Erik Peterson's Case Study
The problems facing Erik Peterson
Top two problems facing Erik Peterson are his lack of the line communication from Frontline employees in provision of updates, building status and needs. This hampers Erik at his efforts of establishing the position of the 21 towers (Harvard Business Review 3). The second problem is the lack of an established and clear boundary of accountability, responsibility and authority the General Manager's role from top executive managers to floor workers. Erik makes decisions including addressing issues pertaining to potential zoning and salaries for new employees.
Later, these decisions are ignored or questioned by the head office making frequent calls to question the authority of Erik and undermines the progress of the operations. In Peterson's case, he is facing critical server situations in GMCT. This is evidenced where he does not know his boss. He was confused thinking that Jenkins was his boss only to find out that he should report directly to his supervisor, Jeff Hardy. Moreover, Erik was not allowed to receive any comments or advise from Jeff because he lacked experience of operating the system server. This forced him to be isolated in his own position, leading to the behind schedule failure of implementing the system. In addition, one of the biggest issues was Erik's immediate subordinate, Curt Andrew. Curt lacked the required skills and expertise in operating and implementing key aspects of the job of a Chief Engineer. This was the crucial role under the construction system. Therefore, the problems surrounding Erik were so challenging and tough (Harvard Business Review 6).
Underlying causes of these problems
Apparently, the lack of proper communication denied Erik critical information from Frontline employees and managers in the construction project. This is because both the managers and employees were not...
In addition, they seem to lack clear communication methods in passing important information or communication their problems beyond the weekly meeting schedule. While Erik has only shown positive response in organizing these weekly meetings, there is a strong indication of the disconnect in perceptions; apparently, attendees at the construction are of the belief that these meetings are for all states including communicating emergencies; Curt and Erik appears to expect this program as a checkpoint routine without surprises (Harvard Business Review 4).
Erik's direct line manager, Jeff Hardy, has failed in clarifying the role of a General Manager or even assisting Erik to establish boundaries across lines of authority. Erik lacks someone to put brakes on his actions. Some of the Ideas proposed by Erik among them to collaborate with local officials from the public office appear to be presumable and creative if these ideas are consistent with the approaches of the headquarters. At this point, it was Jeff's responsibility to step in earlier to establish a strong communication channel. This is similar as to when Erik was not surprised when he claimed that he was meant to report to Jeff, rather than reporting directly to the CEO. Jeff Hardy is the senior boss supervising Erik; he lacks required knowledge concerning the industry and appears to be undecided over key issues including concession decisions of firing departments at different sites. Similarly, the corporate docket fails to inform Jeff about the current position of the legal negotiations with states that were under the docket of Mr. Green and Karen Cantor. The headquarters has failed to give Erik the necessary support regarding the issue of replacing Mr. Curt (Harvard Business Review 7).
Erik makes decisions about the organization assuming roles, organizational structure, and…
