Operations and HRM at Havoc Mouldings - Essay Example

? Operations and Human Resource Management at Havoc Mouldings AFFILIATION: Havoc Mouldings Ltd. has been offering its top quality products in the UK market for more than thirty years and it has earned the reputation of being the leading company for marine, chemical processing, aerospace and motor industries in the country. The manufacturing processes need modifications so that the organisation can compete effectively in the market and maintain its competitive edge. The key changes required by the company are altering the IT and operations systems that are developed with latest technology and installation of ventilation equipment so that workers are provided a healthy and safe working environment and implementing vacuum moulding process to enhance the production level and its quality. There will be some human resource and ethical issues but they can be dealt competently by taking necessary steps for mitigating their risks. Introduction of Havoc Mouldings Ltd. Havoc Mouldings Ltd. has been present in the market since 1977 and it has been mainly offering its services to the UK aerospace, marine, motor and chemical process industries. The product range of the company comprises of kayaks, hulls and decks for yachts, data buoys, mooring buoys, process cylinders, kit car bodies, after market body kits and radar domes; all of these products are manufactured by hand so that the customers are provided the best quality. Recently, the company has been approached by Boeing from USA for setting up and manufacturing of various precision parts required for smart bombs along with an innovative and latest cruise missile. There are certain challenges which the organisation has to deal with such as strict rules and regulations regarding usage of hazardous materials, installation of equipment for ventilation and investment in vacuum moulding process for fulfilling the requirements of Boeing. In order to meet the demands of today’s market, Havoc Mouldings will have to evaluate the options for changing its operations so that it can compete effectively in the market. Impact of new technology on business IT systems and operations As the technological innovations are happening at an accelerating pace, Havoc Mouldings can maintain its competitive edge only by investing in the latest Information Technology (IT) systems. The main aim of these developments in IT is to provide the companies ample opportunities for enhancing their production levels and respond quickly to the customer’s demands (Agrawal, Subramania & Kapoor, 2010, p.201; Caldas & David, 2005, p.4). Considering the scenario of Havoc Mouldings, it will have to implement the new methods of operations management. According to Wamba and Bendavid (2008), the manufacturing processes have evolved from lean processes to agile ones that have the ability of anticipating the changes in customer’s requirements (p.3) and they are so flexible that they can quickly incorporate the modifications in the final output (Inman et al., 2011, p.346). An organisation has to utilise various technology theories that have been developed by the researchers in the field of IT so that it can ensure that it has the latest production process and IT system installed within the firm (Smith, McKeen & Singh, 2007, p.52). The best technology theory that is compatible with the current business environment is Technology Adaptation Theory. According to Bardhan, Whitaker and Mithas (2006), this theory states that the technology is the main driver for altering the working environment of the organisation so that it creates innovative conditions and routines along with some problems; the issues associated with new technology have to be realized and technology has to be modified for resolving them (p.23). Hence, technological changes are part of a continuous cycle of adjustment to the new working conditions. As we all know that everything in this world has both positive aspects as well as negative aspects. The positive aspect needs to be considered during implementation if the new technology and the negative aspects need to be addressed in the required manner so that it can be avoided to the maximum level. When new technologies are implemented in the organisations such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), Oracle, SAP, CAD/CAM and etc., the entire operations and information exchange system becomes efficient (Ahmed et al., 2011, p.1102; Kickul et al., 2011, p.80). In the current era, the business processes and functions requires a high amount of efficiency and effectiveness in them so that they can cater the current business requirements successfully. In the digital age, time is considered very precious and saving all possible time is considered a necessity. Suppliers do not want to wait and so do the manufacturing organisations do not want to wait for the raw materials. The customers on the other end do not want to wait for their products, they want it to be on the shelves as and when they require. For meeting all these demands, technological implementation in organisations is very important. With the advent of time, it has become mandatory for the organisations to install an IT system that will allow the employee to have easy access to the vital information related to the company’s resources, finances, performance and important data (Anupindi et al., 2012, p.152). Paper work and manual handling of documentation work can be eliminated and all paper handling work can be made digital so that within a matter of clicks all required information will be available with the employee or employer. The searching time would also be reduced as searching for documents takes up a lot of time. With the help of Total Quality Management (TQM), all key components of IT will be appropriately managed such as benchmarking, inventory control, six sigma application, quality assurance and compliance and cost reduction (Bardhan, Whitaker & Mithas, 2006, p.24). However, some drawbacks of the IT system are that there might be some issues related to the safety of confidential information, employees will be reluctant to operate the new systems, system can start to malfunction, defect in equipment can stop the production of products and loss of data is possible if the system gets disrupted (Wamba & Bendavid, 2008, p.5). Resistance that would be faced from employees in implementing the technological system would be a critical issue as a change of this type makes some of the employees uncomfortable. They feel that they do not know how to handle the system and hence may not be able to perform well. In spite of all these negative sides of IT, the organisations have been able to reap extraordinary benefits in the long-run by ensuring proper management of the systems and taking necessary steps when required to mitigate the risks of technological developments. Key Human Resource issues in implementation of new IT systems When the new systems are being implemented in the organisation, the management has to ensure that they take input from their employees and implement various motivational theories so that all of them are willing to accept the changes in the systems (Guest & Conway, 2011, p.1692; Mohr, Young & Burgees, 2011, p.220). In the case of Havoc Mouldings, the key human resource issues that the managers will have to address are: 1. Compliance with the latest regulations regarding usage of hazardous materials such as COSHH. 2. Implement changes in the working methods of laminators by installing the ventilating equipment. By such equipment instalments, the proceedings of the task to be conducted would be easier and faster. 3. Install new vacuum moulding process for meeting the demands of Boeing in USA. 4. Competent and skilled workers required for operating the new equipments and processes. For this proper recruitment and selection procedures need to be implemented so that the desired results of attaining the right employees can be achieved. 5. Compensation and benefits policy of Havoc needs to be addressed as well as the employees with the skills of handling the system may have to be paid well. 6. Employee training programs need to be conducted for those employees that need to be trained on using the new technological system 7. Employees need to also be equipped with all the necessary resources so that they perform their job roles up to the standard requirements. In order to motivate the workers, the most effective motivational theories that can be employed are Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. The basic foundation of the two theories is that the workers should be given the opportunities of demonstrating their skills and competencies by providing them the right working environment along with the desired rewards. Rewards on good performance and incentives as well tend to boost the morale of employees and they become determined in performing well at work so that they can gain the rewards from the organisation. When employees will see that their efforts are being appreciated, they will be willing to make valuable contribution in the company and implementation of new IT and operations system will become convenient for the organisation. The employees would also be willing to take up the training sessions for getting the grasp on the IT system. Learning about the system willingly will bring positive results rather than learning it as a compulsion, therefore the rewards would act as a strong motivator for the employees for learning the system operations willingly. Therefore, the management will have to bring changes in the Human Resource policies so that employees remain motivated (Menezes, Wood & Gelade, 2010, p.461). Since the new moulding process will not require the laminator, it can train them to work with the new system and give them a pay raise. The company should not divest its existing offerings; in fact, it should continue to offer a blend of new and old products so that it can meet the demands of both current and prospective customers. This strategy would allow Havoc to increase their customer base and accordingly gain a large market share in its industry of operations. Ethical concerns for the company and its stakeholders In today’s competitive and ever changing business environment, the organisations have to ensure compliance with the ethical standards of business practices so that they can ensure that they conduct their business operations within the ethical boundaries (Riivari et al., 2012, p.312; Trevino & Nelson, 2010, p.73). Every organisation has a responsibility towards its stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, government, community and shareholders (King, 2008, p.719; Sonenshein, 2009, p.227). The ethical concerns for Havoc Mouldings are: 1. The products should be free from hazardous materials such as CSOHH which are harmful for the workers’ health. 2. The working environment for the workers should be safe and secure so that their health remains protected and they can work comfortably in a hygienic environment. 3. All new systems installed should not cause any kind of pollution so that the environment remains clean and free from contamination. 4. Every shareholder should be given return on the investment so that the person can get good amount of earnings. This would also earn Havoc a good reputation and the shareholders would trust the organisation in its operations. 5. Ethical code of conduct will be revised to ensure that the IT systems are used in ethical ways. Revision of ethical code of conduct would ensure the importance of ethical workings in the mind of employees. Conclusion Hence, Havoc Mouldings can gain competitive edge in its market by incorporating the latest developments happening in the fields of IT and operations. When new systems will be implemented, the company will be able to enhance its level of production which will eventually be evident in its long-term performance. Although the initial cost of these new systems will be high but they will pay off in future by returning it good amount of profits. Investing in a digital system would be beneficial for the organisation in the long run and it may at a certain point prove to be highly cost effective for the organisation. There will be some human resource and ethical issues as well but they can be handled appropriately if the right course of action is taken. Resistance on implementing the new system may be faced from employees, but by dealing with them in a strategic way, this obstacle can be dealt too in a fair manner. Therefore, Havoc Mouldings will have to bring some changes in its business operations so that it can gain edge from its competitors and also offer top quality products and services to its valuable customers. References Agrawal, S., Subramanian, K.R. and Kapoor, S., 2010. Operations research – Contemporary role in managerial decision making. International Journal of Research and Reviews in Applied Sciences, 3(2), pp. 200-208. Ahmed, I., Qadri, A.S., Shahzad, R.K. and Khilji, B.A., 2011. Information Technology – its impact on global management. World Applied Sciences Journal, 12(7), pp. 1100-1106. Anupindi, R., Chopra, S., Deshmukh, S.D., Mieghem, J.A.V. and Zemel, E., 2012. Managing Business Process Flow: Principles of Operations Management. 3rd ed. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education. Bardhan, I., Whitaker, J. and Mithas, S., 2006. Information Technology, Production Process Outsourcing and manufacturing plant performance. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23(2), pp. 13-40. Caldas, A. and David, P.A., 2005. Digital Information Network Technologies, Organizational Performance and Productivity. [Online] Available at: < http://www-siepr.stanford.edu/papers/pdf/05-11_summary.pdf> [Accessed 8 January 2013] Guest, D. and Conway, N., 2011. The impact of HR practices, HR effectiveness and a ‘strong HR system’ on organisational outcomes: a stakeholder perspective. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(8), pp. 1686-1702. Inman, R.A., Sale, R.S., Green Jr., K.W. and Whitten, D., 2011. Agile Manufacturing: Relation to JIT, operational performance and firm performance. Journal of Operations Management, 29(4), pp. 343-355. Kickul, J.R., Griffiths, M.D., Jayaram, J. and Wagner, S.M., 2011. Operations management, entrepreneurship and value creation: Emerging opportunities in a cross-disciplinary context. Journal of Operations Management, 29(1-2), pp. 78-85. King, M., 2008. Practical reasoning and ethical decision. Ethics, 118(4), pp. 717-721. Menezes, L.M.de, Wood, S. and Gelade, G., 2010. The integration of human resource and operation management practices and its link with performance: A longitudinal latent case study. Journal of Operations Management, 28(6), pp. 455-471. Mohr, D.C., Young, G.J. and Burgees, J.F., 2011. Employee turnover and operational performance: the moderating effect of group-oriented organisational culture. Human Resource Management Journal, 22(2), pp. 216-233. Riivari, E., Lamsa, A.M., Kujala, J. and Heiskanen, E., 2012. The ethical culture of organisations and organisational innovativeness. European Journal of Innovation and Management, 15(3), pp. 310-331. Smith, H.A., McKeen, J.D. and Singh, S., 2007. Developing Information Technology for business value. Journal of Information Technology Management, 18(1), pp. 49-58. Sonenshein, S., 2009. Emergence of ethical issues during strategic change implementation. Organization Science, 20(1), pp. 223-239. Trevino, L.K. and Nelson, K.A., 2010. Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about how to do it Right. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Wamba, S.F. and Bendavid, Y., 2008. Understanding the impact of emerging technologies on process optimization: The case of RFID technology. [Online] Available at: < http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1719&context=infopapers&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3B_ylt%3DA0oG7knJnOtQ0DAAYI5XNyoA%3Fp%3DResearch%2Bpapers%2Bon%2BImpact%2Bof%2Btechnology%2Bon%2Bmanagement%2Bof%2Binformation%2Band%2Boperations%2Bpdf%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26fr2%3Dsb-top%26xargs%3D0%26pstart%3D1%26b%3D31%26xa%3DXarYg_CmLzI7fXYy935QuQ--%2C1357704777#search=%22Research%20papers%20Impact%20technology%20management%20information%20operations%20pdf%22> [Accessed 8 January 2013] Read More