Organizational Profile
Description of the Organization
I have chosen an Irish cleaning company Momentum Support for this assignment. The main activity of this entity is providing other businesses with cleaning services. People engaged in this industry accomplish a wide range of tasks, starting from janitorial necessities and up to the maintenance of buildingâs inner outlook. Momentum Support is the largest company in Ireland, which does professional cleaning (Momentum Support, 2021). With more than a hundred of employees and managers on payroll, the company is an example of an efficient organization of business and coordination of all its cleaning teams. Having existed for almost forty years, Momentum Support is a well-known entity in Ireland, with much information about its structure being publicly available.
There are two reasons for my choice of this company for the assignment. First, the staff turnover within the firm is low, which indicates stable and working organization of corporate activities and business operations. Combined with the availability of corporate data on its structure, the absence of employee attrition provides a substantial basis for the analysis of the company. Second, I have personal knowledge of the organizational specifics and responsibilities of the key people as I have a full-time employment at Momentum Support. Having a managerial position, I am able to precisely outline the structure of the company and the subsequent nuances, thus facilitating the analysis.
Organizational Structure Identified
Momentum Support is a privately owned company with a typical corporate structure (Image 1). Colin Maybin is the founder and the owner of the firm, who also holds the position of a managing director. The most senior person in the company besides him is Group Chief Operating Officer. The COO oversees daily operation of the firm and reports directly to the managing director. As the company employs more than a hundred individuals, there is a necessity for an operations director.
They are responsible for supervising area contracts managers, who oversee working sites and regulate all issues surrounding communication with clients, quality control, staff workload, supplies paperwork, and other tasks necessary for the operation of a cleaning team. Underneath area contracts managers are technicians, cleaners, janitors, and other people who constitute the primary workforce of Momentum Support.
However, the roster of key people is not limited to the COO and the operations managers. As with any company, Momentum Support has substantial volumes of paperwork concerning the financial state of corporate affairs. Therefore, all accounting is done by the Group Finance Director. Human Resources Director is responsible for hiring new employees and control of lawful relations between the subordinates and their managers.
Whereas the primary activity of the company is cleaning services, the main goal of the firm is the promotion of effective solutions to cleaning necessities. This is an important notion because not all Momentum Supportâs commercial offers presuppose deploying a cleaning crew. At least some part of its solutions are sold to the clients. Therefore, there is also staff responsible for the presentation of the corporate products, their marketing, and actual sales. All matters regarding the sales sphere are overseen by the Sales Director, while the actual planning and customer service are done by the Sales Executive.
External Factors Influencing the Organization
The most evident aspect of contemporary life, which influences the company is the pandemic. However, whereas for most business entities, the restrictions related to COVID-19 meant primarily complications, the coronavirus has created a realm opportunities for cleaning companies. One of Momentum Supportâs primary activities is removal of dirt and dust from office buildings. The pandemic-induced safety measures require frequent decontamination procedures in order to minimize the risk of the virus spread. As a result, the company receives many orders aimed specifically at cleaning of office buildings, which encompasses the neutralization of air-borne viruses. This way, the environment has influenced the activities of the company over the course of the last year.
The second factor influencing the company is political as it relates to withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Ireland remains a member state of the EU, yet it also has numerous ties with the UK. One of Momentum Supportâs possible scenarios of development is expansion into a foreign market. If previously the coexistence of both countries was facilitated by the partnership in the same trade bloc, Brexit has caused additional barriers.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation of the Government of Ireland believes that it is more viable for Irish businesses to target other EU members then deal with the UKâs trade barriers (Ireland & the impacts of Brexit, 2018, p. 58). If the company decides to pursue the strategy of expansion, it will have to consider the political situation and will most likely opt for other EU members.
The third factor, which has a substantial influence on Momentum Support is economic. Ireland is famous for its business attractiveness because of the low corporate tax rate. It incentivizes both local entrepreneurs and foreign investors to start and conduct business in the country. However, the economic crisis precipitated by the quarantine measures has led to a drastic increase in unemployment, which is still projected to rise (HM Government, 2021). Momentum Support can benefit from corporate tax receipts, which are meant to help resuscitate the economy by further reducing the deductions of corporate revenues.
The fourth important factor, which may compromise the stability of the company is the deficiencies of the judicial system. Although it is perceived as fair and not tarnished by corruption, there is still concern among corporate executives that laws regulating disputes between business entities is weak (Baturo and Arlow, 2018, p. 384). The political and judicial systems are strictly separated, which means that there are few opportunities for the lawmakers to change the regulations surrounding the judges.
Not only is the process of their appointment is not transparent, but there is also no known code of conduct, which would prevent judges from overstepping their boundaries. Therefore, Momentum Support has to exercise caution and avoid legal disputes with other business entities since there is practically no way for the company to influence the decisions of the judges. The lack of judicial transparency and honor-based agreement in the impartiality of Irish judges forces the company to avoid any entanglements with the judicial system.
Personal Profile
Role within the Organization
My role within Momentum Support is to do the work of area contracts managers. I oversee sites where the companyâs cleaning crews operate. The range of sites, which are under my responsibility includes offices, warehouses, and shops. I make regular weekly visits to ensure the quality of cleaning and the teamsâ workload. Once a month I conduct a quality audit, the results of which enable me to regulate the employeesâ wages. If the examination proves that a worker is not committed to quality or does not perform according to managersâ expectations, then I can decide to lower their wage. Similarly, if I observe outstanding results or consistent qualitative performance, I can raise the wage.
Another part of my job is ensuring that the cleaning crew can work on a site. In order to start cleaning, they need corresponding equipment, clientâs consent, and other not immediately evident nuances. For instance, there is a large volume of paperwork, which has to be done correctly. The essential documents include healthy and safety papers, training cards, risk assessment, and other files, which provide the company and the clients with legal affirmation of the cleaning crewsâ safety, competence, and ability to complete the order. While they may seem mundane and pointless, in case of an emergency, this paperwork provides legal protection.
Finally, it is my duty to monitor the status of team members. If a technician is sick or unable to work due to any other reason, I have to find a temporary or permanent replacement in order for the cleaning operations to continue. In practice, it means that I conduct job advertising, involve new people and interview them on the subject of their competence and professional suitability. Each month, the operations director conducts meetings with all area contracts managers.
On such meetings, important problems concerning the activities of the company are discussed. As all other area contracts managers do, I report any issues regarding the cleaning crews, disagreements with clients, site complications, and other problems I cannot manage on my own. These meetings are used to gather opinions on budget, service improvements, communication with the clients, which require me to prepare and outline my ideas.
Influences and Impact
As an area contracts manager, I have two factors, influencing my role â an internal and an external ones. The internal factor is represented by the operations directorâs decisions and crew membersâ performance. Operations director can increase and decrease the number of sites and cleaning crews assigned to me, thus regulating my own workload. Similarly, the performance of cleaning crews determines my own competence as a manager. The less effective the team is, the more questions the operations director will have regarding my managerial abilities. Therefore, I have to constantly monitor the activities of teams as I am personally responsible for their deficiencies and failures.
The external influence is represented by the clients and the sites. First, some sites present additional cleaning challenges of which other ones are devoid. For instance, outdoor cleaning becomes increasingly more complex in case of worsening weather conditions. The efficiency of cleaning crews decreases during rain, snow, and other weather phenomena, yet they still have to complete the work by the deadline. The clients can also influence my work significantly, as I am dependent on them as well. Whether it is the disagreement on the quality of work or the lack of mutually signed papers, all negative feedback will be directed at me.
As for my impact on others, it comprises the cleaning crews assigned to me. The workers need to have my consent for practically any activity. I decide how to divide the workload on each site. I have the capacity to influence the workers via various means. First, I can impact them financially by lowering or increasing their wage. Second, I regulate their rest, as any sick leaves and vacations are coordinated with me. Finally, I can fire them from the team entirely if I am not satisfied with their performance.
Key Skills
The most essential skill for an area contracts manager is the ability to organize people to complete the needed amount of work by the deadline. This includes the necessity to ensure that the workers have the ability to perform at their best, which means that they have sufficient time to recuperate and do not feel excessive pressure to complete the work. The better the organization of work is, the faster and more effective the crew will clean the site.
The second skill is effective and concise communication with people. Over the course of work, I have to talk with many individuals, including workers, clients, and the operations director. It is important to be able to explain the tasks to the cleaning crews, report to the director, and communicate with the client in such a way that everyone receives the intended message. Communicative inefficiency creates the risk of negative feedback from all three parties.
The third skill is legal competence, which is necessary for the proper completion of paperwork. All disputes with the clients are based on contracts, which outlay the responsibilities of each side. The more attention I can divert to legal details, the more protected I will be from the clientsâ complaints. This necessitates knowledge of laws, legal terminology, and rules of contract composition. This skill is crucial when the clients are not satisfied with the work or threaten with the court.
Strengths and Weaknesses
I have a substantial communicative advantage over the people I interact with because of my ability to spot lies, dishonest and manipulative behavior. My knowledge of non-verbal signs allows me to understand the real intentions of people. It is useful when team members conceal some aspect of work they did not do or when clients intend to impose additional tasks on me. I can also interact confidently with the director and procure the best conditions for myself and the teams.
My primary weakness is the lack of patience, which manifests in the quick emotional outbursts towards incompetence. When I see the lack of sufficient progress on a cleaning site, I tend to blame the workers. Sometimes it is my mistake because other factors stop the crews from completing the work. Unfortunately, I am not always able to control myself, which results in the negative attitude from the workers towards me.
Reflection on Improvements and Challenges
In my opinion, the biggest challenge is motivating the workers to quickly deliver the high quality performance. Aside from the financial incentive and workload regulation, I do not have the tools to influence the workers. More often than not, the crews reports that they are overworked and cannot clean quicker, while I see that the real reason is the lack of motivation. As a result, I have to exercise enough flexibility not to overpressure the workers, while assigning them the workload they are able to handle.
I believe that the operations director can improve the performance of teams by lifting the strict order of team composition. Under the current rules, all teams are equally sized in order to streamline the payment and division of workload. However, some sites are objectively more complex and demand more workers than others. Therefore, in my opinion, the size of cleaning crews should depend on the complexity of site they are assigned to. Not only will it give me more flexibility to organize the workload, but it will also relieve the pressure from the crews, which work on complex sites.
Reference List
Baturo, A. and Arlow, J., 2018. Is there a ârevolving doorâ to the private sector in Irish politics?. Irish Political Studies, 33(3), pp. 381-406.
HM Government (2021). Overseas business risk â Ireland. Web.
Ireland & the impacts of Brexit. (2018). Web.
Momentum Support. (2021) Cleaning. Web.