Classical Approach Diagnosis
Donaldson Family Foods Company does not have systems that work alongside its staff members to promote healthy communication ethics by recognizing and where necessary, supporting staff members who make steady commitment in practicing accepted and desirable healthy organizational communication ethics in their work departments.
This is best achieved through reliable management and proactive communication model (Miller, 2011, p.31). Since the Donaldson Family Foods’ organization structure lacks a proactive communication model, these aspects have not been integrated in the production, distribution, and evaluation structures.
For instance, Kate Elliot is attacked by her supervisor Rick Clark for being straight speaking during meetings and is quickly reminded of the usual sluggish culture of ‘do not care’ attitude (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 15).
Communication in organizations can be either formal or informal. Formal communication is the proper and defined process of communication within an organization.
As proposed by Fayol, Communication influences innovative and deviating period of organisational economic activities such as the development of technology, increasing market demand, production and workflow, investment and trade patterns, and competition among the rival companies (Miller, 2011, p. 23).
Specifically, the non discursive approach employees of the Donaldson Family Foods Company have adopted in explaining and exploring shared and coordinated actions on roles does not functions in the exchange of information in a professional manner (Miller, 2011, p. 24).
For instance, Elliot has to contend with ridicule from Tom over a project he is afraid may collapse since there are no systems to control projects implementation (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 17).
The Donaldson Family Foods Company is not a learning organization since its organization culture does not engage employees in active process of learning through promotion, facilitation, and rewarding collective learning results. The three elements of a learning organization as that with concrete processes of learning, supportive environment and proactive leadership practices (Class notes, 2013a, cap. 2).
Through the use of these diagnostic tools, managers can assess the areas of the organization that require urgent improvement towards moving the company closer to an ideal learning organization (Class notes, 2013a, cap. 2).
The managers in the Donaldson Family Foods Company do not play the significant role of setting up the learning environment for their employees as expected. Elliot notes that the employees do not report on time and are quick to leave the office barely after the office hours (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 14).
Human Resources Approach Diagnosis
The human resource management system applied at the Donaldson Family Foods Company does not have the self evaluation skills to encompass actual and expected outcome. Reflectively, “the organization functions by maintaining a strict distinction between workers and managers: Workers are responsible for physical labor, and managers are responsible for thinking and organizing” (Miller, 2011, p.27).
For instance, Elliot has to contend with Tom’s genuine frustrations and disillusionment when discussing what he had to go through in his first year at the Donaldson Family Foods Company before letting go his personal urge to perform optimally (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 15).
The human resource management system at the Donaldson Family Foods does not contain the essential elements of organizational behavior and management assessment. Reflectively, research and statistics are needed to understand the various behavioral patterns that exist within the scope of the Donaldson Family Foods Company.
Elliot is worried that the cognition, which alters behavior in the Donaldson Family Foods, is driven by personal conviction of the employees rather than what is expected of them. In fact, a senior manager Jeff Donaldson has devised metaphoric dog names to classify the performance of the employees (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 18).
Since the Donaldson Family Foods Company’s HRM lacks research and statistical skills of evaluating of its employees, the system is not able to facilitate understanding of group thoughts since emotional distress is assumed to result from mal-adaptive thoughts expressed in specific behavior patterns (Miller, 2011, p. 27).
This self guided approach is based on collaborative procedures that involve designing specific learning experiences to teach organization on how to monitor automatic behavior; recognize the relationship between these behaviors and cognition, ways to test the validity of the relationships, and measures to apply to substitute the distorted thoughts with more realistic cognitions (Class notes, 2013b, cap. 3; Class notes 2013c. cap. 3).
Since research methods focus on the development of a range of skills that is designed to help the organization cope with a variety of life situations, it has become dispensable to the Donaldson Family Foods Company in practicing a passive balance in management. Several employees check out before the end of officer hours (Houser & Sheil, 2010, p. 18).
Reflecting on Weber’s ‘bureaucracy theory’, the HRM system at the Donaldson Family Foods Company lacks the elements of charisma and rationality which determine the level of performance in an organization (Miller, 2011, p. 25).
According to this theory, the charisma and rationality elements involve realization that a challenge exists in the organization and transforming this challenge into a development goal after which implementation step concludes by developing a solution for the challenge.
Apparently, the Donaldson Family Foods has failed to do so and its chances of survival has dwindled over the years as noted in the production line for new products that are not well positioned in the target market.
Recommendations to solve issues at Donaldson Family Foods
Classical Approach
Miller (2011) asserts that “organizations that run in a mechanistic manner will rely on the principles of standardization, specialization, and predictability in order to operate. These general principles are represented by the more specific ideas of organizational structure” (Miller, 2011, p. 28) as enshrined in the organizational ethics.
The Donaldson Family Foods should adopt an actionable planning in a fresh proactive communication channel in the company’s hierarchy of leadership to create solution oriented task and strategy implementation secessions. Besides direction and content, “a variety of channels can facilitate communication flow.
To name just a few, information can be communicated through face-to-face channels, through written channels, or through a variety of mediated channels” (Miller, 2011, p. 31).
Through designing tolerance model levels, the organization culture at the Donaldson Family Foods Company will remain active in developing dependence of interest attached to an activity, creating proactive relationships, and monitoring their interaction with physical and psychological health (Class notes, 2013a, cap. 2) Eventual, this will pay off since the workforce will learn to appreciate the essence of teamwork.
Human resources approach
Job testing is an important concept in the discipline of human resource management during job selection process, especially in hiring candidates for specific job descriptions (Class notes, 2013b). Getting the right individuals for employment is critical towards achievement of the Donaldson Family Foods’ goals.
As opined by Taylor, in the bureaucratic theory, “the one best way to do every job can best be determined through time and motion studies” (Miller, 2011, p. 26). The needs include safety, physical needs, love, self esteem, and room for actualization.
When implemented, the need for actualization will be the driving force for high profit margins in the Donaldson Family Foods Company. In addition, periodic self evaluation and interdepartmental rotation should be adopted to ensure constant change of environment to minimize monotony and boredom among the employees.
References
Class notes (2013a). Classical approaches: Part 1 and 2.
Class notes (2013b). Human relations approach.
Class notes (2013c). Human resources approach.
Houser, M., & Sheil, A. (2010). How do you get anything done around here? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Miller, K. (2011). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes: Approaches and Processes. Alabama: Cengage Learning.