Dispatch Manager Report Alesander Olaizola, Juan Ramirez, …alesanderolaizola.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/4/4/25447762/7... · 2018-10-17 · The entrepreneurial quadrant includes areas

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BURNET ELEMENTARY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 1 Running head: DISPATCH MANAGER REPORT 1

Dispatch Manager Report

Alesander Olaizola, Juan Ramirez, Carlos Rodriguez, and Quang Tran

University of Saint Thomas

MBA 5322, Organizational Behavior

Professor Janet McCollum, Ph. D.

April 30, 2013

DISPATCH MANAGER REPORT 2

Dispatch Manager Report

The purpose of this paper is to define the current and preferred culture in the dispatch

department in order to outline recommendations that will improve the work environment and

performance of the department. This paper is divided into five sections. The first section is a

reflection of the current state of the dispatch department using data from three sources: the

manager’s observation, the employee survey, and the listening session. The second section

assesses the preferred state of the assigned department using the same data. The third part

outlines some recommendations supported by Organizational Behavior theories with the

intention of moving the department from the current to the preferred state. The fourth section

describes the action plan for the department and analyzes positive and negative outcomes. The

final section is the conclusion to the case study that summarizes the key points of the

recommended actions.

Current State

There is a new manager in the dispatch department that previously worked for the

company. In addition, two of the five employees in the department are new. The manager has

the role of coordinating the dispatchers, the payroll, and the data entry clerk. Due to an upcoming

managers’ meeting, the different manager’s departments have conducted a current state

assessment.

Based on the written and oral surveys and manager perceptions, there are several internal

and external issues that affects efficiency of the department. Some of the internal issues are lack

of vertical and horizontal communication, routing assignment problems, lack of training, and

poor conditions at the dispatch facility. These issues cause the employees to function

inefficiently by generating billing errors, routing assignment problems, payroll inaccuracies, and


low morale among employees. From a managerial point of view, the department may start losing

productivity, which may affect company’s profits and customer satisfaction.

According to the current state the emerging pattern is the difference in perception

between the employees and the manager. In this sense, the main issue is internal and external

communication. Regarding internal communication, the employees’ perception is that the

company does not communicate well with them. The company does not share new job openings

and organizational plans. In addition, the manager perceives that employees are experiencing

written and verbal miscommunication leading to payroll and routing mistakes. In terms of

external communication the dispatch department has ongoing problems with the customer

service department.

The secondary issues are lack of training and poor conditions at the dispatch facility.

Lack of training is evident in the basic writing inputs from the drivers. These mistakes cause

billing errors for the customers. The payroll person is new and still in training. The poor

conditions of the dispatch area, restrooms, and parking lot are causes of the low employee

morale according to the dispatch manager.

Current and Preferred Culture

Definition of culture

Based on the manager’s view of the situation, employee surveys, and listening sessions

data, the functional team’s definitions for the four quadrants (Appendix C, p. 22 ) were as

follow: a) the family/clan was defined by the terms collaboration, collective goals, people

oriented, strong relationships, team oriented, and the working conditions of employees; b) the

entrepreneurial/adhocracy was defined as innovative, business minded, and adaptable; c) the

hierarchy quadrant considered rules, policies, efficiency, fairness, guidance, support, chain in


command, and decision making; d) the market is defined by productivity, communication,

profitability, partnerships, customer service, goal oriented, rewards, and recognition. These

definitions were used to establish the current and preferred culture for the dispatch department in

a graph (Appendix C, p. 23).

Current culture

Using the data gathered in the surveys and listening sessions (Appendix B, p.19) the

current culture of the dispatch department is represented by the four quadrants as follows: two

points for family, one point for entrepreneurial, three points for market, and four points for

hierarchy. Therefore the current culture is heavily based on hierarchies without having a sense of

group or family. The family /clan quadrant reflects that the members of the dispatch department

perceive that they receive guidance, are treated fairly, can work together, and are generally

informed about the department’s procedures. Additionally, they perceive that their work

environment is relaxed and that the manager of the dispatch department wants to improve the

working conditions of the department. The entrepreneurial quadrant includes areas of

improvement in the dispatch department such as the need to solve issues with information flow,

miscommunication with the customer service department, data process system with the data

entry clerk, and payroll personnel. The market quadrant outlines that the members of the

department expressed the need of having rewards and recognition for their work. Additionally,

they desire to be told about organizational plans as well. According to the survey (Appendix B,

p. 20), managers overall thinking is that there is a need to improve in some areas such as

teamwork and cooperation in order to achieve goals among the departments. The hierarchy

quadrant is the dominant quadrant of the four. Employees perceive that they are treated fairly by

the person that they report to, they feel confident to request guidance and support when needed.


In addition to this, the members of the dispatch department express the need of training and

clarification regarding jobs descriptions. Overall, managers fell that they are involved in the

decision process that impact their work.

Preferred Culture

After analyzing the data gathered in the surveys and listening sessions (Appendix B,

p.19) the preferred culture of the dispatch department is outlined by the four quadrants as

follows: market scored highest with four points, followed by family with three points,

entrepreneurial with two points, and hierarchy with one point. According to the graph of the

preferred state, (Appendix C, p. 23) the family quadrant should increase one point. The dispatch

department wishes to have more cooperation and team-building activities among departments.

Recognition for time invested and hard work should be other areas of improvement. Maintaining

and building stronger relationships among the members of the department will benefit the

atmosphere and work environment. In addition to this, according to the dispatch manager,

improvements to the building will also benefit the overall morale of the department. The

entrepreneurial quadrant reflects the need to develop three essential tasks. The first task is to

develop effective communication with the customer service department. The second task is to

give input to upper management with the means of developing a strategic plan within the

organization that addresses the needs of all departments in order to define a general framework

which will facilitate the decision-making process and will ensure the alignment within

departments. The third task is to use state of the art technology to solve the inaccuracies in the

dispatch department regarding flow of information and errors related to billing and data entry.

The market quadrant in the preferred state needs to increase. Some of the things that need to be

address in this quadrant are collaboration in strategic planning to increase effectiveness in


communication and collaboration with the customer service department, developing a shared

mission and smart goals in the department that is aligned with the view of the organization, and

increasing the profitability of the department. The hierarchy quadrant in the preferred state needs

to decrease. Some of the desired actions are better training, effective feedback to employees, and

empowerment to members of the department to attend to their duties and responsibilities.

Additionally, the dispatch department should continue building trust among members. Members

of the department must be confident in asking for guidance and support from supervisors and

other coworkers. The dispatch department needs to stop the conflict with the customer service

department. It is best for the dispatch department to establish clarity and a common language

with other departments to ensure higher quality service and better customer satisfaction.

Recommendations

In order to move the dispatch department from the current state to the next level of

performance we suggest a series of recommendations that if implemented will result in expected

benefits to the department. These recommendations are based on the data analysis that

considered the manger and employees’ perceptions of the current and preferred state (see

Appendix B). The recommendations are categorized by degree of importance as follows:

Improve Intra-Department Communication

Kinicki & Fugate (2012) suggest that the communication process is effective when

senders send a clear message and receivers receive a comprehensible message, this process also

has to be free of barriers, which is anything that can distort the communication process. One of

the main issues at the dispatch department is a communication barrier such as noise created by

the drivers’ bad handwriting –which is an example of transforming feedback (Eoyang, 1997),

and also problems in the route assignments between the dispatchers and the drivers (Kinicki &


Fugate, 2012). These communication issues lead to billing errors and customer complaints. One

way to eliminate this communication barrier is to incorporate Information Communication

Technology (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012) between dispatchers and drivers by using GPS, satellite

radio and cell phones, computer/tablet with internet capability and software mapping

applications to manage route information and the data entry. By addressing the improvement in

all areas of internal communication the dispatch department will increase productivity and

efficiency by decreasing errors. This will lead to increased customer satisfaction.

Improve Inter-Department Communication

Medium to large sized companies usually have complex systems that are divided into

several parts (often called departments). According to the systems thinking theory that states

(Ackoff, 2008) dispatchers and customer service representatives (CSRs) should act together as

parts of the whole (company) instead of performing independently. The lack of communication

and coordination between the dispatchers and CSRs are causing drivers and customers to

complain. Also both departments do not follow the company’s protocols. There are visible

barriers in the way communication is process and interpreted between CSRs and dispatch.

(Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). In addition, this miscommunication is causing a dysfunctional conflict

between CSRs and dispatchers. Both departments blame each other for customer complaints

(Kinicki & Fugate, 2012).

CSRs and dispatchers should share the same information system in order to make

coordinated decisions that primarily respond to the customer’s needs. Boundaries and specific

department functions need to be redefined so there are not overlapping duties and only

coordinated efforts based on transforming feedback to better serve the customers (Eoyang,

1997).


Improving and Updating Facilities

Kinicki & Fugate (2012) state that “positive organizational behavior is positively

engaged with employee engagement, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance,

well-being, and customer satisfaction” (p. 13). At the dispatch department, the restrooms are not

working properly, office space is dingy and gets crowded, and the parking floods and has no

defined parking lines. Having good and adequate facilities will affect the overall satisfaction of

employees. This will lead to an improvement in motivation and at the same time it could lower

the turnover rate of the drivers in the department. Besides, good and adequate facilities could

function as an attractor to retain employees and appeal to prospective employees (Eoyang, 1997).

The manager should make the proper requests to upper management (with the rationale of how

this will improve productivity and morale) to get approval for the improvements to the facilities

at the dispatch department.

Systematic Training to Employees

The human capital concept involves the development of the potential of employee

knowledge and actions by targeting technical and social skills (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). Since

the department has new employees and a new manager, this systematic training is necessary. In

addition, if proposed implementation of Information Communication Technology tools is

approved, all employees will need to receive proper training on how to use the new system.

We recommend implementing a Trainer of Trainers model to create the team leader figures at the

department. This system is cost efficient and will improve productivity by having a trainer on

site as needed.

Develop the Department Strategic Plan


Based on the Systems models of change by Kinicki & Fugate (2012) the department

should develop their own mission to be aligned with the company’s strategic plan. Employees in

the department need to have a clear vision of the company’s goals and how their department can

contribute to achieve those goals. Even at the individual level, employees should be aware of

how their daily jobs contribute to the strategic plan. The first thing should be to work on a

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. The second step should be

to develop the department strategic plan with the vision, SMART goals, and the department

handbook which should include policies, procedures, and job descriptions.

Team Development and Morale

The group development process is very important for managers because it helps the

organization to accomplish its goals as a result of working together (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012).

Due to the fact that some employees and also the department manager are new, this group is

currently in the forming and storming stage of team development. Team-development activities

are needed in order to integrate collaboration among employees with the means of improving

effectiveness and productivity. Therefore, the manager should promote team building activities,

department norms, and develop task roles (initiator, evaluator, and coordinator). These activities

will accelerate the transition to the norming and performing team stages (Kinicki & Fugate,

2012).

Leadership Development

Managers have an important role by leading the department to generate positive results.

There are many leadership traits that positively impact the effectiveness of a manager. Among

the most important traits are task competence (knowledge and problem solving), interpersonal

competence (ability to communicate and demonstrate empathy), and personal qualities (Kinicki


& Fugate, 2012). Since the manager is new and he is ultimately responsible for the department’s

success he needs to exercise his leadership and authority to coordinate the employees’ efforts in

order to make the department as efficient and productive as possible. The Leadership Enneagram

Framework outlines the strengths and weaknesses to help leaders to self-reflect in their

leadership style while learning how to become effective leaders (Lapid-Bodga, 2012). The

recommendation is that the manager should attend leadership trainings that include Enneagram,

the 7 habits of highly effective people, and/or any other training that will improve his leadership

traits. We would also recommend including the Enneagram Leadership framework in some

department activities.

All of these outlined recommendations have the purpose of increasing productivity and

efficiency in the dispatch department. At the same time increasing collaboration among the

department employees and the customer service department. These recommendations should

have the following benefits:

1. To the employees: increased job satisfaction, morale, teamwork, collaboration, and

learning of new skills.

2. To the department(s): improved communication among departments, better work

environment, an attractor to prospective employees, increase department productivity,

and decrease in the amount of customer complaints.

3. To the whole organization: increased profitability, improved efficiency and customer

satisfaction, and increased competitiveness.

Action Plan

The final step in order to move the dispatch department to the “next level” is to outline an

action plan to implement the proposed key recommendations and OB theories (see Appendix E,


p. 28). The time frame to complete the action plan would be the next 12 months. During this

period of time the manager would oversee the following actions:

Promote Motivation through Goal Setting

The dispatch management department will define SMART goals for better performance,

promote goal commitment, and provide adequate training and feedback to ensure that the

members of the department have all the necessary tools to achieve the goals that have been

previously established. In addition to this, the department will develop a system for recognition

and reward for job performance. This will be consistent, transparent, clear, and relevant (Kinicki

& Fugate, 2012). The goal setting is expected to be developed after the corporate meeting with

management that defines the general direction of the organization. If corporate is in agreement to

develop organizational goals among the different departments, the dispatch department will

develop the goal setting in two weeks. After this step, monthly meetings will be set in place to

assess progress and quarterly meetings will take place to evaluate performance and intervene if

needed. Every year annual goals will be assessed and new goals will be developed based on the

department data and the company’s strategic plan.

Collaboration with the Customer Service Department

To facilitate intra-department communication the department will be exposed to training

and examples of transforming feedback where the barriers of the communication process are

addressed. This will be done taking advantage of the organization development process. There

are three steps to improve the communication between departments. The first step is to make a

diagnosis of the situation or conflict. The second step is to implement an intervention based on

possible proactive actions to resolve the issue such as designing a template or form where the

drivers reduce the chance of inaccuracy when information is written. This should be improved


with the implementation of the new technology information system proposed in the

recommendations. The final step is to make an analysis of progress of the intervention to develop

new measures of effectiveness which should resolve the issues.

The preliminary measures to address the communication issues will be done before the

corporate meeting takes place. Once the corporate meeting is concluded, the dispatch department

will have a week to revisit the organization development plan to add modifications based on

corporate guidelines. In the meantime, the dispatch department will measure the plan’s

effectiveness and make proper adjustments. The timeline to implement the new information

system is defined by the assessment of needs and approval from the upper management. Once

the budget is allocated for this purpose, the department should implement the changes and train

employees. These changes are expected to take place within the first quarter. The general

disconnect of information between this department and other departments will be entirely

resolved once the new information system is implemented.

Strategic Plan

The dispatch department will develop a department strategic plan in order to define how

the department will contribute to the success of the organization. This plan will be in alignment

with the mission and vision of the organization. This plan is expected to be completed in two

weeks. The plan will be presented to corporate for feedback and approval. In order to do this, the

strategic plan will follow the Systems Model of Change (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). First the

department must develop the mission, vision, SWOT analysis, and goals. Second, the department

will stipulate its policies, procedures, roles, methods, workflow, and the use of technology

according to the needs of the department. The strategic plan will clarify the role of the dispatch

department within the entire organization in pursuit of the shared mission.


Improve and Update Facilities

Dispatch department will address the needs and benefits of improving the department

facilities to upper management. The dispatch department will conduct a preliminary estimate

cost for the three projects (one week). Upper management will assess and prioritize the different

projects considered to improve the physical aspect of the organization. Once preliminary cost is

approved, a final proposal will be done and presented within two weeks to corporate for final

approval. The department’s area remodeling will be done in three phases depending on budget

allocation. The first phase (two weeks) is the renovation of the parking lot for safety issues. The

second phase is remodeling the restrooms (one week). The third phase is to improve the

workspace of the office area in the dispatch department (three week). The allocation of budget

will define the final timeline to complete the project. If funding is available the projects should

be completed in four weeks.

Provide Systematic Training and Feedback

Once the duties and specific responsibilities for the department are defined, systematic

training will be offered to the members of the dispatch department. Members of the team will be

trained after a week of experiencing the trainer of trainer approach. The first thing to be done is

to define the goals for every member. This requires an analysis of the individual and contextual

factors of the members of the team and the department as a whole. Second, an effective feedback

and coaching system will be implemented according to all members in the department (Kinicki

& Fugate, 2012). Third, implementing a performance pay system when goals are met by

members of the team is crucial. All these actions should be supported with the use of effective

transforming feedback.

Team Development and Morale


The team will develop task roles and maintenance roles to define a shared purpose and to

foster relationships among the members of the department (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). One of the

first priorities is to establish ground rules for meetings and team building activities. During the

team building activities the six members in the team may assume multiple roles that best match

their strengths (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). This will be done within two weeks after corporate

management sets a common course of action and implications for the dispatch department. Some

of the teambuilding considerations include facilitating opportunities to share personal histories,

relevance of past experiences, and a clear purpose and plan in the department (Kinicki & Fugate,

2012). It is also beneficial to build trust in the team by establishing values and expected

behaviors such as communication, support, respect, fairness, predictability, and competence

(Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). Team building activities will be done monthly. In order to motivate

and get the members in the department to be involved, their time devoted for these activities will

be compensated and refreshments will be provided.

Leadership Development

The dispatch manager will propose to corporate that managers (including him) be

allowed to attend a series of training related to improving leadership effectiveness that include

Leadership Enneagram framework. This proposal should be in alignment with the leadership

approach of the organization. The dispatch manager will receive the training before the end of

the first quarter. Once the training is concluded, the dispatch manager will apply the learned

concepts to the dispatch department during the monthly meeting. The ultimate purpose of the

dispatch manger’s training is to increase department productivity and accelerate the team’s

norming and performing stages (Kinicki & Fugate, 2102).


With the proposed implementation of the action plan, the department will expect positive

improvements in efficiency, productivity, morale, safety, and in the behavior and interactions

between the managers and employees. This will also improve the communication with other

departments by lowering the barriers within the department and between other departments,

leading also to an increase in productivity and efficiency gains. Finally, a better overall work

environment will be attained due to the established sense of unity among the workers who will

be at this point in time working together to achieve the same goals.

Conclusion

There are some key elements that define the current state of the dispatch department.

Overall the members feel that there is a sense of satisfaction about the place and the working

conditions. In addition, the employees express the need to receive training and clarification

about their job descriptions. There are clear indications of dysfunctional patterns between the

data entry clerk and the drivers when entering the route information that leads to problems with

the customer service department and billing errors for customers.

On the other hand the preferred culture for the dispatch department reflects the need to

increase the family, entrepreneurial, and market quadrants. The hierarchy quadrant is expected to

decrease significantly. The desired state of the dispatch department establishes the need to

improve the data processing, communication, and working conditions in the department.

Additionally, the desired state will define the effective flow of information among the different

departments to increase the efficiency in the organization.

Moving the department to the next level requires teamwork, shared purpose, alignment,

effective communication, and collaboration within the department and also with other

departments. Thus, the company will operate more cohesively as a unit, reducing


miscommunication and inefficiencies and increasing job satisfaction, productivity, collaboration,

and profitability. It is essential for this plan that all departments and employees share the

company’s purpose which is none other than using all sources available to ensure the success of

the whole company. The task of the company will be to shift the paradigm of the departments,

managers, and employees. They all must learn to work together; the success of the company is

the success of everyone. When success is attained, members of the organization will proudly

stand as members of a strong professional community.


References

Ackoff, R. (2008, December 12). Dr. Russel Ackoff on System Thinking Part 2 [Video files].

Retrieved from hthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdBiXbuD1h4

Eoyang, G. H. (1997). Coping with chaos: Seven simple tools. Cheyenne, WY: Lagumo Corp.

Kinicki, A. & Fugate, M. (2012). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best practices.

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Lapid-Bodga, G. (2012). Bringing out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to use the Enneagram

System for success. [Enneagram Leadership Brochure]. McGraw-Hill.


Appendix A

Functional Team Functional View of the Project's Purpose & Goals, Values, & OB Approach(es)

Functional Team Represented Dispatch Manager Before developing your final action plan based on the information from the employees, managers, and culture assessment, write your functional team’s overall purpose and goals of the project. List the 4-5 values that your team feels are most important for your function to perform effectively and define what each value means in terms of behavior for the employees and managers of your function. Describe the approach(es) you will use that underlie and inform the changes/actions that you will recommend (see Ch 1). Purpose and goals of the project

• The purpose and goals of the project are to define the current and preferred culture in the dispatch department in order to outline recommendations that will improve the work environment and performance of the assigned department.

Team Values (4-5) and definitions of each and expected behavior for each team member

• High expectations: Every team member is expected to contribute the maximum in order to achieve the project goals

• Responsibility: Every team member will be able to respond to assignments and roles on a timely manner.

• Collaboration: Every team member will be open to understand and to listen to other’s point of view to define the best and unanimous solution for the case.

• Respect: Every team will value the different perspectives of the team members OB Approach(es) and why chosen:

• Based on available data the following are the areas of improvement: o Communication and socialization: The communication dynamics between the

dispatchers and both the CSRs and the drivers need improvement. o Accountability: There is need for a new system to replace the old system for

payroll assigning the industrial driver o Work environment: Facilities such as parking lot, restrooms, and office need to be

adequate to perform the required duties. o Collaboration: The department lacks team building, team development, and

vertical and horizontal collaboration. o Motivation, job satisfaction: There is high job turnover. o Complex Systems: There is no effective system in place. o Human Capital: Employees need professional development. o Organizational Culture: There is no sense of cohesion in the work place.


Appendix B

Functional Team - Survey & Interview Data Analysis and Integration

Function Represented by Team Dispatch Manager Describe the overall project purpose, list the goals for your function, and identify key values that will guide the change project and desired outcomes.

• Define the current and preferred culture in the dispatch department in order to outline recommendations that will improve the work environment and performance of the assigned department.

• The goal for the Dispatch Manager is to run the department in an efficient and effective way so that all routes are finished in a timely and safe manner in order to improve the overall department performance.

• Transparency, collaboration, reliability are the key values that will guide the change project and desired outcomes.

Survey Least Positive Items (top 3-5 most important to change)

• #23 The people I work with cooperate to get the job done • #24 There is a spirit of cooperation and teamwork among the people here • #12 Management cares about the well-being of employees • #4 Employees are told about organizational plans and development • #10 There is an atmosphere of trust between employees and management

Survey Most Positive Items (top 3-5 most important to keep/continue)

• #18 The person I report to gives me good guidance in accomplishing my work • #17 The person I report treats everyone fairly • #30 I have the proper equipment and supplies to do my job • #31Overall, the working conditions are satisfactory for my type of work

Listening Session Least Positive Items with suggestions for change (top 3-5)

• People that have been here a while need to be recognized for their time and hard work (e.g., Out of work and come back). Three new people have been hired and 2 can’t work past 5pm. Now I have to move to a new department because I can’t work past 5pm, but before I have been here and worked until 8-9pm.

o Suggestions for change: Rewards, recognition, employment achievement, incentives, gift cards, comp time

• People should be properly trained to fulfill their job description. o Suggestions for change: Extensive training for dispatchers, mentoring program,

appraisal and evaluation system • We do not know if positions are available or changed.

o Suggestions for change: Newsletter, posting, website, informative meetings (the garbage address)

• We need a full job description. o Suggestions for change: Employee handbook with one description, compensations

and schedules


Appendix B

Listening Session Most Positive Items with suggestions for what to keep/continue (top 3-5)

• Everyone is helpful and tries to work together. o Suggestions for change: This is one of our main goals, to improve

communication and collaboration. • Let you know about the proper procedures or new procedures.

o Suggestions for change: Making sure that the department is in compliance with company’s policies and procedures.

• Benefits are cheaper than most companies. o Suggestions for change: Is going to be an attractor.

• Easy to get along with everyone. o Suggestions for change: It creates the friendly atmosphere that engages workers

to collaborate which leads to job satisfaction. • Relaxed environment.

o Suggestions for change: Less stress induces higher productivity.

Functional Managers’ Perspective interview data (top 3-5 areas that are working well & top 3-5 areas that need to change)

• Areas that work well o District Manager is fair and caring to employees o Dispatchers know drivers’ mood and work style o District manager has previous experience with the company and he is engaged in

his position • Areas that need to change

o Communication between CSRs and dispatchers and drivers o Route information data entry system (errors due to bad driver’s handwriting

generate customer complaints) o Department facilities (restrooms, parking lot, offices) o Employees’ morale is low o Driver route assignment system (equitable to all drivers)

Identify the similarities and differences from the Managers’ Interviews, Employee Surveys, and Listening Session data and categorize (overall for the function–top 3-5 categories that work well and top 3-5 categories that need to change) Note: Some data from all three different sources show contradictory statements; hence the results of the analysis have limitations.

• Similarities 1. Employees perceive fair treatment (from Managers’ Interviews, Employee

Surveys, and Listening Session) 2. Employees perceive that cooperation and guidance help relationship between

drivers and dispatchers (from Managers’ Interviews, Employee Surveys, and Listening Session)


Appendix B

3. Lack of internal and external communication within the dispatcher department (from Managers’ Interviews, Employee Surveys, and Listening Session)

4. Good working conditions (benefits, equipment environment) from (Employee Surveys, and Listening Session)

5. Management do not care about employees, seniority, and culture of trust ( from Employee Surveys, and Listening Session)

• Differences 1. Low morale (from Managers’ Interviews) 2. Facilities needs to be remodeled (from Managers’ Interviews) 3. Poor training and job description (from Listening Session)

Based on the information your team has, provide a general overview of what is happening currently and what that means to the employees, the function, and the company. What are the patterns that you see emerging? Prioritize according to importance and discuss your rationale?

• General Overview: There is new manager in the dispatch department who previously worked for the

company. In addition, 2 out of the 5 workers in the department are new employees. The manager has the role of coordinating the dispatchers, the payroll, and the data entry clerk. Due to an upcoming managers meeting, the different managers departments have conducted a current state assessment.

Based on the written and oral surveys, and manager perceptions, there are several internal and external issues that affects efficiency of the department. Some of the internal issues are lack of vertical and horizontal communication, routing assignment problems, lack of training, and poor facilities’ condition. These issues cause the employees to function inefficiently by generating billing errors, routing assignment problems, payroll inaccuracies and low morale among employees. From a managerial point of view, the department may start losing productivity, which may affect company’s profits and customer satisfaction.

According to the current state the emerging pattern is the difference in perception between the employees and the manager. In this sense, the main issue is internal and external communication. Regarding internal communication, the employees perceive that the company does not communicate well with them. The company does not share new job openings and organizational plans. In addition, the manager perceives that employees are experiencing miscommunication-- verbally and in writing--causing payroll and routing mistakes. In terms of external communication, the dispatch department has ongoing problems with the customer services department.

The secondary issues are lack of training and poor facilities’ conditions. Lack of training is evident in basic writing inputs from the drivers. This mistakes causes billing errors to the customers. The payroll person is new and still in training. The poor conditions of the dispatch area, restrooms, and parking lot cause low employee morale according to the dispatch manager.


Appendix C

Functional Team – Functional View of the Company’s Culture – Quadrant Definitions

Functional Team Represented: Dispatch Manager Using the information from the previous team meeting, create a functional level view of the organization’s culture. Define each culture quadrant individually. At the team meeting agree on your functional team’s definition of each quadrant.

Family Entrepreneurial

• Collaboration

• Collective Goals

• People oriented

• Strong relationships

• Team oriented

• Innovative

• Business Minded

• Adaptability

Hierarchy Market

• Chain of command

• Training

• Rules and policies

• Efficiency

• Social Organization

• Customer oriented

• Productivity

• Goal oriented

• Profitability

• Rewards

• Partnership with

departments


Appendix C

Functional Team – Functional View of the Company’s Culture Graph Functional Team Represented: Dispatch Manager Current Think about the culture as you read over the definitions of the 4 quadrants (provided in the handout). Consider all four of the quadrants to decide the degree to which each one is like the current culture of the college.

1. You have 10 points to distribute among the four quadrants. The more you thing the culture quadrant resembles the current culture of the quadrant, the higher the number you will assign.

2. Each black horizontal line within each quadrant equals 1 point. 3. The total points of all quadrants must equal 10.

Current State ------------------- Preferred State Preferred Now think about the preferred culture. On the graph above distribute the 10 points among the 4 quadrants based on what you think the preferred culture should be. Make sure the total adds up to 10. Connect the dots of the current state using a solid line; then connect the dots of the preferred state using a dashed line. You will have two graphs on the same page. One depicts current culture and the other shows preferred culture.


Hierarchy Market


Appendix C

Functional Team – Functional View of Actions Taken by Quadrant Functional Team Represented: Dispatch Manager To create you action plan based on the current and desired culture, data patterns, and identified categories, develop a list a list of what to start doing, stop doing, and continue for each quadrant.


• Start (doing) - Having more cooperation and teambuilding among the Dispatch Management Department. - Activities that recognize good performance. • Stop (doing) - Using the antiquated data entry system because it causes data entry mistakes and billing errors. - The conflict between the dispatchers and the customer service representatives • Continue - Healthy relationships between dispatchers and drivers - The overall atmosphere that makes this a good place to work

• Start doing - Self-analysis regarding process and systems to establish effective communication and performance among dispatchers and CSRs. - Develop a strategic plan that addresses the needs of the different departments to achieve the shared goal of the organization. • Stop doing - Issuing billing errors to customers caused by data entry mistakes. - The blame game between departments. • Continue - The equitable division of the incoming jobs by the dispatchers.

Hierarchy Market

• Start doing - Improved training for the dispatchers and the data entry clerk. • Stop (doing) - Relying solely on top down decision-making. - Complaining about the customer service representatives and discuss possible solutions to improve the efficiency of both departments and clarity regarding the routes of drivers. • Continue - Improved training and empowerment for payroll person. - Relationships of trust with the supervisors and coworkers. - Encourage employees to interact with each other to diminish the barriers that will lead to better communication.

• Start doing - Implementing a strategic plan developed with the customer service representative department to attain the needs of both parts. - Develop SMART goals for the department. - Develop or revise a shared mission for the department • Stop doing - Issuing inaccurate billing statements to customers. - Customer service representatives from bypassing dispatch and directly contacting drivers about missed pickups—leading to more miscommunication • Continue - The Superior service delivered by the dispatchers to the drivers. - Give input to the district manager and other departments for the design of an automating system to improve efficiency


Appendix D

Functional Worksheet – Recommendations and Informing Theory

List the recommendations (5-7) that your team has identified as areas that will encourage the organization to “take it to the next level of performance.” For each recommendation, 1) discuss why you think your recommendation will improve performance and 2) list and explain the OB theory (ies)/concept(s) that informed your choice of recommendation. Prioritize your recommendations in terms of impact, (i.e., which are the most important to focus on over the next year to reach your goals. Discuss the overall impact you expect the recommendations as a whole to have on your function (department). List the overall benefits to the employees, departments, and organization as a whole that you expect from the implementation of the recommended changes. 1. Improve intra-department communication

1.1. Rationale: Lacking proper communication flow in the dispatch department is causing assignment problems between the dispatchers and the drivers. In addition to this there is miscommunication between drivers and the data entry clerk due to an outdated system of taking notes by hand. This causes billing errors and customer complaints. By addressing the improvement in all areas of internal communication the dispatch department will increase productivity, efficiency on the assignment of the drivers’ routes, and customer satisfaction while decreasing billing errors.

1.2. Theory: 1.2.1. There are visible communication barriers such as noise in the drivers’ bad

handwriting which is also an encoding barrier. Improving Information Communication Technology boost technology. (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012)

1.2.2. Bad handwriting is an example of transforming feedback (Eoyang, 1997) 1.3. Recommendation: Incorporate Information Communication Technology between

dispatchers and drivers such us GPS, satellite radio and cell phone system, computer/tablet with internet capability and software applications to manage the routes’ information and the data entry.

2. Improve inter-department communication 2.1. Rationale: The lack of communication and coordination between the dispatchers and

CRSs are causing driver and customer complaints. Also both departments do not follow the company’s protocols.

2.2. Theory: 2.2.1. There are visible communication personal barriers in the way communication is

process and interpreted between CSRs and dispatch. (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). 2.2.2. Those two departments are not independent parts in the whole of the company as

the systems thinking theory states (Ackoff, 2008) 2.2.3. Boundaries and transforming feedbacks (Eoyang, 1997)


Appendix D

2.2.4. Dysfunctional Conflict between CSRs and dispatchers ((Kinicki & Fugate, 2012).

2.3. Recommendation: CSRs and dispatchers should share the same information system in order to coordinate decisions that primarily respond to the customer needs. Boundaries and specific department functions need to be redefined so the duties will not overlap and this will lead to better customer service.

3. Improving/updating facilities (restrooms, parking lot, and office)

3.1. Rationale: Having good and adequate facilities will affect the overall satisfaction of employees. This will lead to an improvement on motivation, and at the same time it could lower the turnover rate of the drivers in the department.

3.2. Theory: 3.2.1. Good and adequate facilities could function as an attractor first to retain

employees and second to appeal to prospective employees (Eoyang, 1997). 3.2.2. Motivation Job satisfaction (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012).

3.3. Recommendation: Make the proper requests to the upper management to approve the improvement of facilities of the dispatch department (supported by a rationale of how this will improve productivity and morale).

4. Systematic training to employees (payroll, data entry, and dispatchers)

4.1. Rationale: Since the department has new employees and a new manager, systematic training is necessary. In addition, due to the implementation of the new technology system, all employees need to receive proper training on how to use the new system.

4.2. Theory: 4.2.1.Human capital in order to develop the potential of employee knowledge and actions

by targeting technical and social skills (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012). 4.3. Recommendation: We recommend implementing a Trainer of Trainers and lead

employee system with aims of saving money and to always have trained personnel when needed on site.

5. Develop the department Strategic Plan (policies, job description)

5.1. Rationale: The department has to develop their own mission to be aligned with the company’s strategic plan. Employees in the department need to have a clear vision of company goals and how the department can contribute to achieve those goals.

5.2. Theory: Systems models of change, inputs, mission statement, and strategic plan (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012)

5.3. Recommendation: The first thing should be to work on a SWOT analysis. The second step should be to develop the department strategic plan with the vision, the SMART goals, and the department handbook that should include policies, procedures, and job descriptions.

6. Team development and morale 6.1. Rationale: Due to the fact that many employees and also the department manager are

new this group is in the forming and storming stage of team development. Team


Appendix D development activities are needed in order to facilitate collaboration among employees with the intention of increasing effectiveness and productivity.

6.2. Theory: 6.2.1. The group development process (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012)

6.3. Recommendation: The manager should promote team building activities. The manager should establish the norms and develop task roles such as initiator, coordinator, evaluator, etc.

7. Leadership development (manager)

7.1. Rationale: Since the manager is new and he is ultimately the one responsible for the department’s success he needs to exercise his leadership and authority to coordinate the effort of the employees to make the department as efficient and productive as possible.

7.2. Theory: Leadership Enneagram Framework. Leadership traits (Kinicki & Fugate, 2012) 7.3. Recommendation: The manager could benefit from attending leadership training with

the goal of improving his leadership traits. We also recommend including training that has the Enneagram Leadership framework in department activities.

Discuss the overall impact you expect the recommendations as a whole to have on your function (department). List the overall benefits to the employees, departments, and organization as a whole that you expect from the implementation of the recommended changes. The outlined recommendations purpose is to increase productivity and efficiency in the department. At the same time, facilitate collaboration among the department employees and the customer service department. These recommendations would have the following benefits:

1. To the employees: increase job satisfaction, boost morale, improve teamwork, facilitate collaboration, and learning of new skills.

2. Department/ Departments: improve communication among departments, better work environment, attractor to prospective employees, increase department productivity, less customer complaints.

3. Organization: increase profitability, improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, and increase competitiveness.


Appendix E

Functional Team – Recommended Action Plan Functional Team Represented Dispatch Manager List 3-5 Key Recommended Specific Actions to be taken over the next year. Over the next year the management department will: 1. Promote Motivation through Goal Setting

1.1. Rationale: the dispatch management department will define SMART goals for better performance, promote goal commitment, and provide adequate training and feedback to ensure that the members of the department have all the necessary tools to achieve the goals that have been previously established.

1.2. Action: implement a reward system for job performance and goal setting for the department.

1.3. Timeline: two weeks to create goals, monthly (follow-up) meetings, and yearly meeting in which goals will be assessed and new goals will be developed.

2. Collaboration with the Customer Service Department 2.1. Rationale: to facilitate intra-department communication the department will be exposed

to training and examples of transforming feedback where the barriers of the communication process are addressed.

2.2. Action/Steps: 1) make a diagnosis of the situation or conflict; 2) implement an intervention plan such as designing a template or form where the drivers reduce the chance of inaccuracy when information is written; 3) implement the new technology information system; 4) make an analysis of progress of the intervention to develop new measures of effectiveness which will resolve the issues.

2.3. Timeline: these changes are expected to take place within the first quarter.

3. Strategic Plan 3.1. Rationale: the dispatch department will develop a department strategic plan in order to

define how the department will contribute to the success of the organization. This plan will be in alignment with the mission and vision of the organization.

3.2. Action: 1) the department must develop the mission, vision, SWOT analysis, and goals; 2) the department will stipulate its policies, procedures, roles, methods, workflow and the use of technology according to the needs of the department.

3.3. Timeline: this plan is expected to be completed in two weeks.

4. Improve and Update Facilities 4.1. Rationale: the dispatch department will address the needs and benefits of improving the

department facilities to upper management. 4.2. Action: the dispatch department will conduct a preliminary estimate cost for the three

projects (one week). The dispatch department remodeling will be done in three phases pending budget allocation: 1) renovation of the parking lot for safety issues; 2) remodeling the restrooms (one week); 3) improve the space of the office area in the dispatch department (three weeks).

4.3. Timeline: five weeks


Appendix E

5. Provide Systematic Training and Feedback 5.1. Rationale: once the duties and specific responsibilities for the department are defined,

systematic training will be offered to the members of the dispatch department. Members of the team will be trained after a week of experiencing the trainer of trainer approach.

5.2. Action: 1) define the goals for every member. This requires an analysis of the individual and contextual factors of the members of the team and the department as a whole; 2) implement effective feedback and coaching; 3) implement a performance pay system when goals are met by members of the team.

5.3. Timeline: all year

6. Team Development and Morale 6.1. Rationale: the team will develop task roles and maintenance roles to define a shared

purpose and to foster relationships among the members of the department. 6.2. Action: 1) establish ground rules for meetings and team building activities;

2) implement teambuilding activities that best match employees’ strengths. 6.3. Timeline: within two weeks after corporate management sets a common course of action

and implications for the dispatch department. Further team building activities will be done monthly.

7. Leadership Development 7.1. Rationale: the ultimate purpose of the dispatch manger’s training is to increase the

department’s productivity and accelerate the team’s norming and performing stages. 7.2. Action: the dispatch manager will propose to corporate that managers attend a series of

training related to improving leadership effectiveness and the Leadership Enneagram framework. This proposal should be in alignment with the leadership approach of the organization.

7.3. Timeline: the dispatch manager will receive the training before the end of the first quarter. Once the training is concluded, the dispatch manager will apply the learned concepts to the dispatch department during the monthly meeting.

For your overall recommended specific actions, discuss the following expected impact • Which culture quadrant(s) will be impacted and how?

As a result of specific actions previously described to be taken over the next year, the culture quadrants impacted are as follows:

a) The family quadrant will increase one point by emphasizing team building activities that provide collaboration opportunities and promote strong relationships in the department and the customer service department. In addition, the members of the department will feel more confident to make suggestions and opinions that will help shape future decisions within the department.

b) The entrepreneurial quadrant will increase one point to reach the preferred state by implementing the strategic plan that will bring improved processes, systems, and communication with the customer service department, thus increasing adaptability and innovation.


Appendix E

c) The hierarchy quadrant decreases by three points, creating a less top down

management system within the department. Additionally, the members will be better trained to be more efficient and productive in the department,

d) The market quadrant increases one point. As a result, the department will be more goal-oriented which will bring an increment of productivity and profitability for the department.

• What are the anticipated new behaviors/interactions between managers and employees

and among your functional group (department) that will emerge from the changes?

With the new-implemented changes, we expect that there will be positive improvements in behavior and interactions between the managers and employees. To illustrate, the managers of the different departments will engage in collaborative meetings in which they will share their needs, understand their department roles, and generate solutions to different issues. These meetings will lead to the various departments to work together, thus creating synergy that will satisfy the expectations of the different departments and improve the effectiveness of the whole organization as well. As a result, the dispatchers will respond promptly to customer service calls. If upper management decides that improvement of communication through technology is needed in the company, all the drivers’ routes will be more efficient. As a result, dispatchers will assign routes effectively, the data entry clerk will enter accurate routes, and the payroll person will pay the correct amount.

• Discuss the potential impact of the actions on other functions (departments) and the

company as a whole? Frame your thinking by using system thinking to consider the interactions/changes at the boundaries.

The organization can be perceived as a complex system where the different departments interact in a variety of ways. When the different departments start to interact to solve conflicts, new options are developed. At some point, a department will need to be modified taking into consideration the general benefit of the organization. Self-organization in departments will be reduced when clear initiatives, systems, and procedures are established from upper management .The lack of communication between the dispatch department and the customer service department generates a butterfly effect in the dispatch department. Dispatchers not responding promptly to the calls from the CSRs force the CSRs to contact the drivers. This creates complaints from several departments and leads to inefficiency in the route assignments. By lowering the communication barriers within the department and between other departments, the barriers between the various departments and within each department will be mitigated, leading to productivity and efficiency gains. The boundaries, which act as barriers to a more cooperative and productive relationship with the various departments, will be mitigated as well and this will lead to the desired improvements. As a result of the actions the department will be better adapted to the dynamics of the system.


Appendix E

• Describe the overall expected impact of the recommended specific actions including

potential consequences (intended/unintended, negative/positive).

Better overall work environment. Better interaction between the various employees. A greater sense of unity will be obtained where people collaborate with the customer service department to achieve shared goals.

1. Promote motivation through goal setting. This will bring increase productivity in

the different departments. A shared purpose and common goals will bring unity and a higher efficiency in all departments. However some negative effects could lead to an unexpected decrease in productivity if there is no alignment in the implementation of this action. In addition some of the employees may not be motivated by this goal setting action of the department due to perceiving it as a negative tool instead of a development tool.

2. Collaboration with other departments to develop a strategic plan to facilitate communication and collaboration, especially with the customer service department. The impact will be measured in the reduction of customer complaints about billing errors, having more effective routes, and overall better productivity. One unintended outcome could be perceived as negative competition among departments instead of collaboration.

3. Improve and update facilities. The moral and job satisfaction of employees will increase. The safety of the organization in the parking lot will improve. The morning routine at the parking lot will be more organized and the drivers will use their time in a more effective way. The office and restroom remodeling will also improve the job atmosphere. As a result of all these changes, the company will be a better place to work for employees; this could also lead to a competitive advantage in which the facilities function as an attractor to prospective employees. One negative outcome could be stressing the monetary resources of the department due to inaccurate estimate planning.

4. Provide systematic training and effective feedback to all members in the department. The errors entering the data in the dispatch department will be reduced at first, with the final goal of eliminating it completely. The payroll person will also have the mechanisms to submit accurate information about the hours that the drivers are allowed to work. The lack of communication with the customer service department will be resolved when dispatchers are aware about the appropriate procedures to respond in a timely manner to the calls from the customer service representatives.

5. Group development and Moral. The impact will be the development of stronger relationships among employees. More teamwork will be the new framework to find solutions and improvements.

6. Leadership development. This will influence upper management to address leadership building traits among the different departments to find better solutions.


Appendix E

This will give the tools to management to work efficiently and to have better collaboration in pursuing the company’s goal.

• Based on your action plan, discuss how & why the recommended changes are expected

to move the company to the next level of performance.

The action plan will help to move the company to the next level of performance when all departments work together in developing strategic plans to improve processes, communication, and collaboration in the entire organization. Additionally, the company’s whole culture will be changed. Tearing down barriers and increasing communication from the various departments will ensure this happens. Instead of having various departments functioning autonomously like fiefdoms, the company will now operate more cohesively as a unit, reducing miscommunications and inefficiencies and thus increasing productivity that will translate into having a better organization.

Documents

Dispatch Manager Report Alesander Olaizola, Juan Ramirez, …alesanderolaizola.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/4/4/25447762/7... · 2018-10-17 · The entrepreneurial quadrant includes areas