MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND ORGANISATION BEHAVIOURS CASE STUDY.

SUBMITED BY :- SAGAR KHANDELWAL COURSE: MBA 1ST SEM (EVENING) BATCH: 2013-2015 ENROLLMENT NO: 04080303913

Effective Management Case Study Imagine what life would be like if your product were never finished, if your work were never done, if your market shifted 30 times a day. The computer-virus hunters at Symantec Corp. dont have to imagine. Thats the reality of their daily work life. At the companys response lab in Santa Monica, California, described as the dirtiest of all our networks at Symantec. Software analysts collect viruses and other suspicious cod and try to figure out how they work so the company can provide security updates to its customers. Theres even a hazardous materials box by the door to the lab, marked DANGER, where they put all the discs, tapes, and hard drives with the nasty viruses that need to be completely disposed of. Symantecs situations may seem unique, but the company, which makes content and network security software for both consumers and businesses, reflects the realities facing many organizations today: quickly shifting customer expectations and continuously emerging global competitors that have drastically shortened product life cycles. Managing talented people in such an environment can be quite challenging as well. Vincent Weafer, a native of Ireland, has been the leader of Symantecs virus hunting team since 1999. Back then, he said there were less than two dozen people, and . . . nothing really happened. Wed see may be five new viruses a day, and they would spread in a matter of months, not minutes. Now, Symantecs virus hunter around the words deals with some 20,000 virus samples each month, not all of which are unique, stand-alone viruses. To make the hunters jobs even more interesting, computer attacks are increasingly being spread by criminals wanting to steal information, whether corporate data or personal user account information that can be used in fraud. Dealing with these critical and time-sensitive issues requires special talents. The response center team is a diverse group whose members werent easy to find. Said Weafer, its not as if colleges are creating thousands of anti-malware or security experts every year that we can hire. If you find them in any part of the world. You just go after them. The response center teams makeup reflects that. For instance, one senior researcher is from Hungary, another is from Iceland, and another works out of her home in Melbourne. Florida, but they all share something in common: Theyre all motivated by solving problems. The launch of the blaster-B worm changed the companys approach to dealing with viruses. The domino effect of Blaster-B and other viruses spawned by it meant that frontline software analysts were working around the clock for almost two weeks. The employee burn-out potential made the company realize that its virus-hunting team would now have to be much deeper, talent-wise. Now, the response centers team numbers in the hundreds and managers can rotate people from the frontlines, where theyre responsible for responding to new security threats that crop up, into groups where they can help with new-product development. Others write internal research

papers. Still others are assigned to develop new tools that will help their colleagues battle the next wave of threats. Theres even an individual who tries to figure out what makes the virus writers tick-and the day never ends for these virus hunters. When Santa Monicas team finished its day, colleagues in Tokyo take over. When the Japanese team finishes its day, it hands off to Dublin which then hands back to Santa Monica for the new day. Its a frenetic, chaotic, challenging work environment that spans the entire globe. But Weafer said his goals are to try to take the chaos out, to make the exciting boring, to have a pre-datable and well-defined process for dealing with the virus threats, and to spread work evenly to the companys facilities around the world. Its a managerial challenge that Weafer has embraced.

Questions of Case Study:

Q1. Keeping professionals excited about work that is routine and standardized and chaotic is a major challenge for Vincent Weafer. How could he use technical, human, and conceptual skills to maintain an environment that encourages innovation and professionalism among the virus hunters? Answer Technical skills are job-specific knowledge and techniques needed to proficiently perform specific tasks. Finding employees who have the diverse and highly refined technical skills needed by Symantec challenges Weafer to recruit individuals from around the globe. As he says, If you find them in any part of the world, you just go after them. Using human skills, including strong communication skills and understanding of different cultures, Weafer creates a work environment where employees respect and trust management and one another. This trust facilitates the teamwork needed to solve problems and produce innovative products. The conceptual skills needed by every manager can be used by Weafer to envision the big picture for Symantec and influence and empower his employees to follow the organizations mission. As he leads by example, Weafer fosters both innovation and professionalism among the virus hunters at Symantec.

Q2. What management roles would Vincent be playing as he (a) Had with weekly security briefing conference calls co-workers around the globe. (b) Assessed the feasibility of adding a new network security consulting service, or (c) Kept employees focused on the companys commitments to customers?

Answer: According to the conditions Vincent has played following roles respectively.

(a) Vincent has played Interpersonal role as he worked as a figurehead, leader, liaison as he was obliged to perform number of duties he motivates and gathered many students and develop relations with them and also in formational role as he act as a monitor, spokesman and a disseminator a she maintains personal contacts with others and by sharing stuff with them. (b) Vincent has approached towards Decisional role as he worked as a disturbance handler while gathering solutions for the problem and resource allocator while dividing the work in specialized groups and giving them tasks according to their nature of job. (c) Vincent played interpersonal role here as he worked as a figurehead while gathering everyone on same platform and then as a leader as he provoked his employees. Q3. Go to Symantecs Web site and look up information about the company. What can you tell about its emphasis on customer service and innovation? In what ways does the organization support its employees in serving customers and in being innovative? Answer. Symantec was founded in 1982 by visionary computer scientists. The company has computer scientists. The company has evolved to become one of the worlds largest evolved to become one of the worlds largest software companies. Software companies. They provide security, storage and systems They provide security, storage and systems management solutions to help customers management solutions to help customers secure and manage their information-driven secure and manage their information-driven world against more risks at more points, world against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently than anymore completely and efficiently than any other company. EMPHASIS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INNOVATIONINNOVATION Pursue core purpose with an unrelenting focus on Innovation & Customer Satisfaction. While the overall computing environment has undergone tremendous change in recent years, they remain committed to helping ensure confidence in todays connected world. INNOVATION Symantecs strategy of open innovation focuses on delivering focuses the best solutions to its customers. These solutions come as a result of building them internally, developing them with technology partners or acquiring them outright. CUSTOMER SERVICE

 Customer-driven is a Symantec core value and a priority at every level of the company, from executives to individual contributors. They nvite the comments on their progress to date form customers and look forward to further engaging with them to innovate a better future. Earning Customer loyalty is Symantecs first priority. That's why they direct their business based on the feedback received from customers, both consumer and business alike.

EMPLOYEES

Symantec assures top-notch training and a working environment that fosters innovation to its employees. Our recruiting success to date affords us the distinct competitive advantages of a firstclass global workforce.

Q4. What could other managers learn from the Vincent Weafer and Symantecs approach?

Answer:

1) Employees should not be treated as machines 2) Ability to work well with people in diverse cultural environment 3) competitive advantage through efficiency. 4)Recognize problem areas and implement solutions. 5)Customer focus. 6)Reviewing operations and implementing improvements. 7)Time Management. 8)Identifying opportunities for innovation.