JP Morgan Chase Leadership Assignment

June 2, 2011
 As Luthans, Yodgetts, and Rosenkrantz study suggests, middle- and lower-level

managers spend about three-fifths of their time on structural activities (routine

communications and traditional management functions like planning and controlling),

about one-fifth on human resource management (people related activities like motivating,

disciplining, training, staffing), and about one-fifth on networking (political activities like

socializing, politicking, and relating to external constituents (B & D Chapter 15). Simply

put, middle- and lower-level managers focus primarily on routine tasks, while executives

spend the majority of their time grappling with complexity. Throughout chapter fifteen a

constant theme seemed to emerge – middle- and lower-level managers tend to focus

primarily on the structural and human resource frames. Based on the aforementioned,

this analysis of JP Morgan Chase will examine the challenges I will likely encounter as a

middle-level manager, it will outline my goals and priorities that will assist me in

successfully leading my team, and will present key takeaways/lessons learned from my

implemented strategies. It has become apparent that all four frames illustrated in B &

D’s “Reframing Organizations” text can be applied to virtually any situation, however, I

will focus primarily on the structural, human resource and symbolic frames to guide my

strategies.

Credibility is extremely fragile. It takes years to be earned, but it can be lost in an

instant (Kouzes & Posner). Although simplistic, this statement is extremely powerful and

has become particularly relevant in the financial services arena. As communicated in The

American Life Episode titled “The Giant Pool of Money”, many links in the financial

services chain disregarded credibility; Brokers borrowed to unqualified borrowers, banks

purchased bad mortgages from brokers, banks sold the same bad mortgages to Wall
Street investors – all while fully understanding their actions were “toxic”, each link

completely and utterly disregarded the credibility factor. Based on past actions of the

financial services industry, current middle-level managers will be faced by opposition

and skepticism from employees and the public alike. Middle-level managers must

productively and positively manage their credibility. To do so, I must know my

constituents, stand up for what they and I believe, speak with passion, and lead by

example (Kouzes & Posner) – all concepts that parallel directly with human resources

frame. Also, I must make an extremely concentrated effort on upward and downward

communication with subordinates and superiors – following the concept that human

resource leaders are visible and accessible (B& D Chapter 17).

Next, today’s economic situation demands that businesses, including JP Morgan

Chase, pay particular attention to managing expenses – including employees. Layoffs

have become inevitable in the recent economic downturn, and JP Morgan Chase has been

no exception, laying off 5,000 employees in 2008 with more layoffs expected in 2009.

Thus, the structural frame becomes an important aspect that all levels of management

must make a concentrated effort on managing. Throughout the readings about JP Morgan

Chase, it becomes apparent that due to environmental shifts, restructuring was inevitable

(B & D Chapter 4). To be a productive leader, managers at all levels must combine

structural and human resource frames together. We mustn’t deny the fact that changes

are happening, we should be open and honest – but we must focus on retaining,

motivating, rewarding and investing in the right employees. As a middle-level manager I

must establish the importance of accountability within my team. I must minimize lack of

clarity while maximizing and promoting creativity. Finally, my team will employ an All-
Channel Network (B & D Chapter 5). Teamwork will rely on interdependence amongst

the entire group. Communication will flow upwards, downwards and across all channels.

My group will succeed because team members will understand and rely upon one another

– because realistically, it was selfishness and greed that doomed the financial services

industry and landed us where we are today.

Finally, all levels of management, including myself as a middle-level manager,

need to apply the symbolic frame to our advantage. Yes, it’s true that the financial

services industry is currently not highly regarded by the American public and/or many of

its own employees. However, while the financial services industry may be frowned upon

as a whole, JP Morgan Chase needs to focus on and communicate the fact they have

emerged as a leader, both from an industry and public opinion perspective. JP Morgan

Chase managers need to follow the lead of Anne Mulcahy of Xerox. Mulcahy

prominently used the symbolic frame as the blueprint of her leadership style in the Xerox

case study we recently analyzed. This becomes overwhelmingly evident in a heated

exchange during a meeting with legal advisors concerning the possibility of bankruptcy;

“You just don’t get it. You don’t understand what it’s like to be an employee in this

company…What we have going for us is that our people believe we are in a war that we

can win” (George & McLean). JP Morgan Chase needs to emphasize its emergence as a

leader in the financial services arena – constantly reminding their employees to show a

sense of pride for helping to lead the financial services industry back to prominence from

both a public and an industry perspective. JP Morgan Chase has been instrumental in

mortgage restructuring efforts to assist at risk consumers – exuding their desire to repair

public perception. If we can emerge a leader from dismal point that the financial services
industry has reached – what’s stopping us from continuing the same leadership and

greatness in everything we do today and in the future? Nothing. We were, are, and will

continue to be a great company.

In conclusion, as previously stated in my introduction, all four frames of B & D’s

“Reframing Organizations” text can be applied to virtually any situation. However,

simply applying these frames will not ensure success; poorly planned and unorganized

application of the frames can have quite the converse effect. Managers of all levels at JP

Morgan Chase need to make a conscious effort to methodically and properly use frames

to tilt the scale in their favor. In this analysis, I have touched on a few of the many

organizational behavior concepts from the human resource, structural, and symbolic

frames. It is my opinion that these concepts, along with various others, can assist JP

Morgan Chase managers of all levels in leading their teams through today’s difficult

times, and in the end, assist them in ensuring that JP Morgan Chase emerges as a

stronger, more efficient, and more credible corporation tomorrow and in the future.