Identify what are the key issues this organization is experiencing.
Identification of the Current Organizational ProblemsUsing the application of the strategic framework (Contextual and Structural Variables) map out each variable for the organization. You will need to address each of the variables separately. If necessary, you may need to make some assumption on the current state.
Based on your analysis, identify the managerial strategy this organization is currently working within. Using the application of the behavioural framework, (employee behaviours and employee attitudes) discuss the current behaviours this organization is exhibiting. You may find there are different behaviours presenting in different roles.
Chart 2 Duplox Copiers Canada Limited Technical Services Department Director of Technical Services Kerry Edeen B.C. Region Prairies Region Ontario Region Quebec Region Aufsatic Region Service Manager Service Mmapt Service Manager Service Manager Service Manager (Vancouver) (Toronto) B.C. Region Prairies Region Ontario Region Quebec Region Ardantic Region Branch Offices Branch Office Branch Offices Branch Offices Bruntch OfficesChart 3 Technical Services Department Edmonton Branch Service Section Edmonton Branch Service Mentor Ross Wilson Field Service Field Service Field Service Field Service Branch Inventory Manager Manager Manager Maruzer Service Clarks Clark Model 1000 Series Model 2000 Series Madel 3000 Series Model 4000 Sales Technical Service Technical Service Technical Service Technical Service Specialists Specialice Specialists Specialist Model 1000 Series Model 2000 Series Model 3000 Series Model 4000 SeriesChief Executive Officer Shana Frigastad Vice President Vice President Marketing & Field Services Administration ferric Schhump Kevin Dougan Director of Director of Director of Director of Directory of Directory of Marketing Inventory Technical Technical Administration Resources Services Training & Support Kim Shroomnon Ryan Folkerson Sandra Laird Mademia Ngayen Kerry Edeen Heather Keller Shana Friggstad, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Duplox Copiers Canada Limited, has requested your consulting services, and she is delighted that your team was assigned to her firm. DCCL is experiencing serious performance problems: employee turnover is up and morale is down; customer satisfaction is down and complaints are up; and, most importantly, revenue and profits are both down. President Friggstad knows that the compensation system used by a firm can contribute to all these problems, and since compensation is a major cost item (currently accounting for about 44 percent of the firm's costs) she suspects that the firm's compensation system may be implicated in these problems. But she can't be sure without your help.Duplox Copiers Canada Limited Your Client Your client is Duplox Copiers Canada Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Duplox Copiers Incorporated, which is a large multinational firm based in the United States. Duplox Copiers Canada Limited (DCCL) is responsible for the sales, installation, and servicing of Duplox-brand copiers, but not their manufacturing, which is carried out in other countries. DCCL has about 1,200 employees, most of them located in branch offices across Canada. The head office for Duplox Canada is located in Toronto. Chart I shows the organizational structure at head office. The executive committee consists of the CEO and the two vice presidents. The company has six departments: Marketing; Finance and Administration; Human Resources; Inventory Management; Technical Services; and Technical Training and Support. Chart 1 Duplox Copiers Canada Limited Organization Chart Toronto Head OfficeBranch hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and all TSSs are expected to adhere to these hours (so Duplox can avoid paying overtime), except in emergency situations, which must be authorized by a field service manager. Since competition has been increasing in this tough market, and since company revenues and profitability levels have been slipping, expense budgets have been tightened in recent years, and the TSSs have been put under tighter control. Minimum monthly, weekly, and daily productivity levels are strictly specified for each TSS, and there are strict quotas on repair expenses and travel expenses. Prior approval from an FSM is required for many actions even if they are within budget limitations. A TSS cannot order parts or tools needed for maintenance; all have to be ordered by the FSM, within strict dollar limits. Since there is often a delay in receiving the parts, in many cases the TSS who starts the job is not the TSS who finishes the job. Because of the large territory covered, the relatively high level of TSS turnover, and the unpredictability of emergency calls, an individual TSS seldom visits the same customer twice in a row.The performance of the technical service specialists is crucial to customer satisfaction with company products. Indeed, the Director of Marketing has been complaining bitterly that "poor performance of the service personnel is crippling the efforts of my sales force." The Director of Technical Services bitterly resents this criticism, believing that his department deserves praise, not criticism, for its productivity improvement and cost cutting during the past two years-where the same number of machines are now being serviced by 20 percent fewer TSSs. Duplox Canada employs about 550 technical service specialists located at about 25 branch offices across Canada. The operations of the company are divided into five geographical regions, each with about five branch offices. The Prairies (covering Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) is one such region, with branch offices in Calgary (where the regional sales and service managers are located), Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg. Charts 2 and 3 show the structure of the Technical Services Department and the structure of the Edmonton Branch, which is a typical branch office.The Edmonton Branch has about 22 TSSs and is responsible for the northern half of Alberta. The branch is co-managed by the Branch Service Manager and the Branch Sales Manager. The Branch Sales Manager supervises approximately eight sales representatives, along with an Office Manager, who supervises two clerical staff. (Overall, Duplox employs about 200 sales reps across Canada.) The Branch Sales Manager reports to the Regional Sales Manager based in Calgary, who reports to the Director of Marketing in Toronto. Charts 4 and 5 illustrate reporting relationships in the Marketing Department. The Branch Service Manager supervises a small parts warehouse at the branch (most parts are kept at the national warehouse in Toronto, to reduce inventory costs), a couple of service clerks, and four field service managers (FSMs), each of whom supervises five or six technical service specialists. Because of an increasing variety and complexity of machines, each FSM and the TSSs under them specialize in a particular category of machine. Each FSM handles the scheduling of service and installation of all machines in their category (for example, the model 1000 series, which includes a variety of smaller copiers). When service calls come in from customers, they are received by a service clerk, who identifies the machine in question and directs the request to the appropriate FSM. Since many customers have two or more different models of equipment, one call may be directed to two or more different FSMs, each of whom would send out a TSS to deal with the model she or he is responsible for. Although this may not sound efficient, it does not happen very often, and the Director of Technical Services strongly believes that by increasing the speed of repairs and reducing training costs, the gains from specialization outweigh any inefficiencies from specialization. In fact, the average number of machines serviced by a TSS has increased by about 20 percent since this policy was instituted, and the number of TSSs has been reduced accordingly.Because President Friggstad recognizes that compensation is just one of several important structural variables that must all fit together if effective organizational performance is to occur, you are authorized to suggest any changes to the managerial strategy and structure of the organization that are needed to make the new compensation system work. Your only limitation is that she wants no changes made to the company's six-department structure, which she believes is the best way to organize. Beyond that, you have free rein to make recommendations about reward structure, job design, and the other structural dimensions. Duplox Operations and Structure DCCL earns revenues in three main ways. First, it earns through the margin on the sale of copiers. The U.S. parent company sets the prices that Duplox Canada must pay for the copiers but allows Duplox Canada to charge whatever price the market will bear. Second, DCCL is reimbursed by the parent company for work that is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. This aspect of the business is not very profitable, since the parent company is not very generous in its reimbursement levels. Third, DCCL sells service contracts on the equipment that customers purchase. This is a very significant source of company revenues and is directly dependent on the quality of service provided. A major problem in recent years is that the company's technical service specialists (TSSs) appear to be experiencing a decline in their attitudes toward their work and the company, as indicated by both the firm's annual attitude survey and the increased turnover, and there has been a sharp increase in customer complaints about machine breakdowns and the quality of service received. TSSs install new machines, provide scheduled maintenance at regular intervals, and provide emergency maintenance in case of breakdowns, malfunctions, or copy quality problems
