BIA

Risk or a contingency is the probability of occurrence of an event. The impact mostly affects the organizational activities and achievements. An organization faces various forms risks depending on the field of production. Risks in an organization may include financial risk, operational risk, and personal risk (Crouhy, Galai & Ebrary, 2000). Woodman Markets hired auditors and through revenue analysis they determined that a gradual change in the benefits system and employee training would be the right way to go.

Management decided to start with the current workforce, they created a new training program called LifeWorks; the program is aimed at creating a balance between personal life and work. The first stage implemented the paid vacation and time off system, which enables employees to take time off without regards to consequences or being rebuffed. While testing the system over a period of six months, results points to higher satisfaction and lower turnovers.

The second component is to implement cross-cultural training. Woodman Markets hired a large number of employees with diverse backgrounds and this has led to inefficiencies across departments, this part of the training program focused on building excellent work relationship and developing cohesiveness. A review of several studies indicates that cross-cultural training seems to be effective in enhancing knowledge and satisfaction, but is much less effective in changing behavior and attitudes, although it is acknowledged that measuring such changes is difficult (Kohls & Brassow 1994).

The third and final component is known as Total Quality Management (TQM). According to Al-Tarawneh (2011), “Benefits of TQM include heightened employee morale, better teamwork among departments, bridging faculty-staff functions, increased quality from customer viewpoint and continuous development of everyone” (p.114).

After implementing TQM, management is able to focus on internal and external customers. This approach focused on doing things right the first time attempted. Management assigned each segment a team leader; this employee is responsible for coaching and mentoring those identified by management as needing development. This approach has resulted in promotional opportunities for outstanding employees, higher work rate and improvement in conflict resolution.

In order to test the impact of the output on the company as a whole, a validation test was carried out. A survey from internal and external customers suggests over 90% success rate, the short term cost analysis shows an operating cost of about 5 million dollars for all branches, while a long term revenue projection of 3 million dollars per year resulting from more customers, less turnovers and an overall better business model.

In conclusion, Woodman Markets implemented three crucial components from the solution identified previously. While success can be seen gradually, the initial cost would affect profitability for a while but the long term profitability makes it worth the initial investment. The auditors confirmed minimal risk with this option and both internal and external customers approved of this change. It remains to be seen whether the company would be able to build upon the initial successful implementation of the Lifeworks concept without replacing some top level management personnel.

References

Al-Tarawneh H. A (2011).The Implementation of Total Quality Management on the Higher Educational Sector in Jordan. Page 9, 2nd Para. International Journal of Industrial Marketing Vol. 1, No. 1. Retrieved from http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ijim/article/view/771/1138

Crouhy, M., Galai, D & Ebrary, Inc. (2000), Risk management. New York: McGraw Hill.

Kohls, L.R & Brussow, H.C (1994), Training know-how for cross-cultural and diversity trainers, Intercultural Press, Yarmouth