Designing and Implementing a Rewards System at Disk Drives, Inc. Learning Outcomes: Identify the different elements and issues of organizations development and creating the need for change. (Lo 1.2 & 2.4) Define the human, structural and strategic dimensions of the organizational development (Lo 1.5 & 3.1) Analyze the strategic role of change in the organization and its impact on organizational performance(Lo 2.9) Objectives of the Case: To illustrate the importance of corporate decentralized decision-making within highly competitive and highly technical industries in order to boost innovation, operate with speed, and decrease the margin for technical error To understand the effect that organizational structure has on all other aspects of a business, including external aspects like the ability to successfully compete in the market, and internal aspects like the effectiveness of the company’s performance management system Overview of the Case: Disk Drives, Inc. (DDI) was a company originally started to produce large-format disk drives and then decided to move strategically in a different direction. DDI began to produce smaller disk drives with a lower cost and a lower price in order to break into a new market. However, they were late to the market, fell behind on the experience curve, and failed to achieve the market share they had predicted. The new, smaller product line faltered. In order to regain capital and recoup sales, the company outsourced manufacturing to Japan and initiated a focus market strategy with an aim towards the personal computer, or PC, industry. Manufacturing disk drives for companies that built PCs promised a profitable future if DDI could maintain technological relevancy within the industry and could handle the demand of both the short product life-style, the competitive bid process, and the logistical demand of distribution. Keeping all this in mind, DDI’s CEO decided that the company could be more efficient, and more able to handle and maintain growth, if the Executive Committee released control of daily functional and operational decision-making in order to focus on the more strategic aspects of the company. In order to best align the abilities of the company with the needs of the market, DDI created a matrix structure in which functional managers from multiple departments, all highly skilled in their particular line of work, would form teams assigned to disk drive projects. This cross-functional teams would ensure that the individual business units within the company worked closely together to flawlessly execute each disk drive from inception to completion and all the way through to customer response management. The new structure would also allow daily decision-making to be carried out by managers who had more expertise regarding the DDI product line and a more in-depth understanding of how the daily operations were carried out. The operational model overhaul of DDI was a bold and intelligent move on the part of the CEO and his team. However, the case ends with a decision still needing to be made: how to alter the internal performance management system in order to best motivate and reward managers within the new corporate structure. Questions: Does DDI need a new performance system to account for the structural and management process changes they are contemplating? Why or why not? Assuming a modification to the performance management system is necessary; describe the features of a system you would recommend. What changes need to be made in the goal setting, feedback/appraisal, and reward systems at DDI? Describe the change management process you would use to design and implement the new system. What roles and responsibilities should the executive team take on? How fast should the system be implemented? Instructions to students: The answer must be in English. Students must include the following in Assignment copy (Name, Student ID, CRN, Date of submission) Answer the ALL questions. Assignments should be submitted in MS Word format. Font should be Times New Roman with 12 points. You are required to work this assignment individually. You should submit the assignment via the Blackboard only. Students, who submit assignments after deadline, will be awarded ZERO points. If any student found engaged in plagiarism, they will awarded ZERO marks in the assignment or course.

ANSWER TO BE MADE BY THE STUDENTS

DDI will need a performance system to account for the management and structural system they are contemplating because they are behind in terms of time and technology. They commence well with the large-format disk market but were slow to the changing market. They did not change, and this affects customer satisfaction and product quality. Having a new performance system will help DDI catch up with the advanced market and acquire the necessary tools required for the latest technology. They will be able to gain back customer trust and catch up with their competitors. A new performance system will increase the quality of their products and attract customers to the business.

DDI’s primary goal is to offer quality products, satisfy customer needs in the best way, have a speedy response and cost vigilance. Providing quality products will increase OEM’s confidence and trust, and have a better chance of winning business follow-on. The feedback and appraisal system should include a need assessment analysis that states who perform the analyses, performance measurement method, and how fast feedback should be given. The employees need to be trained on the assessment, appraisal and feedback system following the DDI’s goals and objectives. The management should set specific goals and talents for each employee to achieve in a particular period. Once the employee meets the target, then the reward system should come in handy and award them for their efforts. These changes will increase morale, motivation, and focus of the employee’s hence increasing productivity.

I would recommend the management to use a needs assessment process to implement the new system. The process involves instructional objectives, delivery, design, and evaluation. DDI should focus on regaining a competitive advantage by using the latest technology to offer quality products. The set goals should be clear, specific and every employee should adhere to the business objectives. Technology moves fast and taking a lot of time before implementing the new system will solve nothing. Therefore, the system should be performed within a short time frame.

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