Background
The formal report under consideration is going to bring the results of the measures taken at the Company Technical Communications, Inc. to increase the sales rates of the company and improve the working conditions of the staff. These two points were chosen for the study as far as the managerial staff of the company, and especially the chief executive Mr. Thompson and the sales manager Michael Jones, has stated that the current sales rates do not conform to the ambitions of the company and to the money that is being invested in its development. As long as the managerial staff announced the necessity of efficient measures to improve the situation, all the staff was welcome to offer their ways of overcoming the crisis. One of the suggestions, which later was accepted by the sales manager Mr. Jones, was the suggestion made by the production manager of Technical Communications, Inc. John Richards.
Measures Proposed
Among the measures proposed by John Richards were the following ones. The first step that had to be done by the managerial staff of Technical Communications, Inc. was to cut the working day of the staff from 12 to 8 hours and consequently the working week from 6 to 5 days. This was said to improve the quality of goods produced by giving the workers additional rest. But at the same time, this step caused another measure – recruitment of more skillful and qualified workers to cover the production process and produce a greater amount of high-quality telephone stations in which the company deals. And as the result of the two first steps, the third one was proposed to make their implementation easier – the updating of the equipment used at the factories of the company. This was said to improve the quality of goods and make the work of the staff easier (Belanger, pp.212 – 224).
Field Investigation
Measures concerning the production process
Agreement with the directors
To put the first step of the program proposed by John Richards in practice, there was a need to agree on this with the directors. Official procedures took about three days during which Mr. Richards and Mr. Jones explained to the chief executive of their company, Mr. Thompson, all the necessity of the improvements and persuaded him that the measures had to be taken as soon as possible. Then the managerial decision was to be adopted at all departments and factories of the company. Besides, the chief executive wanted to know what expenses the program by Richards will involve and how they might be compensated in the future. After the situation had been cleared up, the decision was adopted at the highest level of the company.
Implementation of the First Step
As soon as all the departments were notified of the change, they announced it to their workers who were satisfied with the new policy of the company. After this, the working day became 8 hours long, and the working week was established at the duration of 5 days. This allowed workers to have more time to spend with their families and for rest. Thus, the quality and efficiency of work were noticed to improve to some extent already after this step was implemented. Besides, the step did not involve any cutting of the salaries of the staff which also was perceived positively by the workers and influenced the image of the company in their eyes and public opinion. Thus, if the work was paid per hour, the cutting of working hours did not mean cutting salaries because the directors agreed to raise the salary per hour instead.
Staff Recruitment Measures
Second Step Preparation
As far as the first step was implemented, the time came to put the second step into practice and no time was wasted by the managers of the company. The need appeared to recruit a larger number of skillful and qualified staff, so the department of employment had to carry out the campaign during which the necessary number of new workers was to join the Technical Communications, Inc. The campaign made use of implementing advertisements on television, in newspapers, and on the Internet. The terms of employment that were proposed by the company were attractive enough to let the company feel no need for the staff. The number of people that got interested in the job was considerably high and the campaign proved to be carried out effectively. About 3, 500 people applied for working places in Technical Communications, Inc. from which only 2, 000 were needed by the company to assure the fulfillment of the second step of the program by Mr. Richards. The main criterion for the choice was the qualification level of the people but what also mattered was the wish to work and bring benefit to themselves and the company.
Implementation
The choice of the applicants was carried out based on the resumes they had to send to the company’s address and the answers they gave during the telephone conversations that were carried out with the selected candidates. The next step were the direct interviews with the applicants where they were asked another question, that this time concerned their wish to work in this very company and the purposes they plan to reach using working in Technical Communications, Inc. After all the process of selection was finished, the managers had to advise about the people they will employ, and only then the final decision was announced. After the staff was extended, the company got the opportunity to extend the production using opening 45 new factories all over the country and to increase the rates of production of high-quality telephone stations. The company’s staff was extended for another 2, 000 workers whose wages were high and working conditions improved due to the implementation of the third, and final, the step of the program.
Equipment Measures
Equipment updating
Simultaneously with the implementation of the first two steps, the background for the final step of the program was being prepared. The equipment used at the factories of the company was old and this was one of the causes of low quality of the goods produced and of low efficiency of the work, as the workers themselves evidenced. The low quality also affected the sales rates of the company, as far as its production was not compatible with the market. To fight this problem, the decision was made by the directors based on Jones’ program to update the equipment. In some cases, where possible, it was decided to carry out repairs of the equipment, but at the majority of the factories, the equipment could not be repaired to the extent needed, so the purchases of the new modern equipment were planned for the next month.
Cost and Means
Although the updating of the equipment units at almost all the factories of the company involved considerable expenses, the updating was carried out in time and with great attention and diligence. The sum of $155, 000 needed to purchase and install the equipment to the factories was given partly from the funds of Technical Communications, Inc. and partly from the loans that the company had to borrow from the Industrial Bank. The process of purchasing and equipment installation took over a month and was finished shortly before the two first steps were completed by the company. Thus, the staff that already worked at the company and the new employees came to their working places that were equipped according to the latest achievements in the technical communication equipment.
Results and Comparison
After the First Step
As soon as the first step was implemented at all factories of Technical Communications, Inc., the efficiency of the production process increased to some extent. Thus, if before the program implementation a worker managed to produce 6 telephone stations during his or her shift of 12 hours, then after the changes each worker was able to produce 5 telephone stations during the eight-hour shift. This means that before the changes workers needed 2 hours to complete a piece of production, but after the changes, only 1 hour and 10 minutes were needed for the same amount of work.
After the Second Step
The recruitment of additional staff also resulted in positive changes in the production process and efficiency of the work of all factories. An average number of workers at a factory before the changes in the company’s policy equaled 120 employees who managed to produce 720 telephone stations during a shift. After the changes, the number of employees increased to 240 workers who, nevertheless, produced 1350 stations per shift due to the use of the time that they spared the day before to produce more items. Simultaneously, the quality of the goods increased as fewer complaints about it came to the company and sales rates started gradual growth in the domestic and international markets.
After the Third Step and Result
After the equipment was updated and the two other steps completed, the results of the program suggested by Mr. Richards impressed the board of directors and the chief executive himself. The efficiency of the production process grew almost twice as the modern equipment made the production faster. Now, every worker managed to produce 11 stations per shift. At the same time, the sales rates grew more than twice and allowed the company to issue a report of annual progress in respect of production and sales thus stating that the company Technical Communications, Inc. developed in the right direction. The growth of all figures will be demonstrated by the following final table:
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
As the result of the work carried out by Technical Communications, Inc. we can make the following conclusions. The program implemented by the company turned out to be efficient and proved it with the figure that are given in the above presented table. The sales rates of the company increased; the efficiency of the production process and quality of production grew considerably. The aim of the program was to increase the sales rates and it was achieved during the program implementation. Also, the contacts between the managerial staff and ordinary workers were set as the main information about the necessary improvements was taken from the interviews with the workers.
Recommendations
Drawing from the above said, the following recommendations can be given. Firstly, the company should check its financial state at least twice a year so that to avoid such problems in future. Secondly, the voices of employees should be listened to more attentively to make changes in time and not to wait until they involve huge expenses. And thirdly, more qualified managerial staff should be hired to assure the efficient work of Technical Communications, Inc. in the future (Rude, pp.98 – 99).
References
Belanger, S. (2005). Business and Technical Communication: An Annotated Guide to Sources, Skills, and Samples. Praeger Publishers.
Rude, C. (2004). Technical Communication Quarterly, Volume 13, Number 2, 2004: The State of Technical Communication in Its Academic Context: Part 2: A Special Issue of Technical Communication Quarterly. Lawrence Erlbaum.