Problem Statement The problem, in this case, stemmed from declining department sales and inappropriate business practices that created unpleasant work conditions and significant reductions in employee productivity. There was poor communication between management and employees and the tally system incentivized individual goals rather than the group goal. This methodology caused
No proper tracking and accounting of inventory is possible. Early payment discounts are also missed. The lack of documentation for the items picked up is not helping the departments to stay within budget. Corners are being cut with the way the system works. Two micrometers are lost because the expeditor most likely has picked up them up at the receiving dock and has taken them directly to the engineers.
A search firm generally cannot and will not approach executives it has recently placed, and the firm may have agreements with its own clients that limit its ability to provide the information about the employment opportunities at their companies. In order to find its strengths, a firm must evaluate its functional areas. By analyzing the successes or the failures in relation to the firm’s resources, management are allowed to discover why the firm was successfull or why it failed in the past. Some opportunities require the large amounts of capital just to get started. Money may be required for R&D, production facilities, marketing research, or advertising right before a firm is able to make it's first sale.
Nordstrom does not offer extensive training programs to its customers. Employees are paid on a commission basis, they are surrounded by a very competitive environment and it is ingrained in them that customer satisfaction is key. Employees needing to train new employees may not emphasize to the new employee why the need for customer satisfaction is so important. Also, because of the competitive environment, it may cause the employee to not train the new employee appropriately because of threat to their sales, which could in turn cause a misconception of their family environment. There is no training program for them that state any reasons why the culture of the company relies on customer satisfaction.
The employees may feel a certain way about the layoff of the co-workers and also it may effect how they work. Also another thing is the loss of valuable and knowledgeable employees may affect others too. The new hire people will have no one to ask if they do not understand or know how to perform a task asked of them. This can cause serious problems for productivity and for the patients at the clinic. The last disadvantage I think will be a problem to the Dodge Clinic is employees seeking employment elsewhere because they do not feel there job is secure.
Perhaps they believe that the employees are contributing to the revenue losses and are stealing merchandise. These are all self destructive in nature and could impact their ability to remain in business and keep good employees. Making the decision to close two stores without adequate justification drastically reduces it footprint in the market place. It appears that either the store supervisor or manager is not engaged with the employees and consumers; do not have sufficient training on company ethics policies to enforce them; or they do not have a fully robust ethics program in place to address to ongoing issues. PART B Company Q can take some immediate steps which I believe would turn a downward trend in to positive results.
In the case there is a lot of evidence which indicates that management is not effectively motivating their employees and this is leading to a decline in productivity and profitability. One reason would be management is not giving employees proper incentives to raise their productivity levels and they are using a financial incentive plan with major flaws in its design (Scanlon Plan). Another reason would be the decline in suggestions that are submitted, at the programs height 305 suggestions were submitted. Now it has dropped to 50 a year showing that employees no longer feel like they are contributing successfully to the plant success. This is a major issue because feedback is an essential part of motivating a person and making them feel valued in the company.
Change management was not factored in with workers complaining of radical shake – up in the hours worked, without extra pay for disturbance. However the management sought to make some changes but this was after the strike. They felt the change dehumanizing and insensitive considering the poor relationship with the management. On the other hand, the Company didn’t have a contingency plan making them spend a lot of time and resources in restoring the image after the strike. If they had one, they could have taken les time and resources in the prevention of the strike.
For managers, being able to understand their employees is very important. A manager who does not understand his or her employees will not be able to identify when something is wrong, neither will he or she be able to motivate their employees because they would not have the understanding necessary to know what will make those employees more or less productive. A healthy work environment where communication flows easily between managers and employees is vital to all companies. Conceptual skills on the other hand, involve the use of mental abilities to solve problems in the workplace. Managers who possess conceptual skills use them to identify opportunities for innovation, expansion and problem solving.
There is an emphasis on factual and numerical reporting on which we make decisions about how our company will be run. This is a seriously flawed method of management in that there is a complete lack of thought to the psychological impact of their decisions and management of the organization. The lack of empathy is palatable in the room during these meetings. My failure to elicit empathy for others and myself in the group creates a huge challenge for me. In order to more effectively contribute to the organization, I would like to spend some time researching techniques to connect on an emotional level with the team.