Organizational Analysis of Fmc Aberdeen Generated for Mr. Kenneth Dailey

Running Head: Organizational Analysis of FMC Aberdeen

Organizational Behavior MGT-322 Unit 5 Individual Project 1

Executive Summary

This report is being generated for Mr. Kenneth Dailey, site manager for FMC Corporation's Green River, Wyoming facility. The purpose is to determine the type of organizational design that will best suit the Wyoming facility. Of particular interest is the unique organizational structure and managerial style currently in place in the highly successful FMC Aberdeen plant.

This report is broken down in the following major sections with sub-sections discussing the individual characteristic.

I. Background: In this portion we analyze a wide variety of the organizational characteristics of the FMC Aberdeen Facility in order to determine how and why it became such a successful organization.

II. Situational Analysis: This section is dedicated to comparing and contrasting the differences between the organizations. We then discuss the critical issues facing the organization, determine the causes and provide a recommendation for why a change may or may not be needed.

III. Alternatives and Recommendations: We propose recommendations for actual changes or alternative options to enhance the organizational effectiveness of the facility.

IV. Implementation: Provides a plan on how and when such recommended changes could be implemented.

Table of Contents

1. Background Page 4

2. Situational Analysis Page 11

3. Alternatives and Recommendations Page 16

4. Implementation Page 18

5. References Page 20

Organizational Analysis of FMC Aberdeen

I. Background:

This section is the result of five weeks of detailed analysis of all aspect of the organizational characteristics of the FMC Aberdeen Facility. The goal was to determine how the strategies, goals, and vision of the management affected the organizational characteristics and how they contributed to the effective and efficient operational success of the facility.

Management of Ability: Crucial to the success of an organization is to ensure that the employees have the relevant abilities to effectively perform their jobs. According to George & Jones (2005) "There are three fundamental ways to manage ability in organizations to ensure this match-up happens: selection, placement, and training" (p.59). At FMC Aberdeen employee selection is a rigorous process. The main philosophy in the hiring process is that technical skills were more easily trained than personal skills and that every employee must be able work closely with their fellow team members. With these philosophies in mind the hiring process is based on potential employees grouped into teams were they are given team based tasks designed to highlight aspects of group-verses-individual behavior to perform. Assessors are trained to evaluate each candidate on the following criteria: group skills, communication skills, personal skills, problem solving skills, results orientation, and leadership skills. Typically only 1/3 of the applicants meet the minimal standards. Incidentally these traits are the same traits that employee performance evaluations are based on. This process ensures that employees are selected that have the innate abilities to excel in the team based environment. Training is initially an effort to prepare the person for a shift in culture. This initial orientation training explains the main theme that every person was responsible for the success of the organization. The main goal is to build trust of a person with the whole team by eliminating fear, especially fear of failure. This initial cultural training is crucial for the success of the individual and the team. Technical skill training is done within the team at a self-determined level through a certification process. Each person is expected to learn all the jobs associated with the team so if one person is lost another can fill in. Fellow team members perform the training and most of the certification process. The mastery of skills is an integral part of the pay system so training is a continuous process. Placement is based on team requirements with some consideration placed on prior abilities and skills.

Organizational Commitment: This "is the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their organization as a whole" (George & Jones, pg. 95, 2005). Organizational Commitment comes in two types, affective commitment and continuance commitment. Determining the overall type of commitment is important in understanding the motivations of the employees. The vast majority of the Aberdeen plant employees are in the affective commitment category. The overall morale and positive attitude at the plant is amazing. The major reasons for high morale listed by the employees are appreciation of being trusted by management, having control over the work environment, pace and structure and having management that helps in time of need and listens to their concerns. A high level of affective commitment has been linked with slightly higher performance, better attendance, and lower turnover rates.

Job Satisfaction: There is a high level of job satisfaction at the Aberdeen plant. This is important because it relates to a wide range of behaviors in organizations similar to organizational commitment. There are several reasons for this high level of job satisfaction. One is the type of person selected to work in the plant have already been screened to have good personal, group and communication skills. These skills help to reduces or eliminated work or personnel conflicts. The work situation itself based on the team concept allows an individual to have a direct input into the working conditions, hours, pay and job security. Conflicts are settled quickly and a feeling of trust of each other is pervasive throughout the organization. The values of the organization are shaped by the employees themselves. Strong intrinsic work values are the norm. One employee can be quoted as saying "are people going to stay here for the money? No,