Crisis Management in an Organization

Crisis Management in an Organization (A Case Study of Anammco Plc Emene Enugu)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Industrial/organizational crises constitute a very important component of the industrial relations system. They can be seen as any disputes between employers and workers or between workers and workers, which is connected with the employment or terms of employment and deployment or terms of work. They involve the pursuit of incompatible on at least seemingly incompatible goods by two or more parties so that gains for one party result in a loss for the other.

Organizational crises are usually more exciting to observers and so invariably attract greater attention and comment than peace. As a result in all countries, newspapers contain more reports about labor disputes than labor harmony.

Keller 1954 holds two views concerning industrial conflict or crises. The harmony. Relation view: holds that conflict is unavoidable and only occurs because of abnormality in a stable and well-integrated organization which has restored natural homeostasis while the other realistic view: holds that crises are inherent in any human encounter. It performs an integral part in any dynamic social system and is a necessary element of change.

The dispute is the essence of industrial relations because the structural features of an organization necessarily result in tensions among persons on different strata. The industrial relations system consists largely of maintaining a balance among these tensions in the interest of pressuring a going enterprise.

Organizational crises are for the most part normal and even necessary; They have both advantages and disadvantages for the enterprise, demands by worker forces management to search for efficiency or new market to meet new demands.

On the other hand, demand which impair the efficiency of the enterprise or result in unacceptably higher costs to the customer, threaten the enterprise’s future. For society as a whole worker’s demands have been an engine for social porgies bringing shorter working how’s, longer holidays, better working conditions, and many other improvements over the years. But the welfare of society also may be adversely affected by productivity where prices are forced up or efficiency excessively lowered and by the inflationary effects of an increase in labor costs not covered by increase productivity.

Although crises are an element in the maintenance of equilibrium in industries come abnormal, dysfunctional, or pathological. Examples include crises accompanied by pervasive violence and disputes which result in major economic and social disorganization of a community.

In the cost majority of industries, the sources of disputes are to be found in tensions innate to the industrial relations system. Studies have shown that where people work together in an enterprise many interests are to be found, some shared, some not. The employer wants the operations to be successful as possible whether judged by profit, non –profit or other measures of efficiency. The need to keep his labor costs reasonably commensurate with those of his inspires managers and supervisors, but in addition, they have other interests of their own as also the employees.

On the worker’s side, their diverse interests maximize wages and improve the condition under which they supply their labor, ensuring the securing of their job. Fair treatment from their managers, avoiding any unduly tough workplace, belonging to congenial workgroups, and working in a sate and reasonably pleasant environment.

In addition, all staff in the enterprise may have outside interests, which affect their lives within it. For example, work may share common objectives with comrades elsewhere through their trade union or even under aims through political movements, which influences their conduct at work. Their interests may conflict with the achievement of enterprise goals set by management.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Because an employee spends the greater part of the day in his place of work and most active vigorous part of his life as a workman, it is pf permanent importance that working conditions should be healthy, convenient and attractive, that the work itself should be as interesting as possible and that relations among the employees themselves and between employees and management should be cordial and co-operative and not confrontational.

It is in this context that we should identify the necessary skills for the effective management of industrial/organizational crises. It is the contention of this research work that for management of industrial crises to be effective, management and workers union must be knowledgeable about the organizational process that impinges on the workers and must be able to diagnose the environment of employees. This can be achieved through the power of information. Information can be even more important than the traditional tangible resources because rational problem solving and influence by presentation are essential in a complex setting. The control of scarce information by management on what motivates specific people, for instance, or on outcomes or processes related to organizational goals can enhance one’s problem-solving ability. Thus, information is power.

Curiously enough, although workers’ unions have as their central concern the improvement of the working conditions of their members; they do not take the worker’s interests and needs as the starting point of negotiation. Instead, the conditions of service as laid down by management are the focal point: However, advances in the behavioral sciences have enabled us to know about the worker. It is imperative for trade unions and management to have good knowledge about the workers.

Again, while workers and management are concerned about improving the condition of work which often are interpreted narrowly to include only salaries, wages, and fringe benefits the quality of the actual works undertaken by a worker hardly ever features as an area of theorists and researchers on job design that some jobs are ultrasonically more satisfying than others. Workers a lineation has been found to stem from the nature of the jobs, jobs that the worker has no measure of control over the methods to be used, tend to repel to the worker, lower his morale and reduce his performance.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The objective of the study generally is to secure the highest possible level of mutual understanding and goodwill between several interests which take part in the processes of an undertaking to maxi mix productivity for industry and real incomes for workers.

Summarily this study has the following as its objectives.

(1)     Elimination /reduction of conflict /disputes situations among individuals in organizations.

(2)     Creation of group harmony in the work community

(3)     Provision of a warble work environment.

(4)     Minimizing labor turnover

(5)     Increasing the feeling of an individual’s self-worth.

(6)     Freedom to express himself, recognition for the ability.

(7)     Increase the level of efficiency and productivity.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

For this study, we shall focus primarily on the intergroup types of organizational crises among the staff of our case study organization.

The scope of this covers the management and workers union crises and the strategies or steps in managing crises between these two groups with particular reference to Anammco Emene Plc Enugu.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the causes of crises in the organization?

2. What are the effects of these crises on the management, employees and the society eat largely?

3. How often do these organizational crises occur?

4. Use in solving these crises?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Based on the foregoing the research hypotheses are formulated as follows

Ho: Non-employees participation in decision-making does not result in organizational crisis.

Hi: Non- employees participial in decision-making account for industrial crises.

Ho: Changes in operations or methods of doing works do not enhance industrial crises.

Hoi: Changes in operations or methods of doing work enhance industrial crises.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research topic management of industrial crises will help management; entrepreneurs to know various preventive crises approach, be confident, and make policies that can reduce these crises which hinder the attainment of the business mission.

Secondly, Government will know how some of their decisions gear industrial crises, especially the issue of change without adequate notification, planning, and use of diplomacy.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

During the process of this research, the researcher encountered some constraints, which hindered the collection of information.

TIME:  The researcher wishes to state it clearly that the period under which this study is done is short especially when academic commitment such as the writing of term papers, assignments, tests, and above all the preparation for the HNDII final examinations.

Money: A research paper of this nature requires a lot of money, which is not readily available to a student like a researcher. The researcher is handicapped financially, and thereby cannot afford to make intensive research.

Back of facilities also reduced the potentiality of this study. The researchers do not have easy access to books and previous studies by other authors based on this study.

Because of all the above limitations, the researcher is then recommending that other researchers can make further investigations and improve on this study.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Industrial Employees – will include the whole web of workers under the employment of both service and manufacturing industries.

Conflict – A condition of objectives incompatibility between valves or goals; as the behavior of deliberately interfering with another goal achievement.

Industrial relations – Concerns human relations in the process of production.

Management – The ability to get things done through The Use of People.