The issue concerning her, is the demand for flexibility of the workweek timetable for two of her account managers. (Jana Rowe and Davis Bennett) Should she satisfy their demands or not? Will this create any kind of conflict?

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Case Study Brief Introduction.

Jessica Gonon is the Vice president of Sales and Customer support at Clarity Base.  The issue concerning her, is the demand for flexibility of the workweek timetable for two of her account managers. (Jana Rowe and Davis Bennett) Should she satisfy their demands or not? Will this create any kind of conflict?

This paper is divided into three sections. Part 1 will describe the advantages and disadvantages of accommodating work-life balance issues followed by an assessment of the current approach of working hours in the firm, ending up with some recommendations for Jessica. Part 2 will demonstrate evidence of group discussion on work-life balance issues in Cyprus, Greece and China.  Finally, Part 3 will describe the productivity potentials of multi-cultural teams, linking it with the performance of our team.  

PART 1

Advantages:

  • Family friendly environment. High flexibility in working hours gives the firm a competitive advantage in employment terms.  The firm can pride itself for its family friendly environment and will be seen by prospect employees as ideal to work within, since it would be one that considers employee demands to a very personal level.  Therefore, the firm would have a wider range of people to choose from during the firm’s next vacancies.
  • Low employee turnover. Clarity-Base has succeeded to keep employee turnover below 5% annually, something, which is not usual in the software industry.  This was due to the pro-parent environment that maintains, including an on-site childcare centre that the firm subsidized, family medical insurance, adoption assistance and paid maternity and paternity leave.  By accommodating work-life balance, turnover would be likely to decrease even more.
  • Motivation and Commitment.  By accommodating work life issues, everyone from the top management to the basic working team will be treated in the same way and no one would possess a privilege.  This impartial mechanism that shows consideration for individual employees will motivate them to concentrate on their work, therefore performing better since they will not have to worry about fairness amongst them.  Moreover, employee satisfaction can create employee commitment.  The firm would then be more secure in the sense that employees will feel that they are committed to their firm.  In the long run, motivation and commitment will contribute towards higher efficiency and profitability of the firm.        

Disadvantages:

  • Conflict. The creation of internal conflict can occur very easily in a pro-parent environment. Jana’s requests could be attributed to jealousy for Megan’s workweek flexibility.  This has as a result, the creation of a negative behaviour from Jana, who perceives her working hours as unfair work allocation.  If Jana’s request is not satisfied, then her attitude might influence other account managers, something that will have negative influence on the firm’s productivity and profitability.
  • Costly.  More account managers have to be employed if the rest of the staff requests flexibility in working hours.  For having a policy that is equal to everyone, then all the employees should be considered in terms of working hours.  Hence, if everyone prefers to work less time during the week, then more personnel will have to be employed; having a result of higher costs for the firm.
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Assessment for fairness and equitability:

Should a parent have extra benefits in the workplace in order to have enough time to spend with his/her children?  On the other hand, should one have children to have flexibility benefits?  

         Megan has been working four days a week for the last two years.  This has always been a “jealousy stimulant” for other employees.  Megan thought, has been employed on a four day week from her very first day in the workplace and her case is an exception.  She made it clear that she would get the job only if ...

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