Oilwell Cable Company Case Study
1. If Norm chooses to go ahead with the microprocessor conversion on the machinery without passing it by the team, what are the potential conflicts that might arise? What are the advantages of such a move?
- The biggest potential problem here is that the production team might feel slighted as their opinions were not considered in this major decision, and it may affect their current strong feeling of value hat they have with the company. Essentially if feeling of value is affected then productivity will be affected, as Steve Cooper a contributor to Forbes points out studies show that companies that effectively appreciate employee value enjoy a return on equity & assets more than triple that experienced by firms that don’t. (Cooper, 2012) The advantage of such a move would be fulfilling the employees wishes of upper management making the tougher decisions not the team; also it would not only eliminate the three day deliberations that usually precede the team’s decision but it would also meet the employees desire of less time spent in team meetings.
2. If Norm decides to put the decision to the appropriate production team, what are the potential problems? What would be the advantages?
- Here the potential problems is the deliberation period normally associated with team decisions, as this means a loss in productivity as these deliberations happen on company time. It could also affect morale, as employees already have a desire for less team meetings adding more to reach a decision will result in loss of confidence in upper management. Additionally, this decision based on the org chart, will then have to be approved by upper management which results in additional lost time as these decisions are already a struggle for them. On the flip side advantages here is that it would keep high value alive, as the employees would see that their opinions are truly valued when decisions affect the entire business; also it would be a great opportunity for upper management
- The biggest potential problem here is that the production team might feel slighted as their opinions were not considered in this major decision, and it may affect their current strong feeling of value hat they have with the company. Essentially if feeling of value is affected then productivity will be affected, as Steve Cooper a contributor to Forbes points out studies show that companies that effectively appreciate employee value enjoy a return on equity & assets more than triple that experienced by firms that don’t. (Cooper, 2012) The advantage of such a move would be fulfilling the employees wishes of upper management making the tougher decisions not the team; also it would not only eliminate the three day deliberations that usually precede the team’s decision but it would also meet the employees desire of less time spent in team meetings.
2. If Norm decides to put the decision to the appropriate production team, what are the potential problems? What would be the advantages?
- Here the potential problems is the deliberation period normally associated with team decisions, as this means a loss in productivity as these deliberations happen on company time. It could also affect morale, as employees already have a desire for less team meetings adding more to reach a decision will result in loss of confidence in upper management. Additionally, this decision based on the org chart, will then have to be approved by upper management which results in additional lost time as these decisions are already a struggle for them. On the flip side advantages here is that it would keep high value alive, as the employees would see that their opinions are truly valued when decisions affect the entire business; also it would be a great opportunity for upper management