LEADERSHIP AND POWER 193 Case 3.1 THE A-1 UNIT* “One of these days we mi from Cesar!” These words were Officer-in-Charge of the A-1 ight Teceive our first tongue-lashing disgustingly uttered by Peter Mufioz, unit of a popular government agency. THE A-1 UNIT The A-1 unit is a committee Composed of nine (9) regular members under the guidance and su; ipervision of two department heads: Mr. Cesar Regalado and Ms. Sonia Castro. A-1 was an answer to the frequent complaints of the public Tegarding the bureaucratic, red tape system which is very typical in dealing with government agencies. A-1’s main objective was to erase this impression by offering efficient service and ready information to people interested in engaging in small or big scale business which necessitated gov- emment assistance and adherence to government regulations and guidelines. Although the A-1 staff was directly under the supervision of Ms. Castro, it was an independent unit where most decisions were left to the discretion of Peter Mufioz. Being some kind of experimental unit inits initial stage, A-1 was not a formally established staff. Its original nine (9) members were recruited from several departments and offices of the agency on a detail basis. As such, each member had standing Tesponsibilities in its mother unit aside from those he received through Ac1, The list of names of members and other information about them are provided in Exhibit 1. After three months of operation, A-1 conducted a training Seminar aimed at recruiting more personnel to altemate once in a While with the regular staff. Several nominees were sent by the i bureaus of the agency. The seminar which lasted for fiveHUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATION ances of the job they ha (5) days was expected to inform the bea is oa case a to perform, the usual causes of proplesnts had to coordinate tg would handle and the different units nen (10) noe accomplish each case. The ti roduce i 7 for A-1. 194 MANAGEMENT OF raining P After six months of operation, the staff verbally aired out th desire for additional compensation for their extra work which getting to be permanent and which demanded mu and effort. This request was considered by Peter Mufioz who, in relayed it to Ms. Castro. Ms. Castro promised to open up the is during their next overall agency meeting. More than a month afi the budget for additional allowance was approved. A-1 achieved high visibility and popularity in the whole aj because of its constant coordination with other units and most cially because of its impressive months of operations. Their very attached” service received very good list of ‘clients. Clients kept on group’s dedication and sincerity. They also gained the and attention as evidenced by several good reports written in newspapers. ay Most of the group's success could be a who worked with a very organized and ti maintained good rapport with the whole staff and ‘A-1 coordinated with. Because the staff was comy women who belonged to a narrow age problem in relating and adapting to prominent hierarchy of command existed equally although Peter Mufioz wasLEADERSHIP AND POWER 195 posiness, accomplishing the nece, wernment rules and regulations, particular product that the clients Ssary documents to comply with all of which may be unique to the Were dealing with. The staff met regularly after a day's work to discuss the follow- ing issues: (a) the number of clients serviced during the day and the percentage of accomplishment; (b) special cases handled; and (c) status reports on other assignments like follow-ups of still unaccom- plished cases and on the computerization of their filing system which contained a product-firm-owner profile, During these regular meet- ings, small daily problems were sorted out and shared with each of the staff members. AREA OF CONCERN: GROUP’S COMPLAINTS Currently, Peter Mufioz was concemed about the group’s dete- riorating efficiency due to the presence of several urgent yet unfinished jobs which resulted mostly from the frequent “disappearing acts” of some of A-1’s staff and the bottlenecks and unprioritization of assignments that the staff received both from their respective home bases and those they received through A-1. Problems began about four(4) months ago when the staff was beginning to complain about the heavy workload. Every assignment seemed urgent either from their respective mother units or from A- 1. What made it worse was the absence of an exclusive typist for the group. Since mailed inquiries and special cases were piling up, the Sroup needed someone to type the reply letters and fix their filing system. The group found it troublesome to look for a vacant typist every now and then from B-1 or C-1 (which was the department handled by Mr. Regalado and the home base of Mr. Mufioz). Peter Mufioz finally requested Ms. Castro through a memo for aM exclusive secretary. Sandy, a recent graduate who worked wit AT three Months ago as a trainee was formally hired both as a Receptionist and a typist. For some time the staff was appeased because the backlog in typing jobs was at least reduced. However, the Is in assignments have not yet been resolved. Two of the T and more competent staff of A-1, Alex and Roland were B.5; jANIZATION 196 MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORG which was cur rently. mother unit B-1 é worst of all, Wag by thei Y ments and, frequently being recalled nt assign! also loaded with urge understaffed. A week after Sandy’s hiring, the Sandy to type their rush work. This troubled and Pep the A] staff who could not really do anything but ee iS ir. Mufiog as B-1 was also under the supervision of Ms. Castro. . E OF ALEX MARASIGAN ter Mufioz was that of Ale g was related by Mr. Mi i107 THE CAS! AND TINO TORRES A particular case that alarmed Pe! Marasigan and Tino Torres. The followin; “Alex is a very brilliant staff. He can write very good about the special cases which he has handled and other assignments if he wants to. He was very excited and dedicated he started with A-1 about fi has been acting strange. You talk to him and give him some tions, tell him when the assignment is due and he just nods his he: to everything you say. Then he fails to submit the report on matter how many times you remind him before the due date. A start I was very patient with him. He has just gotten married then he needed to fix his house. I have been very lenient with him. Th were even times when I allowed him to take the afternoon o: I to him that I understood his state but a remaining time he spends here productive. It is members, some of whom are even chiefs in their respecti units. They work hard and stay here all day. All of us regulars. some sort of incentive allowance for this additional. I expect each one to deserve it.” a ‘The other cause of concern of Mr. on the other hand is the next. senior antes ‘A-1. He has a lot of good and practical. a many years of experience in the gov. insights be a problem. Some time ago he eng mment He was always out and did not ¢ e to where we could contact him in case ofLEADERSHIP AND POWER 197 gpficult 0 trace him especially when it was urgent-cither an old client reeded him t0 follow up on his case or Cesar had a new assignment inion only he can do. Pati wloy sa amin umiinit ang ulo ni Cesar. Tino has had a new habit lately. He has been hanging on the one almost all day and definitely they were not all business calls. Lourdes, one of our elder staff, was embarrassed the other day. Tino had two clients in front of him while he was “cooling” with somebody on the phone. I know I don’t have the right to interfere with his onal affairs but I just hope he knows where to put the boundary between his job and his personal life. I have not really tried to talk {ohim seriously. Dyahe rin ako. We belong to the same mother unit. Marami na rin kaming pinagsamahan ni Tino. The least thing I want my staff to think about is that I’m abusing the power given to me. [don’t want them to see me as a pushy and domineering head. We’re ateam and we treat each other more than officemates. We're friends above all. In terms of material rewards, the group could not ask for more. There seemed to be a void somewhere for people to lose their sense of dedication every now and then. I know I have to be a good example and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I go to office on time, work tilllunch hours and, if needed, stay past five. I’ve never deprived them of my time to discuss certain issues where they might Teed my insights. Lourdes, one of our elder staff members had also been a source of inspiration for the group. She has been like a mother to all of us. I could not however discuss the group’s problem with her completely because she also had other obligations to attend to. I’ve also been very busy attending meetings and special assignments of Interest to A-1, T guess it all boils down to the group’s lack of initial motivation and drive to work more aggressively and I feel that it’s my Ksponsibility to find a way to do something about it. I know they &et bogged down by unexpected urgent assignments which disable to schedule their tasks for the day. I was wondering whether ther training seminar is necessary to recruit more members since ‘he frst batch we trained assumed more demanding roles in their base . Pethaps also we need a refresher course to put us back on track.IZATION 198 MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGAN! I am proud of this group and all its ers a vant to maintain its good image. There are a betwee fil of Problem—the unclear assignment arrangeme! a n unit and A-1 and the group’s attitude as a whole, T could try to talk to Ms. Castro about the assignment s but she might not be able to assure me of having complete cont of my staff because she also receives urgent assignments 7 the agency's head. I personally think that’s more important, I tried thinking of other activities which the group can in to foster more discipline and dedication. The group has activities like out of town trips or weekend parties. I guess, just been too busy lately.” Exhibit 1 THE A-1 UNIT MEMBERS NAME “ |. PETER MUNOZ LOURDES GATK . RICARDO Cal Y ALEX MARASION $%LEADERSHIP AND POWER 199 ks ema ee CS cH What types of power does Peter Muno Be tiers of the A-1 unit? Z potentially have over the Can the aa of these powers be enough to effectively lead the Ac unit? How can Mufioz sustain the allegiance of the members towards the A-1 unit? can Mufioz do to elicit high-quality contributions from Alex and Tino Torres?