The Cornish Site: an Overview - Essay Example

Introduction This paper is a case study which refers to the piece of a consultancy job. Due to problems that are mainly related to human resource an organization is showing financial underperformance and overall deterioration. The consultant has to advise the director and the management team on how this performance slump can be overcome. The two most important parts of this paper are: 1. The referral problem and related literature review 2. The consultancy process and approach The main purpose of the paper is to utilize an extensive theoretical and academic correlation to propose and chalk out an action plan as a part of the consultancy process. The paper is directed to elucidate the process of consultation ina practical and step-wise fashion. “In recent years, a normative discourse has developed which asserts that the path to improved status for HR ‘professionals’ involves reinvention of their role as ‘business partners’ and ‘internal consultants’ promoting enterprise competitiveness.” (Wright, 2008) Therefore, it should be expected from this paper that it would explain how a human resource consultant can become a business partner with the help of an effective consultancy process. The paper has been written while keeping in mind the most relevant human resource practices and consultation methods to be discussed. The Cornish Site: An Overview In the post recession dynamic economic environment of the developed world, enterprise and entrepreneurship are the areas of prime focus. To ensure that employment rates remain high, enterprise and entrepreneurship strategies should be refined and developed (LEED and OECD, 2008). As per the case under scrutiny, the Cornish Centre is a former railway works in the south-east of England. This suggests that it used to be a daughter enterprise in the British railways industry and infrastructure. Now, it has been converted into a cultural industries centre. The Cornish Centre has an artists’ studio, an exhibition/performance space that is also used for rehearsals, a large training room, retail units for creative business and an organic restaurant. The organisation is administered by a management team which is again under the board of the Cornish Trust. The management team is responsible for 40 full and part-time staff. Further, a National Lottery Grant, the Regional Development Agency and the Local Authority are the main financiers of the organisation. This profile of the Cornish Centre suggests that it can be categorised under small and medium enterprises. Small and medium enterprises are ideal for diverse job creation and mobilizing the local economy of an area (Reinecke et al, 2004). Now, let’s focus on the various aspects of the organisation under scrutiny. Purpose The organisation used to be a railway works which was constructed in 1846 and closed in 1981. During its working life, more than 1000 local people worked at the Cornish site and more than 1500 trains were produced there. In 1997, the almost derelict site was taken over by a trust and through 1999 it was renovated and reconstructed as a cultural industries centre. The purpose of this centre is to serve as a heritage destination and creative industries hub catalyzing the regional economy of the area. Size There is a trust at the helm of the affairs of the affairs of the site which oversees a team of managers. There are 5 key management positions, one director and 40 full and part-time staff. The organization has versatile functions and enviable assets, yet it remains a relatively small business establishment. Function It has already been mentioned that the organization operates through artists’ studios, exhibition/performance space, training room, retail units for creative business and an organic restaurant. It is a rich industrial heritage site, a promising creative business centre and a suitable tourist destination. Sector Relative to its size, Cornish Centre operates in a highly diverse profile of sectors. It operates in tourism, creative art, design industry and restaurant or food and hospitality sectors. Other Aspects Unlike a typical small and medium enterprise, the Cornish Centre is not run by a first generation entrepreneur and there are very few chances that it will become a family business in the future. It has a wide spectrum of operations but relatively limited human resource. It has a diverse portfolio of financiers. It has evolved through a long process of contraction and rarefaction of business activities. Hence, this case is apparently simple but in reality, there are chances for complicated conjectures to surface. Implications of Consulting the Cornish Centre This type of organizations operates in a cooperative cum corporate technique. Unlike a family business, Cornish Centre does not have a few family members at the top. The functionary is a top-down threefold design operating through a trust (top), a management team (middle) and the remaining staff (base). According to the case statement, the Cornish Trust has been seen as ‘distant’ as not understanding the daily work of the centre. So, the consultant will have to depend on the attitude, powers and profile of the director. The new director Christelle can behave probably in two ways. In one way, she can be self centric and then move away to some other organisation with better prospects (at present, Cornish Centre is going through a serious down time and the financiers are threatening to withdraw). In the other way, she can be optimist and take on the challenge boldly. The consultant has to judge her attitude, and if necessary, inspire her to face the challenge. The financiers have given only six months for the organisation to return on the track of good performance, and hence the consulting period should be shorter and the remedies suggested should be readily feasible. After initial success, the centre is a financially and functionally sick organization, and so the implication of consulting it simply states that there are numerous challenges ahead. The Referral Problem and Related Literature Review The major financiers of the Cornish Centre have indicated that a fair number of the centre’s targets are not being achieved. The performance within the centre has to be improved. The performance of the centre is multifaceted. Each facet of the performance pattern evolves around a management department. Currently, each such department is supposed to be headed by a manager with expertise specific to that department. There are broadly five management areas in the centre: Facilities management, education management, restaurant management, studio management and marketing management. Facilities Management In general, facilities are the buildings, equipments, services, etc. of an organization. Regarding Cornish Centre, two meanings can be attributed to the term ‘facilities’. First, facilities are the major assets and functions of the organization. Second, the Cornish Centre can be categorized under a kind of heritage and tourist facilities with special purposes. Solution development in the context of facilities management must include the following: “Generation of options Assembly of criteria for evaluating options Evaluation of options Selection of preferred options” (Atkin and Brooks, 2009) In this way, a comprehensive facilities management strategy or an improvement plan in the existing strategy evolves. The most critical drawback of a facilities management strategy can be a lack of planning for generation, selection and overall synchronization of the available and potential options. “There are many ways in which organizations can establish options, for example, consultation with stakeholders and invitation of external experts. The strategic analysis stage should have highlighted precisely how well the organization’s accommodation or space and other attributes of its facilities match up its needs.” (Atkin and Brooks, 2009) In discussing the referral problem, signals of a sick facilities management system are evident from the facts like lack of coordination and overall performance slouch. Education Management Modern education is a subject which covers various spheres of human endeavour. In understanding this interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary pursuit in modern research, student engagement is very important (Gurung and Schwartz, 2009). The training room at Cornish Centre could be a bright destination for student engagement programs from the disciplines like engineering, historical, design, etc. Particularly in the realm of design education, a centre acting as a creative industries hub can be very useful for enterprise and entrepreneurship development as well (Heller, 2002). Therefore, the Cornish Centre has several appreciable educational prospects. To overcome the performance issues in this sector, leadership and strategic management are needed most; the education manager must be groomed through leadership skills development program (Bush and Coleman, 2004; Evard and Morris, 1990). Restaurant Management Poor performance of the restaurant is mainly due to the lack of innovations. The organic restaurant at the Cornish Centre created an initial stir, but soon lost grounds against the new competitors. Innovation is more necessary in restaurant management. Robust customer care and newer or changing menu cards are keys to success in restaurant management (Mill, 2007). Besides customer care and food quality, the restaurant specific revenue management is also important (Thompson, 2010). Studio Management For more efficient studio management, broadening the options for art, exhibition and rehearsal programs are very important. More variety of event options and schemes attract more customers. In structuring the multiple option and scheme portfolio of an exhibition and studio centre, programmes of general sponsorship, special event sponsorship, promotional items sponsorship and advertising sponsorship are the important alternatives to be included and arranged for (Fenich, 2008). Marketing Management Marketing is the process through which the organization is introduced to the potential clients and customers. An aggressive and realistic marketing campaign is an imperative to increase profits (Clancy and Kriegafsd, 2000). Being a tourist destination in UK, the Cornish Centre is supposed to attract the native and the foreign tourists. The factors about and the features of the site that have market importance should be separated, refined and publicized. Marketing management in today’s global environment must meet the appropriate levels of competence through international standards (Kotler and Keller, 2006; Joshi, 2005). This can be achieved by synchronizing marketing strategy, planning of implementation and organisational leadership. Besides, vendor, process and project management are also important along with functional reporting, control, measurement and feedback systems (Kotler and Keller, 2006). People Management Issues Until recently, the Cornish Centre has performed successfully in terms of supporting the local creative people and businesses and attracting visitors. But over the last few years, the initial ‘buzz’ around the new centre has lessened. Coupled with a fall in visitor numbers, the occupancy rate of the studios have dropped below 70%. The marketing team has grown complacent and the restaurant performance team is underperforming. Moreover, the facilities management department has failed to coordinate the departments. The above facts suggest that there are deep rooted problems in the human resource of the organisation which is hampering people management. Professional attitude has to be horned and adopted along with a continuous process of commitment for uninterrupted teamwork which will involve the business partners and internal consultants (Wright, 2008). The core competencies of the organization should be managed strategically which would benchmark and evaluate the performance of the personnel (Clardy, 2008). Moreover, lack of human capital planning is a major impediment in the way of competent people management. In a modern organization of 21st century, human capital can be regarded as a most critical asset and hence talents should be not only groomed but also retained (Zula and Chermack, 2007). Moreover, the focus on social capital and emotional development can also solve several people management issues like complacency, underperformance, lack of coordination and failure in customer handling. Social capital planning would help in socialization of the processes and services which enhance the marketability and popularity of the organization. Emotional intelligence would help the management and the staff to develop empathy and analyze the customer attitude. (Brooks and Nafukho, 2006) People Management Practices In order to solve the people management issues, integrated and strong people management practices should be implemented. Co-management is perhaps on of the best ways of coordination. It should be mentioned at this point that lack of coordination is a major problem in Cornish Centre. Coordination is a serious issue in the organizations which have diverse sector and functional portfolio. Co-management will help in coordination by the means of knowledge generation and bridging the different departments in the establishment. Moreover, it will bring about deeper understanding of the internal and external business environment by social learning. (Berkes, 2009) Moreover, diverse methods of performance measurement should be implemented. Performance measurement is a very effective people management practice. Performance measurement has several methods. Under the balanced scorecard method, a number of non-fiscal and fiscal initiatives are pointed out and targets are attached to them (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Teamwork should be measured with the help of team management specific parameters (Zigon, 1999). Moreover, there is the second generation performance measurement system called performance prism which is a flexible, feasible and implemental method that considers the clients’, workers’, managers’ and other stakeholders’ needs (Neely, Adams and Kennerley, 2002). Proper leadership practices too should be introduced in the sphere of people management. Such practices can be refined with the help of certain theoretical concepts. Applying reinforcement theory from the leadership perspective implies that the concept of reward and punishment is important since a rewarded behaviour is more likely to be repeated (Keller, 1969).Goal setting can also be a very reliable people management practice in a sick organization since achievable and challenging goals set infuse positive stress among the workers and thus increase productivity. This proposition is in accordance with Locke’s Goal Setting Theory (Brenda Devis, 1988). Further, according to Hawthorne Effect, if a worker feels that he or she is being consistently monitored, he or she is more likely to work harder. This effect too can be exploited to ensure competent people management practice and counter the menace of underperformance (Miller, Vandome and McBrewster, 2010). The Consultancy Process and Approach Consulting process at the Cornish Centre is posed to be very challenging for two important reasons. First, this enterprise has had an initial period of high success. The present performance slump is something new to the organisation as a whole. Second, Cornish Centre originally began as a railway work but almost a decade ago it was converted into an industrial cultural facility. This makes this small enterprise employing about a little over 40 employees to have a very diversified and complicated assortment of sectors and functions. In explaining the consultancy (or consulting) process, Regents of the University of Minnesota (2010) concisely state the following: “When an Organizational Effectiveness consultant works with a unit and its manager, there is a regular process that is followed. Figure – 1: The Consulting Process Source: Regents of University of Minnesota, 2010 The first step is "intake." In this step, a consultant will meet with the potential client to find out what the situation is and determine the organizational or unit issue that needs to be addressed. The next step is creating a project agreement with the client about the expectations for the work, as well as the resources required, goals to be achieved, and how the work will proceed. The third step is the actual implementation of the project, which might be training, on-going consultation, coaching, or some other approach. After the service has been delivered, the final step is completing both short- and long-term evaluations.” (Regents of University of Minnesota, 2010) Indubitably, the consultancy process itself explains that the process has to be ultimately modified to suite the specific needs of the organization that is seeking the consultation. More on the Consultancy Process There are a number of adverse factors which may be encountered during a consultancy project. Mistakes in client perspective about their current position may be preponderant. Also, the client may not comprehend the critical nature of the intended and/or proposed actions. On the part of the consultant, too much emphasis on the surface symptoms of the organization’s sickness may create serious trouble. In this way, communication between the client and the consultant becomes extremely critical (Lorsch and Mathias, 1987; Ginsberg, 1986; Frankenhuis, 1977). In order to facilitate the construction of an effective behaviour that would aid in proper communication, the consultancy process must focus on the behavioural patterns of the client as well; and this structuring should be client specific (Potter and Wetherhell, 1987). If we want that the consultancy process to be effective enough, it should put considerable emphasis on the elements of shared success and mutual benefit regarding the consultant and the client (Mitchell, 1994). The two dimensions of consulting are: 1. Technical dimensions 2. Human dimensions (Gable, 1996) Moreover, the planning and decision making brings the concept of deliberation and synchronization into contact with larger established theories of participation and consultation (Blicharska et al, 2011). Hence, synchronization becomes a key element in organizing the establishment specific technical and human issues. Technical aspects like IT implementation, accounting, strategic management, etc. should be properly addresses along with the human aspects like emotional intelligence and socialization inside the organization. Now is the time to highlight on the step-wise progression of a consultancy process. According to the International Labour Organization, the first step of the consultancy process is entry which includes initial contacting, preliminary problem diagnosing, referencing, assignment planning, proposal development and contracting (ILO, 2002). Collection of information is crucial at this stage for the sake of adequate preparation and development of the fundamental concepts about the organization (Stumpf, 1999; Jang and Lee, 1998). Some scholars like Ferguson (2002) think that preliminary problem diagnosis should be regarded as a separate step. Again, some scholars like Lambert (1997) consider that contracting is a separate step. For the present case study, it is advisable to execute these two activities at the very first step since there are strict time constraints. The main diagnostic activities practically constitute the second step of the process which defines the problems, purposes, concepts, sources and relevant data collection for the given case study (ILO, 2002; Metzger, 1988). Redefining the problem may be required at this stage (Shenson, 1990). The third step is action planning which emphasizes solution development through option exploration and presentation of action proposal before the client (ILO, 2002). Report development is an important task at this step (Jabri and Poounder, 2001). The fourth step is implementation which focuses on planning and monitoring (Mitchell, 1994). Implications of human resource development studies should be considered at this step, since implementation essentially involves staff development and training (ILO, 2002; Tuttle, 2002). The fifth and final step is termination. This is the time of withdrawal of the consultant. Evaluation, follow up and final reporting are the main activities (ILO, 2002; Simon and Kumar, 2001). However, Regents of the University of Minnesota (2010) put special emphasis on the activity of evaluation during the termination stage. Individual Skills What individual skills does a consultant need when he/she is handling a sick organization like the Cornish Centre? Some basic qualities of an effective consultant are originality, honesty and empathy (Moline, 1990). The consultant should be committed and dedicated as well (Clark, 1995). The consultant actually enters a partnership with a client through a contract. Hence, he/she should have co-management skills. “Co-management can be considered a knowledge partnership. Different levels of organization, from local to international, have comparative advantages in the generation and mobilization of knowledge acquired at different scales.” (Berkes, 2009) Now when knowledge has to be acquired, processed and managed, the consultant should be talented enough in knowledge management (Baruch and Hall, 2004). Hence, the concept of knowledge currency is important for the consultant (O’Shea and Madigan, 1998). The consultant must further have the ability to understand both the critical and trivial factors which may influence and alter the situation of the organization and also he/she must be skilled enough to figure out the expectations of the client (Chenault, 1989). In the case of Cornish Centre, the consultant will first of all communicate with Christelle, the director. He/she has to form a winning partnership with her and then proceed to convince the trustees and managers with a well structured plan for the financial recovery of the organization. Consultancy Process Execution: Skills and Tasks Gaining entry to the organization: The key tasks during entering the organization are collection and analysis of the contacts and references. Background research on the organization is important. Next, preliminary problem diagnosis is to be done which will be followed by assignment planning. Finally, a proposal will be forwarded to the client along with a suitable contract. Skills like effective communication, patient and polite behaviour, etc. are necessary. The consultant must greet the director and the other individuals in the organization warmly, raising a wow feeling. Exchange of thoughts must be done as per the responses of the client. Deciding the preliminary diagnosis: The case being scrutinized is a case of organizational underperformance, i.e., targets are not being achieved. So a basic, short questionnaire can be put before the staff. Preliminary diagnosis can be achieved through short interviews if most of the staff members patiently and honestly turn up. (Please see Appendix – I) Contracting with the organization: The contract for the consultancy service will not only serve as a legal document but also as a summary of the entire consultancy project proposal. (Please see Appendix – II) Collecting information: The problem is concerned with the optimization of the financial performance of the Cornish Centre. Therefore, the main task is to collect department specific financial information like journal, ledger, records of invoices, etc. Next, the point of time when underperformance began should be found out. Soft skills are very necessary since confidence building is an imperative during collecting information. Moreover, the consultant must visit the studios, restaurant, training room, etc. in person to practically find out the quality of services and document the shortcomings witnessed. Problem diagnosis: The responses of the staff obtained during the preliminary diagnosis will be needed now. It will help the extended process of problem diagnosis. The consultant has to enter in conversation with the staff and keep checking the service quality issues. Separate interview sessions should be arranged with the workers in each department distinctly. Sample questionnaire for such a department specific interview is included in the Appendix – III. Consultancy evaluation: In this process of consultancy, the phases of contracting and preliminary diagnosis have been amalgamated in the phase of entry to the organization. This may hamper the process of detailing; the consultant should remain alert. He/she must show integrity, honesty, stability and empathy. He/she must be skilled enough to monitor and control the process through continuous evaluation. An important task is to involve the management team of the Cornish Centre in this evaluation phase actively. Suggested principles of performance measurement (through balanced scorecard, etc.), reinforcement theory, goal setting and Hawthorne effect are the important theoretical and practical approaches used. The content of the report: The content should be organized in the following way: Available data and information Present scenario Proposed action plan * Performance measurement * Performance enhancement * Goal setting * Better leadership practices for the managers Course of action and timeline Recommendations Focussed, descriptive and clear language should be used. The trust and management team members should be invited for active debate and discussion. Conclusion The main points in the discussion so far are centred on the concepts of solving the referral problem and the related consultancy process. Implications for Management In solving the referral problem, each management department should be specifically handled and analyzed. People management issues and people management practices are discussed with ample academic correlation. Introduction of better performance measurement systems and leadership practices has been advocated. These are the main implications for the management. Point of Uncertainty The financiers have said that the organization must start performing in a proper manner in the next 6 months. This means that there is a very limited time for the piece of consultancy. The factor of time limit raises somewhat uncertainty. However, the consultant has attempted to speed up the process by executing entry, contracting and preliminary diagnosis in one go at the very first step. Future Directions Proper leadership practices and focus on punishment/reward policy and goal setting provide directives for the future. The director should be optimist and dedicated. Proper methods of performance measurement will spot out and gradually eradicate the areas of functional weaknesses. Reference List Atkin, B., & Brooks, A. (2009). Total Facilities Management. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. Baruch, Y. (2004). Managing Careers: Theory and Practice. Harlow: Prentice-Hall. Berkes, F. (2009). Evolution of co-management: Role of knowledge generation, bridging organizations and social learning. Journal of Environmental Management, 90 (5), pp. 1692-1702. Blicharska, M. B., Isaksson, K., Richardson, T., & Wu, C. J. (2011). Context dependency and stakeholder involvement in EIA: The decisive role of practitioners. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 54 (3), pp. 337-354. Brenda Devis, E. (1988). 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Zula, K. J., & Chermack, T. J. (2007). Integrative literature review: Human capital planning: A review of literature and implications of human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 6 (3), pp. 245-262. Appendix – I The basic questionnaire for the interview of the staff from all the departments of the Cornish Centre Please indicate that whether you agree or disagree with the statements provided in the table below: Agree Disagree You are satisfied with the management of the organization You are happy the way you are treated You think the organization respects you You are given enough scope for training and development You are given enough scope to introduce new ideas and innovate You are happy with your remuneration The Cornish Centre is a great place to work Appendix – II The Cornish Centre Contract Who: Cornish Trust What: The Cornish Centre is a heritage destination and a creative industries hub. Recently, the Centre is underperforming and not able to meet the financial targets. The consultant has been hired by the Cornish Trust to advise Christelle, the director of the establishment, on how the site can be efficiently managed and the initial phase of fiscal success can be restored. Problem Statement: The main problem of the Cornish Centre is that it is lacking coordination and the various departments are working somewhat independently. The managers are not satisfied with the existing work culture, and the quality of the services as deteriorated. The number of visitors to the site has fallen drastically. Aims: Following are the most important aims: To achieve appreciable financial performance and start meeting the targets set by the end of 6 months from now To attract local, national and international visitors and tourists and increase reputation as a heritage and tourist destination To improve the quality of services Information needed: Information on the cognitive skills, attitudes and sincerity of the individual workers in the organization is vital. Financial information of the various departments and of the Cornish site as a whole is also critical. Initial Steps: Entry in the organization, acquaintance with the workers, increasing familiarity and friendly mixing with the staff. Next, surveys should be conducted and short interview sessions should be arranged. Preliminary problem diagnosis is the most important activity at the beginning, since it will help in constructing the roadmap for the future efforts. List of key players: Director, Facilities Manager, Education Manager, Restaurant Manager, Studio Manager and Marketing Manager. Timeline: Following is the proposed timeline: 1. Entry phase – From 16th August, 2011 to 25th August, 2011 2. Diagnosis phase – From 26th August 2011 to 30th August 2011 3. Action planning phase – From 31st August 2011 to 5th September 2011 4. Implementation phase – From 6th September 2011 to 15th September 2011 5. Termination phase – From 16th September 2011 to 20th September 2011 Continuous evaluation through 16 February 2012. Certain adjustments in the timeline may be allowed in the case of natural or man-made calamities. The person to whom the advices are to be provided and recommendations presented: The director of the Cornish Centre, Christelle. She has been newly appointed to this position. She has to report to the Cornish Trust members, who are the main decision makers, although they are not directly involved with the organizations daily affairs. Christelle is responsible for handling the management team and the rest of the staff as well. Delivery of the report: The report will be delivered through a secured server framework through FTP. An analogue copy will be provided hand to hand to the Director and another copy will be presented to the Trust at the end of the consultancy process. Cost: £10,000 as advance at the beginning of the consultancy process. £20,000 will be provided to the consultant after 6 months if the Cornish Trust is satisfied with the Cornish Centre’s performance. £50,000 will be spent for the various activities during the consultancy process including the implementation of the recommendations. Signature: Date: Thank you for this grand opportunity to deliver my consultancy services. Appendix – III Interview questionnaire specific for the staff of the marketing department Please answer the following questions: 1. Do you think the marketing strategy of the Cornish site makes it a prime attraction for the international tourists? Yes No 2. Do you think the marketing strategy of the Cornish site makes it a prime attraction for the national and local tourists? Yes No 3. The Cornish Centre is currently going through a bad patch. How do you think that your department is responsible of these unfavourable circumstances? 4. What can your department do the meet the financial targets set to be achieved in the next 6 months? 5. How should you advertise the Cornish Centre? Read More