To Spy or Not to Spy on Software Company Globe Alive, Inc - Case Study Example

To Spy or Not to Spy in Software Company Globe Alive, Inc Globe Alive, Inc. (GAI) is a software company that is based in Edmonton. Helmut Schwartz is the current CEO of the enterprise. Stuart Miller is the Director of the Human Resource Department. Ali Khan is the Marketing Manager of the firm while Thuy Singh is the Production Manager. Another key decision maker in the case is Patrick Photo, the Operations Manager. The company operates in a software industry. Other players in the industry include Smart Technologies, Nortel, and Mitel. The suppliers of the company include both the inbound and the outbound vendors. The company has more than 150 employees. Its vision is to be a leading company that assists in the network design and servicing of Canadian firms who were conducting business in a foreign country. Several issues exist in the enterprise. It needs to address them for it to succeed in the software industry. According to the CEO, the company needs an appropriate technology to solve its issues. The human resource department has noted that technology cannot build a team-oriented workforce (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, 2005). The production manager and the Operations Manager agree that it is impossible to build trust between management and subordinate staff members if the company embraces the spyware usage. Helmut Schwartz is a technological person with a vast experience and education in Information Technology. He thus believes that, based on his experience, technology will go a long way in the growth of the Globe Alive company. However, he faces a lot of resistance from the other executives against new ideas and a lack of innovative thinking at the firm. Schwartz embraces more expansive and modern strategic philosophies, unlike the previous CEO. He wants all employees to embrace creative thinking in their operations. Additionally, Schwartz spies employees to ensure they are not wasting time. On the other hand, Stuart Miller has a rich background in human resource management. He believes that embracing appropriate human resource strategies is the best way of moving the firm ahead. He thus proposes the use of Human Resource metric services in measuring turnover, resignation rates, sick days, and other parameters. The human resource manager impressed the members of the executive team by his presentation of an innovative idea of analytics and tracking data of employees. However, the CEO presentation of surveillance software failed to impress them. Various symptoms suggest that GAI Company is experiencing some problems. The company lacks an efficient communication with global partners. It faces challenges in discerning inbound supply chain elements from outbound shipments. Additionally, the company cannot expedite customer orders in a timely manner. Inability to transfer funds around the world, and monitor employees also pose a problem. The CEO’s strategies for implementing spyware technologies and embracing innovative change do not go well with the other decision makers. Another symptom is that GAI experienced a rash of employees leaving in the last eight months. Based on the facts and related symptoms, it is clear that the employees do not have enough motivation to work for the company. Their opinions about the workplace go unheard. The new manager seems not to trust them. He sees a lack of productivity in workers. That is why he always spies them to ensure they do not waste time and underutilize resources. Thus, the workers are moving out in large masses. The human resource manager thus failed to reach the target of ensuring the company had a workforce of 250 people. It also clear that the business lacks proper information systems and other technological power to reach out to the market around the globe. What can the executive team at the Globe Alive Company do in the immediate timeframe to restore the proper relationship with employees and in the long-term increase employee’s productivity in order to have a harmonious workforce? In the short term, the executive team needs to listen to their employees and involve them in some decision-making. The managers should not see employees as untrustworthy to a point of surveilling them. They should rather motivate them by offering incentives. Every employee that performs well should publicly get a reward in the form of money, promotion, benefits, leaves, and other tokens. Other employees will realize the appropriate behavior that they need to embrace (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, 2005). The surveillance software will not be necessary if the employees get the right motivation to do work. The Chief Executive Officer should realize the importance of bringing on board all skills existing in the firm in decision- making. He should know that his expertise and experience alone are not enough in running the company. A healthy workforce is necessary to any company that aspires to be the best. Team-based integration of the workforce is a vital ingredient in building a strong workforce (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, 2005). Technology alone cannot achieve the desired results. Hence, the best human resource skills and innovative ideas are critical. The skills should work harmoniously together, with each input from individual workers being considered valuable. The decision makers should also plan, in the long-term, to increase the productivity of employees. The motivational incentives outlined above will eventually heighten the productivity of the workforce. However, the management should consider offering specialized training workshops and studies to employees. They should select employees that have excellent skills and experience. As employees get more experience and interact with others in workshops, they will be more productive (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, 2005). The workers will begin delivering products to customers on a timely basis. Globe Alive Company faces a significant problem in creating a good relationship with its employees. Weak employee-management relationship is the primary cause of the many challenges that the company faces. The motivation among employees has dropped. They thus no longer see the importance of being productive at the workplace. The small worker’s production has had a far outreaching effect: It has resulted in delayed delivery of products and services to customers and inefficient transfer of funds to global partners. The surveillance software and other spying technological inputs will not help much in solving the problems. The spying is not recommendable since it will only worsen the situation. More workers will get de-motivated and leave the organization in masses (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, 2005). The management should instead strive to motivate workers in the short run and boost their skills to ensure productivity in the long-term. Reference Mondy, R. W., Noe, R. M., & Gowan, M. (2005). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Read More