Introduction
Sandia National Laboratories is a multifaceted laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., based in New Mexico (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022a). The company focuses on creating nuclear weapons and provides a basis for nations to use assets and address challenging national security issues. Sandia is dedicated to solving some of the most pressing national security issues by developing cutting-edge scientific and engineering solutions through evidence-based research (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022a). Although Sandia is one of the biggest nuclear weapon companies in New Mexico, it faces numerous organizational behavior challenges, including the hierarchical system leadership that affects employee motivation and satisfaction and diversity concerns.
Discussion
Sandia was established as an engineering organization with the sole objective of developing nuclear weapons. However, it has since expanded into a multi-program laboratory that conducts research to aid with a wide range of national security concerns due to employee commitment to their responsibility (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022a). However, the hierarchy system of leadership limits creativity in the organization by enhancing bureaucracy (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022b). The reason is that the executive makes decisions and their choices are the final choice, resulting in isolated thinking. As a technological company, this rigid leadership style demeans creativity which can cost the company its competitive edge due to slow innovation on demand.
A hierarchical leadership system impedes effective Organizational behavior (OB), which includes the actions and behaviors of individuals and groups and the influence those actions and behaviors have on an organization’s overall functioning and performance (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022b). Organizations with a dictatorship leadership style experience negative OB due to complicated chains of command that impede work. For instance, employees cannot practice organizational justice whereby they work beyond their job descriptions to attain an objective due to the rigid system of governance that does not accommodate flexibility (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022a). This leadership style kills innovation and change in a flattening world, making it difficult to achieve Total Quality Management (TQM). This style also does not focus on employee satisfaction, like more of a supportive model, which reduces motivation, perseverance, and focus.
Another vital issue in the company is the lack of diversity or low inclusivity efforts making the organization less accommodating. The leadership structure seems to accommodate the men in the company compared to women. 90% of the company’s leadership composition comprises men, with only three women in executive positions (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022b). George Landry founded the company in 1952 and has seen a chain of male directors ever since (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022b). The current chief executive officer, James Perry, is the managing director handling all the executive functions and management to ensure the execution of Sandia missions. The deputy director, David Gibson, is the chief operating officer, indicating the company’s poor representation of female workers. This system raises the issue of underrepresentation and exclusion in the system of governance.
The company also has neglected some communities in their workforce representation, creating a setback in their inclusivity efforts. 59.1% of the company’s workforce is white, 27.5% Latino, 7% Asian, and 2.2% black (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022c). This trend indicates that the employment rate for people from the white community is higher compared to other communities, with the most disadvantaged being the black community and other marginalized populations. There is no indication of employment of persons with disability in the company, indicating cautious hiring standards are observed in the company (Sandia National Laboratories, 2022c). Embracing diversity requires leaders to strategize or reflect on the current gaps and commit to change so that inclusivity can be enhanced. An inclusive hiring process can be instrumental in balancing the disproportional distribution of employees based on their race in the company.
Solutions
Supportive workplaces encourage greater productivity from employee and satisfaction. One strategy to promote effective organizational practices, creativity, and cohesion is a collegial governance model. Cordial models begin with the presumption that organizations arrive at their policies and choices through a process of deliberation that ultimately results in consensus (Gibson et al., 2019). The power in the organization is distributed among its members, either some of them or all of them, on the basis that these members have a common understanding of the institution’s goals (Gibson et al., 2019). This strategy offers a meaningful opportunity for employee engagement, enabling them to have a voice in the decision-making processes and help make the organization successful (Gibson et al., 2019). The reason is that the leadership strategy is collaborative, engaging, and appreciative of employees’ input in the organization and can foster effective engagement through innovative, inclusive, and tactical engagement.
One strategy to promote diversity is for the company to strive for equal recruitment across cultures to ensure a balanced workforce representation. Successful hiring focuses on a cross-cultural approach to ensure a balance in community representation (Don-Solomon & Fakidouma, 2021). This strategy helps avoid bias within the organization or creates dominance for the majority of employees, enabling successful operations. Diversity is crucial in a company since it helps employees share ideas and teach each other new things (Don-Solomon & Fakidouma, 2021). Inclusivity helps promote more diverse thoughts and perspectives of an organization or group, enhancing its functionality. This collective engagement can also be promoted by mixing teams so that people work together in an interracial context to help promote cross-cultural engagement.
Another strategy is developing a corporate culture of diversity and inclusion. Corporate culture, often known as corporate culture, refers to a system of beliefs and practices that govern how management and employees interact and handle external commercial transactions in a corporation. Corporate culture can significantly impact a company’s and its employees’ fortunes (Don-Solomon & Fakidouma, 2021). Communicating about the importance of eradicating prejudice practices within the organization is important in enhancing awareness of the need for diversity (Don-Solomon & Fakidouma, 2021). For instance, if hiring managers are enlightened about the essence of a diverse workforce, they can avoid unconscious bias during selections.
Conclusion
Sandia National Laboratories is a company in New Mexico that makes nuclear weapons, giving countries a base to confront national security issues. Sandia develops innovative scientific and engineering solutions from scholarly research to address the nation’s most pressing security concerns. Despite their prowess in manufacturing nuclear weapons, Sandia faces organizational concerns like hierarchical leadership that affects employee motivation and lack of diversity. The hierarchical system of governance can be restructured to give employees the power to contribute to specific aspects of the organization through the collegial governance model. Diversity can also be addressed by training the hiring team on the importance of inclusion and developing a culturally competent corporate regulation. All these strategies will boost employee engagement and satisfaction in the workplace to guarantee the company’s productivity and profitability.
References
Sandia National Laboratories. (2022a). About Sandia. Web.
Sandia National Laboratories. (2022b). Leadership. Web.
Sandia National Laboratories. (2022c). Inclusion and Diversity. Web.
Don-Solomon, A., & Fakidouma, P. (2021). Managing Cultural Diversity: Implication for Organizational Innovativeness. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 6(4), 368-371. Web.
Gibson, C. B., Birkinshaw, J., McDaniel Sumpter, D., & Ambos, T. (2019). The hierarchical erosion effect: A new perspective on perceptual differences and business performance. Journal of Management Studies, 56(8), 1713-1747.