Mba 530 Final Paper
Essay title: Mba 530 Final Paper
Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: RIORDAN MANUFACTURING
Problem Solution: Riordan Manufacturing
University of Phoenix
MBA 530
January 9, 2008
Problem Solution: Riordan Manufacturing
What is motivation? “A motivating force or influence: drive or influence” according to Webster’s dictionary. Motivation is the prime factor in what most teachers, coaches, and employers are trying to get most out of their students, players, and employees. Riordan manufacturing is owned by Riordan Industries (Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1billion) produces plastic parts and employs over 500 people. Their annually earning are estimated at $46 million with three plants located in Georgia, Michigan and China. Riordan’s primary consumer target are automotive, appliance and aircraft parts manufacturing, beverage makers and bottlers. Riordan Manufacturing is trying to figure out how motivate its employees right amid a current trend of uneven sales, employee turnover, and low employee morale.
Situation Overview
Riordan is currently in the process of changing how they market and manufacture their products. Riordan is changing the sales process from single person to team sales in effort to boost their struggling sales over the past two years. Riordan knows that the morale is low following a survey that was conducted and the main source of that low morale is the compensation and benefits. These are the areas Riordan Manufacturing are looking to improve, as they move forward.
Issue Identification
There is a lack of motivation among the employees because of concern about fair compensation and better benefits.
How to provide fair compensation among the three major groups of employees: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y.
There needs to be better communications among upper management, everyone needs to be on same page
Declining sales and uneven sales over the past two years
Competitors recruiting Riordan’s best employees
Changing selling strategy from single person to a team approach
Employee turnover
Decline in work performance
Opportunity Identification
There are plenty to be concerned about for Riordan Manufacturing, but there is also a great deal of opportunities that may arise from these issues.
Improve sales with its new strategic approach
Improve on current reward system
To be known as one of the best companies to work for
Good company image allowing them to inturn recruit the best employees from other companies
Improve morale and work ethic which can translate into more productive work performance
Low turnover rate
Better productive/sales increases chances for profitable longevity in market
Partnership
Possibly expand consumer base/target
Stakeholders Perspectives
A stakeholder is anyone who will be affected by the decision of the business. The stakeholders of Riordan Manufacturing include the board of directors(VP of R&D, COO, VP sales & marketing, CIO etc.), employees and consumers.The board along with the owner, Micheal Riordan, made the decisions to switch from single salesperson processes to team based strategy. The problem they must deal with is how to boost employee morale so that the company’s new strategy, along with production, will be a successful one. Some on the board believe that the company’s current compensation package is fine, while others think that there should be more incentives added. Employees feel that they are undervalued and are not sure of the current promotion structure, in other words, how can we(employees) get promoted. Also, certain departments feel they should get compensated more than others ( Engineers feel like they deserve more than sales team). The employees think that they are not getting paid equally like their competitors. From the consumer view point, any change in compensation package could ultimately alter the