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† answer in this case study, as is true of many leadership decisions. The best a leader can do is to align with organizational priorities, seek the input of others, develop reasonable plans, and try to make a thoughtful decision. It is probably a good idea, in this case, to appoint a cross-functional team composed of workers from each department and other bank departments, too, to make recommendations to management.

Learn the Conjugations of Pluerer (to Cry) in French

Learn the Conjugations of Pluerer (to Cry) in French The French verb  pluerer  means to cry. When you want to say he is crying in the present tense or we cried in the past tense, the verb must be conjugated. A quick lesson will introduce you to the simplest forms of  pluerer, which you can study and memorize for use in your conversations. The Basic Conjugations of  Pleurer French verb conjugations may not be most French students favorite things to learn, but when you have a verb like pleurer, it is just a little easier. Thats because this is a regular -er verb, meaning it uses a very common conjugation pattern. If you have studied other verbs such as  quitter  (to leave) or  prà ©parer  (to prepare), you can use what you learned for those and apply it here. The key is to find the verb stem (or radical), which is  pleur-. To that, you will add different endings to form each conjugation. The endings you need are found in the chart. All you have to do is pair the appropriate subject pronoun to the tense of your subject. For example, I am crying is  je pleure  and we cried is  nous pleurions. Present Future Imperfect je pleure pleurerai pleurais tu pleures pleureras pleurais il pleure pleurera pleurait nous pleurons pleurerons pleurions vous pleurez pleurerez pleuriez ils pleurent pleureront pleuraient The Present Participle of  Pleurer As with most regular verbs, the  present participle  of  pleurer  is formed with an -ant  ending. This forms the word  pleurant. Pleurer  in the Compound Past Tense The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a compound past tense that is very common in French. To form it, you will need to conjugate avoir  (an auxiliary verb) into the present tense. The past tense is implied by the  past participle  pleurà ©, which is attached to the end. For example, I cried is  jai pleurà ©Ã‚  and we cried is  nous avons pleurà ©. More Simple Conjugations of  Pleurer Among the other simple conjugations you may need are the subjunctive and the conditional. The former draws into question the act of crying. The latter says that someone will only cry if something else happens. If you read or write much French, you may also need  the passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive. These are literary tenses and most often used in formal writing. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je pleure pleurerais pleurai pleurasse tu pleures pleurerais pleuras pleurasses il pleure pleurerait pleura pleurt nous pleurions pleurerions pleurmes pleurassions vous pleuriez pleureriez pleurtes pleurassiez ils pleurent pleureraient pleurrent pleurassent When you want to say Cry! in French, or some other short, really direct phrase, use  the imperative form.  All formality is lost here, so theres no need to include the subject pronoun. Simply say, Pleure  ! Imperative (tu) pleure (nous) pleurons (vous) pleurez