Situational Analysis: The Outsider

The institute currently faces a departmental integration problem wherein the new recruit HOD, Finance is being slandered by his co-workers in the name of subject matter incompetency, disciplinary issues and rumours suggest communal favouritism as a ticket to his entry inside the institute.

Organizational Analysis:
The organizational policies require the HOD to hold a PhD degree, which required the buy talent[1] approach to be employed by the Management. This was done as the in-house talent lacked the appropriate qualification even though they possessed superior teaching skills. The structure of the Finance department requires the six faculty members to work in cohesion with each other as well as the HOD to work in the best interest of the Finance department of the institute.

Group Dynamics- Us Vs Him : Three months into the system, the faculty members have yet not been able to accept Aslam as an integral part of the team in the role of the Head of Department. The ingroup- outgroup[2] phenomenon is catalysing the friction between the ingroup faculty members and Aslam- the outgroup. With the advent of an outsider in the position of responsibility and power, many of the loyal subjects career advancement expectations have been thwarted. This may be one of the main reasons for Aslams increased non-acceptance by the group and the root cause of fretfulness expressed regarding his selection.

Protagonist Analysis: During the Selection procedure carried out by Puri, it was noticed that Aslams subject knowledge was the only domain which was not fully convincing. The same scepticism was converging into concerns from students and faculty about Aslams teaching skills. Complaints have also being received, especially from the faculty, regarding his perceived diatribe, dominating attitude and seclusion from shared team work.

While other issues hold their worth, it cannot be ignored that Aslam belonging to a minority community[3] might be one of the factors exacerbating the situation of his low acceptability in the institution.

Problem Statement:
To make Aslam feel like an insider and to employ his strengths for the benefit of the organization.

Recommendation :
1. Employing the Robbers Cave[4] experiment in the workplace. The classic experiment suggests that friction between groups can be reduced along with positive intergroup relations maintained, only in the presence of superordinate goals that promote united, cooperative action. Thus in order to promote team building activity, we should give the finance department, as a whole, an integrated task of attaining a common professional goal. This task should highlight each members contribution and their importance in the team, which is noticed and appreciated by all. Common goals should be expressed in measurable targets. These targets may range from upgrading the level of performance of the students in their department to representing their department/institution on prestigious national academic platforms like Seminars and panel discussions. 2. Assessing the teaching capability and willingness of Aslam, the Management should take a decision on whether he should be given largely administrative and managerial role within the department or should he continue as a core teaching faculty. As previously identified by Puri, Aslam has commendable academic qualifications as well as Man- management skills which can be fully harnessed in the role of head of the Finance department. 3. Enculturation[5] into the system is the definite need of the hour so that Aslam can be a better asset to the institution. Either the direct method or the Observe and inculcate method of Enculturation can be adopted to convey the organizational expectations out of him. Outbound activities would be a good start for Aslam and the team to break the ice and get to know each other in good light.

Exhibits:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Entrepreneur. Nov2011, Vol. 39 Issue 11, p73-73. 1p. Political Psychology. Aug2012, Vol. 33 Issue 4, p513-529. 17p. 1 Diagram, 1 Chart. Oxford Bulletin of Economics & Statistics. Aug2012, Vol. 74 Issue 4, p547-573. 27p. 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realistic_conflict_theory#Robbers_cave_study
E Journal of Organizational Learning & Leadership. 2010, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p62-75. 14p.