Ways of Improving Workforce Consultations - Pet Food Companies - Research Paper Example

Name Tutor Title: Ways of Improving Workforce Consultations Institution Date Executive summary This is a research report conducted on the way of improving the workforce consultation process. The introduction gives a brief overview of the consultation process and a statement on how best the process can be conducted to be effective. The methodology outlines the process through which the information used in this research was gathered. Interviews and surveys were carried out on five companies targeting their managers at all levels and the employees under them. The interpretations made from the data collected are outlined in the analysis part. In the discussion, the whole process of workforce consultation is stipulated in details and a summary of the findings is also outlined. The conclusion gives a recap of the issues about workforce consultation processes that have been talked in this paper. The recommendation gives the appropriate suggestions for improvement of workforce consultation processes. Table of Contents Title: Ways of Improving Workforce Consultations 1 Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Ways of Improving Workforce Consultations 4 Introduction 4 Background Information about the Companies 4 Methodology 5 Analysis 6 Discussion 6 Conclusion 10 Recommendation 10 Bibliography 12 Ways of Improving Workforce Consultations Introduction Consultation is the process through which information is sought before decisions are made. Organizations that register high performance acknowledge that seeking the ideas and opinions of the employees through consulting individuals, or union representatives, is bound to attain decision making that is better and consequently implementation that is more successful. According to Horwath and Morrison (2007), effective consultation translates to organizational decisions being likely better informed and greatly acceptable to everyone within the workplace. In some cases, like Occupational Health and Safety, consultation is required by law and it is not a more choice. Consultation can point out opportunities, aid decision making and assist to ensure any ideas and new projects work on the actual ground. Background Information about the Companies The research involved five pet food companies that included Gelert Pet Nutrition, Bern Pet Food, Pets Choice Ltd, Nestle Purina Pet Care UK, and Alpha Feeds. Alpha Feeds produces food for ferret, Guinea Pig, Rabbit and dog is among the leading producers. Gelert Pet Nutrition is a family owned pet food manufacturer that started in 1982. It produces dog food. Purina produces a variety of food for home pets including cats and dogs. It has been in existence for over eighty years. Bern Pet Foods are exclusive distributor of ACANA and ORIJEN in Ireland and UK that are dry pet foods produced in Canada by Champion Pet Food. Pet Choice Ltd is pet food manufacturing company based in Lancashire and has supplies allover Europe. Methodology The research involved a survey done in five pet food companies as described above and some selected workers within these companies at different levels of operation. Questionnaires drafted with the guidance of the research experts were either send or hand delivered to the corporate companies’ personnel management departments. The questionnaires targeting the workers in these companies were meant to determine the workers view on consultation process, any role played by the workers in the consultation process and any suggestion for further improvement of the whole process. The questionnaires included both open-ended and closed questions. In seeking clarification or opinion of the worker the open ended questions were used while starting the facts about the process of workforce consultation process, the closed ended questions were applied. The Pet food companies involved comprised of small, medium size and large companies determined by the size of the market share and the number of management levels at the organization. Apart from the surveys from the questionnaires there were also interviews contacted within the employees of the companies and some selected managers involved with the human resource management. The other stakeholders of the company that included suppliers, consumers, owners and the local community were also interviewed and the questionnaires administered to them. The data was collected by filling in the questionnaires and tape reorders were used to collect data from the interviews. The ages of those interviewed varied from 23 years to 60years. The data was then analyzed. Analysis Three out of the five companies involved in the research returned a positive response on the existence of formal consultation program in the companies. Two of the three companies with a formal consultation program agreed to stick to the rules laid down about the consultation process. The managers involved in the consultation process, 60% reported not enjoy they process of consultation that delayed their decision making. 85% of the managers interviewed acknowledged that workforce consultation process greatly contributed to the growth and expansion of the company. Among the employees interviewed, 10% were not aware of the workforce consultation process, 30% were aware of the process, 40% reported hardly being incorporated in the process, and only 20% acknowledged being incorporated in the program. Only 10% of the suppliers, consumers and the local community were involved in the consultation process (Giguère, 2008). Discussion From the information gathered; many organization only involves the stakeholders whom they perceive to be directly involved in the running of the organization in the consultation process. The owners, worker and management were directly involved in the consultative process from time to time. Majority of organizations were not into the habit of consulting all the stake holders in case of any thing that comes up in the case of running the affairs of the organization Workplace consultations can assume any form commencing from direct manager to employee communication and participating in decision making to involvement that are more formal. The principle underlying effective workforce consultation is that whereas management possesses the final authority on decision making, employees have the opportunity and right to contribute to decision making (Mansfield& Mitchell, 2005). According to Justice and Jamieson (2006), consultation can be used to identify opportunities, assisting in decision making and help in ensuring any ideas can be successfully be implemented on the group. Majorly, workplace consultation provides information to all parties involved concerning the consideration process, what is being considered, and how the ultimate decision will be arrived at and the person who will make that decision. The information quality availed to those who are being consulted affects in a direct way the response received quality. According to Schein (2008), consultative processes differ in their formality. Consultation can be as informal like once off face-to-face meeting between the immediate managers and individual employee to determine development and training needs. On the other hand it would involve a well-organized series of meetings involving all employees to discuss and make appropriate recommendations on the set of issues being faced in the workplace (Scott, 2008). Basing on the kind of decisions to be made and the culture of the organization, the processes of consultation may be quite structured. Committees of representatives of management and employees can meet together on a basis that is regular to exchange views concerning a wide range of matters. Illustration of these could involve a joint consultative committees (JCC) put in place as part of the enterprise for arrangement bargaining. The joint consultative committee can also be applied in assisting with consultation on other projects and programs. The second is the consultative framework concerning safety and health that is entrenched in the Occupational Health and Safety legislation that is engraved in many constitutions in the world. In this framework, the chosen work groups that share similar workplace safety and health conditions or grievances chose a representative of health and safety to be their voice to the management (Rantucci, 2006). In other workplaces series of work team or work group meetings which are small but with a common agenda may be the means of gathering information by consultation before decision making. Consultation that is effective is based on mutual trust and respect. It needs commitment and support by both employees and management. It takes some time the processes of best practice consultative to develop and for every one to grow confident in the contribution of ideas. When the employees are first asked to contribute to the process of decision making they be hesitant and may even be negative. From experience it has been shown that organizations that persist are bound to realize the culture of the organization changing to be more positive, once trust is attained and people see that their opinions are being respected and their ideas are being implemented (Milan, 2006). As the members of the organization grow more experienced in, and accepting of, consultation, the workplace consultative processes develop. Consultation that is effective is built on open sharing of information that is genuine and communication. The two-way flow of information should be encouraged-both providing information and asking for ideas. This flow is one of the main strategies used in the development of a partnership approach to decision making. Consultation is no longer the only responsibility of managers, but it has become the responsibility of and belongs to every individual in the organization. It belongs to every member of the organization. As trust grows, the process of consultation may tend to become less formal (Meléndez, 2004). Impromptu groups may collect information, make decisions or give solutions to problems without necessary managers getting involved. Work groups take on great responsibility for the work of the team, and teams possess self-designed ground rules for their respective decision making and discussions. Workplace consultation process is responsible successfully leading process improvement projects and business process management together with delivering value to the clients in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. Consultation processes are important in identification and engagement with all appropriate stakeholder groups. It can be used to build viable and significant relationships between stakeholders and department and among the stakeholders themselves. Consultations that are fit-for-purpose are used to develop strong evidence case and meet the expectations of the shareholders (Trebilcock & Kirton, 2005). Conclusion In this paper the consultation process has been explored bearing in mind its significance to the organization as whole. It is important to creating a sense of belonging to all of the stakeholders that are present in the organization and are involved directly or directly in the decision making process. The analysis has been an eye-opener to what the situation is like in many organizations. In the discussion whatever goes on the consultation management process has been extensively looked at. In the part that follows the appropriate recommendations has been given as per the findings that were outlined previously. Recommendation Employees should be encouraged to take part in all processes of decision-making. The management should put in place an “open door” policy which involve all employees raising issues directly in meeting from time to time or using the method of suggestion box that should be made available at all the departments. Organizations should not offer to share the responsibility of decision making as consultation process part unless there is presence of a broad management commitment to do so. Newsletters, team meetings or intranet sites of the organization should be used to put across organizational priorities and needs and to encourage feedback. Consultation of best practice is based on trust and employee influence and involvement that are genuine. Communication must be two way (Banfield & Kay, 2008). The views of the employees should be listened to. Strategies for engaging employee opinion should be reviewed and improved. Employee surveys should be used to establish the level or degree of satisfaction with processes of consultation and identify any areas that need improvement. Secord (2007) argues that consultation is not an end in itself. Other strategies that are related should be applied in encouraging sharing of information, participation of employee and involvement at the workplace level is all very important. Consultation should happen early, before the setting of the agenda and making of decisions. In this way consultation becomes a given in any particular organization (Worley & Cummings, 2008). Senior managers should be interested in and value ideas of the employees, their suggestions and opinions. If need be, the managers should get development training in facilitative, listening and interpersonal skills in order to improve communications. The employees should be proactive and be encouraged to suggest ideas and, if required, they should get special training in the area of communication skills. The approach should be one of mutual respect and trust. The style of communication should be collaborative, planned and genuine. Dougherty (2008) says that the process of consultation should be very open and the culture of the organization should be responsive to participation of employees. Information that is relevant should be provided in the format that is required to make sure the advice that is most informed is arrived and the best decision is made (Pugh& Duffy, 2006). The decisions that are attained should be acted upon and if this is not done, good reasons for not implementing the decisions should be provided. The ‘open door policy’ should be genuine whereas the phrase ‘our people are our greatest asset’ should be demonstrated through mutual respect between employees and managers on a day to day basis. Consultation should not be seen as a substitute for action since it is not. The necessary action should be taken to deal with actual problems. According to Buono and Jamieson (2010), consultation should be about work organization issues and real workplace and it should not be just consultation for its own sake. Flexibility should be maintained in order to adapt to the strategy of consultation as the project develops as hurdles are gotten over. Consultations that are transparent will ensure that there are no surprises for the stakeholders (Virkus, 2008). Bibliography Mansfield, B. & Mitchell, L., 2005, Towards a competent workforce, Gower Publishing, Oxford. Horwath, J. & Morrison, T., 2007, Effective staff training in social care: from theory to practice. Routledge, New York. Banfield, P. & Kay, R., 2008, Introduction to Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Secord, H., 2007, Sustainable schools: are we building schools for the future? Seventh report of session 2006-07, Implementing best practices in human resources management, CCH Canadian Limited, Ontario. Pugh, G. & Duffy, B., 2006, Contemporary issues in the early years, SAGE, Dublin. Worley, C.G & Cummings, T.G., 2008, Organization development & change, Cengage Learning, Chicago. Schein, E.H., 2008, Process Consultation: Its role in organization development, Addison-Wesley, Boston. Justice, T. & Jamieson, D., 2006, The facilitator's fieldbook: step-by-step procedures, checklists and guidelines, samples and templates. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, New York Dougherty, A. M., 2008, A casebook of psychological consultation and collaboration in school and community settings, Cengage Learning, Chicago. Buono, A.F, & Jamieson, D., 2010, Consultation for Organizational Change, IAP, Charlotte. Milan, K., 2006, Management consulting: a guide to the profession, International Labour Organization, New York. Virkus, W.W., 2008, Curbside Consultation in Fracture Management: 49 Clinical Questions. SLACK Incorporated, New Jersey. Rantucci, M. J., 2006, Pharmacists talking with patients: a guide to patient counseling, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia Trebilcock, M.J & Kirton, J.J., 2005, Hard choices, soft law: voluntary standards in global trade, environment, and social governance, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Aldershot. Scott, G.A.,2008, Workforce Development: Community Colleges and One-Stop Centers Collaborate to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs, DIANE Publishing, Darby. Meléndez, E., 2004, Communities and workforce development. Upjohn Institute, W.E. Giguère, S., 2008, More than just jobs: workforce development in a skills-based economy, OECD Publishing. Read More