Keyboard Company Analysis Sample

You are to move as an OD practician who has landed the Keyboard Company as a client. Make a instance analysis utilizing the Case Analysis Format as it appears on page 188 of your text. You can add extra infinite to this format if you need room to to the full explicate or analyze different subdivisions of the signifier. Additionally. do certain that you warrant your recommendations to the Keyboard Company direction.

Situation

The Keyboard Company is a medium sized house that industries and supplies computing machine keyboards. The company was founded by John Zoltan. and has experienced rapid growing in recent old ages. Zoltan attended an executive seminar. make up one’s minding to engage the professor as a adviser. He besides ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal for four MBAs. and hired them organizing the OD group. every bit good as an internal chance for hire as a full-time employee. The OD group had offices in an old conference room. The members ranged from 23 to 34 old ages old. and here is a short life

•  Pete Loomis. 25. behavioural specializer with industry preparation.
• Kay Hughes. 27. anterior to graduation was a gross revenues representative.
• Bill Heller. 26. specialising in group kineticss with no industry experience.
• Don Morgan. 34. an person with OD experience from the armed forces.
• George Kessler. 23. a individual with 3 old ages of experience in human resources.

In the first month. the group got to cognize each other. keeping hebdomadal meeting with Zoltan. and familiarized themselves with the organisation. They began a company broad 3-day preparation plan at a resort location with the criterion fringe benefits. including repasts. Some of the members of the company referred to this preparation plan as the “country club” . The group was extremely cohesive. disbursement long hours merchandising thoughts and back uping each other. All of the members of the OD group. including Zoltan. worked difficult to do the undertaking a success.

Within the OD group. the instance states that there were the undermentioned two subgroups:

1.  Pete. George and Bill – All work forces under the age of 26 with a modicum of experience.
2.  Kay and Don – A adult male and a adult female in their late 20s and early 30s.

The first subgroup dressed informally bluish denims and athletics shirts. while the 2nd subgroup dressed in a concern insouciant manner. The first subgroup wanted to be confrontational and aggressive. while the 2nd subgroup opted for a more gradual attack. Both subgroups wanted to guarantee alteration. but possibly the difference in manners was a caused by a difference in age and experience instead than due to a difference in premises.

As the preparation progressed. and information was collected a little contention began to emerge. Pete. George and Bill wanted to face the organisation with the informations. and get down a occupation design that would take to entire quality direction. Kay and Don believed in a more gradual attack. where the degree of possible credence might be much greater.

Another issue that occurred was that the OD group began to see less of Zoltan. even though Kay could acquire an assignment with Zoltan any clip. and Don had hebdomadal briefings with Zoltan when he was in town. Pete. George and Bill had trouble scheduling meetings with Zoltan. and proceeded to do gags about this fact. Kay justified the fact that she could run into with Zoltan any clip by saying that she was trying to maintain good dealingss with the client. while Pete felt that the whole company was the client.

The preparation plan experienced assorted consequences. where some line directors praised the plan. while other felt that it was a waste of clip and money. In a meeting with Zoltan. the accountant believed that it would be a good thought to travel the OD group to the Human Resources section under Paul Blake. the frailty president of that section.

The group was bear downing $ 700. 000 per twelvemonth to overhead. and this money was allocated to the budgets of the fabrication. technology. selling. human resources and finance sections. Zoltan decided to give the affair some idea. One issue that is readily evident here is that the section caputs may non hold wanted to pay for the OD group. They may hold believed that this money was an unneeded disbursal. and therefore. the suggestion by the accountant may hold been a political move on the portion of some of the section caputs.

One twelvemonth after the OD group was formed. the members of the group were invited to the executive commission meeting. where the public presentation of the group was discussed and evaluated. The executive commission had some recommendations for bettering the group in the hereafter. Because of the demand for more coordination and integrating in preparation activities. and for budgetary ground. the OD group was placed under the protections of human resources describing to Paul Blake.

The commission assumed that this alteration would non impact group activities and behaviour. The commission besides suggested that one individual be designated as the cardinal contact individual. and that individual was felt to be Don Morgan. the oldest person in the group. Even so. the executive commission left concluding determination up to the OD group to do. When the group got back to the office. both Kay and Pete were sing vacating from the company.

Problem

John Zoltan. laminitis of keyboard Company. attended an executive seminar and decided to engage an outside OD squad without adequately educating his direction squad as to the intent of this new division. It has caused misinterpretations. deficiency of trust issues. and confusion within the company. Some directors believe this group is taking pecuniary resources from other more of import maps. such as their ain division. And that these “outsiders” are so immature. recent alumnuss with small to no industry experience. has left many inquiring how this new group can assist them plan a best system when they know so small of the operation.

Within the OD group itself there are some jobs. On the surface the squad seems to hold developed a group coherence. but upon closer review I find that they truly have split into two distinguishable groups: one that advocates rapid alteration towards TQM and another who wants to take a more gradual attack. Each side believes steadfastly in his or he place and the goup has non been able to acquire past this deadlock.

John Zoltan. in the beginning. was really involved with this new OD group. but has since backed off going available merely to Kay on a regular footing. This behaviour has led to intuitions about their relationship. Is something more than work traveling on between them? This tease by Pete. George. and Bill has caused Kay to desire to discontinue the company. Pete is going frustrated by all of what is happening–not being heard by the other side. deficiency of effectivity on the occupation. the deficiency of trust by the company directors. and the contemptuous gags at Kay’s expense–that he excessively is ready to go forth Keyboard Company.

Causes

Some of the implicit in causes are ;

• Lack of way from Zoltan
• Lack of account and instruction of new OD group’s intent by Zoltan
• Lack of co-operation by all direction and employees
• Distrust of these “whiz kids”
• Zoltan’s apparently unjust allocation of clip to assorted squad members
• Employees’ sense of insecurity due to the uncertainness of all the recent alterations
• The company’s rapid growing has caused a batch of alterations already. and employees are distrustful of more. particularly if viewed as unneeded
• Re-allocation of pecuniary resources has left many directors scrambling for departmental funding–causing difficult feeling towards these expensive recent MBA alumnuss. therefore misgiving
• he OD squad that at one clip was a cohesive unit is now holding internal jobs besides leads to feelings of uncertainty–fear. insecurity. and so forth

Systems Affected

Psychological– The deficiency of way has caused much uncertainness throughout the company. Uncertainty leads to fear ; fear leads to a sensed sense of menace ; sense menace leads to decreased productiveness and increased absenteeism. Marilyn Rumsey and Jeff Christie. in an article for Human Resource Executive Magazine. add to this appraisal. “The fact that perceived menace induces a emphasis response is good established.

In the workplace. high degrees of emphasis have been associated with reduced productiveness. attending and quality of end product every bit good as increased medical costs. turnover and interpersonal struggle. In industrial scenes. the mental preoccupation instilled by emphasis ( presenteeism ) brings a heightened hazard of accidents. ” ( Rumsey and Christie.  )

Technical– The alteration of traveling the OD section under the protections of the HR section does non imply any proficient jobs.

Options:

•  Do nil.
•  John Zoltas takes on the leading function in the OD section.
•  The OD section goes under the protections of human resources describing to Paul Blake.
•  The OD section is disbanded and the company hires an outside alteration agent house in order to interrupt the deadlock.
•  The company hires a go-between in order to assist find the company’s best pick of action.

Recommendation

I recommend that the company engage a go-between in order to assist the company decide its ain internal predicament. “Mediation is a procedure in which impersonal parties. the go-betweens. assist two or more persons explore ways to decide their differences and make an understanding that suits their single involvements.

The go-between assists in clear uping issues. helps to concentrate on implicit in concerns. helps in making options for struggle declaration. and helps in making a program of action or understanding that is acceptable to the parties and the program works to decide the implicit in issue. Mediation is an alternate method of difference declaration where the jobs are identified and defined by the participants. ” ( Moore. Hasler. and Sakamoto. 2003 )

The go-between could help Zoltas in explicating why he formed the OD section and why he chose the people to staff it. This would clear up the team’s intent within the company vision and ends. It would besides help the commission in finding the best possible class of action for the company.

Mediation helps both sides be heard and understood by all parties that are affected. This cuts down on misinterpretations. misgivings. and so forth. Thus the procedure leads to a sense of teamwork among the different divisions. persons. and so away. It besides cuts down on incrimination and “finger-pointing. ” “Central to the mediation procedure is the construct that the involved parties. aided by the go-between. seek a solution that is reciprocally agreeable to both parties. There are several grounds that it is possible to get at a solution that works for both parties:

•  Mediation is more informal than an internal probe. registering with a human rights bureau or judicial proceeding.
•  The parties own the procedure and the solution.
•  Solutions that are agreeable in mediation might ne’er be advanced in a win-lose theoretical account of job resolution.
•  Both parties are introduced to new methods of communicating and job resolution.
• Mediation can ensue in the understanding to forbear from obnoxious behaviour without being preceeded by an admittance of error.
• Mediation may hold a quicker and more durable declaration than win-lose state of affairss. It allows the employer to take speedy and appropriate action.
• Mediation is confidential. The procedure may forestall an incident from holding a long life in the rumour factory. as is frequently the instance during a formal probe.
• Participants are often more able to perpetrate to a solution which they have formulated instead than one which has been forced on them. ” ( Moore. Hasler. and Sakamoto. 2003 ) ( foregrounding mine )

We already have cohesive work groups that want to make what is best for the company. They simply have differences of sentiment in how to accomplish that aim. A go-between can assist everyone involved better understand the issues. why each person’s stance is of import to him or her. and clear up the future way of the company within their ain footings. This is why I support the hiring of a go-between to assist Keyboard Manufacturers in finding the best possible following measure for the company.

Mentions

1. Buresh. Donald. et Al. ( November 24. 2004 ) . Organizational Change ( OC ) . Class Chat. Retrieved on November 26. 2004 from hypertext transfer protocol: //flashchat. aiu-online. com/commonground3/archiveview. asp? connectionString=MGT420_01_51 & A ; instanceName=MGT420_01_2004_11_24 & A ; topic=Week % 202 % 20First % 20Chat.
2. Harvey. Don and Brown. Donald R. ( 2001 ) . An Experimental Approach to Organizational Development. 6th erectile dysfunction. Upper Saddle river. New jersey: Prentice-Hall. Inc.
3. Krames. Jeffrey A. ( 2003 ) . What the Best CEO’s Know. New York: McGraw-Hill.
4. Moore. T. . Hasler. C. . and Sakamoto. E. ( 2003 ) . Mediation in the Workplace. 2nd erectile dysfunction. . Retrieved on November 27. 2004 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. co. multnomah. or. us/sheriff/Mediation. htm. ©Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office
5. Sharma. Robin. ( 2004 ) . Leadership News. Quotes taken from an October ( twelvemonth non identified ) Fortune magazine article by Matthew Boyle. Retrieved on November 27. 2004 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. robinsharma. com/news. hypertext markup language