Problems
Macro
The macro problems can be defined as those, which affect the whole organization or Quantum Software, in this case. We can also say that the success and performance of the company depend on the effective solving of macro problems and their prevention as well.
The case deals with the issue of corporate parties organized by Quantum for its employees. The situation described allows us marking out the following macro problems: the risk of the loss of company’s reputation, the risk of legal trials as well as of the significant payoffs, and the risk of the inverse effect of the corporate parties affecting the morale within the organization negatively.
Micro
The micro problems are the ones, which do not put the company’s overall success and performance at hazard but, which expose the firm to the risk of the extraordinary events influencing the functioning of the certain departments or units of the organization negatively. The situation presented in the case allows us marking out certain micro problems.
First of all, the corporate parties organized by the company may lead to some confusing events. We get to know from the case that one of the employees working at the company losses his balance and fells on the snack table at the party. Unarguably, it is a bad situation.
However, it implies two major outcomes for Quantum. The first one is that the employees will feel themselves not bounded by the strict rules and perceive this situation from the point of view that the company adheres to the liberal position supporting the personal freedom of its employees.
The second one boils down to the fact that this situation may result in the communication problems among colleagues, misunderstanding and the tensions in the team. In addition, the employees may become injured during or after such events.
Causes
The following main causes for the described problems can be indentified: the alcohol intoxication of the employees at the party, the moral aspiration of the work stress reliever resulting in the over-emotional behavior of employees during such kind of events, and others.
Systems Affected
The problems described above may affect the following systems: the corporate responsibility of the company, the HR department, the system of motivation employed by the management, and the ethical and professional standards of the company. In addition, these problems may affect the PR campaign of the company.
Alternatives
The corporate parties organized by Quantum are the inevitable part of its overall strategy. The purpose of the parties is to provide the employees with the opportunity to communicate with colleagues and managers in the informal environment. In addition, such kind of events is aimed at supporting the team spirit in the company. Finally, they are organized with the purpose of supporting the employees’ loyalty.
However, the parties are not the only way of achieving these goals. Alternatively, the company can organize the charity auctions encouraging employees participating in the solving of the social issues. Besides, the sport events can be organized. And last but not least, the management of Quantum can motivate the employees by increasing the financial remuneration for their work.
Recommendations
In order to give the recommendations, the suggested alternatives should be analyzed. The charity auctions are the one of the suggested ways of the achieving corporate goals of Quantum. In particular, the participation of the employees in such kind of events will contribute to their unity and support the team spirit.
Furthermore, the charity auctions can improve the reputation of the company presenting it as an active social player. By means of holding such events, the firm will support its CSR strategy. The strengths of this alternative are obvious. However, it has certain weaknesses as well.
One of them is the relatively high cost of their organization. In comparison with the current strategy of organizing the parties on Fridays, this alternative is hardly a kind of event which can be realized every week.
In addition, the most charity events assume the formal style of communication and, sometimes, even the dress code. This peculiarity contrasts to the intentions of the management to support their liberal image and to make the employees feel themselves more comfortable.
The second alternative is the sport events. It also has its strengths and weaknesses. Probably, its major advantage boils down to the fact that the sport games help to build the teams. Being driven by the competitive spirit, the participants of the sport events will strive to support each other and to show that their team is the best.
At the same time, it means that the employees working in the company will be divided into separate groups. They will not be the united team. One possible solution is to divide them on teams on the principle of the functional division of the firm. In this case, each team will be represented by the certain department.
This will prevent the competition and conflicts among the employees working together. The sport events may also be effective from the standpoint of the maintenance of the employees’ health. If the number of sick leaves per year decrease, the costs of the company will be reduced. In addition, the employees will feel themselves more capable of working. Finally, the sport games can be organized rather frequently.
The last alternative is the increase in the financial remuneration. Undoubtedly, money plays a crucial role in the motivation of personnel but not the most important one or, at least, not for every employee. Due to the fact that everyone has its own values and career inspirations, some motivating factors may be effective for one category of employees and the others may be more appropriate for another one.
In this context, the company may organize a survey investigating the attitude of its personnel to the different motivation schemes. The high salary is the competitive advantage of the company on the labor market. It represents one of the factors allowing it to hire the most talented and experienced specialists.
However, the theories of motivation claim that the employees want to feel that their extra efforts are remunerated accordingly. That is why the company can implement the new bonus schemes or improve the old ones. This alternative has such disadvantage as the increase in the salary and wages expense. It also does not support the team spirit.
Having analyzed all suggested alternatives, we can say that the sport events seem to be the most attractive one. This alternative fits the overall strategy of the company and can be used for achieving its goals. In addition, it requires fewer amounts of expenditures than the other ones.