Troupville Business Systems and Value Drivers - Coursework Example

Case Analysis Affiliation: Introduction Harvey the owner of Troupville Business Systems hired Cathy Brannen as the receptionist/ secretary but after seven years of service has realized that the salary paid to her is way higher than that of a usual receptionist or even an executive secretary by almost $100,000. This seems to confuse Harvey as Cathy does more work than any other employee in the company. She is a loyal employee who took the job even though it paid her lower than her previous salary but she worked hard to make it succeed (Cousins, 1992). This paper is based on the analysis of this case and how to deal with the problem at hand by using value drivers to analyze. Determine what the main problem or opportunity is in the case as you see it. Clearly state this as either the problem or opportunity statement in one to two sentences. Cathy Brannen who is the receptionist/ secretary of Troupville Business Systems is more of an opportunity than a problem. She basically knows the company inside out and fills in for sales representatives when they are not available, has computer competency skills which come in handy with their diverse business and has been a loyal employee not complaining despite shouldering almost all the burdens of the company performing multiple roles. State three to four realistic alternatives to effectively resolve the stated problem or to take advantage of the possible opportunities. As the issue has been identified as an opportunity and not a problem, it is imperative therefore for Harvey to capitalize on it and take advantage of the situation for the benefit of the company. Cathy is a great asset to the company and can perform more if highly appreciated. In this regard therefore, instead of firing her or reducing her salary which might lead to legal problems, he can make her a vice president of the company with the same salary hence he will not lose her valuable services to the company. The other alternative for Harvey is to discuss one on one with Cathy about the situation at hand and offer her a percentage share of his company as a compensation for him reducing her salary to a reasonable amount. This will act as an incentive to prevent her from leaving the company, take legal steps of suing him and to a larger extent prevent the rest of the employees from openly complaining about her salary and demanding the same increase or even increasing employee turnover (Madura, 2007). Lastly there is the solution of offering her managerial position in charge of the computer branch of the company since she understands more about the computers than any other employee and she is good at sales and customer service and hence she can be able to expand that past even more than it currently is. This should be at her current salary or lower with a promise that if the success reaches a certain level, then Harvey can open up a branch somewhere else and make her the manager in charge of that branch. This is an opportunity of career growth and even further salary increase once the other branch is opened and hence she may not pass up that opportunity and it will be to the advantage of Harvey’s company. Determine which Value Drivers are the most important to consider in establishing Value Over Time (VOT) maximization in the case. Maximizing Value Over Time (VOT) has many definitions but in this case, the most suitable definition that will be used is maximization of long term good. With this definition therefore, the most important value drivers of maximizing VOT are: employee values, customer values, organization values and owner values (Pohlman, Gardiner and Heffes, 2000). Employee values are important because it is their values that will determine how much personal effort they will put into the company other than the recommended performance. The higher their values are, the more the company benefits and increase the profits. Employee values also in most cases increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover to competitor companies. Organization values set the pace and standard of performance while at the same time maintaining the face value of the company to the customers and investors and hence upholding those values is important for the overall success of the company. Finally customers are the most important aspect of any company and keeping them happy by embracing and fitting in their values is what will ensure they remain loyal and even assist in recommending others about the company. Analysis of Alternatives (SWOT and/or VDM) and selection of one for long-term value maximization Employee values include issues like honesty and integrity and upholding these will lead to the success of employee and company. If employees fail to uphold their values especially integrity, they may cost the company money through fraudulent case. Intensive background check is necessary for each employee’s claimed value before hiring. Customer values involve quality and they seek quality products and services. If these values are not fulfilled by the company, then the customer is dissatisfied and may withdraw services. The needs of customers are supposed to be handled effectively for loyalty. Finally, organization values like those involving upholding organization culture and mission may create problems especially if they are not culturally relevant and conversant with their diverse employees and customers. The positive impact of employee values is that in the short term, employees will effectively serve their customer, in the long run increase profits of the company and the overall effect is employee satisfaction. The negative impact is employee dissatisfaction, dishonesty leading to high employee turnover and being laid off. On customer values, the positive effects are customer loyalty which leads to the short term effects of bringing in other customers leading to expansion of customer base of the company. The negative impact is customer shifting to competitors for better services. Positive impacts of the organization values include employee satisfaction and lead to long term effect of increased productivity. Negative effect however is lack of addressing cultural diversity (Mujtaba, 2007). On employee values, the negative effects can be changed through motivation, offering incentives and training on upholding their values. When it comes to negative effects of customer values, fair prices can be offered to eliminate competition, complains addressed and incentives sought to always satisfy them. Lastly, the negative impact of organization values like lack of cultural diversity can be changes through seeking opinions about the issue from the employees and training on diversity management for the managers (Mujtaba, 2007). When employees uphold integrity and honesty as their values and offer quality customer services, the customers will be loyal to the company and even recruit others to become loyal customers as well. If employees also embrace the cultural diversity and organization culture set by the company, case of employees’ dissatisfaction and laying them off will seize to exist and employee turnover will reduce. This means that VOT of the organization in general will lead to improved productivity and profits for the company. When employees fail to honor their integrity and honesty values, they make the customers lose faith and loyalty to the company and hence shift to other companies leading the organization to reduce its profits. The best alternative for this case that will ensure maximization of value over time is to train employees in methods to ensure they uphold their values or come up with stern actions, rules and guidelines from organization values (Black, 2003). This will alleviate the problem and in the end lead to the employees following their values and the customers exercising their values and the organization increasing its productivity. If the positive effects of each of the mentioned value driver as discussed above is put in place and measures to ensure they are being followed and implemented are enforced, then the value over time of the company will be maximized. In relation to the case, since Cathy is upholding her employee values to the benefit of the company and in the process increasing the customer and profit of the organization, then she can be said to be maximizing value of the organization over time (which is within the seven years she has been working for the company). Offer a comprehensive implementation plan with realistic timelines for your chosen alternative. The alternative I chose to deal with the situation of Harvey is to offer Cathy the position of the vice president of the organization with the same salary but with the promise of reviewing the salary once a particular target for the company is realized. First is to discuss the salary situation with Cathy and explain how maintaining her salary with that job specification may cause trouble with the rest of the employees and especially those in managerial positions already. Since she is a valuable asset to the company and has upheld her employee values which has in turn lead to increase in profit of the organization without complaining, reducing her salary (which anyway has continued to accumulate because of the continued success of the company) will be unfair considering her input and she will be promoted to the vice president position within the next six months. The timeline is so because she will need to attend management training and courses and an office needs to be created and furnished for her let alone providing time for the other employees to adjust and react to that news. Conclusion The alternative to the solution of the high salary increase of Cathy who is not only the receptionist and secretary but also the first, most loyal and hardworking employee who is set on maximizing value of the company over time is the least Harvey can do for her as she is a great asset to the success of the company. References Black, R. J. (2003). Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success. New York: Universal-Publishers. Cousins, R.B. (1992). “The well-paid receptionist.” La Grange College: Case Research Journal, 12(1), 1-5. Madura, J. (2007). Introduction to Business. New York: Cengage Learning. Mujtaba, B. G. (2007). Cross Cultural Management and Negotiation Practices. Florida: ILEAD Academy Publications. Mujtaba, B. G. (2007). Workplace Diversity Management: Challenges, Competencies and Strategies. Florida: Llumina Press. Pohlman, R. A., Gardiner, G. S., and Heffes, E. M. (2000). Value Drive Management: How to Create and Maximize Value Over Time for Organizational Success. New York: AMACOM Publications. Read More