This paper features the B.R Richardson Timber Products which is a family-held corporation comprising of four other small companies – a lumber mill, a logging operation, a mill over in Oregon and a laminating plant. The company’s performance has been overall and the business has been doing well. However, the company has been facing various issues which affect its development goals. Some of them include the safety of the employees which has not been the best as they work under an unsafe environment making them become prone to injuries and other dangers (Chapman & White, 2012) Lack of proper communication and poor supervisory procedures is among other challenges faced by the company.
One major challenge has been the low morale portrayed by the company employees. Reviewing the staff at the company especially in the lamination plant, it revealed that a massive majority of the organization was categorized as white collar versus blue collar employees. This classification was based on the small difference in the level of education among them. The work positions at the plant include quality control, supervisors, and about 20 skilled front office administrators. After an analysis, there seemed to be high turnover rate and low morale among the few remaining employees because they did not have cohesion and teamwork and this affected the development of the shared morals of the plant (Krell, 2011). Despite the high turnover, there were no possible candidates to fill the left vacancies. The staff is also said to move from one job to the other without the cross training and this is a serious toxic to any business organization. One of the factors that led to the low staff morale is the lack of promotions within the organization caused by the minimal hierarchy. This discouraged most of the employees since they felt that their efforts to study further and acquire more job skills were not being recognized. Their long-time stay in one position for several years also led to boredom and lack of interest in the job hence affecting their performance (Kloster & Swire, 2015). Others were found to have held job positions that did not match their education, experience, and talents which means that the possibility to perform well was low and their talents were not exploited. They also lacked job descriptions which ultimately meant that it was not possible to assess the kind of the competencies required in their various job positions.
In evaluating the skills in a given company, several factors are to be put into consideration such as the current skills, the expected skills and the gaps that are present and how the skills are evaluated and censored. At the BR Richardson, strong skills existed regarding gluing, cutting and milling which kept the company at a standard pace. However, various gaps also existed within the organization including the safety of the employees which was at an unacceptable level evidenced by a number of accidents happening among the workers (Lussier, 2016). In B R Richardson, one would expect to see heavy machinery, equipment and a standard organization of physical labor. However, this is not the case as most of the systems are under-functioning, outmoded and dangerous posing the lives of the employees at risk. Most of the employees complained about the poor quality of the equipment and the laxity of the managers to address the issue. For instance, a recent fatality occurred to one of the employees who died following injuries and others who were seriously injured to an extent of getting hospitalized for three weeks (Lussier, 2016). The employees did not have safety glasses and helmets and most of the equipment required repair. This lack of safety equipment offers the basis for the development of the company.
Proper communication is vital for any organization as it ensures a good flow of work and the cropping issues are easily discussed and solved. In B R Richardson, communication has been poor posing great challenges in the organization. This would mean that when a problem arises, it would take a lot of time before being rectified hence affecting the company’s output and employees’ performance. This is because the information regarding the performance of the employees, work schedules, and productivity was rarely shared with the seniors so as to instill proper measures. Additionally, the supervisor and the manager communicated well only after a fact occurred and not through proactive planning as it should be the case and this cost the company’s performance a great deal. The bulletin board was not in operation and this means that the employees are not aware of the work schedule and the possible changes in the organization since there are no means of getting updates. This also has got an effect on the morale of the employees since they just report to work without knowing where to start or what to do first. It is also not possible to be aware of the jobs that need to be attended to urgently hence the workers only stick to their daily boring schedule regardless of the job changes unless they are approached directly and this becomes a waste of time and inefficiency in performance. One of the employees reported that the lack of communication, especially in the cash flow systems, was a great weakness. Poor communication mechanisms lead to poor budgeting, leads to cash flow mistakes, and leads to ultimate loss making by the firm. It is very important for companies to establish proper communication mechanisms and policies to improve their net worth and liquidity. For instance, enhancing order of command and unity of command under which all instructions come from a given and selected person.
The management of the employees was also inadequate as the employees kept on doing the same mistakes over and over again simply because of poor answerability and supervision. Such repeated mistakes included delivery of messy work by some employees, lateness, and failure to meet deadlines and such mistakes were often overlooked hence drawing the company backward. For instance, an employee by the name Jack had good computer skills but did not utilize them well as he was not competent in completing the typing and editing work and other basic office tasks on time. This went unquestioned since the supervisors were less concerned and just remained reluctant on such issues. The lack of supervision and poor managerial skills would cost the company unnecessary expenses. For example, only a 35% of the lumber which was purchased for use in the laminating plant was purchased within the Richardson mill while the other was purchased from other suppliers despite the fact that the mill would still provide most of the lumber required by the laminating plant. This would cause extra budgets in the company which would otherwise yield the company many profits hence reducing the costs of purchasing the wood. Reducing the costs of buying manufacturing plants results to improved cash flow, liquidity, and profitability hence improved productivity. Enhancing supervision and proper management of organizational resources leads to safety and proper conflict resolution among the conflicting employees. Purchasing highly efficient plant and machinery by a company enhances cost effectiveness, and this greatly helps the company maximize its productivity.
In dealing with various challenges by the company, certain measures are being put into place to curb the problems. For example, the company’s managers have decided to be gathering information from several points of view in a case where a large project is involved and organize the data systematically so as to assess the current process and status of the organization. This will help a great deal in knowing the necessary measures to take to address a particular problem and determine what other best strategies can be implemented to make improvements (Miller, 2014). The managers review the current position of the company in accordance with the related aspects and study their relationships with each other. For instance, in order to boost the morale of the employees, the managers have come up with ways of interacting with the employees freely so as to bring them closer to enable the easy gathering of information regarding development strategies (Ventrice, 2010). This interaction plays a great role in ensuring that a harmonious relationship is built within the organization which makes the employees come to work with a positive mind of working harder to improve their performance besides just getting a pay for their job. They also feel that they are equally valued by their seniors and that their efforts are held with serious regard. Employee interaction contributes to teamwork which has a direct impact to staff morale. Motivated employees produce more as compared to demotivated employees.
However, communication is the most important factor which needs to be put into consideration and implemented as it determines all the activities and efforts made in the company. Once the communication strategies have been put in place, almost all the other aspects run smoothly within the organization (Muema, 2012). Communication plays a great role in all the aspects of an organization and has various roles including the need to offer instructions by the managers to the employees. The employees need to be directed on what to do and how so as to get the work done and this is only possible through proper communication. Communication also offers a basis for employee motivation since most of the conflicts can be solved hence creating harmony among the employees which boosts their work morale (Krell, 2011). It is also through communication that the employees submit their comments, work reports, and grievances to the managers for actions. If proper communication policies are implemented, some problems like misunderstandings, delays, and confusions would be solved and establish harmony among all the departments. Effective communication also helps to maintain a good human relation and gathering ideas from employees and implementing them helps to increase productivity at a low cost. It becomes possible to win the trust of more clients and maintain those that have been there due to the good relationship (Muema, 2012). This ensures that the company maintains a competitive advantage. It is, important, therefore, that the company implements and maintains a system of effective communication which is the tool for understanding and creating cohesiveness. Excellent human relations within the workplace ensure reduced delays, confusions, and misunderstandings in the manufacturing processes of a firm hence increased productivity. Therefore, employees should take the responsibility of cooperation as an individual role to enhance productivity.
There are also other measures which need to be implemented in order to maintain the company in a growing state. For example, the strategies and the policies of the company need to be clearly stated and implemented as they analyze how a company uses the available resources to achieve their goals and earn a competitive advantage. The goals for the company should, therefore, be formally written down and made available to every employee and be well explained to them such that they understand them well and make them work hard towards the achievement (Cummings & Worley, 2013). The mission statement should also be clearly mentioned and illustrated and the functional policies made clear to the employees. This would make it easy for them to understand their role and expectations in the organization. I recommend that the organization establishes a functionally reporting structure which will clearly outline the role of each employee and the reporting channels to avoid contradictions in the job. In order to address the employee complains, it is important that the company creates a table illustrating the negative and the positive aspects reported by the employees and the consultants which will make it easy to recognize the strengths and the areas which still need to be addressed. For example, a chart should be made providing all the safety accidents that have been reported over the last two months in order to take the necessary measures. It is also critical for the managers to hold meetings with the employees and interact with them so as to gather information regarding the development processes. The grievances aired out by the employees should be listened and paid attention to so that they feel valued in their workplace.
References
Chapman, G. D., & White, P. E. (2012). The 5 languages of appreciation in the workplace: Empowering organizations by encouraging people. Press.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2013). Organization Development and Change. Stamford,CT: Cengage Learning. Press.
Kloster, T. W., & Swire, W. S. (2015). Anytime coaching: Unleashing employee performance.
Krell, E. (2011). Managing the Matrix. HR Magazine, 56(8). Press.
Lussier, . (2016). Leadership. Cengage Learning. Press.
Miller, K. (2014). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Press.
Muema, T. M. (2012). Effects of poor communication in an organization: Case of Kenya Seed Company. Press.
Parker, Chris. (2013). Closing the Communication Gap: The Power and Importance of Communication in the Workplace. Kogan Page Ltd. Press.
Rogala, A., & Bia?owa?s, S. (2016). Communication in the organizational environment: Functions, determinants and areas of influence. Press.
Top of FormWorley, C. G., Porras, J., & Lawler, E. E. (2013). Built to change: How to achieve sustained organzational effectiveness. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass. Press.
Vaughan, S. K., & Arsneault, M. (2013). Managing nonprofit organizations in a policy world.
Ventrice, C. (2010). Make their day!. Readhowyouwant.com Ltd. Press.
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