Laboratory Management

Case Analysis
Management, Leadership, Organization and Communication

Blenn is the associate director of a non-profit agency that provides

assistance to child and families. He is the head of a department that focuses on
evaluating the skill-building programs ,the agency provides to the families. He
reports directly to the agency leadership. In its entirety, the agency has been
cautious in hiring this year because of increase competition for grant funding.
However , the company had also suffered from high staff turnover . This includes;
two directors, three key research staff, and one staff from the finance department
have left.

Blenn has a very demanding schedule that requires frequent travel ;

however he supervises two managers who in return are responsible for seven staff
members each. Both managers have been appointed within the last five months.

Manager 1: Ryan has a specific background in research . He manages staff

who provide research support to another department that delivers behavioral
health sciences to the youth; however, he often takes a very black and white
view of issues . Upper level leadership values Ryan`s latest research on the
therapeutic division services. Ryan is very motivated and driven and expects the
same from the staff.

Manager 2 : King has strong background in social science research and

evaluation. He manages staff that work in different projects within the agency.
He is known as a problem solver and is extremely supportive on his staff. He is very
organized and has a huge experience in evaluation of family services. King is very
capable and can sometimes take on too much.

The managers are sensing that the staff are becoming overworked as everyone
takes on increase responsibilities due to high staff turnover . Staff have also
mentioned that Blenn’s “glass half empty” conversation style leaves them feeling
dejected. In addition, Blenn has not shared budgets with his managers , so they
are having difficulty appropriately allocating work to staff. Blenn said he has not
received sufficient information from the finance department to complete the
budgets. The finance department said they have sent her all the information they
have available.
 As staff become distressed, the managers are becoming frustrated . They
feel like they are unable to advocate for their staff to solve problems without key
information like departmental budget.

Guide Questions
1. How can Blenn most effectively use both management and leadership skills
in her role as associate director? What combination of the two do you think
would work best in this setting?
2. What steps could be taken to build staff confidence?
3. What advice would you give Blenn on improving her leadership skills and
to managers on improving their management skills?
4. Which leadership style do you think a leader would need to be effective in
this situation?

Requirement:

1. Define the problem

2. Identify the possible causal factors.
3. Identify the root cause of the situation.
4. Recommend and Implement Solutions

Format:
Bookman Old Style
Font= 12
Single spaced
Short size
Margins= 1.5 left , 1 all sides
Hard copy

Deadline – Next meeting