Question
Things aren't going well at Wella Management at Wella, a manufacturer of specialty trucks for trucking, has considered closing its plant permanently following a nine-month
Things aren't going well at Wella Management at Wella, a manufacturer of specialty trucks for trucking, has considered closing its plant permanently following a nine-month labor dispute. The workforce consists of 600 people with an average of 21 years of experience. The employees, who have been trained on the job, have acquired a great deal of expertise in the crafting of custom-made products of which they are proud. The climate began to deteriorate last year as engineers were hired to hunt down inefficiencies in the plant. The engineers redefined the tasks of workers on the assembly line by making them more specialized; they redesigned the manufacturing processes by imposing new ways of doing things in a very short period of time. In addition, they appointed new supervisors to oversee how foremen and forewomen carried out their tasks. These supervisors reported to the assistant production manager. A few months after the re-engineering project was implemented, the results were negative. Truck quality problems were increasing, production time was increasing, material wastage and time wasted making adjustments to workstations were reducing employee morale. Absenteeism increased to 15 per cent; turnover jumped to 12 per cent due to numerous departures; union mobilization jumped, while meeting attendance was at 95 per cent. The increase in the number of workplace accidents was the last straw. The plant quickly became unprofitable and productivity fell far short of expectations. The tension on the assembly line spread to the ranks of the office workers. Supervisors began to enforce work schedules to the letter and no deviation was tolerated in the absences and delays. There was then a wildcat strike, sabotage and all the inconveniences of such a conflict. In addition, the engineers resigned en bloc. Recently, the conflict has been resolved, but it has left deep scars. However, a ray of hope has emerged. The board of directors hired a new plant manager - a young manager who had worked in successful assembly plants in the U.S. auto industry. After meeting with key plant leaders, the new manager decided to give the employees and the union one last chance. He has just hired three engineers who share his vision of human resource management in a modern manufacturing environment. The management team has just communicated its new management philosophy, which is based on the following principles:
-uncompromising customer service; -occupational health and safety; -quality through continuous improvement; -teamwork; -communication and transparency.
The plant manager has appointed you to lead a task force to investigate the problems and to suggest one or two scenarios to quickly revive the plant and ensure its long-term survival. The scenario(s) must take into account the following parameters: -a revision of the plant structure; -a reorganization of workstations; -the implementation of modern means of continuous improvement
-the use of the experience and autonomy of employees while respecting their physical and moral integrity;
- a labour-management partnership.
**please make sure to properly answer and give a detailed answer, thank you !!
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