The Paradoxical Twins Acme and Omega Electronics Essay Example for Free

The Paradoxical Twins Acme and Omega Electronics Essay From reading this case study I found that Acme and Omega have problems that need to be looked at. Both firms produce similar products and offer similar services. In this assignment I am going to analyse the forms of control used in Acme and Omega. I will also try and comment on both firms effectiveness. I will try to be thorough as possible. I will first begin to give brief background information on both companies and then try to compare them to one another and try to comment on their effectiveness to the full. To end it I will give my conclusion. From looking into Acme I gained knowledge that its president John Tyler is a very tough going individual. He is portrayed to be an autocratic individual. I say this because he tends to communicate in one way, for example what he says goes. He makes all the decisions and gives out all instructions and orders, expecting them to be obeyed, without question. An employee/ manager categories the president as one man band. He feels that John Tyler should try and give more information rather than giving orders. He also does not take suggestions from people. To me it looks as if there is a slight communication problem. There are times when I wished I had little more information about what is going on. This shows Acme employees are kept in the dark Mushroom management Keep the troop in the dark and pile on the _ _ _ _(work). The managers also feel that they need a little more freedom at work. This shows that John Tyler may be pressurising them constantly. To back up my point some of the managers voiced the desire to have a little more latitude in their jobs The president also is made to look like a tough person and runs the firm well in terms of high standards and good production levels. Managers feel that he runs a tight ship. This shows that he wants everything correct and dead on. This on the other hand shows that Acme has good control and is well structured. Acme is a flat and formal structured organisation, this is an advantage as it is easier to spot problems i.e. communication problem, shows how different sections of the firm relate to each other, it shows who is in charge, who makes and carries the decisions and shows individuals where there positions in the firm is. Having a flat structure makes it quicker to solve problems, less roumous and gossip. Tyler seems like a very confident and strong minded person We have been able to beat Omega regularly for the most profitable contracts thereby, increasing our profits. John Tylers attitude resembles F.W Taylor (1911) views. He believed that these 5 principles increased production: 1. A clear division of tasks and responsibilities between management and workers 2. Use of Scientific methods to determine the best way of doing a job. Read more:Â  The Paradoxical Twins ACME and Omega Electronics 3. Scientific selection of the person to do the newly job. 4. The training of the selected worker to perform the job in the way specified. 5. Enthusiastic co-operation with the workers to ensure that the work was performed in accordance with scientific management principles and this was secured by use of economic incentives. John Tyler carries out methods and procedures the classical way. From reading inside Omega I found that the president Jim Rawls did not believe in organisational charts/ structures. Organisation charts just put artificial barriers between specialists who should be working together. Although I think that Omega is a matrix organisation. I feel that not having an organisational structure does not clearly show what position the employee has in the firm, therefore causes problems within the work force as workers will work in any department. This means that the individual may feel that s/he does not have full responsibilities. The worker also would not have a clear job description, this may effect the firms effectiveness. To back up my point of workers not having a clear job description a worker said When I first got here I wasnt sure what I was supposed to do. One day I worked with some mechanical engineers the next day I helped the shipping department design some packing cartons. This overall can cause low working standards and low morale- low production output. Jim Rawls felt that having an organisational chart would create problems between specialists. I also deduced that Omega had no clear form of communication. I say this because he does not allow written memos, he expressed the plant is small if people want to communicate they can just drop by and talk things over. Employees of Omega complained that this was a waste of time. To me passing round is time consuming and gives workers excuse of talking to one another, this slows down production and performance. Also messages can be misleading if someone passes the wrong message out. This can also cause problems as workers will not get the correct information. Most decisions at Omega were made by the management team. Acme has an organisation structure therefore communication is good although there are improvements that need to be made like the way John Tyler communicates with his managers. Whereas Omega has no structure therefore is causing problems within the firm. Ames president is a person who wants everything perfect. He believes his firms greater effectiveness to his mangers is to run a tight ship. This I think is because his firm would have: * Good control * Good communication * Dept functions * Well structured and organised * Has simple reporting relationship * Concentration on skills. This shows Acmes president has a firm grip whereas Omegas president does not, he seems to be more laid back. Acmes president is autocratic leader as he does what he wants and does not take other workers/ mangers opinions or suggestions into consideration. The advantage of an autocratic style is known as efficient and it is essential in some circumstances. Autocratic leadership produces quicker decisions, however the autocratic style creates frustrations and resentment. Whereas Omegas president is a democratic leader, as he seeks the opinions and suggestions of workers. This shows that he shows interest in his workers. Although he sometimes spends too much of his time informing workers of information. Omegas decisions are made by management team whereas Acmes decisions are made by the president. Acmes president demands rather than speak politely demanded that Mechanical Engineering begins building those damn chassis. On the other hand Jim Rawls spends too much of his time listening to suggestion Jim spends too much time and mine making sure everyone understands what were doing and listening to suggestions. From reading the part where both firms are trying to reach the deadline of completing the units on time and successfully I can comment on both firms. I think Acme did well because of the way they communicated. For example John Tyler sent out a memo to all departments stating the critical time constraints of this job and how he expected that everyone would perform as efficiently as they had in the past. This showed that Tyler was controlling his employees. Although John Tyler put a lot of pressure on his employees. Because Acme had a structure, this allowed them to be well organised, therefore helped and keep everything in control. Whilst trying to complete the units John Tyler and the Head of Industrial Engineering fell into a dilemma. dont bother me with method details now. The Head of Industrial then replies if my boss think our output is needed, to hell with him!. This shows that they both cant work well and communicate with each other. This to me seems like both of these individuals are not working together very professionally. The foreman also didnt listen to the method engineers therefore this slowed down Acme from completing the units. When the units were completed John Tyler should have checked more than just one component as this was not very professional. Acmes president needs to consider taking his workers opinions and suggestions. He should try to talk to them rather than demanding on what he wants. From looking at the way Omega was preparing to complete the units for the photocop ier Jim Rawls gave good advise compared to Tyler. Jim Rawls did not pressure his workers but told his workers what to prepare for. He outlined what the job involved and discussed what was to be started on. Omegas workers seemed to be very organised and methodical, they worked well and communicated well with each other compared to Acmes workers. For example when they decide to check the blue prints all of the engineers agreed after checking and rechecking the blue prints. To back up that they worked well together as a team people from Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering spent Monday night redesigning the cable. This relates to R. Likert 1961. He believed that the structure of an organisation should be formed around effective work groups rather than individuals. He proposed the concept of the overlapping group membership structure. This involved a linking pin process in which the superior member of one group was subordinate member of group above. Likert argued that the benefits of such an organisations design include improved communication increased co- operation and more team commitment and faster decision making. Overall I think Acme got the contract due to many reasons, for example Acme had a structure therefore made it look like Acme has good control. Acme also may have been given the final contract because of there past, as they achieved grater net profit than Omega Acme was consistently more effective than Omega and regularly achieved greater net profit. Acmes annual sales was also higher than Omegas. Acmes president was also a very confident and demanding man therefore it makes the firm look strong Tyler was very confident that had the demand not been so great, its competitor would not have survived. In the end Acme reduced there costs by 20% therefore the photocopier manufacture gave them the contact as it would have been more cheaper to buy units. Omega could have used the same tactics/methods but this may not have been the only thing that could have given them the contract. Things that I could suggest that may have given them the contact would be if they were a larger firm with a clear structure to show that they have some sort of control.