The Morale of the Staff in the Timber Company - Essay Example

? First Situational There are various factors that come into play when looking into an organizational setting. The important ones in this case are in relation to legal issues and the ethics that also come into play. In most organizations the first thing that would be considered is to do with the working conditions of the employees. In this particular case a timber company is of particular interest. In this type of setting, the risk is even higher and extra caution has to be taken when dealing with the employees and the products at hand. Analysis In the timber company, safety and other health issues were the primary issues of concern. In this particular company, it came to be established that most of the employees were not happy with the job their job and the conditions at work. The morale of the staff is actually very down. The result of this is that there is decreased productivity while the work is increasing on the other hand. There are some departments in the company where employees do not even last a year at work before they leave the organization. An example here is the gluing department. The primary reason for this shortfall is because of the grueling activities that are involved here. In most cases this results in injuries being sustained in the course of their duties. Another issue is that the members are not given orientation when they get to the company. Most of the people here have injured backs, broken fingers and even hernias. Death has also occurred in this particular department. There are several areas that need to be addressed in this particular company. The first one is to do with the work conditions of the employees. This is actually the main area which will determine whether the employees will achieve the expected results safely of not. The other area that needs to be addressed is to do with the job training of the employees. This is particularly important since it will serve to provide insights on quite a number of things. The first one is in relation to the work they are doing and how it should be done. This is in relation to the contract which is in place between the employee and the employer. At the same time, there are other ethical implications when it comes to issues such as overworking the employees just to mention a few. There is also the aspect of safety. Safety refers to the condition in which an individual knows that he or she is protected against any harm, be it physical, emotional or otherwise. It is the feeling or act of safeguarding oneself from a situation which may be perceived as undesirable especially in the case of a person’s security. There are several advantages or benefits which can be attributed to the fact that an individual is safe. One of these is the fact that a person will have peace of mind when knowing that nothing grave is going to happen to him or her. At the same time, a person is in a position to move around confidently. In a work environment, safety ensures that the employees are in a position to enact their duties well and perform up to the expected level. It is of significant essence to ensure that there are safety systems put in place in a work environment. One of the reasons for this is to be in compliance with some of the requisite standards maintained by organizations. Safety in the firm also prevents financial or legal liability on the side of the firm. It also ensures that the workers are in a position to work well within the organization. A safety department is also charged with the responsibility of conducting checks at the work place in order to ensure the employees have the right working conditions. This department is also allocated the responsibility of identifying any flaws which may be existent in the organization with regards to aspects of safety. The customers of the firm in this case range from those who come to purchase their products in the company premises to those that are in other external markets. In the case of those who come to purchase their merchandise in the company, their safety has to ensured so that there is no mishap in their time within the facility. As in the case of those who are in outside markets, it has to be ensured that the products reach them in a safe condition which will not bring about complications in terms of packaging or mode of delivery. In essence, this is the main philosophy that will be applied in the case of management. The safety of the company and its personnel is something which will also feature in the security philosophy. For this reason, guards will have to be hired to ensure this security prevails. This is a strategy which is not in contradiction with the duties of the police department. The reason for this is because the guards who will be hired will be from a private contractor. In the event that matters get out of control then the police department can be called. The approach, which should be taken in this case when addressing the aspect of safety, is supposed to be one which targets all areas. This is from the safety of the work environment, the products to the organization’s facility at large. This will ensure that there is no element which is left out and emerge later to cause problems. All parties having a duty to dispense in the firm should also be made aware of the contributions which they have to put forth in order to bring about this phenomenon into realization. They should also be informed that they will also benefit if the plan is well implemented and embraced by all the stakeholders. The Turn-Around Process In whatever environment that an individual is in there has to be various factors that will bring about the working mood among the concerned people. In essence, this involves the motivation of the people in question. In this particular case, these are the employees. It should be noted for whichever organization there is the productivity of the workforce is the issue which is of key essence if the desired results are to be achieved by the firm. In this regard, there are various strategies that are put in place for this purpose of motivating the workforce. The people who majorly associate with the firm is especially the ones that ought to be receptive to these strategies that are put in place in this regard. (Brown, 2004) There are various theories that are in place in relation to the case of workforce motivation. These theories in almost all instances revolve around the issues that are of concern to the employees especially with particular regard to their concerns, their abilities, their goals and also their preferences. Each of these theories is coined by different individuals in the course of history. The first example in this case is that to do with intrinsic motivation. This is the type of motivation that comes from within an individual. In this particular type of motivation, it should be understood that the external factors and environment do not play a role in the way the individual will be motivated in the course of pursuance of his or her own goals and objectives. This theory was come up with by Edward Deci. The next kind of theory is that relating to goal-setting. With this case, it is clearly brought to light that human beings’ movements and activities are always governed by goals and objectives which a person sets and puts him or her in a position that will bring the achievement of these goals and objectives. These goals have a certain effect on the performance of a person. In this case they will affect the motivation which that person has and also the way which he or she perceives the process of learning. There is also the achievement motivation. In this particular case, a person has the tendency to go for those activities that are more linked to success and to set goals that are more attached to success. This is opposed to those that are more inclined towards failure even though some of the circumstances are usually unforeseen. (Brown, 2004) Again there is the drive theory to motivation. This drive usually motivates the body to perform certain activities which in the long run will have a fulfilling effect on the person. Motivation Effect at the Workplace In order to understand the various forms of motivation, it is better to look at them in relation to a case scenario. This is in order to bring out clearly the implications that are associated with the types of motivation. The case scenario in this situation is an office setting where there are individuals of various positions all working together. It should be understood in this particular setting that the expectations that are placed on each individual do vary majorly depending on the position in which the person holds. The director for example will have a lot being expected of him especially in relation to the decisions that will affect the company on the way forward. In essence there are a lot of things which a person in such a position will have to deal with and in most cases they are those that will affect the company. The other person in question in this particular setting is the office secretary. There are not many expectations of a person in this kind of position but in majorly what is required is that the office records be in order. With these two individuals in different positions, we can look at the different forms of motivation. For this particular case we are going to look at two theories that relate to motivation. Intrinsic Motivation As noted before, this is the type of motivation that comes from within an individual’s being. It does not have to be a case where a person is told to something. In the case of the director, as an example of an intrinsic motivation may be for the purpose of giving better results which will prove to the owners of the firm among others that indeed he or she is achieving the expected results and the implication of this may be something to do with a promotion or the giving of bonuses among other benefits. Another form of intrinsic motivation for this person may be for the purpose of bettering his or her career and building strong reputation in the industry at the same time. There are also those individuals who want to see themselves achieving in what they do. For example in this case the director may like it when he or she sees that things are done according to their prescription. (Brown, 2004) As for the case of the secretary, the intrinsic motivation that may come by in his or her case may be for the pay especially if significant work is done in relation to the keeping of records. At the same time it may be for the zeal and desire to work which such a person may be having. The Goal-Setting Theory. In this theory, it is seen that there are goals which are set by the persons in question and these goals are to be achieved by whichever way they know how. In the director’s case he or she may decide to set a goal like for example in the next five or so years the company may be at a particular level with the achievement of various objectives in the process. He or she will then work hard for the purpose of making sure that this goal is to be achieved. In the case of the secretary, he or she may decide to have all records relating to the company sorted out in a particular desired way over a given period of time. Another goal in this case may be for the purpose of improving on the way services are being offered in the organization by having a hand in some of the decisions that are made in matters such as the way customers are treated among other things. This may be done through the giving of suggestions in departmental meetings among others. The implications on management and employees. From the above two case examples on some of the various motivational theories it is clear that there is an impact which the various forms of motivation have on the staff of an organization. The employees are of primary concern in this case. This is especially because they are the people that will determine the success or failure of the organization. The implementation of these two theories on them will mean that for starters the urge to achieve success in the workplace will come from within them as opposed to being instilled on them by the management of the company. They will be in a position to set positive goals and strive hard enough for the purpose of achieving them. This is not only for their own benefit but also for the benefit of the firm as a whole. (Cianfrani & West, 2009) As for the management, it will bring about the qualities of proper management especially when it comes to the setting up of policies, goals and objectives. The people at the helm of the firm will be in a position to understand that they have the entire firm at their hands. They are the ones who will determine where the company heads. If it is to do with success then the management will have to set goals and afterwards go ahead and ensure that these goals are achieved not only by the employees but also by themselves. An element of intrinsic motivation also portrays itself in this case. When both the management and employees get to understand these issues then it goes without saying that there will be improved productivity from both of these stakeholders which in essence will go a long way in ensuring the overall success of the firm as a whole. (Hammer & Champy, 1994) Employee Issues There are certain issues which are bound to come up in the course of them dispensing their duties. These are majorly to do with their compensation. The following are some of the possible solutions. Pay-For-Performance There are various ways through which the employees in an organization may be remunerated for the services which they offer for the organization. The one which is of significance in this case, however, is the pay-for-performance. This refers to an employee payment system in which the employees get remunerated with regards to the measure of the quality of work which they have done. This pay is also known as incentive pay. As opposed to being compensated in correlation to the hours that an employee has worked, this type of payment system seeks to pay in relation to the results achieved. Other Approaches of paying employees Pay-for-performance is not the only way that is implemented in paying the employees for that work which they do. There are some other ways which can be used, and they include those highlighted below: 1. The Lock Step System This is one of the most common approaches used. In this case, the main idea is to pay the employees while taking into consideration the duration which the employee has been in the organization. As a new employee gets into the organization, his or her pay is usually the lowest. However, in due time as the years go by, the pay rises progressively. This is an approach which is majorly conducted by the law practitioners. 2. The Time-rate pay In the case of the time-rate pay, the employees are paid basing on time which they spend at the workplace. The usual rates are the weekly rates, and at times the monthly rates apply. Some of the advantages of this method is the relative ease with regards to calculate. The employees can also make their budgets with a certain degree of certainty. The greatest drawback is that there is no incentive for employees to work hard. 3. Commission This is a payment which is paid to an employee on the basis of the quantity of sales made at a given period. In this case, the employee is paid a certain percentage of the work which is done, to a greater extent it is an encouragement for employees to perform better in their work for the purpose of achieving greater profits. 4. Fringe Benefits These are the types of payments which are not paid in cash but through other methods such as cash equivalents for example, pensions, health insurance, company cars and shares in the company among various others. In most cases, they are presented to employees on top of their salaries. 5. Piece-rate pay This is a type of payment that is made out to the employee on the basis of the item that is produced. It is a way through which employees can get remunerated for the amount f work which they do. In as much as it serves to encourage the efforts put forth in production, quality cannot be entirely guaranteed. Drawbacks of Pay-For-Performance In as much as this is a way that can be used to bring about the required results in an organization, it is worth noting that there are certain drawbacks, which can be realized in this case. The first one here is that there may be some factors that may tend to surpass the control of the employee. This is especially if these factors are those that will be influential in the achievement of the required results. In most cases, these are usually the external factors. The other drawback, which may be exhibited in this case, is the fact that other employees may become envious of the employee who is usually the top achiever in most cases. This may make them feel disgruntled in some way, and this may affect their overall performance. Pay-for-performance is a phenomenon which may bring about the overworking of the employees in the firm. One of the factors which has been attributed to this new option is the fact that law firms have been experiencing low financial turnover as a result of little work being done. With the adoption of such a strategy, the law practitioners may be pushed to do even more work, and in the process they may end up being less productive. Factors influencing the pay-for performance system There are some significant factors which come to play when examining the pay-for-performance of this form of payment. Some of the critical ones are especially in relation to the employees. The first one in this case is the effect which this form of remuneration has on the performance of the employees. It is of the essence to note that despite the fact that satisfactory results are required, the employees ought not to be overworked. The individual performance is also of significance. Even though, various people may be in the same department, they cannot be expected to have a performance that is similar. This is especially due to the differences which may be exhibited in relation to certain factors such as level of expertise and competence. The payment system which a firm adapts is especially significant when it comes to serving as an incentive for other potential employees. An effective organization is one which will institute adequate measures for the purpose of making sure that prospective employees are not scared. One of the principal things which may put off such employees is the fact that a lot may be expected of them while on the other hand they are not remunerated accordingly. The way in which employees respond to motivating factors may also be influential in the pay-per-performance system of payment. There are those particular employees who may respond rather positively to this phenomenon while on the other hand there are those individuals who will not take any steps to ensure their work output is improved. There are various reasons that lead to this this. The principal one is that some employees may see the pay as not being motivation enough. Some, on the other hand, will turn the whole thing into a competing ground for the purpose of establishing who works best. Well, to some extent this can be something which will bring greater benefit to the organization. In the long run, however, it is the employee who will benefit with greater pay as a result of his or her activities. The heads of organizations should be particularly sensitive when it comes to the activities of their employees and the ways in which they would like to be remunerated. This is something which will be instrumental in establishing the method which will be most suitable for remunerating the employees and still maintain acceptable performance on their part. Recommendation The contract which is designed by the management and the employees ought to take care of all the eventualities which may come up in the future. This is to ensure that the ethical concerns of the employees are dealt with and at the same time the firm upholds the demands of the employment law. References Brown, S et al (2004), “Strategic Operations Management (2nd ed)”, Butterworth Heinemann Cianfrani, Charles A.; West, John E. (2009), Cracking the Case of ISO 9001:2008 for Service: A Simple Guide to Implementing Quality Management to Service Organizations (2nd Ed.). Cummings, T. G. & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organizational Development and Change, 9th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Deakin, Simon & Gillian, Morris. (2005). Labour Law, Hart Publishing. Guss, E., & Miller, M. 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