Management Improvement Plan For A Struggling Company
Management Improvement Plan for a Struggling Company
The general manager has reviewed your analysis of a successful company and was impressed with your work. As a result, you have been asked to provide recommendations for a management improvement plan for a struggling company. For the second part of the final project, you will focus on a struggling company and make your recommendations in a management improvement plan. Be sure to focus on the company at the time of their struggle. Your recommendations will show how management performance, employee perception, and organizational success intersect.
You must select a company from this list of suggested companies. Resources related specifically to the struggling companies listed are provided. Toyota (specific to recalls over the last decade) Toyota.com What Really Happened to Toyota? Can Toyota Recover Its Reputation for Quality? WorldCom Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers guilty WorldCom Accounting Scandal Enron Enron Case Study Enron Scandal (4:48) Motorola What Happened to Motorola 10 Reasons Why Motorola Failed Eastman Kodak Kodak Moments Just a Memory as Company Exits Bankruptcy Kodak CEO Talks Company’s Future Eastman Kodak Files for Bankruptcy Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: Profile of a Struggling Company Assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function.
You could consider using the fundamental principles of management in your explanation. Describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance. You could consider the connections between management and its impact on culture. Explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance. You could consider the connections to specific communication barriers that exist within the organization.
Management Plan Recommendations: For this section of the summative assessment, you will make recommendations for the management improvement plan. Describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within your company. You could consider the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management. Identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company. You could consider thinking about this from a training standpoint.
Describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance. You could consider what needs to improve the most to help increase employee performance. Explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company. You could consider using the rational decision-making model to show how this process can help with ensuring long-term success.
Conclusion: For this section of the summative assessment, you will provide a summary of your recommended changes to the management improvement plan using examples revolving around the fundamental principles of management. Summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success. Be sure to provide examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact.
Milestones Milestone One : Profile of a Struggling Company In Module Six , you will submit a one- to two-page document that will provide a profile of your chosen struggling company. This milestone will serve as a rough draft and must cover the three critical elements in Part I of Final Project Two. You are expected to provide a minimum of two to three paragraphs for each of the three critical elements, which include: management planning, employee’s perception and organizational culture, and communication.
This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Two Milestone One Rubric. Final Submission : Management Improvement Plan for a Struggling Company In Module Eight , you will submit Final Project Two. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Two Rubric.
What to Submit Final Project Two must be three to four pages in length (plus a cover page and references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting. Include at least two references cited in APA format.
Paper For Above instruction
The original success of a company heavily depends on effective management practices, a positive organizational culture, clear communication channels, and strategic planning. When these fundamental principles of management falter or are poorly executed, organizations tend to enter periods of struggle and decline. This paper analyzes a selected struggling company, exploring how management planning practices have contributed to its challenges, evaluating the impact on employee perception and organizational culture, and proposing a comprehensive management improvement plan rooted in fundamental management principles to facilitate organizational recovery and success.
Profile of a Struggling Company: Toyota’s Recall Crisis
Toyota Motor Corporation, once heralded for its innovation and quality, faced significant challenges during the past decade, primarily due to a series of vehicle recalls that undermined consumer confidence and tarnished its reputation. The management planning practices at Toyota during this period appeared reactive rather than strategic, especially in handling quality issues. The company's initial response to increased recalls was slow and lacked transparency, indicating deficiencies in strategic risk management and crisis planning. Furthermore, the company's focus on aggressive growth and cost-cutting measures seemed to compromise product quality, reflecting poor application of management principles such as planning and control (Liker & Ogden, 2011). This reactive approach hindered Toyota's ability to preemptively address safety issues, leading to further deterioration of customer trust and brand loyalty.
Impact on Employee Perception and Organizational Culture
The management practices during the recall crisis also profoundly affected employee perception and organizational culture at Toyota. Employees internalized the management’s perceived lack of accountability and delayed responses, which fostered a culture of blame and reduced morale. This shift negatively impacted organizational culture, transitioning from a focus on quality and continuous improvement (kaizen) to one characterized by crisis management and repair, which compromised Toyota's core values. Employees began to question management’s commitment to quality, leading to disengagement and decreased motivation (Voss, 2012). Such cultural shifts eroded the collective sense of purpose and identity that had driven Toyota’s previous success, illustrating how management performance directly influences organizational culture.
Communication Barriers and Their Role in Management Failures
Effective communication is critical for cohesive management and organizational success. During Toyota’s recall issues, communication barriers—such as delayed information dissemination, poor internal communication channels, and inadequate external stakeholder engagement—exacerbated the crisis. These barriers prevented timely and transparent communication about safety issues, leading to misperceptions and loss of consumer trust. Internal communication failures hindered coordination among departments responsible for quality control and safety, impeding swift action. Moreover, the lack of open dialogue with employees about ongoing issues diminished their confidence in leadership, further impacting performance and morale (Kumar & Pansari, 2016). Addressing these communication barriers is essential for restoring confidence and rebuilding Toyota’s reputation.
Recommendations for a Management Improvement Plan
Implementing the fundamental principles of management can significantly improve Toyota’s management practices and organizational health. First, adopting strategic planning aligned with quality assurance and risk management principles will allow the company to anticipate potential crises proactively. Incorporating feedback mechanisms and continuous monitoring will ensure that quality standards are maintained and potential issues are addressed promptly (Daft, 2018). Training programs emphasizing the importance of management principles—such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling—should be provided across all levels to embed a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Communicative aspects must also be prioritized. Transparent internal communication channels should be established to facilitate swift information flow, fostering collaboration and accountability. External communication strategies should focus on honesty and transparency to rebuild consumer trust. Using the rational decision-making model, management can systematically evaluate issues, consider ethical implications, and choose solutions that align with long-term organizational goals (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2016). These strategies will reinforce ethical principles, ensuring that management decisions uphold integrity and foster a culture of trust and accountability.
Enhanced management practices will directly impact employee performance by fostering a positive work environment grounded in clarity, trust, and shared purpose. Clear communication of expectations, ethical standards, and strategic goals will motivate employees, reduce resistance to change, and promote engagement. Additionally, ethical principles should be embedded within management policies to ensure decisions are made with integrity. Continuous training and performance monitoring, using feedback and data analysis, will sustain improvements and support long-term success (Robinson & Judge, 2019). Through these measures, Toyota can rebuild its organizational culture and regain its reputation for quality and reliability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, addressing management deficiencies through the application of fundamental management principles—such as strategic planning, effective communication, ethical decision-making, and continuous improvement—is essential for a struggling company like Toyota. These changes will directly impact organizational performance, employee motivation, and customer trust, ultimately steering the company toward sustainable success. For example, implementing transparent communication channels and ethical decision-making frameworks will improve internal cohesion and external reputation. Emphasizing proactive planning and continuous improvement will prevent future crises and ensure Toyota remains a leader in the automotive industry, demonstrating how a strategic management overhaul rooted in core principles can rejuvenate organizational health and competitiveness.
References
- Daft, R. L. (2018). Management (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
- Kleitner, R., & Cassidy, G. (2016). Principles of Organizational Behavior. Cengage Learning.
- Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2016). Competitive Advantage Through Engagement. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 20-23.
- Liker, J. K., & Ogden, T. N. (2011). Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way. McGraw-Hill.
- Robinson, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2019). Organizational Behavior (18th ed.). Pearson.
- Voss, G. B. (2012). The Impact of Organizational Culture on Employee Perception. Organizational Dynamics, 41(2), 114-122.