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Breakdown of Case
Analysis Strategies in Place
- Acme is a Minerals Extraction Company based in the United States of America
- An internal clash (Brains VS Brawn) unveiled an opportunity to replace the current CEO and bring in 'new blood' by appointing Mr. Bill Daniels
- Acme currently owns and operates 5 plants throughout America, however two disclosed are Wichita, Kansas (1995) and Lubbock, Texas (1996).
- In broad terms, Productivity and Morale
- Both were at all time lows at all 5 Acme Sites and thus there is a NEED for change
- Karen Jiminez was appointed to ensure this change through her 'team-based productivity project', executed first in Wichita through the help of David Keller
- This was a stunning success - productivity and morale soared, and operating and maintenance costs dropped significantly
- The project was run in Lubbock next - it was not successful.
There were a number of aspects that saw success in Wichita and failure in Lubbock as a result of the 'team-based productivity project.' These include:
1. Influential project leader through David Keller - this influence was not utilized in Lubbock
2. "Problem Chats" - Successful at Wichita as involvement produced/allowed for improvements. At Lubbock nobody showed up despite the selling of the meeting benefits
3. Select a Problem & Implement Tailored Solutions (SPITS) - Used to resolve raised disputes from problem chats & saw reorganizations of the work site to boost morale and productivity. this was not even implemented at Lubbock due to the little participation in the problem chats.
4. Friendly Competition Through Sport - Softball was utilized as a way to ease tensions and promote relations at the site. Successful at Wichita, however at Luboock there was little enthusiasm from the whole site.
- The 'team-based productivity project' - NOT a suitable strategy that would fit the needs and environment of each site
- A meeting looms with top managers where they expect big things from Jiminez, after her success with the first site
- Acme has also invested a lot of capital into the project ($75 million USD)
- The CEO Bill Daniel's reputation and ego have placed even greater pressure on Jiminez
This begs the question - What can be done?
- Appointing a credible figure within the organization to take on the role of a change agent
- Change agents are critical to the entire change process from the initial diagnosis to implementation, instilled through the “4 core roles of an effective change leader” Gratez et al, (2011).
1. Energizing and instilling a readiness for change
2. Crafting a vision and setting direction
3. Leadership commitment & involvement
4. Reinforcing the message and institutionalizing the new behaviors
Using the key problems: Lack of collaboration – communication – cooperation
amongst ‘Operations’, ‘Below ground’ & ‘Above ground’ employees as a tactic to evoke strong reactions to the issues and clarifies the need for change
Short term and long term objectives based on the (MBO) ‘Management by Objectives’ program – Objectives that are determined with employees
Short Term Objectives:
• Achieve unified commitment amongst all individuals
• Decline group conflicts – Internal change agent to mediate
• Build trust among employer, employees and groups
Long Term Objectives:
• Distributing responsibility to employees or teams and keep guiding them through their responsibilities
Change agents responsibility to best assist, drive and communicate the change at hand through ;
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Adapt multiple viewpoints due to the different groups and people involved
• Highly involved in the incentive program and social activities which will be expanded on later on (for person speaking), in order to draw close connections amongst all people
Advantages
• First-hand knowledge of Acme and the previous downfalls and challenges
• Putting trust into someone who is known in the organisation and has a renowned reputation as opposed to an unfamiliar external figure
Disadvantages:
• Heavy reliance on the internal change agent may hinder on teamwork
• Incorporating an internal change agent will not provide the opportunity of a fresh perspective unencumbered by existing hierarchy and power structures
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be used as a framework to adopt a benefits scheme that is meaningful to and resonate with employees
o Psychological > pay
o Safety
o Sense of belonging / connection to the organisation
o Esteem needs > employees need to feel recognised and valued
o Self actualisation > incentives that lead to satisfaction of the highest need on Maslow’s
- This will increase motivation, staff morale and lower productivity cost
- The project leader should ensure that changes become permanent by identifying the needs that are operational for an employee and develop benefit packages that help satisfy those needs.
- Communication is experienced whenever meaning is attributed to current or past behaviour (Perkins, 2008). This begins with discussing the need for change, first and foremost.
- Jimenez may use a downward channel of communication to allow employees to thoroughly comprehend the changes that are to occur. This involves informing subordinates of the prime organizational goals and objectives.
- Support from Top Management
- Clearly outlined objectives
- Trained managers for implementation (i.e. Keller)
- Measures and asseses organisational performance
- Utlizes both past and future performance complimenting financial measures
- Incorporates estimations based on intagible assets as products/services, employees, responsive internal processes and innovation/productivity
- Focuses on long-term strategies
KAHOOT
https://play.kahoot.it/#/intro?quizId=90da0587-21b1-44ae-8821-ebb3c81e9e79
- Goal congruency
- Fosters Collaboration
- Utilization of Rewards & Incentives
Balance Scorecard Differences
- Inflexibility
- High degree of explicitness
- Collaborative Approach
- Greater flexibility
- Rewards as a source of morale
- Improved Motivation
- Adaptable amongst differing environments
The process will entail the underscore and explore communication strategy through ‘conducting private interviews and gaining CEO’s public support’ to influence change targets in the awareness stage, as well as ‘Walk the Talk’ method to model the anticipated behavior and clarify organizational values and lastly revising the reward system as a formal control system to “refreeze” the expected behaviors.
The execution of the solution aims to unveil:
- Realistic expectations
- High commitment from senior management and team members
- And ultimately connecting all members of Acme to the organizations objectives in an effort to improve teamwork and morale.