Of the Seven Message Systems

1. Which message systems appear to be doing a consistently good job of communicating the organization's values? Which appear to be doing a poor job? Be sure to fully explain your position.

Looking at the ASI case there are seven different message systems that are present. Of the seven message systems it seems to appear that five of them are doing a good to very good job at communicating the organization's values. Two of the systems though seem to be lacking and giving signals of some red flags within the organization. From here I will break down each message system and point out the details of each.

Organizational Staffing Process:

Of all the message systems within ASI I would say that this is the worst one present. ASI is a more informal company and that is really showing up within their hiring practices. One huge "red flag" example of bad hiring practices comes from page four of the case study. It states, "One of the most recent hires worked at Applebee's restaurant. Mike had dinner there and engaged the waiter in conversation. Mike was so impressed with him that he offered him a position at ASI". There was also another instance where the marketing director was hired due to a class project she worked on while attending Jacksonville State.

The level of informality and the number of equal employment regulations that are broken here are just astonishing. I really don't think that this was an effort by the company to intentionally set out to break rules and regulations. As a matter in fact I think this was just Mike trying to be nice without really knowing what he was doing. There is a tendency with Entrepreneurs to act in such a manor simply because they do not understand the business end of the situation. This is a very fixable issue within the company's message system and quite possible the most important one that needs to be fixed.

Training Process:

Looking at the training and development portion of ASI one can't really say too much about it. It seems that everything is pretty standard in nature and not that much different from other successful companies. Taking a deeper look it seems that all training and development are a supervisory task. When the company hires someone new the supervisor within that department sees to it that they get the training they need. Like most companies, when managers want to go to a conference they have to get permission from their superiors. Then like most companies, when employees increase their skill set through training they are promoted to positions when they come available.

I personally think that ASI is doing a good job within this message system. Obviously they could probably make a few alterations and try some new steps like cross departmental training, but that truly is not completely necessary. All in all they are doing a good job here and they should keep it up.

Performance Appraisal Process:

Of all the seven message systems within ASI I feel that their performance appraisal process is probably their best message system. Within their appraisal system for administrative and manufacturing both they measure performance through productivity matrixes. Each year objectives are set for the employees and as the employees meet their objectives, or not, will contribute to their annual score. Depending on their score determines how much their bonus will be at the end of the year.

According to the text the objectives for the appraisal seem to be very clear; along sided that, they are highly approved by supervisors and employees both as being fair and clear. It's very hard to find approval within an organization from its employees and supervisors about a performance appraisal tool. You know when you have a tool that works and everyone likes it; you must be doing something right. Within this message system I think ASI is doing a pretty good job.

Compensation System:

ASI's compensation system flows around the premises of a skill based system. Standard hourly employees are making around the range of $10 and $12 an hour, depending on their job and acquired skills. Obviously there is some merit pay with the system that is based off of the score that one receives through the performance appraisal system. They also have a bonus plan that has ended up compensating their employees with some very profitable bonuses. These bonus plans can range from nothing at all to about 30% of their base wage if a specified company profit is achieved. On average the company pays out about a 9.3% bonus and it has hit 25% at one point.

All in all it seems that ASI has a pretty healthy compensation system. It seems to have a good blend between skill based pay and some merit based pay included. Good compensation systems in my opinion always have a blend rather than just one type. I really think ASI is doing a pretty good job with their compensation system.

Formal Communications and Public Relations:

For starters here nothing about ASI is really that formal. The majority of the communication that is held within the company from Mike and Tom is very informal. They tend to do most of their managing by walking around a lot and just chatting with small teams and individuals. If there is ever a need for the whole company to know something they generally send out a newsletter. Unlike most companies, they have no set schedule for their newsletters and they come out at a more random fashion. For decision making meetings, those are generally impromptu and held at the water cooler area.

As we can tell here there is a lot of improvement that can be made to the formal communication message system. By a lot of improvement I mean there is no formal communication at all and there really needs to be some in order to deliver information around the company effectively. The only part I think is good about this message system is the public relations portion. ASI seems to have a really good perspective for the public.

The Public relations efforts reflect back to the values that Mike and Tom have as well. All employees are allowed to take two days per year to work on projects like habitat for humanity. Also in the past ASI has made contributions to help local families who had been displaced by tornadoes. Along with that they support soccer and little league teams that their employees coach.

Corporate Culture:

As stated about the communication process in the previous portion; things at ASI are informal and that goes for their culture as well. Within ASI if anyone at any level has any problem they can take it all the way up to Tom and Mike if they see fit. All meeting for ASI are scheduled for weekdays and