The book is divided into eight topics that explore the concept of personal organization. Bennis and Biederman (1997) elaborate how good organization can lead to improved performance. It may also result into enormous success by an individual. The first chapter discusses the importance of combined efforts in dealing with a challenge.
The authors are completely against individual success. Unfortunately, they note that most Americans believe in the ideal of individualism. They argue that through the American world can achieve a lot through teamwork. They propose that as the world continues to become a global village, individualism cannot prevail.
The second chapter analyses a film industry with the aim of ascertaining the importance of group work. For a movie to be successful, a lot of group work is needed. No individual person has the capability of producing a movie or a film. The combined creativity in these areas can produce impressive results.
The level of collaboration witnessed in the film industry was instrumental in attaining the greatest levels of creativity. This chapter also demonstrates how good leadership skills and competences can lead into significant growth in any business enterprise. The third chapter analyzes the growth and development of computing knowledge.
The emergence of major industry players in computer technology is also elaborated in this chapter. This reinforces the importance of great leadership in the success of a business venture. A collection of individuals with expertise skills and knowledge alongside great leadership have enabled the evolution of computing technology.
Competition is also mentioned in this chapter as a major way through which creativity and innovation activated. The fourth chapter explores how positive co-operation can build hope. A case study of President Clinton’s campaign teams has been used to elaborate the importance of collaborating.
For instance, Clinton’s campaign teams brought harmonized great minds together for the sole purpose of convincing the Americans that he was the best candidate for presidency. The achievement realized in this collaboration is attributed to proper organization. In addition, excellent leadership skills also played a vital role. These case scenarios highlight the significance of collaborating whenever certain goals have been set to be achieved.
The 1960 scientific research project has also been noted as another example of significant achievement that resulted from co-operation among individuals with a common goal. The achievements of this project revolutionized the defense forces in America. The Manhattan project wasted a lot of talent when it excluded women in executing its functions.
This chapter explores how women can play a vital role in the success of business organizations. Moreover, inadequate educational opportunity for women has led to great loss of the talent female population. The last chapters expound the lessons learned from the case scenarios and how they can be applied in leadership. Various ways through which these lessons can be applied within groups of people have been discussed.
The authors assert that the book offers a rich source of information that can be used to guide team work and small groups in organizations. This final chapter offers general advice on how to guarantee success of a business venture. The authors are quite categorical that managers should hire people who are skilled and talented. The management should also ignore gender bias when recruiting employees.
Reference
Bennis, W. & Biederman, P. W. (1997). Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration. New York, NY: Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
My Company is a small-scale enterprise whose overall purpose is to sell computers and their accessories to the public. However, the company primarily supplies computers to institutions such as schools, hospitals and hotel. This proposal is an expression of interest to supply computers to the federal institutions in the state. As earlier mentioned, our company sells computers and their accessories. In particular, we supply computers to schools, hospitals, and hotels. In addition, we offer value added services to our customer by maintaining and repairing their computers.
Thus, we aim at expanding our business by supplying computers to the federal government’s institutions in the state. In order to achieve this aim, our fundamental objective is to maintain an efficient supply of quality computers for enhancement of various processes within federal institutions as well as promoting the information technology sector and its integration to public institutions. Conversely, our corporate objective is to achieve growth through partnership with the federal government. Our Company is willing to follow all the requirements set out by the government to ensure fair and transparent procurement. First, our company has a Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) Number. Secondly, our company has undertaken Central Contractor Registration (Larson, 2006).
As a small-scale firm, we understand and appreciate the transparency and fairness in the federal procurement process despite its slow nature in concluding the awarding of the tender (Warren, 2009). However, our focus is on the immense opportunities offered by the government in its aim at computerizing various processes in different institutions in order to achieve effectiveness and proficiency. Therefore, as a computer sales company, we have strategically positioned ourselves to be part of the project. We also understand that government contracts involve huge sums of money (Warren, 2009). In this respect, we are prepared to invest heavily in the project with the help of the company’s investors and lenders.
Our firm’s monetary foundation and steady growth record are a factor that will make financing easy to undertake this noble task. In addition, we comprehend that the bureaucracy involved in government procurement lengthens the sales cycle. Therefore, as a business we have set measures to sustain our finances as we await payment for supplies. To achieve this, we intend to set up an effective logistics framework that will ensure quick delivery of supplies to the institutions. Moreover, we will promptly serve orders from the government through immediate purchases and supply of goods ordered. As a company, we have proficient computer technicians who repair and maintain the computers we supply. Furthermore, we supply computer accessories that we offer to our customers in case of damages within the twelve months after supply.
We also have a well-established marketing framework. Our company has a strong presence in the internet through our regularly updated website. Our offices are also strategically located within the state where clients can freely engage the staff in case of queries. As the managing director, I will participate in the general organization of the project. I will also be actively involved in overseeing the progress of the project. With a well-established operational framework, I will simply delegate responsibilities to my juniors. The other chief contracting officers are the purchases, supplies, and logistics managers.
The purchases manager’s role is buying the required purchases according to customer’s specification. After that, the supplies manager will take part in organizing the supplying of the products. Lastly, the logistics manager will determine how the client will receive the purchases within the shortest timeframe. Worth noting is the fact that our company embraces fulltime employment. In addition, we do not discriminate against disabled employees as guided by federal regulations (Dol.gov, 2012). Moreover, we will institute a policy to sponsor disabled students in federal schools once we win the contract, which will be part of our corporate social responsibility strategy.
In the past few decades, the world has witnessed a revolution in communication technology that has altered how organizations conduct their affairs. Consequently, social networks for organizations have emerged to assist enterprises properly collaborate within and outside their units, departments, organization-wide and countries. Technology is at the center of social collaboration enterprise. In fact, some researchers have identified social media as the new tools for communication and collaboration in the business environment. As such, there is constant and fast uptake in the application of the Internet to enhance communication and collaboration (Georgescu and Popescul 277). Modern social technologies create a sense of online community for the workforce and assist them to develop connection as they pursue business goals.
At the same time, new studies have identified critical business benefits, which organizations have attained from social collaboration (Borg 1).
Some organizations, specifically senior executives, still have difficulties comprehending the relevance and benefits of social collaboration enterprise. In addition, some firms that have attempted to adopt social collaboration normally realize that shortly after embracing the social technologies, employees lose interest, and only a few employees, if not none, continue to use such tools.
The Purpose
The purpose of this report is to demonstrate why organizations should adopt collaboration tools and enterprise social networks to enhance the concept of social collaboration enterprise while creating a competitive edge.
Hence, this report will explore some attempts to push social collaboration enterprise, the current status, outcomes and the future of the social collaboration enterprise.
Background Information
According to the most recent study conducted by Altimeter, while organizations continue to push for social collaboration enterprise, the reality is that several attempts have failed (Li 1). In fact, less than half of these initiatives have regular users (Li 1). Nevertheless, in the recent few years, social technology has transformed how individuals collaborate and communicate (Mettler and Winter 1). It is noted that there is a blurred line between personal and work life because of social technology tools. Consequently, business software developers have focused on pushing new technologies that can improve social collaboration through integrating social platforms in their software packages.
Organizations require their vital employees to work smarter, efficiently and more productively (Hamilton, Kass and Alter 2). To realize this goal, organizations need to integrate collaborative social technologies within their activities and promote collaborative behaviors to eventually change how they transform expertise into action. Social collaboration technologies should assist employees to perform their work beyond discussions and talks. It is imperative to recognize that collaboration technology platforms have existed for several years. However, organizations have never utilized these technologies to attain their full potential.
Clearly, social collaboration technologies are abundant in the marketplace. Vendors currently provide various collaboration tools to assist employees manage their tasks. Some of these tools include Chatter from Salesforce, Newsgator, Jive Software, Telligent and Yammer. In addition, AnswerHub also provides social networking services to organizations. Other social sites such as wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, user groups and file repositories among others are also vital components of social business software platforms.
It is an integrated enterprise solution with questions and answers for employees. These tools have gained popularity in the last few years. In fact, the success of Facebook triggered critical questions for both vendors and businesses. They wanted to adopt social tools that would ensure that employees worked together within and across organizations. Some research showed that a section of employees used their social media while at work, and another significant percentage of those employees often used their social media platforms for business-related issues (Holtzblatt et al. 1).
Initially, organizations used social media platforms for marketing campaigns. Today, however, firms have noted that social media platforms can also be used for knowledge management, idea generation and enhancing social ties. While these tools are widely available in organizations, some studies have shown that a significant number of organizations require their employees to engage actively with social collaboration enterprise tools (Holtzblatt et al. 1). The increased adoption of enterprise social media platforms has expressly offered opportunities for enhancing personal and work life.
Increasingly, many firms are now focusing on broader application of social media to engage employees in idea generation, discussion, refining and assessment of such ideas (Tierney and Drury 2). Enterprise social media platforms used for the above-mentioned purposes are also known as idea management tools or innovation management platforms (Tierney and Drury 2). These specialized names depict that organizations are now finding enterprise social platforms increasingly useful for various purposes.
As the current employees become more technologically savvy, they have changing needs at workplaces. Generally, they are referred to as ‘social media’ workforce, which mainly consists of employees aged between 20s and 40s. Such employees have different social behaviors that would eventually influence how organizations work. In fact, the new generation of employees would want to use their own devices at workplaces and change effortlessly between social communication and job, or conduct their roles remotely or work while on the move if they can gain access to all the necessary tools and information required (Atos 3). On this note, organizations can only attract and retain such employees when they invest in relevant devices and technologies and incorporate useful social media platforms within the enterprise to offer a favorable environment in which such employees can deliver most effectively.
Organizational change to embrace information technology is therefore necessary for modern firms (Medlin 74). This process requires organizations to identify specific social issues and determine their related constructs. Thus, companies should focus on social collaboration enterprise success while mitigating failures associated with information technology.
Organizations should, therefore, develop long-term social collaboration enterprise models or strategies to meet expectations of various stakeholders, including internal uses and external relations such as customers.
Finally, it is also necessary for organizations to realize risks associated with the use of social media platforms as they pursue social collaboration enterprise (Shullich 3). These platforms have a common attribute of user-generated content, which could expose an organization to attack. Hence, the pursuit of social collaboration enterprise requires effective management.
Methodology and Research Details
In carrying out social collaboration enterprise research, literature research methodology was used. Basically, the methodology entails in-depth reading of literature materials, analyzing and finally sorting literature materials. This is done to identify the imperative attributes of materials. Further, literature research methodology does not deal straight with the object under study. Rather, the methodology uses the “non-contact method” by accessing information from an assortment of related literature materials.
Therefore, the deliberate selecting of representative research literature is necessitated. The following principles guided processes of selecting representative literature materials for social collaboration enterprise reports.
First, the selected literature materials had authority. Worthy materials selected were from reputable authors who included article writers in renowned national magazines, expert editors of key research bases, and academicians among others. The number of times literature materials was cited helped the researchers in verifying the authority of the material. A literature material that has been cited by many writers tends to have authority.
Second, the selected literature materials were considered effective. That is, literature materials added value to the study issue by being constructive for obtaining arguments, earnest for abstracting, and conducive to the development of research thoughts. Thus, accuracy, comprehensiveness, relevance, depth, and timeliness of data were upheld. Consequently, they led to logical scientific conclusions.
Third, the literature materials used were considered reliable. Reliable literature materials are authentic with accurate and verified facts that are not subject to modification. The content of the literature material faithfully portrayed the truth paying attention to accuracy on dates and data.
Fourth, the literature materials used had purposefulness by being relevant for the research subject. The theoretical base of the matter under study was a typical example of the selected literature materials. Researchers then used the material to study the past trends and forecast the future issues pertinent to the issue.
Issues
Some studies and professional points of view highlight critical challenges for social collaboration enterprise. As previously mentioned, many senior executives are yet to acknowledge the relevance of social collaboration enterprise. Consequently, it is noted that the landscape of social collaboration is characterized by failed outcomes. In fact, it was observed that not more than half of enterprise collaboration technologies deployed have many regular users. Multiple issues have been identified that could curtail the success of social collaboration enterprise.
Collaboration that lacks clear values may not work for all employees
Processes and people are ignored as attention shifts to technologies
Some organizations may not use the most effective social collaboration technologies
Employees, in some instances, opt for knowledge hoarding
Reluctance to adopt new social collaboration due to past failures
Most organizations are overwhelmed by technology choices
Failure to demonstrate management buy-in
Difficulties in measuring value
The answers to these issues are not simple because they are responsible for massive failures in social collaboration enterprise efforts. These challenges result from mistakes that organizations make when they decide to adopt social collaboration technologies.
Findings
Most social collaboration tools for enterprises have failed because of the failure to attain senior executive or middle-level managers’ buy-in. It is generally acknowledged that organizational culture that supports social collaboration should always begin at the top. Senior-level managers should be actively engaged in developing a culture of social collaboration with the right tools. Hence, they must go beyond allowing employees to use such tools in their organizations. At the same time, middle-level managers should also play their critical roles in promoting social collaboration in their departments. Such managers are responsible for the tactical implementation of organizational and executive visions. Hence, they should create a corporate culture that encourages employees to adopt new technologies. As such, middle-level managers should understand the overall benefits of social collaboration technologies to avoid failures.
It has also been observed that in most instances senior executives are reluctant to change and, therefore, tend to continue with traditional practices because of their positions. Challenges experienced with senior executives often result from failure to understand how social collaboration technologies would benefit the organization and lack of technical know-how to use such new tools.
In this case, it is recommended that senior executives should be given a step-by-step guide on how social collaboration technologies would work, how they can use them and demonstrate the expected outcomes and benefits. While the new generation of workforce may champion social collaboration technologies, it is still necessary for support to come from senior executives. In this case, senior executives and managers should publicly and regularly use social collaboration technologies to communicate with employees while developing transparency and trust in the organization.
Another critical issue identified is how to measure value from social collaboration enterprise. It is difficult to assess return on investment of social collaboration. Hence, it is equally difficult to determine its value. Social collaboration technologies can be evaluated in terms of meetings and their values. Hence, the value of social collaboration technologies can only be derived from the interaction among individuals communicating or interactions noted in during meetings.
Alternatively, organizations should simply research to determine costs associated with social collaboration technologies against increased productivity in an organization.
Many organizations fail to attain social collaboration enterprises because of failure to develop effective collaboration strategy. Surveys have identified that many organizations lack collaboration strategies and expect it to grow organically (Coleman 1). In fact, it emerges from a new generation of employees, who are technologically well informed. While management may initiate a social collaboration strategy and plan for the adoption of social collaboration tools, such cases could be rare.
In addition, some organizations completely lack plans, and employees just rely on social networking tools they have used before, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook among others. Employees included corporate contents in their communications. Organizations will face the challenge of identifying goals and results from collaboration activities. In this case, an external consultant can assist a company to develop goals and outcomes for social collaboration processes. Stakeholders must be involved in the processes to limit possible cases of resistance.
Technology vendors with social collaboration tools promising better results are numerous. Consequently, organizations often face the challenge of picking the best tools for their social networking activities. Several vendor solutions exist that nearly do the same tasks for organizations. Nevertheless, an IT department can always recommend specific solutions. The choice is always daunting. On this note, it is recommended that organizations should focus on outcomes rather than technologies. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the needs of end-users and expected outcomes. This process will require stakeholder assessment and work on identifying technology solutions that would assist employees and the organization to attain the preferred objectives.
Organizations may also be reluctant to initiate new social collaboration enterprise efforts because of past failures. Employees may attempt to resist general collaboration tools such as SharePoint, but support tools that deliver benefits that all stakeholders can notice. Hence, organizations should find specific solutions developed for specific collaboration processes to control resistance.
Knowledge hoarding is a major challenge for social collaboration enterprise. Information attains multiple values when it is shared. However, that value diminishes when employees hoard information. Organizations should develop transparent processes while developing trust among employees. Hoarding information is a behavioral dysfunctional issue. Thus, the best solution should come from managers and senior executives when they openly contribute on social collaboration platforms without hoarding vital information from juniors.
The main purpose of the social collaboration network is to enhance the collective sharing of ideas and knowledge. In most companies, ideas usually emanate from senior executives and then disseminate to junior employees, but such ideas are not subjected to real discussions or contributions from employees. It is imperative to note that these organizations also acknowledge contributions and feedback from their employees. Traditionally, executives have however not developed a culture of two-way communication in their organizations and across departments. It is expected that social collaboration technologies will help organizations to overcome such traditional communication barriers. Hence, it would be simple for any employee with viable contributions to submit and receive feedback.
Today’s workplace is characterized by information overload. Hence, they spend much time tracking down vital information and resources and perhaps organizational experts they require to obtain vital information. Social collaboration technologies will help organizations and employees to overcome such challenges because all employees will have opportunities to engage directly with subject matter experts and benefit from the collective expertise of the workforce. These platforms offer opportunities for employees to engage with each other in real-time and crowd-source ideas and feedback. Hence, it becomes easier for employees to ask and answer questions, analyze and solve issues while leveraging existing knowledge within the company.
Organizations that implement social collaboration tools tend to concentrate on technology rather than employees and processes (Avanade 5). In fact, too much emphasis is put on technology at the expense of solutions and outcomes. Organizations must focus on their employees and critical behavioral issues because these factors can derail the adoption of social collaboration tools. They must, therefore, develop sustainable relationships and encourage employees to use such technologies to overcome notable barriers in social collaboration networks. As the IT department implement social collaboration technologies, they should also focus on the best solutions and strategies that would meet the diverse needs of employees across the organization.
It has also been observed that some social collaboration initiatives fail because adoption and usage are made mandatory. It is difficult to force social collaboration between people. In fact, mandatory adoption often fails. Instead, senior executives, managers, and IT teams should strive to demonstrate to employees the relevance of social collaboration and show how such new initiatives will benefit the organization and all employees through simplifying work processes. Employees are mainly interested in understanding how they will benefit from their efforts devoted to learning and using social collaborative tools.
Through aligning the possible benefits of social collaboration efforts with individual employee needs and goals as well as organizational and departmental ones, the efforts have high chances of reflecting the needs of each employee. This approach will perhaps lead to sustained adoption and usage. As organizations continue to identify benefits that they can attain from social collaboration and gain more skills in evaluating the ROI of such efforts, it is most likely that they will want to adopt such solutions. At the same time, when companies understand possible challenges, the IT department and managers can strive to avoid them and strive to determine the most appropriate time and how turning into a social enterprise can assist the company to attain its strategic business goals.
Turning into a social collaboration enterprise requires comprehension of end-user needs and habits. Social collaboration tools should assist employees to attain their full potential. In this regard, organizations should first assess how their workforces work best and critical resources they require for success. Most social collaboration technologies have vibrant analytics capabilities relative to e-mail (Krishnan and Rogers 11). As such, user preferences and adoption patterns have shifted significantly. Modern social collaboration tools allow users to gain insights about subjects and vital ideas. Consequently, they can understand an organization and relevant social dynamics that influence employee behaviors and performances. Employees are most likely to use social collaboration technologies when they offer robust analytics capabilities.
Flipboard, for instance, is a social network aggregation platform that collects the most relevant information for the day because of its robust analytical capabilities. In addition, other social collaboration technologies offer employees opportunities to learn about the trending topics and pieces of information for their companies. Organizations that implement social collaboration technologies focus on powerful means of solving common corporate challenges, enhancing collaboration and developing an enhanced sense of engagement. Social collaboration technologies build on the basics of interpersonal interaction already experienced by many employees. Thus, they create fundamental networks that can change how employees perform their duties, learn and communicate across an organization.
Failure to train end-users also results in low usage and eventual failure of social collaboration technologies. When employees lack skills to use such platforms, they will not use them. Training and development, therefore, are critical elements of social enterprises. It is based on the assumption that knowledge acquired by employees would lead to efficiency in the use of such tools. Learning about social collaboration technologies and related statistics is beneficial to organizations. It is noted that underspending has led to poor implementation of some technologies and equipment and managers fail to account for poor outcomes associated with such actions or inactions.
Finally, collaboration is not great for all employees. Hence, organizations should develop a collaboration strategy as an element of a critical process that leverages collaboration tools. Organizations should focus on business processes that require collaborative leverage and then develop a benchmark metric prior to the introduction of collaboration technologies to such processes. Outcomes should be compared with outcomes after the introduction of such tools to determine their benefits.
Social collaboration enterprise requires organizations to develop a strong sense of community. Employees tend to perform better when they feel as a part of a larger community that is focusing and contributing to a meaningful goal. In most circumstances though, employees feel disengaged from critical organizational goals and objectives. In addition, it is not clear how they contribute or fit into these goals and differences they make. The purpose of social collaboration tools is to help employees to overcome such barriers through open communication and contribution that cut across the entire organization. Thus, senior executives, managers, and employees can work together towards a shared vision. Besides, social collaboration technologies provide platforms that can be used to recognize the contribution of employees publicly and create networks that foster peer-to-peer collaboration. The strategy results in a deeply engaged community of employees.
Overall, social collaboration enterprise relies on “social media and Next-Generation Communications technologies (integrated voice, mobile, video, instant messaging / chat, and presence) to foster increased teamwork and knowledge sharing, to improve business outcomes” (Aberdeen Group 1). Successful organizations have applied these tools to drive efficiency in their current business processes. As such, they have enhanced functions of various roles using social collaboration technologies to create social enterprises.
Conclusion
This report has explored various aspects of social collaboration enterprise. It shows that the current landscape is characterized by a myriad of challenges, which can be managed through effective strategies and adoption. Thus, for organizations to realize social collaboration enterprise, strategies, outcomes, and benefits should be clear and specific to all stakeholders. Such an approach will have buy-in from all employees and executives.
It is imperative to recognize that collaboration is inevitable because of notable changes in workplaces brought about by technologies, new ways of doing tasks, changing organizational structures, workforce dynamics, and talent wars. Despite all these shifts, organizations must realize that social collaboration enterprises should be people-driven and not technological pursuits. Thus, it can only take place when there is a culture of working together and leveraging human capital to transform business processes for success. Hence, social collaboration enterprise will be the new future.
Works Cited
Aberdeen Group. Enterprise Social Collaboration: The Collaborators’ Advantage. 2013. Web.
Atos. Enterprise Social Collaboration for a Better Way of Working. 2012. Web.
Avanade. Global Survey: Is enterprise social collaboration living up to its promise? 2013. Web.
Borg, Andrew. “Why Enterprise Social Collaboration Means Business.” InformationWeek. 2013. Web.
Coleman, David. “Pitfalls of Enterprise Collaboration (and the Solutions).” CMSWire. 2015. Web.
Georgescu, Mircea and Daniela Popescul. “Social Media – The New Paradigm of Collaboration and Communication for Business Environmen.” Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015): 277–282. Print.
Hamilton, Mary, Alex Kass and Allan E. Alter. “How collaboration technologies are improving process, workforce and business performance.” Outlook Point of View 2 (2013): 1-5. Print.
Holtzblatt, Lester, Jill L. Drury, Daniel Weiss, Laurie E. Damianos and Donna Cuomo. “Evaluating the Uses and Benefits of an Enterprise Social Media Platform.” Journal of Social Media for Organizations 1.1 (2013): 1-22. Print.
Krishnan, Krish and Shawn P. Rogers. Social Data Analytics: Collaboration for the Enterprise. Waltham, MA: Elsevier, 2014. Print.
Li, Charlene. “Why No One Uses the Corporate Social Network.” Harvard Business Review. 2015. Web.
Lin, Guijuan. “Higher Education Research Methodology: Literature Method.” International Education Studies 2.4 (2009): 179-181. Print.
Medlin, B. Dawn. Integrations of Technology Utilization and Social Dynamics in Organizations. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2012. Print.
Mettler, Tobias and Robert Winter. “Are business users social? A design experiment exploring information sharing in enterprise social systems.” Journal of Information Technology (2015): 1-14. Print.
Shullich, Robert. Risk Assessment of Social Media. 2012. Web.
Tierney, Mary Lou and Jill Drury. “Continuously Improving Innovation Management through Enterprise Social Media.” Journal of Social Media for Organizations 1.1 (2013): 1-17. Print.
The society has developed sophisticated ways of promoting various activities including trade interactions within and outside a country. Competition among business enterprises has forced many firms to think of various ways of structuring their firms in order to stand high chances of competing effectively with other firms. It should be noted that a successful business relies on the strategies set by the directors and managers through the policies and professional codes that ensure work is done correctly (Horan 2007). In addition, the structures of various organizations help management delegate most of their duties to other staff members. This discussion focuses on Boffy Company and how lateral and vertical collaborations have been used within the organization.
Main Body
Boffy Company was founded by Daniel Boffy about fifty years ago on the basis of mastering highly ranked technical skills in the aeronautics and automotive sectors among other demanding industrial products. He later sold the firm to a similar company about ten years ago. The management of this firm is headed by a Board of Directors which acts as surveillance unit on the firm’s activities. Most of the firm’s clients are business people and companies (Todeva 2011). The European Community played a major role of extending the firm’s market to Greece, England, Portugal and Norway. The firm has since adopted vertical and lateral structures in order to achieve the goals and targets set. The Chief Executive Officer and the Chair of the Board occupy the top offices in the firm. They supervise all activities of the Board Members including the Managers and Supervisors of various units. In addition, the firm has various units that foresee the effective running of the firm’s processes. Every department has a manager, assistant manager, foreman and workers.
The roles of these units are grouped into operating, control and pre-strategy levels. The Commercial Department deals with all activities that involve marketing of the company’s products (Todeva 2011). They also carry out market surveys and studies aimed at establishing the best strategies for promoting the firm’s products. The Production Department deals with the study of the evolution of various raw materials in order to improve on the quality of the company’s products. Technology issues are handled by the Maintenance and Repair Department while the Data System Department carries out surveys to adopt the most efficient software and hardware to be used in various sectors of the firm (Todeva 2011). The Quality Survey Department conducts frequent studies on the quality of goods supplied and received to and from the company’s clients respectively. The Accounting and Administration sector is answerable to external auditors who visit the firm on regular basis to audit the firm’s accounts. The firm has three units (aerospace, automotive and general industry) whose departments work in coordination with each other to ensure the objectives and targets set by the firm’s management are met. The firm has various processes that ensure all activities are carried out effectively. They include; commercial, new product or service, production, supplies and raw materials, investment and social processes that are connected and rely on each other for effective running of the firm.
Conclusion
The structuring of various departments in an organization aims at increasing efficiency in production and promotion of accountability by every member. Businesses that have many structures find it easy to manage their affairs compared to those with few structures since it is easy to point out and help departments that are weak.
References
Horan, J. (2007). The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations. California: The One Page Business Plan Company.
Todeva, E. (2011). Business Networks: Strategy and Structure (Routledge Studies in Business Organizations and Networks). New York: Routledge.
Collaboration entails working together in order to achieve the desired results. It is said that when people work together they tend to be stronger compared to when they work separately. In other instances, individuals in a study group perform different tasks and thereafter merge their efforts to present a complete work. Collaboration is characterized by voluntary use of materials or approaches to learning, equal representation, mutual goals, shared resources and outcomes (Friend & Cook, 2007) This paper focuses on the various elements of collaboration and also the demerits of collaboration. The attributes discussed include respect, active listening, trust, parity, and shared responsibility.
Attributes of Collaboration
In a typical classroom setting the students come from various backgrounds hence when they decide they want to work together they should respect each other regardless of one’s background. To maximize the usefulness of group work, a group should have a maximum of four members because if it has so many members it will be difficult to manage it. It is common for a student to excel in certain subjects and fail in others hence when a group is being established the members of that group should consider the task ahead and observe their weaknesses and strengths to see whether they match.
Duckworth (2006) argues that this is because if they have the same weaknesses they may not achieve the mission of the group. For instance, if a group comprises of students who are weak in sciences that group may not bring the expected results hence its important to address the strengths of group members from the start. When group work commences the students who are in those groups should know that they are all equal hence no one should see himself as being superior to others. It is good to highlight on this issue because there are some students who seek to dominate their group members hence when decisions are being made they want their views to be final.
Such students think they know too much while they know nothing. If a group is used appropriately it can provide an extra learning opportunity. This is because a group can be requested to tackle a question that was previously discussed in class thus those who belong to that group will understand the topic in question because they are familiar to it. Again the members who did not grasp anything when the topic was being taught in class have a chance to learn more about it because this time its being presented by someone who is familiar to them hence they are not afraid of asking questions.
When an issue is being tackled in a group, members should openly and whole heartedly share their views with fellow students concerning the topic in question because when they keep their views to themselves they are denying themselves a chance to be corrected because their views could be wrong.
Additionally, when a member is presenting his/her views the other members should use polite language when correcting his/her argument because using offensive language can make one feel annoyed and they may loose their self esteem. Thus, all members should be given an equal opportunity to present their opinions even when they are wrong since the intention of forming a discussion group was to sharpen each other (Walker, 2009).
Trust is also very important in a group. According to Scheiter and Catrambone (2004), trust develops when members continue to interact with each other even prior to the formation of the group. Members of a group should not be specifically be good friends but should be people who know each other because in that way they will be able to communicate effectively without doubting each other. Many are times when students form groups based on their friendships which may not work well for the group.
Each group member should perform the assigned task accordingly because if he/she does not do it thoroughly the impacts of his/her inefficiency will be experienced by the entire group. There are some students who join discussion groups just for the sake of being in one but they are not active. Such members are usually absent on most occasions and they don’t take any role in the group (Friend & Cook, 2007). That’s why it is recommended that each member be assigned a specific role and if they are not up to it they should be ejected from the group. It’s better to have a group that has few members who are very active and committed to the group.
There are some groups that fail to accomplish their designated tasks because they are comprised of jokers and because in a group there is no an overseer; everyone is expected to be responsible of his actions. There are various methods which can be employed by a group. First the problem to be solved should be split into several parts which are then assigned to specific members of the group. Each member should be given time to collect the required facts but there should be a specific day when these facts should be tabled before the group.
On the material day the student who is giving his/her views concerning the subject should be made to present it like a lecture to the others. The person should assume the role of a teacher while giving his/her findings. Lecturing others builds the students’ confidence because when they do it on several occasions they will get used to speaking in public. It is therefore certain that discussion groups prepare students for public speaking because the intensity of confidence that is required while addressing large crowds is usually developed gradually through such groups.
Once the views have been presented the group members should analyze the same views collectively to justify their correctness and should any errors be found they should be corrected. Members are bound to have conflicts while analyzing their views because different people have different opinions but these conflicts should be solved smoothly to ensure the group remains focused on its mandate. Critics should not just object to the views presented just for the sake of being heard but they should do so when they are sure that the views presented are not satisfactory.
Friend and Cook (2000) explain that if a member experiences any difficulty in his/her assigned role he/she should seek help from group members. This is the concept of shared responsibility in which group members try as it is humanly possible to help each other. The group members must also be prepared to chip in when a group member requests them to do so. This normally happens when the task to be dealt with is complex. However, when laziness crops in, the meaning of shared responsibility and resources might be difficult to achieve because some members may see themselves as delivering more than their counterparts.
Conclusion
Group work is intended to add value to an individual’s performance. But this benefit can only be realized when group members are committed to the success of their group. In learning, discussions or study groups, collaboration is characterized by trust, respect, active listening, and shared responsibility. These attributes enhance decision making, interactions, and a sense of ownership within a group. However, not all members are equal and it can be difficult to constitute a productive study group. Therefore, every group should develop its own mechanism of ejecting non- performing members because if such members are allowed to continue being members of that group they may drag it down hence it will not fulfill its intended purpose.
References
Duckworth, E.R. (2006.).”The having of wonderful ideas” and other essays of teaching and learning. 3rd Ed. New York: Teachers College Press.
Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2007). Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals 5th Ed. Boston: Pearson/ Allyn & Bacon.
Scheiter, P.G & Catrambone, R. (2004).”Designing instructional examples to reduce intrinsic cognitive load: molar versus modular presentation of solution procedures”. Instructional Science. 32 (1): 33-58.
Automotive Sales Company is going to cooperate with a new luxury Hotel, providing no less than five different car brands. In this situation, work teams need to get ready for a change and tight cooperation. In order to develop a positive culture within them and ensure that the cases of misunderstanding are minimalized, it is vital for the personnel to be aware of their duties and responsibilities:
General manager is to monitor the whole situation in the organization, focusing on daily operations and doing his/her best to ensure that they facilitate the growth of the business (Reh, 2017). Moreover, this professional is to work with other employees and coordinate performance goals set by the leaders. He/she supports the development of tactical programs and ensures delivery and quality of products and services. In addition to that, much attention is paid to reporting of results and strategic planning.
Sales manager should focus on planning and budgeting. He/she is to ensure that the sales targets are met, developing strategies and techniques needed for it. The professional should map potential clients and deal with band promotion. Motivating team members, he/she should deliver desired results. In addition to that, he/she is to focus on relationships with clients, improving them constantly.
Finance manager is to work with financial information, predicting future trends (Bragg, 2017). In particular, he/she is responsible for its collection, interpretation, and reviewing. This professional should provide advice on how the current condition in the company can be improved and prepare financial reports. He/she should manage a budget, ensuring that the change will not have any critical influence on the organization.
Automotive engineer is to deal with automotive design. He/she should develop specifications and calibrate vehicle systems. In addition to that, the professional need to set estimated costs for design alteration or modification. He/she should deal with automotive testing and manage engineering documentation.
Workshop manager is to ensure that all team members receive required information about work surroundings and peculiarities. He/she deals with the analysis of current procedures and outlines a range of desired changes. This professional monitors workflow and provides required advice. In addition to that, he/she focuses on relationships with clients.
After sales manager is to make everything possible to enhance sales in the future and ensure that customers are satisfied with the obtained services and products. He/she is to establish contact with clients and resolve any occurred issues. The professional has to deal with promotional and marketing campaigns and develop strategies needed to improve customer satisfaction. Focusing on current sales, he/she is to consider the future of the company.
When implementing change in the organization, it is significant to conduct a gap analysis to identify if it is successful. For this purpose, Automotive Sales Company will focus on both revenue and profit (Kesmetis, 2017). Current monthly and annual sales and profit will be calculated in order to compare it with the changes observed after the cooperation with Hotel. Then, the desired goal will be identified so that the gap can be clearly seen. On the basis of this information, professionals will state what actions are to be undertaken to reach the goal through the provision of luxury cars. For instance, attention can be paid to the selection of car brands.
As the organization is going to provide new services and products, the personnel is to deal with new accountabilities to meet performance plans. It is vital to ensure that all of them have those skills that allow them to follow set KPIs:
General manager should communicate the peculiarities of the change to the personnel. He/she is to ensure their understanding of the cooperation with Hotel so that each work team facilitates it. The professional should set goals associated with the project for all teams and monitor their performance. In this way, he/she will be sure that appropriate car brands are selected and offered to the client. His/her performance can be assessed when focusing on personnel performance and satisfaction as well as the accomplishment of the project goals.
Sales manager is to develop budgeting for the use of luxury cars. He/she should concentrate on Hotel’s characteristics as the major client of the company and identify the price of provided services as well as its possible alterations. This professional should reach particular sales every month and year; in this way, his/her performance can be assessed.
Finance manager should gather information about the current financial situation at the company, consider changes associated with new services and make sure that the desired financial goals are achieved. He/she need to analyze data related to Hotel and selected car brands, ensuring that they will not have an adverse effect on the company. The way the budget is managed should be discussed when assessing his/her performance. Expenses are to be minimalized while revenue should increase.
Automotive engineer should select car brands for Hotel and test vehicle systems. He/she needs to consider the possibility of necessity to make modifications as well. Repair and associated costs should be discussed.
Workshop manager is to make sure that the personnel perform their duties appropriately and successfully cope with new duties. His/her performance can be discussed when focusing on his/her cooperation with the staff.
After sales manager should make sure that Hotel is satisfied with provided services and that Automotive Sales Company manages to benefit from their cooperation. He/she is also to think how these achievements can be improved in the future, providing various plans.
Meeting their KPIs, the members of the staff ensure that they will meet organizational goals and make the change successful for the company. However, they may fail to do it if they lack information about the project. Personal resistance to change or unwillingness to cooperate with the work teams may also cause this problem. It is possible that professionals do not have all required knowledge and skills and additional training is needed. This motivation should also be considered (Marr, 2015). In addition to that, they may fail to understand their roles and duties even though they were discussed by the management. In this situation, attention should be paid to communication policy.
At Automotive Sales Company, communication is the main tool of efficient and effective business management (Morley, n.d.). It provides an opportunity to share information, develop positive environment, create good relationships with colleagues and clients, and resolve occurring problems.
When performance issues are notices, corrective actions should be implemented to make sure that the personnel makes alterations and performs its duties appropriately. This procedure starts with a verbal warning that is used in case of minimal issues. Disciplinary meetings and written warnings are also used (“Disciplinary action company policy,” 2018). They are followed by the reduction of benefits, suspension, and termination.
As a general manager, I will do my best to make sure that Automotive Sales Company cooperates with Hotel successfully. Being a role model, I will encourage work teams to shape positive environment based on mutual cooperation and respect. I will meet all targeted goals, showing the personnel that it is possible to follow the plan. Noticing that the staff has issues, I will develop ways to overcome them, supporting them instead of punishing. Available resources will be allocated so that everyone will have equal access to them.
References
Bragg, S. (2017). Finance manager job description. Web.
Group learning encompasses interaction among group members in the process of sharing knowledge. Group learning has its dynamics as each member is expected to contribute to the overall learning objective. Thus, this reflective paper provides an overview of group activities, learning experiences, and suggestions on how to improve group collaboration dynamics in undertaking the group online class assignment in the development of communication instruments in the tourism industry.
Organizational Activities
In the group assignment, I intend to address the concerns of communication in the organization since in encoding and decoding information, it is critical to balance the wanted and unwanted grapevine (Argyris and Schon 1996). Thus, in reviewing performance based on feedback received, I will be categorical in offering recommendations to organization human resource management teams to handle the voluntary information with care to boost trust and confidentiality that form the pinnacle of organizational behavior. Therefore, I will critically endeavor to balance the feedback with the goals of such organizations as a remedy towards inclusiveness and active participation which translates into desirable performance in the tourism industry.
Through training of then evaluation and performance reviewers, I will establish a clear line between informal and formal office grape vines which foster a unique culture among employees. Reflectively, I will introduce a complete 360 degree feedback process that will helpboost morale and maintaining desirable confidence levels (Garvin, Edmondson and Gino 2008). The process should be inclusive of structured evaluation and progress reporting tools. Among the key issues that I will address, there are motivation, empowerment, and training (Argyris and Schon 1996). Reflectively, these factors should be internalized in the human resource management system to foster a proactive attitude among the staff in the tourism industry (Garvin, Edmondson and Gino 2008). Among the motivation enhancing practices I will dwell on, there areincentives, promotions, rewards, and recognition in the online class group assignment.
I will also establish proactive cultural perspective learning based on the premise that organizational learning is done by key individuals in the organization whose actions then influence the organizational change. On the hand, cultural perspective is based on the foundation that organizations learn because they have the capabilities just like those that a human possesses, which allows him or her to learn. Therefore, cognitive perspective on organizational learning is viewed by Cook and Yanow (2005) as a compliment to the cultural perspective.
Learning Experience
I learnt that cognitive perspective influences contribution from each member of the group unequivocally for learning at the individual level while the cultural perspective on the other hand focuses on learning on a collective level. Furthermore, cultural perspective is closely linked to those epistemological approaches that support collective learningfor each member of the group was from a different culture (Assmann 1995). However, I learnt that the basic problem that arises from the application of group learning is the fact that it is not possible to see cognition occurring in a group of different individuals doing the same project.
The cognitive perspective of our group learning was based on the assumption that “all deliberate actions had a cognitive basis, that it reflected the norms, strategies and assumptions as models of the world which had claimed to general validity and that human action and learning could be placed in the larger context of knowing” (Argyris and Scan 1996, p. 10). Consequently, we assumed that cognition has been attained when members noticed changes in the feedback pattern of activities that result from actions of each member of the group (Cook and Yanow 2005). From cultural perspectives, I leant that group learning is not possible unless some learning first takes place in the course subculture.
In summary, I discovered that group learning is a learning process that focuses on the individual learning in a group context and a model for understanding some types of group activities that demand contribution from each member (Cook and Yanow 2005).
Improving Group Collaboration Dynamics
Reflectively, group assignment effectiveness should be the corner stone for modelling acceptable learning outcome between the tutor and class members (Garvin, Edmondson and Gino 2008). Specifically, I would recommend that the policies we adopted should be aligned to the basic building blocks of performance and scope of the assignment.
In addition, I would suggest that the group behavior should be aligned within four models of group collaboration dynamics. These models are the motivation to acquire, bond, comprehend, and defend (Garvin, Edmondson and Gino 2008). Therefore, a proactive behavior control system should function within a structured group learning system. When the system functions within accepted parameters, every group member will eventually develop a self consciousness to deliver quality response and defend the group’s outcome as part of a family unit (Carson 2006).
Conclusion
Group collaboration dynamics are influenced by several factors such as motivation, promotion, and structured feedback system that an assignment requires. However, objectives aimed at balancing performance and behaviorof the group should be alignedwith the aims of the assignment. Any cases of deviation from the goals of the assignment can easily be addressed through group cooperation and assistance as each member will endeavor to facilitate the learning experience.
Where do you see the future of e-collaboration going?
E-Collaboration, which can be defined as the process of individuals using electronic means to fulfill tasks in a cooperative manner, has undergone numerous changes over the years. In the earlier years, text-based tools in the form of emails were the most common implementation of e-collaboration. In addition to this, e-collaboration was mostly restricted to large scientific research institutes. Over the years, this has changed as organizations and individuals alike have begun to appreciate the power of e-collaboration. With technological advancements that have been made, the technical boundaries that once limited e-collaboration are also being overcome. High bandwidth capabilities have enabled audio and video transmissions to be made in real-time therefore resulting in the creation of tools that do not only rely on text. Also, tools that allow for asynchronous work to be done on projects have been developed leading to an increase in interaction and higher levels of involvement for the participants.
While progress has been made in e-collaboration, the future promises even more change. At the present, most of the e-collaboration tools are designed for use on a PC or a laptop. With the development of phones that have greater processing and storage capabilities, e-collaboration may in the future include greater use of mobile devices. This will result in greater collaboration since mobile devices are not only more portable but they are significantly cheaper than desktop computers.
Another interesting notion for the future of e-collaboration is the use of avatars in the interaction in virtual environments. While the traditional e-collaborative tools which are text-based and sometimes multimedia based are sufficient in some situations, avatars will result in the giving of a “personality” to the person in virtual space. Once this idea is fine-tuned and fully implemented in e-collaboration, it is conceivable that people will be attending virtual meetings by use of their avatars. This will result in closer to “real life” interaction between the e-collaboration participants therefore generating higher productivity as a result of familiarity and confidence.
How will you do business differently knowing what you know now?
When doing business, my main objective would be to maximize my profits. This is mostly achieved by making sure that I am ahead of the competition. This perception is counter-productive since the scale of what I can achieve is limited since as an individual, my capacity is relatively small. My knowledge of e-collaboration dictates that to be able to achieve more, I have to be willing to collaborate with my competitors to come up with novel ideas by increasing the “resource pool”. The collaboration will result in a more and better idea which will be beneficial to both my competitors and my business. In addition to this, e-collaboration with my other business entities may result in a reduction in my cost of doing business which will mean that my business will make more profit in the long run.
One of the major advantages of e-collaboration is that it enables people to work together from differing physical locations. This is a significant realization since physical separation is a major hindrance to the collaborative development of ideas as the implementation of physical meetings is expensive. With my knowledge of the use of central repositories and other e-collaboration tools, physical separation will not be an issue since people from different branches of the business will be able to access centralized resources as well as discuss online from their independent locations. In addition to this, the issue of rapid product development will be solved through e-collaboration. Currently, most products have to be produced promptly to ensure their relevance to the consumer as well as maximize an organization’s profits. Collaboration assists this since by using e-collaboration, rapid research and development can be made possible as different departments of a company exploit the efficiency that e-collaboration tools offer.
My General Opinions on what I have learned from this class
In this class, I have acquired knowledge on not only how to create an e-collaboration environment but also on what can be regarded as best practices when using e-collaborative tools. It is invaluable information since while having a working knowledge of e-collaboration tools is good, having the ability to initiate an e-collaboration process is essential if one is to serve as a virtual team leader. A detailed analysis of the e-collaborative tools helped to highlight how e-collaboration has been evolving from the text-only era to becoming more interactive hence more user-friendly.
The lesson also emphasized the “people” aspect of e-collaboration. It is because, in practice, it is people who collaborate to achieve the desired outcome. In my opinion, the lesson on leadership roles and team participation in a virtual environment was particularly enlightening since if the people in the e-collaboration environment do not work together well, nothing valuable will get done. From the class, I also learned that one of the most important aspects of e-collaboration is placing resources (data, files e.t.c) in a central location that is accessible to all relevant parties. In addition to this, the lesson offered information on how e-collaboration tools can be made more engaging to ensure the active participation of all users.
The ability to think ahead and minimize unnecessary losses that can be avoided remains critical to financial success in the world of business. Nowadays, there is a range of approaches to resource control and planning that help various companies meet the needs of target customers. In this post, attention is paid to the ability to use JIT, MRP, or the combination of these approaches to facilitating collaboration between Feets (a chain of sportswear stores) and shoe vendors.
Being a large company headquartered in the United States, Feets is interested in building fruitful relationships with new vendors. To become effective business partners, shoe vendors need to choose an appropriate production planning framework, and the combination of JIT and MRP can be helpful. MRP is a logistic model that emphasizes the role of sales forecasts in production, whereas JIT focuses on the role of actual orders. Despite the differences between these approaches, it is possible to combine them to create an integrated framework.
Even though its flexibility is relatively low, MRP possesses numerous advantages to shoe vendors at Feets, such as the availability of production materials, fast delivery of goods to end-users, and the ability to collect data to be used for the purpose of analysis (Segerstedt, 2017). In general, the benefits of the model can be reduced to the accuracy of calculations coupled with the availability of data indicative of the popularity of different goods. In other words, the use of MRP systems by Feets shoe vendors would help to keep track of key trends and build accurate production schedules. Apart from that, when speaking about the advantages of MRP for shoe vendors, attention must be paid to the fact that such systems can be extremely helpful in the production of various seasonal goods. Thus, it is possible to use information concerning demand in order to solve issues related to staff shortage and similar problems upon reasonable notice.
JIT would also provide shoe vendors with new opportunities since the system emphasizes the production of goods in demand, and, therefore, it would contribute to the attractiveness of new vendors for the company under discussion. As is stated in the case, Feets relies on productivity when collaborating with vendors, and very large orders are preferred from efficiency and economic rationalization considerations (Chopra & Meindl, 2013). Shoe vendors can benefit from the use of JIT because it supports the principle of orderliness and allows minimizing space required for storage, reduces the probability of spoilage, and, consequently, helps to save financial resources (Othman, Kaliani Sundram, Sayuti, & Bahrin, 2016). However, these advantages are more applicable to small businesses, whereas shoe vendors, in this case, will need to work with a large sportswear retailer.
It is clear that both MRP and JIT can be advantageous to shoe vendors working with Feet because the benefits of these systems are reflective of the company’s requirements and expectations, such as operational flexibility, reduced lead times, promptness of order fulfillment, and appropriate inventory turnover. The necessity to create an integrated system using the advantages of MRP and JIT can involve significant challenges. Thus, these two approaches can be in conflict if specific goals are not set (Ezema, Okafor, & Okezie, 2016). Being a fashion-oriented company, Feets values accurate customer behavior forecasts, and shoe vendors responsible for manufacturing should be able to respond to customers promptly. Among the key objectives surrounding the creation and the implementation of an integrated production system is the distribution of tasks between the two approaches under discussion.
The use of an integrated approach to product manufacturing would help shoe vendors collaborating with Feet to execute orders in a timely manner. In the final system, the elements of MRP would be responsible for fulfilling three important tasks. First, it would allow solving tasks related to production materials, their availability, and quality. To start production, shoe vendors would use MRP software in order to control the presence of raw materials for shoe production such as plastic, wood, or foam (Iqbal, Iqbal, Bhatti, Ahmad, & Zahid, 2016). Also, the software would be helpful in ensuring the appropriate quality of materials and keeping track of the situation with finished products. The elements of the JIT framework would help shoe vendors to maintain production efficiency and prevent financial losses by managing production waste and minimizing the share of faulty goods.
Supposing that vendors manufacture shoes in China, Feets is in a more advantageous position due to lower production costs and the lack of staff shortage. In spite of that, additional shipping expenses (Feets is based in the United States) and even the “made in China” stigma would require shoe vendors to make maximum use of the integrated approach to production and design a unique defect reduction strategy (Bienenfeld, Botkins, Roe, & Batte, 2016). Also, considering shipping costs, human errors during the preparation for delivery would need to be eliminated.
In the end, the production strategy at the confluence of JIT and MRP approaches would be more likely to present a pull system due to product seasonality. Apart from that, significant changes in customer preferences and high competition would require shoe vendors to avoid overproduction and focus on actual orders received from Feets. Given the correct application of the system, it would be extremely helpful to shoe vendors.
References
Bienenfeld, J. M., Botkins, E. R., Roe, B. E., & Batte, M. T. (2016). Country of origin labeling for complex supply chains: The case for labeling the location of different supply chain links. Agricultural Economics, 47(2), 205-213.
Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2013). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning, and operations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Ezema, C. N., Okafor, E. C., & Okezie, C. C. (2016). Multi-objective flexible job-shop scheduling and control of JIT systems. European Journal of Advances in Engineering and Technology, 3(12), 16-22.
Iqbal, M., Iqbal, N., Bhatti, I. A., Ahmad, N., & Zahid, M. (2016). Response surface methodology application in optimization of cadmium adsorption by shoe waste: A good option of waste mitigation by waste. Ecological Engineering, 88, 265-275.
Othman, A. A., Kaliani Sundram, K. V. P., Sayuti, N. M., & Bahrin, A. S. (2016). The relationship between supply chain integration, just-in-time and logistics performance: A supplier’s perspective on the automotive industry in Malaysia. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 5(1), 44-51.
Segerstedt, A. (2017). Cover-time planning/Takt planning: A technique for materials requirement and production planning. International Journal of Production Economics, 194, 25-31.
How did Electrolux Chief Executive Straberg break down barriers and increase communication between departments?
Teamwork is essential in every business establishment (Bontis, Crossan & Hulland, 2002; Easterby-Smith, Thorpe & Jackson, 2012; Kotler, 2011). The Electrolux CEO broke down the barriers of communication that negatively impacted the productivity of workers and the overall performance outcomes of the firm. Before he took the drastic changes, departments were working independently, with limited communication and exchange of ideas among personnel (Ivancevich, Konopaske & Matteson, 2012). The CEO was worried that the company would lose out on cheap products in the market. There was increased competition in the United States and the company could be forced to close unless the CEO affected the drastic changes within the business establishment. He urged his marketers, designers, and engineers to work together so that they could design and produce products that could fetch good prices in the market. He believed that the quality of products of the firm could help it remain in the market, which was characterized by a high level of competition. To speed up the rate at which the communication changes could be implemented, the CEO hired business executives from business organizations that were characterized by an unrivaled history of innovation (Ivancevich et al., 2012). For example, he ensured that he recruited executives from Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo. The new executives could lead other employees in all the departments within the firm to increase their communication, which would be utilized to increase the efficiency of the organization.
What are the advantages of Electrolux of having individuals from different departments and functional areas work together on product design?
Departments within a firm specialize in certain production activities. However, all the activities are aimed at producing one final product. Coordination of production events in all sections within a company is essential because it improves the quality of products that are manufactured. At Electrolux, there were concerns that the products that were produced were of low quality (Ivancevich et al., 2012). Thus, it was prudent for the CEO to aim at linking all the departments so that people would collectively work on the product design. Coordination of events across departments has the advantage of correcting mistakes before a final product could be produced. For instance, marketers could let the production team know that the design of a product could not attract customers. Thus, product design would be changed to reflect customer needs. Also, linking activities across departments and focusing on product design has the potential to reduce production costs significantly. For example, if design errors are detected early during product design and development, then changes could be made before production is conducted. This could hinder Electrolux from incurring losses that could result from faulty products that could not enable the firm to make profits.
In an era with intense competition and several low-cost products on the market, how can Electrolux use teamwork and groups to succeed?
Electrolux needs to realize the importance of using teamwork and groups to succeed in the competitive market. The market is also characterized by low-cost products. The management team should encourage personnel to work toward achieving the goal of producing high-quality products at reduced costs (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012; Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch & Topolnytsky, 2002). Team members should be motivated to design, produce, and market unique products. High-quality products could enable the firm to have an excellent brand. Team members should be rewarded based on their innovations (Kotler, 2011; Tidd & Bessant, 2011). They should also be encouraged to share ideas with their colleagues so that they would increase their levels of production. The firm should motivate various groups and teams by offering them incentives. For example, the management could encourage teams to compete against each other so that the best team could be taken for a holiday abroad.
References
Bontis, N., Crossan, M. M., & Hulland, J. (2002). Managing an organizational learning system by aligning stocks and flows. Journal of Management Studies, 39(4), 437-469.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Jackson, P. (2012). Management research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2012). Organizational behavior and management (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Kotler, P. (2011). Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 132-135.
Meyer, J. P., Stanley, D. J., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of vocational behavior, 61(1), 20-52.
Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. (2011). Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and organizational change. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.