TOCYO's Approach Managing People - Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. Executive Summary………………… 3 Introduction …………………………. 4 Management ……………………. 5 Marketing ………………………. 6 Finance …………………………. 6 Conclusion ………………………….. 7 Recommendations …………………… 8 References …………………………… 11Executive Summary The report talks about a toy company by the name of TOYCO, it is company that has once again come back into the family after a management buyout. The report will discuss the issues that were currently being faced by the company. The company was in quite a lot of mess there were many issues in nearly all the departments of the company as well as the management alos had issues amongst themselves. The report will identify the issues, present the causes of the issues and then present a solution for the problem. The only solution for the company is to bring about a whole revamping era into his firm so as to make sure that they can grab back their marketing share and as well as start making profits. INTRODUCTION The company was founded by Harold Bennett who was an ex-marine engineer, he company was working successfully under him and there were no serious issues, but when issues started to raise their heads, he sold the company to another person and stopped his interference in the company, but later when once again the company was losing out on its market share the new owner decided to sell it. Gordon Bennett, who was a family member of the founder felt that the company should once again come back into the family decided to undergo a management buyout. He felt that this would be a very wise decision as the management will become owners and hence they will feel that they have a serious kind of obligation towards the company and work honestly, effectively and efficiently to make the company prosper, but he failed to calculate that there were some serious kinds of issues in the management, which later started to come up once the buyout was completed. Gordon, felt that there were some serious issues and grudges that the mangers had among themselves, the employee including the factory workforce were highly de motivated and felt that they were being used by the company for their personal gains. Each departmental head was on the look out to create benefit for themselves and for her friends. The employee were not being paid properly, there was serious discrepancies in the pays that were being handed out and the employees hence felt degraded and left out. There were serious financial drains in the company in the form of part time workers and failed experiments. Also, some of the departmental heads had made many things an egotistical issue, when there was no such thing. The departmental head had also failed to account for the cultural structure of Mexico where unionism is quite strong and hence the difference in payments was treated as a huge issue. One major thing in the company was the increasing nepotism which always leads to the downfall of companies. Another major issue that he is currently facing is in relation to the relocation, if he merges the two units there will be some layoffs, but it would result in major cost savings, he has to make a decision about it as well and soon, and make sure that decision is in the favor of the employees and the company as a whole. Management Currently there are many issues in the management; in fact some of the major issues which are then leading to smaller issues are emerging from the management. The HR department at first needs a serious bit of change, although Swagg has a lot of experience in the same industry but she really lacks the honesty and the vigor that should be in her as a part of HR department. The kind of employees that you are hire are the ones that really make a difference in today’s business, employees help you create the niche that gives you a competitive advantage in the long run. She should know that in the current crises situation she should practice a salary cut all over the department not leaving out her friends and the “allies” in the company as she assumes. There is a serious disparity in the pay that is being given organization wide and this is creating a serious level of discomfort among the employees. Employee development is also one very important aspect of any organization as it helps the employee create a better resource of employees as it is one thing that helps companies create their competitive edge over competitors. There exist two levels on which the growth of worker is supposed to be done. The duty lies on two dissimilar departments’ in general. It is the obligation of the division manager of the workers to make sure that all his staff are aggravated in a positive way and are performing according to the necessities. It is the responsibility of the departmental head to look after the progress of their employees. It is the responsibility of the departmental head to carry out a research on unremitting basis and should be able to identify the gaps that exists in the requirement and the work that being performed by the employees that are a part of the staff. There is also serious lack of training for the departments, and the employees feel that they are being neglected and hence have got no values in the eyes of the management, and hence they all start procrastinate. If we look at the structure of the company, the company is top heavy, and the whole organization is too hierarchical, which is causing a lot of issues. There are no proper trainings for the employees and therefore, the growth of the employees has become stagnant. The culture of the company is also at quite much fault and needs to be improved badly. The employees all feel that they are not at all important for the company but are just means to achieve an end. There also have been quite a lot of faulty hiring and some people who should have been fired still continue to work at the company and thus the company is staggering due to the lag that it is carrying still (JONES,GEORGE, 2011). Marketing Another big problem is the marketing department, they do not exactly have belief in the products that their designer is making and hence they end up feeling that they are working for the lost cause, and despite spending quite a lot of money for the product launches, the company has not been able to introduce one successful product that can actually take the market by storm. There are many competitors who have adopted themselves to newer and better technologies and hence they are the ones who are leading the markets and have captured their shares too. This has become quite an issue for them. The prototypes that are being developed are being launched without any proper marketing and any test phase, the launch of the toy of the Action Rabbit, it is clearly visible there that it was not a favorable product even then she went forward with it using force (BOCIJ, GREASLEY, HICKIE, 2008). Finance Finances are running quite low as the company has a lot of draining going on in the form of people’s wages; it is right in saying that if the company gets rid of the part time workers and hire some proper workers they might be able to cut costs. Also, they are facing many issues because they have got lower quality now, the fallen standard is causing a strain on their financial budgets. The overtime payment is also quite odd and again there exist serious disparity in it. There is a serious level of discrimination in the company. The finance director is a person who is looking to make his own profits and as well as is far more worried about how much his relative’s company can make (ULRICH, 1997). CONCLUSION Seeing the current situation of the company it is highly advisable for the company to develop a whole new plan, which can be used to get rid of all the pressing issues in the company. They should employee whole new change management program in their organization so that they can revamp it and make it progress. They can use the most commonly used and self explanatory model of change given Lewin. There are three steps in the models, Unfreeze, bring about the required change and then refreeze. Here , we can use a variation of the model, which says that there is no need for the organization to refreeze as refreezing will cause the organization to quit making changes, the new perspective believes that change is an ongoing process and hence the organization should continue to bring about the necessary changes. There are usually different kinds of resistances that are being faced by the organization today when they try to implement new things, it is a natural process and hence the organization should be really clear and precise about what they plan to do in order to bring the employees on board. Employees should be told that there are rewards at the end of the change and they can all benefit from it without any issues if they adopt the new practices, employees are bound to be attracted by the offer. RECOMMENDATIONS There are some strict and slashing changes that need to be made immediately so that the company can move towards betterment. The recommendations are as follows: The first action should be to make sure that all the departmental heads should attend the meetings, those failing to do so will be terminated. This warning should be made clear, if the head is stock owner, the company should buy it out. A proper HR department should be established that has all the records of the employees. Proper job descriptions are designed for the employees. Geraldine must be made to leave the firm, also the sales director be made to leave and the designer should be instructed to cut down the expenses and be informed that she will made to leave if she does not work under the strict rules and requirements of the company. The two units should be merged so that the costs can be cut down. There should be a proper performance system that should be established in the company. The company can bench mark the industry’s average salary as their salary and design a whole new structure where the salaries will depend on the kind of work the person is doing and what his job actually is, rather than personal favors which were allotted to few. The bonus system should also be established that will have performance tied to it. The department should assign goals to themselves that are in compatibility with the company goals, if they reach it or surpass it they should all be awarded bonuses. Since right now there is a bit of financial crunch for the company, therefore, the company should give out vouchers and gift cards as a sign of appreciation. The design department should include fresh graduates from reputable institutes who have a fire to work and thrill to prove themselves. One things that can be done is that a wall kind of thing should be made in the common room, where the employees can draw or give ideas if they have any with regards to possible new toys that could be made. The sales team should be given an average salary and along with that their bonus must be tied up with the sales that they make. A proper information system should be developed, that has a board discussion kind of forum where the employees can write down, what they feel is not right in the company, the HR department should have a relationship officer who will look into the issues and convey the relevant ones to higher authorities so that the employees also get heard. The system should be accessible to all the employees through the intranet. Details about employees should also be put up on the website, if an employee has a birthday then he can be wished on the intranet, this help motivate the employees. A happy birthday message can be written prominently for him on the notice board. Employees will start to participate completely once they feel that they are being heard or being given importance. Motivational rewards should be given so that the employees feel that they are being taken care off. A proper training department should be set up as a part of the HR department and regular checks should be made so as to discover if there is any need for the training. The IT department should be given the highest priority in case of training as the technologies keep on developing and changing with time. The shift labor should be reduced so that the variable costs can be cut down. Interne marketing should be utilized as well as the social marketing should be capitalized upon so as to increase the customer base and as well as be able to look into the competitors eye. REFERNCES ULRICH, D. (1997). Human resource champions: the next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. ANANTARAMAN, V. (1984). Human resource management: concepts and perspectives. Singapore, Singapore University Press, National University of Singapore. GILMORE, S., & WILLIAMS, S. (2009). Human resource management. Oxford, Oxford University Press DESSLER, G. (2000). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. CUMMINGS, T. G., & WORLEY, C. G. (2009). Organization development & change. Australia, South-Western/Cengage Learning. KOTTER, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, Mass, Harvard Business School Press. BOCIJ, P., GREASLEY, A., & HICKIE, S. (2008). Business information systems: technology, development and management. Harlow, England, FT Prentice Hall. CAMERON, E., & GREEN, M. (2009). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. London, Kogan Page. BEEREL, A. C. (2009). Leadership and change management. Los Angeles, SAGE. JONES, G. R., & GEORGE, J. M. (2011). Essentials of contemporary management. Boston, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Read More