HRM Essay Example: A Report on Jan's People Management Problems at SweDigi Company

Introduction

Management challenges significantly affect the production of companies, causing loses, and Jan is facing managerial issues at SweDigi. Studies have shown that a good organisational structure has a direct impact on the success achieved by an organisation regarding the effectiveness of management. The objectives and targets set by the management usually guide manager on the modalities of assigning duties to employees. Therefore, to attain an excellent organisational performance, Jan has to manage the available human resource effectively and decisively address all emerging issues. The development of an appropriate system of management together with a well-thought culture and organisational norms is pertinent to the success of any system of management.

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A common measure of the performance of a manager in a business or an organisational set up is how he/she contributes to the success of the organisation. There are different approaches to management and organisational change management (Denison, 2013). People's management may be supervised using key performance indicators and service level agreements. There are different types of management styles such as autocratic, democratic and authentic management or leadership. The manager may decide to use either the motivation or inspiration method to keep the employees focused on the organisational goals. Both improvement and transformational tactics are likely to improve the performance of the organisation. Therefore, Jan should consider employing an appropriate management style that focuses on keeping employees motivated and with high levels of commitment.

From the financial data of SweDigi, it is evident that the amount of sales has declined considerably. The current year sales have decreased drastically by 13% compared to the previous year. This is alarming since the financial forecasts predict a further decline in the number of sales. The new CEO at SweDigi Company is more enthusiastic towards establishing change by introducing new products and increasing the sales. There are several human resource management issues such as lack of employee motivation, poor public relations, Lack of employee empowerment and a failing management structure. The issues negatively affect the productivity and profitability of any organisation. Therefore, Jan should objectively solve these challenges to steer SweDigi Company to higher levels.

Referring to the Lewis Field force analysis, change is necessitated by dissatisfaction with the present strategies, including performance related issues and the failure to meet organisational goals (Alexander, 2017).According to this model, change cannot happen by itself. It has to be initiated, and hence SweDigi company management has to first come to terms with this reality-The necessity of change in management. This calls for the development of strategies on how to achieve the desired change.Aside from the measures designed to bring change in the management, there is need to be cognizant of the possibility of a backlash from the existing employees. All these factors identified in this model are very important for a successful change in management (Alexander, 2017). To begin with, this report will first identify the challenges that make the change in management necessary at SweDigi. There cannot be change without it being necessitated by an event or issues.

The Need for Change in Management at SweDigi Company

The following identified challenges facing the company necessitate a change in management at the company:

Lack of corporation or employee engagement

The biggest people management issue that underpins the difficulties experience by Jan is lack of cooperation among employees. Lack of employee engagement significantly affects the business. This disengagement can create disunity which ultimately affects the implementation of new ideas and strategies. Both junior and senior employees should work hard corporate and work as a team (Anderson, 2016). Employee engagement determines the level of commitment and success of the company. Lack of engagement creates a strong competitive disadvantage which negatively affects the business (Dawson, 2014). Key areas such as production, quality control department, innovation, marketing and customer relation are affected by the disengagement, and hence teamwork is necessary to increase productivity and profitability of the company (Schein, 2002).

Employee Supervision

Employees are likely to take their work seriously and work under minimal supervision when working as a team. CEOs should supervise their employees and acceptably monitor their operations. Lack of proper supervision may affect staff performance, and hence it is critical to involve other managers in management (Schein, 2002).A CEO is also expected to work closely with other leaders to ensure sustainable production. Jan's new strategy may restore the company to its original position and increase the sales. However, both the production and marketing manager are unwilling to cooperate with the new CEO to implement change. As explained in the Lewis Field force model, this is expected in a change in management, and it can be overcome. Employees Corporation is imperative and must be embraced to increase productivity (Dawson, 2014). Besides, every employee should be committed towards service delivery and increase the production of companies (Anderson, 2016.Other incidences of staff resistance to change experienced by Jan is the lack of cooperation from sale agents. As a leader, Jan has all options to handle these expected issues, and his success in doing this will have an impact in restoring order in the company.

Lack of Training and Development

Lack of training and development may affect the productivity of a company. Jan, as the new CEO, has to start by training all the managers of the various departments including the marketing and production sections. This requires that senior and junior employees being regularly trained to enhance productivity and focus on organisational goals. Through training and development, employees will be able to improve their skills, experience, career, and ability (Schein, 2002). They will also feel motivated towards achieving certain goals and objectives of the organisation. Dawson argues that training and staff empowerment prepares employees for a change in management (2014).

Lack of Trust and Resistance by Some Employees

Mistrust and resistance to change have affected Jan's new strategy. Referring to the Lewis Force Field analysis, every new leader faces the prospect of resistance by some employees who may not be convinced with their style of management or even due to mere prejudice. The existing management does not trust the new CEO and fails to recognise him. Employees should people of integrity and aspire to build trust in the new management as a way of ensuring better organisational performance. Jan idea to come up with a new product is the main source of disagreement. Besides, the management team had a different opinion on how to initiate the new development. From these experiences, Jan realised that the management was not simply asserting his influence but also handling potential resistance.

Employee Retention

Employee relation is likely to affect production positively or negatively. There is a need for mutual understating and respect for human dignity. Poor employee relation has a negative impact on the success of the business due to different continuous disagreement and lack of unity (Dawson, 2014). The company should adhere to labour laws and comply without difficulties. Good salaries and enumerations motivate employees. The existing employees who are performing well should be promoted to ensure high productivity (Brisson-Banks, 2009). Human management is affected poor employee relation. There is a need for establishing a good relationship from top to bottom. The senior and junior management should work as a team and promote good workplace relationships.

Rewards and motivation

Reward and motivation are essential to ensure high productivity. Employees should be motivated in various ways such as promotion, overtime payment, salary increment, and vocations are important (Dawson, 2014). Managers and CEO should be much concerned with the needs of employees. Jan was accused of not listening to his management team and working with them to implement the changes. The production and marketing managers opted to quit the jobs and join multinational companies in the same city (Brisson-Banks, 2009). Similarly, rewards including offering incentives, insurances retirement plans and benefits lead to high productivity.

Recruitment and Retention

Employee recruitment and retention is another issue Jan faces as a new CEO at SweDigi. Recruitment of new employees has always been a challenge to managers, and hence there is need that it is by qualification and experience. Managers should find ways of retaining their hardworking employees to avoid resignation, which may have a negative impact organisational success (Schein, 2002). A good example is where the marketing manager at the company had to quit while the production manager threatened to resign. High employee retention promotes productivity and reduces the cost training new staffs (Carnall, 2007).

Inefficient Communication

Effective communication is vital, and leaders should find ways of communicating different information among all staff members. Leaders should have superior communication skills and remove communication barriers which may cause poor performance. This is one of the identified problems contributing to the decline in the performance at SweDigi Company. Effective communication builds trust and helps managers to share their mission and vision (Schein, 2002).

Recommendations

Short and Medium Term Measures That Jan Should Take When Launching New products

Launching new products into the market depends on the product launch strategy. Jan should establish a marketing plan to enable the products to penetrate the market. Focussing on customer satisfaction and experience is imperative. The new products should meet the demand and satisfy the needs of the products. There are several steps that Jan should take when launching the new product. He has to consider the demand for the new product, price, availability, and quality of the newly manufactured product (Codita, 2011).

Studying the competitors is crucial and enables the company to establish a strong competitive advantage. SWOT and PESTLE analysis tools will help the CEO to come up with new strategies that will boost the sales. The CEO should evaluate and determine whether the new product will be better than the existing ones. The product should stand against what is already being offered and must provide better services (Codita, 2011).

Targeting ideal customers is imperative and may boost the sales of the product making it more marketable. To successfully launch the new product, it is essential to focus on how to attract ideal customers. The consumers should purchase the new product by appreciating the added feature which makes it unique. Creation of unique value proposition is important and helps to stand apart from the existing competitors (Schein, 2002). The new product should be unique with more value compared to the existing products. Marketing strategies and tactics should be defined before launching the new product (Mohr, 2016).

Jan should start by studying the competitors to examine their strategies to come up with the best competitive advantage that will make the sales high. The company should use PESTLE and SWOT analysis tools to analyse the...