Opinion on students discussion responses
Student 1
One of the most important things that I have learned from working in the world of finance is that time is money. Knowing that, my firm prides itself on being able to respond to client inquires and requests in a timely manner. It was not always like this however. When I first started back in 2010, my team at the time was considered to be in a Day 16 status. This meant that it took an average of 16 days to respond to clients from the time their request was received. As a result, employees were forced to work over 12 hour days which proved to be unproductive because many complained about being burnt out which also caused a decrease in their productivity.
Recognizing that this was a serious problem, the team decided to brainstorm possible solutions with the help of our manager. From our discussions, one of the things that we realized was that the majority of our time during the day was spent trying to get client requests that were not in good order, in order for processing. Therefore, we came up with the idea to break the team down into two groups, one to process in good order work and the other not in good order. Slowly, the team was able to cut the average turnaround time from Day 16 to Day 1 status because we were able to move through work more quickly. Employees were extremely happy with this change because they no longer needed to work long hours and were able to give clients the best service.
Student 2
Strong leadership is needed to guide employees through the turbulence and uncertainty and build organization-wide commitment to change (Daft, p.462). At my previous organization, my major responsibilities were to assist the program leaders with the planning/setup of panels and arrange travel for panelist. The organization pays for all panelist travel, M&1E, lodging expense and disburses an honorarium. When arranging panelist travel, special accommodations were often requested such as an extra day of stay. In the past, the program leaders would approve the extra day but our travel/accounting office cease that opportunity. The travel/accounting staff held several meetings and trainings regarding the new travel policy. All employees must uphold this new policy.
Change can be difficult and panelist expressed their concerns regarding travel. Most program leaders that aimed to please panelist did not want to enforce the new travel policy. Although program leaders participated in trainings and meetings for the new travel policy, they rejected protocol and insisted that the organization revert back to old standards. Most staff would go along with what the program leaders wanted, but others such as myself enforced the new policy. Understanding the curve of change can help leaders push through the despair and frustration often associated with major change (Daft, p.463).
Student 3
The construction company where I worked for almost three years decided to go greener by implementing a new paperless software- PVault. With the sophistication of modern technology, internet and software services, many small offices are adopting this option because of the many advantages this improvement offers to every company. Getting our staff to like the new system was not easy but after many meetings employees began to understand the importance and the benefits of the system. CFO used a method like the 5 step approach provided in the textbook to resolve new issues (Draft, R.L.(2013). One of the biggest advantage was that bulky filing cabinets were eliminated after uploading most of our records to PVault. Another benefit is that it allowed employees to work remotely, improved efficiency and reduced overhead cost. Additionally. Clients may view a company favorably, approving of an environmentally friendly approach. On the other hand, maintaining a paperless system can bring other costs. Keeping a tight security for all documents is essential. Our company had to train IT employees. Also, it must be upgraded constantly to keep up to date computer hardware and software. One of the disadvantages we noticed in the first few weeks is that it was vulnerable to human error. Improperly scanned invoices or mail resulted in incomplete records and were difficult to retrieve.
