Description

Case Study

 

 

Use the 6-Step Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Steps below to help you determine how to solve your problem.  Your mission is to investigate ONE of the problems presented below and prepare a Power Point presentation of your findings and decisions.  At least 3 external sources of information must be cited such as articles on your topic choice.

 

1)      Awareness of the Problem
What caused you to recognize that there was a problem/challenge?  How did you know that a decision needed to be made?

2)      Identify causes of the problem
5 Key elements:

a)      People – What do the people involved contribute to the problem?  Are they competent?  Do they have an attitude problem?

b)     Materials – Do we have the right materials available?  Is the quality of the materials adequate?

c)      Machines and facilities – Do we have the right machines and facilities to do the job?  Have the machines and facilities changed?

d)     Physical environment – Is anything wrong with the environment (such as toxic fumes making people sick)?  Has the environment changed?

e)      Methods – Are the processes and procedures adequate?  Have new methods been introduced that workers do not understand?

3)      Find creative alternatives
Brainstorm as many options as you can to solve your problem.  (Remember – go for quantity, not quality as this stage.  Wild is good!)

4)      Weigh the alternatives and Make the choice
What are the pros and cons of the various alternatives?  Are there multiple solutions to the problem?  Use a chart to compare your alternatives.

 

5)      Implement the Choice
Describe the exact steps you will take in order to implement your selection.

6)      Evaluate the Choice

Describe what you could do to determine if you were successful.

              i.       

Employee Motivation and Morale

Diane Paul’s gourmet dog biscuit company, Canine Crunchies, is selling dog biscuits on-line like crazy!  Your company has ten employees and four of them are doing great work.  Their productivity is exceptional, but their morale does seem to be declining because they are carrying so much of the workload.  The other six employees produce the minimum amount of work.  Diane wants your management team to figure out how to motivate the employees, and increase the overall morale at the company.

Toni, Jim, and Sue are temp workers barely getting by.  Toni had a full-time job at another firm with 15 years seniority when the founder retired and liquidated the assets.  She has a negative, somewhat fatalistic attitude. 

Jim is insecure about his abilities and seems to need a lot of positive reinforcement from you.  You want him to jump in and take the initiative. 

For Sue, the highlight of her day seems to be the time she spends visiting in the break-room with the other employees.  While she is a charming individual, the work is suffering.

Betty spends a lot of time tidying up the workspace.  She also likes to decorate for every holiday and often brings in flowers.  While that’s good to a point, she needs to spend more time producing work. 

Mary Kay stops production at least three times a day to check on her personal items.  She’s either checking her car in the parking lot, or checking her purse in the break-room, or checking her timecard, or checking her work tools.  At least every other day she stops everything to oil and check the equipment. 

Bob seems bored with the work.  He’s a smart guy, but doesn’t push himself.  You’ve heard him say that he thinks there are better ways to accomplish the work; but he has never approached you with any specific suggestions.  He is the last one in, in the morning, and the first one to leave at night.

From the perspective of a manager of Canine Crunchies, use the information from Chapter 11 and other motivation theories, and the problem solving steps, to develop a plan to improve employee motivation and morale.

Job Satisfaction and Quality of Work Life

The dog biscuit company in Rio Rancho that you work for, Canine Crunchies, is doing great!  It is selling 25,000 packages of dog biscuits a month from its website and another 5,000 to local pet stores.  Overall, the employees seem content, but you have lost four of your fifteen employees recently to an upstart company – American Cotton.  You heard that the “quality of work life” at American Cotton is what draws the employees.  American Cotton does pay a little bit better than Canine Crunchies, but you don’t think that’s the only reason your employees choose to leave.  Diane Paul, CEO of Canine Crunchies, believes in providing a high quality work life for the employees, but she isn’t sure what that entails in the Rio Rancho marketplace.  Since Canine Crunchies is a pretty small company, it doesn’t have a lot of extra money for employee programs, but Ms. Paul is willing to make reasonable changes.

From the perspective of a manager of Canine Crunchies, use information you have gathered on “quality of work life.”  Use the problem solving steps to put together a plan to improve job satisfaction and the quality of work life at Canine Crunchies.