Executive Summary
This report focuses on Watson Engine Company. Located in Eastern England, Watson Engine Company is one of the leading car engine manufacturers in the region. The company has a centralized form of organization structure and embraces teamwork in its operations.
As a result of the entrance of new companies into the industry coupled with changes in production technologies, the company has been facing a lot of challenges in meeting the needs of their customers. However, with the change in its organization structure and production technologies, the company stands a high change of retaining its customers and attracting new ones hence having a competitive edge over its rivals.
Introduction
This report shall focus on Watson Engine Company. Watson Engine Company is a leading car engine manufacturing in Eastern England. Started out as a family business, the company now has a staff of over 200 employees made up of 125 semi-skilled workers, 54 skilled workers and 27 employees at the managerial level. This report shall focus on the organization structure of the company, teams and teamwork and finally come up with recommendations on means through which the company will improve on its operations.
Organization Structure
Watson Engine Company uses the centralized form of organization structure in the process of running and managing its operations. The organization structure of the company is old fashioned and hierarchical in nature that minimizes the influence of the employees in the running of the organization.
They therefore do not feel as part and parcel of the organization (Sign, 2009). All of the decisions are made at the top level. The manager, Mr. Gordon Watson rarely visits the operation floor leaving this responsibility to the operations manager. Below the operation manager is the production manager, a young enthusiastic man who has had a bright career in companies based in Germany and England.
Despite the efforts he has put across in his position to ensure that the company’s operation are efficient, he feels like the company need to incorporate the use of information technology in its running. The company thus needs to adapt and use new technology in the production and manufacturing of its products to keep up with the pace of other companies. However, the management has not put up any effort to implement his ideas.
Considering the information above, Watson Company does not involve the workers at lower levels in decision-making nor does it they utilize their ideas. The current theories on management postulate that it is the workers at the low levels who have first hand information about the internal and external matters that affect the affairs of a company (Marchewka, 2006). They are therefore the best people to make decisions for the company.
Watson Company however does not consider this fact. The flow of information in this company is one way; from top managerial level to the bottom. This is not good for the company because there are high chances that the information will be distorted as it moves from one level to another. On the other hand, the voice of the people at the lower levels is not heard. These people do not feel free to talk about their problems to their superiors. In the end, their performance becomes poor which in turn pulls down the production of the company.
Teams and Team Working
It is important for an organization to involve employees its affairs (PMBOK, 2000). The best approach to do this is through the establishment of teams among the workers (Human Resources, 2011). Different teams perform different tasks that the organization is involved in. Through teamwork these different groups work together to ensure that the goals and objectives which have been set up by the organization.
Watson Engine Company is made of a network of teams who work together to ensure that the entire consumer needs are met. These teams work hand in hand with each other. The individuals who are in these teams are skilled in their relevant skills. The company also allows for the rotation of individuals from one department to the other thus workers develop even new skills while they work at the firm (Sign, 2009).
The company, through its policies, allows its workers to further their education and skills to improve the excellence of their work. The company is normally involved in a serious of projects all over eastern part of England. Each project is conducted by a specific team. On its completion, the team is disbanded and rearranged in preparation of a new project. Watson Engine Company therefore encourages teams and team working, a factor that has contributed greatly to the success of the company over the years (PMBOK, 2000).
Measures of Teamwork
A measure that can be used to determine the level of teamwork in the organization is the quality of the goods that the company has been producing and the ease at which it is able to meet its deadline. For the last several decades, Watson Engine Company has been credited as one of the best companies that manufacture various parts and components of car engines.
Despite the low utilization of Information Technology, modern production methods and entry of new production companies, Watson Engine Company still has a large market share over its rivals. This can only be credited to the high quality work that is provided by its employees.
Impacts of Existing Structures
Watson Engine Company still embraces an old-fashioned organization structure that is hierarchical. This has impacted the organization culture of the firm in a negative way. Low levels employees are not involved in the process of decision-making, they are not well represented due to lack of a formal trade union and information only flows in one direction.
This creates a poor working environment for the employees and in turn reduces their level and quality of production. However, through embracing the concept of teamwork, the company has managed to motivate employees to collectively meet their targets and maintain the quality of their work at a desirable level.
Improvements
In order for the firm to operate in an effective and efficient manner, a number of changes need to be implemented in its operations. First, the company needs to adopt a decentralized organization structure that requires the participation of all employees in the running and management of the firm.
This will improve decision making within the company and communication as the views of employees of all levels shall be heard and put into consideration. This will in turn motivate employees of all levels and boost production. The company should also embrace the use of modern production techniques and incorporate fully IT in its operations. This will further improve on their production efficiency.
Conclusion
Watson Engine Company is one of the leading engine production companies in England. However, its operations have been shunned due to its poor organization structure and its resistance to change. However, the company has managed to maintain its market share by maintaining its quality of production as a result of teamwork from its employees. Therefore, for the organization to be sustainable in the short run and in the long run, the company should adopt a decentralized organization structure and embrace change.
References
Human Resources. (2011). Team Building and Empowerment. Web.
Marchewka, J. (2006). Information Technology Project Management. New Delhi: Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
PMBOK (2000). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute.
Sign, K. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Text and Cases. Mumbai: Pearson Education.