The Wilson Cake Company Barbara WilsonProfessor Gerard CummingsLithonia CampusOrganizational Behavior ??“ Bus 322May 29, 2012Strayer University?The Wilson??™s Cake CompanySince early 2003, Will and Barbara Wilson formed The Wilson Cake Company. The company produced a full line of cakes, and its specialties included chess cake (chess cake is quite delicious and distinct from cheesecake), lemon pound cake, and double-iced, double-chocolate cake and some special ordered cakes. However, the company grew rapidly.
In early 2006, after the company received national exposure they were featured in two widely distributed and publicized magazines, entrepreneurial magazine and Gourmet Desserts, sales exploded. The Company began receiving orders from all over the world. The company went global and invested in new technologies to keep up with demands. The company moved into a new building and ordered machinery, and equipment needed to operate. The company??™s cakes are selling in chain??™s stores for a national supermarket chain.
Also, Wilson??™s cakes are selling in national restaurant chain stores and sold by the slice on restaurant menu. Sales and stock prices rose by a very big margin. At the present time, The Company expanded their empire into a large factory and employs over five thousand employees. At top, Will Wilson, Owner/Chairman of the Board alongside the CEO, then CFO. The company has seven departments, four regional managers, seven middle managers and first lever managers and supervisors. The Company profit margin continues to increase as predicted so; they can reward bonuses throughout the company. Analyze the likely stressors employees in your company would face and make at least two (2) recommendations for reducing the stressors you identifiedThe most common sources of stress for people at work include task demands and role demands here at the company.
There are others of related demands such as interpersonal demands, physical demands and nonwork demands that may make a difference on the other two. Oftentimes, Wilson??™s Cake Company the work demand can get overwhelming such as overseas work orders can be quite large and all detail it takes too distribution. That could mean, extra help to replace absenteeism, overtime, re-arranging work schedules, and using cross-trained position of people in key places. For many of our employees??™ this can be stressful.
Task demand is when individuals have little control over heavy work demands, pressure to work at optimum levels continually, and the pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction. Other task demands include career progress, overtime due to staff cutbacks, and new technologies. Role conflict can result from conflicting demands between two different roles (interrole) or within a single role (intrarole). For example, our employee and parent role could have a major decision to work overtime on this big project or hire a babysitter or get a family/friend to watch the kid (s) for the overtime expected hours.
Some employees may experience intrarole conflict caused by manager pressure for employees for both very fast and produce high-quality work. At the company, most manager see themselves as a high producer and a highly motivator and can be conflicting. The most obvious ones are related to family demands, and leadership style can create stressful environments. Throughout the organization each division meet regularly (like monthly) to discuss, a) Job Redesign is a core characteristic of the job strain model for motivation, b) Goal Setting increases task motivation by reducing role conflict and ambiguity while focusing attention on the task, c) Role Negotiation reduces stress by allowing individuals to modify their work roles, and d) Social Support System that is the support of co-workers and supervisors may be one of the most important factors in managing stress in the workplace such as teams.
Individual Prevention approach involves training seminars that teach employees how to release or eliminate stress such as a) Positive Thinking, b) Time Management, c) Relaxation Training. Other resources employees have access too are on site a gym completed with weights, lounge that separated from break room for total relaxation, via video training or personalized training for Leisure Time Activities, Physical Exercise and Diet information. Also the company has an open door policy called Opening Up is sensitivity training approach intended to increase self-disclosure. Managers are encouraged to get their employees to open up a trust relationship.
Finally, our company is encouraging employees to seek professional help if it is warranted by providing compensation benefits, release time for appointments, and employee assistance programs. Discuss the best possible work teams for your company, addressing issues of group behavior, development, and decision making.In our organization, the first level managers oversee five supervisors in one area out of four units.
Supervisor manages two work teams with approximately ten members per teams.A well-functioning, effective group will be a Self-Managed Teams. Other than regular job duties, no one??™s performance is on display during team meeting unless someone are asking for support on how to do something. Each member is assigned task/maintenance functions on the team to initiating activities-supporting for one another; also enhance a group??™s cohesion. A).
The leader will read the agenda for today. B) The record keeper takes the notes. C). The comforter will set the atmosphere with relaxing background music and/or refreshment such as coffee and water, if necessary (relaxed, comfortable, informal atmosphere). D). One person bring the ground to order and remind employees of rules concerning organization conflicts policies and regular group rules conduct.
E). Gatekeeper of communication is making sure everyone have time to share and give their information. F). Elaborating ??“setting standards such what to do about conflict resolution Also keep the group focus on its original task. G).
Coordinator allows member to express feeling and ideas. H). Testing group decisions. This person will lead the group consensus decision making. They will use a consensus guideline.
1). Why this choice is good for the group or task can make a difference. 2). Why you disagree with a choice made and has a solution for your opinion.
3). Always let one person finish speaking before asking questions or any interruptions. 4). The norms of any group discussion. J). Evaluating effectiveness-Harmonizing conflict??”clear assignments made and accepted. Determine your company??™s approach to leadership and make recommendations for at least (2) best practices based on an analysis of traditional, contemporary, and emerging leadership theories.
The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership is one this company follow the most of, in particular the first path, Leader behavior styles. Our recommended leadership styles are Supportive leadership which involve being approachable and friendly to employees, showing concern for them and their welfare, treating them as equals, and creating a friendly climate. Supportive leadership is very similar to considerate leader behavior. This leadership style may also result in improved performance when it increases employee confidence, lowers employee job stress, or improves relations and trust between employees and leaders. Participative leadership styles involve consulting employees for their suggestions and input before making decisions.
Both Supportive and Participative leadership styles should be used as much as possible. The more Positioning power a leader has to hire, fire, reward, and punish workers, the more influence they have over their co-workers. Contemporary Leadership (Grid 9, 9): It speaks a great deal on building relationships managers and accomplishing task through teams??™ cohesion. It evaluates the team manager as the very best style of managerial behavior. This leader works to motivate employees to reach their highest levels of accomplishment, is flexible, responsive to change, and understands the need for change.
This style of Team Management in Work accomplishment is from committed people; interdependence through a ???common stake??? in organization purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect and make a great fit Wilson??™s Cake Company (Nelson/Quick, 2010).Discuss the most likely causes of interpersonal conflict you would expect to see in your company and how you would mitigate the conflicts you identified.Our company is most likely to experienced interpersonal conflict through Organizational changes. One kind of resistance involves employees who have been with a company for a few years, and have seen flavor-of-the-month change programs come and go: Management launches some kind of change effort to great fanfare. Managers talk up the benefits and explain why this program will be good for both the company and its employees. They make promises, but at the end of the day, they fail to deliver.
Nothing really happens, and the whole effort seems like a waste of time. Well, it makes sense to resist things that are a pure waste of time. These kinds of dismals give employees the impression that change is not good. And employees have no reason to believe that its going to be better in the future.
Here are some of the most common reasons employees resist change: Uncertainty and insecurity, Reaction against the way change is presented, Threats to vested interests, Cynicism and lack of trust, and Perceptual differences and lack of understanding.To overcome resistance, managers can involve workers in the change process by communicating openly about changes, providing advance notice of an upcoming change, exercising sensitivity to workers concerns, and reassuring workers that change will not affect their security. The goal is to change people and the quality of their interpersonal relationships. The aims of company development are as follows: Encourage cooperation, Eliminate conflict, Increase Motivation, Improve problem solving, Open lines of communication, and develop mutual trust.
