Ensuring Optimal Productivity in a Manufacturing Plant - Philips - Case Study Example

Ensuring Optimal Productivity in a Manufacturing Plant Your Name: Lecture’s Name: Class Name: Date Assignment Due: Ensuring Optimal Productivity in a Manufacturing Plant Constant improvement in effectiveness and efficiency has been of a vested interest for all managers since they are the key factors that lead to increased productivity for an organization. It is the role of the management team to restructure the organization and look for suitable strategies that will foster the productivity of their workforce. As a Human Resources and Employment Relations Director of the new high-tech manufacturing plant in Manila, I had like to dedicate myself to ensure there is adequate quality control, good labor relations and settled workforce with high morale unlike in the Philips case. This project based learning analyses the issues that arose at Philips many years ago, and discusses the lessons leant from the job and work design in the case and how effective this knowledge can be used to ensure there is optimal productivity by the workers. The main problem faced by Philips was inadequate quality control in the production section due to improper production planning (Kriegler & Stendal, 1982). The whole production process in the old system was boring, unchallenging, tedious and repetitious, and this led to employee dissatisfaction. According to Mukherjee (2009), high productivity in either manufacturing or service organization can only be achieved through the use of an efficient control system and efficient planning. As a director in charge of human resources and employment relations, I should implement the use of proper tools, well designed route cards, jigs and fixtures, and other manufacturing aids so as to increase employee satisfaction, which in turn, will increase the productivity of the workers in my factory. This fosters an efficient manufacturing system with no idle workers, machine time, or piling up of inventories. From the new system at Philips, we learn that productivity can also be attained by the formation of small teams among the workforce to control their own product quality and production efficiency. Each team becomes autonomous and does not depend on the other, and thus, reducing the frictions between the workers that could be generated by one’s mistake and pushed on to the other in the line of production (Kriegler & Stendal, 1982). The second problem highlighted in the Philips case is poor labor relations which, quite often leads to human conflicts. Mukherjee (2009) argues that poor labour relations and unsolved human conflicts play a negative role in an organization. In avoiding such related problems, I should foster good social interactions among employee and even with supervisors. Each individual should complement and supplement one another so as to produce an extremely productive system. Under the new system, the organizational structure of Philips allowed much interaction among the individuals and the freedom to move about. Holzer & Lee (2004) further says that a good relationship between the workers and the management enhances their commitment hence creating a desire for achievement. In fact, commitment, rapport and conscientiousness within the workforce are among the essential factors I should take into consideration in creating conducive atmosphere for productivity. I should, therefore, harness and reinforce these productive and healthy elements. The lines of communication within the organization should be kept open and people should be placed at the right place during the right time so as to do what they do best and build on their strengths. Another challenge in Philips was the use of old assembly system which took longer in producing different television models. Mukherjee (2009) argues that technological changes should be implemented in the organization to enable bring up frequent product innovations, modifications as well as introducing other substitute products. Our manufacturing system should comprise the practice of demand technology cycle. We should ensure there are frequent changes in product designs by realigning and adjusting the entire manufacturing set-up, as well as changing production processes, machines and training the workers. Despite the fact that they lower productivity of the factory during the time of change, they increase productivity after the new system has fully settled. Kelly & Clegg (1982) acknowledges that technology based productivity improvement techniques through the application of new scientific techniques of handling various technical issues can result into improved productivity. The techniques include Computer Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing, Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing system with CAD and CAM integrated together, Robotics, Energy Conservation Technology, Flexible Manufacturing System and Lesser Technology. The focus of these techniques in the new high-tech manufacturing plant in Manila can lead to innovations in the technology of production processes for the factory. The use of the technologies is, howeve, expensive but has longterm benefits. Unsettled workforce with low morale was also an issue at Philips some years back. From the learning, it is necessary to note that production is usually high with a settled and highly motivated workforce. Mukherjee (2009) highlights that the production process is basically driven by people and what makes it improve its production is the quality of these people and their involvement in the company. Increased employee involvment can be due to financial incentives, fringe benefits, motivation, leadership, job enlargement and job rotation as well as employee participation among others. In my new job, I will ensure that all the workers are highly motivated and they receive training and education so that they develop better skills and become highly involved to foster the productivity of the organization. Besides, there is need to enlarge their jobs and job rotation for improved perfomance. Employee motivation and job satisfaction in the organization can also be promoted by proactively changing the current work environment throu the reavaluation of the job tasks and the work environment (Holzer & Lee, 2004). Just as the new system in Philips case, the restructuring of the work environment can increase the worker’s satisfaction and encourage strong social ties within the organization. The same approach can be used in my organization by creating job teams, allowing flexible job time, offering employee education programs, employee merit and recognition systems. I will ensure there is improved workers attitude towards the management since it serves as an integral part of the organization’s planning by use of a systematic management approach in creating a good partnership with the workers. From the new system at Philips case, we learn the importance of job redesigning in creating a cleaner, safer, and attractive and a more comfortable place of work. This eases the manufacturing and reduces the production costs and thereby increasing the workers productivity (Kelly & Clegg, 1982). As a director of human resources and employment relations in the new high tech organization, I learn the importance of dividing the work into basic components which should be assigned to particular team and not to an individual. Much specialization leads to boredom and the repetitive work makes the employees to be unimaginative hence lack innovation. An approach that establishes managerial and production efficiency should be adopted through a proper understanding of human relations. According to Kondalkar (2009), worker become more comfortable based on the intrinsic value that the job creates to them. This means that the job should be designed in such a way that it offers that it gives them higher responsibility, personal growth, recognition and a sense of achievement. I can achieve work motivation and higher productivity by incorporating appropriate changes in the job design such as job enrichment. Kondalkar (2009) says that job enrichment can be achieved by enhanced responsibility of the workersby bringing a sense of commitment to the company, increasing work perfomance, and creating a sense of achievement and growth. In the new design, there should be an increased control on the resources in order to increase the workers autonomy in decision making and utilization of the tools and equipment. We should permit our workers to to manage their own time in relation to the acomplishment of the task. Such a freedom of choosing the methods and procedures to be used should, however, be set within the framework of the organizational culture. The deliberate structuring of the technical, human and social components of a job enables the participation of all group members in the accoimplishment of the tasks. The job design should also ensure that it gives satisfaction for the employees and make them experience some worth for the organization (Holzer & Lee, 2004). Job design can take varaious forms such as job simplification where the jobs are broken down into smaller parts, job enlargement where two or simple tasks can be combined and alloted to an individual, job rotation whereby the employees are periodically rotated from one job task to another within the work design, and job enrichment where the job design incorporates a variety of skills that an employee has. In my organization I have to focus on job enlargement since it adds some little variety in the jobn and can help in acquiring proficiency. In addition, I also see the need for job rotation and job enrichment because they will be no restricted exposure and there will be increased employee motivation respoectively. In conclusion, the Philips case give me an insight of how I can effectively manage the high-tech manufacturing plant to enusre high productivity. By considering the problems that Philips faced, I recognize various ways of fostering productivity, such as the use of efficient control systems in ensuring high quality, improved employee motivation, improved labour relations so as to increase the satisfaction of the employees, incresaed social interaction, use of improved technologies and more importantly, restructuring the production process by focusing on job enlargement, job enrichment and job rotation. References Holzer, M. & Lee, S (2004). Public Productivity Handbook (2nd ed). New York: CRC Press. Kelly, J. & Clegg, C. (1982). Autonomy and Control at the Workplace: Contexts for Job Redesign. New York: Routledge Press. Kondalkar (2009). Organization Effectiveness and Change Management. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Kriegler, R. & Stendal, G. (1982). Classics in Australian management- Managing through Crisis: Philips Case Study Mukherjee (2009). Operations Management And Productivity Techniques. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. 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