Decision-making Tool or Technique

Solution Preview

Please see response attached for best formatting (alos presented below). I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

Let's look at two examples where businesses used force field analysis as a decision-making tool. First let's discuss briefly what force-field analysis is.

Force-Field Model

Kurt Lewin as an assessment tool for organizational change originally developed this technique. It involves creating a force field of driving forces, which aid the change or make it more likely to occur, and restraining forces, which are points of resistance or things getting in the way of change. Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a plan. It helps you to weigh the importance of these factors and decide whether a plan is worth implementing. Where you have decided to carry out a plan, Force Field Analysis helps you identify changes that you could make to improve it. Start by identifying the change goal.

Example 1: The manager is trying to decide if it would be worthwhile to implement Participatory Management /TEAM approach (http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-d/hrdqpub/hrdq/hrdq86/part_ww7.doc).

Problem: Only 12 years old, the Tech Division is the newest division of the organization. This division has grown from manufacturing and producing a single product to a total of seven products. The Tech Division is a non-union facility, which has a staff of 92 managers and 300 hourly employees. This division uses fermentation technology to convert dextrose (sugar) into a variety of food and feed ingredients. This division operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. A survey was given out to the employees of the Tech Division, including frontline supervisors. 75% of the surveys were returned.

FINDINGS

The following points indicate the major results of the study:

1. There is no real concern for safety, environmental and/or quality controls among the employees.
However, the organization should look into the cause of the investigations and allegations of
Company mismanagement.
2. Tech's managers use an authoritarian approach to managing human resources. This approach over the years has built many barriers between the hourly employees and management and there has been some talk of unionizing.
3. The plant manager's responsibility is to make all the daily production decisions. His staff of production supervisors is to monitor the production cycle and report to him for direction.
4. Frontline Supervisors have been promoted from within the company. ...