Introduction
This case study is focused on Leaches Sweets Limited – a manufacturer of high quality sweets. Leaches Sweets is a medium-sized, family owned, partially unionized and a highly successful confectionery producer. This case study is set in a single department in the factory where acute problems were experienced. This paper will be discussing the diagnosis of the participants of the problems experienced in the particular department. An analysis will be made as to whether the participants have pinpointed the causes of the problems, in addition to the researcher’s comprehension of the causes of the problems. At the end of the case study analysis, the researcher will be providing recommendations in improving the situation of the department.
Background of the Case Study
The problem of the case study was focused on one department of Leaches Sweets Limited in the management of their people and their organization. Accordingly, the problems in the department were apparent in their high level of labour turnover as they had about six new managers in eight years. In addition, the production of the company has fallen below the targets based on work study standards and there have been high levels of scrap. It must be noted that the said department experiencing acute problems is known to be the worst in the factory. Its problems had a variety of features associated with bad “attitude”, “atmosphere” and “culture”. Also, employees had very negative outlooks towards their job. Employees had few decision-making responsibilities, low motivation, low job satisfaction and received little information on their performance. Lastly, there were also interpersonal problems between the employees in the production and packing rooms, as well as between the two supervisors and amongst operators. Not to mention that there has also been numerous dissatisfactions associated to grading and payment levels.
Analysis of the Case Study
The company has recognized that there really is a problem in the department (HB). Certain personalities in the organization have recognized this problem such as the shop floor employees, chargehands, supervisors, the department manager and even the senior manager himself. However, these personalities have been arguing as to who is to be blamed in the problem. Many shop floor employees point their fingers on supervision and management saying that they lack technical and planning expertise, in addition to their low considerations for subordinates. On the other hand, the production supervisor believes that the solution for this problem to fire “troublemakers” referring to employees who have blamed his supervision as the cause of the problem. On a different note, the department manager suggested that a senior supervisor must be introduced in the system in order to resolve the conflicts between the production and packing supervisors, as well as to support the pressure that seems to be pushing the whole production process. Aside from these solutions provided by the production supervisor and the department manager, the factory manager believed that the core of the problem lies in how their work is organized and managed and recommended that in order to solve the problem, there must be a realization for this root cause.
The researcher has assessed that there is something very wrong in the department. As to the causes of the problems, shop floor employees and the factory manager have been right that supervision and management have some flaws that ultimately led to the disorganization of the said department. This disorganization has been very apparent in the interpersonal problems between shop floor employees, between supervisors and between operators. In addition, the production supervisor seems to be only concentrating on the production process which is definitely wrong because the success of any organization in its efficiency is rooted to the overall strategy of the firm and this strategy must be in lined with the overall processes that the firm may undergo.
It must be noted that the suggestion of the production supervisor to solve the problem of the department, that is: to fire employees who have gone against him and blamed his supervision for the disorganization of the department, is rather subjective and inconsiderate. The production supervisor seems to be acting way offhand and unreasonable because, to be an effective leader, he should also consider his own mistakes and try to open and hear the concerns of his subordinates. The department manager may be right in his suggestion to introduce a senior manager to settle once and for all the conflicts in the said department. However, one must take note that this senior manager should not favor sides and would decide as a logical and effective leader wherein the criteria for decision making should be aligned with what will be good for the company and not for his or her own interests.
Discussion
In the case of Leaches Sweets Limited, the department (HB) lacks the effectiveness due to the management of their organization and their employees. According to Salimian, organizations achieves superior results through clarifying their strategy, streamlining their design (i.e. processes, systems and structure), at the same time encouraging employees’ contributions in the organization. Firms must realize that their employees are the organization’s most important asset, especially manufacturing firms where labor is very extensive. Employees must be empowered with sufficient training, resources and information in order to manage their work and contribute to the business in significant ways. In addition, work must be designed in a way that employees own responsibility for full and meaningful process or segment of work.
A fast and evolving world such as we have today necessitates a continuous innovation in managing people and organizations as well. A clear comprehension of an organization’s functional and environmental individuality is a requirement to assigning its efficiency. Organizational design is said to be at the heart of the organizational process in addition, organizations function best as they are appropriately matched to their environments.
Management is all about the development and improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. In broader terms, management is measured by performance in achieving goals using such standards that are based on the management’s past achievements and future expectations. As a result, take note that efficiency and effectiveness is always a dependent condition subject on the very nature of the goals of the organization which can vary from one organization to another.
Almost all organizations are always and constantly assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of their programs and performances. However, Leaches Sweets Limited has employees who undeniably are not satisfied with their jobs. Apparently, shop floor employees are very bored with always doing the same jobs. In addition, they claim that their efforts in their jobs should be rewarded with financial recognition.
It must be noted that low job satisfaction leads to low employee motivation which further leads to lesser productivity. The researcher has assessed that this is the root cause of the problem: very low employee job satisfaction. There have been significant researches claiming that conversely, employee job satisfaction can boost organizational efficiency and productivity.
In understanding employee satisfaction, has provided several elements that have to be considered:
- The job itself – refers to the characteristics, variety, training and decision making authority;
- Supervisor relationship – refers to respect, recognition, feedback and fair assessments;
- Management beliefs – refers to information sharing, mast, expressed value of employees;
- Future opportunities – refers to career advancement and job security;
- Work environment – refers to physical workplace and available resources;
- Pay benefits and rewards – refers to compensation and reward systems;
- Co-worker relationships – refers to teamwork, communication and collaboration;
The researcher recommends that the firm must measure the above cited elements in order to gain access to information on the attitudes and behavior of their employees. As for Leaches Sweets Limited, this includes all their employees but especially those personalities involved in the problem of the department (HB) – shop floor employees, production and packing supervisors and the operators. In return, this can offer valuable input into the human resource planning process with considerations to compensation and rewards, employee involvement, education and training, employee performance and recognition and employee morale and well-being.
The management of employee satisfaction actually means taking action on employee priorities. In addition, the monitoring of employee satisfaction is a good investment because it can lead to effective human resource planning and management.
Rewards have always been considered to be one of the major factors that contributes to employee motivation. As it is the company’s aim to reduce deficiencies in the production processes, it is suggested that the firm must reward employees who meet that goal. The very notion of measuring efficiency and effectiveness has been based on the perception of organizations as production systems which basically transforms multiple inputs, i.e. resources, into multiple outputs, i.e. good and services, through organization, management and technology.
The researcher would now like to clarify the concept of employee motivation in terms of organizational effectiveness.
Motivation has been defined by psychologists as something that “gives impetus to our behavior by arousing, sustaining and directing it toward the attainment of goals”. On a similar note, defines motivation as “the process of satisfying internal needs through actions and behaviors” which is concerned with a composite of mental and physical drives, missed with the environment that makes people behave the way they do. On the other hand, sees motivation as a “psychological force”, similar to a physical force – a vector quantity having both magnitude and direction. Motivation, is the amount of effort that one desires to use in a given direction toward the goal.
As mentioned earlier, rewards or incentives have often been used by many companies to motivate employees. Yet, in the case of Leaches Sweets Limited, their shop floor employees are complaining that they are not given financial recognition for their greater efforts. As a result, they are not motivated to do their best in their jobs, giving a very low quality for the company’s products. In addition, they are not satisfied with their jobs; they do not love their jobs and they get easily bored by it.
The researcher suggests that the company must do something about this problem. The researcher recommends that Leaches Sweets Limited provide the incentives that their employees desire in order to achieve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. However, the company must take note that although incentives or money may work for other people, others may not be motivated by such. Hence, Leaches Sweets Limited must bear in mind to critically examine what works best for each employee in motivating them in their work.
Aside from the above mentioned recommendations, the researcher would also like to recommend that the company review their management system. The researcher suggests that Leaches Sweets Limited change their management to the so-called participative management. Extensive employee participation are said to improve organizational effectiveness. In addition, employees of the said company are accordingly had very little decision making responsibilities.
Advocates of employee participation, i.e., management consultants, industrial organizational psychologists and managers as well, have claimed that many employees actually wish to be more involved in the decision making process and become actively engaged in their work. Employees desire and have the ability, knowledge and expertise to assume greater responsibility in the workplace and can make considerable contributions to their organizations. Furthermore, employees seek to fulfill many of their psychological needs through their work. Participative management stimulates employee enthusiasm and willingness to carry out decisions in which they have been engaged to. In view of that, encouraging employee participation in companies actually satisfies the inner needs of employees which serves as a motivating tool which results to increased productivity and effectiveness for the organization.
It is has been reported that the practice of involving employees in the decision making process of the organization has several advantages for the individual employee as well as the entire organization. The advantages of participative management are accordingly, the following:
- An increase in employee satisfaction;
- Higher employee morale and motivation;
- Better and enhanced organizational effectiveness and performance;
- Greater acceptance of employees for organizational change.
Employees need to know fundamental know-how and a comprehensive knowledge of a company’s operations before they can understand how their individual efforts can affect the overall efficiency of the organization. Empowered employees are the core of an innovative culture. The researcher recommends that employees should feel free to contribute their ideas and improvements that they feel will make a difference. notes that the “do as I say, don’t ask questions” management style no longer is successful.
As the firm relies on meeting specific objectives and aims, these aims must be principal in the minds of all their employees. Consistent and regular measuring and tracking of employee and company performance associated with those aims facilitates an assurance that employees are focused on what matters most. The researcher also suggests there is encouragement for employees to propose ideas for enhanced effectiveness. Also, the smallest of improvements by companies must also be rewarded. The researcher suggests that supervisors of Leaches Sweets Limited be necessitated to attend special courses on managerial field to be able to write business plans for their departments and be held accountable for the productivity which have resulted from their business plans.
Conclusions
Increasing efficiency and effectiveness in the organization has been associated to increase productivity which paves way for cost savings and growth. Organizations today are faced with a dynamic and turbulent environment that necessitates firms to be flexible and respond right away to the changing business needs. A lot of companies have adopted a decentralized, team-based and distributed structure in response to the ever-changing business environment. Companies must realize that to increase effectiveness may lead to several advantages such as an increase in productivity, a decrease in costs, expansion of volume and improvements in organizational payoffs to owners, managers, employees, customers and society.
It is foreseen that many companies will be experiencing a considerable downturn in their businesses due to the economic conditions of today. Thus, it will demand managers to review their business strategies in terms of the firm’s organization, processes, procedures, as well as actions in order to make sure that there is maximum level of efficiency and effectiveness in the organization. This organizational effectiveness and efficiency necessitates the following in order to be a complete success.
First, companies need to have quality employees with a passion for their work and a level of satisfaction which will lead to a low turnover. Second, organizations must have a communication strategy in order to be effective and efficient; otherwise, there will be disorganization within the company. Third, the company must have clear practices, policies and decisions, as well as an environment which accepts change and innovation. Fourth, the company must have an effective management of human resources, i.e. increased information sharing, extensive training, financial and non-financial rewards for its employees and extensive feedback. Fifth, the company must have organizational strategies that are closely associated with the origination’s goals and reviews. Sixth, the company must also have numerous opportunities for the advancement and growth of their employees. Seventh, there must also be high levels of trust in the organization in order to minimize unnecessary bureaucratic control and administrative expenditures. Eight, there must be consistency and congruency between the organization’s words and actions. Ninth, the organization must also have an effective board of directors in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, the company must also have an emphasis on ethics, the environment and sustainability.
High effectiveness and efficiency also necessitates the following: (1) work done by teams organized around processes, (2) teams empowered to make decisions in order for management to be decentralized, (3) empowered employees and management with high levels of skills and advanced training, (4) rewards and recognition for team performance, (5) cooperation among teams, between employees and management, (6) focus on customers, quality and continuous improvement and advancements, and (7) flexible technologies.
However, it must be noted that today, especially under very tough competition, organizations will not be able to survive if they cannot meet greater efficiencies and effectiveness within their organizations. By using the most up-to-date concepts and techniques, organizations will be able to get their work done faster and more efficiently which allows organizations to provide greater services which naturally leads to the expansions of the businesses.
In conclusion, this paper has examined the case of Leaches Sweets Limited. This paper has assessed that the main problem of the department (HB) can be attributed to the supervision and management which has resulted to employees having low job satisfaction and low motivation. It must be noted that the researcher agrees to the diagnosis of the problem by the shop floor employees – that the management and supervision is to blame, in addition to the idea that a senior manager must be introduced to resolve the issues between the employees of the said department.
This paper has focused on employee satisfaction and recommended ways on improving the situation of the said department with acute problems through changing the management system of Leaches Sweets Limited into participative management which will enable the employees to voice out their ideas and be more involved in the decision making process of the organization.
In addition, the researcher believes that aside from changing the management system of the company, the company must also adopt a rewards system which will offer incentives or financial recognition for every work done by their employees so as to increase job satisfaction.
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