Enterprise Departments and Unions - Case Study Example

Understanding Management Theories Understanding Management Theories Introduction Management theory is an idea or collection of ideas that lay down basic regulations that influence how to manage or run an organization. Management theory gives an outlook as to how managers relate to the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. In addition, management theories assist in the application of operative ways to meet the objectives identified through sourcing the best out of the employees by ensuring they perform to the highest possible potential. Theories of management are implemented to increase organizational output and improve the quality of services. In practice, most managers use more than one management theory in implementing objectives and strategies of an organization at the workplace. The theories can be used best to understand the case scenario of LIPC Integration Plc’s departments. Three departments will be covered using the concepts of unitarianism, pluralism, and radicalism integrated together with the theories of management for the better grasp of the happenings in these departments. Fabrication Department To start with, the bone of contention arises when the organization that is LIPC Integrated Plc has introduced a new pay plan that is based on performance to reward the employees in its different departments. The workers in the fabrication department have welcomed the new performance based model of payment with them even working for extra hours. In addition the professional assessors contacted by the organization to study its departments have noted that the performance based system has made the workers improve on their productivity. The workers have even suggested to the management need for them to be provided with extra training to which the management has welcomed and pledged to offer more training to the best performing employees in the department. Having established the situation in the department, it is important to relate this situation with the concepts of management coupled together with a theory that defines such a situation. Unitarianism is an outlook that consider management and employee interests as coincident and which thus conflict as harmful and to be avoided. Unitarian is described as a superior management theory that all members of the organization are dedicated to the realization of a general ambition with no conflict of personal interests. However in Unitarian approach, the term conflict is expressed as if there is frustration from the employees with divergence in which management is perceived when carrying out an unreasonable activity. In addition, Unitarian ideologists dislike trade unions since they regard them trying to compete with management to gain loyalty from the employees. The Unitarian concept aims and is regarded as a management ideology (Smith, Farmer & Yellowley, 2012). Assembly Department The assembly department is another department that has been affected by the performance-based payment plan. However, the effects of this model of payment are the direct opposite of the positive effects experienced in the Fabrication department. The assembly department asserts that the model of payment has led them to lose any pay increase like their peers in the fabrication department. They assert that it is not possible for them to improve the performance of their department since their work is rigidly designed and clearly planned. Additionally they have proposed for the management to introduce intermittent breaks between their works to increase their productivity. The management is opposed to this suggestion suggesting that they can even get new employees from other countries to replace the ones in this department. In view of this, the pluralistic concept fits the assembly department. Pluralism identifies that in an organization that has a large group of people there are varying interests that require to be managed for harmony. The concept of pluralism views conflicts and disagreements occasioned by divergent interests between managers and workers normal and unavoidable. Therefore, the management should be persuasive to the employees and shun from enforcing policies without the contribution of the employees. Pluralists view trade unions as legitimate representatives of employees. In addition, conflict is normally not viewed as a bad thing and is dealt with through measures such as collective bargaining. The concept is most recommendable to the assembly department (Smith, Farmer & Yellowley, 2012). The Design Department The design department is the third department feeling the effects of the new model of performance-based payment plan. The workers in the department are engaged in the creative and innovative works of the organization. As such, the workers in the department allege that based on the complexity of their work, the new performance-based model of payment is not enough to compensate them enough for their work. In addition, they want the management to recognize their creative work as remain their individual intellectual capital distinct from the management. The management is opposed to this notion, and it argues that since the workers are employees of the organization, then LIPC Integrated Plc retains the right to their creative work. The management has been unsuccessful to source for new employees to replace the disgruntled workers in this department. The situation mirrors the ideas of the concept of radical management. Radical management is an emerging form of management that among its principles is the insistence of a model manager who ceases to be an authoritarian controller of people to an initiator of self-organizing group of employees. The concept recognizes that the people in an organization who are involved in the production of the goods and services in the organization are very crucial in the outcome of the goods and services produced. In radical management, particular procedures are put in place to make sure that conflicts that affect performance are systematically handled and addressed (Smith, Farmer & Yellowley, 2012). Recommendations Having identified the unique situations in the three departments, a set of things needs to be done by the management of the LIPC Integrated Plc to address the problems in the departments to ensure on increased productivity that promotes the growth of the organization. The recommendations will be based upon the various management theories that can be adopted by the organization to address some of the deep-lying problems in the departments. To start with the Fabrication department, the recommendation would be for the management to adopt the theory of human relations since it is most suited in this department. The theory holds that employees want to support in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization and are committed to the growth and development of the organization. The employees, therefore, should be given special attention that encourage their participation and appreciates the significance of their work to yield high-quality wok. The management should be less concerned with micromanaging employees and be focused on building relationships and teamwork with employees so as to aid them achieves their workplace objectives with effectiveness and efficiency (Robbins and Roodt, 2003). The management should be concerned with well-being employees and adopt policies and approaches that aim to make the employee a motivated worker who has a passion to work and wants to achieve quality work in their undertaking. In the assembly department, the best-recommended approach is the ideals of the democratic theory of management. It is observed that the work of the workers in this department strictly follows a rigid set of procedures even rendering it impossible to improve on performance. As such there should be adherence to rules, use of legitimate authority by management and competence of employees characterize management practices. The ideologies of this theory are a clearly defined chain and hierarchy of command. Personal feelings of the employees should be regarded but not given a lot of weight in coming up with management policies. The management should strictly follow and administer the rules and regulations of the organization to the employees (French, 2011). In addition, it is not easy to hire employees from other countries without logistical challenges that are more than changing the theory adopted by the management. It is not recommendable for the management to go on with this alleged proposal. In the design department, it is recommended for the management to consider the ideals in the classical theory of management. The workers in the design department should be motivated by monetary rewards. The monetary rewards should not be so much based on the performance-based concept being adopted by the management but rather it should a form of incentive for the quality of the work done. By adopting an incentive-based reward system, the workers can be motivated to work harder and consequently becoming more productive (Robbins and Roodt, 2003). Creative division requires employees who are very motivated to boost their passion for the work that will lead to more creative ideas from them. Therefore, there is the need for the management to come up with strategies that focus on improving the efficiency, productivity, and output of employees. Such strategies would include the acknowledgment of the workers’ intellectual property capital in their creative work which would lead to the workers having a job satisfaction of their work and hence more creativity and innovation. Conclusion The disgruntled employees in the assembly department can voice their grievances through joining a trade union. A trade union is a union of workers that are united in promoting and protecting their common interests. The unions negotiate on behalf of workers for better wages, better working conditions, and give voice to the employees. In addition, the employees in the assembly department and design department can seek legal redress against the management. If the management hires workers from other countries and thereby terminating the contracts of the workers in the assembly department, they can go to court due to unfair dismissal from work. In addition, the workers in the design department can seek legal redress for the intellectual property rights to be recognized by the management. References French, R. (2011). Organizational behavior. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. Robbins, S. P., Odendaal, A., & Roodt, G. (2003). Organizational behavior: global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town, Pearson Education South Africa. Smith, P., Farmer, M. & Yellowley, W. (2012). Organizational Behavior, Abingdon, Hodder Education, ISBN 978-1-4441-3533-6 Read More