Improving Organizational Performance: Airdevils, Inc - Essay Example

Improving Organizational Performance: Airdevils, Inc Celsey Evens, a aerial stunt woman who founded the company Airdevils, Inc., has built a reputation with her company for excellent and innovative aerial stunt work. The company is hired for shows, marketing ploys, and film stunts. The company offers work in the form of the following: Skydiving, Sky Surfing, Hang Gliding, Para Gliding, Gliding, Ballooning, and Microlighting. In the last two, both dissatisfaction among the employees and complaints by customers has created a situation where the company must now reassess its current operations. In addressing the issues of this company, Dream Teamworks will assess the structure of the company, the policies under which it operates, and ways in which to create a more flexible and satisfying work environment. In addition, the need for customer satisfaction improvement will be addressed in order to alleviate these stress factors on the employees and to improve the overall performance of the company. One of the central complaints from regular customers within the last two years has been a lack of creativity and originality in the stunts that are performed. This indicated that those responsible for designing the stunts have become stale and without creative stimulation to create something new. According to the JDI scale score (Job Description Index), the employees who feel the most overall dissatisfaction is the stunt team which is the core of the business. The key issue between management and the employees is that the stunt team no longer feels like it is being stimulated and able to accomplish their goals of exciting and innovative stunts. The challenge for which they chose the profession is no longer a large part of the job. Therefore, finding ways to inject new ideas and stimulate a greater creativity within the stunts will diminish Airdevils, Inc. 3 the impact of the other complaints and The restructuring of the performance team hierarchy may be in order to give a greater amount of satisfaction to all the team members. Having upper level performers who are allowed to perform a variety of stunts where others are limited to specialties may be a cause of dissatisfaction as the thrill of challenge and learning may not be promoting the best overall performance. Through creating more opportunities for performing a variety of stunts may allow for the performers to find the challenges that they are looking for within their job. By allowing the performers to learn and perform more stunts, the sense of growth may stimulate the lacking innovation that is currently impeding the overall performance of the company. As well, the employees will be more excited in their jobs, giving them a satisfactory employment experience and diminishing the importance of some of the other complaints that creates overall dissatisfaction (Armstrong, 2003, p. 240) As the assessment of the company has determined that the main issue is the lack of stimulation and challenge within the stunt group is the core of the problem, a reorganization of the stunt team would have the most impact on the company. As the issues will have financial consequences, it is imperative to the health of the company to select methods of increasing the possible job satisfaction that will fall within a reasonable budget. Therefore, Rotation in Industry Meets, Physical/Mental Training Facilities, and Allowing Participation in Open Competitions seem the most reasonable. Through the availability of cross-functional training, the stunt team will be allowed to increase their creativity and the level of challenge that their job is expected to provide. Theory Y developed by Douglas McGregor is the most appropriate theory to describe the Airdevils, Inc. 4 way in which the stunt team will need to be motivated in order to increase job satisfaction. McGregor used the theories of Abraham Maslow in order to develop the concept of motivation for employees based on the need to fulfill certain drives. McGregor proposed that the need for self-actualization drives most workers toward fulfilling their duties so that an internal sense of pride may be accomplished (Bilton, 2007, p. 70). By emphasizing individualized motivation based on the need to achieve for the sake of the achievement, the stunt team can approach their position with a new sense of pride. With a more flexible attitude within the company, a greater sense of goal achievement can be found through this self- actualization which will then stimulate creativity. As the employees have stated that the inflexibility of the company is an issue that needs to be addressed, the human approach to psychology will have the most effect on turning the company around. Through empowering the employees to have more control over their advancement, the company will provide a framework in which the employee can achieve more in the workplace. By emphasizing the needs of the individual, loyalty can be inspired which can then create a better sense of teamwork (Bilton, 2007, p. 72). When the company gives the employee enough room to grow, then self-satisfaction will allow for a better focus on the overall needs. The theory of McGregor creates an atmosphere where instead of an employee simply doing as they are told, they now learn to love their work and become more attached to the position in which they function. By understanding the way in which human behavior is motivated, the company can create an atmosphere in which to promote greater success. The motivation of human behavior can direct the team of employees toward common goals for success. Motivation must occur on both an Airdevils, Inc. 5 individual level, then on an organizational level. On a deeper level understanding cognition in the way in which people think about their lives can help to promote a better understanding of how to motivate individuals. By utilizing the knowledge of the thinking process, motivational theory can present concepts that approach a workplace problem from the standpoint of the individual, then the team, and then the overall organization. When individual do not feel satisfied, complacency in the activity of work can result. Through stimulating the challenges in Airdevils, Inc., the problems with returning customers who have complained of stale stunt work and the dissatisfaction of the stunt team can be addressed. When employees are more satisfied, customers usually reflect that satisfaction because of a higher level of quality in the work. Both through self-actualization and through greater financial success of the company, overall stress is reduced and a more satisfying work experience is achieved. Through a humanistic approach to motivation, the issues within Airdevils, Inc. can come to positive renewal. Airdevils, Inc. suffers from a problem from which many creative companies have suffered. While the original structure model worked to protect the integrity of the innovations that existed in the beginning of the business, that same structure insulated the creativity until it was strangled. By using McGregor’s Theory Y, a better acknowledgement of the needs of the individuals to achieve the challenges that brought them into the employment of the company can provide a greater sense of team work and success. When satisfaction is achieved within the stunt team which is the core of the business, all of the employees will see an improvement in their work experience. Hopefully, this will result in a greater success for the financial end which will then result in monetary rewards as well. Airdevils, Inc. 6 References Armstrong, M. (2003). A handbook of human resource management practice. London: Sterling, VA : Kogan Page. Bilton, C. (2007). Management and creativity: From creative industries to creative management. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Read More