CS - El Professori

Running Head: Employee Voice 4

Employee Voice

Brandy Lewis

Professor Aaron Lockhart, MBA, PHR

BUSI 343-D01

10/31/2016

The management of the company tasked the Head of Talent with the task of bringing a ‘Martini Culture’ into place. The Martini culture is usually interpreted as where one has the freedom to work anywhere, at any time, and from any place. This was all in a move to try and develop the innovative culture that the company had, with a view of expanding into new areas in the future. The head of talent developed the plan to make sure that the employees were free to work when and where they would be most productive (Budd, 2012).  The main challenge affecting the idea was trying to get the senior team to agree to trust the employees and manage them likewise. However, all the team members bought the idea eventually. Comment by Lockhart, Aaron Scott (School of Business): Use section headings and subheadings to guide the reader.

The Head of Talent worked with the interested employees in teams. The head of talent afterwards developed a flexible working system which got underway on July 1, 2013. The head of talent also came up with a performance management mechanism. During the three-month trial period, people were given limited flexibility around the core working hours. The employees were given the freedom to choose what output they may want to achieve. The role of the manager in this case was to coach and enable them to achieve their set goals. The managers were also tasked with instilling the required skills into an employee together with some support for the head of talent.

The trial proved to be a success and the managers decided to take up the new ways. There were few minor challenges in terms of behavior and performance (Budd, 2012).  This success led to the lifting of all restrictions around where and when the employees would work. The dress code was also removed as a sign of how the things have changed.

There were however several challenges that were experienced in the implementation of a martini culture. The main one was that managers did not get it as much as they claimed they did. To help solve this, a regular management survey was done and it sought to assist in development of the managers’ skills. The changes in outcomes were major but the full benefits of the Martini Culture were not realized. This problem was mitigated by having other sessions which were to emphasize on the control that an individual employee had over their results (Budd, 2012). 

As a result of the implementation of the change through the team, we created a group of champions who effectively ensured that this happened in the early stages of the new ways of working. If there was the presence of a union among the workers, it would have taken longer to be able to negotiate through working hours and the allowances, this is because a union will work on the minimum number of hours agreed upon in the contract. (Freeman et al, 2007).

The right of an employee to be heard needs to be included in the constitution as a human right. The freedom of expression does not necessarily mean the right to say anything that one can but to express oneself in a bid to improve personal or group performance. Every employee should be able to negotiate easily through such waters easily given that they already have an employee’s account on which a basis is formed. (Freeman et al, 2007).

The following are important lessons that are learned in this case study: Ensure that the senior team fully understand and support the initiative, involve employees in the design and implementation of the new systems, identify champions within the organization who will identify and deal with issues arising as quickly as possible, and lastly, give people the freedom to challenge decisions (with respect) at any level, if they believe it is the best thing for the organization. Comment by Lockhart, Aaron Scott (School of Business): No biblical integration provided as required in the instructions.

Comment by Lockhart, Aaron Scott (School of Business): The reference page should start on a separate page (Chapter 2, 2.11, p. 37).

References

Budd, J. W. (2012). Labor relations: Striking a balance (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. ISBN: 9780078029431. Comment by Lockhart, Aaron Scott (School of Business): The reference page should be in hanging indent format (Chapter 2, 2.11, p. 37).

Freeman, R. B., Boxall, P. F., & Haynes, P. (2007). What workers say: Employee voice in the Anglo-American workplace. Ithaca: ILR Press/Cornell University Press.

Criteria	Points Possible	Points Earned	Instructor’s Comments
Content · All key components of the case study questions are answered · Answers bring clarity to issues being discussed, relating issues to the textbook and scholarly sources · A thoughtful analysis (considering assumptions, analyzing implications, and comparing/contrasting concepts) is included · Clear and relevant integration of scriptural principles	50	35	Brandy, thank you for submitting this week’s case study. It is vital that organizational management understand the importance of Employee Voice. You do a good job defining employee voice. Be sure that you are using sources and citations throughout the paper to support each paragraph. Be sure that you are referencing the course textbook in addition to 4 scholarly sources. Headings and subheadings are needed to guide the reader through the paper. Be sure that you are including a biblical integration as required by assignment instructions.
Organization · Clear, logical flow to case study response · Major points are stated clearly and concisely	20	17
Format · A title page is included · A reference page is included · Four scholarly sources plus the textbook are cited · Spelling and grammar is correct · Sufficient page count (2–3 pages) is met · Current APA format is used	30	15
Total	100	67