The Old Family Bank The Old Family Bank is a large bank in a southeastern city.

Question

The Old Family Bank

The Old Family Bank is a large bank in a southeastern city. As a part of a comprehensive internal management study, H. Day, the data processing vice president, examined the turnover, absenteeism, and productivity figures of all work groups in the organization. The results Day obtained contained no real surprises except in the case of the check-sorting and data-processing departments.

The Study

The study revealed that in general the departments displaying high turnover and absenteeism rates had low production figures, and those with low turnover and absenteeism were highly productive. When analysis began on the check-sorting and data-processing figures, Day discovered that both departments were tied for the lead for the lowest turnover and absenteeism figures. What was surprising was that the check-sorting department ranked first as the most productive unit, whereas the electronic data-processing department ranked last.

That inconsistency was further complicated by the fact that the working conditions for check-sorting employees are extremely undesirable. They work in a large open room that is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They work alone and operate high-speed check-sorting machines requiring a high degree of accuracy and concentration. There is little chance for interaction because they all take rotating coffee breaks. The computer room is air-conditioned, with a stable temperature year round; it has perfect lighting and is extremely quiet and comfortable. It was known that both groups are highly cohesive and that the workers function well with others in their department. This observation was reinforced by the study’s finding of the low levels of turnover and absenteeism.

The Interview Data

In an effort to understand this phenomenon, Day decided to interview the members of both departments.   Day hoped to gain some insight into the dynamics of each group’s behavior. It was discovered that the check-sorting department displayed a great deal of loyalty to the company. Most of the group are unskilled or semiskilled workers, although they have no organized union, each person felt that the company had made special efforts to keep their wages and benefits in line with unionized operations. They knew that their work required team effort and were committed to high performance.

A quite different situation existed in the data-processing department. Although the workers liked their fellow employees, there was a uniform feeling among this highly skilled group that management placed more emphasis on production than on staff units. It was their contention that pay increases had been better for operating departments and that the gap between the wage earners and salaried employees did not reflect the skill differences. Because of that, a large percentage of the group displayed little loyalty toward the company, even though they were very close among themselves.

Case Analysis Form:

I. Problems

A. Macro

1. ?

2. ?

B. Micro

1. ?

2. ?

II. Causes

1. ?

2. ?

3. ?

III Systems Affected

1. ?

2. ?

3. ?

IV. Alternatives

1. ?

2. ?

3. ?

V. Recommendations

---????----

Explanation / Answer

I. Problems:

MACRO

1) Low productivity of the departments, with low rate of turnover and absenteeism.

2) Loyatly towards the company among the data processing department has come down.

MICRO:

1) Poor Working environment of the check-sorting department

2) The mindset of a processing department, that the management emphasis more on the production than on the staffs.

II. Causes

1) Due to the low level of loyalty towards the company, the productivity of the data processing department has come down.

2) Communiction barrier between the management and the staffs lead to the misperception that the production is given more importance than the staffs.

3)Improper group dynamics, and the mindset of salaried employees that they are all treated the same, irrespective of their skill differences.

III. Systems affected:

1) The overall performance and productivity of the salaried employees

2) Employee welfare for the salaried employees, which inturn affects the loyalty towards the company

3)Working environment and morale among the departments.

IV. Alternatives:

1) The management can be more transparent and help understand the data processing department that their skills are valued respectively

2)Bringing up the morale between the employees, by concentrating on employee welfare and satisfaction.

3)Bringing up an organised union for all the departments.

V. Recommendations:

The management should help data processing department realise their importance the organisation and bring up their loyalty towards the company, on the other hand it should provide a better working environment for the waged employees and work on improving the morale between all the departments.

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