The Workforce and Organisation Culture of Unique Supplies Ltd - Case Study Example

A REPORT ON THE WORKFORCE AND ORGANISATION CULTURE OF UNIQUE SUPPLIES (WALES) LTD NAME COURSE TUTOR UNIVERSITY CITY/STATE DUE DATE TERMS OF REFERENCE The following report was compiled by Roger Clifton a senior buyer at Unique Supplies (Wales) Ltd, on 25th April, 2016. The report examines how personnel attitude, de-motivation, lack of team work and a bureaucratic company culture affect the operations of Unique Supplies. It will also put across suggestions on how teamwork can be used to improve personnel morale and how standard operating procedures can be used for the benefit of Unique Supplies. It will be presented to Mrs. Alice James the chief executive officer Unique Supplies (Wales) Ltd, on 28th April, 2016. PROCEDURES The following report was structured from information collected by carrying out the procedures listed below. 1. A detailed case study of Unique Supplies (Wales) Ltd was examined and critical points were pointed out. 2. Applicable theories on organization structure, culture, personnel morale, teamwork and technology were researched and applied. 3. The recommendation was drawn from applicable theories stated above with special concern on how team work would be used for the benefit of Unique Supplies (Wales) Ltd. PART ONE The increase in size and complexity of organizations operations has led to high demand of strategies to ensure effective organization administration which in turn has brought about bureaucracy. According to Max Weber bureaucracy can be defined inform of characteristics such as hierarchical authorities that apply to organization of offices and positions, clear cut line between labor and high level specialization, with emphasizes on administration based on expertise and regulations. Stewart summarized four key pointers that constitute bureaucracy namely a structure hierarchy of authority, system of regulations, high levels of job specialization and impersonalization. A bureaucratic organization is one which is governed by standard operating procedures that are based on a strict, clearly defined hierarchical structure. An organization whose structure, rules and regulations reduce the efficiency of work flow by being rigid and more time consuming yet they are not adding value to the operations or consumers. From the case study of Unique Supplies (Wales) Ltd, it is seen that Roger Clifton effectiveness in the workplace is being affected by the bureaucracy in the organization since the formalities in his work instructions were putting constrains in his operation as he has to follow the detailed standard operating procedures handed to him even for the relatively minor tasks. It also noted from the case study that Roger Clifton frequently needed to clear his workings with his immediate supervisor with led to frustrations as there were occurrences the supervisor was unable to make decisions and had to consult senior management which led to delays. Inclusion of senior management in simple routine operations seemed petty to Roger. Advantages of bureaucratic organization according to Max Weber 1. Bureaucracy leads to uniformity in employer behavior as there are set out rules and procedures they must follow thus the process of management is simple. 2. Bureaucratic organizations maximize on expertise of their personnel resources as promotions are purely based on merit thus placing the personnel in the most suitable jobs. 3. Emphasizes on division of labor and clear job descriptions by the bureaucratic theory improves on expertise and personnel performance greatly. 4. Organizations do not suffer setbacks when personnel resign from their positions due to the impersonalization structure of bureaucracy those gaps are filled appropriately. Disadvantages of bureaucratic organization according to Max Weber 1. Initiative and creativity is subdued as a preset rules and regulations must be followed while undertaking tasks. 2. Lack of flexibility in operations to handle different circumstances when a circumstance is not defined in the procedures for work processes. 3. Organizations are slow to adapt to change 4. Over – emphasis on rules and procedures, record keeping and paper work may beat the logic of those processes as means to an end. 5. Officials tend to develop dependence on the bureaucratic status where managers use rules to suppress self management and force employees to follow their path. PART TWO Types of cultures Different organizations have different cultures just as different countries differ in terms of culture. Culture refers to the “Basic assumptions and values shared by, guide and shape the behavior of an organization”. (Handy 2003). Major rules are written down in a manual and are followed everyday then there are other small rules that are not written but they influence in a great way how people behave in an organization every day. “Culture refers to the way things are done around here”, Deal and Kennedy (1983). They focus their description on risk and the way feedback is received in an organization. They describe four types of cultures based on this. 1. Tough guy macho Are individuals who are risk takers and get fast feedback on their decisions for example doctors. 2. Work hard, play hard culture Are people who portray high levels of energy, the culture is fun for employees and decisions are quick to get feedback for example real estate agents. 3. Bet your company culture Here decisions are very risky and may take a lot of years before results are obtained for example long term investments. 4. Process culture With this type of culture, there are low risks involved and decisions are slow to be made. The culture follows procedure instead of the product in question and the process of decision making is very important for example in banks. At Unique Wales, culture can be portrayed in how decisions are made, topics discussed within the company, dress code and also on trainings and motivation. Unique Wales has a strong culture that has to be followed by every individual working in the organization. At Unique Wales, an employee cannot just bring about change but has to follow the hierarchy of authority before even minor changes are implemented. It is very hard for such an organization to progress because they do not accept change. Unique Wales follows a process culture which is characterized by: insignificant amounts of risk involved, slow feedback process, the procedures are put into consideration more than the products and the culture focuses on the process rather than the products and their quality. Why positive culture is important in organizations A positive culture is one filled with trust, fairness, openness in terms of disciplinary actions and appraisal of performance. It is imperative for an organization to have a positive culture because it is mindful of employees with conditions such as anxiety. It also enables them to have job satisfaction which in turn ensures they serve customers well leading to higher profits and customer retention by organizations. A positive culture is receptive to change and innovation thus ensuring a company has different ways of doing things voiced out by the employees. A positive culture fosters positive relationships among employees and ensures that promotion is based on merit and is fair to all. PART THREE Technology was devised to ease communication and provide a variety of information however, Technology has not improved how people socialize and at work. At work employees will take every chance to look at their phones or facebook accounts instead of concentrating on adding value to the organization. Employees will use internet availed to them for work purposes to send personal messages and to update their accounts on social media. This is a negative vice because it will be impossible to even serve customers while attending to personal matters on social media. Socially for example in a family setting, everyone will be on their devices instead of having positive conversations as a family. Larry Rosen in his book’ Idisorder’ gives a scenario of a dinner setting in a family and everyone keeps checking their phones after a few minutes. He says this may be psychological disorder and an obsession. According to him, technology is causing more problems instead because very few people can walk out of the house without their phones. How to stop employees from constantly checking their phones at work 1. Use of open office system Organizations should implement use of open offices where the managers and all employees are in one open office. This will discourage the constant use of phones in an organization because they fear being caught by their department head as opposed to when they are in enclosed offices where they can easily hide and use phones. 2. No phone policy in the work area Organizations could also come up with policies where employees leave all phones at the reception and only pick them during lunch breaks and when leaving work and that no phone is allowed at the work area. This will ensure maximum input by employees without distractions from phones. 3. Employee education Employees should be trained on how to manage their social life with that of work. They should be trained on how to focus at work without having to check their phones. They should be informed on how this will impact to the growth of the organization. They should be trained on how to differentiate between the two without conflict. Is it okay to check social media sites at work? It is wrong to check social media sites while at work because it is a great source of distraction and a waste of time which should have been used productively. Use of social media can also be used to vent and make bad comments about the employer and customers at a place of work hence should be avoided. As an employee one should avoid using private social media using company computers as this can be tracked by employers and cost ones job. On the other hand, use of social media should be used to some extent because it gives breaks to employees and this ensures that they are more productive after taking breaks. Social media has also become integrated in the day to day activities and this has made it part of daily life and should therefore be allowed at the work place to some extent. Use of social media can also create a working environment that is fun to work around and this makes work enjoyable. Recent quotes and references on how SMART TECH affects the way we work There are various quotes and references on people who gave their view on how social media affects how people work. 1. Krauss & Fussel (1990) “lack of social cues in lean media can be problematic as misunderstandings can occur.” He warned that mostly if for example someone takes time to reply to say an email it could create conflict because the person on the other end does not understand why it is taking the recipient too long to respond. This causes chaos and ends up affecting the way people work. 2. Arnold & Randall et al ( 2010) “ Some communications media have the capacity to deliver more social cues than others with face to face communication having the richest array of cues available where as text based media are lean in comparison.” 3. Sproull & Kiesler (1986) argued that, “lack of social clues increases anonymity as did.” Nantel and Lafrance (2006). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, it is evident that unique supplies (Wales) Ltd had a bureaucratic structure; in cases where Roger had to clear his decisions with the immediate boss it made him feel frustrated which reduced his morale levels. It was also found that employees had a negative attitude towards teamwork as no personnel would want to assist in extra duties especially so if they did not fall under their work instructions. The effects of advanced technology were negatively felt in the organization as most young personnel spent most time on social media networks thus wasting company time as well as resources. Employees of unique supplies (Wales) Ltd were highly demotivated as they are to engage in a lot of negative energy gossiping and complaining about top management. RECOMMENDATIONS Companies such as Unique Wales should adopt employees’ motivation and trainings to ensure they do not feel resentful about the company. The rules should be flexible to give employees freedom to interact and to bring about change in an organization. Team work should also be encouraged whereby the company will delegate duties or supervision roles to junior employees this will bring about benefits such as: innovation in the company, a sense of affiliation among the employees, status as well as boost their self esteem. This is because output is as a result of combined efforts among all people working in an organization. Team work will also enhance positive interactions among employees and minimize unhealthy competition among them. REFERENCES Rosen, L. (2012) iDisorder – understanding our obsession with technology and overcoming its hold on us, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksl1UdAhinI (Accessed: 25th April, 2016) Deal and Kennedy, (2015) Culture Model, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJnSSDcQKhk (Accessed: 25th April, 2016) Mullins, L.J. (2007) Management and organizational behavior, 8th edn. Publisher Ft Prenticehall pg 51 -54, 696 -699. Read More