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director to this position.
You are unwilling to do so until the major part of the departmental reorganisation has been
completed. When you consider the production department employees and skills levels,
you are immediately struck by the problems that face you in achieving change through
people. As a considerable reduction will be necessary in overall management levels, it will
be impossible to employ all current management; you have to slim all areas to meet the
demands of the business plan.
This plan foresees the concentration of the company in the area of specialist valve design
and manufacture, with a large number of the existing operations being subcontracted.
Burke will therefore have to become more skilled and more flexible.
You are aware that the necessary new management posts will demand higher levels of
skill and flexibility. The first major problem you face is to determine which of the existing
managers have the necessary skills to meet the demands of the new business plan; which
can achieve the necessary level of skill after appropriate retraining; and which are still
unlikely to be able to cope.
You are however aware that the most important issue is to achieve a change of attitude
through those appointed to manage. Burke Engineering must change from a company
managing to survive, albeit with increasing difficulty, on a reputation for solid but
conservative engineering, to one that is perceived as innovative and market led. The
managers in the company will have to be prepared to change; change the way they think
and the way they work. Without staff cooperation, you know full well that there will be little
chance of your ambitious plans being fully or even partially implemented.
It is, therefore, vitally important for you to identify those who are likely to be supportive of
change; those who will not resist change but will not enthusiastically support it, and those
who will resist change by every means possible without endangering their existing jobs.
Among the managers with whom you have worked, many have indicated their commitment
to the old ways, and they will be particular problems. You know that these decisions
cannot be taken in isolation. The company has a responsibility to try and resolve the
problems that would be caused by redundancy.
None of the management have a formal contract of employment with Burke Engineering,
nor are they members of any professional management group or union. Under existing
employment law, the company would have to pay approximately 1 week's salary per year
of employment as severance pay. However, you have already initiated discussion of more
generous terms with the unions, as part of the move towards improved industrial relations,
following the near strike in the factory. But redundancy pay is only part of the issue:
retraining and early retirement are other options.
The local employers' training organisation also provides assistance for the relocation of
management staff, and there are a number of independent specialists that can provide
career counselling. You have been in contact with a number of them, and have found that
the average cost per employee would be around €2,000. Because of the need to move
forward with these changes, decisions are essential about who should be retained within
the organisation; what roles they would fill, and what the company should be prepared to
offer to employees who would no longer fit into the new organisation. You need a policy to
handle the problems that you face in achieving change through the individuals that are
currently employed by Burke Engineering.
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