Expert answer:Management-Innovative Thinking in a Business
Answer & Explanation:Looking for two power point slides for a project. See attachments for instructions Innovative Thinking in a Business-instructions.docxRiordan Manufacturing.docx
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Innovative Thinking in a Business: Theory-Based Strategic Experiment
Riordan Manufacturing
A majority of employees at the Pontiac branch of Riordan Manufacturing work at the production level.
While the company expects a higher rate of employee turnover for those positions, they have recently
seen a substantial increase in the turnover rate. In turn, production managers have had to increase their
time spent interviewing and training new employees. This affects their time spent managing the day-today quality control, sales, and safety aspects of their positions. The managers have agreed that they
must establish a way to better retain their production employees. What can they do?
The solutions were intrinsic and the other is extrinsic.
Create a 2 slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation, with detailed speaker notes, on your strategic
experiment. Incorporate the following into your presentation:
Address the following two changes involved with theory-based planning in your process and
presentation:
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•
Level of detail: Focus on the most critical market, technology, and unknown costs.
Communication of expectations: Base your predictions on theory and include a
description of the theory used to generate your predictions.
Looking for two PowerPoint slides and a reference slide
Riordan Manufacturing
Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer employing 550 people with projected
annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune
1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion.
Its products include plastic beverage containers produced at its plant in Albany, Georgia, custom
plastic parts produced at its plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts produced at its
facilities in Hangzhou, China. The company’s research and development is done at the corporate
headquarters in San Jose. Riordan’s major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft
manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance
manufacturers.
History
The company was founded by Dr. Riordan, a professor of chemistry, who had obtained several
patents relative to processing polymers into high tensile strength plastic substrates. Sensing the
commercial applications for his patents, Dr. Riordan started Riordan Plastics, Inc. in 1991.
Initially, the company’s focus was on research and development and the licensing of its existing
patents, but in 1992 Dr. Riordan obtained venture capital which he used to purchase a fan
manufacturing plant in Pontiac, MI. At that time, the company’s name was changed to “Riordan
Manufacturing, Inc.” In 1993, the company expanded into the production of plastic beverage
containers when it acquired a manufacturing plant in Albany, GA.
The company’s most recent expansion took place in 2000 when it opened its operations in China.
At that time, the entire fan manufacturing operation was moved from Michigan to China and the
Pontiac, MI facility was retooled for the manufacture of custom plastic parts.
Mission
Our Focus
Six Sigma, leading edge R&D and exceeding ISO 9000 standards define the attitude and abilities
of Riordan Manufacturing.
We are industry leaders in using polymer materials to provide solutions to our customers
challenges.
Our R&D is, and will remain, the industry leader in identifying industry trends.
Our Customer Relationships
We will strive to be a solution provider for our customers and not be a part of our customers
challenges.
Long-term relationships will be sought by maintaining rigorous quality controls, innovative
solutions, a responsive business attitude and reasonable pricing.
Our Employees
We will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment.
By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a
climate focused on the long term viability of our company.
Our Future
We must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the
financial and human capital is available for sustained growth.
Annual Pay Adjustments
The company has a process for annual performance evaluations and pay adjustments, which
happens on a fiscal year basis, with all raises taking effect the first day of the new fiscal year.
Managers complete a performance appraisal with each employee using a behaviorally-anchored
rating scale. At the end of the performance appraisal, each employee receives an overall rating of
“does not meet expectations” “meets expectations,” or “exceeds expectations.” Managers receive
a pool of merit increase dollars, which are divided among employees using the following matrix
(where “x” is the average percentage of wage increase). Managers may not allocate more money
for raises than they receive in their increase budget.
Does Not Meet Meets Exceeds
Position in relation to the external market…
0
Above market median
Position in relation to the external market…
0
Near market median (+ or – 10%)
Position in relation to the external market…
0
Below market median
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½x
1x
1x
1.5x
1.5x
2x
Compensation Philosophy and Rewards
Practices
Our Employees
•
•
We will maintain an innovative and team-oriented working environment.
By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will
provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company.
Other Factors
•
•
R & D is critical to the mission (industry leader in identifying industry trends).
Exceeding ISO 9000 standards is important to the organization.
Compensation Philosophy
The purpose of the pay program at Riordan Manufacturing is to help the company achieve its
mission and goals by attracting, motivating and retaining the most highly-qualified people, with
a particular focus on attracting people in critical disciplines such as R & D and quality. Base pay
opportunities will be competitive by targeting the median of the appropriate external comparative
group for average or satisfactory performance. Because we are focused on creating a team
oriented working environment, teams who perform in an above average manner will have the
opportunity to earn variable pay to improve their competitive pay position. The company is
closely held, therefore, stock options will be available only to officers of the corporation.
Our pay bands are broad ranges which allow for considerable flexibility in rewarding individual
performers based on their specific skills and contributions. We expect managers to make base
pay decisions based on market information, which is provided annually during the salary review
process.
Incentive plans for teams are developed individually, based on the specific results that each team
is expected to achieve.
Because we want to properly support our employees, we will offer the following benefits to all
full-time, U.S. employees, in addition to those benefits required by law, such as social security
and workers’ compensation.
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•
•
•
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Health insurance for employees and their dependents
Dental insurance for employees and their dependents
Life insurance for employees
Flexible working schedules, when approved by individual managers or teams
401(k) savings program, with a company match
Vacation (schedule varies with seniority)
•
•
Paid holidays
Educational assistance/tuition reimbursement
We also provide the following benefits through our flexible benefits program.
•
•
Child care reimbursement account
Medical reimbursement account (flexible spending account)
International pay and benefits are based on applicable laws in the country in which we operate.
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Employee and Labor Relations
Currently, all of Riordan’s facilities are non-union facilities. Employee relations are part of the
Human Resources department.
Key employee relations policies include the following:
1. The company has an “open-door” policy, where employees are encouraged to share any
concerns with higher-level supervisors if they are not satisfied with a supervisor’s
decision. The process is loosely defined, and employees do not have a formal process for
appealing supervisory decisions.
2. There is an employee handbook given to employees on their first day of employment.
Employee policies, such as attendance, etc. are explained in the handbook. Employees are
encouraged to read and understand the handbook.
3. Safety technicians are in place to encourage safe and healthy work practices.
The Pontiac facility is a provider of parts to the automotive industry. To date, there have been no
attempts by any union to organize the facility; however, there are rumors that an organizing drive
may be focused on the plant during the next 12 months. While the company has officially agreed
to remain neutral if there is an organizing campaign (as required in its vendor agreement),
unofficially, company officials are opposed to unionization and would prefer to stay union-free.
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Employee Recognition Programs
In addition to compensation and team-based incentives, the company has some programs for
recognizing outstanding employees.
1. Outstanding Employee Award – One employee per year is named as the outstanding
employee of the year. Employees are nominated by their peers, and a committee of
executives and employees selects the winner. The criteria for this award are as follows:
1. Performed above and beyond normal job duties
2. Demonstrated a high level of teamwork and support for others
3. Modeled respect for diversity
2. Employee Suggestion Program – Employees can make suggestions for improving
products or the work process. When a suggestion is adopted, employees receive a $25
check for their contribution and their picture in the company newsletter.
3. Seniority Awards – These awards are given to employees upon their first, fifth, tenth,
and 20th year of employment, as follows:
1. One year – 1 day off with pay
2. Fifth year – Silver company logo lapel pin
3. Tenth year – Gold company logo lapel pin
4. 20th year – Gold watch and induction into the “20-year club” – Annual dinner with
Riordan president for the club.
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Global Operations
The company has a joint venture facility in Hangzhou, China, where plastic fan parts are
produced. Riordan owns 60% of the joint venture, and the plant manager is an expatriate from
the United States who is one year into a three-year assignment. All of the other employees are
host-country nationals.
The plant manager is compensated on a home-country based method. His pay level is
comparable to that of the plant managers in Pontiac and Albany. The plant manager also
participates in a management incentive plan, which is based on overall corporate performance,
not performance of the joint venture.
Specific allowances for expatriate duties include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Foreign service premium – 25% of base pay
Home visit leave – One visit to the US per year with his family (not counted as part of
regular vacation)
Relocation benefits
Educational assistance for two children (tuition at a school for English-speaking students)
Housing allowance
Cost of living adjustment based on international survey data
The company uses a balance sheet approach in calculating benefits, including equalization of
taxes.
The manager has been asked to develop a host-country national who can assume the plant
manager position at the end of his three year assignment and the manager will receive a one-time
incentive payment if he does this successfully.
Engineering personnel may travel between the US and China for specific projects, but there are
no expatriate engineers from the US in China, and no Chinese employees currently work in the
US operations.
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Key Jobs
As a company that specializes in leading in R & D, engineering jobs, particularly in R & D are
critical. In addition, those who work on patent and legal issues are very important to the
organization.
Another group of employees that are very important to operations are the CAM support
specialists-most of the products manufactured are produced by NC machinery. If this machinery
is down, production schedules cannot be met.
Top
Pay Grades
Pay Grades
Executive
Band
Manager
Jobs Included
All Officers, Vice Presidents and Directors
All positions with supervisory responsibility
All other exempt professional positions – no
Professional
supervisory responsibility
Sales 1
Sales representative
Technicians
All technicians
All non-exempt, clerical or administrative
Administration
positions
Production
All production and shipping employees
FLSA
Status
Exempt
21
Exempt
25
Exempt
76
Exempt
12
Nonexempt 23
Nonexempt 21
Nonexempt 127
Remaining employees are in China and on a home-country pay
system.
Top
# of
Incumbents
Recruitment and Selection Practices
Riordan Manufacturing currently recruits employees primarily from outside the organization for
entry-level jobs, whether they are hourly or professional. The company also recruits most
engineering staff from outside the organization. The organization uses the following methods for
recruitment:
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•
•
•
•
Online advertisements at Monster.com
Local newspaper advertisements
Employee referrals
Use of employees from temporary agencies
Attendance at engineering conferences
There is a formal job-posting process in the company when there are openings. However, the
company does not pay for relocation from one facility to another unless the position has
budgeted for relocation as part of the hiring process. In the past two years, two managerial
positions have been filled by internal candidates. There is currently no formal succession
planning process.
The company uses contract workers for some engineering work, international sales and IT
support in China. It has some part-time jobs, and there are two women who job-share in the
corporate office. Benefits administration has been outsourced to a third-party provider.
Riordan is a small employer in both Pontiac and Albany and sometimes has trouble attracting the
types of employees it would like. It also has had some difficulty attracting employees in San Jose
although its reputation is somewhat better there.
Average turnover rates are low; most employees have been with the company for longer than
two years.
The selection process uses the following tools:
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•
•
•
Application
Résumé review
Face-to-face interviews with the HR recruiter
Face-to-face interviews with hiring managers (In the case of production teams, these are
group interviews with team members.)
The company does not conduct reference checks and does not use any form of testing, other than
testing all prospective employees for drugs using standard testing methods.
The company has no federal contracts and does not have any affirmative action plans or goals.
Top
Training & Development
Riordan provides the following mandatory training for all employees within 90 days of hire:
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New employee orientation (1 day) – offered once per month
Six Sigma – for all production, shipping and quality employees
Supervisors are also expected to attend the following workshops within 12 months of becoming a
supervisor:
•
•
•
Interviewing guidelines
Preventing EEO claims and sexual harassment in the workplace
Performance reviews
Self-directed teams operate throughout the plants in Pontiac, Albany and China. Team members
cross-train on jobs within the team, as well as attend training sessions on goal setting,
scheduling, selection processes and managing conflict. These are provided on an “as-needed”
basis by the HR employee relations specialist at each site.
The company offers tuition reimbursement for work-related educational activities.
The company will also pay for professional organization fees for engineers in order to encourage
them to stay current in their field.
…
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