Recommendation Team Work Improvements

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

INTRODUCTION

This critical review is based on the research report on Domino’s Pizza which is located on 2/792 Great South Road Wiri Manukau conducted by the research team. The major problem this organization faces today is with Resourcing which includes issues such as shortage of labour, staff delegation and stock management leading to uncertain customer flow and low sale.

METHODOLOGY

All the data that was collected in this research was by handing out questionnaires to the employees, making observations and carrying out personal interview with the Assistant Manager. The research team consists of four members each of the members were given a responsibility. One of our research team member’s friend who worked for the company will get the information. The second team member will be typing the document, the third member will conduct all the interviews and the last member will collect relative data.

The research team members firstly sent a request letter to the company to get the permission to carry out the research. The group consists of four members Vinod ,ashyn, ranjana and myself each of the members were given a responsibility according to their ability and knowledge. The team members prepared an action plan for the research where we outlined which tasks we are going to perform in each week. Also one of our group members were writing meeting minutes every week about what are we planning to do next in our research. This has helped us a lot in carrying out our research and reaching our specific targets to finish our work on time.

Our group leader’s friend who is working for the company helped us with relevant information about the company. The first group member Vinod helped in conducting interviews with the company’s manager and also he did the recommendation and conclusion part of the report and the proposal. The second team member Ashlyn she did the typing the document and also helped in doing the result and discussion part of the report and prepared questionnaire, Ranjana she has helped in doing the introduction part of the report and handing out questionaries’ and I have helped in doing personal observation, and also did the methodology part of the proposal and report.

DECISION MAKING

The research group members actively participated in the creating of the team plan throughout the project, members were very cooperative and shared work load equally, they helped each other when anyone faces problems. The group leader shared the tasks equally amongst the members, and certain time frame was planned to complete the tasks on time and to avoid delays, whenever any of the members were not able to complete their tasks ,other group members helped them .The team members effectively participated in the decision making process, and were very supportive while having group meeting the members decided to plan a budget of $60 for the expenses while carrying out the project and all the group members agreed to contribute $15 each .The group members were working 20 hours per week and it was hard for them to contribute more than $15 but the group managed to complete the research in the planned budget. The team also outlined an action plan of 14 weeks so that we can plan which tasks to complete each week from the starting to the ending of the project ,the group leader gave each member to choose which is section will be easy for them to complete ,all the tasks was distributed to members this helped us to complete our tasks on time following the action plan.

PROBLEM SOLVING

In this research the group members have conducted a research on how effective is the resourcing system used by Domino’s Pizza (Manakau) in managing staff and controlling stock and have used Applied Management concepts of organizing and controlling. The team members were very supportive, and helped each other whenever anyone faced problems in completing their tasks. The group members had meetings when there was anything to discuss or to inform the team members. The members were very helpful in sharing workloads and taking responsibility to complete the research project on time.

The team members have used the seven steps problem solving model to identify and solve problems. This process involves identifying, exploring, setting goals, looking at alternatives, select, implementing and evaluating. To complete this report, the research group has used two management concepts such as bounded rationality and satisficing. According to Gill and Pio (2007) the concept of bounded rationality explains the idea that decision makers are bounded (hindered) by limited information, limited time and limited capability. Whereas, satisficing suggests choosing a solution that satisfies the decision maker without further effort to establish if it is the optimal one. The team members choose this problem solving method since the company had problems such as shortage of staff, staff delegations and shortage of staff the concept of bounded rationality and satisficing was the most suitable methods to the problem solving of resourcing.

Step 1: Identify the problem, this is the first step in problem solving where the problem needs to be identified first and then accordingly classified or labelled. It is necessary to figure out first about what is going wrong in organisation and its management. This is a stage of the information gathering, information processing and deliberation (Ducker, 1985). It is very important for every group member to clearly understand the problems so that everyone can focus towards the same goal or problem solving.

Step 2: Explore the problem, questions will be asked to figure out the fundamental cause of problems existing in the organization. In this step data about the selected objective will be gathered from a wide range of different viewpoints. Through analysis of data the most significant factors of problem will be identified. . The research team will use data triangular technique to explore the problem as Peter Ducker states that most discussions of decision making assume that only senior executives make decisions or that only senior executives' decisions matter. This is a dangerous mistake (Brainy Quote 2013).

Step 3: Set Goal, after conducting the above two steps the group will be able to set a goal and figure out the main cause of the management problems.

Step 4: Look at alternatives: The initial point in any conscious challenge at rational decision making must be the recognition that a problem exists.  While effective meetings are essential to getting work done, most meetings leave us still looking for a decision.  A good group meeting should bring the group members together.  It should facilitate decision making, assist others in taking responsibility, and contribute to building team effort within the group. After setting out the goals, the group will figure out and discuss the possible solution in context with theory and easy practical methods.

Step 5: Select solutions to implement: this step will be carried out by selecting a possible solution among all alternative solution that will be the most relevant to each situation and problem. The group will think ahead on all the outcomes and will discuss amongst themselves before selecting any solution(s). The group will have a responsible task of selecting solution because it will be recommended to the organisation in question so that they can improve their business. The research group will try to select the solution(s) by keeping the concept of bounded rationality in mind. Herbert Simon (1947) recognised the existence of cognitive limitations to the human information-processing capabilities. Therefore, creating a bounded rationality such that decisions made by management are only rational within boundaries defined by the available information. These possible solutions will be reflected on the organizations, the institute, the research group and their assessment.

Step 6: Implement solutions: once the solutions are selected the group needs to implement it with a detailed reason and explanation in context to theory. The group needs a lot of motivation and energy to implement solutions because this process takes time to come in effect and produce any positive result.

Step 7: Evaluate: sometimes the group who choose the solution are not ones who will implement it. If this is the case members who select solutions should clearly explain why they selected it to the ones who will implement it. Showing that the problem solving process was an organized and orderly process will convince others that the solutions are valid

To conduct the research project the group will use the management concepts of planning, organizing and controlling. As Fayol (1949), suggested planning is the most important process in management because it determines organizational aims, develops principles about the current environment, selects the course of action, initiates activities required to change plans into action, and evaluates the outcome. The research group leader direct team according to action plan. Every step is planned and team follow the action plan to get the project report done.

Organizing is the procedure of forming relationships between people and resource to achieve organizations goals and objectives. According to Marshall (1992), the process is established on five organizing factors: unity of command, span of control, delegation of authority, homogeneous assignment and flexibility. The research group is well organized. Everyone know their task and responsible for it. All members of team know the answer these questions like: what to do? How to do? When to do? Why to do it?

Control is the final element of the management which involves the comparison of the activities of the people to the plan of action and also known as the evacuation component of management. According to Taylor (1917), all activates should conduct effectively and efficiently to obtain organisation goal. The research group leader controlled all project plan activities. Leader is helping every member and gives them proper feedback.

The members worked together as a team and were very cooperative with each other, whenever anyone faced problems. The resourcing problem had a few problem solving methods therefore the group members have used the management concepts to solve this problems. The research team has looked at better alternatives to the problem. The team members worked together on this process, by putting in ideas and solutions of their own.

Furthermore, the alternatives were analyzed. Thus the members were able to identify the positives and negatives of each alternative solution before making any final decision. The most important resource for successfully completing our assignment was internet; most of the information was searched via internet. Moreover, the team is grateful to one of the team members who provided the team with her transport, which made our travelling easier and cost effective.

PEFORMANCE SUMMARY

The problems which I have experienced while working as a team was that there was not enough team work, since there was less group meetings .Also few members could not complete their tasks on time ,it was a group work every members actions was important for the whole group. The tasks were not completed on time, members not taking enough responsibilities.

This research work has strengthened my interpersonal skills which helped me to learn more about business problems and its impacts. The learning environment was very friendly and supportive, the materials as a secondary data source provided on the Applied Management course outline was very helpful. The lecturer also gave us feedback on the assignment proposal and on the report as well. It was very interesting and I learned how to apply theory into practical work by doing this research, thus I learned a lot, initially working as a research team member, I found it interesting as to how to collect data and then analyze it. It also built my confidence to carry out a research project on my own.

RECOMMENDATION TEAM-WORK IMPROVEMENTS

The problems which we have faced while doing the research was not all team members were cooperative and supportive in completing the project on time.

It is important to have active group members in order to finish the project on time. Group allocation and proper understanding between the members are very important in completing research successfully and in a planned time frame.

There were not enough group meetings held while doing this research project since all the group members had personal schedules, there was not enough teamwork. Therefore I would like to recommend the members to take out time for group meetings , team work is important while doing the research. These changes can help to bring the group members to work together as a team more effectively, and cooperate with each other completing the project on time.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT PROCESS

The research team members did their tasks on time, by helping and encouraging each other. Our group leader and our tutor was very helpful and whenever I was not clear about anything or needed more help I always asked the group leader and the tutor, and they were always there to help .One of our group member was not able to complete her task on time and we members helped her to do her task and submit the report on time. Personal observations carried out by the group using the checklist and information from the literature review will support the data from the research project and then all the data was compared and verified. This was important because it helped in data triangulation resulting in reliability of the research. Questionnaires were handed out to employees to get their opinions and this way the employees input will be sought. The research work strengthens the interpersonal skills of the research group members which helped them to learn more about business problems and its impacts. The interview brought forth important managerial out look to the research process but the team needs to be sure of its accuracy. The observation checklist was very objective as one person observed and record activities. Accuracy may be in question if customers and employees act different when they know that they are being observed.

RESEARCH METHODS

The research methods which we have used to collect information while doing our project was questionnaires for employees’, making personal observation on customers, and interviewing the Assistant Manager of the company. This methods were not very useful way of collecting information since the information collected from the questionnaire was not accurate as employees were not be able to divulge truthfully all the needed information about their work place .The questionnaire was not answered to our expected level. While interviewing the manager not all the information was given about the company, since none of our group members were working in company there was limited access to information. While doing any research in future I will choose a company where I know someone personally or any relative who is working in that company to get sufficient information to successfully do my research. Also I would choose a company which is facing problems ,and the history of the company before doing the research.

RECOMMEND THE PROJECT PROCESS

All the data collected in this research was by handing out questionnaires to the employees, making observations and carrying out personal interview with the Assistant Manager of Domino’s Pizza (Manakau).To achieve better outcomes I would recommend the team members to do research on companies where you know anyone to get access of information, also to choose companies who are facing management problems. This can help the team members to carry out their research successfully. The team members should investigate about the company find out what problems the company is facing before carrying out the research. The members should also consider if they can get enough information to do their research project.

TEAM APPRAISALS:

Topic

Member 1 Vinod

Member 2 Ashlyn

Member 3 Ranjana

Contribution

3

3

5

Responsibility

4

4

2

Commitment

4

4

3

Workload share

5

4

3

Leadership

5

4

2

Total Marks

21/25

19/25

15/25

Average Marks