MAJOR CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT There are a number of differences between FMC’s Aberdeen and , the two facilities of discussion. One may assume, therefore, that managerial styles, business practices, and other aspects of business and the employees involved, would be very different from one another. On the other hand, it is quite possible to use very similar styles of doing business and managing a company, despite differences in the company, as a good style of managing, and good practices would assist any business in succeeding. Management, employees and productivity being the main focus’s at hand, one may first want to review these differences between the two facilities. To begin with, the facility in Aberdeen employs 100 people, while the Green River plant maintains 1150, and while Green River produces over 100 goods, and distributes world wide, the Aberdeen plant has only one product, and one customer. The two plants were very different in age and industry as well, with Green River as an older company in the chemical industry, and Aberdeen, a five year old “start up” company in the defense industry.
Considering that the Green River facility has been in operation as long as it has, major changes to the company’s methods of operation may prove to be difficult initially. The large number of employees may provide a need for some small changes in comparison to the way that the Aberdeen facility is able to manage successfully. The general idea of changing the values of “managing” employees, to incorporate the employees opinions, thoughts, feelings, to make the employee feel more a part of, and personally responsible for, the work produced, is an excellent idea, and despite the differences in the facilities, it should be something of an improvement for this, and any, company. This general idea starts the more involved process of improving an employee’s satisfaction with all of their job facets, and focuses on their abilities, desire to succeed, and other aspects of importance to a person in the workplace. An excessive amount of change, or rushed change, is a possible concern for a facility like Green River that has been established for a considerable length of time, as employees have grown accustomed to a certain atmosphere, and may initially feel uncomfortable with change. Again, it is also likely that this is not the case, and employees will welcome changes that support their opinions and beliefs, they may even feel a sense of refreshment in the workplace.
The most important people involved in this change are the existing managers. Often, managers will feel a sense of power from the position they hold, and some may experience more satisfaction from this power than others. These kinds of feelings would be a major set back in incorporating the new organizational management, as these managers may feel reluctant to “share power”, thereby defeating the purpose of these practices. Thinking on behalf of themselves and their best interests, rather than those of the company, these types of managers will not see how this style of managing will produce highly positive results.
In short, the Green River facility must maintain very open, innovative, and intelligent managers, in order to begin the process of these changes in the facility, otherwise they may not work. Considering that the Aberdeen facility has already incorporated these managerial styles into the working environment, the biggest challenges involve maintaining the healthy balance of employees’s satisfaction, and facility productivity. Again, maintaining (or training) managers who understand and believe in the style of managing conducted at the facility, is crucial to the survival of these practices. The wrong person in upper management would have a significant impact on the company and its’ practices. Also, written guidelines and rules should be established and maintained, and should not be wavered in any circumstances. It is important that employees appreciate the type of management and business practices performed in the facility, and not begin to expect unreasonable extras or take advantage of these policies.
Good communication between all management levels and employees is also necessary in keeping any business running efficiently. Again, seeing as how the Aberdeen facility has already established these practices, and has them running smoothly, they need only to maintain them and increase innovation with the times. If I were to use an analogy to describe these two types of managerial styles, I would state that the original style of managing was like a pyramid, and this new style of managing was a linked chain. The pyramid is dependent on all of its’ members, but there is a definite sense of superiority, as the higher management levels shrink down in numbers, but tower over all else. This pyramid, upon producing positive results, is viewed by others as having produced them due to the excellence of the peak of the pyramid, with very little or no recognition at the bottom of said pyramid.
The linked chain on the other hand, though still managed with upper and lower levels, reacts more as a team, giving those involved more recognition for their accomplishments. People who are recognized as such, and appreciated for their individual strengths, may be more likely to utilize these strengths and feel that they are a part of the company, rather than a pawn of the company. There is something very positive to be said for this type of thinking, if everyone on the Earth felt that a small positive contribution to it’s well being would be recognized, and make a difference, I can almost guarantee that we would be living in a very different world today. REFERENCES: Organizational Behavior, Jennifer M George & Gareth R Jones, Copyright 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc. , Ch. 1-4 Prentice Hall, Custom Business Resources, FMC Aberdeen from Practice Problems in Organizations: Cases in Leadership, Organizational Behavior and Human Resources, by James G Clawson, A Custom Edit, Copyright 2003 Pearson Custom Publishing If the job could talk By Bill J.
Bonnstetter Copyright 2000. TTI Performance Systems, Ltd. web IfTheJobCouldTalk.