OBSERVATIONS.

In addition to data co llected objectively, the participant-observation type role of the investigator enabled ide ntification of other noteworthy mate rial. lt was possible to ide ntify seven members of the g roup who appeared to play a central role in the problem. The remai ning members of the g roup became i nextricably drawn into the difficu lties of these seven key playe rs. lt was the wo rk envi ronment of the non-ce ntral players that was affected howeve r, and it was the non-ce ntral playe rs who appeared to experie nce the g e neralised low morale. lt was i nte resti ng therefo re to analyse the acti ons of the seve n key players. Th e followi ng re presents a brief case study, prepared by the i nvestigator on the basis of cli nical rather than formally objective analysis.

Participant 1 fai led to participate in parts of the p roject. For instance his Ti melog and Organisatio nal Cli mate data was missi n g . Reports from h is staff and other obse rvers indicated that i n the workplace he was also a non­ partici pant. He was an outsider to the rest of the group.

His cog nitive map i ndicated that his i ntentions at work were admirable. 1t illust rated a clear understanding of the section's fu nctio n i n g and thei r commercial needs. He was h owever a you ng and i nexpe rienced manager, th rust into the role by vi rtue of his engineeri ng qualifications, rather than on the basis of managerial or su pervisory abi lity. He was coping with neither the expectations of his staff, nor his own se lf-i m posed expectations as expressed in his cog nitive map. In the face of this ro le co nflict and ro le overload, he tended to NaQ1 to his staff rather than p rofessional ly.

i nvestigator t h at Partici pant 1 was aware of h i s i nadequaci es, eve n if subconsciously , and that some of his problem behaviours were , in effect, cri es fo r h e l p . He was out of h i s dept h , expe riencing role overload, experiencing severe stress and waiting for his senior managers to come to h i s rescue . U nfortu nately, the senior manage rs were not receiving his signals. The i nvestigato r reco m me nded to the client that Participant 1 's responsibi lities s hould be reduced. This was done and al most a year afte r the project had concluded, at a chance meeting , Participant 1 informed the investigator that the downsizi ng had been beneficial. lt had g iven him time and s pace in which to reflect o n his inadequacies, and h ad provided h i m with t h e psyc ho logical capacity t o actually admit to those i nadequacies and that he had been out of his depth.

Partici pant 6 w anted to manag e h e r manag e r and see m ed to have an i nflated perception of her abi lity and her status. S h e tended to u ndermine Participant 1 's authority in passi ng orders to field staff. The field staff in turn , repo rted to the i nvestigator that her instructions were frequently contrary to those of Partici pant 1 . Her cognitive map appears to hold admirable, we ll reasoned lines of thought. Howeve r the productio n of this cog nitive map rather surprised the i nvestigator s i nce , i n the workplace , Partici pant 6 tended to behave in a manner which was almost the di rect converse of the sentiments expre ssed in the cognitive map. This was a good demonstration of the notion that people do not necessari ly act in accordance with their stated i ntentions o r attitudes.

The fou r re mote field staff produced an "obey authority" co nstruct. At the elicitatio n works h op it became clear to the investigator that these fou r staff had a fai rly clear u nderstandi ng of the co mmercial needs of the small co mmu nities that they served. They were frustrated with a lack of senior manag ement d i rectio n and authority to proceed with new work ( another example of ro le conflict). They vi ewed their di rect junior manag e r as a member of that senior management team and vented their frustrations o n h i m . Their frustrations ste m med from a lack o f tru st a n d a general lack o f respect for authority. I n response , they tended to engage i n o ne-up-man­ ship game-playing with their manager. They wou ld set him up, and when he faltered , would take g reat delight in letting other people know.

I n sum mary, the ce ntral problem seemed to i nvo lve a triangu lar co nflict between Participant 1 , Participant 6 , and the group of 4 re mote field staff. The field staff were frustrated with and had deve loped a m istrust of the office . This main ly consisted of a poor relationshi p with both Participant 1 and Participant 6. Participant 1 _{was not coping and in the midst of this , the}

fie ld staff and Participant 6 were maki ng his life a misery.

Participant 1 2 , _{who produced a cog nitive map notable for its complexity and}

lack of matu rity , was the catalyst for flai r-ups. Rather than si nki ng i nto despair, and getting on with the job, as did other staff, Participant 1 2 tended

to expose the problems. She contributed to the problem i n that she took sides with Participant 6 , and i n some instances became Participant 6's pawn for making g rievances heard.

I n view of these observations, and in hi ndsight, it i s a pity that fu ll g rids were n ot co mpleted. With such data more definitive statements m ay have bee n possi ble regarding these seve n central figures.

JOB STRIVE PERSONAL P.R

SATIS- TO MAKE PRIDE IT IS

FACTION lHINGS IN WORK IMPORTANT

IS OF BE TIER IS I'-4'0R- _MESS TO HAVE

FUND A- (for TANT _THE A GOOD

MENTAL everyone) PUBLIC PUBLIC

IMPORTANCE ROUND IMAGE

NHANCE

QUALITY

NHANCE F WORK

WORK PROVIDE

ENVIR- A GOOD

ONMENT GIVE ENHANCE PROVIDE ALL

BOTH ON PAS SMOOTH THE ROUND

THE CO. _SERVICE SERVICE

& WORK MANCE AS

MATES _XPECTE BE HAPPY

A FAIR _A.S.A.P. TO HELP WE'RE FUNDA-

DEAL _FORTH ENHANCE CUSTOMER MENTALLY INVOLV-

· RECORD EO IN PROVIDING

Don't KEEPING ENHANCE A SERVICE TO

ENHANCE dwell o & FILE EFFIC- THE PUBLIC

the pas ACCURAC IENCY

BE

NCOURAG

EFFORT

BE ORGANISED

ENHANCE NCOURAGE _ENHANCE BE DO USE WORK

WORKING STAFF OR _OFFICE FUTURE GOOD TO

RELATION LIAISON ENHANCE ORIENTE WORK AHEAD TOOL BENEFIT

SHIPS (Intra- OFFICE _{OF SPECIAL WORK FOR} EXTERNAL

Dept. MANAGE- PROJECTS lHE GOOD CUSTOMER

Coop- MENT _{O F T HE} eratve DEPT. inter· AHEAD OF action CONTRACT- ORS ENCOIJRAGE EVERYON

TO PULL lHEIA WEIGHT

FIGURE 7.3 : EXAMPLE COGNITIVE MAP FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL (PARTICIPANT 6 : OFFICE WORKER)

CREDIBILITY IN EVERYONE'S EYES (Mngt. & po.blc) IS IMPORTANT ENHANCE INTEGRITY: AVOID "CRYING WOLF" SHOW THAT WHAT YOU WANT IS WHAT YOU PUT IN EFFORT AVOID ADVERSELY AFFECTING OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK MEET DEADLINES or DO DEADLINE WORK AHEAD OF INCIDENTAL WORK m <0

ENHANCE WORKING RELATlON- SHIPS NCOURAG STAFF LIAISON (lnlra­ Dopt. Coop­ eratve inter· act on ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PULL THEIR WEIGHT

P.A.