Fmc Green River - Individuals In Organizations

FMC Aberdeen vs. FMC Green River

Individuals in Organizations

Management of Ability; Organizational Commitment;

Job Satisfaction; Organizational Ethics

Concepts in Organizational Behavior - MGT322

Unit 1- Assignment 1

Professor Azadegan

January 5, 2007

Background

Kenneth Dailey has been the site manager for FMC Corporation's Green River facility for 18 months. He is currently supervising the construction of three new, smaller plants at the facility. Based on what he has heard about the results achieved at the FMC Aberdeen plant as well as their different type of organizational structure and management, a team was sent to the facility to research their operating procedures and determine if they will work at the Green River facility. The key areas of the Aberdeen management approach which appeal to Dailey include their continued increase in productivity at Aberdeen while reducing costs, and the fact that the principles and values of their system align well with Dailey's. (Clawson, 2005)

There are a number of significant differences between the Aberdeen and Green River plants which must be considered throughout Dailey's evaluation. These include (Clawson, 2005):

Key Area Aberdeen Green River

Customer base Single customer Over 100 customers

Worldwide product distribution

Employees 100 1,150 this will increase with the opening of the 3 new plants

Product line Single product Multiple product lines

Plant start-up 5 years ago 1948

Plant facility Single plant 2 existing plants;

Adding 3 new plants

Industry Defense Chemicals

Union affiliation None United Steel Workers

Bob Lancaster, the first plant manager at Aberdeen, built the organization's strategy based on the 'participative management system'. Lancaster was involved in the creation of the Aberdeen plant from selecting the location through to plant start-up, selection of the management team, and beyond. The key principles which would govern the Aberdeen plant included: 1) entire organization is built on trust; 2) need to eliminate fear from employees altogether; 3) eliminate supervisors and foreman by organizing self-directed work teams; 4) expectation that people will assume and exercise responsibility; 5) employee's are salaried and their pay is based on their ability to contribute; and 6) maintain high standards of quality and service. (Clawson, 2005).

Roger Campbell is now the manager of the Aberdeen plant. He has embraced the management philosophy of employee participation in all areas of plant management. Because of this, he has continued to show an improvement in production and reduction of costs at Aberdeen to FMC's Corporate Office. He has also encouraged visits to the Aberdeen plant to review their management style and organizational culture, with the belief that this type of system could work at any FMC plant location.

An analysis of the various areas of organizational behavior (OB) is the key to determining if the Aberdeen management style will fit at the Green River facilities. The following four areas are to be addressed first to determine the impact significant management and cultural changes would make at Green River: 1) Management of Ability; 2) Organizational Commitment; 3) Job Satisfaction; and 4) Organizational Ethics. Effective use of OB tools will ensure Green River can increase their effectiveness and meet their goals. (George/Jones, 2005)

Situation Analysis

The key hurdles which Dailey will need to consider in the four areas listed above at Green River include:

* Employee base is union which requires negotiation and approval to make changes to its employees work schedules, job descriptions, job titles, etc.

* Employee selection is based more on required skill set, not taking into account an employee's ability to impact the "personality" of the plant functions by understanding the new hire's interpersonal skills.

* Manager roles are more traditional in the areas of being a monitor, disturbance handler, negotiator, liaison versus being a 'team member'.

* Work process, procedure and policy infrastructure has been in place for a significant number of years

* Physical layout of the existing plant facilities prevent close interaction of employees

Alternatives and Recommendations

Management of Ability: understanding employee personalities and abilities is key, if Green River is to implement changes to their current processes and management style. How management plans, organizes, leads and controls their resources, including human resources is critical. There are three key ways to manage abilities in organizations: 1) selection; 2) placement; and 3) training

The employee selection and recruiting process at Green River will need to be revamped to incorporate Aberdeen's philosophy that it is easier to train technical skills than personal and interpersonal skills. (Clawson, 2005). Changes to processes include employee assessments and recruiting processes to be used by managers. Managers should be trained in the areas of understanding personality traits and abilities of employees and how these impact the organization in the areas of job satisfaction, work stress and leadership, as a whole. (George/Jones, 2005).

A review of the type of training offered to employees, as well as the frequency and applicability to supporting advancement for employees should also be reviewed for revisions.

Organizational Commitment: Organizational commitment is the feelings and beliefs employees have about the organization as a whole. It is one of the 2 key work attitudes that helps management better understand and manage their employee's behavior.

To gain buy-in to the desired changes by employees, Green River management must ensure that employees believe in what the organization is trying to do, support it, are happy to be a part of it, and will do what's in the best