Improving Business Performance

Introduction

The performance of an organisation’s business operations is dependent upon several factors that are ascribed to the human relations within the firm. In particular, the relationship between the staff members with the managerial team significantly impacts on the activities carried out in the company. For instance, healthy relations amongst the workforce as well as enhanced working conditions foster cooperation and engagement of the workers respectively. On the other hand, strained relationships and poor working conditions hinder the effectiveness of the performance of the individuals working in an enterprise. In the case of Undergrad Events Company (UEC), the firm’s two departments that oversee the management of blue chip company events and customised VIP events were reviewed some major performance-related concerns were noted. In this regard, it was established that the existent organisational structures, managerial issues, and management-staff relations hindered the performance of the business operations that are conducted by the two departments. Hence, the identification and evaluation of various ways that promote business performance within an organisation facilitates an opportunity for its improvement in UEC.

Potential Ways of Improving Business Performance in UEC

Improving the performance of a given company entails the consideration of key strategic factors that enhance the working relations and the working environment of the staff members in a company. Some of these factors include behavioural management, organisational structures, organisational culture, leadership, communication, and motivation among others as described below.

Behavioural Management

The actions of the people within a given organisation remarkably influence their performance with regard to their expectations while undertaking their tasks. Considering that different actions attract various repercussions, it is imperative that the workers in an organisation embrace positive actions that ensure productivity and high performance (Singh, Darwish, & Potočnik, 2015). In this respect, some negative actions as observed in the conduct of the employees and management of the two departments have resulted in a decline in the performance of UEC. For instance, an act of humiliation and embarrassment is depicted by Amy Night, a departmental head, who is fond of citing poor performance of the workers in the other (VIP events) department. This behaviour demoralises the victims and as a result, the performance of the company is greatly affected. Besides, employees who fail to turn up for work in both departments due to reasons such as illness and other concerns during the last minute lead to increased instances of uncompleted tasks thus impacting negatively on the firm’s business endeavours. Hence, an effective way of enhancing the performance of both departments of UEC is to embrace the concept of behavioural management amongst the staff and the management. As a result, behavioural management will promote the adoption of positive behaviours that are socially acceptable, fulfilling, and productive amongst the company’s staff. Consequently, this concept will foster the business performance of the enterprise as the workers will engage in positive actions that nurture coexistence and mutual understanding.

Organisational Structures

Another aspect that influences the performance of a company is attributed to its organisational structure. An organisational structure refers to the processes that occur in a firm which encompass the allocation of duties to employees, their coordination, and supervision with regard to the company’s objectives (Steiger, Hammou, & Galib, 2014). Usually, these structures are important in facilitating departmentalisation and clear channels of control of the business activities carried out in the organisation. The Undergrad Events Company is also experiencing performance challenges due to poor organisational structures in place. In this case, the firm has two distinct departments which are responsible for conducting its business operations independently as they have their respective heads. However, issues are observed when Amy Night, who heads the blue chip company events department, gives directives to sub team members of the VIP events department without consulting their supervisor. This action compromises the performance of the organisation, specifically in the VIP events department since Amy Night may not be in a position to offer proper guidance in the activities carried out in that department considering that she is more conversant with those tasks that are undertaken in the management of blue chip company events. On the other hand, there is no clear definition of the roles of various employees that resulted in the disorientation of the workers whereby they worked on various projects within and out of their departments. Therefore, adopting clear organisational structure for both the clue chip companies’ events and the VIP events departments in UEC will enhance a clear protocol in the command and control aspects of governing the business activities of the company.

Organisational Culture

The organisational culture of a company is also another key factor that determines the performance level of a firm. The organisational culture is described as the common beliefs, values, and assumptions amongst a firm’s workforce (Ahmed & Shafiq, 2014). Organisational cultures are important to a company since they enhance the workforce to adopt beliefs and practices that promote productivity and performance in the firm’s business activities. In the case of UEC, the company lacks a definite culture that depicts its beliefs and practices with regard to the employees’ engagement in the business operations of the company. This is evidenced by there being no defined practice that was common for all workers at UEC. For instance in some cases, staff members would opt to address the requests of other departmental heads in a bid to be granted promotions into senior capacities. In other cases, work duplication would occur due to organisational issues which would then result in reluctance to carry out some tasks. This culture, therefore, inhibits productivity within the company thus leading to poor performance. It is important that the company reviews its organisational culture to nurture dedication from employees in both departments and their enjoyment in performing their duties. This will thus enhance the performance of the firm.

Leadership

Leadership is an integral aspect of any organisation considering that it entails the control and management of all the business activities that are undertaken by the company. Leadership entails providing direction and guidance to the employees working in a particular company in a bid to realise the organisational objectives (Tsai, 2011). Effective leadership is important towards enabling a firm to achieve its goals whereas defective leadership hinders the company performance thereby affecting the realisation of its objectives. In the case of UEC, the leadership of the company is facing issues regarding the delegation of duties to be performed by the workers. For instance, the managerial team did not interact actively with the rest of the workers hence the former did not understand the grievances of the latter. Additionally, new workers that were employed by the company did not undergo a formal induction process and this negatively impacted on their performance since they did not fully comprehend the structures, procedures, and processes within the firm including their job description due to poor leadership. The performance of UEC can thus be improved by restructuring the company’s leadership in a bid to foster effective leadership in the firm.

Communication

This is another significant component of an organisation that influences its performance. According to Femi (2014), communication entails the correspondence between two parties using verbal on nonverbal means in a bid to share or exchange information. In the organisational context, effective communication between different members of the staff and the managerial team fosters productivity and performance in the company’s business activities. Femi (2014) affirms that the concept of feedback that is delivered through proper communication channels enhances an understanding of the various challenges facing service delivery and the completion of tasks within the firm. Hence, it is an important factor in promoting the success of an organisation in its business activities. The Undergrad Events Company is facing a crisis in the aspects of communication between its leadership and staff members. This is evident since top-down communication was ineffective as there was little feedback from the employees that led to misinformation amongst them. Most conversations between these two parties occurred through the electronic mail and meetings were rarely organised between the leaders and the workforce. This, therefore, contributed significantly to poor performance in the company endeavours because the employees were unsure of their roles in various activities due to miscommunication and lack of clarifications of major issues. The company can thus improve this area by embracing effective communication strategies that will enhance the relationship between the workers and the managerial staff of UEC thereby fostering its performance in organising events for various clients in the two departments.

Motivation

A primary determinant of the productivity of employees in an enterprise is associated with their enthusiasm of carrying out their duties. Robescu and Iancu (2017) contend that a motivated workforce is likely to facilitate the achievement of a company’s goals owing to their dedication towards the completion of their assigned tasks. Motivation involves the aspect of influencing an individual to behave in a specific manner. In the Undergrad Events Company, the employees lacked motivation due to a number of reasons. For example, in as much as the working environment was competitive, the staff members were not rewarded for good performance. Besides, the poor communication and lack of mentorship from the management team demotivated the workers to embrace their duties. Furthermore, the high workloads and short deadlines necessitated the workers to work even during weekends in order to reduce the work as per the instructions from the leaders. These challenges, therefore, make the employees to lose morale thereby hindering their performance. Adopting strategic measures for motivating the workforce in UEC can foster the performance of the employees significantly in both departments.

Goals and Mission

Clearly defined objectives within a firm enable its workers to focus their energy towards achieving the set goals. Ekpe, Eneh, and Inyang (2015) argue that formulating a mission statement and using it as a guide towards accomplishing goals is critical towards the performance and success of the company since it enhances the adoption of viable strategies that promote the realisation of these objectives. Employees who are geared towards achieving a common goal often support each other in various capacities in order to succeed in their undertakings (Shahmehr, Safari, Jamshidi, & Yaghoobi, 2014). Hence, it is imperative for a company to have predetermined goals and missions to foster performance and success in its business activities. In this respect, UEC can improve the performance of its business activities by revising its mission statement and goals. These can be geared towards enhancing employee performance with the objective of delivering high-quality services to its customers. In this way, the company can improve its business performance in both the blue chip company events and the VIP events departments.

Authority

Authority is described as the mandate to have administrative control over the activities carried out by an organisation. The authority in a firm is usually progressive from the top level management towards the employees of an organisation. The employees often take orders and instructions from their seniors regarding task delegations and other clarifications on how they are expected to complete or deliver their work. The aspect of authority is important to a company since it ensures that all systems and processes ensue as planned in a bid to foster the realisation of the company goals and objectives. In the case of UEC, the firm’s management had authoritative challenges that interfered with the performance of their employees. For example, some people would fail to complete their work in time due to various reasons that are associated with human error. Others would cite illness as reasons for not attending to their work whereas others failed to show up especially when the deadlines were tight and there was a lot of work to be completed. These instances of incomplete work from both departments indicate low level of authoritativeness from the managerial staff towards their employees. Thus, they contribute significantly to poor performance of the company in both the blue chip events and the VIP events as the clients may become dissatisfied with their work. Hence, UEC can embrace authoritativeness amongst the departmental heads of both departments as well as their team heads to enhance the control and management of the activities to be carried out thus fostering performance and success in the company.

Responsibility

Commitment to one’s duties is another important aspect of an employee towards promoting his or her productivity and performance. Responsibility is regarded as embracing accountability for undertaking a given action. A workforce that comprises responsible employees is likely to deliver excellent service and thus register good performance. This is because the workers are accountable to their actions while performing their duties hence they will endeavour to deliver high-quality services. The employees at UEC lacked responsibility as depicted in the review thus the low productivity levels were observed. In particular, some workers did not take it upon themselves to ensure that they finished their work on time while others irregularly went to work. These cases of irresponsibility, therefore, hinder performance in the departments of UEC. The company can embrace measures that are significant in fostering responsibility amongst the workers in order to improve the performance of the company.

Conclusion

Performance management in a business institution is a critical concept that enhances its success. In this regard, the human relations and working environment in a company have been described to be key areas that affect its performance. A review conducted on Undergrad Events Company illustrated several instances of poor relations that hinder the performance of the firm in its business operations in its two departments that offer event organising services for blue chip companies and tailored packages for VIP clients. There are various ways that have been identified to be important towards improving the business performance of the organisation in both departments. For instance, enhancing the behavioural management of the firm’s workforce as well as that of the managerial staff enhances the performance of the company in its business activities. Besides, adopting effective organisational structures encourage clear control channels in the enterprise thereby promoting improved business performance and success. Additionally, the company can embrace a good organisational culture to foster the engagement of the staff members in good practices that improve its business performance as noted. Moreover, aspects of effective leadership, communication, and motivation have been illustrated as potential ways that UEC can use to enhance its business performance. Furthermore, setting goals and working with a sound mission encourage employees to improve their productivity hence their performance as explained. Finally, the authority and responsibility of the managerial staff and the workers respectively can be enhanced to boost the business performance of UEC.