Riordan Manufacturing should use benchmarking as a technique which enables it to compare performance to relevant and achievable standards and thus help secure continual improvement (Avery, 1996). Following example of AT&T (www.att.com), it is possible to identify the following areas:(1) Knowledge workers are driven by the need for recognition, which in the past came from status conferred on the holder by virtue of his or her hierarchical level. So when status barriers are removed, as they must be in a networked organization, the reward for knowledge workers disappears with them, and a sense of insecurity replaces it.
'Network status' becomes the new motivation and it becomes a crossweave in the fabric of the organization. Individuals and teams are rewarded by being asked to undertake important projects, by being asked for advice and assistance, by being praised in public, by having their work publicized, by being asked to represent the organization, and by getting more resources and greater remuneration(2) Personal development and job satisfaction become accepted practice that individuals and modular teams keep abreast of advancements in their own specialism without the need for performance-focused staff development programs. Consequently, personal development programs need to focus on developing the skills of leadership, problem-solving, communication and participation.(3) In AT&T, elements of infrastructure that were once distributed among different departmental units are brought together and operate as a singularity. In AT&T, this shared infrastructure typically takes the form of basic experiential storage functions as well as common business-type functions such as administration, timetabling, marketing.
(4) Improvements measurements. This will be the real crux of the process. Some staff perceives that certain measures favor certain employees. Therefore, the quality measurement tools used, although they may range widely in sophistication, all have one thing in common: they encourage collaboration. Whether the measures of quality are short-term or long-term, methods of measurement, timing and expected output all be stated in advance, so that the assessment process is perceived as both equitable and realistic.
(5) Overall schemes, whereby the reward is more remote from the direct output of the individual or group, but is linked with the firm's output or profit or overall economy.(6) Indirect benefits are aimed at improving morale and increasing the stability of employment. Examples are free luncheon vouchers, sports or welfare amenities, provision of car or a mileage allowance, telephone, purchases at a discount, education for children, canteen, social facilities.The following practices used by 7-Eleven could be effectively applied to Riordan:(1) Staff development. An agreed program for staff development is promoted by the planning committee at every opportunity, to reduce any feelings of isolation and siege. Sometimes, a complete change in culture is needed and if this is the case, a more extensive training and education program will be required.
(2) Leadership behavior varied according to the maturity of subordinates. In 70-Eleven 'style' is an innate aspect of personality and determines orientation when exercising leadership. The theory holds that task-motivated leaders are most effective in situations that are highly favorable; and relationship-motivated leaders are most effective when situations are moderately favorable.(3) Payment by results - the incentive here is linked purely with output, at a given level of quality.(4) Incentive bonus schemes have arrangements whereby the employee receives a bonus or periodic payment, e.g.
weekly or annually, based upon a number of factors, such as reduction in labor costs, or total costs per unit or increase in total profit, or output. They are said to be economical to install and operate and encourage co-operation and improve the employee's interest in the business. They are of course very remote from the actual work and the bonus may be too small a part of the total wage to be significant and the employee cannot calculate in advance what he is to receive.(5) Among the traits exhibited by successful leaders are: a concern for task completion; energy; persistence; originality; self-confidence; a willingness to take risks; a capacity to influence others; a capacity to handle stress; and a sense of concern for others. These dual concerns for accomplishing tasks and building good relationships with people are often seen as opposite extremes of a continuum and two notable contingency theories have been developed around this polarity.(6) Priorities identified from initial assessment.
This is what grounds the aspiration of quality assurance measures in the reality of practice. The allocation of material resources and time reflects the priority given to different processes, so the quality management budget may have to be front-loaded.
