Synopsis

Different firms encounter various organizational problems today. Such a scenario is evident in the Vetements Ltee stores, which faces many barriers in its daily operations. The case study has highlighted various instances to show what hinders effective institutional performance, including conflicts between superiors and their juniors as well as among members of the same rank. Coupled with that, the case study has outlined some of the suggested remedies to counter these setbacks.

Problems Encountered

Firstly, Vetements Ltee Company is facing a major issue concerning low staff morale. The overall feelings of employees working in an organisation is what constitutes called morale (Vasantham 2). In this particular setting, managers are the main reason for the decrease in morale since they poorly interact with their staff. The employees tasked with filling inventory are the most demoralized, as they view it as an area that their employers do not give an incentive in the form of commissions. Despite its intangible property, it can determine crucial components, such as the rates of turnover. Consequently, whether the firm will succeed or fail will depend on such levels.

Secondly, poor interpersonal relationships among employees exist. Specifically, salespersons go to the extent of waiting for potential clients right at the doors of the business premises. In extreme cases, they compete amongst themselves to wins customers so that they can generating higher commissions. In the long run, some customers are put off by their behavior and may opt not to purchase items there anymore. Some staff do not give their best to the organisation, their commitment is reduced (Morrison & Nolan). They are less motivated to work at their assigned stations.

The other drawback is that store managers are dissatisfied with what their employees are doing. In fact, they have made various attempts to correct the errors that these workers commit. In some instances, the leaders have threatened to lay off employees who do not attend to their share of the inventory. They have also assigned various sectors of the Vetements Ltee stores to specific people. It is a clear sign the management is dissatisfied with the productivity of its workers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Solutions to the Problem

After giving the required warnings and yielding no results, store directors should resort to firing workers who do not complete their tasks satisfactorily, specifically the inventory part. Sometimes, when a company hires employees, they may not deliver what is expected. They may fail to attend to their duties, not achieve the desired goals, and fall behind deadlines. For instance, the workers in this case study were resentful, especially in the absence of their superiors. Consequently, the management should make a decision to correct these mistakes even if it means laying off some workers. Otherwise, the firm may continue to incur severe losses yet it is an issue that the superiors rectify.

Terminating the employment of employees who contribute minimally will improve the company’s operations. Apart from reducing wage expenditure, the management increases its performance, as the remaining workers would not won’t to lose their jobs. Conversely, to the workers assigned to specific areas, they should remain loyal to the company despite receiving low commissions. Nonetheless, the firm should consider increasing commissions which is equivalent to work done. In turn, it would motivate them to put in more effort, resulting in increased profits.

However, the disadvantage of laying off workers is that clients will immediately sense that the business has internal problems. If the customers notice changes in staff or missing workers, they will assume that the management does not have control of its operations. In effect, they would shy away from associating with a failing enterprise. The layoffs may be a company’s effort to save money by reducing wages and other costs like commissions. However, the result is that such a move would drive away potential buyers.

Another solution that the Vetements stores can consider is the incentive of equal sharing of profits. When workers are offered this chance, their loyalty levels are heightened significantly. A new vision of the firm is created, one which is not based on ranks or titles, but considerate of each and everyone willing to work. Productivity levels are bound to rise also in conjunction with this profit-sharing incentive. In these concerned stores, every member would feel enlightened that whatever returns they are getting they will be distributed evenly to each one, and thus their industriousness improves. The firm will improve drastically compared to the other incentive that was based on commissions.

There may arise scenarios where the levels of motivation of staff is greatly diminished over time. The initial drive that was existent in the workers may definitely die if losses, instead of profits, are being made. Conflict and resentment also is brought about since those who are hardworking may feel that they are not being given their rightful portion. Compared to the rest of their colleagues, they would wish to earn more because of the effort they portray. These will generally lead to vast losses to the organisation because the employees are the backbone of the enterprise.

Job rotation would also be a strategic move for the Ltee Company. This is an instance where the workers are shifted from one sector of the firm other various points. Instead of them being assigned specific points and roles, the managers would have opted to this method of constantly switching them from one area to another. Most of the employees could not withstand the fact that they were either missing the chance of building up commissions. Others were even resentful because they knew they were being posted in low turnover areas which could only mean that no profits for them. Therefore, frequent variation of sectors of duty could be an option.

Employees are able to get experience in the many different segments of the firm. When they are allocated to different places each time, they obtain a deeper understanding of these sections. In case an employee requests for a leave, it is now easier for another to hold on to that position. There would be no stagnation of business activities. Also, through this initiative, employees are in a better position to seek promotions for higher ranks given their increased experience in the firm’s activities. It is therefore advisable that rotation be incorporated into the institution.

In opposition to the above merit, it is obvious that there will be costs incurred in training. It would be a terrible mistake to switch employees into other sectors without possibly giving them the know-how on how to handle the new environment. A lot of time and money is used in the process of training them. Moreover, others are not talented in some sections and thus it would be just a mere waste of time to rotate such. Therefore, this criteria is useful to some extent in that experience is gained but in the long run expenditure is heightened.

Every sector of the company should have its own rate of commission. Wherever an employee is placed he or she should be able to get more pay in accordance to their input. The more their dedication and hard work the more their pay. This is opposed to the recently introduced incentive which is biased to those in front of the store. This will assist to give the staff a sense of being part of the firm. Consequently, they put in more effort and thus the sales will improve more than they were before. Thus, each part of the Vetements stores should be accorded its own rate of commission.

The drawback of this policy is that there would still be bias in some sectors. People will want to be assigned in areas having greater returns. If more profits are available at station A, why would anyone insist on working at station D which has fewer revenue? Probably all the employees would wish to be based at the few designated zones. Thus, the ones engaged in other regions would correspondingly show a sign of bitterness at the workplace which is not a constructive character to the institute. Therefore, it would be recommendable for this technique to be used but bearing in mind it has the stated handicaps.

Conclusion

After a keen insight on the issues that befall the Vetements Ltee Firm, it would be justifiable to back up the new idea of sharing whatever returns are found equally to each staff. Quite clearly it is seen that the employee productivity increases drastically because they know that in the end each one is a benefactor. However, one or two things need to be rectified. First, the employees have to make it their duty to urge each other to work hard and smart to achieve the set goals. The hardworking ones should of course be a motivating factor for the rest. If anyone does not adhere then he or she should face the consequences. This is a reliable technique although when initiated, it should be regulated to avoid some vital errors.

Works Cited

Vasantham S. Tephillah., (2014). Employee Morale and Morale Retention. Vol 2, Issue 11, November 2014. Obtained from www.ipasj.org/IIJM/IIJM.html

Morrison L. Rachel., & Nolan. Terry (2007). “Negative relationships in the workplace: a qualitative study”. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Vol. 4 Issue: 3,pp.203-221, DOI: doi.org/10.1108/11766090710826646