Human Resource Management Case 1: Dallas Pet Foods: Building Morale
by
priyankavj (student)
MSBA 5120
Priyanka Vijay
Case 1: Dallas Pet Foods: Building Morale
Question 1: What steps will you take to enhance the overall morale of your departments?
Answer: Employee morale can quickly build or break a company's success; as an effective leader I will keep a close eye on it and enlist simple and creative approaches to strengthen it (Coates 1994). Here are few steps which I will take to enhance the morale of my department:
- Keep employees feeling their work is more than just a job: Everyone wants to feel that his or her work has a higher purpose. Sometimes, though, that purpose gets lost in the day-to-day grind.
- Take time to creatively celebrate accomplishments: It's natural to focus on what's ahead rather than reflect on how much has been achieved. Taking time to reflect, though, helps employees appreciate how much they have done.
- Grant time off to employees to pursue projects they are passionate about: Personal projects can provide an energizing break from regular responsibilities and can serve as a source of innovation for my department.
- Mix up the company's usual way of doing things: Departing from the customary routine of meetings and cubicle life can go a long way toward building morale.
- I will not forget to have fun: The Company will also offer quarterly "fun" rewards when staffers achieve certain goals, such as hockey games, casino nights, or paydays at amusement parks.
- Train employees to develop positive attitude: The Company’s training team will try to boost morale by setting up classes for the employees to watch and discuss videos with inspiring themes like Lance Armstrong's comeback from cancer.
- Offer time away from the work to do some good: Another way to build employee morale and camaraderie is through community service.
Question 2: Given the scenario, will your approaches be tailored to each individual or the group as a whole? Explain.
Answer: Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company's employees apply to their jobs. In the increasingly competitive business environment of recent years, finding ways to motivate employees has become a pressing concern for many managers. In fact, a number of different theories and methods of employee motivation have emerged, ranging from monetary incentives to increased involvement and empowerment. (Owen 2001)
In this case I will motivate employees individually and in groups too. I will work with employees on an individual basis to help them set appropriate, meaningful and attainable professional goals. I will consider each employee’s unique strengths, abilities and talents. I will help employees focus on areas that will give them professional satisfaction and help department be successful. Each of the employees has different interests, skills and ambitions. I will ask individual employees to outline the types of programs that would motivate them to the next level of career development.
Question 3: What difficulties do you foresee in building the morale of this department? How will you overcome these challenges? What likelihood of success do you anticipate?
Answer: Motivation is not a simple subject; no two people respond to precisely the same set of motivators (Kenny 1994).
Similarities and differences among these employees in terms of age, cultural background and physical abilities can be an issue. This diversity complicates the task of motivating employees because there are so many motivational variables.
There are some employees who are planning to leave; convincing them to stay back in the organizations will be a challenge as well.
People want to do something that interests them. I think getting everyone to do something which they like the most will take a long time.
All the managers will take a while to get used to the habit of appreciating their employees as they are not practicing this just now.
Without security, an employee can be unmotivated. So, proving job security to all the employees will also be a task.
I will overcome these difficulties by giving employees more responsibility and decision-making authority which will increase their realm of control over the tasks for which they are held responsible and equips them better to carry out those tasks.
If employees are given the tools and the opportunities to accomplish more, most of the challenges will be sorted.
For the staffs in HR, I have a planned eight step procedure which deals with challenges of motivating employees.
