Critical Analysis - Southern Discomfort & Waterway Industries Lab Report

Critical Analysis - Southern Discomfort & Waterway Industries - Lab Report ExampleThe caller-up needs to improve its performance and ease up on Investments (ROI) to stay in the business. Under these circumstances, the companys management is faced with only two options Either to stay on in Oconomo with a substantially reduced operating budget, or to relocate the plant to Mexico where future profit margins are more assured.The primary type of change that needs to be brought about in the Oconomo Plant is a conspicuous transformation in peoples culture, attitudes and approach to work. This has assumed significant connotations, because the plant is now sacking through a very critical phase where, even its very future existence hangs on a balance. If the management is not in a position to convince the labour to accept lower salary rates, the plant may have to be moved to Mexico, thus endangering the telephone circuits of nearly 520 employees. (Wallace 1996).Jim Malesckowski, President of the company has to deal with the challenging tasks of negotiating with a well organised and strong Labour Union while seeking to introduce changes in the work culture and stipend of the labor force. The Wisconsin plant could be saved by changing the work culture and ethos of the work force and by convincing them that the reduction in wage rate would be beneficial to the labour force in the long run.The major underlying cause for the Union leaders resistance to change stems from the feature that they fear that changes would result in downsizing and lay-offs, or even the use of a person for multiple jobs, in order to gain maximum productivity from him. Fear of job losses or labour exploitation may be the underlying reasons for the Trade Union leaders reluctance to allow changes in the organization. The management has sought to dispel this fear by informing the Union about cross-training schemes after which a person would be able to undertake job