Introduction
Human resource is the most significant resource and thus is the basic factor for success or failure. Management is basically about people. The managers such as production managers should, therefore, consider the need to guarantee that this vital resource of people is efficiently managed. Management should keep in mind that human beings cannot be moved or manipulated recklessly without damaging the individual and the organization as well. Strategic enterprise involves human resource integration into the strategic planning of the goals of the organization since there is a human dimension in any aspect of strategy. The basic aspects of management of people in a business entity encompass communication, supervision, hiring and planning of workforce, induction, managing workloads, performance management, employee turnover, as well as dealing with emergent issues (Thompson, 2013). This paper is a case analysis of the management of this business giving reasons for differences in the performance of the two shifts and proposes a management plan to address them.
Analysis
Georgina’s company is faced with a wide disparity in the performance of night and day shifts. The most apparent reason is the management differences between the two shifts (Casey, 2003). The day shift is managed by the productions manager who is in charge of hiring process workers, and supervision of the maintenance technician and truck driver. The production manager has two individuals to aid in the management of the production processes. Role allocation is a traditional way where one is allocated a distinct role based on an unprofessional assessment of their abilities. The coordination of the night shift is done in form of teamwork by the 5-people family previously managed by a supervisor who was trained by the productions manager but later on resigned. The night shift works 30 minutes less than day shift but the processes are reduced.
The most probable reasons for the difference in performance in daytime and night shift are as follows; the hiring of the production manager was not appropriate since the Georgina, the CEO herself interviewed people. Given her little to no experience in business, it was evident that her hiring techniques were not proper since before hiring someone, there is always a need to do background checks on an individual. Secondly, the hiring of process workers undertaken by Hamish; the production manager may not be efficient. Hamish undertakes a lot of roles which makes it hard to effectively manage operations. Hamish is overloaded since assisted by only two other individuals; it can be a strenuous task to manage more than 40 people. The way work is allocated typically basing on mere observation of the abilities of individuals may not get the right person for the right task in the processes (Adams, 2007). The day shift involves low scope jobs, low skilled workers, and poor decision making stratagems.
Lack of team meetings during daytime jobs hinders team performance by workers since this could have provided a platform upon which the roles and tasks are clearly allocated and workers get a chance to encourage themselves and engage in team building. Lack of communication of the fundamental target of production to the workers hinders production rate (Thompson, 2013). It also costs the business huge amounts of money since there is a need to pay for overtime. The choice of loyal workers for consideration in overtime may not bear positive outcomes for the business. In fact, Hamish cannot entirely affirm that the parameters he uses for determining who the loyal workers may not exactly be perfect. On the other hand, loyal workers may not perform better than the rest of the workers.
Employee absenteeism in reporting to work is the reason why production processes during day shift are problematic. The employee turnover rate of over 100 percent signifies a lack of motivation for workers, coupled up with the fact that many of those who remain only do that because of the overtime that they are given. This brings to a consideration of Georgina’s business premises as toxic environments. Hamish’s dislike for the traditional supervisory technique of the total quality further adds as the reason for the performance difference since being a supervisor, he should be positive about it. This factor leads to the low supervision of the activities in the company (Adams, 2007). Hamish’s blunt-frank attitude is not good for the functioning of the performance of other workers. As a supervisor, he should maintain a cool demeanor to make him likable to other workers. His disappointment with the kind of remuneration he receives and lack of review of his pay level means that he will not undertake his roles as required of him. It shows that he is not motivated to perform to the best of his abilities. All these are the most likely reasons for the difference in day and night shift performances.
Georgina’s attitude of not listening to her production manager’s grumbling about wages affects the performance of the worker. On the other hand, Georgina’s ability to “fish” workers from her old firm for the night was a laudable business move. This is because these employees have a past history of great teamwork and success (Bakke & Argyris, n.d.). In addition, the fact that these workers are friends and family could mean that they do not exploit each other and work equally. These employees are likely to be motivated since they were given a pay rise after being “fished” from Georgina’s old firm. The night shift supervisor’s decision to quit for a better paying job, however, signifies that there is a difference in the remuneration system and therefore Georgina should carefully evaluate it.
There was no proper induction and training of the night supervisor and therefore he was reluctant in performing his duties (Thompson, 2013). However, the supervisor’s leaving, in fact, brought better results since the night shift workers can effectively manage themselves thereby increasing the output more than that of the day shift. This has in fact reduced the cost for Georgina’s business since not only is the supervisor’s salary retained but also the stability of the night shift employees cuts the cost of recruitment and training. Nevertheless, the night shift’s recent need for overtime and demand of a pay in recognition of their good performance may affect the overall productivity if not addressed.
How to address the issues
First, Georgina needs to address the very vital problem in the organization structure of her company. There is a need to reinstitute the organizational structure as follows; she remains the CEO of the company, establish roles as; chief operations officer, Technical Officer, Supply Manager, and Accounting Officer. Under these executives, the productions managers for both day and night shift will be established and their role will be to supervise operations. Georgina’s role as the CEO will be more of an overall supervisor and decision making in the company. The Chief Operations Officer will be in charge of formulas used and designing manufacturing procedures. The Technical Officer will be obligated to the machine and human operations and allocation of roles within the production units to appropriate individuals and will also supervise the maintenance technician. The Supply Manager will deal with be mandated to undertake negotiations of supply contracts and sales networks (Bakke & Argyris, n.d.).
Georgina’s office manager and secretary will together work under the Accounting Officer whose role will be accounting and audit while the office manager and secretary will undertake data entry. In addition, the Accounting Officer will be required to give the CEO financial advice each month and aid with any technical monetary markets as well as forex needs. This will save Georgina a good fortune as opposed to outsourcing an outside accounting firm (Miles, 2012). The production managers; one for day shift and the other for night shift will be controlling the day shift and night shift respectively. Hamish’s role will then be reduced to the hiring of process employees, supervision of truck driver and overseeing work activities.
The hiring processes to fill the positions proposed and those of the process workers must be a calculated process which follows the structure below. The vacancies should be advertised in the appropriate places as newspapers and online platforms so as to reach out to every eligible candidate and a reputable hiring firm contracted to oversee the process. This will ensure that individuals to be hired are highly qualified for their jobs. The reward packages should be communicated to the hired staff and should be attractive, fair, and accurate both to the applicant and the company (Thompson, 2013). This will avert possible future complains like those of Hamish and other workers. Clear expectations must be communicated for the hired employees so that they understand clearly their role so that they can be sure that what they applied for is what they get. This will reduce employee turnover rates due to unmet expectations. There should be background checks to cover criminal records, qualification checks, and professionalism and this will help avoid issues that Georgina had with Hamish.
The workforce in Georgina’s company is not well planned and therefore she should consider planning the workforce and this involves a strategic focus on the necessary skills, knowledge, and capability to undertake a function (Hoolasi, n.d.). As opposed to the existing model where the production manager merely observed the capabilities of the employee then assign them a role, the new scheme will ensure that Georgina’s company has the right people at the right place at the appropriate time. As opposed to Gus’s training by Hamish where he was simply shown what to do, Georgina should ensure that new workers are inducted well so that an organizational culture changes to supportive and people-oriented. Induction enhances motivation and commitment of the workers. Gus’s departure could have been avoided by giving him proper induction. Induction reduces employee turnover (Thompson, 2013).
There is a dire need for workload management in Georgina’s yogurt premises so as to maximize productivity (Wilcox, 2008). There should be a balance in the workload such that employees are not given too much work or too little work. Too much work exerts much pressure on the workers and increases absenteeism as well as errors in work and employee absenteeism and turnover was an evidence of lack of workload management. Too little on the other hand makes the workers lose focus and a good example of Georgina’s company was Gus who did not undertake his roles well (Thompson, 2013). Georgina needs to enhance employee motivation so that the workers fully concentrate, are energized, increases teamwork, and reduces errors in work. To achieve such kind of motivation, there is a need for supervisors to be advised to appreciate and value workers as opposed to Hamish’s blunt-frank attitude. Appraisal and performances should be well managed and this will specifically be for the night shift workers who have resiliently performed well. All leaders in the company should lead by example and this motivates workers. In addition, teamwork should be encouraged within the workplace as opposed to lack of team meetings for day shift workers.
The performance of every worker should be managed so as to determine which individuals perform their tasks well and who do not and hence come up with the requisite solutions to the workers who are poor in their performance (PwC, 2013). Georgina needs to cooperate with the other leaders in the firm to manage employee departures or turnover. This will be by engaging with employees frequently and even asking workers to constantly post their suggestions in the suggestion boxes. There is also a wide need to communicate issues at all levels of the company. One failure of Hamish was not communicating to workers that there was a certain target in the production rate. This led to the need for overtime and therefore pressure on workers. In addition, it became a source of bias since “loyal workers” may not be really chosen.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Georgina’s company being a start-up needs a strategic people management strategy. If the above-proposed model is undertaken, better productivity and results will be attained. The downside to the proposed model is that it is very expensive in the short term while it has great potential in the long run not only in attracting talent as a good workplace but also in being at par in the competition of the market. The leadership model above proposes a situational leadership theory where appropriate leadership will be applied depending on the situation at hand (Northouse, 2018). This will aid in aligning organizational vision and values alongside the human enterprise. There will be proper communication and clarity which helps in dealing with employee grumbling. Teamwork and motivation will be enhanced.