OB CASE 1: Helen Bowers

1. How successful do you think Helen Bowers’s new plan will

be?
Ans.: Helen’s new plan will not be much successful. She is thinking that
her employee are only the workers which she had paid the money to
meet her goal. As Helen father Jake treated the employees like part of
his family. She thinks this ‘Humanistic nonsense’ is not good for her
company. So she implemented a straight decision to crack down on
employees and eliminate all idle time. She stopped asking the advice
from her employee which her father done before. She announced that
the firm’s profit sharing will be phased out. She is so eager in fulfilment
of her goal i.e. to put her company on international market and compete
with the Japanese firm. She is thinking her employee as robots she lost
her humanistic view towards her employee.
These plan including the equal pay cut of employee having less than
10% productivity will not solve the situation and would only lead
resentment among employees. Employees will not be happy with this
plan/decision that they had do more hard work without any recreational
and welfare programs for them.
This plan will lead lower in productivity of Bowers Company and it cannot
compete internationally.

2. What challenges does Helen confront?

Ans.: The main challenge for Helen confront is to retain the support of
her employees and the trust his father had built towards the employee.
Helen’s approach to treat the employees as the hired help only and her
policies are against their welfare and development which is going to
hamper the company’s productivity.
Although Helen’s decision marginally increased the output but also the
scarp rates increases, personnel costs went up, training cost also got up.
But in the backend the employees are the getting demotivated which
result is going to lead in major decline in production which will hamper
the Helen goals to compete with the Japanese firm and to enter
international market.
3. If you were Helen’s consultant, what would you advise her to
do?
Ans.: If I were the Helen’s consultant I would suggest to apply the
methods or policies that her father used before. I would suggest to be
rethink on her decision and understand the consequences. She need to
listen the employee’s voice and their opinion. She should changes her
policies and plan more democratically.
I would suggest to adapt her father’s method of dealing with the
workpower which is the main pillar of the company growth.