Nogo Railroad Case Analysis
CASE STUDY Case Study Name and Page #: The NOGO Railroad, page 56 Student Name: Wendy Thompson Date: October 9, 2011 I. Problems A. Macro 1. Reduction of current employee expenses for day-to-day operations 2. Employee morale (accepting the necessary changes for increased productivity and growth) 3. Threat of layoffs 4. Union contracts 5. Nepotism & Featherbedding B. Micro 1. No upper management support 2. No authority to make changes 3. Potential “scapegoat” or “bad guy” 4.
Inofficial duties clouding judgement and slowing down progress/motivation II. Causes 1. Union employees with poorly negotiated contracts 2. Employee resistance to change 3. Inability for cross-trianing/replacement between clerks and telegraph operators 4. Nepotism/featherbedding 5. Lack of upper-management support 6. Undefined responsibilities and authority for Dave III. Systems Affected 1. Structural – No HR element in place; too many employees that are incapable of being ‘subs’ for the other; not enough work for all employees . Psychosocial – Threat of layoffs affects incomes for most of the employees & families; split between those employees that are and are not related; most of workforce has openly demonstated unwillingness to change; low employee morale 3. Technical – Archaic traditions need to be replaced with up-to-date technology; employees unwilling to take on new duties or produce at highest level causing company to lag behind; no cross-training allowed by union contract; clerks are mostly women and telephone operators mostly men 4.
Managerial – No upper management support; current management has been promoted because of relationship; no work ethic or do not have skills to do the job 5. Goals – Increase company loyalty and morale IV. Alternatives 1. Do nothing and continue as is (Dave could be demoted and/or loose his job); Possibility of company layoffs inevitable due to high employee costs 2. Initiate changes (Dave could be demoted and/or loose his job); Layoffs definite but company output increasing over time 3.
Re-negotiate union contracts so that cross-training could occur and payment provided for work done instead of a guarantee even if there is no work V. Recommendations 1. Talk to employees and union to stress importance of changes 2. Explain layoff terms because of lack of morale and output 3. Look for other employment – Dave is tasked with an almost impossible job without the support of upper management. The limits within the union contracts and the unwillingness to cooperate in change by the employees only sets Dave up for failure.
