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The Executive summary
The CEO of the organization asked me to submit a report with recommendations on how my department could solve a number of problems within the organization.
The objective of this report, therefore, is to articulate the problems affecting the performance of the organization and devise ways of solving them in order to get the organization back on performance excellence.
My team employed a number of methods in the study. We used observation methods, camera surveillance, interviews and discussion. We identified the following problems: increased customer complaints, poor data entry and record keeping, generational groupings among the Baby Boomers, generation Y and X, dissatisfaction among the employees, stress among the employees, poor communication in the organization, high attrition rates in generation Y and X and a general lack of motivation among the employees.
After a careful study of the origin of these problems, we decided on a few changes that, if implemented, would remedy the situation in the organization. The high rate of bureaucracy in the organization needs to be scrapped and replaced with a more liberal model which gives the employees and customers a priority over the organization. The rigid system of operation will also be neutralized with a more flexible approach than the existing one.
Communication within the organization also needs to be improved, with the employees being involved in the decision making process. Communication among the employees will also be encouraged in order to avoid the existing stereotypes and suspicion. Motivation strategies will be instituted, with more concern given to employee needs and satisfaction. Non-cash incentives will be issued as rewards for good performance to employees and all employees will be treated fairly.
Introduction
Background: Our organization has been experiencing problems among the employees for some time now. This seems to have adversely affected its overall performance. This is reflected by the feedback we receive form our customers and the government. The employees have demarcated themselves into generational groups, each of which acts with suspicion of the other.
This has bred a culture of hatred among the senior, middle and young employees, thus, the lack of effectiveness in the organization’s performance. The organization is highly bureaucratic and employees operate under rigid rules and procedures. This system breeds a system of controls and hierarchy which is detrimental to effective execution of tasks within the organization.
These have led to lack of motivation among the employees, almost grounding the organization’s performance (Barrows and Powers, 2008). This creates the need to come up with mechanisms that will help contain the situation.
Aims and scope: This report undertakes to investigate the reasons for the poor performance of the employees and organization in general. The report also recommends ways by which the problem can be dealt with and possibly eliminated.
It will study into details the generational demarcations and the effect they have on employee performance. It will also take a critical look at the concept of bureaucracy and possibly recommend better procedures within the organization that will reduce the amount of bureaucracy (Galbraith, 1977) and (Schermerhorn et al, 2011).
Discussion
Data entry and record keeping
There has been a rising concern by the government about poor service delivery of the organization to the public. This has led to a partial cut in funding of the organization by the government. Government auditors have been complaining of poor, untimely and inaccurate data entry into the books of the organization.
My team investigated this matter by observing the accountants found out that they are largely to blame for the menace. The head accountant, who is a Baby Boomer, is quite aged and of poor health. Most of the time, he is away from work due to health complications. However, he cannot delegate his responsibilities to his assistants of generation X and Y. This is because he believes that they are not as qualified to handle the task and that they are not serious at work.
The organization’s strict bureaucratic procedures also cannot allow these duties to be relegated to someone else apart from himself. There are some forms that have to await the government auditor’s signature for days and even weeks. All the work has to be piled up awaiting his return to office in order to be done. This explains the untimely entry of data.
Another observation we made was that the conduct of the junior accountant staff is wanting. My team, in disguise, found out that the junior accountants, all belonging to generation Y, did not take their work seriously and with the caution it deserves. They listened to radio and engaged the social media during work. In one of the incidents, he gave my “man” a receipt with the wrong figure and did not realize to rectify this error.
Generation Y
This is the generation of persons born between the 1970s and early 2000. This generation is generally characterized by increased use of and familiarity with the communication technology, media, digital technology and neoliberal approach to almost everything (Strauss and Howe, 1991)
This explains why, in our observation, most of the younger staff broke most rules within the organization code of conduct. They seemed to be always at loggerheads with the Baby Boomers arguing about the right thing to do in every circumstance. This explains the sharp division between the Baby Boomers and the generation Y.
When interviewed about the sluggish nature of their working, the generation Y confessed that they did not find the organization objectives and mission fulfilling to their individual desire of growth and a feeling of self worth (Martin and Tulgan, 2001). Most of them were in the look out for other jobs and were willing and eager to leave immediately another job opportunity came up.
They also said that the staff was biased against them. The much older employees and management were pointed out as the most biased. They treated them unfairly and did not give them a chance to explore their capabilities. They also found out that work in the organization was boring, applying same procedures quite repetitive, no creativity was allowed and there were strict timelines and reprimands by their superiors over petty mistakes.
The employees also spent most of their times in ‘exciting’ activities like listening to music and chatting in the social media as a way of eliminating the boredom.
Generation X
This is the generation born after the Baby Boomers from the early 1960s to 1980. They are defined as a group of people without identity, who face an uncertain, ill defined and hostile future. The older generations view generation x as reactive people who are more focused to money than anything else (Stephey, 2008).
These employees, when interviewed, expressed concern that the management did not factor in their needs. Most of them were parents and needed time to be with their families. They left work for home earlier than the rest and were never willing to work overtime. Because of this, many fell out with the management for neglecting their duties and showing no real concern for responsibility at work.
This makes the employees feel that the management does not understand their needs. This has led to a negative attitude among these employees with the management. This has contributed to poor work relations and the entire performance of the organization.
Baby Boomers
This is the generation of persons born in the post war period of between 1946 and 1964. These come with privileges since most of them are brought up in the period when there is great affluence. They regard themselves as a special generation that values traditions and rules.
This generation sharply contrasts generation Y who does not value traditions, and would be better off doing new things and applying new techniques at work. Because of this, the two groups seem to be in perpetual conflict with each other. The Boomers do not approve of most things that the generation Y does. They feel that they are lazy, spending most of their work time on activities that distract them from work. This, to them, is unethical of work and should not be allowed.
The generation Y, on the other hand, feels that the Boomers do not like them, and are out to make their life at work difficult. Observations carried out in the study found Boomers and generation Y in consistent conflict and confrontations.
At meetings, Boomers opposed almost all of generation Y suggestions, rubbishing them as childish. The Boomers are the only group that upheld the concept of bureaucracy, therefore, perceived by generations X and Y as frustrating their efforts at work and as responsible for the poor performance of the organization.
Stress
This was found to be a common feature for all employees. They are generally dissatisfied with the organization. While people in generation Y want a place where they can explore their talents further and exhibit their expertise, generation X want a place where the management can understand and provide for their needs, giving them ample time to tend to their families.
The Boomers are fine with the organization procedures. However, they have a problem with their fellow employees, who they feel are antagonistic to work procedures, therefore, jeopardizing the performance of the organization.
The management is facing a hard time while coordinating these employees who have divergent views and ideas about working. The generation X and Y view management as hostile towards them and not understanding their needs.
Communication
Communication in the organization is lacking. Most of the instances when employees talk, there is always confrontation and blame game. According to Fletcher and Major (2006), teams report greater team work and success rates at work when they work and communicate face to face. The media richness theory points out that communication in the work place increases the degree of effectiveness in the organization (Daft and Lengel, 1986.)
In this organization, effective communication is lacking. Therefore, a lot of misunderstanding occurs among employees and with the management. This explains the high number of conflicts witnessed in the organization, with some employees not talking to each other t all (May and Mumby, 2005).
The employees also feel left out in the decision making process. They are alienated in the formulation of work procedures. Their consent and suggestions for working procedures and suggestions for effective changes is never sought by management. Instead, rules of operation are imposed on them and they are expected to adjust and accommodate the rules and changes without opposition (Suh, 1999).
Customer complaints
This organization has for a long time maintained an effective customer feedback program. For some time now, we have been receiving negative feedback from our customers concerning the organization’s service delivery and customer care.
Surveillance cameras were secretly put in places where employees interacted directly with customers. What we observed was a number of cases where the employees were rude to the customers. Some employees take longer to attend to customers, while others engage in gossip with other employees or using their mobile phones. Some even get to the extent of sending the customers to the next available teller while they do nothing.
It was noted that the employees discriminated against some customers. This was based on sex and looks. Most of our employees are women. They treated women customers rudely compared to the male customers. At the same time, customers who seemed highly sophisticated in terms of looks and dress were treated better than others.
Conclusion
This organization has been adversely affected by the bureaucratic mode of operation. Operations are carried out in a strictly rigid framework. When one component of the process is lacking, the whole process becomes paralyzed and nothing can be done to continue the process of operations.
Another factor that is detrimental to the operations of the organization is the problem of communication. There is a general lack of communication among the workers and with the management. There is no instituted mechanism of solving conflicts among the employees and with management. Employees are also not able to freely express themselves, as they are not included in the decision making process or consulted on work procedures. They are treated as passive actors.
Another problem within the organization is the problem of groupings and factions. The employees are divided into three distinct groups: the Baby Boomers, the Generation X and Y. These groups have demarcated themselves, with each group feeling superior to the others and downplaying the role the others play in the organization. This has led to a proliferation of conflicts among the employees and a lack of unity in achieving the organization goals.
The final and most important factor lacking in the organization is motivation. The employees lack motivation and the reason to work well and effectively. They come to work late and only perform what they have to, without putting extra effort to do well or even better.
The management seems to be lacking the right strategies to tackle these problems. It has remained hard on the employees without attempting to change their approach towards their needs, applying the right motivational strategies and understanding their needs.
Recommendation
After a careful analysis of these problems and reference to scholarly material, we came up with the following recommendations of what needs to be done in order to remedy the situation and get the organization back on performance excellence.
Our recommendations were arrived at bearing in mind that there is a moratorium on employing of additional staff. Therefore, they are geared towards finding viable solutions that will work with the existing employees without laying any one of them off.
Bureaucracy
Customers view bureaucratic organizations as not aimed at satisfying their needs. The employees attribute this inefficiency to the idea that all policy is similar for all customers. This organization is unresponsive to customers’ individual needs and situations. The policies of the organization are solely designed to benefit the organization and not the customers.
It does not admit the mistakes it does, rather shifting the blame onto the customer. The organization is slow to innovativeness and reluctant to change, as dictated by time and events. They view the organizations products and services as inferior.
Employees in such organizations are not enthusiastic about working in the organizations. They are not friendly and do not care much whether the customer is satisfied or not.
In the organization, departments and employees do not cooperate to get the job done. The executives strive more for personal advancement and power. Promotions are made based on politics rather than merit. Information is hoarded and used as a basis for power. Mostly, the responsibility for failure is denied and the blame shifted to others, especially the junior employees.
Bureaucracy is generally detrimental to organization’s effectiveness. It weakens employee morale and divides people within the organization setting each against the other. This misdirects their energy into conflict with one another and destructive competition that does not work to achieve the mission statement.
Because of these inherent problems associated with bureaucratic model, we recommend that the model be scrapped and replaced with a more flexible and liberal model of operation. Employees should be allowed some freedom at work. They should be left to work without thorough supervision and compulsion by the supervisors.
Procedures should be neutralized and simplified to allow for more relegation of duties and responsibilities. The clear cut demarcations between employee ranks should also be neutralized so that all employees feel equal and important to the organization despite their rank.
Communication
Most executives will agree that communication is an essential part for the success of the organization. Information should be clearly communicated to enhance role clarity for the employees. The problem of role clarity leads to stress, tension, anxiety, dissatisfaction, lack of job interest and lack of job innovation.
In most bureaucratic organizations, information tends to flow downwards. It is unusual for information to take another route, like from the subordinate to the superior. Unfortunately, this organization falls under this framework, characterized with a rigidity of information flow.
According to Leavitt (1958), one way communication is faster than two way communication channel. However, the latter is more accurate than the former and should be adopted. Differences in the organization should be taken seriously by allowing the other to speak openly and accept the possibility that the other’s perspective may override your own.
I would therefore recommend that, the organization’s management introduces a system of openness in the process of decision making that involves all the employees, either wholly or in representation. Debates about various implementations should be carried out freely, with no intimidation or victimization of criticism.
Among the workers, healthy communication should be encouraged and gossip discouraged. Workshops and seminars to enlighten the employees on the strength of diversity should be organized by the management. Through this, the employees will learn to appreciate one another and compliment each other.
Motivation
One of the roles of the manager is to get employees to do their job well. Rather than use of coercion, he should motivate employees to perform their duties voluntarily. An understanding and appreciation of human nature is vital to the process of motivation. Various theories like the theory Y by Douglas McGregor, two factor motivation hygiene theories by Fredrick Herzberg, Abraham Maslow’s theory Z hierarchy of needs and Elton Mayo’s experiments can be used.
These theories generally posit that human beings should be treated with dignity and respect of all forms at workplace. Motivated employees are more productive and innovative. The inverse is true.
As a result, I would recommend the following measures by management as a motivational strategy for the employees: The employees should be reinforced positively with high expectations of them by the management and customers. This way, they will feel self worth and motivated to uphold the high expectations.
Discipline and punishment should be applied effectively, and by no means should it be applied in excess or unfairly, or used to coerce the employees. All employees must be treated fairly, without favoritism and discrimination on generation group or sex. Employee needs also need to be factored in at work and be met. Individual needs should be addressed with individual concern and given the right attention.
Work related goals should be set, which when met, the employees are rewarded. The rewards may not necessarily be financial but they could be holidays or trips (March and Simon, 1958).
Theory Y
In general, we recommend an approach of theory Y to the management of the organization. Employees are people who are ambitious and exercise self-control.
They enjoy their physical and mental work. The management should support them on this basis. The organization should let them use their creativity in problem solving by applying their talents. They should develop trust among the employees by communicating freely with subordinates. Decision making should be done with the involvement of both the subordinates and their seniors.
Reference List
Barrows, C. W. and Powers, T., 2008. Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry. Hoboken: John Willey and Sons.
Daft, R. L. and Lengel, R. H., 1986. Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design. Management Science, 32(5), 23-57.
Fletcher, T. D., and Major, D. A., 2006. The Effects of Communication Modality on Performance and Self-ratings of Team Work Components. Journal of computer mediated communication, 11(2), 15-18, article 9.
Galbraith, J., 1977. Organization Design. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Leavitt, H., 1958. Managerial Psychology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
March, J. G. and Simon, H. A., 1958. Organizations. New York: Wiley.
May, S. and Mumby, D. K., 2005. Engaging Organizational Communication Theory and Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Simon, A., Woods, P., and Chau, S. L., 2011. Management Foundations and Applications-value pack. New York: Wiley.
Stephey, M. J., 2008. Gen-x: The Ignored Generation time? New York: Wiley.
Strauss, W. and Howe, N., 1991. Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. New York: William Morrow and Company.
Suh, K. S., 1999. Impact of Communication Medium on Task Performance and Satisfaction: an Examination of Media-Richness Theory. New York: Cengage Learning.
Tulgan, B and Martin, C. A. (2001). Managing Generation Y: Global citizens born in the late seventies and early eighties. Harvard: New York Times.
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