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ABSTRACT:
The Vidsoft case deals with an interpersonal conflict created by a business-wise
decision by Babatunde to promote one of his brilliant female staff given her hard
work and devotion to work. But whose leadership is highly contested by Hsu who felt
uncomfortable with his demotion and the decision placing him as direct report to Li.
His resentment to Lis promotion is motivated by the fact that she did not have a
technical background like he did and he could not see himself reporting to a
nontechnical manager who would not understand the hardships of his tasks. This
antipathy is aggravated by Hsus lack of respect for Li and his sudden ambition to
learn from Babatunde. The conflict and its resolution are particularly complicated
because of Hsus individual oriented behavior and probably his demotion after the
change in structure.

ANALYSIS
The VidSoft Triangle case involves four main protagonists working at Vidsoft
Technologies, an Internet based company in Sunnyvale, California, USA.
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The first character is Alaji Babatunde, a relatively fresh MBA graduate

originated from Nigeria, who rapidly became a senior technical support
manager (second line manager) at VidSoft based on his performances.

The second is Jennah Li, a female worker of Chinese descent, holder of a

university degree in environmental management. Shes a very good team
player and also reputed for her excellent client relationship management and
her capacity of adaptation (she diligently overcame her English
communication trouble) and was hired by Babatunde initially as a third line
manager (direct report to him) with the expectation to learn a lot from her
commitment to and her handling of customers.

The third is Alex Hsu, a former technical support engineer of Chinese origin
too, engineer by background. He was also hired by Babatunde with an
expectation to bring varied experiences into the team especially from a
foreign culture. Hsu is reputed an individual performer (with non-team
player attitudes). He has reported directly to Babatunde as a third line
manager, same as Li until three weeks ago.

A part from these three protagonists the fourth determinant person involved in
the decision-making is James White, the technical director and Babatundes coach.
He has been at VidSoft ever since its commencement.

Whatistheproblemidentifiedinthiscase?

Decision making is arguably the most important job of the senior executive and one
of the easiest to get wrong.1Babatundehadlearntittohiscostas in what could
verify to be his defining moment because of his important decision to reorganize his

1DavidA.Garvin&MichealA.Roberto,HarvardBusinessreview(September2001):Whatyou
dontknowaboutmakingdecisionsp.1

department and promote one of his support engineers to be a manager; Babatunde is

facing a crucible in the form of an unexpected interpersonal conflict in one of his
multicultural teams. This conflict is certainly mooted by Hsus selfishness. If this
conflict has the merit of bringing issues into spotlight, allowing leaders to discern its
origins and consequences on both individuals and group, it needs Babatundes quick
but well-thought decision in order to avoid negative impact on the working climate in
his department in a one hand and in the other hand not to put in jeopardy the integrity
of a bright management decision he just made. Would creating a triangle (Hsu,
Li, Babatunde) of relationships and working together solve this problem? Not
so sure! Understanding the conflicts origins and consequences and looking for
appropriate solutions will help Babatunde not only to overcome the problem, but also
to prevent such predicaments in the future.

Howcanthissituationbebestresolved?
Ibelievethesituationisverythoughandwoulddemandagoodstrategyinorder
topreservetheintegrityofthedecisionmadeandtoavoidsuchpredicamentsin
thefuture.Soidentifyinggoodstrategiestoreachpossiblesolutionswouldhelp
inchoosingthebestanswertorespondtothecruciblesituation.Myapproachof
thesituationisbasedonJ.Brett,etal.(2006:4)adviceinManagingMulticultural
Teamswhichrecommendsfouroptions:adaptation,structuralintervention,
Managerialinterventionandexit.

Inthisframework,BabatundesfirstoptionwillbetogetbothHsuandLi
adapttothecurrentsituation.ItisveryimportanttoprovideLisometimeto
settledowninhernewroleandaddresstheseissueswitheveryteammate.
babatundeshouldaskthemtogivethesituationmoretimelikethreetosix
monthsforthemtoadapttotheirrespectivenewsituation.Byactingthisway,
BabatundeandLishouldforexamplejointlyworkoutathreetosixmonths
improvementplancoveringtheareaswhereLipresentssomeweaknesses.It
mightevencomethatbothLiandHsugetadaptedpositivelytotheirnew
positionsbytheendofthisperiod.Heshouldadvisebothpartiestocontinueto
showtheirusualstrengthswhileworkingontheirweaknessestoadapttotheir
newconditions.

Thesecondpossibleoptiontoconsiderisalteringstructuralvariablesthat
broughttheconflictbyworkingoutalternatetostructurelikecreatinga
newroleandassignHsu(whoprovedtobeanindividualperformer)for
himtoleadthatstepupandtakedirectionsfromBabatundebutstill
reportingtoLi.OrsimplyapplyjobrotationandmoveHsufromonesub
groupandswitchwithamemberofthatteamwithwhomBabatundewould
havecommunicateeffectivelypriortothisdecision.ThiscomplieswithDr.
SpencerJohnson(1998)whoonewrote:movementinthenewdirectionhelps
youfindnewcheese.Babatundeshouldmanagetobecarefulforthatminor
structuraladjustmentnottocreatenewproblemwithintheotherteamasif
teammembersarentcarefullydistributes,subgroupscanstrengthen
preexistingdifferencesJ.Brett,etal.(2006:4).

Thethirdoptionincasetheproblempersistsistotakenoteofthefactthat
theresaviolationofthehierarchyresultinginBabatundeloosesfaceand
havethefirstlinemanagerJamesWhitewhoseauthorityoverthemisstill
recognizedbybothHsuandLiinvolvedandsolvetheproblemwithoutany
teaminvolvement.Hisdecisionshouldthenbefinal.IfHsuiswillingtowork
withthecompany,thenhewillbenddowntoWhitedecision.

Ifafterallthesesolutionstheresnowaytosolvetheproblembecauseof
Hsusselfishness,whichmeanindividualinterestisoverlappingthatofthe
group,itwillbetimeforBabatundetohaveastraighttalkonHsus
weaknessesonteamingandtoconsiderHsusexitasfinaldecision.

CouldBabatundehavedonedifferentlytoavoidthissituation?
I think this situation could have been avoided if Babatunde had been more proactive
to the effects of change to his team. Especially to Shu who is suffering a demotion as
he is moving to a dissatisfactory position having been at the same level with Li his
henceforth head.
Babatunde could also have communicated directly with each and everyone of his
team about the change. He could have explained to each and everyone why they had
been chosen for their position. Its certainly for their task expertise, their skills and
performances, their ability to play in a team . and not because of their race, gender,
culture and religion or age.
He could also have avoided this situation if he had planned ahead the promotion of Li.
At first place, if Li had benefited a sort of in-office-training, she could have gained
valuable experience to build up her self confidence to lead a team as well as the
respect of her co-workers. Babatunde could have given Li an early heads up by giving
her some acting responsibilities during his absence from work instead of pushing
her suddenly to unfamiliar field.
He could have explained to his team the positive outcomes that the change in
structure would bring to the entire teams efficiency and profitability compare to the
challenges they had in the existing reporting structure. By acting proactively this way,
he could have caught Hsus frustration or that of any other member ahead of its
demonstration within the team.

Whatcanthecompanydotoavoidthistypeofsituationinthe
future?

Managing is to prevent! In order to avoid this in the future, management needs to

change this ways:
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Mixingtheirtransactionalleadershipbehaviorwithsometransformation
nalleadershipbehaviortogetselfishpeoplelikeHsugoingbeyondself
interestsforthegoodofthewholegroup.

Being proactive and planning ahead of the situation instead of reacting when
the conflict has already risen.

Keeping ahead of the situation by regularly conducted company wide survey

oriented human resources management

Using all the components of an effective communication to avoid

misunderstanding that turned to conflict.

Organizing more coaching within the group to get followers familiar to

leadership skills as when leader and led values are in sync, followers dont
have to be supervised -- they will know what to do when the time come.
Colonel Mark A. Homrig, (2001)

Whataretheprincipaldistinctionsbetweentransactionaland
transformationalleadership?

Transactionalleadershipcanbedefinedasgivesomethingtogetsomething.
Itsfundamentalnatureistranslatedintothewinwinapproachofmanagement.
Transactionalleadershipisbasedonanexchange/transactionofsomethingof
valuetheleaderpossessesorcontrolsthatthefollowerwantsinreturnfor
his/herservices.

Transformationalleadershipcanbedefinedastheabilitytogetpeopleto
wanttochangeandtoleadchange.Attheheartoftransformationalleadership
isthecommitmentoftheleadertomakeachangeorproducetransformationin
anorganizationorsystem.Itsfundamentalnatureistogetpeoplegoingbeyond
selfinterestsforthegoodofthewholegroup.Transformationalleadersfocuson
stimulating,motivating,andempoweringtheirfollowerstoachievecompany
directivesbyappealingtohigheridealsandmoralvalues(historyofleadership
Research:5).

Bythesecaricatureddefinitions,itappearsthatthedistinctionsbetween
transactionalandtransformationalleadershipliesmainlyintheirprocessof
motivatingfollowers.

Transactionalleadershipisbasedontheconceptofexchangebetween
leaderandgroupmembers.Atransactionalleaderprovidesresourcesand
rewardsinexchangeformotivation,productivity,effectivegoal,ortask
accomplishments.ThatsexactlythemanagementstylethatprevailsatVidSoft.

Incontrast,Transformationalleadershipisbasedonmorethanthe
complianceoffollowers;itinvolvesshiftsinbeliefs,theneeds,andthe
valuesoffollowers.Transformationalleadersusetheircharismaandproactive
communicationtoinspiretheirfollowerstosuperiority.Theyarerequiredto
gaintheconfidenceoftheirfollowerssothatthefollowerswillmakesuitable
sacrificesfortheirgroup.Transformationalleadersseekopportunitiesfor

changeinordertogrow,innovate,andimprovetheirenvironment.Thatisalso
partofBabatundesthinkingwhileimplementingthechange.

Howdoestransformationalleadershipcreateahigherlevelof
moralaspirationforfollowersandleadersalike?

Byproducinghigherlevelofconsciousnesswithintheindividualandthegroup,
leadersareabletoproducetransformationwithintheorganization.Inthebook
TheLeadershipChallenge,theauthorssuggestthatwhentransformational
leadershipexists,people"raiseeachothertohigherlevelsofmotivationand
morality"(153).Thenhigherlevelofmoralaspirationforfollowersiscreated
whenwithinagrouptheresadynamicwhichbuildsrelationshipswithothers
andfosterscommunitybuilding,thetransformationalleaderwhohelpsothersto
developtheirskills.Thechemistryimprovesproductivitywithinthe
group/organizationandfollowersbelievethattheyhavetheabilitytomakea
differenceintheirorganizationwhichenhancesmorale.Transforming
leadershipbecomesmoralwhenitrises"thelevelofhumanconductandethical
aspirationofboththeleaderandtheled,andthushasatransformingeffecton
both"(153).

Bibliography:

J.Brett,K.Behfar,M.CKern.(2006)ManagingMulticulturalTeams
HarvardBusinessReview(P.4)

DavidA.Garvin&MichealA.Roberto(September2001):Whatyou
dontknowaboutmakingdecisionsHarvardBusinessReview(p.1)

ColonelMarkA.Homrig(21Dec2001)TransformationalLeadership.
http://leadership.au.af.mil/documents/homrig.htm

Burns,JamesMacGregor.Leadership.N.Y.:HarperandRow,1978.(P.4)

Johnson,S.(1998)WhomovedMyCheese?USA:PutnamAdult

Kouzes,JamesM.andBarryZ.Posner.TheLeadershipChallenge.3rd
Ed.SanFransico:JosseyBass,2002.