Lei and Dalman are underutilizing both their management skills and the skills of their employees. If they are to expand Sandwich Blitz they will need to address Dalman’s need to micromanage the chains existing locations. It sounds as if Dalman wants to have a hand in running everything (except the finances), which may mean Dalman will need to step back and let subordinates do some of the work. Micromanaging has two dangers. First it enables mistrust in the work environment. No one wants a boss hovering over them as they make sure the “small things” are attended to. In such cases the worker may be prone to seek regular acceptance from the manager that the task is being done correctly.
The second danger of micromanaging is that it creates an organizational culture that promotes a lack of teamwork. In a culture that is micromanaged workers may feel reluctant to innovate and find new and better ways of doing things. White (2010) noted that in general micromanagers “seldom develop people but instead exploit them, preferring to control results rather than inspiring creativity. Fearing competition, they rarely hire people with the talent, experience, and know-how to challenge them” (p. 72). The point here is Dalman’s unwillingness to let go of some of the mundane manager tasks means that running effective teams may not be possible until Dalman adjusts his own managing style. A sandwich chain is a perfect business to implement a team work environment. In these establishments there is generally a breakdown of activities that Lei and Dalman can positively take advantage of. For example, these establishments cannot run without a branch manager or supervisor. This individual can also be a team leader Lei and Dalman can trust. In a side by side comparison of traditional versus team work environments, Zenger, Musselwhite, and Perrin (1994) list cross training as an element of