Ben and Jerrys Case Organizational Development

BEN AND JERRY’S CASE 2

Ben and Jerry’s Case

Introduction

Team building has got to do with the performance of tasks and activities that seek to promote the ability of teams to work together in an effective manner. It would be prudent to note that in the past, team building has been used in efforts to rein in organizational bureaucracy or rigidity that comes about as a consequence of an over-organized system. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. (B&J’s) sought to deploy team building as a way to provide structure to its under-organized system. This write-up assesses whether this was a good move, and what other measures/steps could be implemented going forward.

Discussion

a) Determining Whether a Company is Over-organized or Under-organized

From the onset, it should be noted that for a company to be able to continue being relevant in a highly competitive business environment, the relevance of optimal organization of human resources and processes cannot be overstated (Black, Bright, and Gardner, 2023). When entities are over-organized or under-organized, they are likely to find it difficult to navigate the challenges of modern business environment. They may also fail to pursue and take advantage of available opportunities.

Various factors could be taken into consideration in seeking to establish whether a team or over-organization is over-organized or under-organized. In as far as over-organization is concerned, in seeking to determine whether a team or organization is over-organized, one could take into consideration the hierarchy of power and the extent to which it contributes to rigidity and inflexibility across the organization. In an over-organized organization, there is an established and well-entrenched mechanical way of doing things (Poole and Van, 2021). In this case, regulation and rules are prioritized and activities tightly compartmentalized. The said mechanical way of doing things may result in failure to effectively capture the emotions and/or needs of employees. Yet another characteristic of an over-organized organization happens to be slow decision making that ends up getting in the way of effective performance of tasks and could in some instances results in inordinate delays. Cheung-Judge and Holbeche (2021) also point out that over-organized entities happen to be more reactive – as opposed to proactive. In such a case, the authors point out that change may not be anticipated and/or appreciated. As a result, an over-organized enterprise is likely to be caught flatfooted in a rapidly changing business environment, and may therefore be unable to thrive in a business environment deemed uncertain.

When it comes to under-organization, an under-organized organization could be characterized by unclear structures and roles. Here, the duties of each member of the organization is not defined in clear terms, and regulations with regard to work behaviors appear imprecise and arcane (Poole and Van, 2021). Next, an under-organized organization could be marked by poor teamwork. Here, employees lack a common goal and do not work towards the same ends. According to Cheung-Judge and Holbeche (2021), weak working relationships are also a prominent feature of under-organized organizations. In essence, failure to embrace collaborative efforts in this case and inability to build strong working relationships could result in individual workers being stretched to the limit. Most of the factors highlighted in this case were apparent in the case of B&J’s. This is more so the case when it comes to lack of clear and well-defined structures and roles, and poor teamwork. The lines of responsibility and/or authority were clearly blurred. For instance, as has been indicated in the case, no unit or department at B&J’s took responsibility for the broken freezer door. Thus, it remained unfixed. Further, workers in this case worked long hours and were under constant pressure.

There are various OD interventions that could be deployed in efforts to rein in the problem or over-organization or under-organization. To increase chances of success, the OD intervention selected should be organization-specific. As has been indicated above, under-organized and over-organized organizations have certain unique and distinguishing characteristics. No organization presents with an identical set of the factors highlighted. For this reason, OD interventions ought to take into account the specific circumstances of the organization. Secondly, it is important to note that the nature of the factors highlighted above may call for the commitment or allocation of various organizational resources in efforts to rein in over-organization or under-organization. It therefore follows that the OD intervention selected should rope in the owners and/or management of the organization in not only the design, but also implementation and evaluation phases. This is especially important given that this stakeholder group happens to a custodian of the various organizational resources. Lastly, the OD intervention embraced should be all-inclusive. It is clear from the factors identified above, in relation to over-organization and under-organization in enterprises, are largely system and people issues. Thus, the ideal OD intervention should be capable of accommodating the needs a crucial stakeholder group in the organization, i.e. employees. This is to say that the various needs of all employees regardless of their background, race, gender, or other demographic characteristics should be identified and taken into account. If the OD intervention selected ignores the needs of a certain constituency of the organization, it is likely to fail as those who feel left out withdraw or become unenthusiastic about the same.

b) Team Building as a Way to Launch an OD Effort

Kloep, Helten, and Peifer (2023) define team building as “all activities used to maintain and improve the performance of a team and the achievement of team goals or to increase interpersonal relations and satisfaction when working together” (406). Other authors, such as Smith, Skinner, and Read (2020), view team building as a set of directed efforts that seek to promote synergy and collaboration in work settings. Smith, Skinner, and Read (2020) also recognize team building as an ongoing process. As the authors further point out, most businesses attribute their success to enhanced trust, communication, as well as collaboration between workers. Towards this end, in seeking to promote chances of organizational success in the long-term, the relevance of team building cannot be overstated. As has been indicated in the introductory section, team building has been deployed in the past in efforts to loosen up organizations deemed to be too bureaucratic, rigid and, thus, over-organized. Teamwork could also come in handy in seeking to ensure that an under-organized system has the ideal structure. This is more so the case given that it establishes and further enhances bonds between employees. One of the concerns highlighted in the scenario presented was lack of teamwork. Team building activities could be considered an icebreaker of sorts and come in handy in attempts to ensure that employees interact in more effective formats.

Yet another aspect of under-organization that B&J’s exhibits in this case, and which has been identified as a key concern, is lack of common direction and mission. This is an issue that team building could help address. According to McKenna (2020), team building engagements could encourage employees to be more focused towards ensuring that the various organizational objectives are approached from a common front. More specifically, in the words of the authors, “the team-building process teaches employees how to trust each other and work together to achieve common objectives” (McKenna, 2020, p. 311).

B&J’s also lacks a clear structure and roles are not well-defined. Systematic change could be accomplished in this case using team building as the approach of choice. Through the various team building engagements and undertakings, employee recognize that each person has specific capabilities and skills, and plays a special role in ensuring the integrity or stability of a larger system. As a consequence, they are likely to have a clearer perspective of individual functions and embrace the the various roles and responsibilities grouped across the organization. Further, B&J’s employees are overworked and stretched to the limit. This could be a symptom of lack of collaboration and poor management of workflow. To a large extent, team building would help employees collaborate in more effective formats as they are able to identify and complement each other’s strengths and capabilities. Team building also helps managers adopt a more proactive format in the assignment of tasks and scheduling of various activities across the organization. Crucial and practical insights could also be gathered from team building engagements. Indeed, as Smith, Skinner, and Read (2020) observe, managers can obtain crucial feedback on employee capabilities from team building activities. According to the authors, managers can use the insights gathered in this case “to form more effective teams in the future and understand how to best utilize team members” (Smith, Skinner, and Read, 2020, p. 183).

One other approach that could also be taken into consideration as B&J seeks to launch the ideal OD effort is undertaking an organizational culture change. Organizational culture could be defined as the various systems, attitudes as well as values that affect the behavior of employees (McKenna, 2020). The culture change in this case could be founded on the premise that the current structure contributes to B&J’s under-organization. In changing its culture, and ensure that the new culture aligns with the need for the organization to introduce a defined structure to its under-organized system, B&J will need to set a new vision with regard to where it wants to be and how it intends to get there. It will also need to come up with the organizational elements that ought to be adapted to help the company move in the right direction. This could be followed by the institution of the relevant change efforts, i.e. i.e. in relation to changes in administrative procedures, job structure, management system, etc.