Essay Example on Allison Elam's Idea: New MRP System or Costly Catastrophe?

Introduction

The VP of operations at Cleaver's Sausage House, Allison Elam, had an idea of introducing a new material requirement planning (MRP) system that would aid in projecting the necessities of the company in the future. However, the senior workforce and the executive committee of the company were against it. Besides, they argued that it might turn into an extremely costly catastrophe if they implemented the system. The company worries that the historical horror tales and the delicate nature of their business could be too much to handle. Thus, they prefer to avoid investing their time and money into the MRP system since what they are currently doing appears to work just well.

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The main issue facing Cleaver's Sausage House is how they will continue being competitive and introduce new technologies to aid in the company's operations. Nevertheless, the idea presented by Elam was not received well. The new system would drastically change production, procurement, services, and shipping. Besides, its implementation would need more than twenty-five employees and managers to adjust the way they did their work. The application of the system furthermore would accelerate cash flow annually, decrease material wastage, and simplify internal processes. The VPs and the senior workforce doubted the system and did not look at it as a primary concern. Therefore, the issue was a combination of technological, management, and organizational problem. The executive committee, in turn, decided that implementing the system was extremely risky and could be catastrophic not only for the employees as well as for the clients. Also, the top managers failed to cooperate, and some even dodged meetings. Therefore, for this reason, Allison Elam lacked support to enable her to acquire adequate information to form a mockup of how the system would operate.

Reasons for People's Resistance to the MRP Implementation

After reading the case study, I think the most significant reason as to why the implementation of MRP developed a lot of resistance is because people were afraid of change. Elam might have been very positive about his idea, but she failed to think in the bigger picture of the firm and the fundamental interests of the stakeholders in the company. The CFO of the company, David Martin, was doubtful since he firmly believed that the MRP implementation was entirely "just big corporate BS." Thus, he held that this adjustment would be an extremely costly tragedy, and a lot of people would lose their jobs as a result of inadequate raw materials. Besides, another reason for resistance to MRP implementation is due to its probability of causing chaos in the workplace, with the fact that over 25 employees would be required to modify the means in which they performed their job. Another reason for the resistance of the new system is the dreadful story narrated by Susan Frisch, the manager of logistics. She revealed the consequences of a former manager who came up with a similar idea, which was ineffective. Therefore, these reasons presented some of the many situations where the implementation would either go perfectly well, and the company benefits greatly, or it might go opposite and cost the company substantially.

Value of the Task Force Idea Suggested by the CEO Facilitate Implementation

The value attached to the task force idea recommended by the CEO is useful. The unabridged duty of a task force is to provide a solution to a problem concerning some departments. In Cleavers Sausage House, several departments were against the implementation of the MRP system. Therefore, to solve this problem, a task force should be designed. Besides, it will approve communication amongst the departments, and every person can voice their departmental or personal glitches. With smooth communication, opinions on how to design the system to accommodate the interest of every individual in the company would be possible. Besides, the taskforce can toil with the departments and update them with a depth of the adjustment. Therefore, if the employees and their respective departments had adequate information on the consequences of the new system to their departments and the company in general, they might start to react more positively to its application.

Implementation Tactics that Elam Should follow

I would personally advise Elam to embrace the communication and education tactic. This tactic can be useful when detailed information about the adjustment is required by the managers or the employees repelling the application of the new system (Islami 7). In this case, besides Elam and the CEO of Cleaver, Jayden Anderson, many employees in the company are against the new system. Elam was gratified until Cleaver's Sausage House management team refused to launch the scheme. She desired to influence their minds to change from disagreement to an agreement as a mode of communication and education. Therefore, persuasion is one of the essential elements of this implementation tactic. It is the main component in influencing and convincing other people to accept an idea (De Oliveira et al., 132). Thus, to implement the new system, Elam needs to enhance her persuading skills and keep in mind that effecting changes involves speaking to people's minds and hearts. She also needs to communicate and educate her fellow employees on what the MRP system entails. If her fellow workers are updated with such information, they may join hands in favor of the new system. This is one of the champion's duty in organizational adjustment. Thus, Elam may probably have a strong alliance rising behind her if some of her co-workers positively accept the information. This would help her further in the application of the MRP system and communication, and the education approach allows employees within the company to bring up concerns, where their fears would be eliminated.

Another useful tactic that Elam could use in this case is utilizing negotiation strategies. Some departments with the company may be willing to negotiate regarding the change, while others may have the desire to redesign it to suit their departmental needs (Islami 6). It may not be one of the best tactics since some of the departments might have higher demands placed on the table than the others. This may create unfairness within the departments on the operation of the system, which may affect its initial objective. It is, however, a promising tactic to utilize in this scenario as a formal strategy of achieving unity within the departments and the Cleaver's Sausage House in general.

Recommendations

Elam should form a firm coalition of Cleaver's Sausage House's employees, particularly those possessing sufficient power that can stimulate the adjustment process. The support from the highest staff members is very critical since the adjustment would affect several departments. Besides, creating awareness concerning the change to the team members is the leader's responsibility (Wasim & Imran 11). Thus, the highest staff members' support in the company, it will imply that the change is significant for the firm and the well-being of employees.

Open communication is also essential in this case. Workers should be informed about the adjustment in the workplace. For example, Elam should carry out a public meeting where all employees should be presented will all the details regarding the new scheme, its advantages, and adjustment in their responsibilities with the application of the new system. Elam should also encourage feedback from her co-workers. She may also arrange for a change organization model for the workers. Therefore, this will help workers clearly understand the system and provide them with enough time to prepare psychologically for the adjustment.

Works Cited

De Oliveira, Teresa Maria Raposo Dias, and Correia de Lacerda. Understanding Leadership Effectiveness in Organizational Settings: An Integrative Approach. Diss. Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa (Portugal), 2015, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2870.1289

Islami, Xhavit. "The Process and Techniques to Overcome the Resistance of Change Research Based in the Eastern Part of Kosovo." International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research 3, 2015, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2813338. (Available April 15, 2020)

Wasim, A., and A. Imran. "The role of leadership in organizational change." Relating the successful organizational change to visionary and innovative leadership, 3.2, 2010, pp. 1-9, https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:326289/fulltext01. (Available April 15, 2020).