Executive Summary
Overview
Janice Bowman had rich experiences in the gardening industry, and she currently worked at The Garden Depot, established in 1985 in Barrie, Ontario. Within 22 years of development, the company owned a successful retail store, a landscaping division, and a lawn maintenance division. As a dedicated worker, Bowman always tried to ensure that The Garden Depot was running smoothly until Derek Sinclair, the new manager of the landscaping division, made the landscaping division disorganized. No matter what Bowman did, problem still occurred.
Problems
There were three main problem areas in The Garden Depot. First, tasks and duties were allocated inappropriately; second, staffs were unqualified; last, the landscaping division was poorly managed.
Causes
The first cause is a lack of fit between organizational structure and people. The second cause is a lack of fit between people and tasks. There is no appraisal feedback in The Garden Depot. The last cause is a lack of fit between organizational processes and people. There is no enough communication between managers and staffs into the company.
Goals
The Garden Depot should organize each division well. Then, it should enhance customers’ satisfaction. Lastly, it should achieve a maximum profit and a minimum cost. Alternatives
Alternatives
There are three alternatives that the company will use to solve its problems, such as adding a Human Resources department, creating an evaluation system, and replacing Dereck Sinclair with a new, qualified manager.
Recommendation/implementation/ contingency
The recommendation is to set up an evaluation system. This system will require a weekly meeting where every managerial department should show up. In addition, this evaluation system includes rewards and disciplines. The administration division and the general manager will play a key role in this implementation. There is an extra budget from the evaluation system; however, this action greatly depends on the effort from the people who will carry out these policies. If the discipline such as penalty fails to regulate employees’ performance well, which will also led to a failure of the implementation, the company should use the business law such as employees’ liability to charge employees’ performance.
Overview
Janice Bowman, with 13 years of operational experience in the gardening industry, started to work at the Garden Depot in 2005. Murray and Glenda King, a couple, established The Depot in 1985 in Barrie, Ontario. By 2007, the company owned a successful retail store, and then respectively operated a landscaping division and a lawn maintenance division. Bowman was dedicated to her job, and she always tried to ensure that the whole company was running smoothly. However, Derek Sinclair, the new manage the landscaping division, made the landscaping division disorganized, which led to a number of the customer complaints and profit losses. Although Bowman tried her best to solve Derek Sinclair’s problems, the company would generate other new problems.
Problems
There were three serious organizational complications in the company. First, there were no defined job responsibilities and inappropriate task allocations which resulted in a poor employee performance. One of the most obvious examples was that the company hired an unqualified employee as the manager of the landscaping division. At this position, Derek Sinclair was required to invoice landscaping jobs and offer good customer service; however, Sinclair lacked lots of prior experience in the management area. Hence, he was unable, and unwilling to response to specific concerns from customers on the phone, which led to continual customer complaints. Another example is that Janice Bowman, the office manager of The Depot, was allocated in an inappropriate position. She had 13 years working experience as a general manager in a previous company. In addition, she could deal with customers’ problems very well.