Answer 1:

INTRODUCTION:
Workspace conflict is unavoidable when you have people from different backgrounds,
experience and various work styles are combined together for a shared business purpose. A
conflict can arise when one party believes that the other party’s actions or views may
threaten or affect their interests.
We’re well aware that conflicts in an organization can come with great pros and cons, some
that can significantly affect the workplace and reputation of a business. It can also have
tremendous benefits when managed appropriately. Unresolved conflicts can also lead to
emotional stress for employees, attrition and divert attention from the organization’s
mission
Unsatisfied employees of an organization reach out to and seek help from external
resources such as unions to help protect them and negotiate on their behalf on issues such
as compensation, benefits and employment.
CONCEPTS + APPLICATION:
Let’s look at some of the techniques to effectively tackle the situation at M/s Landmark
Construction and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.
1. Avoiding/Withdrawing
2. Accommodating
3. Collaborating
4. Competing/Forcing
5. Compromising

1. Avoiding/Withdrawing
In this technique, employees or management may avoid conflicts or even
highlighting/reporting a particular issue. They may also allow it to resolve itself. This
technique might be helpful when the issue is not major and less likely to have a huge
impact on the business or team.

Advantages
 Advantages of using this technique is to save time and be efficient by
concentrating and putting in efforts in more productive activities.
 A good approach to low level conflicts as it gives enough time to prepare should
a conflict arise again in future.
Disadvantages

 Withdrawing or avoiding a conflict may worsen the issue at a later point of time
where the conflict can blow out of proportion and lead to escalations down the
chain if not highlighted and actioned in advance.
  Team members may lose confident in the person and feel that they lack skills and
are not proactive.

2. Accommodating
In this technique, an individual is more concerned about their co-worker or the other
person’s feelings and needs as compared to their own. This style is adopted in
companies where employees are keen on forming social relationships.

Advantages
 This technique also requires less effort and the individual can focus on
essential activities. The situation can be handled easily bringing balance and
encouraging goodwill.
 Can provide a temporary solution while still looking for a permanent fix.
Disadvantages

 This technique may require closer monitoring and control to ensure that both
parties are in full agreement.
 If the approach is not handled smoothly, one party can take advantage of the
other individual for their own benefit.

3. Collaborating or Problem Solving

Here, individuals and parties are willing to work together to achieve common goals.
Both parties arrive at an agreement keeping in mind and being aware of the bigger
organizational goals and values. This is one of the most efficient conflict resolution
techniques.

Advantages
 Both parties understand have a shared responsibility and commitment at
achieving the organizations’ bigger goals and collaborating/partnering with
each other promotes confidence and trust in team members.
 Multiple stakeholders are involved in the process and when the conflict is
resolved it leads to a win-win situation that lasts for a longer period. It also
builds a solid ground for better collaboration in the future.
Disadvantages

 Requires additional effort and time for both parties to arrive at a mutual
resolution when compared to other methods. Can involve multiple functions,
executive leadership teams and personnel to try and resolve the issue.
 This technique cannot be used for all conflicts. Considering the time and
resources involved, it may generally work for conflicts that have a high
impact or those that severely affect a project or organization.

4. Competing/Forcing
 When a quick decision needs to be made during emergencies, this technique of
conflict resolution can be helpful. (eg. life threating situation, to stop aggression).
When an individual firmly asserts their viewpoint despite resistance from the other
party, the technique is known as competing or forcing a conflict to closure.

Advantages
 May provide a quick resolution to the conflict or situation. It almost requires
minimum to no effort from the management to quickly make a decision, thus
saving a lot of time.
 Can draw respect and pride when the action or call to response is met with
aggression or hostility.
Disadvantages

 Can negatively impact the relationship with the other party in the long run as
the decision was forced upon them. It may also cause the opposing party to
react in the same way, even if they did not have that intention earlier.
 Using this technique may create a negative impression of the party directing
the resolution and may also lose out on opportunities in the future.

5. Compromising
Useful when multiple stakeholders involved have equal power, this technique is used
where individuals or groups arrive at a decision to satisfy each other partially. People
believe in the give or take approach in which both parties have to arrive at mutually
agreeable terms.

Advantages
 This technique can is practical when time is a factor and the conflict require a
faster resolution. Both the management and individual/party may require
lesser time and effort to arrive at a decision.
 Lower levels of stress involved resolving the conflict as both parties seek to
understand each other and may also look for a temporary solution.
Disadvantages

 This technique doesn’t contribute to building trust in the long run as both
parties have to compromise and settle on a decision in order to resolve the
conflict.

CONCLUSION:
Considering the situation and looking at how each party is equally strong, the best possible
way to resolve the standoff between management and the union would be to adopt the
compromise technique to resolve the current conflict.
Management has to understand that its employees have needs and its them who drive the
organization’s business. Compensation and benefits need to be reviewed frequently and be
adjusted to industry standards. At the same time, the union standing up for these
employees should also be willing to come to an agreement that some of their demands are
exaggerated and not all of them can be met in order to smoothly operate business.
In the interest of the organization’s larger values and long-term goals, both parties have to
agree to certain terms and arrive at a conclusion that will help the company stick to its core
values while also promoting growth and opportunities.

Answer 2:
Introduction
Motivation is a key factor for any organization to gain the devotion and trust of their
employees and utilize them to enhance their business goals. Organizations, no matter the
size or revenue need motivated workers who are positively challenged to work effectively
and efficiently. Non-employee friendly policies and leadership styles make employees quit
their organizations. This can not only hurt the brand of the organization but also hamper
bringing in future customers/clients.
Employees who are motivated, encouraged and rewarded on a timely basis not only
perform better, but they also find ways to creatively support and drive innovation within
their organization. They also have increased levels of job satisfaction and work towards
achieving organization goals.
In the case of M/s PoleStar & Co., the external consultant would play a key role in
convincing and guiding the Human Resource department and Senior Management of the
company to review their existing policies around monetary and non-monetary employee
benefits.

Concepts and Application:

As a consultant hired to find ways to motivate and retain existing employees, and acquire
fresh talent from the marketplace, here are some approaches to handling the situation:
Monetary/Non-Monetary motivation
Looking at the existing policies of the organization, it appears that employees are not being
paid on-par with industry standards. Having employees work 40 hours a week while not
paying them adequately for their efforts and skill can be highly de-motivating. Below are a
few suggestions that can be implemented:
 a. Reward employees based on their tenure. Employees who have completed
one/two/three years, etc get a monetary reward basis year of service in their
subsequent payroll.
b. Reward employees based on their performance with additional bonuses during peak
work season and on a quarterly basis. Stack ranking employees based on their
performance can drive productivity and positive competition within the workforce.
c. Renew tie-ups with insurance providers to provide better medical care to employees
and their dependents.
Job Rotation
Employees working in the same job function or department for an extended period will find
work monotonous. Employees should be provided with opportunities to apply to different
positions/work locations internally.
a. Rework internal job postings policies to allow employees to apply for different
positions/openings. For example: A service delivery associate might be interested in
a Training or Recruiting position. Facilitate such movements to rotate the existing
talent.
Job Enrichment
An idea developed by American psychologist Frederick Hertzberg in the 50s, job enrichment
is an attempt to motivate employees by giving them the opportunity to use the range of
their abilities.
a. Periodic training interventions can help enhance employees’ product knowledge
within their domain. Simple activities like quizzes and 1-day process training
refreshers can keep the team engaged and improve their product handling skills to
support the business.
b. Periodically nominate top performing employees to take on additional projects, tasks
and enable them with better exposure to their supervisors. This will help them stay
motivated and grow within the organization.
Flexible Shifts and Development of skills
Larger companies like Netflix and Deloitte no longer have fixed shifts and a standard number
of holidays if the work gets done. This shows that they respect and trust their employees
enough to get the work done. It can also have a positive effect on the morale of employees.
While large businesses can afford to take huge steps like these, small businesses can also
afford to adjust their policies without huge consequences. Some steps that can be taken
are:
c. Rotate shifts periodically. Allow employees to choose a shift that’s convenient to
their support their work and life outside work. Setup a system where shifts/week
offs can be rotated once in a quarter. This allows employees to be more flexible with
their working hours.
 d. Allow and encourage work from home options if employees have adequate setup at
home to support their work. This not only reduces transport cost but also the
logistics for setup in a workplace/office.
e. Arrange training interventions by the Learning and Development team to develop
soft skills, technical skills that are relevant to the organization’s needs. This will also
help employees stay competent in the industry, pursue their interests while
increasing productivity to meet business goals.
Goal Setting
Setting clear and specific goals is crucial to motivating employees. As per Locke’s theory of
goal setting, employees do best when goals represent a challenge, which decreases
boredom and promotes their internal motivation into action.
a. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) goals to help
employees achieve their targets. Facilitate managers and employees to work
together in setting up their goals and have system in place to track their progress.
Example:
An employee of M/s PoleStar & Co would like to earn a promotion to a Senior Associate
position by completing required training modules in 4 months and applying for the role at
the end of next quarter.
Specific: The employee has clearly set an objective to be promoted to Sr. Associate.
Measurable: Success can be measured by finishing the training, apply for the role and
getting the promotion.
Achievable: The employee will complete the training necessary to earn the promotion.
Realistic: The employee plans to apply for the position only after finishing the training
modules.
Timely: The employee has a deadline to achieve their goal by the end of next quarter.

Conclusion:
It is clear to note that employee motivation and satisfaction are of utmost importance to an
organization’s performance and longevity. Numerous studies indicate that employees who
are motivated, encouraged and well rewarded are more productive, involved and
committed towards achieving the company’s goals and has a direct correlation to its success
in the industry.
An empowered and motivated employee can easily align their goals and work to the
company’s vision. Such employees are also committed to stay loyal with their organization
and thus reduce turnover rates. This would thereby help an organization in utilizing its
resources appropriately, and not look for replacements or new hires.
3.a.
INTRODUCTION:
IBM is a well-known multinational corporation with over 100 years expertise. Their
businesses include Computer Hardware, IT services and IT consulting, and they have
operations in over 170 countries.
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the organization
would help us determine its business prospects, assess internal and external factors as well
as current and future potential of the company. Let’s take a look at the same below:
CONCEPTS + APPLICATION:
Strengths

 Brand Reputation: With over 100 years of experience and business operations in the
IT industry, they stand out for their brand value. They have a significant market
reach all over the world in almost every market they operate. They’ve won
numerous awards for having the best leaders, Green IT practices, and also for being
one of the most admired companies.
 Diversified Business: IBM has a large diverse portfolio of products and services. Their
businesses include Cloud Computing, data and analytics, Internet of Things, IT
infrastructure, IT hardware and security. The company is also strategically located in
multiple geographies and earns more than 60% of their income from outside US.
Weaknesses

 Shrinking Revenues: Servers and Storage which accounted for about 20% of IBM’s
revenue has declined to 16% and a 6% decline in margins. IBM’s revenue has been
down from $102 Billion in 2012 to $77 Billion in 2019 facing stiff competition in
multiple businesses that it operates. IBM has also had higher operating costs which
translates into its products and services offered.
 Employee Attrition: IBM’s sheer size is also its problem. With an employee
headcount of over 352,000 people, there has been a 20% reduction in its workforce
since 2013. In 2009, there were rumours that IBM looked at reducing its US
workforce to 70,000.
Opportunities

 Tap into emerging markets: IBM’s brand value stood at $75.5 Billion as of 2012.
With its expertise and reputation, they should look to tapping into emerging markets
and technologies such as Internet of Things (IOT), advanced Data Analytics, Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning. The company should focus on these growing
divisions as they’re capable of generating higher profits and better growth
opportunities.
 IBM can take its Small Medium Business to a competitive edge by making use of its
in-house innovative technologies and increase its market share.
Threats

 Competition in Cloud Computing: IBM faces huge competition in the Cloud

Computing/Cloud as a Service market. Big players like Microsoft, Amazon and Google
have threatened IBM’s cloud offering. As of 2018, Amazon’s market share in the
Public Cloud Services Market stood at 47.8%, Microsoft at 15.5% and IBM at 1.8%.
 Competition from Organizations: Globally, IBM’s competitors are Infosys, TCS,
Accenture, Dell, HP, Google who offer similar products and services and have
expanded their reach.
CONCLUSION:
With their huge worldwide presence and large workforce, they are still a prominent and
influential organization in the technology sector. The SWOT analysis of IBM above set forth
various strategic factors that support their business survival. Despite their strengths and
positive position in the industry, there are considerable areas for improvement to develop
their business model, partner with various organizations that would help them grow.

3.b.
INTRODUCTION:
IBM has a product-type divisional organizational structure. In this structure, the organization
is divided into different individual units to cater to business needs. Divisions are created to
segregate the company’s business basis product types, geographical areas and market of
the organization. For IBM, it is a representation of different business processes involved in
managing the development, production, distribution and sales of their products.
IBM’s organizational structure has the following product-type divisions:
1. Cognitive Solutions
2. Global Business Services
3. Technology Services & Cloud Platforms
4. Systems
5. Global Financing
CONCEPT + APPLICATION:
Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of this form of organizational structure:

 Advantages:
a. Quick Decision Making
Divisional management certainly have better autonomy in taking decisions to
drive better performance, as they do not have to consult other divisional
managers or functions. An advantage of this structure is better time
management and effective utilization of resources.
 b. Specialization
Since the division operates autonomously, leadership and management are very
likely to be familiar with their employees’ needs and strategically ensure that
resources are allocated on a timely basis for them to complete tasks. A divisional
structure would allow for a high degree of specialization in completion of
projects and during product development.
c. Monitoring Results
All activities carried in a division are carried out independently and hence results
(profits/loss) can be easily monitored and assessed. There can be better scrutiny
of resources being utilized and performance management can be easily be driven
with a streamlined approach.

 Disadvantages:
a. Increased Costs
As each division tries to outperform the other and display better profits while
reaching goals, there is a high possibility of increased operational costs. Every
division needs to invest in its own R&D, marketing and personnel thereby
requiring additional funding.
b. Conflicts
With each division focused on enhancing services, driving better results and
maximizing profits, there is a possibility of conflict between Division heads.
Divisional goals may take priority over organizational goals and values if all
the Division heads are not on the same page.
c. Function Duplication
Each division would have its own function like Marketing, R&D, Finance, etc
and these functions are required in every decision. This could lead to
duplication of efforts, time, resources and also contribute to an increase in
cost. Organizational resources may not be effectively utilized.
CONCLUSION:
To make it work, divisions in an organization need to be very well managed. Executive and
corporate leadership need to have complete oversight on what each division is doing and
their role in driving performance and profits plays a key role in the success of the
organization. Top level leadership needs to understand the needs and provide excellent
leadership to accommodate strategic partnership across divisions.
In addition, an organization would greatly benefit if the executive and division leadership is
aware and has a firm control of resources being utilized under each division. This in-turn
would allow management to streamline utilization of resources and effectively reduce costs.
Shared or centrally managed office equipment can reduce costs and other complexities in
an organization.