Case Universal Fabrics

The external relations section of Universal Fabrics is a rather small unit. Mr. Stanford is only responsible for the two attendants and a secretary. It is important to understand that the unit is allocated a substantial budget, and thus although Linda and Louise are only ‘attendants’, they are close to the top of their organisational world. Zaleznik (1963) describes a main pattern of inner conflict called competition anxiety. This anxiety refers to the feelings generated in people who are climbing the career ladder. There are two components of competition anxiety, the fear of success and the fear of failure. Typically, someone that is displaying a fear of success feels like they can only achieve position through displacing someone else. In the case, Linda displays ‘fear of success’ behaviours, as she feels threatened when Louise starts to take initiatives on her own. Linda’s ‘fear of success’ is not helped when Stanford fails to communicate Louise’s responsibilities clearly to Linda. The first example of poor communication between Stanford and Linda is Louise’s trip to Chicago. Linda finds out via the secretary and as a result, she feels betrayed. During a later conversation, Stanford tells Louise she should have informed Linda of her trip to Chicago. However in reality it is him that should have taken the responsibility. The second example of a lack of communication from Stanford to Linda is the trip to Halifax, where again Linda finds out via the secretary. The third conflict, about the clothes of the receptionist, is once again handled without confronting Linda about it.
Zaleznik(1963) describes the ways a leader can manage inner conflicts. One of which is the necessity of learning to communicate. In the last three examples it is clear that Stanford doesn’t make his opinions and attitudes known without wasteful delays. This leads to increased confusion and concerns in the mind of Linda.
The second one is the necessity of maintaining constancy and