The Engineering Service Division of the Federal Government :: Federal Government Engineering Essays

TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION 2 PROBLEM 2 ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION 3 Groups and Teams 3 Power and Politics 7 Motivation 12 ALTERNATIVES AND SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM 14 SOLUTION: 16 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: 17 JUSTIFICATION OF THE SOLUTION 18 Introduction In the Federal government, 14 divisions composed the administrative service division. The engineering service division was a smaller part to a government research laboratory. Their purpose was to design and manufacture equipment needed for experiments. There are four formal teams: the Design and Drafting Branch, Planning and Production Branch manufacturing Service Branch and the Engineering Service Branch. There are 50 people in the design group which was divided into three subgroups: two drafting sections and one checking section. There was a consistent flow between the branches that enabled projects to be completed in an efficient manner. The engineering service division worked competently with no manager for nine months. At this time, Francois Duplessis succeeded Josie Maguire, who previously held the management position. As the corporate consultants we will analyze the company current situation. Problem The recent change in managers within the Engineering Services Division has caused some concern for the success of the company. Francois Duplessis has developed various changes in the workplace. The changes had cause the group to be less cohesive due to poor communication and conflict. Their level of interdependence was altered which made tasks harder to accomplish. Duplessis did not effectively use his power in order for the laboratory to succeed which resulted in organizational politics. The designer and engineers were content with working together to reach their goals in the organization, therefore, being more independent caused their overall motivation to decline. Analysis of the Situation Groups and Teams Within the Engineering Services Division, there were formal teams and communities of practice. A formal team can be described as â€Å"groups of two or more people who interact and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organization† (McShane 234). While communities of practice are â€Å"informal groups bound together by shared expertise and passion for a particular activity or interest† (McShane 234) The formal teams consisted of the Design and Drafting Branch, the Production and Planning Branch, the Mechanical Shop Branch, and the Electronic Services Branch; all of which were mandated by management.