Acetate department process has always been accomplished in several stages and according to specific scheme that was developed. But, the innovative technologies allowed changing the production process to increase the effectiveness of the work. The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the production before and after the change, to shed light on what was achieved and what could have been achieved, and to suggest some techniques for improving the manufacturing process in the acetate department.
First of all, it should be mentioned that before the changes, the acetate department was located in old four-storey building. All the actions were accomplished by workers personally. The products were manufactured in batches, the first shift started the work and the other had to finish it. To control the process, the foreman collected the samples and took them to the laboratory periodically throughout the shift (Daft 280). The innovative technologies allowed making great changes. First, the whole manufacturing process was restructured and many processes were automated. Second, acetate department was absolutely restructured. Third, the manufacturing process was not completed in batches any more, the process automatization allowed turning to the continuous processing. The raw materials were not delivered every day anymore, as the company moved to the other location with product storage. The works performed mostly a controlling function (Daft 281).
The changes in the acetate department managed to increase the production capacity from 20 to 25 million pounds per year. The night shifts for great number of people were not necessary anymore as the process was automated. One person on duty was absolutely enough to follow the process. The acetate department had to reduce their staff, but no one was dismissed. Even though, having considered all the changes on the manufacturing, it is possible to mention that the department used not all their potential and it was possible to achieve more. The acetate department lags below, if to consider its capacities. The productions increased, still not to the expected level and they were virtually equal to those before the changes in several months. The absenteeism has increased along with the operational errors (Daft 282).
Thus, the expected results were not achieved. Nevertheless, there are a number of ways of how to change the situation without financial investment in new technology. The main problem on the manufacturing is connected to staff. To get rid of absenteeism, the employees should be both motivated and punished. Those who do not miss work without reasons should be awarded at the end of the month with the money that should be extracted from those who was absent at the workplace. Moreover, the good performance of responsibilities should be financially motivated as well. This will help eliminate errors and increase the effectiveness of the work. The staff training should be also completed. The health environment should be improved, like it was in the company before changes. Bowling after work or on weekends is a good opportunity to get along with each other.
So, the acetate department has experienced some technological changes and reorganization of the whole working process. Still, the desired results were not achieved. To improve the working process is possible if to organize staff properly. First of all, staff should be motivated as it is one of the main stimuli for effective work performance. Second, employees should attend some training courses to be able operate the new equipment without errors. The healthy environment at the workplace is extremely important and it should be supported by all means.
Works Cited
Daft, Richard L. “Case for analysis: acetate department.” Organization theory and design. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2007. 280-282. Print.