The Major Causes of Low Productivity Among the Employees - Research Paper Example

Introduction Employees play a major role of determining not only the quality of goods produced, but also the input levelsand speed. Many organizations are however facing major problems due to high employee turnover and decreased production. Lack of incentives for the employees is one of the major causes of low productivity amongst the employees. Employing unqualified staff members, forcing employees to work in an area, which does not match their specialization and lack of involvement, are other major causes of this problem. Employees, like the employers, want to feel being part of the organization and the products produced. However, in many organizations, employees are isolated and only reduced to production machines, with no attachment to what they do. This leads to low employee morale and other major challenges in the working environment. According to several theories of motivations, such as the drive theory, employees need to be motivated. When this term is used, many employees tend to think that high salaries are the only means of motivating the employees. While this act may produce positive results, this will however, work in the short term. Other main areas that need to be addressed include creating an effective and convenient environment in which the employees can work. This is especially through ensuring safety of the employees. Constant communication between employees and employers is also vital. It enables the two addresses the current challenges affecting employees, and the company early before it can become a challenge. Operations management becomes imperative when dealing with some of these issues. It is the process through which the management seeks to increase quality, reduce the cost of operation, and use as minimal resources as possible. Employers are focusing on increasing productivity, while at the same time ensuring that all the factors are considered. In terms of performance, the employees focus on speed, flexibility, dependability, cost, and quality. These five performance objectives of operations management are imperative in ensuring that the company becomes more productive. Customers focus on efficiency and quality. The speed at which the company supplies foods and services to the customers is vital. The kind of technology that is employed in any given company also becomes imperative. It must be flexible and dependable. This means it must be ready to accommodate the changes and new demands in the market. However, reducing the cost of operation is one of the major issues that the operations management seeks to solve. As the cost of operations reduces, so do the profits increase. For this reason, the operations managers may decide to employ strategies such as outsourcing. It is the process through which employers seek higher employees who can provide quality services but at a low cost. This is mostly done through acquiring employees from abroad. This has assisted many companies to solve the problem of increased cost of operation. Other areas of focus include the means of transportation used to deliver goods and services to the employees. The means but is both cost effective and efficient. Goods must reach their intended destination within the intended time. It is upon the operations manager to organize, control, and coordinate all the operations within the organization. This is vital if the company is to realize its goals and objectives. However, it will be difficult to achieve some of this goals, speed, and quality of goods unless the right technology is employed. Integration of information technology is important. Apart from increasing productivity, it also leads to high quality work at a minimum time. Challenge facing our manufacturing company This manufacturing company has become ineffective due to the problems of high employee turnover and general reduction in productivity. As a result, the profits of the company have decreased, with the increased cost of operation. With this problem likely to escalate, there is need to address it objectively. Employees have lacked the morale needed to foster growth and development of the company. Apart from the general decreased productivity, quick a number of employees have been drinking. Asked why they do that, they indicate that ‘it is meant to overcome stress.’ This problem has not only affected the company but every member in the company. Communication between the employees and employers has been minimal. There appear to be a big chasm separating the two, and this has partly been blamed for the increased problems. The company management has been in the process of cutting down the cost of operation to respond to the effects of economic downturn. However, the means used to achieve this has been a major cause of employee dissatisfaction. The management rendered a number of employees redundant without replacing them. As a result, many employees are overworked, while the salary remaining unchanged. The quality of goods has also been affected owing to the fact that some employees work in areas in which they are not specialized. It is for this reason that the Managing Director has decided to employ me to address the current problems. To address this issue, the following tasks play a major role: Task 1 Quality Every industry wants to attract customers through its reputation (Solomon 2000, p.90). This can only be achieved by maintaining high quality of goods and services provided to the clients. For this to be achieved, employees and employers must define what constitutes quality goods. Communication and constant monitoring becomes imperative (Nag 2007, p.,87). The operations manager must coordinate the operations to ensure that employees are working according to the policy. Customer satisfaction increases as the quality of goods remains up to required standard. Customers are likely to become loyal to the company as a result, and visit frequently. This becomes the main competitive advantage of many firms owing to the fact that the revenue is likely to increase. Focusing on quality is one of the main issues that the above company should implement. However, it will be impossible unless the employees remain motivated and ready to become part of the industry. Ensuring that the employees produce quality goods will require that the employees and employers work hand in hand. The major issue in this company is that the management has not been involved in what happens within the industry. It has therefore become impossible to ensure production of quality goods. It will require that the operations manager work closely with all the employees. As indicated before, one of the main objectives of operations management is to increase revenue while at the same using the lowest resources possible. Quality goods does not only bring growth within the industry but May also act as a way of motivating employees to work harder. If employees identify with the quality of their work, they are more likely to increase their productivity. Speed Efficiency is the main business phenomenon that many customers are looking for (Moore 2000, p.98). Most of them are actually not sensitive the price, but want services that are fast to save time. This is mostly amongst the customers who have busy schedules. There are two main types of operations speed, which customers must seek to address. They include the internal and external speed. In the former category, the industry must focus on producing goods and services at a faster rate than the demand in the market. This will require that the employees dedicate their strength in the work. It is worrying when the company faces shortage of product in the face of increased demand in the market. To increase the speed of production, employers will need to introduce technology. This makes operations faster. Technology has the potential to foster mass production of goods. This ensures that there are goods at all times for the society. However, some of the work cannot be done using technology. This is especially the work that includes the assembling a phone. Most of these parts have to be connected together manually. The Apple Inc. is an example of the companies that do not use technology in kind of assembly. With the increased demand for this products however, intensive labour method may create shortage in the market. To respond to this though, the company ensures that many employees are recruited. This ensures that many phones are produced within a short period. Likewise, the operations manager in this industry must be willing to have a higher number of employees in an area that requires human labour. This will assist in increasing the speed of operation. Secondly, internal speed can also be increased by ensuring that every employee works in an area where they are qualified. As indicated above, the main challenge in the industry has been to force employees work in an area that they have no skills. This has been slowing down the production within the industry. To increase the speed, it will be imperative to ensure that employees who are specialized in that area of production serve every department. However, these factors alone cannot assist in solving the problem of speed in the working the working environment. To solve it, there is need for the operations manager to coordinate the employees in a view to ensure that everyone is working towards the achievement of the goals. There must be unison in all the employees and this can only be achieved if all the employees are working as a team. External speed on the other hand is imperative. It refers to the time taken for the employees to receive the goods and services. To achieve this, the right transportation means must be chosen. Depending on the nature and demand of goods, the management will decide which transportation means to use. On the other hand, the choice of means of transport will also depend on whether the company is international or operating locally. The main aim of all these is to ensure that goods and services reach the employees at the stipulated time. However, it is equally important to remember that one of the main aims of operations management is lower the cost of operation. As the management grapples with the choice of a means of transport, it will be equally important to focus on strategies that could ensure efficiency while at the same time reducing the cost. One of the main strategies used is found in the supply chain. With the increased number of intermediaries within the supply chain, the cost of operation is likely to increase to unsustainable levels (McCarthy 1999, p.87). For that reason, it will be necessary for the employee to focus on eliminating some of the intermediaries. Focusing on a short supply chain involving manufacturer-wholesaler-retailer-customer may be a convenient strategy that ensures that the company saves on the cost of operation. This is because the cost of transport is passed on to the next person, while at the same time ensuring that the customers acquire goods on time. Goods can also reach the customers on time through ensuring that the number of warehouses is increased. Apart from this, most multinational companies ensure that there are more subsidiaries constructed near the target customers. This is vital since apart from ensuring that goods and services reach clients at the right time, it also reduces the cost of transport significantly. This serves as a major advantage for the company. The Apple Inc. for instance has been very effective in terms of reducing the cost of transport and ensuring that goods reach their destinations at the same time. The company has many intermediaries in different countries. These branches are however constructed in areas of high productivity. This becomes imperative in the sense that the firm gains many profits through this process. In short, therefore, the internal and external speed is imperative. Dependability This is closely related to the speed objective of operations management, in the sense that it also focuses on the time within which the customers receive their goods (Lamb 2001, p.65). However, it also refers to the consistency within a given industry. The consistency referred here is the ability of the industry to ensure that quality goods are produced at all times. It also refers to the ability of the industry to ‘remain true to their mission.’ For instance, most of the companies have the mission of ‘ensuring quality services to the customers.’ when employees ready such sentiments, they expect the employers to reciprocate it through their services. However, most of the companies are unable to stick to this kind of promise. This owes to the fact that there are various challenges facing employees, who are the main means of production. However, some companies such as Apple. Inc. has been able to live by its word. It has promised its clients to provide quality goods at every time, while still being innovative and ensuring creativity. The company has been very successful and this explains why its market shares and revenue has been all time high. However, the company in question has been experiencing problems mostly because it has not been dependable. Firstly, the employees are not motivated, and the customers have not been receiving their goods at the right time. This has been the major cause of the problems within the industry. The high demand for the goods in the market has not been met due to low productivity. For success to be restored in the company, it will be imperative that the company focus on becoming dependable. Cost This is one of the major objectives of performance objectives of the operations management. With the increased cost production due to economic downturn, it has become challenging many companies to continue making profits (Kotler 2006, p.78). Under this section though, the main goal is to reduce the cost of operation while at the same time becoming a price leader. It is imperative to ensure that the price of goods to the final clients remain relatively low. It is through this process that the company is able to ensure that it has competitive advantage over other major competitors. To achieve this, the company needs to focus on mass production of goods and services. This is achieved when the company is serving a large market. This is imperative in the sense that the sense that the unit cost of goods is likely to reduce. However, whether the company will benefit from mass production goods will depend on whether the employers are willing to use the right technology. It is imperative to note that the customers receive goods in the low cost. They are very sensitive to issues of prices goods and will purchase goods in companies that provide them in as low cost as possible. This may lead to losses for companies that still place their goods at a high cost. However, a company must be in a position to employ a strategy that is geared towards providing goods at a high cost yet maintaining the customers. This strategy is also used by multinational companies such as Apple Inc. Despite the fact that this cost of goods is high, the demand has remained high. It is not possible for a company to sell its goods at a low cost especially is the cost of production was high. However, one of the main things that can help to enable a company to sell goods at a higher price is maintaining quality. At the same time, a company can focus on the price discrimination strategy. The cost of goods and services change depending on the socioeconomic status of the target customers, through this price discrimination. For instance, in determining this, the employer should focus on market segmentation. The market is subdivided in terms of the income of the target customers through the process. In high-income customers, a company should focus on selling the goods at a higher cost and vice versa. This will ensure that the company addresses all the needs of the customers in the market. This strategy has been used by various companies for gaining more income despite selling goods at a low cost in other areas. Flexibility An effective system must be able change with the new demands in the market. Flexibility means that the employees and the employers must be ready to address the arising matters I the market. There are both the internal and external flexibilities that the employed systems must be ready to address. In the first category for instance, the employees must be ready to increase their productivity when the demand rises from the market. This is necessary for the purpose of increasing the company’s income, while at the same time ensuring that the customers are retained. The kind of technology employed in a given company must also be able to address the new demands. It must be able to allow for mass production when it is needed to do so without experiencing any mechanical problems. When these are achieved, it means that a given company is flexible enough. On the other hand, the means of transportation must also be flexible enough. To achieve this for instance, the company must be ready to increase the number of trucks when the demand is high. The company may also require that the company increase the number of employees especially when there is high demand. This will ensure that the company continues to perform optimally. Task 2 vertical integration and outsourcing Most companies grapple with the question of whether to produce its goods using the in-house resources or to get them from somewhere else (Johnson 2008, p.256). Most of the company involve in the production of different products that complement each other and needed in the market. This is especially if a company is producing phones while at the same producing software used in such gadgets (Gummesson 2007, p.76). This is what is known as the vertical integration. The firms with a view to maximize on the increased revenue and production for the company use it. For instance, apart from the production of phones, Apple has also been able to produce other types of electronics including television and laptops. This becomes imperative in the sense that the company is able to maximize the opportunity in the market. Though this process is good for a company, it may also result in increased cost of operation unless it is well managed. This is done by ensuring that the cost of production of some factors is reduced. Outsourcing is imperative in a firm that want to ensure that its cost of operation is significantly reduced (Grinberg 2004, p.76). It is explained as the process through which a company decides to employ external services. Outsourcing is important especially when the company seeks the services of a qualified staff. This is one of the methods that have been used by the Apple Inc. with a view to addressing the issue of increased cost of operation. As indicated before, the high demand for Apple products has caused the need to have to have qualified, but cheap labour. To achieve this, the management decided to focus on the services provided by external others. For instance, the company has set several plants in China (Crockford 1999, p.98). This is a country that has highest number of employees who offer cheap labour. The work force is also qualified, with most employees seeking to work hard. For that reason, the company has been able to overcome the challenges of increased cost of operation. However, this method has been criticized in the sense that the company may not be in a position to have its own experts (Dorfman 2007, p.87). Relying on the external resources may plunge a company to major problem if such employees do not want to offer their services. While the main goal is to reduce the cost of operation, when the company focuses on training, its own work force becomes imperative. Secondly, it is difficult to safeguard the strategic secrets of a company from the third parties. Some of the companies outsource members run the most important functions of the company such as marketing. In the process, such members to ‘steal’ the vital information about the company and might use it to bring such an institution down. For instance, in the event that such a company Task 3 emerging technologies The Apple Inc. understands the need to remain on top in terms of providing the right technology (Young 2012, p.89). The company has remained the leader in terms of technology. The company has been one of the most innovative and creative, providing their customers high quality goods. Currently, the company is on the verge of producing some of the first generation flat televisions. According to the statistics from the company, the demand for these types of televisions has hit 77 million people. This represents about 15% increase in the past few years. It is because of this that the company is preparing to launch its first generation of flat screens soon. The management understands that by venturing in this area, the company will increase its revenue to high levels. However, the company grapples with one major issue. This is the increased completion from other major competitors such as the Samsung Company (Gabbott 2005, p.87). The latter has also engaged in a similar project to take advantage of the market. For this reason, it will be imperative for the company to focus on the strategies that will enable the company to benefit from the stated technology. The strategy in this case will be both in terms of mass production and price discrimination. In the former category strategy, the company will be able to reap the benefit of economies of scale. The companies make maximum use of the resources available to produce. Summary, Conclusion recommendations Employee motivation is necessary to increase productivity within a given company. The decreased productivity in this company has been lack of incentives for the employees. The working environment has not been appealing to the employees. For instance, there has not been communication between the company and the employees. For that reason, it has been difficult for the employees to express their dissatisfaction. To ensure that there is high productivity in the company, there must be vertical and horizontal communication. In the former category, there is successful communication between the employees and the management. It is also divided into both upward and downward communication. The former refers to the flow of a message from the employees to the employers. When the message reaches the employers, there must be feedback, and it is facilitated by the downward communication. When this type of communication is present, both the employer and employees are able to understand what is happening within the industry. Listening becomes imperative at this stage; the employees should be ready to listen to the plight of the employees. Some of the complaints from the employees should be taken seriously. For instance, if an employee is working in an area, they are not qualified; they may find it difficult to give their best. For that reason, it will be imperative for the employees to take the necessary steps. On the other hand, low productivity may be caused by the fact that the employees do not have the knowledge of the currently introduced technology. It is the responsibility of the employer to guide the employees in the right direction. This kind of consideration is imperative in assuring the employees that they are appreciate by the company. Secondly, for the employees to be motivated, they need to be part of production. This is where the employees are involved in decision making of a given company. This is one of the strategies that have been employed by the Apple Inc. to motivate the employees. The management ensures that the views of the employees are taken into consideration. This prompts the employees to remain active in the work place, while feeling appreciated. Any changes that are made from the company have a positive or negative effect on the customers. For instance, when the demand is high, the employers may require the employees to work for extra hours. While this is a good thing, it is imperative to focus on the question, ‘how do the employees benefit?’ If the employees must work overtime, it is necessary that they be allowed made to know about such a plan. They must be allowed to give their insight on that issue. It is also imperative to note that some of these employees suffer from certain ailments that cannot allow them to work for long hours. If there is any change that is to be introduced in the company, for instance new technology, the employees must be informed. They need to be assured of how such technology will assist them dispense their duties effectively. Unless this is done, such developments will be met with a lot of resistance. Being there to brief the employees is necessary. One of the greatest fears amongst many employees is that some of these changes may affect their work. This is in terms of losing their jobs. This is the main reason that has contributed to low morale in employees especially when they do not know about their future in a given company. There is need to ensure that the employees are paid according to the amount of work they perform. One of the ways of increasing productivity amongst the employees is to ensure that their payment is related to the work done. This is necessary especially in a company that is seeking to expand. For instance, the Apple Company has taken advantage of this strategy. For instance, its assembling points are in places such as China. To ensure that the demand of the gadgets is met in the market, the company ensures that the employees are motivated through being paid according to the number of phones that they are able to assemble. Through this may create unnecessary competition amongst the employees, it is one of the strategies that is normally proposed especially if a company wants to expand. It is a way of motivating the employees to work hard. They are able to determine how much they would want to earn. This is because the company has given them such a freedom. This is unlike in a situation where employees are required to work hard, yet they are slowly remunerated. Bibliography Crockford, N 1999. An Introduction to Risk Management (2 ed.).. 18 ed. Cambridge, UK:: Woodhead-Faulkner. Dorfman, M. 2007Introduction to Risk Management and Insurance (9 ed.).. Englewood Cliffs, N.J:: Prentice Hall. Gorrod. M. 2004 Technology Trends (Finance and Capital Markets).. Risk Management Systems Gabbott, M. 2005. 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