Success of the Organization - AmeriTech - Essay Example

AmeriTech Case Study al Affiliation: AmeriTech Case Study Summary of the case AmeriTech is a company that was started by IBM subordinates who accepted a buyout package that was offered by their previous employer who was reorganizing in 1991. Initially, the firm produced computer suppliers. The demand for these products improved the performance of the company in the market. However, with time, the firm started experiencing high competition levels from products from Asian firms which were cheap. In order to reduce the costs of operations, the firm made a decision to move to Cebu in Philippines. However, instead of the firm establishing a new plant, it acquired a Korean firm which was struggling in the market. The company decided to retain all its employees. Moreover, it opted to continue with its production techniques which were quality-oriented. Philippines is an Island country which was a Spanish colony. All local people are Christians and use Filipino as an official language although English is widely used especially by the elite. The country gained independence in 1946. Democracy in the country gained ground in 1992 after Fidel Ramos took over power. The president opened up the economy to external investors with the aim of creating employment for the local population. The decision by AmeriTech to relocate to Philippines was aimed at enabling the firm to gain a competitive advantage with the lower labor costs in the country and easy access to emerging markets in Asia. The only employee who was transferred to Philippines was William Bill Dawson. Although he was intelligent, he never attended college. However, he was able to move to positions and secure the topmost position in Ameritech. The transition was easy but, some changes in the production process were needed. During the startup period, the company offered the unused employees their normal salaries. Many employees were happy with the working conditions under their new employer. Bill was assigned Miguel in order to help him with cultural difficulties that might face him in the new country. Miguel was not trusted by the employees because of his background. Unlike Bill, he was not close to the employees. In addition, he was not happy with the fact that he was living far away from his family. After acquisition, production levels remained low. Bill discovered that the employees wasted a lot of time by having extended breaks and endless chats. In addition, the employees would engage in activities that were not related to their work, eg birthday parties for some employees. However, Miguel informed bill that this was part of Filipino culture. Bill decided to take action by introducing training sessions but most of the employees who were women and had not worked in other manufacturing plants failed to attend. Many of these women could not open up or comment during training. The only woman who spoke frequently was a middle aged woman named Millet. However, he joked and teased bill, an aspect that angered him and ordered for the lady to be fired. This changed the working environment as employees became formal and less interactive with Bill. After sometime, the level of production improved. However, the turnover rate increased. This is because another plant was being established in the area. Bill decided to introduce an incentive program. However, the meeting to inform the subordinates on the program was skipped by almost half of the employees. Employees started giving excuses and supervisors started pilling pressure on Bill to change the situation. However, the situation was worsened after the HR assistant director resigned. The firm started struggling with filling the vacancies. Bill tried to introduce a new incentive but Miguel opened up after being seemingly uninterested with the new idea. He informed Bill that he was nicknamed “baboy” which meant a pig. This angered bill who decided to cancel any party or incentive programs and start looking for a person to fill the HR position that was left vacant. Question 1 Bill failed to involve the subordinates in his critical decisions that had effect on the employees. For instance, he did not involve his juniors in arranging the meetings. Furthermore, he failed to collect the grievances of the employees in relation to the existing incentive programs. As a result, the employees felt alienated and not part of the organization. Bill did not introduce an open-office policy. Many employees did not feel like opening up to the Bill. Therefore, there were several issues that affected their working relationship. However, the issues which led to high turnover rates did not reach Bill’s office. This made it hard for Bill to tackle the challenge before it affects the performance of the employees. In addition, the decision to suppress those who opposed his ideas affected his working relationship with the rest of the employees. Employees like to be associated with a manager who listens to them, ready to be challenged, and give in to challenges from employees’ in relation to some critical issues concerning the organization (Knights & Willmott, 2007). However, the decision to fire Millet was not effective. Instead, he could have addressed the personal issue with the lady rather than taking it a notch higher and deciding to fire her. This is because employees work as a unit. Therefore, when one of them is affected, the rest of the group feels aggrieved. This had a major impact on their working environment. As a result, majority of them opted to look for employment in the new plants that were being established in the area. This had a major impact on the performance of the company as it took time before the new employees could fully integrate with the rest of the employees. The decision to change the internal culture of the organization was one of the big mistakes that Bill made. Every organization has a unique culture that every employee associates with (Stein, 2010). In this case, chats, extended breaks, and birthday parties for the employees were some of the important aspects that kept the employees united. As a result, the employees felt as one group which was united towards a common objective. Organizational change requires the involvement of all affected stakeholders (Catlin-Legutko & Klingler, 2012). Therefore, the decision to make changes on this deep rooted culture that was dear among the Filipino was ill-informed. Instead, Bill could have involved the local people in establishing the best strategy to use in order to avoid time wasting. However, tackling the issue individually played a significant role in forcing the employees to distance themselves from Bill. This explains the reason why the employees skipped meetings and failed to communicate effectively with Bill. Question 2 It was necessary for Bill to change his style of management in order to fit in the new organization. The decision to retain his old ways of management did not auger well with his assignment. Furthermore, Bill should have taken some time to learn the local culture and the way the previous managers of the Korean firm were handling the employees. This could have enabled him to adapt to the new assignment. Question 3 The nickname was an indication that Bill was someone who was associative. In addition, it portrayed a person who was individualistic and only cared about his personal welfare and success. However, the nickname could have been a wakeup call for Bill to change his style of management and start associating employees in decision making process. Question 4 If I was advising Bill, I would suggest that he change his strategy on how he handles the employees. Instead of making decisions on his own, he needs to involve the rest of subordinates. Furthermore, he needs to hold frequent forums to allow the employees to air their grievances. This would be significant in creating a strong bond between him and the rest of the workforce. Bill should enquire the meaning behind the nickname. In some areas, the name pig may mean a different thing than what Bill has concluded. In case the word is negative, Bill should take this as an opportunity to reassess his management strategies. Instead of being angry on the employees, he should try and create a close relationship with them and amend his previous styles of management. Recommendations Bill should introduce an open office policy. This is to give the employees an opportunity to report their grievances directly to him without the use of intermediaries. This would enable him to know about issues that are affecting the employees. This would play a significant role in reducing the turnover rates in the company. Bill should start taking the opinions of the employees while making critical issues that will affect their welfare. This will make employees to feel appreciated by the organization. Bill should draft a performance appraisal with the help of the employees. This is to recognize the best performing employees to be rewarded. This would increase the level of motivation. Bill needs to introduce some benefits. For instance, he needs to introduce health benefits and insurance cover. This will make the employees to feel safe while working in the organization. Conclusion The success of the organization does not depend on how authoritative the top manager is. On the contrary, it depends on how the top management can be able to associate the employees and ensure they are focused towards the organizational goals. As a result, Bill should change before implementing changes in the organization. This will help him to guide the rest of the employees towards a common goal. References Catlin-Legutko, C., & Klingler, S. (2012). Organizational management. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Knights, D., & Willmott, H. (2007). Introducing organizational behaviour and management. London: Thomson Learning. Stein, G. (2010). Managing people and organizations: Peter Druckers legacy. Bingley, UK: Emerald. Read More