Conflict & Change (green River and Aberdeen)
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In this Individual Project we will have the final organizational analysis for Mr. Kenneth Dailey with FMC Green River. This analysis will include all fifteen (15) of our outline analysis presentation. This discussion will include management of ability, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organizational ethics, job design, performance appraisal, pay, leadership, communication, organizational structure, organizational culture, organizational change, and organizational development.
FMC Green River is and has been a successful company for the last fifty-six years. First originated in 1948 and produced 1.3 million tons of various grades of soda ash a year. The success of the first business brought about a second refining plant in 1953, which was completed in 1970. FMC Aberdeen just started up five years ago and employs one hundred people, produces one product which is a missile canister for the U.S. Navy. FMC Green River managed by Mr. Dailey, produces various chemicals, has over 100 domestic and international customers, 1,150 employees, creates several products and works closely with the United Workers of America Union. (Clawson, 2005).
The management of ability for Aberdeen is very different from the management of ability in Green River. Aberdeen has a team based environment where each employees is authorized to take ownership. Each line is built into teams of between 3 to 16 employees. Each team will have a selected supply person, safety person, quality person, and a team leader. Each team has the ability to schedule there hours, purchase materials and tools, coordinate with other teams, and evaluate team members. The Aberdeen system uses Monday and Thursday morning meeting to open up communications between management and team members. Management doesnt micro-manage their staff at Aberdeen which helps build each, employees skill set. Each employee is placed into a team and can start learning all the different tasks inside the group. Aberdeen has set up the salary structure with inceptives based on the number of tasks a person can do inside a job set. As an employee learns more skills they can become certified in the skill and gain a levels in salary. This creates cross-trained employee who can then train other staff inside the team. Green River runs in a top down management style where the management directs the employee on what to do and uses many levels of middle management to handle scheduling, ordering, quality and coordinate between of employees. The Green River employees are in work silos and are used in the job they are hired to do. The entire Green River employee base is unionized which reduces the ability to cross-training because the union has to approve a salary range for cross-trained employees.
Organizational Commitment for both Aberdeen and Green River has been good. Both companies have enjoyed growth. Aberdeen places the company in its employee hands while Green River uses many levels of middle management to run the company. Neither of these styles has created great turnover rates, which was shown from the Aberdeen data showing 5 to 10 percent annually turnover, which is not high or low. Additionally interest in working for each company is high which was apparent with the “over 300 applicants, from as far away as Colorado and Alaska” (Clawson, 2005, pg 22) that Green River had for just ten opening. Both Aberdeen and Green River try to make the best for their employees with Aberdeen ability to gain salary through skills and Green Rivers high starting salaries. Aberdeen helps their employees learn many different skills since it has a flat structure and less stepped advancements so its employees can be well rounded. Green River on the other hands provides middle level advancement steps with the use of middle management positions.
Aberdeen and Green River have different styles of management, which will lead to different levels of job satisfactory for their employees. For Aberdeen, the management style that was created is built for the employee to enjoy the job they are so doing the people they are working with by creating teams and a sense of family. In addition, provide each employee with a sense of authority and the responsibility for each product that is produced. To keep morale up Aberdeen provides rewards for meeting goals, such as extra days off around a holiday. As the turnover rate suggests this system does not work for every employee some employees just want to show up and do what they are told and not have to take as much responsibility product and want to be directed on what to do would be satisfied working at the Green River site. The Green River employee has a very diverse grouping of products that they produce, so an employee can keep moving and working with different customers so they are not burned out by working with the same customer and product the whole time. In addition the Green River employee have the knowledge of a strong company that has been growing for 10 years and with the idea of building more sites, gives the employee a sense of security.
Organizational Ethics defined as “The moral values, beliefs, and rules that establish the appropriate way for an organization and its members to deal with each other with each other and with outside the organization.” (George & Jones, 2005, Pg. 543) For both Aberdeen and Green River, they are held to the same overall corporate image and objective, which make is so they both have “some similar operating values and systems” (Clawson, 2005 pg 1) so dealing with each other is easy. Aberdeens believes in allowing the employee and have the employee take an active role in making decisions for the company. Green River on the other hand uses middle management to make most of the decisions for the worker. Another place where these two differ is in the number of different ways they need to deal with outside organizations. Since Aberdeen only has to deal with one customer; they can easily figure how the customer needs to be dealt with. For Green River, this is a very complicated since they need to deal with upwards of 100 different customers that re located worldwide. Dealing with many different customers Green River has to build and organizational ethics set that will fit all the needs of it diverse customer base and still keep with the employee needs.
For Aberdeen, The job design is a simple one. Aberdeen has one customer that they need to satisfy and they have designed all the work groups around this customer. Aberdeen does not have extra levels of middle manage instead each work cell takes a section of the product line and by working in authorized work groups, they can deliver timely high quality products to the customer. In addition, Aberdeen has Monday and Thursday meeting with all of its 100 employees and goes through schedules, quality and customer needs