Introduction of Firm
B-MED is a medical equipment distributor located in Trinidad and Miami. The organization sources its equipment from General Electric Healthcare, Medtronic Corporation, Steris Corporation, and AGFA Healthcare and offers its customers in the Caribbean and Latin America the option of servicing their equipment on a regular basis. Initially the organization offered only the small medical equipment hence they would not require a large number of staff. They maintained 10 employees for over 25 years in operation. Bob Samuels who is the founder of the company incorporated a top-down style of management where decisions were made by him and trickled down to the rest of the members. Through the relatively small organization, he was able to keep his staff motivated through financial incentives like bonuses and raises. At the moment, the firm has increased to 50 employees while also increasing the the number of equipment offered by GE Healthcare. The additional workers are mainly engineers from the rival company that B-MED replaced in the distribution channel.
Problem Statement
The organization recently took a drastic change from its primary operational practices. For nearly 25 years, B-MED operated a small family-run business that distributed small medical equipment. In this practice, the organization could effectively maintain a small number of workers and ensuring they remained motivated was relatively easy. However, in the second quarter of 2010, there was a drastic change in the operations of the firm when one of their primary suppliers, GE Healthcare, gave them authority to distribute the the full line of medical equipment they offered. This transition seemingly excited the founder and head of the company, Bob Samuels, as he was mainly focused on the apparent profits that his firm would earn. However, the interaction between Samuels and his few employees is a significant sign of danger in the future of the company. His leadership style is completely rigid and traditional where only a single person makes the decisions and the rest of them have to follow accordingly. B-MED is also likely to experience significant problems where the primary motivation of its employees is bonuses and commissions. The primary impact of this is that the staff will work in a state of fear and only seek to avoid it not do the best they can for the clients they serve. Additionally, the recent increase to 50 employee will make it more difficult for the organization to control especially when the headquarters is in Miami and a whole division is in Trinidad. The significant breakdown in relation between the two divisions is a cause for concern and will likely escalate if the core problems of the workplace environment and operational practices are not rectified as soon as possible.
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Alternative Solutions/Opportunities
The B-MED organization has to enforce two major concerns in the firm that will likely improve the performance of the company. The first is complete change of the leadership style. It is evident that Samuels is still stuck in his old bureaucratic style of operations where the head to the company is the sole provider of the decisions while the employees simply implement them (Bhatti, Maitlo, Shaikh, Hashmi, & Shaikh, 2012). Alternatively, the firm can incorporate a democratic leadership style which can lessen the burden on Samuels while providing workers with a more participative role in making decisions.
Democratic Leadership Style Analysis
Pros
The democratic style of leadership is an effective measure of leadership due to the number of positives gained from the approach. For instance, the leader of the company has a reduced burden of making every decision in the company (Bhatti et al., 2012). As the B-MED continues to grow and expand, making decisions on the daily operations will make things extremely difficult and increases the possibility of making mistakes which will cut back on the revenues earned (Bhatti et al., 2012). The democratic leadership provides employees with a sense of ownership and attachment to the work they do as they participate in making decisions. This approach will also minimize the employee turnover that has been a major concern for the firm since its recent expansion. Democratic leadership also enables the workers and employers to address concerns of the workplace environment (Bhatti et al., 2012). This measure is important for the leader to understand the conditions that will bring about the highest level of productivity among employees.
Cons
While this leadership style has numerous limitations that could impede the overall work done. For instance, due to the need of involving the employees in the decision-making process, arriving at a common understanding may take a while (Wilhelmson & Döös, 2016). The overall goal of this approach of leadership is not simply involve them in the process and completely ignore the ideas they put across, but to hear them out and provide solutions that work for both parties. The power and status quo that was once held by the leader of the company trickles down to the employees. This may greatly lower morale of the management and administrative staff of the company.
Change Company Operations Culture: Analysis
The organization has long worked by operating with a bare-minimum culture. Since the early years of B-MED it has been clear that the workers do just enough to ensure the company earns enough revenues and maintains profitability. The concern has been exposed once the organization expanded to a full line of medical equipment distribution. Lack of appropriate tools to fit the service contracts that the company offers with the sale of equipment, it has become near impossible to achieve a perfect job (Bhatti et al., 2012). The firm should look to enhance cooperation among employees so as to find solutions for daily operations in the achievement of the given tasks and objectives. The administrative department will look towards providing effective solutions for major operational concerns (Bhatti et al., 2012). For instance, development of safety procedures, safety equipment, and proper working tools. Additionally, they will look towards developing effective conflict resolution styles that will minimize the rivalry between the Trinidad and Miami divisions.
Pros
There are various benefits of establishing a corporate culture in the organization. First and foremost, it offers the employees a clear direction and objectives of their roles in the company. Each individual will be aware of the part they play in the company. Secondly, ot prevents the organization from swaying from its primary objectives hence providing the highest value of products and services that the consumers pay for. This way, the company will minimize costs from the damages or irresponsible work done. Conflict resolution will also enable the firm to increase cooperation and cohesion among employees increasing their level of productivity.
Cons
There are a few cons that are associated with the establishment of a corporate culture. It is evident that the approach will create resistance particularly from the workers who have been their since the firm’s earlier days. They process of change is difficult and is likely to bring about high levels of conflict among employees which is the case at the moment. It is for this reason that conflict resolution techniques are essential for effective functioning of workers.
Decision and Support
The organization organization can effectively undertake the approach of establishing an effective leadership style and corporate culture that will help eradicate the ills affecting the performance of the company. The democratic style of leadership is an essential approach that enables the organization to eradicate the negative relationship between the employers and the employees (Wilhelmson & Döös, 2016). It is evident that many of the workers are frustrated with bureaucratic style of leadership as they feel that their concerns are not heard. The problem of high employee turnover is directly related with the leadership style currently at the firm. The firm should then enforce a corporate culture that will help achieve competitive advantage over rivals in the industry (Wilhelmson & Döös, 2016). The substandard work carried out by the organization was able to work when handling small medical equipment. Although the approach would still help maintain profitability, the current size of the workload will not allow for making mistakes. Additionally, the machines are now larger and even more expensive which could bite into the profits of the company if not handled with care. The employees should be area that B-MED strives to provide the highest quality of service to its clients. As a result, their role is to extend that promise and do their level best in the delivery of service.
Action Plan
The implementation of this approach should include the following:
Business to address the deteriorating relationship between leaders and employees.
The organization will engage workers in the decision making process.
The firm should look to enhance cooperation among employees.
The administrative personnel will look towards developing conflict resolution techniques in the to minimize the impact of conflict.
The firm will address operational concerns with necessary input from employees on safety procedures, safety equipment, and appropriate tools of working.
References
Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G. M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M. A., & Shaikh, F. M. (2012). The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction. International Business Research, 5 (2), 192.
Wilhelmson, L., & Döös, M. (2016). Joint principalship: a potential support for democratic practice in schools. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 2016 (1), 31681.
