Case Study Answers

People management

The changes in the organization needs to be systematic and of comprehensive framework in nature. The top-level executives need to understand the changes that will be required in the organization so that the employees can be engaged in their respective processes. The CEO of the company needs to implement the following changes in the workplace with respect to people management:

• The employees need to be addressed in a systematic manner, which will ensure that their issues that are related to the workplace can be solved. The CEO needs to have a formal approach in managing the change and should have a leadership team that will help in engaging with the stakeholders (Bridges and Bridges 2017).
• The CEO and the leadership team will have to start from the top management for the support, strength and direction that the organization needs to follow. The leaders need to accept the changes first, which will help in motivating the employees of the organization.
• The messages need to be communicated to the employees so that they can understand the issues and understand the need to change their system in the workplace. The communication pattern needs to be in both ways so that the information and the feedback can result in smooth functioning of the workplace (Baker 2014).

The plans in the organization need to be strategically implemented so that it will help in changing the organizational performance. To plan the strategies effectively, the CEO of the company needs to follow simple procedures such as:

• The employees who are affected by the changed plans needs to be committed to the organization so that it helps in supporting the implementation of the plan in the workplace (Cummings and Worley 2014).
• The objectives to improve the performance of the organization need to be long term for at least a year so that the effectiveness of the changes can be seen in the organization.
• The strategies need to evaluated and decided upon before being implemented in the workplace so that the results can be calculated on how it would affect the organization. When this is done, the top management of the organization will approve the plans that will help in changing the work culture of the organization (Kuipers et al. 2014).

A baseline evaluation helps the organization to identify the potential barriers that are present in the organizational change management. The barriers create gaps in the organization, which has a negative impact on the production process of the organization and it needs to be removed so that the workplace can function efficiently. Some of the barriers that the CEO needs to consider and prevent it are:

• Lack of employee involvement is a common barrier in the change management process. They are reluctant to the changes unless they themselves become a part of the change process. A common mistake that the organization makes is by not involving the employees in the process of change. To avoid these mistakes, the opinions of the employees need to be taken in to account and assuring them that the changes that will take place will benefit them in the long run (London 2014).
• If the communication process is not effective then the employees will be reluctant in adjusting to the changes in the organization. To overcome it, the leaders need not announce the changes that will take place in the organization instead; they need to inform the employees about the changes that will affect them on a personal level (Burke 2013).

Since the employee had slipped in the office due to the wet floor and broke her arm, an investigation of an accident in a workplace needs to be carried out, which consists of five stages. They are as following:

• Reporting- After the event, it is important that the case needs to be reported in a proper manner. It is seen that most of the accident cases that happen in the organization are reported internally that is it stays within the organization.
• Information gathering- This stage helps in understanding the cause of the accident and the following events that led in the accident in the workplace. It is important to interview the people who are involved in the accident so that a proper briefing about the accident can be gathered.
• Information analysis- The information that has been gathered will help in the in-depth analysis of the cause of the accident. This stage helps in understanding the fate of the event and the reasons behind the accident.
• Identification of the Risk Control Measures- This step helps in identifying the measures that will help in controlling the risks of accident that is present in the organization. It helps in covering the different aspects, which is related to health and safety within the workplace.
• Implementing and action planning- This is the final stage that helps in putting together the control measures that have been identified in the workplace (Matthews et al. 2014). The employee will be provided with the necessary first-aid and an ambulance will be called so that the employee can be taken to the nearest hospital to get the treatment for the accident.

Figure 1: Accident Investigation

(Source: Created by Author)

As an HR manager of an organization, I am entitled to many powers but expertise power is the one that intrigues me the most. This power helps me to solve the critical tasks that are present in the organization with the knowledge that I possess in the workplace. The employees have a limited knowledge and can work only within that frame. I have to look in to the overall well-being of the employees and when they are unable to deliver, I handle the situation with my expertise.

Incompatible Interests are where the parties that are involved in a conflict and has a resolution from acquiring the problem. It is where the parties face a conflict of interest with different issues that arise from a particular situation. Interdependence is when the parties will work together as they are dependent on each other to reach the target that they have set for themselves (Deutsch 2015). The other approach could have been bargaining, which is further divided in to distributive and integrative bargaining. Distributive bargaining happens when the interests of interests of one party is in direct conflict with the interests of the other party where the outcome will be win-lose situation. Integrative bargaining on the other hand will help in finding a winning situation for both the parties. For an organization to survive, they cannot adopt these approaches as it may result in the loss of the organization.

The job title will be that of HR manager and the purpose will be to lead a team that will meet the productivity level of the organization. The responsibilities will be to be the leader of the team, which will help in ensuring that the employees are performing individually. The manager will have an overview of the operations in the workplace by developing the strategies that will be required for the efficient functioning of the organization. It will help in maintaining and establishing relationships with the key stakeholders of the organization.

It will differ from my formal description because I have to maintain a personal relationship with all the employees, which cannot be done formally. I need to have an informal approach so that the employees will be comfortable with me if they have any query.

The work was well defined as the delegation process followed the three simple stages of time, availability and criticality. Timing helps in giving out the necessary instruction that is required and support the delegation process. Availability helps in identifying the right people to do the task in the workplace. It helps in understanding the potential and the expertise of the employees. Criticality helps in identifying the level of tolerance for the mistakes that the employees have undertaken while performing the tasks.  

The Operations Manager assisted me during my course of work, as he is my immediate senior. This helped me in smoothly carrying out the work process. It was significantly explained because the welfare of the employees was dependent on the nature of work that was to be carried by me.

Reference List

Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bridges, W. and Bridges, S., 2017. Managing transitions: Making the most of change. Da Capo Press.

Burke, W.W., 2013. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.

Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Deutsch, M., 2015. Negotiating the Non-negotiable. In Morton Deutsch: Major Texts on Peace Psychology (pp. 63-71). Springer International Publishing.

Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), pp.1-20.

London, M., 2014. Career barriers: How people experience, overcome, and avoid failure. Psychology Press.

Matthews, L.R., Fitzpatrick, S.J., Bohle, P. and Quinlan, M., 2014. Investigation and prosecution following workplace fatalities: Responding to the needs of families. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 25(2), pp.253-270.