Downsizing is a common tactic among companies wishing to improve their financial position. Many companies do not realize the anticipated increase in profits because the remaining employees suffer from low morale. Any company considering the option of downsizing should take steps to lesson the effect of a downsizing on the remaining employees. Some companies have found that providing support for remaining employees has gone a long way toward staving off poor performance brought on by low morale. Company-wide meetings with the remaining staff, small group question and answer sessions with executive managers, and frequent one-on-one meetings with supervisors are some ways that companies try to boost employee morale (Dessler, 2008).

The property management company probably took the wrong tactic when deciding to reduce its work force. Instead of reducing the total number of jobs across the board, the company should have focused on strategic cost reduction. After all, the purpose of removing 20% of the work force was to reduce the company’s cost of operation. Dan Delmar (2002) notes that many companies make this mistake. The more appropriate action for any company wishing to improve its financial position is to examine the business segments it is currently investing its resources in and choose to eliminate those that it cannot become a market leader in. In the case of the property management company with 30 residential properties, the prudent action would be to examine all the properties and sell of those that make the least profit or cannot be made profitable (Delmar, 2002). In fact, the company might have found that no reduction in force was necessary if the right properties were sold off and the employees moved to other, more profitable locations.

References

Delmar, D. (2002). Strategic cost reduction. Westchester County Business Journal, 41(52), 38. Retrieved June 21, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

FROM: Scott Hebert

SUBJECT: Changing Corporate Culture

In our recent conversation, you described several problems that you have recognized in your organization. In order to create a plan for change, it is necessary to first properly identify the problems. The problems you have described can be divided into two main categories: production and employee morale. Due to high demand, the production lines have been running non-stop for the past several months. Unfortunately, you have identified a growing concern among production superintendents that the quality of the company’s product is not satisfactory. To make matters worse, the plant manager has recently indicated that due to high sales growth, the production goals of this plan will have to increase by 50 percent for the next 6 months.

There are many facets to the employee morale problem. First, you have noticed that employee absenteeism is on the rise. As George and Jones point out, absenteeism is a problem that surfaces when employees are under stress. That stress can be a symptom of the existing work environment or a result of recent change (George & Jones, 2008). Since your company has not imposed any changes, the absenteeism must be a result of the current environment. Similarly, the increase in turnover that you have noticed is a symptom of the same problem. Finally, absenteeism and turnover are extreme cases of the poor employee motivation that you have noticed. Together, these four problems — low quality, impossible production schedules, absenteeism, and turnover — represent the major concerns that your company must address.

It is likely that these four problems stem from an organizational culture that has focused solely on productivity and forgotten that production line machine require a human element in order to function properly. Addressing these problems will require a change in the organization’s culture before the individual problems can be addressed. As Pascaris, Shields, and Wolf (2008) illustrate, discussions of change are not enough to affect it; eventually, the old culture begins to reemerge. In order to successfully implement a plan for organizational culture change, the human resources department at your company must secure leadership buy-in and employee participation in the change process (Pascaris, Shields, & Wolf, 2008).

Leadership buy-in and employee participation are really two sides of the same coin. The goal of the human resource department is to get all parties affected by the change involved and committed to the process. When organizational leaders establish clear guidelines for change, the lend credence to the project. Participation in the change process ensures that employees understand their stake in a successful outcome. Even with active employee participation, the possibility of cognitive dissonance is high. It is the role of organizational leaders to recognize this dissonance and provide guidance during the organization’s transition (Pascaris, Shields, & Wolf, 2008).

It is obvious that the employee morale problem is a symptom of the hectic work schedule the current productivity level requires. Your company cannot afford to let production slip, so the human resource department must address employee morale without negatively impacting production. All people are motivated intrinsically and extrinsically, although most people tend to prefer one form of motivation to another (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2008). In order to increase employee morale across the board, both kinds of motivation must be implemented. The increased production forecast over the next six months makes extrinsic motivation very easy. The increased production is going to require some portion of the work force to work overtime. Those employees that tend toward extrinsic motivation will be happy with the additional income offered by overtime pay.

Intrinsic motivation is often best implemented by supervisors working directly with employees. A study performed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources found that two-thirds of respondents wanted to feel appreciated in their jobs. Verbal praise and recognition can be delivered both publicly and privately to great affect. Additional forms of intrinsic motivation including challenging work assignments and schedule flexibility. Together, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation should help improve employee morale (Dessler, 2008).

Quality control is generally considered to be an operations issue. The key to improving product quality is “monitoring and measuring processes and making any necessary adjustments” (Collier & Evans, 2008, p. 289). It is likely that your company could improve quality by introducing metrics into the various production processes and looking for aberrations. Human resources can help increase product quality by improving employee morale through the use of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

As you can see, employee morale is really the linchpin of the problems at your company. By addressing these issues with a change management project supported by both the organizational leadership and employees at large, your company can decrease the rates of absenteeism and turnover while improve product quality and production. Organizations have a tendency to focus on the mechanical means of production such as machines and supply chains. Without a productive work force of well-motivated employees, these mechanical means of production are useless.

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Collier, D. A., & Evans, J. R. (2009). OM 2008 edition. Mason, OH: South-Western.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

George, J. M., & Jones, G. R. (2008). Understanding and managing organizational behavior (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Pascaris, A., Shields, L., & Wolf, J. (2008). The Work and Recovery Project: Changing Organizational Culture and Practice in New York City Outpatient Services. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 32(1), 47-54. Retrieved June 18, 2009, doi:10.2975/32.1.2008.47.54

A common way for organizations to measure the morale of employees is through an attitude survey. Attitude surveys are designed to collect data that management can use for organization diagnosis and planning. Surveys are especially useful in illustrating what problems an organization has. If upper management is not convinced by the original diagnosis produced by organizational developers, an attitude survey can be conduced to lend credence to the diagnosis (Dessler, 2008). Although Company X’s CEO has made many changes over the last two years, the diagnosis conducted by the human resource department has concluded that significant training is needed by both the front line supervisors and production employees. An attitude survey should be conducted to determine how accurate the results of this diagnosis are and how effective the previous changes made by the CEO have been.

Survey Layout

In order to be effective, a survey must be well-designed. The previously conducted research indicated that the staff is suffering from poor communication and a lack of production-oriented training. Therefore, communication and training will be the main focus of this survey. Additionally, general attitude related questions will be included to get an indication of how the employees are generally feeling about the organization. The staff has previously indicated that the production lines are working at a frantic pace. Therefore, it is important that the survey be short enough so that employees can complete it during break periods. The survey will be relatively short consisting of only 10 to 20 questions.

Administration

Studies have shown that online surveys are advantageous for organizations thanks to reduced processing time and lower costs. Additionally, advanced online reports can grant managers immediate access to the data and allow them to query the data in ways that are meaningful to them. Finally, research has shown that online surveys do not affect outcomes. This means that there is no real concern that the data may be skewed because the survey is conducted online (Agnvall, 2007).

In order to encourage employee participation, computers should be made readily available for employees that do not use computers in their normal work. These computers should be placed in common areas, especially where employees take breaks or eat lunch. During scheduled break and lunch times, human resource representatives should be on hand to assist employees who may have questions regarding the survey system (Agnvall, 2007).

Anticipated Results

It is anticipated that this survey will produce three results. First, employee morale in the Company X Tech Division is expected to be low. Next, it is expected that survey results will indicate that both front line supervisors and production line employees will indicate unacceptable levels of communication. Finally, production line employees are expected to indicate that training is necessary for those working on the production lines. Although the original diagnosis called for management development training for front line supervisors, it is not anticipated that supervisors will recognize the need for this training themselves.

Communication

Gathering information through a survey is meaningless if managers do not share the information with their team members. Small-group communication is often the most difficult to control since even small groups tend to form sub-groups and establish individual roles (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2008). With this in mind, management should be ready to present survey results tailored to the individual natures of their team members. General results can be presented to the team as a whole, and then individual discussion session can be scheduled so that team members can ask questions without the pressure created by group dynamics.

References

Agnvall, E. (2007). Collecting Feedback. HRMagazine, 52(10), 85-89. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Organizational development relies on organization employees to research, design, and implement the changes necessary to reach the organization’s strategic goals. Giving this responsibility to employees, rather than implementing changes from the top, is a form of empowerment. Empowerment is the act of giving employees the authority to make decisions and the responsibility for the results. By moving decision-making closer to production, organizations benefit from a deeper pool of production experience. Trident Tools benefited from this empowerment process when empowered employees redesigned the materials-ordering process and cut the order lead-time from 16 to 7 weeks. Similarly, employees in the design department changed processes so that design time decreased from 5 years to 16 months (George & Jones, 2008).

Employee empowerment in the change management process serves two purposes. First, by involving employees in the decision-making process, they take ownership of the organizational changes. Participation at this level helps break down resistance to change (George & Jones, 2008). Additionally, empowerment in the form of self-managed work teams ensures that new policies and procedures are adhered to more stringently. Research has shown that responsibility to a team is a far more efficient motivator than the watchful eye of a supervisor (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2008). Reducing resistance to change and facilitating quicker adoption of new policies improve the chances of a successful organizational change.

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

George, J. M., & Jones G. R. (2008). Understanding and managing organizational behavior (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Hiring for fit is the act of finding candidates that best fit into the culture of an organization and then finding roles for them. Collins (2001) calls this getting “the right people on the bus” (p. 41). In his study of 14 great companies and their mediocre competitors, Collins found that the great companies routinely hired talented individuals with no predefined role in the organization. These talented individuals would quickly find the roles that suited them. These individuals were excited about joining the company and had the skills necessary to learn any task the company needed filled. Working for the company was the motivation they needed (Collins, 2001).

Unfortunately, measuring organizational fit before hiring a candidate is a difficult proposition. Quaker Chemical designed an application called the Activity Vector Analysis. The application was designed to establish a behavioral profile to determine how a candidate might react in a given work situation (Montgomery, 1996). For those who do not have the benefit of the Activity Vector Analysis, care must be taken during the interview process to attempt to derive an understanding of a candidate’s personality and how it will fit into the organization. Clifford Montgomery (1996) suggests monitoring the candidate’s style and mannerisms. These subtle clues are more likely to predict the candidate’s probable acceptance by the organization. Bill Carpitella (2001) believes that more listening should be done in the interview. He goes so far as to recommend that no interviewer speak more than 20% of the time. Both of these recommendations focus on the interviewers ability to receive input from the interviewee.

I have made the mistake of hiring for task in the past. While managing a team of highly motivated individuals, I hired an existing employee onto the team. This employee had the requisite skills and had shown high levels of troubleshooting ability in the past. Unfortunately, the existing team members were motivated by their own internal standards and constantly pushed themselves to new heights. The newest member of the team did not have the same drive. Although I had hired someone that fit the technical details of the job description, this person did not fit into the culture of the team and did not last long. The failure in this case was my own. By not hiring the right individual, I created a situation where this highly skilled technician had not choice but to fail.

References

Carpitella, B. (2001). Interviewing 101: Listen for Organizational Fit. Professional Builder, 66(12), 30. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t. New York: HarperCollins.

Montgomery, C. (1996). Organizational fit is key to job success. HRMagazine, 41(1), 94. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

The first step in designing an action plan is to recognize what the problems are. Diagnosing an organization is a complicated process that begins with an analysis of what is happening and what problems are resulting. Managers should collect information from employees at all levels of the organization to ensure that all problems are recognized and that each problem is described from all points of view. During the diagnosis phase, it is not uncommon for managers to employee several methods of data collection including questionnaires and diagnostic interviews of both internal and external stakeholders. These methods of data collection can provide essential information relevant to the correct diagnosis (George & Jones, 2008).

Two of Company X’s problems are related to inadequate training. The first problem is that line employees do not receive adequate training. There is some indication that the hectic production schedule has led to this situation. Although there is currently no indication that a line accident has occurred due to inadequate training, the risk of such an accident grows as long as this problem goes unresolved. Not only does this problem create a safety risk, it also reduces productivity and efficiency as line employees struggle with technical decisions.

Similarly, front line supervisors suffer from a lack of management development training. Historically, front line supervisors have been promoted from within the company and expected to perform their management duties immediately. Since Company X does not have an existing management development program, these promotions are most likely based on what Natalie Griffin (2003) would call workaholic employees, those employees that work long hours and show great skill at their assigned tasks. Unfortunately, workaholic employees often lack the tools necessary for effective leadership.

Company X will need to implement two new training programs. The first will be a technical training program for line employees. This training will verse them in proper safety practices, as well as, technical information they can use to increase productivity and efficiency. Additionally, this training should alleviate employees’ fear for their personal safety. The second program will be a management development training program for front line supervisors. The goal of this training is to develop new and potential front line supervisors into capable. The responsibility for developing these training programs will fall to the Human Resource department, but input from all levels of the company should be expected. The Human Resource department may be forced to bring in outside consultation if the required expertise cannot be found in-house.

The final problem Company X is experiencing is a general lack of communication between all segments of the workforce. Front line supervisors are not receiving adequate communication from upper management and line employees are not receiving adequate communication from front line supervisors. Consequently, neither of these groups feels comfortable communicating upward, since they are not receiving feedback. This lack of communication has created uncertainty among the front line supervisors, and fear within the line employees. This fear and uncertainty has reached the point where many employees are paralyzed by it. The opportunity for healthy innovation has disappeared since the creative environment necessary for such innovation does not exist.

Developing and implementing a training program is a five-step process. The first step in the process is to assess what training is required. This includes identifying necessary job skills, assessing the skills of prospective trainees, and deciding on measurable objectives (Dessler, 2008). Company X recently hired a few engineers to help optimize the production process. These engineers will be invaluable in designing the line employee training. They can provide vital knowledge regarding how the production system will evolve. Similarly, the front line supervisors have the experience to define what line employees need to understand at the current time. Design decisions for the management development training will require significant input from upper management. Understanding their strategic goals for the front line supervisors will help the Human Resource department design the training.

After all information has been gathered regarding the content of the training, the next step is to actually put the training together. This includes higher-level decisions such as what training format to use, as well as, content and materials that will be distributed to trainees. Training for line employees is best presented as job instruction training. This training method is especially suited to jobs that followed an ordered procedure, such as factory work. Coupled with an official on-the-job training program that pairs trainees with experienced personnel, job instruction training can be an effective instructional tool. Management training should also use a more individualized form of on-the-job training that pairs new and prospective front line supervisors with experienced management. Additionally, group-based case studies can give front line supervisors an opportunity to analyze situations they have not previously encountered and work out solutions with their peers (Dessler, 2008).

Before presenting the newly developed trainings to their audiences, the Human Resource department should deliver these trainings to a small group of evaluators. It will be the responsibility of these individuals to verify the accuracy of the information, as well as, its effectiveness. Therefore, the test audience should include experts in the content field and representatives from the proposed list of trainees. Only after this group has signed off on the training should it be considered ready for presentation (Dessler, 2008).

The final steps in training development are to implement the training and evaluate its success (Dessler, 2008). Management should perform the final evaluation of the success of the training. Measurable objects were chosen during the design phase of this process to facilitate this evaluation process. Once management has all the measurements in hand, they can decide if the training has been successful, or if a new training program needs to be devised to meet a new set of criteria.

Since the fulcrum of the communication problems seems to be the front line supervisors, it makes sense to put off addressing this problem until after the management training plan for front line supervisors has been implemented. Communication and empathy techniques will make up a significant portion of this training. It is likely that the combination of improved communication skills in front line supervisors and improved morale from line employees receiving the training they have requested will result in a far more communicable environment. However, should the two new trainings not produce the desired outcome, communication related training will need to be developed to meet the needs to upper management, front line supervisors, and line employees.

These proposed changes represent a major shift in Company X’s attitude toward developing employees. Although this new attitude is beneficial to the entire Company X workforce, it is probable that these changes will meet with resistance at various levels. Change often benefits some workers and groups at the expense of others. Large functional groups within an organization may resist changes if they feel they are paying the price for another functional group’s benefit. Organizations with multiple levels of management can also be resistant to change as the members of middle management are often set in their ways and unable to change how they operate. Finally, an organization’s culture may present challenges. Fro example, many employees at Company X have worked at the company for over five years. Many of these employees will have adopted negative attitudes related to the long-standing problems the company has endured. These organization-level resistances to change can be the most difficult since they require effort from the highest levels of the organization (George & Jones, 2008).

The changes brought about by the new training programs may find opponents at the group level. Groups within an organization develop informal rules that dictate how the group’s members interact. Additionally, groups develop a cohesion based on their shared experiences. This cohesion can lead to groupthink, a phenomenon in which group members ignore facts in order to support the claims of other group members (George & Jones, 2008). The new training programs may challenge the way in which group members interact. The group as a whole will feel compelled to resist these changes as they may lead to a shift in how the group functions.

Finally, management can expect to see individual resistance to these changes. Employees that have been successful in the old ways of doing business may feel insecurity as the organization begins to change. It is possible that they will feel unable to cope with the changing work environment. Absenteeism is a common affliction among individuals that feel insecure about their workplaces (George & Jones, 2008).

In order to effectively overcome the various resistances to change within the organization, Company X upper management will need to implement a change management plan. Two change management methodologies that will not be implemented by Company X include Kurt Lewin’s unfreeze, change, refreeze method and the chaotic theory of creative innovation. Although Lewin’s methodology has been popular since its introduction in the 1950s, it has become somewhat dated in the fast-paced world of technology driven organizations. On the other hand, relying on creativity to give rise to innovation has not worked for Company X so far. The company has become stagnant within its current structure. This stagnation inhibits the creativity necessary for the company to evolve without intervention (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2008).

The preferred change management process for Company X is processual change. This methodology recognizes that today’s organizations are in a constant state of motion and cannot be frozen. Therefore change should occur incrementally in a natural way. Although a few understand the direction in which the organization is heading, the majority of the workforce only realizes that changes have happened over time (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2008). For example, as the Human Resource department begins to do research about the various training programs that will be implemented, employee attitudes will shift as someone begins to take an interest in their complaints. Since employees will have had input into the design of these training programs, their implementation will be a source of pride, rather than of uncertainty.

Once the changes have taken place, it will be time to evaluate their effectiveness. Company X already tracks certain information regarding the performance of the factory lines. Since the line employee training focuses on improving job skills, these variables should improve. After the training, there should be a decrease in work-related accidents and increases in productivity and efficiency. The effectiveness of the management development training will be harder to analyze. Since front line supervisors interact with upper management and line employees, it is anticipated that this training will have the widest reaching impact. One measure of improved employee morale brought on by a better management style employed by front line supervisors is absenteeism. As employee morale rises, it is anticipated that absenteeism will decrease.

Other results of the management development training will have to be gathered by the Human Resource department. This includes interviewing employees at all levels of management. These interviews should seek to discover a change in employees’ perception of the problems. In other words, do employees still feel that the problems still exist? Observation will be another invaluable tool in this regard. Human Resource researchers will observe the behavior of employees and detect any changes in attitudes. Employees will hopefully display improved morale as they go about their daily activities. Whether the situation has improved or not, it will time to start the change management cycle over again and begin to diagnose the new problems.

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

George, J. M., & Jones G. R. (2008). Understanding and managing organizational behavior (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Griffin, N. (2003). Personalize Your Management Development. Harvard Business Review, 81(3), 113-119. Retrieved June 4, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

“Groups are the basic building blocks of an organization” (George & Jones, 2008, p. 323). Organizations have realized that individuals working as members of teams can achieve far better results than individuals alone. A team working toward a common goal allows its members to focus more intently on their area of expertise than would be possible if the goal was assigned to a single individual. Additionally, since teams are often comprised of members from diverse backgrounds, individual members can benefit from the experiences of others (George & Jones, 2008). Teams also benefit management as the team itself takes over the roles and responsibilities previously performed by supervisors. Self-managed work teams take responsibility for their actions and implement the strategy formulated by the organization’s management. This results in a flatter organization structure that works together closely and is able to respond more quickly to changes in the external environment (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2004).

Teams are not perfect and intervention is occasionally necessary when a team has gone awry. Over the course of a 12-month period, a team I was a member of was the recipient of two interventions. One was ultimately a failure, and the other a success. The first intervention occurred when the manager over the team decided to leave the organization. His manager felt that this disruption would splinter the team and its members would begin leaving for other organizations as well. This manager’s goal was to speak with the team as a group and individually and discuss what the previous manager’s departure meant for the team. The manager listened to the grievances of the team and promised to make many of the changes the team had requested. In the end, none of the changes were enacted and the team’s morale slipped to an all-time low.

Within the next year, the organization underwent a restructuring and both the replacement manager and top-level manager were removed. The team was entrusted to a top-level manager from a completely different part of the organization. Like before, this top-level manager met with the team members and the team as a whole and listened to their ideas. Rather than assign a mid-level manager to manage the team, this top-level manager allowed the team to manage itself. Now the team was entrusted with helping the organization achieve its goals directly, rather than relying on a middle manager to relay the organization’s strategy as he saw fit. The team responded positively to this change and began producing better than ever.

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Fleming, M., Smith, S., Slaunwhite, J., & Sullivan, J. (2006). Investigating interpersonal competencies of cardiac surgery teams. Canadian Journal of Surgery, 49(1), 22. Retrieved May 31, 2009, from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition database.

George, J. M., & Jones G. R. (2008). Understanding and managing organizational behavior (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

As Stewart Clegg, Martin Kornberger, and Tyrone Pitsis (2004) so adequately described it, “managing innovations requires leadership skills and involvement from the top of an organization” (p. 393). It is inevitable that organizations will require change over time. To reduce the impact of change, it is desirable for top management to recognize what changes will be necessary, and then implement small changes over time to accomplish that goal. Using a phased approach to change management, the CEO and other top managers can minimize the impact of change by avoiding radical shifts. In the end, the CEO must realize that change is inevitable, but the organization as a whole prefers not to change and therefore must be carefully guided (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2004).

Approaches to Change Management

There are several methodologies available to the CEO wishing to implement change management. Kurt Lewin proposed the method of unfreezing the current state of the organization, making a change, and then refreezing. Since organizations are in a constant state of motion, processual change methodologies were developed in reaction to Lewin’s method. This methodology recognizes that change must be a constant process and seeks to implement change periodically. Other theorists agree that organizations are constantly in motion, but reject the notion that they can be controlled systemically. These theorists believe organizations exist in a state of chaos and that chaos allows the creativity necessary to achieve change. Finally, a theory has been developed that marries the creativity of chaotic organizations with the rationality of change management. This theory recognizes that innovation can occur spontaneously, but rejects the idea that the process cannot be managed (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2004).

Data Collection: Questionnaires

There are three primary methods of data collection in relation to organization diagnosis. The first is by dispersing questionnaires. Questionnaires can be distributed to a large audience and have a chance of collecting a large quantity of data. This collection method tends to be fairly inexpensive as questionnaires can be distributed electronically. Additionally, respondents have the opportunity to think about their answers before submitting their feedback. Unfortunately, individuals that do not have strong feelings regarding the subject matter often ignore questionnaires. Therefore, respondents often represent the extreme viewpoints of the target audience. Although administering a questionnaire is relatively inexpensive, designing one requires a certain level of expertise (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 1993).

Data Collection: Behavioral Observation

Behavioral observation is the practice of observing the area that is under diagnosis. While the observed work through their normal processes, observers watch and record all aspects of the process. This data collection method has the benefit of being non-intrusive, since some observations can occur undetected. Studies have shown that observers are often positively impacted by the observations they make. In one case, using employees to observe the safety practices of others resulted in improved safety performance for those acting as observers (Sasson, Austin, & Alvero, 2007). Unfortunately, this data collection method requires a large time investment from a dedicated group of observers in terms of actual observation time and training.

Data Collection: Diagnostic Interviews

Finally, diagnostic interviews combine the interactive question and answer process of questionnaires with the observational aspect of behavioral observation. This gives the interviewer the opportunity to gather feedback from the interviewee while also taking note of the interviewee’s reaction to the questions. Although tone and inflection are not valid scientific measurements, they can be useful when gathering data on human behavior. Unfortunately, diagnostic interviews have two primary drawbacks. The first is that an intense round of interviews can interrupt an organization’s operation and become problematic. Additionally, the very act of being interviewed can have the effect of unintentionally initiating change. Forcing an interview to examine the area under diagnosis may highlight problems the interviewee had not previously considered (Schein, 1995).

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Sasson, J., Austin, J., & Alvero, A. (2007, April). Behavioral Observations. Professional Safety, 52(4), 26-32. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Schein, E. H. (1995). Kurt Lewin’s change theory in the field and in the classroom: Notes toward a model of managed learning. Retrieved May 29, 2009.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (1993). Data collection methods. Retrieved April 14, 2009.

The first model is the analytical model, sometimes known as the difference-integration model. This model focuses on thorough analytical diagnosis as the foundation for organizational change. Specifically, this model was designed to comprehend interdepartmental issues by carefully analyzing an organization’s key problem areas. To improve this comprehension, the analytical model examines four aspects of the organization’s environment: departmental structure, members’ time orientation, members’ interpersonal orientation, and members’ orientation to the organization’s goals (Cummings & Worley, 2009). By analyzing the value different departments place on these aspects, management can begin to understand why departments that must work together have problems. This understanding can help departments develop methods for working together despite their differences.

The force-field analysis model, originally developed by Kurt Lewin in the early 1950s, views the organization as the result of internal forces driving change or maintaining the status quo. An organization can change only if the “driving forces” for change can overcome the “restraining forces” against change (Fuqua & Kurpius, 1993). The strength of this model is its ability to recognize which forces are working within an organization, and developing methods to encourage driving forces while minimizing restraining forces. Unfortunately, recognizing the forces at work within an organization may not clearly reveal the components of those forces. Without a clear understanding of the makeup of these forces, designing a strategy for successful change may be difficult.

Finally, cause maps and social network analysis provide a mathematical approach to organization diagnosis. Cause maps are developed by identifying the variables that exist within an organization’s processes. Causal relationships are discovered between these variables and assigned numerical values. The maps are generated by incorporating these variables and relationships into a matrix. Similarly, social network analysis relies on numerical representations of relationships between people and groups to describe and analyze the importance of key interactions (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Although the mathematical nature of this model makes analysis easier to quantify and comprehend, assigning numerical values to variables and relationships carries a risk of inaccuracy.

Selecting one model to use in the diagnosis of Company X’s Tech Division problems is not an easy task. The analysis method is typically focused on inter-divisional relationships, and these are not currently under investigation. The problems right now are strictly confined to the Tech Division. While useful when looking at problems from a high level, the force-field theory may not have the ability to adequately detect the forces at work in the Tech Division. Cause maps and social network analysis may be the best fit in this case since the introduction of a new Human Resource Manager in the Tech Division means the analysis will be conducted by an individual with no preconceived notions of how different groups interact. This clarity will allow the new Human Resource Manager to generate an unbiased analysis that will lay the foundation for necessary change.

References

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization development and change (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Fuqua, D., & Kurpius, D. (1993, July). Conceptual Models in Organizational Consultation. Journal of Counseling & Development, 71(6), 607-618. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition database.

Dell Inc. is one of the top personal computer manufacturers in the world. Headquartered in beautiful Austin, Texas, Dell is currently the number one supplier of personal computers in the United States and number two in the world. Over the course of the last 25 years, Dell has grown from a small one-man shop operated out of a college dorm room to a multi-national, multi-billion dollar business. The key to Dell’s success has been its direct-to-customer business model (Hicks, 2009). Dell specializes in made-to-order computers, rather than producing generic computers for the mass market. In order to allow customizability at its current production level, Dell has developed key operating tools that set it apart from its competition.

Online Ordering

Although customers can place orders over the phone or in retail outlets, the key to Dell’s tremendous growth has been its online ordering system. Dell offers a wide variety of computing options and an even larger array of customizations. Dell has pioneered the effort to move the order process online; giving customers the ability to modify nearly every detail of their computer purchase and watch as the price is updated in real-time. This front-end ordering system is tied into back-end systems that ensure customers are offered discounts that benefit them and Dell. For example, if the back-end systems realize that 40 GB hard drive inventories are running low, the front-end ordering system might discount 60 GB hard drives to encourage customers to upgrade (Collier & Evans, 2008).

Online Ordering Success

Dell’s online ordering system was very nearly an overnight success. After launching the system in 1996, Dell was realizing $1 million per day in sales within seven months (Hicks, 2009). As we will see momentarily, the benefits of online ordering extend beyond the popularity of the system in terms of daily sales. The communication of the online order facility with the rest of the supply chain ensures a smooth flow of real-time data to the systems that handle the ordering of the individual components that make a Dell personal computer.

Supplier Integration

Dell currently utilizes over 3,500 components from over 250 suppliers. Dell has integrated supplier ordering system directly into the operation of their supply chain. Every two hours, each Dell factory is updated with new order information and supplier delivery schedules are updated to reflect the changing demands (Collier & Evans, 2008). This process ensures that complicated systems with late-arriving parts are not causing easy builds to back up. The complete automation of the supply chain has removed the possibility for human error. Additionally, operations management tools are able to more quickly process the ever changing inventory schedule.

Supplier Integration Success

It is no coincidence that Dell ships more than one computer per second (Hicks, 2009). It is a testimony to their mastery of supplier integration that they can build and ship personal computers so fast. The flexibility provided by their operations management tools has created a process that is nimble enough to allow frequent re-scheduling of factory work flow without actually interrupting that flow at all. Additionally, these updates flow out to the suppliers in the form of purchase order and delivery schedule changes. These updates happen without human intervention and suppliers are able to make deliveries without necessarily knowing the changes have occurred.

Conclusions

Before Dell, the personal computer industry typically relied on Value-Added Resellers (VARs) to customize their stock systems according to end-user specifications. Dell saw that by removing the need for VARs, it could lower the price of end systems, while still supplying end-users with the customizations they desired. Through the development of their online ordering tool, Dell was able to ensure that end-users received the exact system they requested without fear of miscommunication between end-user and reseller. Additionally, their supplier integration tools have paved the way for Dell to ship record numbers of computers, each designed to an individual specification.

References

Collier, D. A., & Evans, J. R. (2009). OM 2008 edition. Mason, OH: South-Western.

Hicks, B. (2009). Dell company profile. Retrieved May 11, 2009 from Faulkner Information Services.