A case study of rattan production in Aborlan Palawan

Case Study: Treetop Forest Products

ADM 2336 N

Organizational Behaviour

Treetop Forest Products

Asif Akber Ali 4615713

University of Ottawa

Friday February 8, 2008

Statement of the problem

The packaging team at Treetop Forest is experiencing many problems. Their productivity

is decreasing and affecting the rest of the departments negatively. The unsupervised employees

are slacking off, are not motivated and are adopting norms that are not fitted with the company.

Inventory costs and the risk of damaged stocks are also increasing. The quality of the appearance

of the finished products is also decreasing, resulting in a loss in the market share in the industry,

hence being unable to compete with other companies.

Cause of the problem

Social loafing is causing the decrease in productivity in the packaging team. This tendency to

withhold physical or intellectual effort when performing a group task[1] represents the slacking

behaviours of the employees in that department. The lack of supervision is also one of the main

causes of most of the problems stated. The groups cohesiveness is causing them to behave in

similar manners, as additive tasks, even though the behaviours adopted are not in line with the

norms of the rest of the company (taking longer breaks etc). Because this departments location
is further than all the other ones, the employees feel isolated and excluded from the company,

causing their lack in motivation. The groups poor performance is causing an overstock which

results in high inventory costs and risk of damaged stocks since they have to be stored outside

ultimately causing the poor appearance of the finished product which affects the buyers

decision. It can be assumed that it is a larger group due to the tasks that need to be performed,

which affects the group in many ways. In larger groups, friendships develop, participation

decreases and disengagement increases resulting in process loss: a group performance difficulty

stemming from the problems of motivation and coordination in larger groups.[2]

Solutions and Consequences

1. To counteract the social loafing the company should: Increase feelings of

indispensability. Doing this within the group would motivate the employees. Increase

performance feedback, so that employees will know how to improve themselves as well

as knowing what they did well. Reward group performance.

Pros:

Highly motivated in what they are doing

They would feel belonging to the company since they would know what the

companys goals are.

2. To have a more structured environment, Treetop should hire and train a new supervisor

only for the packaging department.

Pros:
 This solution will decrease inventory costs and increase the production and quality of

the finished products.

Effective communication between the other departments to balance the productivity

levels

Cons:

The salary and training of this new employee will increase the companys costs.

3. To reduce the overtime costs, limits should be put on the amount of overtime hours an

employee is allowed to use, along with a deadline for a specific amount of products.

Pros:

This would decrease the overtime salary costs

This would increase productivity due to the fixed goals.

This would decrease the extended break and lunch times.

Cons:

Because these goals are imposed, the employees may be reluctant to achieve them. To

avoid this situation, the goals could be discussed therefore increasing the probability

of their achievement.

Recommended Solution
It would be recommended to implant supervision since it is the main cause of all the problems

the company is faced with and because of the many effects it would have on the situation. The

group needs structure and a supervisor would therefore help resolve most problems.

Implemented Solution

Immediately, communication should be improved between the departments to stop the

unbalanced productivity. This would resolve part of the inventory costs problems. Upper

management should also put someone in charge of the packaging team. If costs of hiring a new

supervisor are too high, an existing supervisor could be given more shifts. Although hiring and

training costs are high, the company will benefit from this addition in the long-term. The new

supervisor would counteract the social loafing the company is experiencing. The supervisor

could be trained to focus on the motivation of his group (rewarding good performances etc). This

supervisor is also the one who should limit the employees to a certain amount of overtime hours

they are allowed to. The supervisor would reinforce the companys norms, eventually eliminating

the self-imposed ones in the group (longer breaks). The supervisor would also promote group

cohesiveness and a pleasant working environment. In the short term, upper management could

host a meeting or assembly between all departments to make them feel interrelated and important

to the company. This could be a great motivation for the employees. In the long term, group

evaluations could be necessary to measure the groups performance and to see if the actions

taken are resolving the problems.

Johns,G, & Saks, A.M. (2008). Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, Toronto: Addison-
[1]
Wesley-Longman.
 Johns,G, & Saks, A.M. (2008). Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, Toronto: Addison-
[2]
Wesley-Longman.