Question

answer the question below :

1) Why did this combination of intervention succeed in changing the performance record of the workforce from one of the worst to the best?

2) Analyze each intervention nothing the individual aspects of each one that demonstrate good practice. Can they be used for similar changes elsewhere?

3) What else might you do to sustain high quality performance?

The history of the Hale wood plant Merseyside gives an insight into how a worst performing plant of the ford was transformed into a Japanese style ford production plant, with six sigma quality systems and producing high-quality motor vehicles. Hale woods production of Ford had to deal with poor product quality and poor industrial relations from 1968 to 2000. The British car industry faced a change with Ford buying Jaguar in 1989. In 1999, the Jaguar plant at Castle Bromwich doubled its production of S-type. The problem was so acute that in 1998 when it was decided to manufacturer X type in Hale wood there was opposition from the workforce. Jaguar took over the operations and started implementing the new work practices. At one-point Ford almost pulled out because of the tough resistance to change by the workforce. Finally, 90% of the workforce either signed the hale wood charter or took early retirement. The move to start manufacturing Jaguar was supported by the government providing grants to retrain the workforce. The plant had to change the work culture from a volume driven to quality driven plant. The plant shut down for 9 weeks in 2000. This gave an opportunity to put in a series of practices to implement more flexible working practices and systems Centers of excellence started focusing on improved quality and initiating cultural changes. The plant started implementing an open management style where the managers and workforce interacted and shared ideas. The team made their own job descriptions and six to eight workers reported to a team leader, who monitored the quality and the workforce Assessment centers selected the managers who not only managed the center o excellence but were also comfortable with the new systems and the new production processes. This efficient working of the center of excellence generated more enthusiastic approach to the new systems. The workers were empowered to stop the production line if they found the quality lacking. This helped drive quality standards. The time of closure of the plant was utilized to train the workforce to adapt to the new process. Senior managers and volunteers were trained to deal with the new process so Normal No Spacing Heading 2 ne plant snur aown Tory weeKS in zuuu, mis gave an opportunity το purin a series o ractices to implement more flexible working practices and systems. enters of excellence started focusing on improved quality and initiating cultural hanges. The plant started implementing an open management style where the managers and workforce interacted and shared ideas. The team made their own job descriptions and six to eight workers reported to a team leader, who monitored the quality and the workforce. Assessment centers selected the managers who not only managed the center of excellence but were also comfortable with the new systems and the new production processes. This efficient working of the center of excellence generated more enthusiastic approach to the new systems. The workers were empowered to stop the production line if they found the quality lacking. This helped drive quality standards. The time of closure of the plant was utilized to train the workforce to adapt to the new process. Senior managers and volunteers were trained to-deal with the new process so that they could train the workforce under them. Production workers were trained in IT, numeracy and literacy skills to help in the task of record keeping. Community projects were started to encourage teamwork and it showed positive impact and overall attitudes changed. All supervisors, some operators and group leaders were sent to get on the job training at the Jaguar S type manufacturing facility. They came back and imparted the training to other team members and the workforce. They became product coaches and provided training on trail car building runs at hale wood. The total interventions resulted in the teams having a clear idea of the performance levels the changed working conditions. The senior management realized the need for constant monitoring to sustain the process. In 2001 an audit of new work practice has put in systems to follow and implement and the product quality, which was, expected from them in the new teams and

Answer 1

1.) As I analyze the case, I completely feel the importance of smart work, identifying the areas of improvement and applying the right solution to those, be it a simple employee engagement strategy or complex changes in the management style. With the company Ford buying Jaguar, the revolution started off by removing disengaged and demotivated employees, which must have largely helped in development of a favorable fresh work atmosphere by minimizing the spread of negativity among the workforce. Also, when employees get motivated in a way that they feel important in the organization, for example, when they are asked for suggestions of improvement, and are asked to take part in the analysis of current situation, they will have a feeling of being important in the organization, and will start loving their work and organization. Moreover, they will be more enthusiastic to work in the company and will be happy to apply changes in the company, rather than resist them. In the case mentioned above, I could witness all these helping in improving the performance of the workforce.  

2.) I strongly believe that Six Sigma is the key to smart work, which is highly beneficial for the company in all aspects. Six Sigma is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels ie, define, measure, analyze, improve, control and verify. It can also be employed if a current process requires more than just incremental improvement. In the case discussed above, the overall quality of the products could be improved, thus increasing the profit. Above all, involving employees in every action in an organization, right from goal setting to change management will result in high productivity, and there will be an evident scope of improvement since the employees themselves look forward to self-development and organizational development. I strongly believe that each intervention explained in this case can be used for similar changes elsewhere, making necessary alterations based on the industry and other aspects.

3.) I suggest implementation of 'Continual process improvement' rather than 'Continuous process improvement'. Continual process improvement techniques focuses on sustaining the achieved level of success for a period of time, and then planning for next alterations/improvement techniques to be implementation for better results. This period helps in improving the quality better, giving enough time for analysis of the current results. I also suggest customer focus to be one of the major points considered in the process of sustaining high quality performance.