COMPLETE STAFF WORK: CREATIVE TOYS COMPANY

I. PROBLEM / ISSUE
 The issue at hand is the fact that there was a sudden decline in
productivity from the transportation department, an extremely
consistent and highly productive committee, after implementing a
physical rearrangement of the work area

II. BACKGROUND
a. The Creative Toys Company is a company that manufactures wooden toys in
a time where the usual plastic toys are becoming unreliable. This company,
however, is dependent on the productivity of the transportation department
that consists of 8 members who get along quite well. Given the fact that
there were low turnover rates as a result of good wages and fringe benefits,
the company wanted to expand production and the consultant suggested a
rearrangement of the floor plan or work area.
b. The problem of declining productivity can be attributed to the loss of
communication amongst the 8 workers in that department. Furthermore,
the lack of motivation could have brought up the problem as a result of a
lack in an open line of communication between the department and the
plant manager before implementing the decision.
c. The parties involved are Mr. Wilson, the owner of the firm; the plant
manager; the transportation department; and to some extent, the painting,
shipping and receiving, and the individuals involved with transporting the
supplies and finished goods to the shipping and receiving department.
d. As previously mentioned, it is obvious that there is a direct relation between
the decline in productivity of the department and the increase of spatial
separation – the social system and environment the workers were
accustomed to was disrupted due to the presence of physical barriers.
Furthermore, it could be the lack of a consultative approach to the
department as to how they may possibly increase production without having
to jeopardize the personal relationships with one another.

III. ANALYSIS and FINDINGS

 Obvious to note, as previously mentioned, would be the need to
increase productivity in the department without the cost of greater
wages. Furthermore, it is evident that the environment set by the
previous set-up fostered growth due to the social system present as they
are affiliation-motivated employees. Hence, these are the possible
actions to be taken:

Action 1: The firm can revert back to the old floor planning to obtain its past
levels of productivity but will sustain its old problems regarding the flow of
traffic and possibly suffer a loss of respect as the firm’s management may
seem indecisive and unprepared with regard to the action plans.

Action 2: The firm can choose to sustain its current plan and insist that the
department adapt to the changes and improve their productivity.
Action 3: The firm can choose to sustain its current plan however, introduce
a time frame of interaction amongst the workers and introduce open lines of
 communication as a reflection of management’s respect of the workers’
view, environment and time.

Action 4: Rearrange the floor plan to that as shown by figure 1. This will
allow the workers to work in the department to work in close proximity to
one another – the workers are affiliation-motivated employees hence, the
need to work around members they like. This, in turn, would also eliminate
the problem present for the ones moving around the finished goods and
supplies to the receiving and shipping point. Together with this, the
management must implement a management style that permits all
directions of communication and consultative forms of evaluating their
performance to ensure an environment of respect and growth.

IV. RECOMMENDATION and ACTION PLAN

The recommended position must be doable by satisfying the following criteria:
 With the previously mentioned action plans, the recommended action to
take would be Action 4. As it was mentioned previously, this action provides
the employees to revert back to the accustomed set-up they believed
catered to their needs of communion and growth among one another.
Furthermore, moving with the action or the set-up, as provided by figure 1,
would allow the firm’s productivity levels to increase while maintaining a
direct flow of traffic to ensure efficiency on that end as well. This in return
would allow the employees to feel as if they are valued and management
shall benefit ultimately. Due to the more open line of communication,
employee morale will go up and so will productivity. Finally, this is to be
done all without spending a fortune on wages, but rather a short time cost
to simply re-arrange the floor plan of the firm – achieving the ultimate goal
of the firm which is to maximize economic profits and minimize long-run
costs.