MOUNTAIN WEST HEALTH PLANS INC.: CASE ANALYSIS REPORT Submitte Submitted d by :
PORFERIO A. SALIDAGA, JR.
Submi Submitte tted d to :
Dr. George Fong
Subject
:
Management Dynamics
Date
:
May 02, 2012
Problem Inefficiency of the performance of customer service personnel, and higher labor cost. Objective To increase efficiency of the performance of the customer service personnel, and lower the labor cost. Analysis of Relative Facts Moun Mounta tain in West West Heal Health th Plan Plans s Inc. Inc. is heal health th insu insura ranc nce e comp compan any y with with an ever ever-increasing costs of its service customer department which is a labor intensive unit The previous director Evelyn Gustafson has just retired and is now replaced by Erik Rasmussen, a young man with a new bachelor’s degree in business administration. Considering the following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, how would the company solve its problem on o n inefficiency and high labor cost? Opportunities: 1.
Strengths: 1.
Erik Rasmussen,
The market is wide, wide, hence hence the the cust custom omer er pote potent ntia iall is high high for for heal health th insu insura ranc nce e business.
SO Strategies (Growth Strategies) S1,O1. S1,O1. Erik Erik Rasmus Rasmussen sen,, bein being g young, should be tasked to study
Threats: Dissatisfaction of cust custom omer ers s due to the inexperienced customer service personnel personnel and the lengt ength h of time they spent on hold. ST Strategies (Diversifying Strategies) 1.
2.
the the new new head head of the Customer Serv Servic ice e Dept Dept.. is a young man with a bachelor’s degree in business administration;
thoroughly the human resource of the company and to come up with a short-term and long-term strategies to impr improv ove e the the effi effici cien ency cy of the the huma human n reso resour urce ce of the comp compan any y and and mini minimi mize ze turn turnov over er,, and and how how this his study udy wou would cont ontribu ributte to custo customer mer satisf satisfact action ion and widen widen the market share of the company in the insurance business;
Subordinates adore a leader who knows how to motivate them.
S2, O1: Motivate the personnel by: (a) Changing Rasmussen’s appro pproac ache hes s from from bein being g job- cente entere red d leade ader , into an employee-cen employee-centered tered leader . The custo customer mer servic service e departm department ent is a labor-intensive department, and as such, it must give focus more on looking after for the needs of his subordinates so that job commitmen commitmentt may be solicite solicited. d. As show shown n in Blak Blake e and and Mc Cans Canse’ e’s s Leadership Grid , work accompl accomplish ishmen mentt is achiev achieved ed from from committed people, and that interdependence through a comm common on stak stake e in orga organi niza zati tion on purpose purpose leads leads to relati relations onships hips of trust trust and respect. respect. Furthermore, Furthermore, as as stated by Chris Lowney , lead leader ersh ship ip is not not a pos positio ition n but but influence influence.. Instead Instead of applying applying the the position power in attaining the goal of the company, Rasmussen must instead use the interpersonal influence tactics, tactics, and among them are: are: use use of rati ration onal al pers persua uasi sion on;; making people like him; developing allies; relying on the rule of rec recipro iproc city; ity; and and rew rewardi arding ng the beha behav viou iour of subord bordin inat ate es he wants. Evelyn, the predecessor of Rasm Rasmus usse sen n was was ador adored ed by his his subo subord rdin inat ates es beca becaus use e she she is a
S2, S2, T1: T1: To improv improve e the skills of the employees by transforming Ras Rasmuss mussen en int into a leader who knows how to motivate them, and by regula ularly rly sendi nding them to trainings focused on customer service.
leader leader whom whom they they can trus trust. t. She did did not have to use use her her posit positio ion n power to bring out results. (b) Job enrichment enrichment:: To give employees control over the resource necessary for performing tasks, make decisions on how to do the the work work,, expe experi rien ence ce pers person onal al grow growth th,, and and set set thei theirr own own pace pace.. This This woul would d resu result lt,, as show shown n by rese resear arc ch, empl mployee oyees s’ grea greate ter r sense of involvement, commitment, and and motiv otivat atio ion, n, whic hich in turn turn contributes to higher morale, lower turnover, and stronger organiz organizati ationa onall perfor performan mance. ce. (Daft, 499) This his strat trateg egy y wo woul uld d be more ore effective instead of the statistical standa standards rds and time time and motion motion study applied study applied by Rasmussen which are are effec ffecttive ive onl only on mac machine hine prod produc ucti tion ons s but but not not on serv servic ices es done by human beings. To make an employee efficient, he must not be considered as a machine but a human being made up of compon component ents s of attitude attitudes s: cognit cognitions ions,, affect affect,, and behavi behaviour our.. And such attitudes influence how well a person perform on the job.
Weaknesses: 1.
Erik Rasmussen being new and has has no actu actual al expe experi rien ence ce in leading the peo people ple in his his department, has effect ected drastic
WO Strategies (Niching Strategies)
WT Strategies (Slowing Down W1, O 1: 1: To improve the Strategies) company’s standing in the market, the the comp compan any y shou should ld deve develo lop p a decentralized team comm commun unic icat atio ion n chan channe nell in comm commun unic icat ating ing the the goal goals s of the the organiz organizati ation on to the worker workers. s. The cust custom omer er serv servic ice e depa depart rtme ment nt,, bein being g jus just a compo ompone nent nt of the the whole organization, its
changes without establishing trust and respec pect from the subordinates but but onl only from from position position power ; 2. Noisy working place; 3.
comm commun unic icat atio ion n netw networ orki king ng can can easily be facilitated and controlled, hence, individuals should be given the the oppor opportu tuni nity ty to comm commun unic icat ate e freely freely with with other other team team members members.. Subor Subordin dinat ates es must must be give given n the the oppor opportu tuni nity ty to air air thei theirr view views s on cert certai ain n chan change ges s that that may may affe affect ct their works. W2, W3 W3 O1: It must must impr improve ove the the work workpl plac ace e that that is condu conduci cive ve for for working to minimize stress among the workers.
The employees are doing a day-to-day string of stressful calls.
Alternatives 1. S1, O1: O1: Study Study thoro thorough ughly ly the human human resou resource rce of the the company company and and to come come up with a short-term and long-term strategies to improve the efficiency of the human resource of the company and minimize turnover.
Advantages: programs.
The outcome may be a guide for future human resource
Disadvantages: It cannot answer answer the present human resource problem of the company. 2.
S2, O1: Application Application of employee-cent employee-centered ered kind of leadership, interpers interpersonal onal influence tactics, and concept of job enrichment. Advantages: Improves people effectiveness as they are given the power how to do a task thereby developing their creativity. Disadvantag Disadvantages: es: Management Management control control is loosen loosen so effective effective performance performance monitoring may suffer.
3.
W1, O1: Develop a decentralized team communication channel. channel. Advantages: The decision is more reliable, and may get a wider acceptance as it is a product of deliberation of many persons.
Disadvantages: The decision-making process may take longer because because the inform informati ation on is passed passed among among indivi individua duals ls before before it reaches reaches the decisi decisiononmaker. 4.
W2, W3 O1: Physical Physical improvemen improvementt of the workplace, workplace, minimizing minimizing noise and clutter. Advantages: It lessens stress in the workplace, hence may improve the productivity of workers. Disadvantages: It can be costly and may may not materially affect productivity. productivity.
5. S2, T1: T1: Regular Regular trainings trainings of employe employees es to develop develop their their leadershi leadership p skills skills on customer service. Advantages: It may heighten motivation and a venue to identify potential future leaders. Disadvantages: It can be costly costly and may not affect productivity. productivity. Solution Alternatives recommended are a combination of number 2, 4, 5. I believe that with a highly motivated employees, working in a peaceful workplace can produce higher output, and in effect can lower cost.
