Management of Potteries Health Care - Essay Example

Lecturer Potteries Health Care Negotiations As an established organization, Potteries Health Care has become one of the leading companies in the United Kingdom (UK). Its profitability and annual rate of stock turn over is a clear indication of its sterling performance. As a new Human Resource Manager, Charles Levinson has to be credited for introducing new changes which helped to move the company a step ahead. Thus, he was commended for doing a great job which enabled the company to move a notch higher. His commitments led to improved quality service delivery since it made the employees to be more accountable for their actions. Besides, it instilled a spirit of responsibility and team player as each worker was to be held accountable for the development of their respective areas. However, despite such success, Potteries Health Care has not been offering a conducive working environment for all the stakeholders. Despite their dedication to deliver their services to the clients, the employees have been crying foul of stringent policies which have been adopted by the top management. Even if they are meant to increase the chances of the company accomplishing its short and long-term goals, they have been criticized by a section of the labor force who has perceived them to be quite punitive and demoralizing to them. in fact, it might be the reason behind the high level of attrition of the employees (Gomez-Mejia et al 27). According to the latest company records, a high number of workers have left the company. During the past two years, a total of 25 employees voluntarily left the company. Moreover, there were 3 cases of redundancy; 3 dismissed employees while 5 were dismissed while still undergoing their probation. This implies that something must be amiss and hence needs to be addressed. If everything was okay, no such number of workers would have ceased serving the company. Although they do not represent the total labor force, they might have been some of the most productive employees whose quitting might have paralyzed the company’s progress. For this reason, as a labor unionist, I would like to express my displeasure with the company’s top management. Although it has been in existence for quite a longer time now, the company must be condemned for not failing to safeguard the welfare of its workers. The change in management does not necessarily mean introducing new policies which are meant to promote the company’s progress without necessarily thinking about the concerns of the workers. Even though he was commended for good performance, the hiring of Charles Levinson as the company’s new HRM was a disgraceful occurrence in the company. In my opinion, his actions demonstrate that he is not concerned about the welfare of the workers. He is undoubtedly task-oriented and wants to see excellent results without caring about how they are attained. As a worker’s representative, I would like to point out that there needs to be radical changes in the manner the operations of the HRM department has been going on. Hence, I would like to begin by appealing to the top management to reconsider the decision of adopting the Quality Circle Approach that was singlehandedly introduced by Mr. Levinson. As members of the labor union, we are convinced that it is not for the interest of the workers. Definitely, it is mainly focusing on improved performance and achievement of high and overambitious goals which might so challenging to accomplish in a real life situation. It is not justifiable to compel all the employees to sign such a performance contract to guide them in their day to day activities. Although it is not hard to make the commitment, questions should be raised over the motives of this new development. Is meant to improve service delivery or to eliminate those perceived as non-performers? I feel that it serves the second purpose. It sets high goals which might not be met by all the workers. Thus, its implementation may end up intimidating the employees who would otherwise be motivated to improve the quality of their services for the sake of improving the company’s performance. For this reason therefore; the management should engage the workers in a dialogue. There is no point of working in an environment in which one is not comfortable. This is one of the most causes of resignation by employees. As a union, we are committed to encouraging our members to be productive in their areas of specialization. However, supporting quality service delivery should not be taken as weakness and toleration of the harassment of our members. Besides, it should be known that we are transformative and accept changes. Our position should be clearly known to everyone that we are totally in opposition of the so called Quality Circle Approach because it will add no value of the employees. All the workers should be given an opportunity to enjoy their jobs as per the agreed terms of service entered into during the time of their engagement. A part from fighting for the deletion of Quality Circle Approach, we, as a labor union, would like to appeal to the top management to consider entering into a negotiation with us, to deliberate over the issue of communication within the company. As a matter of fact, every manager understands that effective corporate and interpersonal communication is core to the success of a company (Gomez-Mejia et al 19). However, as noted, communication has been a major challenge in the company. The top management has not put up measures to ensure that this is properly done. However, unknown to many, it has negatively impacted on the performance of several employees who have, at one time, done what they ought not to have done simply because they had no adequate and relevant information about it. in fact, 15% of the company employees are ignorant about the company’s rate of stock turn over. For instance, as it was found out at one time, a lot of company employees were proven to be ill informed about the company. When asked a basic question about the company structure, the switchboard operator could not answer. The same was evidenced about staff members who are not aware of the location of the company’s warehouse and trending sales adverts. This is a clear proof that there exists no effective communication amongst the company’s stakeholders. Surprisingly, it exists even amongst the managers themselves. When the Personnel Department released the data of absenteeism amongst the employees, other managers were not aware about. In fact, they were surprised to hear about such a record. Hence, in order to promote cohesion amongst the employees, managers, suppliers, clients and the general public, we would like to urge the management to consider communication as the cornerstone for achieving it. we recommend that the company should consider adopting the principles of effective corporate and interpersonal communication because it will add more value to the company. It will make it much possible for the workers to operate as a team as they look forward to achieving the company’s goals. With proper communication, it will be possible for the stakeholders to engage one another since they are sure that their opinion will be taken into considerations. In conclusion, Potteries Health Care is one of the most outstanding companies in the country. it has high chances of emerging as the best alternative company in the eyes of the clients. however, with the high level of competition in the market, the management has to be innovative enough to come up with creative ideas to improve its performance. Amongst the most important areas to focus on is the Human Resource Department. As important stakeholders, the welfare of the workers should be considered. This will help in making sure that they are motivated to improve their services. Because of this, I would like to fault the management for adopting Quality Circle Contracts. It will not add any value to the company, but only help in bringing it down. The top management should be ready to engage the workers and their representatives in a fruitful dialogue. It will grant them an opportunity to listen to one another and come into a conclusive agreement on exactly what to be done in order to promote the quality of service delivery as they seek to expand the company. Without team play, it is certain that no progress can be attained so far. Works Cited Gomez-Mejia, L.R. et al. Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition. New York, New York USA: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Read More