Benchmarking For Riordan Manufacturing

Benchmarking for Riordan Manufacturing

MBA 530

Riordan Benchmarking Analysis

(This is the intro-approximately 150 words)

Riordan Manufacturing is an established global plastics producer which employs 550 individuals and their projected annual earnings are $46 million. The company is a division of Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise. Riordan Manufacturing has production divided among three plants. The plastic beverage containers are produced in Albany, Georgia. The custom plastic parts are manufactured in Pontiac, Michigan. Finally, parts for plastic fan are produced in Hangzhou, China. The corporate office is located in San Jose, California with Research and Development located there as well. Riordan maintains major accounts with the automotive parts industry, aircraft manufacturers, and the Department of Defense. Other major customers include beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers (University of Phoenix, 2007).

Riordan has experienced declining sales and uneven profits over the past two years. This has encouraged the company to change its sales processes, and led them to take on a new Customer-Relationship System (CRM). Riordan have made several strategic changes in the way it manufactures and markets its products. One of those major changes is having the sales teams, rather than single salespeople, to focus on a particular customer segment. The sales team includes a sales person, product engineering specialist and customer service representative (University of Phoenix, 2007).

Analysis

(must be at least 700 words)

Riordan Manufacturing has now determined what it must do to motivate its employees, but to what cost or risk to Riordan or the employees? The perception Riordan’s management team portrays is one that their departments need more money or acceptance. The risk may be high for Riordan here because if one area is not rewarded and not another, then distrust is created due to favoritism. Riordan may need to utilize an employee performance and job function-based evaluation formula to achieve who needs to be compensated and who is actually missing the inner needs. It may be the senior management that needs to be retrained in understanding the inner needs of their staff. Riordan Manufacturing can sustain minimal risk if it looks into the inner needs of the senior management, as well as retraining management on understanding the inner needs within their own departments. This understanding will create low to minimal risk for employees, creating a win-win for Riordan Manufacturing.

Motivation is a “willingness to exert effort toward a goal” (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001, p23) and rewards motivate people. When a leader develops a system for compensation and rewards, then communicates it clearly to his/her employees, he/she will begin to align his/her employees to the company’s strategic goals (Rosalis, 2005). Communication is important while implementing any rewards system. The employee must understand what is expected of him/her and what he/she will get in return for his/her efforts.

Riordan Manufacturing might find the use of flexible hours works for some of the employee population. By allowing the sales staff to work flexible hours, Riordan Manufacturing would be adding to the employees’ quality of life and in return, the employees are motivated and less likely to leave the company. The same could be done for the R&D staff.

Riordan Manufacturing is dealing with turnover and changing the leave program or introducing something as simple as on-site massages might start to motivate the employees and create a better culture.

Conclusion

(approximately 150 words)

Riordan Manufacturing can become a leading employer if it implements a premier employee rewards, compensation, and training system. By aligning stakeholder needs across the organization, Riordan Manufacturing can improve employee satisfaction and become an innovator. Creating new, motivating reward systems along with cultivating an innovative culture will correct some of the issues that Riordan is facing. Giving employees a raise is a quick fix and not one that will address the long-term issues that face Riordan. Finding new ways to motivate and encourage an ownership attitude within the staff will benefit Riordan’s employee satisfaction.

DELL Motivation and retention

Number 34 on the Fortune 500, Dell sells more computer systems than any other computer manufacturer in the world. The giant employees approximately 90,400 team members across the globe. No wonder Dell’s leadership has been focus on managing and developing its talent as a key strategy to sustain success. The company calls it a winning culture, one that embraces diversity and celebrates effectiveness between work and life. In addition to offering all standard benefits and compensation, Dell sponsors networking groups of employees who share common interests across the organization. This concept embraces diversity and creates a sense of belonging to a culture that understands their personal needs. For example they have W.I.S.E. - Women In Search of Excellence. In addition, the company provides employees with resources to help them manage their personal life better. Dell’s culture is “based on meritocracy, personal achievement and equal access to all available opportunities”(Dell, 2007). Knowing that there are equal opportunities for all is a statement most employees are very attracted to and a difficult image for employers to portrait.

Instead of placing its products on the hands of customers through retailers or other third parties, Dell has develop a philosophy of directly understanding people’s specific needs for computer systems themselves by talking, customizing, selling, and delivering its products themselves. Dell offers” the best possible customer experience by directly selling standards-based computing products and services.” (Dell, 2007). At the end of the fiscal quarters, Dell recognizes and celebrates its employees. Since they trust employees to deliver this excellence in products and customer service, the giant has an efficient human resources system to hire, train, develop, and reward its employees When it comes to motivation “experts agree that companies need to employ some motivation strategies with across-the-board appeal”(Chang, 2007, para. 4).. According to Michael Jaillet,