Implementation of ROWE at Best Buy - Assignment Example

Implementation of ‘ROWE’ at Best Buy [Supervisor’s Implementation of ‘ROWE’ at Best Buy Q1: Discuss how ROWE’s success contributed towards becoming a decentralised organisation as opposed to a centralised one in the past and how the change in the span of control contributed to the success. Results only work environment (ROWE) helps the employees to become work oriented rather than the physical presence at the office with limited effectiveness. This technique helps in contributing towards a decentralized approach because the employees at Best Buy would be allowed to work from their homes (Gresham, 2007).

This will help in managing their work all by themselves without getting direct directions from the higher authorities. Previously in centralized system, the employees would have to adhere to the guidelines set by the top managers regardless of the work performed. The punctuality of an employee was given much preference over the amount of work completed but however, in the new ROWE system there are no formal rules and regulations and the employees are given full authority in how they spend their time at the office or at home but the most important thing is the accomplishment of the task (Jeremy, 2010).

The control of the managers over the employees was reduced at Best Buy because the culture of the organization was changing to home-based working from the traditional office working which results in low productivity. This change helped in the success and increased the productivity of the employees because the employees became more focused towards getting their work done as the performance would then be based on the accomplishment of the task irrespective of the number of hours worked. It helped in the increase of employee productivity which jumped to 41% which proves the effectiveness due to change in the span of control (Schermerhorn, 2012).

Q2: In question 1 above, you have written on how Best Buy changed its approach to managing employee work hours. Discuss how ROWE as a strategy was effectively implemented. Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson were the HR managers who were given the task to implement the ROWE system and to change the culture of the organization. Their first task was based on finding the existing work culture of the organization and the employees perceived value of the current work environment. At the same time, the top executives were briefed about the ROWE system because before the implementation of the system, their consent was mandatory.

In the next phase the two managers decided to spread the words of ROWE amongst all the employees of Best buy and started giving them trainings of effectively utilizing the system (Businessweek, 2006). The third phase of the implementation included the formation of the teams which would work together for the successful implementation of ROWE into their departments. The work of the teams was to evaluate the ROWE and provide necessary feedback on the requirement of certain equipment that would make comfortable for the employees if they want to work from their homes.

Furthermore, the ROWE was implemented for a trial period of four month and feedbacks were collected from the employees and the performance of the organization was evaluated (Businessweek, 2006). Q3. Discus briefly how the theories of Motivation applies to Best Buy and its introduction of ROWE by applying: (350 words for Q3) a) How Theory X & Y motivates people’s behaviour in at Best Buy. b) How does Job Design as it happened with ROWE, influence motivation. The ‘Theory X’ relates with the previous work environment of Best Buy in which the employees were controlled and directed by the top-level managers and were also being threatened to get their task accomplished.

This type of work environment de-motivated the employees and resulted in the higher turnover rate and low productivity, as employees did not put any effort in getting the task completed and avoiding the work. However, when the ROWE was implemented at Best Buy the turnover rate decreased and it improved the productivity among managers which relates to the ‘Theory Y’ because the employees were given the authority to achieve self-direction and more freedom in accomplishing the task effectively.

The new system implemented in the company promotes engaging with the employees, and diminishing the difference between the top level manager and a low level manager. A sense of responsibility is developed among the employees that they must accomplish their task regardless of the total hours worked at the office (Stewart, 2010). The job design defines the productivity of the organization because if the jobs are designed well in an organization as it has been designed in the new work environment of Best Buy, the workers will be motivated to increase the productivity.

The new work technique ROWE allows the workers flexibility that they could carry out their work from home and do whatever they want unless they complete their desired task. The employees are motivated because there are no hard and fast rules and limitations on how and where the work is performed. However, if the organization does not provide a reasonable definition of the job design then it would create more conflicts among the employees and it would result high turnover rate and absenteeism.

The previous setups of the work environment by Best Buy resulted in higher turnover rate and lower productivity because the employees were unaware of their tasks and they had no freedom. References Businessweek. (2006, December 11). Smashing The Clock No schedules. No mandatory meetings. Inside Best Buy's radical reshaping of the workplace. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from www.businessweek.com: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013001.htm Gresham, L. (2007, March 01). A new dawn: Best Buy's ROWE brings daring approach to work-life balance.

Retrieved May 28, 2012, from ebn.benefitnews.com: http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/new-dawn-best-buys-rowe-brings-64150-1.html Jeremy. (2010, January 20). Implementing a Results-Only Work Environment. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from www.jerm.com: http://www.jerm.com/2010/01/implementing-a-results-only-work-environment/ Schermerhorn, J. (2012). Exploring Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Stewart, M. (2010). Theories X and Y, Revisited. Oxford leadership Journal , 1 (3), 1-5.