Appropriate Development Plan: Dryburgh Footwear Company - Case Study Example

Organizational development and Change (Case study) Name of Student Institution Date Introduction Change is a concept that occurs in our personal and professional lives. It takes place within our world and outside, such as in the manner in which organizations are structured and perform their business. Organizational development (OD) is an area of study that deals with change and how it impacts organizations as well as employees within such organizations. OD helps organizations to cope with the dynamic environment, both within and without, as planned change efforts are introduced in the organization (Mowat, 2002). The case study is about a Footwear company that is experiencing various issues, related to absenteeism and turnover, which requires immediate intervention. Dryburgh Footwear is a medium-size company that specializes in the manufacture of both men’s and women’s fashion and casual shoes. These products are made according to orders placed by retailers, and are meant to meet the needs of customers at the lowest level of the market. The company has less than five hundred employees, composed of more women than men. The company is headed by the general manager, with assistance from other line managers such as production manager and the personnel officer. Below top level management, is the junior staff that take part in the production process (Deery, 1995). This essay focuses on the issues indicated in the Dryburgh Footwear Company to establish an appropriate Development/Change plan and process that will help the company reduce associated costs of production. Identification of the problem Although, Dryburgh Footwear Company has experienced less industrial disruption in the past, it is reported to have had an increase employee turnover rate, which stands at100%. The company also experiences absenteeism, which is below five percent. This problem is experienced among employees working in the production department. These forms of behaviour among production workers cost the company over $1.5 million every year as indicated by the personnel officer (Deery, 1995). Employees in the company are not proud of the company and the products it manufactures. In addition, despite management introducing the ‘Taylorised’ methods of production, employees do not seem to be satisfied with their job. Even with the introduction of various just-in-time system of production, job satisfaction, reduced turnover and absenteeism are only experienced among only a few employees who worked under the new system (Deery, 1995). This indicates that the majority of employees in the entire production department did not fully develop a sense of job satisfaction, following the introduction of the conventional system of production. The problem of absenteeism and turnover also seemed to be intensified by the authoritarian type of management adopted by the company leadership (Deery, 1995). Therefore, most employees in the company have less or nil job satisfaction that is characterized by high level of absenteeism and turnover. This reflects the need for change to enable the company avoid the cost burden imposed by these problems. The approach to change Absenteeism among employees in Dryburgh as indicated in the case study point to problems concerning job design, working relationships and quality of management. All, these have to be investigated to see if, for instance better management is the solution to the problem. For instance, if employees know that absence will be detected and will be scrutinized by management on return, they are likely to stay away from work without due cause (MacLean, 2008). Thus, as a change agent at Dryburgh Footwear Company, I would encourage management to introduce attendance payments so as to reduce the level of absenteeism among workers. In this case, the company will have to make extra payments on top of normal pay so as to promote good attendance among employees. Rewarding workers who report on work is important at they always carry an extra load caused by employees who stay away. In addition, attendance payments, although will not affect persistent absentees, they will help increase attendance level among employees. However, while introducing this change in the company, management should consider various aspects. Since, majority of employees are frequently absent, attendance payments should be paid to all employees to improve general attendance. The company should be careful not to make the payments too small as is unlikely to effective. On the other hand, it should not be too large as it may misrepresent the relationship of the effort-reward to the normal payment system (MacLean, 2008). A part from direct rewards, the company should also encourage indirect systems of rewarding to employees with good attendance record. This will be based on the ‘banking’ time concept. Such time, when not utilized to cover absence due to sickness, may be preserved over a given period and translated into more holidays or long leave (MacLean, 2008). In addition, to reduce turnover in future, I encourage the management of Dryburgh Footwear company to change the way in which it conducts recruitment and selection processes. First, selection tests should be encouraged to help identify suitable applicants. It is possible that the company could be recruiting wrong people who end up leaving the company within a very short time. Adverts should reflect an accurate picture of the available vacancy in the company so as right people are selected for the right jobs (MacLean, 2008). Also, the company should desist from being panicked into recruiting individuals due to high turnover among employees as there are changes of getting unsuitable people. Still, very high standards should be avoided during recruitment. The risk is that recruits are likely to be bored quickly due to being overqualified. Lastly, the role of line mangers in ascertaining working relationships from the beginning must not recognized in during recruitment and selection process (MacLean, 2008). Therefore, they should be involved in the whole recruitment and selection exercise. Planned change process Implementing the planned change in Dryburgh Footwear Company will require a series of organizational processes which will take some time. Employees have to be prepared for the planned change; otherwise it may not be received well by most of them. In respect to this, I would apply Lewin’s three steps of change process; unfreezing, moving and refreezing (Lunenburg, 2010). The entire process will be aimed at reducing the forces operating to keep the company its current condition. During unfreezing, new information that brings out inadequacies in the company’s current state of absenteeism and turnover will be introduced. At this point, I will also aim at reducing the strengths of present attitudes, values and behaviours among employees. In this case, the stimulants of unfreezing is the increase in absenteeism and turnover, that cost the company financial loss. As a change agent I will ensure that I understand existing reward system to highlight areas of improvement, to estimate required level for improvement, and to determine improvement (Gilley, Gilley & McMillan, 2009). Also, I will have to a detailed understanding of the new process (attendance payments) to be able to communicate the intended behaviour changes to affect employees. Understanding the current situation in the company will allow the change agent to identify involved workers, necessary resource levels as well as existing controls. Once the company has been unfrozen, the changes will be initiated by moving. During this step, the change agent will focus on developing new attitudes, values, and behaviours that encourage more attendance and reduced turnover. The planned changes are not intensive such as changes in the rewards system to comprise of attendance payments, as well as changes in the recruitment and selection procedures as indicated earlier. The former will involve all employees working in the production section, while the latter will involve all line mangers and new starters so that they feel part to the change process (Jabri, 2012). The last process will be refreezing and will involve stabilizing the change at a quasi-stationary equilibrium. This will be accomplished by changes in company’s policy concerning reward system, and recruitment and section process. The company will be expected to develop a vision for every process to be changed (Gilley et al., 2009). The vision for these processes must describe new capabilities for initiated changes as well as expected improvements in employee attendance and turnover levels. Creating a vision for processes undergoing change will allow workers to develop a sense of how they will improve on attendance and commitment to their job in future (Lunenburg, 2010). It is also the means through I will reduce resistance to change by eliminating fears that are likely to arise due to uncertainty about the effects of the initiated changes. Communication of the change Managing the planned changes will require the utilization of various communication techniques to disseminate relevant messages, acquire feedback, handle readiness for change, and encourage affected workers to act. As a change agent, I will communicate the risks of absenteeism and turnover to all employees in the production section and the potential benefits of adjusting to the new changes in the processes. Communications will be frequent and enthusiastic as I aim to reduce bias toward unrealistic optimism. According to Gilley et al (2009) informational justice that is truthful and treatment of workers with interpersonal dignity, allows them accept unfavourable outcome. Therefore, I need to initiate realistic and truthful discussions with employees that comprise the extent of the change and that outline the negative side of implementation. The information to give employees should include impending changes, justification for the rationale and relevance of change, respond to employees’ concerns as well as establish how the planned changes might effects concerned employees so as to increase acceptance as well as participation (Jabri, 2012). Therefore, communication will help motivate employees accept and support implementation of the change. Evaluation of the change effort The change agent will use appropriate metrics to monitor and evaluate the desired features of the change effort. Upon implementing the changes, it will be necessary to measure the performance of the company, in terms of job satisfaction, attendance and the rate of turnover in comparison to the desired state. In evaluating the change process, I will seek to determine the extent to which the introduced changes have achieved the desired goals of reduction in absenteeism and turnover from the time the changes were implemented (Kandt, 2002). Annual process assessments as well as benchmarks will also be performed to help establish areas that require improvement and where the company stands relative to competitors. The outcome of the change effort will determine whether new changes have to be introduced, but this will depend on the success of the entire change process (Kandt, 2002). Conclusion The problem experienced by the Dryburgh Footwear Company requires immediate redress to save the company from financial loss. Employees in the production section can be motivated to develop positive attitude towards their work so as to reduce absenteeism and turnover. The changes to be introduced in the company include attendance payments and changes in recruitment and selection process. These changes have to go through the process of unfreezing, moving and unfreezing to achieve the desired goals. In addition, employees affected by the changes must be informed about the changes through appropriate communication to handle resistance. Lastly, the change effort must be evaluated to determine if the desired goals have been achieved. References Deery, S.J. (1995). Absenteeism and employee turnover: Dryburgh Footware Company’, in Organizational change strategies: Case studies of human resource and industrial relations issues, eds M. Patrickson, V. Bamber, & G.J. Bamber, Longman, Melbourne, 21, 240-250. Gilley, A., Gilley, J. W., & McMillan, H. S. (2009). Organizational change: Motivation, communication, and leadership effectiveness. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 21(4), 75-94. Jabri, M., (2012). Managing Organizational Change: Process, Social Construction and Dialogue. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Kandt, R. K. (2002). Organizational change management principles and practices. Lunenburg, F. G. (2010). Approaches to managing organizational change. Internationsl journal of scholary academic intellectual diversity, 12, 1. MacLean, A. D. B. (2008). The management of absence: why it matters: An analysis of absence management issues, with a case study based in a UK academic library. Library Management, 29(4/5), 392-413. Mowat, J. (2002). Managing organizational change. The Herridge Group, 1-20. Read More