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The Chief Executive

New and upgraded technology is being regularly introduced at Workwell but progress in this work unit has been very slow, with a seemingly disinterested manager and a reluctant staff. It is suspected that the delays are happening because of the perception that there may be redundancies when the new technology takes over the work of the less skilled staff. The Executives’ Requirements Informed about the current situation of the Unit, the CE issued a directive to the Unit manager instructing him that the following be addressed effectively and immediately:

a) to introduce and conduct internal quality audits in the Unit the objective of which is to come up with a list of non conforming workmanships or activities or services or products whose root-causes are expected to be uncovered thereby leading to improved productivity; b) to set a time limit for the completion and implementation of a new technology project in the Unit; and c) to address the morale and union hostility issues.

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The foregoing directive meant that some major problems need to be addressed, including attitudes toward change, communication, new technology, and quality. Expectations, Challenge, and Tasks The Unit manager has become unsure about what must now be communicated and negotiated with employees and union representatives. He decided to ask for some help from his Human Resource Manager; hence, this HRM Report & Recommendation. Analysis and Evaluation of the Current Situation Section I – time warner case study answers

What is surprising about the general current situation of the Eight Unit of Workwell is that even after four years of takeover, its eight Units are still working “independently” as “separate” divisions overseen by a parent organisation under the watchful eye and guidance of a “small central corporate headquarters. ” Although each of these Units has functional departments, like an HR, Finance, and Administration, all of them are run by a central office under the tutelage a Chief Executive who, perhaps, unconsciously displays an unending symbol of “takeover” in an acquired company. What is wrong with “independence,” anyway?

In his bestseller, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Covey (1989) presents the concept of “maturity continuum” with three components: “dependence,” “independence,” and “interdependence. ” Each of these components has distinct characteristics—dependence refers to immature people who have to rely on others, they do not take responsibility, they are blameless; independence refers to self-reliance with an ingratiate attitude of “I can manage” or “I can stand alone”; and interdependence refers to matured people who acknowledge their need of others and that they know the value of cooperation, partnering, and team work.

Dr. Deming (Latzko & Saunders, 1995), the pre-eminent figure in the field of quality management also uses the term “interdependence” to refer to the components of an organization that are called to work together in order to collectively achieve the “aim” of an enterprise. Using the analogy of a “bowling team” and an “orchestra,” there is a higher call of interdependence in the latter. One pitfall of “independence” in a business setting is that it creates “fragmentation” or “bureaucracy” or “turf. ”

Although the Chief Executive uses a “participative style of management” in managing all the eight Units (and even when seven of the eight Units have manifested successes in their individual performances), one seems being left out and has brought serious concern to the CE. Why would the Chief Executive worry when only one of the eight Units is not performing well then? Obviously, the one non performing Unit is affecting the “entire” business enterprise. To Deming, the seven well performing Units have been “optimized” and the one problem Unit has been “sub-optimized.

” “Sub-optimization” happens when some parts of an entity or an organization are improved while some parts are neglected (Latzko & Saunders, 1995). The Chief Executive must have known the value of the Eighth Unit as one of the major contributors of realized revenue (20% share) to the enterprise. But she sees serious problems with potential to deplete earned hard currencies and worries about the capability of the incumbent Unit’s manager in eliminating them.