Michael LaRosa Southern New Hampshire University OL-500 Human Behavior in Organization 2-2 Final Project Milestone One: Introduction 02/02/2020
In reading the case study, it is apparent that a number of factors contributed to the
organizational downfall at Engstrom. The first issue that I saw was that Engstrom was not able to
keep up with demand and changing times which I contribute to a lack of knowledge on the part
of upper management. This caused employee morale to fall thus resulting in significantly
remain loyal to the organization which ultimately results in less turnover. Another factor that
contributed to the organizational dismay at Engstrom was the economic downturn of the
industry. The lack of productivity on the part of the employees resulted in the delay in of
fulfilling orders thus endangering the reputation of the company and the company's status as a
certified supplier. Employees that hadn't been included in the last round of layoffs hadn't seen a
bonus in a number of months which directly resulted in decreased productivity levels. Between
the lack of knowledge on the part of management, the economy, employee morale, and dismal
productivity levels, Engstrom was in trouble. Some thought that the company was on the way to
bankruptcy and a subsequent closure of the plant
I feel that the first thing that needs to happen is that new members of upper management
need to take feedback from employees into consideration. Employees like to and should fee
valued for their hard work and service which is why I feel as though the Scanlon model of
incentivizing employees, if implemented correctly, would not only clear up much of the
organizational chaos that has ensued, but it would also result in increased productivity because
many employees would feel as though they are being compensated more fairly. I am a very big
advocate of transparency between management and their subordinates. In the case of Engstrom, I
feel that the new management team should continue to hold regular meetings with the employees
and their union. This not only ensures open lines of communication, but gives everyone involved
the opportunity to voice their concerns and make suggestions on how to improve working
conditions and ways to adjust the compensation structure when it is deemed necessary to do so.
Furthermore, I would implement a system in which employees could easily track their
productivity levels against what standards have been set forth by the company. This gives
employees the ability to plan how they will exceed their goals. This level of increased
productivity from the employees should result in a significant improvement in sales for
Engstrom as well as increased employee morale and retention
References
Newstrom, J. (2014). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York, NY McGraw-Hil