Does This Milkshake Taste Funny - Case Study Example

University Does this Milkshake Taste Funny? - Case Study Report Submitted to …………. By Name City, State Date Table of contents Executive summary……………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………........5 Does this Milkshake Taste Funny? Case Study ………………………………………………7 Analysis of Eastern dairy company …………………………………………………………..9 Ethical issues in the case ……………………………………...................................................10 Ethical recommendations ………………………………………………………………….......10 Case recommendations…………………………………………………………………………11 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….12 References……………………………………………………………………………………..13 Executive summary In the contemporary world, the role of Human Resource management is broadening very rapidly. The traditional roles are being replaced by new roles that have been facilitated by the need to make firms more competitive. Every aspect of running business and organizations is facing new challenges that did not exist in the past. Organizations are working hard to keep up with fast growing markets with stringent budgets. The cost of business operations has risen to levels that revenue earnings cannot cope with. As a result, many organizations have gone under or re strategized in some of their major policies. One of the most affected areas is the human resource sector. Market demand for better products and services that meet specific need have increased pressure on businesses. Workers and personnel have also been affected by the dynamic conditions are demanding more from their employers in terms of better pay and working conditions. In this bid, managers have been forced to turn to new methods of human resource management by searching for the best talent that suits the needs of a dynamic working environment. George was employed in a milk factory and was involved in the production process. He noticed that the products were being contaminated in the production process. He had a choice of doing something about it or ignoring it, since no one would ever find out. This report looks at the various human resource failures in the company and how they could be corrected. Introduction Organizations, both in a local and international perspective are constantly facing ethical challenges in dealing when dealing with people in the internal and external organisational environment. Organizations have been forced to reemphasize on their cultures to accommodate new concerns that affect their portfolios. The objectivity in business has broadened from the normal maximisation of profits and revenues to cover other aspects such as maximising human resource capabilities and sourcing (Correa and Craft 2000, 92). As a result, businesses are operating with leaner workforces that are more efficient toward reaching organisational goals, given restrictive budgetary allocations and a dynamic operating environment. The rise in minimum wages has also affected the human resource portfolio. Employees through their unions are constantly putting pressure on employers to provide better perks and working conditions for their employees (Halinen and Törnroos 2005, 1290). Today, human resource requirements account for very huge percentages of expenditure in organisations. Businesses are finding it extremely difficult to reduce operating costs given the rising wage requirements and reducing market orientation. Issues such as lying down of workers and retrenchment have become common issues in the corporate world. As a result, management practices are constantly changing to accommodate these new requirements. Organisations have been forced out of their cultural comfort zones an diversification of strategies have become inevitable in this new environment, the management bar has gone higher as leaders compete for performers and result oriented personnel. Key values, norms and beliefs shared amongst members of an organisation form the building blocks of its existence. They are the source of motivation and specialization that keep companies afloat and running. Liberalisation of markets, coupled with globalisation has affected the way organisations are run. Cultural building blocks have to be reshaped to include strategies that are fit for the contemporary operating environment. This means that some organisations have been forced to abandon their old portfolio and engaged ne ones. The inevitability of this is eminent as some huge national and multinational corporations have been forced to close down as a result (Costa 2008, 22). In this report, an evaluation of the case of ‘Does this Milkshake taste funny ?’will be conducted in depth. Communication is essential in the work place as it lets everyone know what role they ought to play in a synergetic system with well set out objectives. Te role of Human Resource Management (HRM) will also be evaluated in this report. This is inclusive of the internal and external environments that affect orgsgnisations. Does This Milkshake Taste Funny- Case Study George Stein was a student working for Eastern dairy during the summer period. During his work at the company, he was faced with an ethical dilemma and the time he had to make a crucial decision was not on his side. The ethical dilemma that he was facing was the realization that the milkshake that the company was selling was infested with maggots. He had the choice of ignoring the alarming discovery as he was advice by one of his colleagues Paul. As a college student, he did not have much experience in handling such huge crises. He wonders how such a big and reputable company would reach to such an extent. He had his integrity to protect as a profession and at the same time safeguard the interest of the company which had employed him. He could here his conscious telling him to do something about the crisis but he wondered the scale of consequences that it would have on every one if the situation were to blow out of hand (Buller and Randall 2000.). Eastern dairy company was a milkshake and ice-cream manufacturing company the operated in the metropolitan area. It supplied its products both in retail and wholesale. Its main consumers were local people and hotel owners who bought their milk products in bulk. Their products were made specially for the metropolitan market with milkshakes designed to fit automated machines in restaurants and fast food joints. In this case, George was assigned the night shift in the company. During the night, managers were not allowed and there wee no supervisory personnel on ground. The company had only six employees that were left for the entire night shift. His new colleague Paul was responsible for receiving availed orders during the day and ensuring they were met during the night production shifts. The routine was quite simple as most of the processes in the plat were automated. The cleaning of the machines and piping was the only job that could have been considered manual in the plant (Buller and Randall 2000.). The main concern of workers in the night shift was to get the orders done and finish the work before dawn. Ethics and responsibility in the work did not seem to be a big deal in this plant. At times, work would come to a halt so that the workers cold engage in irrelevant activities in the work place. The expectations of management regarding the night shift were completion of orders within the stipulated time and thorough cleaning of the processing equipment. It was apparent that what ever went on during the shift did not matter provided the two simple tasks were adequately accomplished to their requirements. In this regard, management was concerned about cleanliness and the comments that health inspectors would give in one of their surprise visits to the plant. At one of the shifts, George noticed a blocked filter and on further investigations he realised that it was as a result of maggots. On reporting to his supervisor Paul, he claimed that some ingredients would occasionally get infested in maggots from the warehouses. He did not seem moved or concerned by the discovery anyway. That night, the filters in the processing pipes kept clogging as a result of the maggots. Paul, his colleague asked him to remove the filters to prevent maggots from delaying their processing. Paul tried convincing him by assuring him that all bacteria would be killed in the homogenizer. He was faced with the decision of whether to follow the idea of his colleague or otherwise. He reckoned that 500 gallons of milk was very expensive and would be a loss to the company and that the situation would be disastrous if it were to come to light. The way out was simply continuing with processing without the filter and nobody would never know. Analysis of Eastern Dairy Company From the case study, it is apparent that the company was facing a dire managerial crisis. Companies dealing in sensitive products such as food and drinks meant for human consumption should be in the front line in cleanliness and safety standards. The underlying situation at the Eastern diary company contradicts these requirements. First, the supervisory aspect is lacking and this demonstrates laxity and irresponsibility on the part of management. Food processing is a sensitive issue and if the situation were to come out in the open, the company would face the wrath of many including consumers, health inspectors and the law. The reaction of the surrounding consumers is unimaginable on realization that their beat milkshake was maggot infested. The company was facing eminent risk of legal action through legal law suits that would see it go under. In the contemporary business world, authorities are more cautious and keen when food safety is concerned. Companies have been completely shut down, fined and managers jailed for negligence. Endangering lives of consumers amounts to unethical behaviour and irresponsibility (Svensson, Wood and Callaghan 2010, 338). Though the company has a lucrative running business, their concern for consumer needs is seriously lacking. It seems that the handling of ingredients in the company does not allow recommended standards in the company. The presence of maggots in their raw material is enough testaments to this. Those in the supervisory and management roles in the company show incompetence lack of integrity. According to Giovannoni, Elena, and Maria Pia Maraghini (2013, 988), problems in the junior workforce can be traced to the inadequacy of senior management and leadership. The relevant hiring authorities in the company do not perform adequate evaluation of their workforce before hiring. There are several scenarios that could cause this human resource miscalculation. Incompetent and under qualified mangers could be the reason for hiring unqualified personnel. Managers who would compromise safety of the general public are not fit to be managers in the first place. The problem at Eastern dairy company could be as a result of the culture which the organisation is based on. As mentioned earlier, the contemporary organisational environment is very demanding as it calls for evaluation of existing culture to enable sustainability and growth (Yesil and Kaya 2013, 433). In this case, the company culture is to allow employees to go on with their activities without supervision. It is also evident that ethics in employees is not a critical aspect in the human resource culture of the organisations. Additionally, the company does not seem to have supervisory culture or stringent managerial competencies in their culture. As a result, the personnel that the company hires are nether professionally or ethically conscious. The behaviour and performance of employees is highly influenced by organisational culture adopted in a specific organisation. In ensuring organisational success, mangers should hire competent and loyal personnel (Margulis 2002, 50). The aspect of loyalty is lacking ass evidenced by the response of Paul to the crisis. If loyalty morals were entrenched in the company culture, he would have prudently stopped production and reported the matter to the management team, though they were not there at the time. It is quite alarming that George had no idea on what he was supposed to do when he faced with the ethical dilemma. Loyalty in the work place entails proper and promptly reporting when critical issues arise. Tough stopping production for that day would have cased losses to the plant; it would have saved the company in the future in many ways. It is apparently evident that the managerial team and the company as a whole is not future oriented. There was no guarantee that the issue would not occur again or be discovered. Saving the company losses for one day does not show loyalty when it has the potential to close down the whole company in future. Saving the company for one day at the expense of the future is a disillusion of loyalty. Ethical issues in the case George is faced with an ethical dilemma of whether to stop production of milk products after realising a persistent maggot infestation in the milk. The simple choice is to allow production to continue and let the issue pass where no one would ever know about the incident. The reaction of his colleague evidently shows that it was not the first time such an occurrence had happened. However, George could not turn off the images at the back of his mind of children consuming the contaminated milk. In the contemporary professional world, ethics are a significant issue. Human resource portfolios consider ethics as a substantial matter in organisational success. Professional ethics and responsibility are at the core of organisational performance and success. Most professions have ethical codes of conduct that relate to the work environment and personality of workers. However, personnel in the work place are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas and the decision criteria they should follow, once faced with situations calling for critical decision making ( Srivastava, Amit Kumar, and Sushil. 2013, 560). There are ethics that cut across all professions in the business world today. Some of these include responsibility, accountability, safety, honesty, competence and integrity. Most ethics revolve around personal attributes and the ability of people to reason critically, given demanding environments. Ethically competent organizations have reputable portfolis and are appealing to the general public and relevant stakeholders. Lack of ethics in the work place is a risky affair as losses from legal action are always a consequent result. Relevant authorities are especially keen where public interests and safety are concerned. It is the role of the human resource in an organisation to ensure that all the staff and personnel are well aware of ethical dilemmas that may arise in the conduct of their duties. This can be facilitated through training and regular exanimation of how well the personnel are versed with ethical matters (Icheku 2011). There are steps that George could have taken faced with this dilemma. First, he should have considered the possible alternatives that he could take. In this case, he would have chosen to let production go on or immediately stop it and report the matter. Secondly an evaluation of the consequences of each alternative would have followed. Stopping production would lead to loss of production for the day and inconvenience consumers of milkshake and ice cream. Continuing production would be a health hazard to thousands and risk legal action against him and the company. The short term and long term consequences of ignoring the contamination were potentially dire. After contemplation, George would have made the right decision which is to stop productions. This decision requires commitment and also calls for utter justification of the action. Evidently, George did not have the capacity to undertake this evaluation, since he was not adequately aware of the steps to take in such a situation. Ethical recommendation If the human resource department had adequately trained its staff, Paul and George would have come to an amicable decision in no time. This failure was solely the fault of management and full responsibility should have fallen to them. The problem with Eastern Dairy Company lies in the senor management. They lack supervisory capacity and competence. The hiring schemes of the company are in adequate too. First, the manger in charge should take a keen supervisory role, day or night in the company. Secondly, hiring of competent and ethically responsible personnel should be emphasised in the company. Given the sensitivity of milk products, all personnel should be well trained on ethical and cleanliness issues which are evidently lacking in this case. The relevant authorities dealing with food safety also need to be more vigilant through random testing of manufactured products. This may compel the management to be more vigilant and responsible in ensuring safety standards are met. As mentioned earlier, the laxity and irresponsibility of management and overall leadership is to blame for the crisis at the plant. Their priorities are misplaced as to what is important in the workplace. As long as production deadlines on orders were met and the equipment appeared clean, other underlying issues were irrelevant. There is a huge management gap in the strategies and leadership styles in the company. The behavior and commitment of management in organizations is spread to all other personnel. This is s because they look up to them when faced with challenging situations in the work place (Gunderson 2001, 446). An overhaul or significant restructuring is necessary at Eastern dairy Recommendations From this case study, a number of issues are lacking and require immediate addressing. The company is facing a huge risk that could threaten its very own existence for instance, if competitors were to get wind of the incident, they would do anything in their power to see them out of business completely. The many seems to lack proper communication channels in the work place. Communication is key to the success of any organisation as it facilitates easy allocation of duties and creates awareness of what is required from all personnel. Communication helps in creating a synergetic system where all departments work hand in achieving the overall set objectives in the organisation. Communication in the work place should conform to both internal and external environment standards. In this case, communication competences are seriously lacking. Management should engage in both horizontal and vertical communication to get the best out of their workforce (Oberg and Walgenbach 2008, 187). The gaps that exist in Eastern dairy can be filled through training and outsourcing for competent and qualified personnel. Conclusion The Eastern Dairy case presents many inconsistencies that exist in organisational environments. The issues range from lack of managerial skills, inadequate knowledge of ethics and profession codes of conduct, human resource requirements and cultural inadequacy. If the company is to survive the contemporary business environment, it should restartegise and re-structure its personnel portfolio. This way they can be competitive and offer safe commodities to their market. The human resource management department in this organisation has a serious task of ensuring that they have the right people for their day to day activities. Supervisory emphasis of all personnel should regular and thorough References Buller, Paul F, and Schuler S Randall. "Does This Milkshake Taste Funny?" Managing Organizations and People, 2000. Correa, Hector, and James Craft. 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