Individuals in Organizations: FMC Aberdeen and FMC Green River - Assignment Example

IP - Unit Individuals in Organizations FMC Aberdeen and FMC Green River: A Study of Management Styles Shawanna Moore AIU Online MGT322 - Concepts in Organizational Behavior Instructor: Dr. Judie Bucholz March 24, 2007 I. The two facilities of FMC Aberdeen and FMC Green River have different approaches to management and this has resulted in different cultures within the organizations. They are in different industries and serve a different customer base. The manager of FMC Green River would like to institute some of the team concept approaches used at the FMC Aberdeen plant. The case study presents the management of FMC Green River with several unique challenges. While FMC Aberdeen is a newer plant, FMC Green River is older and unionized. This analysis will make recommendations based on FMC Green River's openness to ability management, the degree of organizational commitment, and the ethical questions that changes would present. I. FMC Aberdeen is a relatively new location for FMC that manufactures missile canisters for the Navy. It is a complex and highly technical component, but it is the only product made at Aberdeen. Aberdeen, with 100 employees, has been managed by a succession of individuals who have empowered the employees and encouraged the company to be a thinking organization. They work in teams of from 3 to 16 members, the employees are flexible, and they seek unique solutions to problems on a continual basis. This approach has worked well for Aberdeen and the present manager Roger Campbell has been very successful (Clawson 2005). The manager of FMC Green River, Kenneth Dailey, would like to incorporate some of Aberdeen's organizational models at the Green River facility. The Green River plant is over ten times the size of Aberdeen. It has been in existence for over 50 years, almost since the beginning of the parent corporation. The plant is unionized and the labor is specialized. There is not a close company social structure associated with work at Green River. Green River is a good place to work, the employees are well paid, and they have no trouble attracting qualified applicants (Clawson 2005). III. The types of jobs at the two facilities are considerably different. At Aberdeen, everyone works toward the production of one product. Though there are several stages to its production, there is a common bond to the end result. At Green River there are several products and numerous customers. There may be a separation between departments that produce the different products. Furthermore, the employees at Green River are geographically isolated within the plant. The plant at FMC Aberdeen is more adept at the management of ability due to its smaller size and limited products. The Aberdeen plant has a history of open management styles. The workforce has been hand picked to operate in this environment. They work well in teams and understand the concept of networking. The employees of Green River are Union workers who have not been exposed to an open team environment. They may not have the organizational ethics that are required for Aberdeen's organizational structure. Green River's workforce has been selected based on their qualifications, but haven't been screened for ability to work in teams or to network. This has given the FMC Aberdeen workforce a great organizational commitment with the necessary ethics, while Green River has developed a culture and an atmosphere of a rigid bureaucracy that expects others to solve the problems that are outside their job description. The Green River plant has taken on its own culture and it has become institutionalized within the organization. The geographical isolation has reduced communications and the Union structure has discouraged free thinking and acting. This has reduced both organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The employees at Green River have certain expectations of management in the way of pay, raises, and safety. In return, management gets dependability and production. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are secondary to job security. IV. I would recommend that Green River continue on its current path and not expect to make radical changes too quickly. Green River should plan the changes over a long period of time and on a gradual basis. I would remind Kenneth Daily that his organization is not in crisis and he has an expanding operation. However, there are some changes that could benefit Green River in the long run. When considering change at the FMC Green River facility, Kenneth Daily should not expect his plant to look or be run like the Aberdeen facility. It can take on some of its features, but Aberdeen was recently built from the ground up as a concept. Green River has a culture that will resist change and encounter employee resistance. The workforce may not possess the appropriate organizational ethics to make a radical change to ability management from the task-oriented system. The manufacturing systems and information technology may not be conducive to the style of management at Aberdeen. V. The first step of implementation would be to form independent units within the plant to make the employee numbers more manageable. Form the company into 7 teams of 150 members each and structure the production around this format. This would give greater flexibility to manage the abilities of the individual workers. Green River should then name managers for each of these units that are philosophically aligned with the team concept and open management style practiced at Aberdeen. This would generate an organizational commitment on the part of the workforce and the management team. These unit managers would form smaller teams and continue to encourage new ideas, innovation, and a rethinking of organizational ethics. The geographical constraints in place at Green River will need to be removed and an atmosphere of social interaction should be cultivated. With this new openness, a sharing of knowledge and information should flourish. This should increase job satisfaction and begin to aid Daily in his quest for management of ability. Green River should encourage expertise to migrate from one product line to another and from one team to another. As new plants and facilities come on line, they should promote a new management style and a new culture. The employees and management team could be hand picked for these operations. In designing the facilities, social interaction, information sharing, and flexibility could be built in. There would be an increased organizational commitment at these new facilities. VI. There is an old saying that says 'if it's not broke, don't fix it'. It is predictable that Daily would look with envy at the Aberdeen plant and want to emulate it. It is an institutional instinct to want to imitate success. However, the wise manager will realize that what works at Aberdeen may not be appropriate for Green River. The plant is old and set well into its own culture. The unionized workforce will be reluctant to change the existing arrangements that they have with management. Dailey should effectively manage the resources he has in the way that generates the most production. Green River should look at the successes of Aberdeen and move towards them at a deliberate pace, taking care not to destroy the existing structure in the process. References: Clawson, J. (2005). FMC Aberdeen from practical problems in organizations: Cases in leadership, organizational behavior and human resources. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. George, J., and Jones, G. (2005). Understanding and managing organizational behavior, (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stroh, L. (2002). Organizational behavior: A management challenge (3rd ed.). 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