Written analysis and communication report
Executive Summary Shanthala, a new joinee in a technology startup, Augur, is struggling with the problem of her supervisor, Ritesh, taking credit for her hard work. She is deeply affected by Ritesh’s attitude towards her and other team members’ effort and she wants to come out with a solution. The options she has are talking directly to Ritesh, talking to Varun for Team Reallocation or complaining about Ritesh, do nothing and wait till Ritesh is promoted or switch her job. The criteria for evaluating these options can be expected effectiveness, potential damage to her career, time taken to implement and psychological pressure felt. Based on the evaluation of the various options possible, the best plan for Shanthala seems to be talking to Ritesh about her concerns and her expectations from the work. She must approach Ritesh to discuss her issue and emphasize that her contribution has been central to his successful presentation. Index 1. Situation Analysis………………………….……………………………………………1 2. Opportunity Statement………………………………………………………………….1 3. Options for the Problem………………...………………………………………………2 4. Criteria of Evaluation……………………………………………………………………2 5. Evaluation of options……………………………………………………………………2 6. Recommendation……………………………………………………………......……...4 7. Action Plan and Implementation……………………………………………………….4 8. Contingency plan…………………………………………………………………….….4 Situation Analysis Hailing from a small town, Shanthala wanted to come out of her cocooned existence and explore the ethos of a big city. An ambitious fresh graduate, she chose to join Augur, a technology startup. She was assigned under Ritesh, an achiever and also ‘a fun guy to work with. She was a disciplined, organized worker who finished her work well before the deadline and believed that one’s work should speak for oneself. Though Ritesh assigned a larger share of work to Shanthala, she sensed that he was denying her the due credit. On multiple occasions, he claimed her work to be his, thus garnering praise from Varun, the CEO and others. Shanthala thought her eureka moment had arrived when she discovered an important flaw in the Neoven account. She was very disappointed and infuriated with Ritesh when he took all the credit for this too in the meeting but she did not speak up for herself. Opportunity statement Shanthala was deeply affected by Ritesh’s attitude towards her and other team members’ effort. Though she raised this issue with her team-mates, they brushed it aside saying that Varun was aware of the team’s efforts. This left Shanthala wondering if her hard work was futile and what she could do to ensure that she got credit for her ideas and efforts. Options 1. Shanthala can talk to Ritesh 2. Shanthala can talk to Varun for Team Reallocation/Complain about Ritesh 3. She does nothing and waits till Ritesh is promoted 4. She switches job Criteria for evaluation 1. Expected effectiveness 2. Potential damage to the career 3. Time Taken to Implement 4. Psychological pressure felt Evaluation of Options First we score all the options according to the criteria form 1-5 (with 1 being least and 5 being most) and then explain each of them in detail Talk to Ritesh Talk to Varun Do nothing Switch job Effectiveness 3 2 1 5 Potential damage 2 4 2 3 Time taken 1 3 5 4 Pressure felt 2 3 5 2 Option 1: Talk to Ritesh Talking to her team leader will take the least time and since he is the team leader he is approachable. After listening to her, Ritesh may or may not take any action to redress her issues as he may have his sight set on his own promotion. Since the matter has not been escalated whatsoever, there will be almost no backlash to Shanthala’s office life, except if for some reason Ritesh becomes vindictive towards her. Option 2: Talk to Varun for team reallocation/ complain about Ritesh Shanthala will be bypassing her team leader and talking directly to the CEO. This might take more time because Varun is a busy man and talking to a new comer about team problems who is under a star performer is not at the top of his priority list. Shanthala’s problem might not get attended to effectively. Moreover, the potential backlash is enormous because if Ritesh comes to know of this conversation he may become less inclined to be friendly towards her. Hence Shanthala might feel immense psychological pressure. We also don’t have any information about the other team leaders and can’t comment if her problem will be solved by switching teams. Option 3: Do nothing until Ritesh’s promotion Ritesh is rumored to become the next VP, so his actions may be directed towards that. There is no certainty regarding Ritesh’s promotion, so adopting this course will mean that her present state of mind will persist. There is a chance that Ritesh’s behavior will not change post-promotion so this may not be the best course of action. Also, Shanthala may continue to be subjected to the same practice in the future. Option 4: Switch jobs The main reason for Shanthala to switch jobs would be lack of due visibility and injustice. Switching jobs to a bigger company will mean there will a dedicated department for redressals, in case she faces the same problem there. This might also be an opportunity for her to choose a company where she is better suited to the culture. Nevertheless, Shanthala’s hesitance to speak up or ability to cope up with corporate culture might persist.Recommendation Based on the evaluation of the various options possible, the best plan for Shanthala seems to be talking to Ritesh about her concerns and her expectations from the work. Action Plan and Implementation Shanthala must approach Ritesh to discuss her issue and emphasize that her contribution was central to Ritesh’s successful presentation. Shanthala should adopt a demeanor which is neither too confronting nor too meek. She could start by seeking feedback on her performance so far and inquire if Ritesh has any complaints regarding her work. Further, she should clearly articulate to Ritesh how her morale has dropped low owing to Ritesh not acknowledging her contribution. With the amount of effort that the team puts in while working on a project, it is demotivating if the team leader does not appreciate the efforts of the individual members. She could ask Ritesh the reason behind not being given due credit. At the same time, she needs to point out the way she looks at life and her work ethics. The reason behind her conduct is her previous experience and cultural upbringing. This will also portray her genuineness to understand the reason for the lack of recognition from Ritesh. Contingency Plan There is a possibility Ritesh will not pay enough heed to Shanthala’s grievances. In such a scenario, Shanthala will have to show some courage and leadership. She can choose not to reveal her findings to Ritesh but directly address it to the team during meetings. This can certainly gain her ample amount of visibility and also will prevent Ritesh from stealing her thunder.
Akhil Yadav