CASE SUMMARY

CASE ANALYSIS
Identification
Unlike five other operating departments in ArbreCorp Lte, the packaging
department does not have a designated supervisor for each shift. The planer
supervisor is responsible for supervising the morning shift, while the sawmill
supervisor supervises the afternoon shift. However, due to its location, it is
impossible for the assigned supervisors to properly oversee the packaging
department.
Lack of a designated supervisor has resulted in the development of undesirable
norms and a lax work culture in the packaging department, which has led to
decreased productivity and an increased backlog of finished product. In
addition, a significant increase in the productivity level by the planing and
sawmilling departments has increased the quantity of output waiting to be
packaged. This has resulted in backlogged finished products being stored
overnight outside the packaging building, which exposes them to potential theft,
damage, and difficulty in quality packaging. A Saturday shift has increased the
wage expense due to employees incurring overtime costs.
Packaging quality is the most important factor in generating sales but due to the
declining quality of ArbreCorp Ltee's packages, several clients have complained
about the appearance of the finished product and a few large customers have
switched to competitors products.

Analysis

The team effectiveness model outlines organizational and team environment as

the first ingredient of an effective team and states that:
Team members tend to work together more effectively when they receive
some team-based rewards, when the organizations leadership is

supportive of team-oriented work structure, when the organizations

structure assigns teams distinctive clusters of work activity, when
information systems support team coordination, and when the physical
layout of the teams workspace encourages frequent communication.
(McShane, p. 194).
The packaging department likely does not feel like part of the overall team, as
they are so segregated from the rest of the company and receive inadequate
supervision and support from the team. The physical layout is not conducive to
regular interaction between departments and it has made it challenging for other
departments supervisors to frequently visit to provide direction and feedback on
staffs` performance. As a result, new customs were formed whereby social
loafing was the acceptable norm. If not changed, there is a risk that other
departments may be influenced to accept these norms. Employees temporarily
assigned to the packaging department seem to be already accepting this,
demonstrating high team cohesion within the organization. Cohesion motivates
employees to perform at a level consistent with team norms. (McShane, 2015, p.
202). Because abuse of time is tolerated in the packaging department, employees
are motivated to take longer breaks and leave early. Leaders often have the
capacity to alter existing norms. By speaking up or actively coaching the team,
they can often subdue dysfunctional norms while developing useful norms
(McShane, 2015, p. 200). Lack of supervision provided the employees with the
ability to be able to exhibit this behaviour without repercussions.
In addition, the lack of teamwork competencies specifically
communicating and coordinating of the packaging department is
undermining the dynamics of the entire company. Despite the increased
productivity of other departments, the overall organization is suffering due
to the ineffectiveness of the packaging department. Packaging quality is
the main competitive advantage ArbreCorp has, as they sell a commodity
with no other defining characteristics. It is therefore very important to
implement effective internal controls in the packaging department to
protect and maintain this competitive advantage.