The Problem Concerning Organisation of People and Resources - Admission/Application Essay Example

VBD report details Word Count= 1519 words VBD Report to Chief Executive Officer Introduction The report will enable the Chief Executive Officer to understand the problems that have led to high turnover of line managers in my department within the last six months. The purpose of the report is to identity the problem concerning organisation of people and resources within the department and implement recommendations that will ensure high performance. The report will cover the functions of management and concentrate on the organisation function since the problems related to lack of participation of the line managers in decision-making due to the many levels of management and the high concentration of power by the senior managers. The management of Brisbane is tasked with functions like planning organising, leading and controlling in order to attain the organisational goals in an efficient and effective manner. The department is experiencing poor organisation and line managers have resigned due to inability to participate in decision-making and tall organisational structure that has led to concentration of power among the senior executives and lack of delegation of authority and responsibility. The recommendations will enable the virtual business attain efficiency and effectiveness in job coordination, delegation, use of power and improve decision-making. Definition of the problem According to the General Manager of Brisbane branch, four of the line managers in my department have resigned in the last six weeks due to lack of enough participation in decision-making. From the outset, the department is experiencing poor organisation and this has led to high hierarchy within the business and concentration of power among the senior managers. The organisation function of management deals with assignment of duties and responsibilities, delegation of authority, and determination of communication channels and relationships within the virtual business. In addition, the managers are expected to divide and group related organisational activities in to departments and conduct job design within the department. The virtual business must have an effective organisational structure that facilitates faster decision-making, efficient communication and team building within the department (Williams, 2008). It is critical to engage the subordinates such as the line managers in decision-making and implement feedback channels that will enable the senior managers understand the concerns and grievances of the line managers in order to avoid the high turnover of the talented employees. Efficient organisation improves employee motivation, enhances delegation of authority and responsibility and leads to high productivity of the employees. Analysis of the problem The organisation management is tasked with forecasting and setting objectives and determining the best course of action for attaining the goals. Accordingly, Brisbane branch managers are expected to develop an organisation structure within which the efforts of the subordinates are coordinated and lead the subordinates through motivation and effective communication in order for the staff to remain committed towards attainment of the shared organisational goals (Yukl, (2004). The last function is controlling the organisation through establishment of performance standards, performance measurement and taking corrective action in order for the organisation to attain its mission. The organisation function is determined by both external and internal environmental factors. The changes in external environment such as changes in social-cultural values lead to changes in the consumption patterns and demand for goods thus the organisational structure must be flexible in order to meet the changes in consumer demands (Williams, 2008). Accordingly, advancements in technology affect virtual businesses thus management must align the structure, authority and job descriptions with the technological changes in order to ensure better coordination and control of employees (McCalley, 2002). Accordingly, internal environment factors such as the leadership style, span of control, size of organisation, need for close control and skills of employees influence the organisation since related jobs are grouped together and tasks assigned according to skills specialisation (Schermerhorn, 2011). In addition, the need for communication feedback, faster decision-making and close control determines the levels of management, and the extend of delegation of authority. Brisbane branch is experiencing poor organisation in the department and four line managers have resigned in the past six weeks due to inability to participate in decision-making. According to Tripathi and Reddy (2008), the management is tasked with systematically examining the organisational structure, outlining the organisational policies and procedures, determining working relationships in order to ensure efficiency in attaining organisational goals. The company has a tall organisational structure that comprises of many levels thus line managers are not capable of participating in decision-making. The tall structure has hindered faster decision-making and communication within the organisation. The division of labour within the department is not based on specialisation and there is a long chain of command that ranges from the Chief Executive down to the shop floor workers. In this case, the tall structure has limited delegation of authority and responsibility and power is concentrated on the top levels within the department. Accordingly, the tall structures has hindered two-way flow of information since communication must take place through all the levels in the company and feedback mechanisms are not available. The department is experiencing poor use of power since the employees have a perception that senior management have not delegated the power to subordinates. The senior managers in the department have legitimate power due to their position and information power due to their ability to disseminate information to the subordinates. However, the current state of affairs is characterised by use of coercive power through the ability of the senior managers to issue punishments, threats and sanctions to the line managers since the juniors are disciplined for not meeting strict deadlines (Rudani, 2013). The high power structure has been created by the ability of senior managers to control the scarce resources and political games. The senior managers have curtailed the power of line managers in decision making and have controlled the distribution of knowledge and information (Lewis, 2007). The senior managers have not demonstrated referent power that is essential for gaining employee respect and trust. The department has no clear progression and promotion ladder since there are limited opportunities for career growth and advancements and functions assigned to each layer of the management are not clear and distinct. Dyck and Neubert (2010) assert that the poor job design and inappropriate job descriptions have created task conflicts within the department thus hindering team-work and cooperation. The current state of affairs will hinder formation of teams and create a climate of mistrust in the department. Management theories assert that delegation of authority and responsibility will spread power across all the levels in the organisation. In this case, the tall organisational structure has hindered delegation of authority and employees do not have a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their tasks (Fox, 2009). The authority delegated to employees must correspond to their tasks and responsibilities in order to create a sense of accountability. The department is experiencing poor leadership from the senior management since line managers are not committed to the shared organisational mission and goals. The high turnover of line managers is evidence that the leadership style has not influenced and motivated them towards high performance in the company (Daft & Marcic, 2013). Possible implications on the virtual business The current state of affairs in the department is worrying since it has led to high staff turnover and will lead to inability of the virtual business to attracted and retain well qualified line managers (Schein, 2010). The problem has hindered faster decision-making, effective communication and has created power struggles within the department. The issue will eventually lead to mistrust, role conflicts, poor working relationships and overall decline in organisational productivity (Daft, 2008). Recommendations The company is facing poor organisation and several recommendations must be implemented in order to control the high turnover of the line managers, ensure improved participation of the subordinates in decision-making, and improve the overall organisational satisfaction. The management must remove the high hierarchies and management levels through implementing a flatter organisational structure. The business must reduce the many managerial levels through proper job design and departmentalisation in order to improve the coordination and control within the organisation. This will improve the effectiveness of communication, improve the working relationships and distribute the power to subordinates. The organisation must implement clear job design based on specialisation and clear reporting relationships. The management must delegate authority and responsibilities to the line managers in order to create a sense of accountability. This will motivate the line managers and ensure faster decision-making that will ultimately lead to higher organisational productivity. The company must change the current leadership style that is based on formal authority. The management must encourage informal communication, informal working teams and informal feedback mechanisms in the company. The company will be capable of understanding the subordinate grievances and responding within appropriate time in order to avoid high staff dissatisfaction and high turnover. Conclusion The company is experiencing poor organisation due to tall organisational structure that has created high power structures, concentration of authority and responsibility, high mistrust, poor communication and lack of democratic decision-making. The company is facing high line manager turnover due to demoralisation and the management must decentralise the organisational structure through creating flatter levels, delegating authority, ensuring proper use of power and encouraging subordinates to participate in decision-making. Reference list: Daft, R.L & Marcic, D. (2013). Understanding management. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Daft, R.L. (2008). New era of management. Mason: Thomson/ South-Western. Dyck, B and Neubert, M.J. (2010). Management: current practices and new directions. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Fox, W.M. (2009). The management process: an integrated functional approach. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing. Lewis, P.S. (2007). Management: challenge for tomorrow’s leaders. Mason: Thomson/ South- Western. McCalley, R.W. (2002). Patterns of management power. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Rudani, R.B. (2013). Principles of management. New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education. Schein, E.H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Schermerhorn, J.R. (2011). Exploring management. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Tripathi, P.C and Reddy, P.N. (2008). Principles of management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill publishers. Williams, C. (2008). Effective management. London: Cengage Learning. Yukl, G.A. (2004). Leadership in organizations. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Read More