Case Scenario:
You are a consultant who has been called in to deal with a productivity and quality problem in the secretarial pool of the Whole World Encyclopedia Company. The pool consists of eight word-Processors operators who serve a staff of about forty full time professional write3rs. The writers turn in their work roughly typed, handwritten, or on audiocassettes. The writers have been complaining about poor word-processing service for some time, and the company h as finally decided to look into the problem.
The pool’s productive has not been measured carefully before. Typically, the only measure has been the number of manuscript pages completed each day. Because this number is quite high, the office manage maintains that there is no productivity problem. However, when this figure is broken down into new pages versus reworked pages, (previously word-processed pages to which new correction have been added), the latter account for much of the volume. This fact is consistent with the writers complaints that new work is turned around slowly and so full of errors that invariably it must be sent back for correction. The word-processing operators do not seem to use their spelling checkers on a regular basis, nor do they proofread all their work. Furthermore, writers complain that because corrections are not made properly, a second round of reworking is often necessary. Your investigation of the word-processing pool reveals the following facts:
1. Word-processor operators are hired on the basis of a tying test given on an electric typewriter. Proofreading skills are not assessed. After being hired, operators are given a half day of training on the word processor; then they begin work in the pool. You occasionally see one operator ask another how to use various features of the word-processing package.
2. Work is passed out by the office manager in the order in which it is received from the writers. As each operator finishes apiece, he or she goes to the manager to get the next piece. Some operators say that they particularly enjoy and are good at typing from cassettes, doing tables and figures, or inputting straight text from typed or handwritten copy. These different skills and preferences not considered when the office manager assigns work.
3. Operators do not label their work with their names or initials. When work comes back for correction, it is corrected by whoever is free, not by the person who originally did the work.
4. The work environment is clean, well lit, and quiet. There is a sufficient supply of computers, software, and printers.
5. Turnover is high, about 60 percent per year. Absenteeism also is high. The manager is lenient about verifying illness when sick leave is claimed. Therefore, most employees use their sick leaves as soon as it is accrued to take a day off from work. On the other hand, the manager is a stickler about punctuality. Pay is docked one-half hour if employees are more than two minutes late for work. Therefore, when employees arrive, they arrive on time. However, after clocking in, they often socialize over doughnuts and coffee for up to forty-five minutes before they actually begin to work.
6. Operators are paid an hourly wage that is average for the area. There is no performance appraisal system in place for them, and annual increments are based on seniority.
7. Operators complain that their jobs are boring. They say that they feel like cattle in a corral; they have never even met the writers whose work they handle. If they have questions about manuscripts they are working on, they have to resolve them as best they can, since they are not permitted to call writers to ask for clarification.
With this information, you feel ready to make a diagnosis and you suggest some changes to improve the situations. Prepare your diagnosis. Tell what is going wrong here and why. Prepare your suggestions for changing any aspects of this job situation that you think need improvement. Be as thorough as possible.