Analyse the Case Study of the Top Trucking Company †Free Samples

Questions: 1.How do the new workplace practices introduced by the new yard manager complement one another? 2.What are the risks to sustaining these changes if George or the yard manager moves on? 3.Do you think tough blue collar unions like the Transport Workers Union are more of less likely to engage in workplace changes like these than public or service sector unions? Why? How would you find out if you are right? Answers: Introduction Employees engagement in workplace changes is a very important process and it is the responsibility of the Managers and union members to address their needs so that they can be a strategic contributor in achieving the goals and objectives of the business. The report discusses the case study of the Top trucking company and the various workplace practices adopted by its new manager and how they were proven effective in managing the performance of the organization and the individuals. 1. The top trucking company Wollongong yard has a reputation of being the high performance of that region and they are also visited by people of head office and other yards of that region. But in order to reach at this position, the company has struggled a lot in terms of an autocratic manager and a poor working environment. But the company witnessed a major turnaround due to the change in the management of the company and a new yard manager who implemented new workplace practices (Ryerson University, 2011). The practices are: The old yard manager followed an autocratic management style. He imposed his views on the truck drivers without even asking for their feedback. He expressed no concern for its employees. But the new yard manager was quite cooperative and supportive (Iqbal, Anwar Haider, 2015). He was quite keen on building and maintaining a healthy relationship with the drivers and the union members. He had a practical approach of handling the problems and was quite reluctant in blaming the drivers for the problems of the organization rather he analysed the root cause of the problem to find a permanent solution. As a result the confidence of the truck drivers increased in the management which led to a strong workplace relationship. This increased the productivity and motivation of the employees (Choi, 2007). The need for safety is considered amongst the basic needs of an individual. In organization also, the workers want that the employer should be concerned about their workplace safety (Burton, 2012). It is the most important responsibility of the employer to provide them with a safe working environment. When the charge of the company was in the old hands, the owners were highly ignorant towards the maintenance of the trucks which may pose a huge life risk during working hours. The new manager implemented various health and safety practices and he also made sure that each and every individual receive proper technical training (Mensah Taiwah, 2015). It resulted into drivers commitment and loyalty towards the objectives of the organization. Poor workplace and poor working condition is one of the leading factors of employees dissatisfaction towards their job (Buhai, Cottini Nielsen, 2008). The employees under the governance of the New Transport groups were given new uniforms and the workplace was transformed in to a new place. The clean working environment provides the benefits of increase in the productivity and workplace engagement among employees. The new manager also introduced drivers with new computer system which was resisted at one place but after getting to know its benefits, it significantly help to increase and improve the morale of the drivers (Harenstam, et.al, 2006). Another effective and important change in the workplace practice which was adopted by the new manager was engaging union member George in managing the performance of the employees. Unions play a very key role in organization as they are the ones who are in direct touch with the drivers and they know about their issues and concerns. The manager should consider union members as a strategic partner who can help to address workplace issues so that employees can contribute effectively in achieving the desired goals and objectives of the organization (Dobre, 2013). The yard manager also kept the drivers updated about the yard performance. When a manager discusses such important information, employees feel more engaged in the working environment. They feel more responsible for enhancing the organizational performance. All these workplace practices introduced by the manager complement each other very well as they a share a common objective of increasing employees performance so that the organizational goals are achieved effectively. 2. Manager as the name suggest is responsible for managing various functions of the organization and aligning the efforts of individuals with the vision and mission of the company. Changes are very important in an organization and mangers implement change strategies in order to improve the organizations and employees performance. They play a crucial role in sustaining the change management strategies of the organizations. The role of a manager do not end after initiating a change management process but they also need to review the strategies on a timely basis so that the long term goals and objectives are achieved effectively (ACAS, 2014). If the yard manager moves out of the organization, it may impact the companys performance. Earlier in the presence of the old yard manager the trucking Companys performance was very poor but the new manager was responsible for planning and organizing the activities and the efforts of drivers in such a way that the performance of the company improved significantly. In the absence of the manager the only authorised person is George who being a union member does not have expertise to perform such management functions (Pirtea, Nicolescu Botoc, 2009). The new manager utilised the financial and human resources optimally during the process of change management strategies. He knew the importance of technology and installed computer systems to enhance the performance of the drivers. Also, he was able to remove the bad eggs of the organization who were interrupting the working environment. During the managers absence all these things are not possible and chances are high that the company may shift back to the old position (Raghupathi, 2013). For sustaining the changes in the organization, the continuous review of the employees performance is very important. Reviewing will help the manager to analyse the performance gap and design strategies to fill it. The manager is the key to communication between the top management and lower level management. In the absence of the manager, there cannot be any type of communication and the issues and complaints will remain unaddressed. The union member has been considered as a strategic partner. The main concern of the unions is to handle the grievances of the workforce and communicate the same to the management. George also provided support to the drivers even in the presence of the old yard manager. Georges presence has been a pillar of emotional support for the drivers, in the absence of him the drivers may not raise their problems in front of the management. As discussed above the presence of both George and the manager complement each other and they share a common objective of managing employees work performance to achieve strategic goals and objectives of the organization. 3. Blue Collar unions are referred to as a group of workers who are engagenhd in manual labour work in the organizations. Their engagement in workplace changes is very important in order to take the company to a competitive position in the industry. The involvement of Blue collar unions is more in the workplace changes in comparison to other public and service sector unions. There may be following possible reasons: Blue collar workers are underpaid according to the capacity of the individuals. They are willing to work at a lesser pay because as they dont have required skills. They usually belong to poor background and have very low career prospects to choose from. As a result they get easily exploited by the managers. In order to ensure their engagement, the manager should treat them equally like other employees of the organization and proved them with fair and just pay and rewards for their performance. This cannot be done in public or service organization unions as their pay is secured and enough according to their skills (Ying, 2014). In public organizations the management staff may or not have skills and expertise to initiate and implement the efficient workplace strategies. They are also not paid much in comparison to the private sector managers. This is a huge demotivating factor in their professional career and hence they are not much interested in motivating the union members to engage in the workplace strategies. In the Maslows motivation theory the physiological and psychological needs form the basis of the pyramid. The blue collar workers are happy in fulfilment of these needs. The factors to motivate them to be the strategic participant in the workplace changes. The common factors are: Provide them with a workplace with good working environment, they get satisfied and work productively. Treating all the workers equally and provide them with fair rewards and incentives will motivate them to work harder. There are other factors too that induce the workers to engagement in workplace practices. In public sector unions the workers already have all these benefits so the blue collar unions will be likely to engage more. Job security in private sector during the tough economic situation is a question of a major concern. Public sector guarantees job security to its workers. By providing blue collar workers job security, an employer can ensure long term commitment towards the organizational goals. Job security has been a serious issue because now the production processes are technology oriented; as a result the demand for workers who do work manual is significantly declining. Another reason is that the substitutes are available that are willing to work at a less wage (Ganta 2014). Job security will enhance job satisfaction and it will ultimately result in to increase in workplace changes. Conclusion The report concludes that in order to successfully engage workers in the workplace changes, the role and support of managers and union members are very important. Workplace practices like increase in communication, safety norms. Etc. has deeply affected the performance of the organization. The presence of both managers and unions are important in order to achieve the management goals. It has been quite clearly discussed that the blue collar workers are likely to participate more in the changes happening in working environment as compared to the public or service sector organization. There were many factors which affects the employees performance and it should be identifies by the mangers to successfully utilise in achieving the goals of the organization. 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