Analysis of FMC Corporation Case - Essay Example

FMC Corporation: A case study An organization's culture plays a major role in molding its success in business. The stakes only get higher when it has to manage transformations and great upheavals, FMC's predicament of change in "structure" being a case in point. The two facilities of FMC mentioned in this study, are radically apart in their manner of thinking, schemes of operation and organizational outlook. While the environment of Aberdeen is highly cond- ucive for all-round growth due to its open and flexible corporate philosophy, Green River sticks to a traditional, hierarchical regimen and is fast losing out space, in the volatile chemical industry. In any situation where one unit handsomely starts scoring over another, a desire does emerge to replicate its success. Faced with an uphill task ahead, Kenneth Dailey has to negotiate a "change management" consensus with a disinterested, and possibly hostile Green River senior management. After all, it strikes them at their core; it's not easy to convince experience-laden people used to an authoritative style of functioning, to give up on their way of thinking and make a radical departure to an organic system where experience and position count less than skills and performance. In order to institute bold and dynamic changes in Green River, Dailey must hesit- ate from straightaway dictating rules and norms. Instead he must see this as an opportu- nity to exercise his managerial acumen and insight, and see if he can inject the same degree of motivation and passion in the management and in the employees, that Jack Welch was able to when he took over the helm of General Electric in 1981, and brilliantly transformed it from a manufacturing company to the world's biggest service giant. First logical step would be to examine all issues close at hand: individuals within Green River, existing methods and processes, interrelationships between departments, diff- erences in style of functioning of senior managers, present level of commitment of empl- oyees toward their workplace, present financial situation, bottlenecks in the way of achie- ving change, possible sources of disagreement, and possible range of expectations employees may have in view of a change. No organization must be a one-man show; it is incumbent upon Dailey to brainstorm for the above pointers with everyone concerned, especially the influential senior management lobby without whose support it's difficult to undertake this ambitious makeover. Communications is the key to understanding what exactly ails the organization; all problems and detrimental factors must come to the fore before any tangible decisions are taken. It could be that finance and R&D department heads do not see eye-to-eye due to ideological misgivings, it could be that the purchase division has a tiff with suppliers hampering consistent growth, it could be that low wages has led to a low employee morale and hence, declined productivity. Whatever be the state-of-affairs, Dailey must seek everyone's involvement in seeking answers to tough questions. Like an able surgeon, he must be able to diagnose all areas where the company has failed its people, and vice versa. Only then can a remedial plan-of-action follow suit. The next step would be to integrate all the forward and backward functions of Green River in evolving a broad Aberdeen-like framework for corporate excellence. Und- erstandably, Aberdeen's open framework was not built in a day. In order to start from scratch, Dailey may invite in over a team of experts to share their ideas on efficient processes and productive methodology. Their perspective will enable access to the root causes of major problems; the problems itself being divided into sub-routines so that employees of Green River can derive satisfaction from actively taking part in the trans- formations lying ahead. It is at this phase that employees' grievances and concerns must be addressed; e.g. if there are any wage and job satisfaction issues they must be given due attention so that people shed their attitude of indifference toward change, and beco- me accepting and forthcoming for the sake of the betterment of the company. Finally, when the time comes to issuing a policy draft to adopt and propagate the new vision and structure of the company, all employees must be properly addressed to using intranet networks and bulletins. Individuals tend to think more from the point-of-view of their own aspirations, so it is of paramount importance that they be educated on the benefits that may accrue from Green River going for an organic structure, in terms of money, job satisfaction, and training and learning opportunities leading to faster growth within the organization. Senior management must also be made to see clear-cut advantages that come with their relinquishing of power a little so that there is greater elbow-room for employees within the organization to come up with their own innovative ideas. This home-grown pool of "intrapreneurs" would ultimately, aid in providing a robust and dynamic, result-oriented environment. Summary A lot hinges on Kenneth Dailey's personal charisma and leadership style if he is to bring around sweeping changes in the present structure of Green River. Wistful think- ing about duplicating the efforts made at Aberdeen may backfire so as management modes being different in the two places. After instilling the right mix of zeal and com- mitment in the manpower, persistent efforts must be made to understand what tools and techniques are needed to make optimum use of its present skill sets. The corporate culture of Green River being far-removed from new leadership methodologies, no miracle should be expected from adoption of an organic structure. In fact, it may translate into the wrong medicine if proper contingency plans are not in place, leading to functional disarray for the whole division. As a contingency example, it is advisable not to act in haste and instead, apply the Aberdeen formula in a slow and phased manner, allowing each breadth and stream of Green River to accustom itself to changing patterns in a gradual discipline. Again, the recommendations given in this case study analysis may vary from individual departments within the Green River facility, some areas may require more attention, and some areas may preferably be left alone. Education of employees on new techniques is one thing, but practical implementation may require sustainable checks and measures. Bringing around senior management is different from forcing them to adopt a power-sharing agreement. These clear-cut differences must be spelled out from the outset; the watchwords are "caution" and "balance". References for case study Corporate overview. (2004). Retrieved January 27, 2005, from http://www.fmc.com/Corporate/V2/GeneralDetail/0,1577,6,00.html. FMC Corp. eradicates telecommunications billing pests. (Feb. 2004). Retrieved January 27, 2005, from http://www.teoco.com/TEOCO_Aberdeen%20Case%20Study.pdf. Partheymuller, P. (2005a). Competitive Landscape - FMC Corporation. Hoover's Online. Retrieved January 27, 2005, from Hoover's online database. (2005b). History - FMC Corporation. Hoover's Online. Retrieved January 27, 2005, from Hoover's online database. (2005c). Overview - FMC Corporation. Hoover's Online. Retrieved January 27, 2005, from Hoover's online database. Read More