Instructions
Assignment 3: Implementing and Evaluating – The Future at Biotech Health and Life Products, Inc. (Week 8)
Purpose
The third assignment covers the last three functions of the P-O-L-C, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Students will look at the production floor through the lens of the organizing, leading and control functions.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
- Integrate management theories and principles into management practices
- Organize human, physical, and financial resources for the effective and efficient attainment of organization goals
- Demonstrate leadership skills by communicating a shared vision, motivating and empowering others, and creating a culture of ethical decision-making and innovation
- Develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and standards to improve organizational effectiveness
- Identify the essential characteristics of decision making and indicate the range and types of decisions a manager makes
Step 1: Company Profile
Use the Biotech Company Profile in completing this assignment.
Step 2: Write the Introduction
Create the Introductory Paragraph
The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph:
http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 3: Organizing
Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
The Boomer Bangs projects presented to the Strategic Planning Committee were accepted for production and roll out by the company is scheduled for January of 2019. The first product scheduled for production is a pill that helps reduce blood sugar levels. Market studies predict that this pill likely will be the most successful of the three products, which is why it is the first product to roll out.
Upper management decided that Luis Montego of the Los Lunas, New Mexico Branch Production Team will take the lead for this project. The plan is for Luis to serve as a model for organizing that will be copied by the rest of the branches so that roll out can be concurrent. Luis knows that his production floor is set up exactly like the rest of the plants. Luis has put some thought into the fact that the new pill production will require additional production lines requiring changes to the existing set up. Luis believes space could be a problem. Luis estimates he will need 200 sq. ft. for the additional line set up. He will also need two conveyor belts as well. Luis knows that some relocation of machinery or line set up will have to be done because pills have to be produced away from direct sunlight and stored at low temperatures.
Luis has also come to the conclusion that he will need additional personnel – one pharmaceutically trained pill machine operator for the day shift and two operators for the night shift. Trained line workers cost $3 more per hour than untrained line workers. Luis also knows that these new workers will need supervising. He may have to restructure the floor staff.
Primary pill ingredients bitt goud, spreading hogweed, Chinaberry (mostly found in India) and burra gokhru will be shipped from Madras, India. However, sourcing of the Chinaberry has been a little difficult for Luis and he suspects the cost of production will have to increase the estimated R&D cost by $0.075 per pill. Additional labor costs and costs of the rare Indian ingredients places the overall production cost of one bottle of 60- pills at $5.75, which includes packaging.
Step 4: Assume the Role of Luis Montego
Task 1: Identify and discuss six major areas of the organizing process that Luis Montego must address in organizing the production floor for both existing production and the new project.
Task 2: What specific area needs immediate attention? Why?
Step 5: Leading
Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
Biotech has always told workers that they want to keep people in the Biotech family. The company encourages employees to get additional training and will pay for college tuition for those who want to advance their career opportunities within the company.
During the course of production older line staffers became aware that the pharmaceutically trained line workers made $3.00 more per hour than they did. The workers were unhappy. They felt that it was unfair that Biotech hired from outside rather than provide training to existing workers who would want to take over the jobs and earn the extra salary. An obvious concern began to surface among the workers. Several of the workers questioned whether Biotech is being truthful with them and wonder whether they will really help the workers advance in the company. Morale of plant workers began to suffer. One floor supervisor told Luis that one of his workers refused to help develop a new process that would increase the speed of moving the pallets on the new floor scheme. He said, “Why should I help Biotech make more money if I don’t get any of the money?” Luis knows that this concern must be addressed and morale needs to be improved. Luis also knows that only HR in headquarters can make decisions regarding benefits so he cannot offer pay raises. Luis wonders what he can do to motivate workers and build trust in the production department.
Task 1: Identify and discuss the reasons for the morale problem;
Task 2: Discuss specific ways Luis can motivate his existing employees that will build morale while ensuring production levels stay on track for the current contracts and the new project;
Task 3: What critical factor could interfere with Luis’ attempt to build morale?
