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Case Study #1 - Allied universal
Case Study #1 - Allied universal
Allied Universal Podcast
LaDonna Powell shares the issues within the Allied Universal Organization and the impact this had on employees. (Joffe-Walt, 2018).
Joffe-Walt's podcast interview with LaDonna connected to the other course material that has been discussed thus far.
Case Study Connections
Sinek (2009) explains that most companies discuss the what and the how. However, they often discuss the why last, or not at all. Allied Universal identified a single purpose: “to keep people, businesses, and communities safe so we can all thrive together” (Allied Universal, 2021).
Organizational Effectiveness and Employee Engagement - how effective an organization is in achieving what it intended to achieve/produce, as well as an individual’s involvement and satisfaction with work/their enthusiasm with work (Anderson, 2019). As evidenced in Joffe-Walt (2018), LaDonna decided to take over employee training. She was engaged with employees and had high hopes of changing the culture at Allied Universal.
“By humanistic we mean that individuals deserve respect, are trustworthy, and want to achieve personal growth and satisfaction. Humanistic values also include a belief in the equity and equality of people, democratic principles, and a belief in human dignity and worth” (Anderson, 2019, p. 51). The management of Allied Universal demonstrated the opposite of a humanistic approach based on the way they treated women, people of other races, and other minorities. In addition, they did not create a trusting environment and did not create respect between workers – rather they created feelings of being unsafe and less then.
Steps I Would Take as an OD Practitioner
To begin, I would want to emphasize the value of creating authenticity, openness, and trust. “Being authentic means being straightforward, genuine, honest, and truthful about one’s plans, opinions, and motivations” (Anderson, 2019, p. 58).
If the priority of Allied Universal is to keep people, businesses, and communities safe (Allied Universal, 2021) they need to establish a rapport which entails being authentic, trustworthy, and open with others about your intentions.
I would also work to emphasize the importance of valuing the whole person. “Respecting the whole person means acknowledging and recognizing diversity and the benefits that individual differences bring to an organization” (Anderson, 2019, p. 55).
“Our relationships with our employees and clients are at the core and heart of everything we do, every day” (Allied Universal, 2021). If this is the motto that Allied Universal wishes to believe, and implement, they would need to recognize the importance of valuing the whole person, and acknowledging that other people have thoughts, feelings, and are human beings and should be treated as such.
Overview of My Pitch to Allied Universal
I created a FlipGrid Video of my pitch to Allied Universal. The steps I took in this process included:
Discuss what I would define as the problem with Allied Universal that I would like to address, based on information from LaDonna Powell’s interview in a 2018 podcast.
Expand on this by discussing what intervention I believe would be best for this identified problem and why.
Share what model of organizational change discussed by Anderson appears to be the most relevant to the identified problem and intervention.
Proposal for Allied Universal
A podcast interview with LaDonna Powell shared concerns that occur within the Allied Universal organization. The behaviors demonstrated by the organization were in contrast to the mission statement set out by Allied Universal. Following my pitch (above), I drafted a proposal to further elaborate on the problems seen within the organization, but more importantly solutions to help address these concerns.
Case Study #2- Sorting Through the Data at Logan Elementary
Case Study #2- Sorting Through the Data at Logan Elementary
As the Practitioner
For the case of Logan Elementary School, the principal, Nancy, wanted to make improvements such as:
Improving relationships among faculty and staff
Build consistency in approach among teachers at each grade level
Improve the relationship between the school and the community (Anderson, 2019).
I put myself in the shoes of the practitioner who was asked to interview staff, faculty members, and parents over one weeks’ time.
The goal of this was to better understand the issues facing the school.
From there, I was able to collect, analyze, sort, interpret, select, and prioritize the data obtained.
After this, I worked to structure a meeting with Nancy to review the data as well as discuss what themes were observed through these interviews.
What I Found
Through my diagnosis I discovered:
100% of the feedback from grades 2 thru 4 were concerns
100% of the feedback from grade 5 pertaining directly to Nancy was positive
For the teachers of unknown grades, 80% of the feedback was concerns
For staff, 33% of the feedback was concerns
For parents, 100% of the feedback directly related to Nancy was positive
The following are the main concerns that I identified and prioritized, based on the feedback from teachers, staff, and parents at Logan Elementary School:
Perceived favoritism/lack of support (30% of the concerns)
Faculty meeting (34% of the concerns)
Budget cuts and their impact (19%)
Feedback for Nancy
Schedule a meeting with Nancy for Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM.
Length of meeting: 2 hours
Location: reserved office space at the Logan High School
Provide Nancy with positive remarks that came from the interviewees regarding what is going well within the school.
Discuss with Nancy the common themes within the data and provide addition feedback regarding each concern. These concerns will include:
Perceived favoritism/lack of support (30% of concerns)
Faculty meetings (34% of concerns)
Budget cuts and their impact (19% of concerns)
Process information with Nancy
Determine next steps
Conclude meeting
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