DBA 703

Task Force Plan

Anitha D’Souza

Farhan Dar

Naren Kumar

Ramesh Babu Ambari

Shella Gondi

University: Indiana Wesleyan University

Date: 6/17/21

List of Contributors

Anitha D’Souza

Farhan Dar

Naren Kumar

Ramesh Babu Ambari

Shella Gondi

Table of Contents

Contents 1.0.0 The Team has Investigated the Problem 2 2.0.0 Acquired new knowledge 3 2.1.0 Low employee performance 3 2.2.0 Lack of Communication 3 2.3.0 Teamwork Problem 4 2.4.0 Pressure 4 2.5.0 Time Management 4 2.6.0 Lack of support 5 2.7.0 Skepticism 5 2.8.0 Difficult Employees 5 3.0.0 Solutions to These Management Challenges 5 3.1.0 Increasing Employees’ Performance Levels 5 3.2.0 Dealing With the issue of Being Understaffed 6 3.3.0 Improving communication at the workplace 7 3.4.0 Enhancing Teamwork Among the Employees 7 3.5.0 Reducing the Pressure to Perform Highly 7 3.6.0 Proper Time Management 7 3.7.0 Acquiring Efficient Support from the Executive of the Company 8 3.8.0 Eliminating Skepticism from some Employees 8 3.9.0 Dealing with Difficult Employees 8 4.0.0 Executive Summary 8 4.1.0 Background of the Problem 8 4.2.0 Current State 9 4.3.0 Summary of the Recommended Solutions 9 4.4.0 Organized Sections of the Proposed Solutions 10 5.0.0 References 10

Task Force Plan

Home Flowers organization was founded in 2013. The company was established to sell flowers since this type of business was speculated to have many customers. Also, the market for this type of business was served by a few companies; competition was very low. The other businesses that sold flowers were small in size, and the Home Flowers organization was speculated to be a big organization. The company was established, and it employed fifty employees. Five years from its establishment, the business registered a splendid performance and high sales. However, after five years, the business performance went down. Also, sales went down. Following this, the management of Home Flowers organization has resolved to call us to help them know what the underlying cause (s) of reduction in the business performance is, the reasons why sales have reduced, and possible solutions that will get the business back to its feet.

Before my team conducted the investigations, we laid out the objectives of the research. The objectives were as follows: to investigate teamwork, to look at communication, to assess the number of staff, to assess the performance levels of all the employees, to look at time management, to ascertain the support from the executive, to assess the flexibility of the employees, to identify the skepticism of the employees, and to look at the pressure the staff face at the workplace.

My team is comprised of five members. Anitha D’Souza, Farhan Dar, Naren Kumar, Ramesh

Babu Ambari, and Shella Gondi. Each of these members had special tasks that that would help us find the underlying problem and the solutions. We agreed as a team that any team member who found a problem to propose a solution. If they fail to prose a suitable solution, they could ask for assistance from other members. Each team member was supposed to interact with employees at different managerial levels. The research was carried out smoothly without interfering with the normal activities of the business by allowing the business staff to continue with their usual tasks while the members of the group monitored them. Also, we asked the management which day of the week the employees were free to have conduct interviews. We conducted a variety of interviews, including face-to-face interviews, group interviews, and interviews over the phone. Also, we included the business managers in the interviews and other employees holding high seats in the business. The total time that it took for the research to take place was three months. We had to take a lot of time to identify all the problems, including those that are usually hard to identify and to fulfill the research objectives.

At Home Flowers organizations, there are tasks assigned to employees daily to meet the goals and objectives of the business. According to Naren, one of the group members, he observed that most of the tasks assigned to employees were not done as required. The employees were less progressive, and they were constantly supervised in order to complete the tasks assigned to them. He also observed that these employees took a lot of time while performing tasks that could be completed within a short period. In general, the employees were unmotivated.

Ramesh found out that managers had a hard time overseeing the various teams in the organization. Most of the employees had a different personalities. It was hard to find an employee who had a personality similar to another. As such, it was very for them to communicate with each other in teams. Managers had a hard time intervening to try and help the situation, which resulted in a lot of time wastage. At Home Flowers organization, communication is lacking, making it hard to perform the normal activities.

At Home Flowers organization, Farhan observed that tasks in the organizations were very many. Employees were assigned a lot of tasks from time to time. As such, it is nearly impossible for employees to work as a team. Individuals are given many tasks, leading them to have little time to spare to work with others in groups.

In this organization, there are many managerial posts. Managers at different managerial posts are expected to meet all the expectations that their position has. Shella concluded that managers hired a long time ago did not have an issue meeting the expectations they were required. On the other hand, she observed that new managers had a hard time with their new positions; they did not know much about their new post, yet they were expected to deliver excellent work. As such, these managers worked under a lot of pressure. This, in turn, affects how they work since they do not have time to think of strategic moves to perform their tasks clearly. Many new managers are confused about making moves and effective decisions in the organization.

Managers are responsible for making sure all the activities in the organization are running smoothly. If they fail to oversee any activity, then the business becomes affected. Anitha observed that the managers in this organization were in charge of controlling teams in the organization. Also, they run many departments. By the time they are finished accomplishing one task, their schedule will be ahead of them; they cannot balance their own responsibilities with the additional activities they are supposed to oversee.

Anitha found out that before managers in the organization make a decision, they have to consult with the executive. Therefore, a decision that was supposed to take little time ends up taking a lot of time because of the long-decision-making process.

Some employees feel like they are working harder than others in the organization. Also, Ramesh found out that most of the employees felt distanced from their superiors and that they were not included in important decisions making activities that affect the organization.

Ramesh also ascertained that some managers did not know how to handle problems among employees, and this led to tension around the workplace. Also, there is the problem of understaffing in the organization.

Following the above-identified problems, the team has come up with an effective, virtuous, global task force and tested solutions outlined below.

This is one of the greatest challenges as it affects the overall objectives and goals of the company (Ciner, 2020). The success of a company is greatly dependent on the effort put by employees in doing their job. To come up with an effective solution to increase the employees’ levels of performance for the company, you first have to assess, find out and understand why the employees are not performing as they should. Some of the methods to increase employees’ performance include;

1. Consistent Rating of Employees’ Performance

Frequent assessment and gauging of the employees’ performance will keep them on their toes and will ensure that the company’s goals are at the forefront of the day-to-day activities.

2. Prioritizing the Development of Employees

Some employees may possess special skills that may help both the employee and the company. Prioritizing their development will ensure that they pursue their personal goals, and the company will, in turn, attain its goals.

3. Improving the Employees’ Morale

This involves methods that will improve the employees' confidence and morale, thus raising their level of performance. These methods include; better working environment, salary increment, and awarding employee of the month every month.

4. Providing the Right Technologies

In today's world, the workforce depends largely on technology to perform their tasks. Therefore, utilizing the right technology will ensure maximum output for every employee; thus, the company will achieve its goals.

A business being understaffed may cause great damage to the business resulting in very big losses. Some of the ways to assist you in dealing with an understaffed workforce include;

1. Using technology to maintain a better workflow (Space Coast Daily, 2019).

2. Proper management of your calendar to ensure that the occasions that require a high workforce will not catch you by surprise and you will be prepared.

3. Offering internships. Students searching to acquire experience of the real-life situation of the courses they are pursuing might be of great help. You will save on money and your workload will be dealt with due to the increased workforce.

As the manager, you should increase the number of times you communicate with the employees. This will enable them to process what you want them to perform without losing focus.

This will involve assigning projects to the employees, not individually but as groups/ teams. This will open their eyes to see the worth and benefit of their colleagues, thus enhancing teamwork.

As the manager, you have to go back through the objectives that the business wanted to achieve under you. You should, therefore, not pressure yourself to perform highly as leaders do make mistakes. 

As a manager, you should create a regular calendar in which the employees would be aware of the times they can reach you. This will ensure that any issues going on in the workplace are raised at the right time.

You should reach to the executive while in need of making decisions that may impact the company. However, minor decisions should be done without complex decision-making processes.

Frequent interactions with the employees will assist in improving the level of trust that the employees may have in you. Being transparent and communicating clearly on the decisions you make will eliminate skepticism.

Properly listen and assess their issues before making the final decision (Giffens, 2021). You should then seek assistance from an HR in the company who would help you in conflict resolution.

Before getting to know where the problems lay in the company, some objectives were laid out. These objectives lead to the discovery of the following problems in the Home of Flowers organization. Low employee performance. The employees in the organization were unmotivated to work. The tasks assigned to them, no matter how simple they were not done as expected and within the given time. The second problem was the lack of communication between the employees and the managers. The employees have different personalities that managers have a hard time comprehending. In the organization, there is no teamwork. It was observed that the tasks assigned to individuals were very many. As a result, it becomes hard for them to spare time to work with others since they are occupied all day long. New managers are under intense pressure. They are expected to deliver a hundred percent, yet they have many tasks to perform. As a result, the pressure makes them make inefficient managerial decisions.

Time management is a real problem in this organization. The managers have a lot of tasks to perform with limited time. As a result, they fail to finish some of these tasks on time, which leads the tasks to pile up. Also, there is a lack of support from the executive level. Managers are not free to make any decisions since all decisions have to go through a decision-making process that consumes a lot of time. There is skepticism among some employees; they feel like they are working harder than others. Lastly, it was observed that the company has a problem dealing with difficult employees. Managers fail to solve problems at premature levels, and the problem escalates, leading to tension at the workplace.

Due to all these problems, work has piled up due to lack of proper time management, among other problems. Also, managers do not have much say in the organization because even minor decisions have to get approved by the executive. Employees work on their own since teamwork does not work in this organization, and also some employees have are unmotivated to work since they think they are working harder than others.

Promoting employee morale and rating them to boost their performance. The issue of inadequate staff will be resolved by offering internships and using technology. Communication problems will be addressed by encouraging managers to interact with employees. Teamwork will be encouraged by assigning projects to workers in groups and not to individuals. The issue of pressure will be handled by encouraging managers to stick to the objectives of the business no matter the situation they are facing. The issue of time management will be addressed by encouraging managers to come up with a calendar stating when they are available. The executive should step in when the company is facing a crisis only; it should let managers make small decisions without going through long decision-making processes. The issue of skepticism will be done away with by managers interacting with employees more. Lastly, the issue of difficult employees would be addressed by managers being keen while assessing the underlying cause of conflicts among employees so that they can come up with more effective judgments and solutions.

Two main resources will mainly be employed to the proposed solutions; finances to meet expenditures and time to allow the solutions to get implemented. The same objectives that were to identify the problems will be used to help with the proposed solutions. These objectives were: to investigate teamwork, to look at communication, to assess the number of staff, to assess the performance levels of all the employees, to look at time management, to ascertain the support from the executive, to assess the flexibility of the employees, to identify the skepticism of the employees, and to look at the pressure the staff face at the workplace.