How to build a learning organization with high innovation/how structure affects learning - Essay Example

There is an excellent pensions scheme, a successful profit-sharing scheme and a share options scheme whereby employees can choose to have bonuses in the form of company shares if they have worked at MPS for more than two years. Laying employees off is avoided as much as possible during slack periods in order to retain staff loyalty. However a performance management culture is strong at MPS and there is an astringent appraisal system linked to remuneration and promotion. Target setting for groups and individuals has been strongly implemented for the past 20 years and refined over that time.

A total quality management (TQM) programme has been in operation for the past 15 years and teams operate work areas or cells. Under the TQM system groups of ten workers are allowed to elect a leader, who organizes feedback sessions and reports to senior production managers. Annual staff opinion surveys are conducted on a range of employment and production issues. Training is taken seriously and all employees attend sessions to train in team working and people skills, as well as sessions and courses of a more technical nature.

Travelhigh are looking to make changes within the company, however this may lead to staff resistance or on general a fear of change. Therefore the board of directors and senior managers need to re-assure current staff that changes made won’t affect their jobs but improve them. The most important factor would be to avoid staff resistance, as it might be the case that staff might refuse to make new relationships with new staff as they feel their job might be in jeopardy. Therefore these conflicts would need to be avoided, as a bad work force would reflect on the company.

If there isn’t a good workforce or good workplace staff will become less motivated and less willing. Even though their will be new candidates getting trained up it may be the case that current staff would need motivating themselves.