Candlelight Company: Profitability of the Company - Case Study Example

 Candlelight Company: Profitability of the Company It is highlighted that Candlelight requires a business Unit acquisition, which would go a long way in increasing the company’s presence and market shares in South America. Moreover, the company’s growth projection for ten years is quite strong. This, thus, implies that the company should be keen at implementing key strategies. Key among them are the staffing levels, and the staffing models (Thomas 88). In order to appropriately define the staffing levels, the company managers need to explore several steps. First, the company needs to fully understand its business. In this case, in making sure requirements are quite understood, there is need to find out the actual driving changes in the levels of staffing for the company. In order to achieve this, one has to make sure he/she fully understands the business alongside its plans and strategies. Secondly, the company needs to find out the needs of the driving staffing. This encompasses establishing what actually creates or changes the company’s staffing requirements, whether defined by the staffing levels or skill levels (Thomas 118). It is worth noting that, more often than not, the requirements of staffing are driven by business activity changes, either services mix or product mix, the geographical expansion, service improvement, alongside similar factor as highlighted in chapter 5 of the staffing drivers. It also essential for the company to find out the constraints that regards staffing. Other than defining the staffing drivers, the company needs to identify the limiting factors in regard to the staffing levels required. For instance, supposing the marketing forecasts products to increase sales by on average 20 percent for the following year, and the levels of sales drives the sales reps required. Looking at it at the first glance, one would conclude that the increase it would be appropriate to increase the number of sales reps. However, maxing out the manufacturing capacity, and making sure that the manufacturing capacity remains unchanged in the next year, there is low likelihood that there would be additional products produced. This happening would imply that there is no likelihood of sales increasing since there would be no additional reps needed. Fourthly, in defining the staffing levels, the company needs to begin defining changes in both positions and roles. Before attempting to define the staffing levels of staffing required, the managers should first establish the roles alongside changes required in implementing business strategies and plans. In this respect, staffing levels can be defined in a somewhat more meaningful way only figuring out what people are supposed to do. This can be followed by defining changes in both capabilities and in skills required in performing the stipulated roles. This implies that staffing levels need to be defined following the definition of the required skills. The company, as well needs to make use of a combination of the quantitative techniques. This can be achieved through understanding where the quantitative techniques can work or otherwise where they tent to fail to apply. Clearly, the quantitative approaches become more appropriate in cases where there seems to be measurable relationship existing between task times and staffing levels. It should be noted that staffing ratios might be set basing on the real values or the desired changes. This happens where the past becomes prologue and the statistical techniques including the regression analysis can be of help in the determination of the relationship between a number of the staffing drivers and the staffing levels needed. While defining the much needed staffing levels for a given unit, one should use various approaches that are tailored to every unit of the position in that given unit. There should be no attempt in trying to come up with a single and one-sized-fit-all process. Moreover, it is important to always verify that the given quantitative relationship defined is based upon the information available in the business forecasts. There would be no harm in creating a staffing ratio that is based upon the sales of any product in case the business objectives and plans fail to define the amount of product that should be sold in course of the planning period. Last but not least, in defining the appropriate staffing levels, there is need to supplement the quantitative approaches with those qualitative ones. As research would have it, quantitative relationship might not be defined easily. In order to appropriately define the staffing levels in such a case, there is need to conduct the structured interviews with the managers. In this case, each manger should be given a snapshot of the current staff, follow it with discussing how the business need to change in the course of the period of planning, and also define the impact the changes would have concerning the required staffing. Practically, these changes are often defined in terms of the incremental terms. Staffing models, on the other hand, are crucial in this business because of the existing direct link between the organization strategy and the staffing models. Impressing good staffing models helps streamline the organization’s strategic directions, and at the same time boost the productivity of the employees (Thomas 203). Research shows that more often than not, human resource mangers alongside other administrators do complain of lacking results after the implementation of changes in the staffing duties. Some managers, as well seem to claim that there is lacking link between the organization performance and the staffing changes. Such negative responses result from the fact that such like managers fail to utilize the good staffing models in order to help improve on the organizational strategies. Implementation of the good staffing models, in this respect, is important because of various reasons (Thomas 208). First, for companies that implement good staffing models often translate the benefits into other aspects of the organization. This is particularly vital to the financial departments. Impressing sound staffing models, especially for this company, does not waste the valuable resources for the company through employing the unnecessary employees. This, on the overall, substantially cuts down on the wholesome cost of the business and it, as well encourages competitive pricing. Through this process, the company can afford offering special prices, discounts and the bonuses following minimization of their overall operating costs. Staffing models are also crucial in reducing the overall operating costs in a company, and help improve quality. Whenever, the CEO employs sound staffing strategies, chances are that the only competent employees would merit being selected for the job. These employees would go along way committing them towards registering good organization goals and would ensure such like employees achieve maximum performance. Arguably, overall productivity in a company is in direct link with the individual efforts. As if not enough, most organizations perform poorly in their respective markets due to failure to fully utilize the capabilities of the employees. However, staffing models provide a chance to the human resource managers to tap the potential of the employees. Whenever everyone in the organization works at his/her best, the organization is more likely to supersede the performance of the competitor. Implementing staffing models, as well ensures there is existing right balance between the generalists and the specialists. The organization should not, therefore, make a mistake of employing more than enough specialists. This is because the large levels of supply of employees might outstrip demand and end up causing heavy losses for the company. On the contrary, the company having very few specialists might be unable to accomplish some functions and tasks, which may end up impeding the productivity, as well as the overall market performance. This, thus, imply that the Candlelight Company should make sure that the quality, as well as the number of generalists and the specialists meets the organization requirements. TOPIC TWO. It is highlighted that the company put more emphasis on cost reduction and workforce reductions over the last several years, thus failing to invest in training and development of its people. It is this lack of investment in developing people that has contributed immensely to the depletion of talent. Clearly, the company has considerably failed in a number of objectives. Among the key objectives violated by the company includes meeting the employees’ workplace expectations, matching the job and person, as well as giving coaching and feedback (Leigh 73). As pointed out by Leigh Branham (2012), many employers fail to address these issues amicably and end up losing employees on such grounds. The wish of such a company could have been to make their managers or employees better couched. However, this is not the case with this company. Arguably, lack of the feedback is one of the key reasons contributing to performance problems in this company and as pointed out in Leigh Branham research, most managers tent to provide feedback to its employee’s only ones in a period of a year. This is particularly done during the time of performance appraisal and yet the very managers expect yielding returns from their employees. Moreover, it is noted that in this company, depletion of the talents has been the order of the day following the problem of downsizings and a high level of turnover in recent years with limited hiring and replacements. This, in effect, have significantly impacted on the level of strong talent across the company with the areas hit the hardest being R&D, Operations, and Sales & Marketing. As noted by Leigh Branham, on the general scale, many managers across companies failed to be coached themselves. As a results, they, as company employees end up lacking role models to spear head coaching. Following this, these managers either revert to giving no feedback and coaching at all, or settle on orthodox methods of screaming, yelling and threatening employees. Such like managers are prone to providing dishonest feedback because of lack of training. Following the shortcomings in the particular case company, it is true that either the workplace or the job failed to be as expected. What to be done concerning this issue. In an effort to realize fruitful returns, there is need to find a long lasting solution. In this respect, I recommend a simple the company to adopt a "Get-Give-Merge-Go" model, which if implemented means, one has to get the perspective of the employee's first, follow it with your own, and finally, on the next step, the two need to be merged into an agreement (Leigh 209). The coaching model to be applied needs to always assume a form of an adult-to-adult partnership which should be between the employee and the manager but not parent to child. Research has shown that many employees have impressed the "upward evaluations", which provides employees with the opportunity to provide feedback to the mangers basing on people-management and coaching abilities (Leigh 204). However, it should be noted that such programs are more appropriate when done with the sole purpose to spear head development agendas, not as formal performance evaluations. TOPIC FOUR One thing that is notable for the case of Candlelight Company is the resistance to change especially among its senior leadership team, as well as leaders down within the business. Having noted this challenge, the new CEO has been emphasizing that the significant change is an essential component for the growth, survival, as well as profitability of the company. Moreover, it has been noted that there has been Leadership Misalignment within the company with the Candlelight’s Senior Leadership failing to function in an aligned and effective way. Most notable is the fact that Candlelight’s HR function has continued to lose key talent over the last several years. However, there have been limited replacements with a few done at the clerical/administration level. In this company, competent HR leadership have lacked attention or effort made by the SVP Administration to make any changes. The HR people in place have operated in a very reactive and generally non-responsive way. The credibility of HR with leaders and employees is considered negative. In the view of Leigh Branham (p267), this company has experienced loss of Trust and Confidence among Senior Leaders. Loosing trust in senior leadership shows that as an employer, there is lacking foundation of being appreciated as by the employees, reflecting lack of trust by the employees to the employer. This scenario often results in a case where companies that have high levels of trust outcompetes those companies with low trust. Research shows that only 39 percent of the American workers tent to trust their senior leaders and only 50 percent of the employees tent to believe that such employers serve their interests at the expense of the company. Unluckily, this is a true reflection of events in Candlelight company. On a wider scale employees in most companies perceive senior executive as self-interested, ego-driven, greed and short-term focused individuals. These CEOs have been described as having “the give-and-get-back” attitude which is reflection of typical servant leaders. Noting that every company aims at recording successes, and in particular the Candlelight Company, I recommend that senior executives ought to be employee-focused, loyalty-inspiring, and show trustworthy. Arguably, the CEOs cannot make it to inspire commitment from their own workforce unless they first show that they are committed to serving them right. In helping achieve this, all employees should be aware of the availability of 95 percent of the voluntary turnover and disengagement, and be informed that it is avoidable. It should be put into consideration that the employees often share most of the responsibility for being engaged, with most of the levers that deem to cause an increase in the employee engagement being within direct managers’ powers. The company should cease from relying on tangible, easy-to-implement solution that revolve around pay, trendy perks, and benefits, and focus its efforts towards powerful solutions revolving around the somewhat more challenging intangibles such as healthy cultures, as well as good management. TOPIC FIVE. It is noted that, as far as America is concerned, Union Management relations in North America is strained at best. Following this, the company was unable to negotiate a labor contract that expired in September of 2010, and after reaching impasse, took action to replace the workforce. This action resulted in a significant reaction by the union leadership and in turn violence and property damage occurred. After many months of discussion, the company and the union finally reached an agreement in May of 2012. The unionized plants are again producing product, but the union is extremely non cooperative and resistant to any operational changes. Union/Management relations in the European countries are very positive and historically relations have been good. The NA Union has attempted to organize the two union free plants without success. The Plant Managers in both non- union plants are very strong in their people leadership skills and have created strong positive work environments. Work Cited Leigh Branham. The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. London: AMACOM Publishers 2012. Thomas Bechet . Strategic Staffing, 2nd Ed. London: AMACOM Publisher s. 2008. Read More