Decreasing Number of Clients of 6 Steps and Rising Company - Case Study Example

6 Steps & Rising Over the years, the advertisement industries had not got into much fame till the 21st century. With the increased competition in the industry, there is a need for companies to create awareness for their clients through advertisement and good public relations offices. Advertisement is a marketing strategy for a company to create confidence to the consumers and informative measure of the company’s available goods. For a company to continuously increase its sale either after re-brand, expansion of their plants or increase production capacity, more market is needed. The only way a company can reach out to many possible and willing customers and clients is through the engagement of media in the advertisement. In preparation for the advertisement, identifying the type of advert that would attract most members of the society is major issues. It depends on creativity, mode of presentation and design. This paper examines the case of 6 steps and rising company and identifies possible recommendations that would mend the current situation. The company has experienced a decreasing number of clients after the Melbourne Office was taken over by the company. Company Background Information 6 Steps & Rising company comprises of a network consisting of advertising company and a public relations firm. It has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland and New Zealand. The company originated from Sydney before spreading to other parts due to this expansion program. With years of operation, the company has expanded to merging other competitors in other cities. However, after the company took over the office in Melbourne, several challenges have risen up against the planned development. The conflict between the clients and the company employees has risen due to the claim that the company has lost creative flair. Mike Zhang, the new managing director for the Melbourne officer has identified that the company is not running well. For clarity of the problem affecting the company, he decided to inquire from the employees the challenges that the company would face and the underlying cause. After the engagement with Stephanie Burke, she highlighted that after the company was taken by 6 Steps & Rising, the compensation in terms of benefits and perks was lost. Through the year after handing over the firm, the employees lost their generous long-service benefits as well as bonuses and superannuation plans. In addition, bonuses and that was awarded was lost immediately the company was handed over to the by 6 Steps & Rising. The other challenge highlighted was on the management of Edward Chinyadza who is authoritative and uses a demanding language in the operation inflicting fear to the employees. That kind of leadership is threatening to the employees who word under few from the manager. She thinks that the manager has destroyed the culture that was quite open and creative to one that is bureaucratic and administrative. The employee had lost faith in the company management owing to the general feeling by the employees that they are over-controlled, underpaid, and degraded in service. To make matters worse, there has been empty promises on promotion as witnessed in the case for Albert Bellucci, who cannot get promoted even after follow up pointing out that seeing the management is through a long process which is not guaranteed. Safi Khan, another interviewed company employee who got a first-class honors degree in Marketing is not satisfied with the work. This employee has engaged the management several times to request the need for teamwork between the company and the clients. Another employee named Teresa Pérez a former Creative Director has some issues to explain on her situation. She highlights the reasons that made her to leave the job as a result of low working morale where there are monotonous activities without changes in the type of work done. Other employees too explained that they faced challenges related to the effectiveness of communication, bureaucratic control, lack of trust, lack of feedback and fewer teamwork activities. Mikel went to Edward Chinyadza to discuss the issues that raised who said that the challenges are nothing to worry since they depend on the personnel. Theoretical Arguments (a) Compensation Plan in the Firm According to the research done by Rijalu, Shimelis, & Reta (2014), it explored the role of compensation to the motivation of the employees. The company has experienced less recognition of the employee contribution to building an organization. Motivation refers to the practice of goal orientation of the employees that link them to the success of their duties. It has a direct effect on the performance of the organization. Motivation ensures that the productivity of the employees is boosted to work and produce effective results to the organization. It is only when the employees are motivated that they show maximum dedication in discharging their duties in the organization. The workforce requires the willingness and ability to support the company in achieving the organizational goals. From his theory of Two-Factor, approached the theory of motivation in a different perspective. There exist some aspects of the working environment that satisfy the employees. He pointed out that the factors that cause dissatisfaction as hygiene in that they are associated with company policies, supervision, working conditions, salary, safety, and security on the job. These factors influence the productivity of the employees in all their engagements in the company affairs. On the other hand, he identified to the facts he referred to as motivators. George, Michael, & Kevin (1988) argues that it is essential and obvious to tie the employees effectiveness to a good compensation plan. The economists argue with respect to enforce the payment of bonus based compensation plan with enough money. The employee motivation is essential if the company is to increase and boost its effectiveness in terms of quality and quantity. A motivated employee will commit their full effort and support the company's objectives. The essentiality of motivation cannot be ignored any management that wish to prosper the organization. With increasing competition in the businesses, there is a high need to have a fully motivated employees who can in the abundance support the company’s development agendas. Dismissal of compensation and bonus based pay in 6 Steps & Rising company has contributed greatly to decline in the company effectiveness and efficiency in managing advertisement campaigns for their clients. There are two theories that explore the whole concept of motivation in the organization. These theories are expectancy and equity theories. They examine the conditions that may improve the effectiveness of the employee. According to Waqas & Owais (2012), process there is more scientific dependent on research that involves the concepts where a person is motivated through inputs that go through a process to produce output. These two theories are dependent on the organizational behavior in an organization that relates to motivation. In a move to find justification of the two theories, Victor Vroom expectation theory defines more research based evidence on the effect of motivation of the employees in an organization. It explains that people tend to be well motivated when they have a self belief and management promise of reward to them in the form of salary and bonuses. Effective communication Communication in an organization is an important factor to consider in the organization. Effective communication engagement in the management and the employees and one between employees and their clients is essential in the development of the organization. Employees who have good communication with the organization management ought to experience growth better that those that do not. In the case of 6 Steps & Rising company, the interviewed employees admit that there are bureaucratic protocols in the organization that blocks the organization development. Through such processes, the company has failed in creating friendlier measures to promote effective communication from the management to the clients. Effective communication promotes a number of success points such as sharing visions, building a common objective and creating meaningful measures that benefit the organization. Drawing observation and analysis done after research by Cemil, Kin, Ebru, & Eda (2012), the research that was done in two 5star hotels proved that there exist two forms of communication in an organization. These two forms are formal and informal communication. For a company to experience a good flow of communication, the management has to work in close contact with the employees and subordinate staff. This shows why the employees from the company, here are concerned about communication in that organization. The effectiveness of this communication can be identified as one major factor that promote unity and teamwork in the organization. With increased competition and accessibility to information, the organization can only gain from competitive advantage in the market through effective communication within and outside the organization. From the point of view on the effects associated with communication, effectiveness and efficiency in the production process is enhanced when there is strict consideration of the communication. With the company being identified in this case study, it has drawn employees from the best universities and hires only those who are competent. That point shows that the poor communication is facilitated by the management that is bureaucratic and commanding. Promoting communication in the organization itself is a major strategic plan that moves the company to develop in the face of competition. Leadership Skills in the Management Leadership is a major factor as a driver to success. The implications made by effective communication goes beyond the normal criterion when leadership is effective. There is a fault in the leadership of 6 Steps & Rising as seen by the employee’s interview results analysis. Edward Chinyadza who was transferred from Sydney to Melbourne office is considered authoritarian and demanding and also formulated restrictive rules governing employees in the company. This aspect of leadership should be addressed to transform this organization to its former glory. Poor leadership skills are evident in the management that took place after the handing over of the company. It attributes to poor methodologies of approach to leadership. By definition, a leader should be a person the employees can look up and embrace the values they do uphold. In addition, the leader should lead by influencing the employees to identify the organization sand fulfill the needs of their clients and those of the organization. Pan, Zhou, & Zhou (2008) argues that leadership plays a vital role in the development of the organization. There are several forms of leadership that are applicable in the industry today. However, transformative and transactional leadership will be emphasized. Application of leadership styles in the organization may impact the general perception be held by the employees. Transactional leadership is mainly concerned with the promotion of normal operations in the organization. It uses disciplinary of powers and array of powers that control the activities in an organization. It ensures that the employees work to their best in ensuring that the activities within the organization runs effectively. It is aimed at motivating the employees through reward systems that appreciate their performance in the organization. On the other hand, transformative leadership is concerned with does not only push the company through the day to day activities, but also engage the company employees with strategies to keep the company to high level of performance and success. Transformative leadership is concerned with the spirit that promotes team-building, motivation and collaboration with the employees meeting objectives of the organization. Transformative leadership embarks on ways of encouraging the subordinates to work better and rise to higher performance levels through the setting of goals and incentives that promote their personal and professional development. That form of leadership encourages individual employee in the company. Engaging the employees constructively is a motivating factor as well as building strong relationships among the employees in their services to the organization and clients. It creates a strong force that can go beyond individual goals to those that are affecting the organization. Sharing a common goal or objective in the company promotes teamwork and encourages the development of the organization. Effectiveness of the leadership style is paramount to the general development of the company at all levels socially, economically. Teamwork in an Organization Teamwork plays an extensive role in the development of companies and organizations. According to Mary (2014), teamwork in anorganization is a determinant of success of the organization’s projects. In many cases, there exist motivation and perfection when the company is promoting teamwork. In the case of 6 Steps & Rising company, the poor performance in designs and campaigns may be subjected to lack of teamwork in the general running of activities. The clients have complained in several instances of dissatisfaction with the product they get from the company. Teamwork facilitates the development of inidustries through collective arguments that are raised in the team and solution suggested from a variety of reasons. Collective expression of reasoning and promotion of talents throughout their team ensures that the interest of the company is achieved in the right way. It ensures that each individual talent has an opportunity to express it in the company. For the case of the company in question in this paper, it is noted that there has been diminishing talents and creativity throughout since the handing over was done. The main reason why the talents and creativity have reduced consecutively may be attributed towards individualism in the organization that has hindered teamwork among the employees. According to the employees interviewed, it is clear that the company has failed in the following areas Lack of trust excessive conflict, lack of commitment little or no accountability failure to focus on results. Encouraging team work in the organization has a direct impact on the development of the company. Personal development through engagement of team spirit in an organization is essential in promoting quality and workforce integration of new techniques in the industry. The second aspect of the development of an organization that is influenced by teamwork is communication. On a team, every member's contribution is honored and respected. Through such approach, the members will improve their communication skills that drive the company to its projected outcome. When the employees work in a team, they share knowledge and skills in their interaction that they end up emerging as a big force that promotes the entire organization growth and human resource development. In addition, the company increases its market in competitive advantage as a result of teamwork in the organization. When there is teamwork in the company, cohesion is experienced that saves time that would have been wasted in conflict resolution among the workforce. In some companies, there is wastage of productive time in settling disputes between the employees that can be reverted through teamwork. Furthermore, the environment in the team is conducive to accommodate learning and the exchange of skills and knowledge in all departments that allow the workers to work in a multi-departmental setting as the project implementations is in progress in case one member fails to appear. For example, if one department makes unrealistic expectation from the other department, the team may come up with realistic implications of such decisions hence promoting unity and interdepartmental interaction. Recommendations From the research carried out by various scholars in the practical world with integration of theoretical understanding, it is true that the company is facing challenges related in several levels within the management, leadership skills, poor management, teamwork, poor communication skills and in the compensation plan. There are several recommendations that can be carried out to mend the situation in the 6 Steps & Rising company and change the attitude being created to the clients. These recommendations are drawn from, both practical research and theoretical understanding. The issues raised are from a wide consultation of scholarly materials mainly journal articles. First, the company leadership should embrace both transformative and transactional leadership skills that have contributed to some of the problems experienced in the company. Transformative leadership is effective in creating a working environment that has a well motivated employees who are also well compensated. Promoting transformative leadership would be a better move that would engage the development of the human capital in the organization impacting to increase quality and quantity of goods synthesized by the company. Transformative leadership is an effective leadership style that incorporates compensation for the employees as well as motivation on their relationship with management aimed at ensuring that the; organization objects are adhered to in the delivery of services[Pan08]. Effective communication should also be introduced since its lacking in the management of this company. It will help alleviate the situations where the employees feel that accessing services and clarification from the management is effectively managed. Lack of proper and effective communication has led to several problems where the employees view communication protocol as bureaucratic and inaccessible to the subordinate staff. It has led to confusion in the organization contributing to the failure experienced in the process of delivering to the organization and clients (Cemil, Kin, Ebru, & Eda, 2012). The compensation plan that was removed that included some bonus reward should be reinforced to work a motivator for the employees. Through the theory of equity, the compensation plan should be comprehensively done without discrimination to ensure that the employees are motivated with the services they give to their clients[Waq12]. It will also enhance teamwork in the group when its fair. Promoting teamwork in the organization will result to increased returns to the company and customer and employee satisfaction. It will encourage the employees to maximally contribute to the success of the company effectively and with efficiency. Paying attention to these recommendations will enhance good working relationship among the employees and top management and among the customers and employees, who in direct contact with the clients[Waq12]. Conclusion A case study on 6 Steps & Rising company has encouraged the intervention of a new director to work and reform the most glory that is diminishing regarding the company. Strategic measures to promote good relationships and motivation among the employees is essential to promote the development of the declining company. Intervention in management, leadership, communication and other relevant skills should be in-line with the theoretical understanding that will result to increased demand of their products as the talents would boost creativity in design. The organization should carry out induction workshop to inform the employees on the new measures they take in delivery of services and in catering for the employees as the first client. References Pan08: , (Pan, Zhou, & Zhou, 2008 ), Waq12: , (Waqas & Owais, 2012), Read More