The Debilitating Effect of Hierarchical Structures on Those With and Essay

The Debilitating Effect of Hierarchical Structures on Those With and Without Power Then and Now - Essay Example In various forms, hierarchy gives rise to leaders or a handful of principal individuals in a group, which naturally occurs from interactions. Magee and Galinsky (3) discuss the definition and behavior of a hierarchical structure: Resources are unequally distributed across individuals and groups, and positions and roles are granted different amounts of sources of power, which are conferred upon the individuals who occupy them. Like both human and non-human primate societies more generally, most, if not all, organizations have a stratified structure, a pyramid shape with fewer people at the top than at the bottom. Even when one considers the heterogeneity of organizational forms and organizational practices and cultures that are intended to dodge or suppress hierarchy, what is most noticeable is that hierarchy relentlessly rises up against these pressures. Most importantly, hierarchy is a naturally-forming phenomenon that is always present in various forms across all societies in the w orld. It inescapably develops between and within groups even when some organizations reduce the effect of its structure by adopting alternative models of shaping an organization (Leavitt 42). Social hierarchy in organizations is defined as â€Å"an implicit or explicit rank order of individuals or groups with respect to a valued social dimension† (Magee and Galinsky 5). ... 930). Hierarchies create power and control to individuals of the higher rank that hold greater ability, skills and motivation to complete certain tasks within a group. In formal hierarchy, the differentiated structure is constant but passive since changing the assembly of ranks is difficult and borderline unreasonable. On the other hand, the organizational structure in informal hierarchy is weak and conditional because the hierarchical differentiation is only done on short interaction based on stereotype-based expectations (Magee and Galinsky 7). Over the years, hierarchical structures faded and developed a debilitating effect to those members of groups and organizations that possess power and to those who lack one. This gradual weakening of hierarchy will be discussed by exploring the literary pieces, â€Å"The Use of Force† by William Carlos William, â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† by Robert Hayden, and â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† by Theodore Roethke. William Car los William’s famous short story, â€Å"The Use of Force† presents the application of physical superiority of a person with power to others who have none. In the story, a doctor is shown to diagnose a sick child whom they suspect of having the deadly disease diphtheria. The doctor needed to get a throat culture in the mouth of the child in order to examine the cause of the illness correctly, however the stubbornness of the child and the passive authority of the parents made the process harder to execute. The doctor appeared to be compassionate at first, addressing an open mind to the expressed fear of the child in being examined, and at the reluctance of the parents to accommodate a stranger like him into their home. But as the child becomes more

Global Interdependence Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Global Interdependence - Article Example Davis shows how, the fearfulness of the calamity was accelerated by the callous colonizers that led to the death of thousands of poor men, women and children and livestock. In the article by Odd Arne Westad, hails the USA as an interventionist power whose sole aim and purpose has been territorial expansion. The USA has not been fair in treatment to its own citizens, as we know from the terrible plight of the Black Americans. One of the ideals that worked behind motivating the elites of the United States was liberty, which was accessible to those who had private property and education. Thus, the authors in their respective articles condemn vehemently the destructive force of ruling a supposedly inferior race by a self-proclaimed superior race. Domination is the key theme in all the three writings. All these three writers have criticized domination in terms of rule and interference, thereby weakening a country to the considerable extent and robbing its citizens of their natural wealth and environment. Aime describes colonial invasions as ‘hideous’ and is very justified in calling so since the act of taking over another nation completely destroys it and its people. Only force is the base of the relation between the colonizer and the colonized. Davis’ article only reinstates this theory by citing the example of the infamous famine that crippled India during the British Rule. While India produced enough crops to feed its people, most of it was hoarded and the rest exported to different parts of the world. While millions of people died, the colonizers maintained a policy of non-interference. In the article by Westad is a further reinstatement of the evils of forceful acquisition of others land. Colonizers ge nerally cite the example of the colonized’s ignorance, brutality, superstition etc. as was written by Jefferson to Lafayette in 1813.  

DWI Plea Bargaining and Recidivism and relevance to deterrence and Thesis

DWI Plea Bargaining and Recidivism and relevance to deterrence and social learning theory - Thesis Example From the research it can be comprehended that social learning theory and general deterrence theories are two theories which may be used to combat the problem of drinking and driving. Social learning is based upon group behavior, and the assumption that groups have the same norms, values and beliefs, which are transmitted through the group. Behavior may also be punished or rewarded within the group, and modeling plays a part, in that individuals look at each others' behavior and imitate this behavior. The group also has definitions, which serve as justifications or excuses for behavior. This is the most important part of social learning theory. General deterrence theory, on the other hand, focuses on reinforcement, as opposed to association. It is solely focused on punishment, and the theory is that if punishment is both severe and certain, it is more likely to deter others from engaging in this particular behavior. This theory has less scientific evidence supporting it, although it c an coincide with social learning theory, in that part of social learning theory concerns vicarious reinforcement, which means that individuals in a group see others in their group be rewarded or punished for behavior, and react accordingly. General deterrence is a part in that, if a member of a group is punished, then this is a model to others to stop the behavior. Social learning theory has been implicated in criminality, in particular with regards to violence. Rosenstock, Stretcher, and Becker (1988) state that social learning theory is based upon expectancies and incentives. The expectancies consist of expectancies regarding environmental clues (how events are connected, and what leads to what); expectancies about the consequences of one's own actions; and expectancies regarding one's own competency to perform the behavior necessary to achieve the desired outcome. The incentives part of this equation consists of value of the particular outcome. Akers, Krohn, Lanza-Kaduce, Radosev ich (1979) conceive of social learning theory as a variance of operant conditioning combined with learning by observing other's behavior. In other words, social learning is dependent upon the factors governing operant conditioning, which is dependent upon rewards to reinforce good behavior and punishment to deter bad behavior. Either deviant or conforming behavior may be reinforced, depending upon the punishment and rewards one gets for one or the other behavior. Observation of others is the other part of this equation, and this is where individuals learn by watching others what kind of behavior is rewarded or punished. Others model for them what behavior is good and what behavior is bad – in particular, people learn from others who have great influence in their lives, like peers, teachers or parents. Akers (2006) states that social learning consists of four variables. The first is differential association. This means that the individual associates with others with behaviors, values and norms which are supportive of the particular act in question. This association may either be with peers, parents or others, and it may also be association with video games, television, on-line groups and the like. A definition refers to rationalizations, justifications and excuse for the behavior. Differential reinforcement refers to the anticipation of rewards or punishment for the behavior. Generally, the more likely the behavior is to be rewarded, the more likely the person will engage in this behavior. Imitation refers

Emanuel Medical Center Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Emanuel Medical Center - Case Study Example EMC’s Service Area incorporated the wide city of Turlock and the smaller towns in its periphery. Out of eighty percent of EMC’s patients were residents of the primary service area, sixty-four percent came from Turlock. The twelve small towns in the Turlock’s periphery were EMC’s secondary service area and were within five and fifteen miles from EMC. The secondary service area provided fourteen percent of all ECM’s patients. Residents from without EMC’s primary and secondary service area made up the remaining six percent of EMC’s patients. EMC had a mixed customer base comprising of cultural diversity and patients of different ages. In 1999, EMC recorded that 40.1 of its patients were 65 years and older, patients between 15 and 44 years of age formed 33.2 percent, and the 14-year olds and younger formed 10.2 percent. Hispanics were 32.5 percent of EMC’s patient population and were the fastest growing segment of emergency departme nt admissions. In 2002, the population of EMC’s primary service area was about 200,000 that was a nineteen percent increase from its population of about 168,000 in 1998. A big proportion of EMC’s patient population was baby boomers (Fisher, 2009). There are many hospitals and surgical outpatient clinics within 50 miles of Turlock that compete for patients’ loyalty. Kaiser Permanente’s contract with Memorial Medical Centre of Modesto is one of the large HMOs that provide EMC with insurance-covered patients. HMOs add to EMC’s market advantage because they provide it with this section of the patient population. However, the proximity of EMC’s competitors accelerates the fight for patients.

Compare and contrast the development strategies of Mao Zedong and Deng Essay

Compare and contrast the development strategies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Examine the successes and failures of each strategy - Essay Example The focus on economic and agricultural reform is what made the two leaders very similar. That is, they were both concerned about improving their country through agricultural and economic reform. More so, they were both communists looking forward to lead China in that direction. They both started many social, cultural and economic reforms in which some failed and some were successful. According to Deng, socialism was a means to economic development (Ash, Howe and Kueh 2013, p.15). Deng Xiaoping has been identified as a good leader whose actions led to the improvement of the Chinese society. On the other hand, Mao’s actions resulted in more damage than good for the Chinese citizens. Notably, Mao Zedong suggested many strategies in the establishment of Chinese socialism. Some of these included large-scale land reforms and collectivization of agriculture, which were meant to recover the economy and modernize China. In addition, he transformed the living standards of individuals in rural areas by improving healthcare and introducing middle-school education (Bramall 2008, p.549). The land reforms were marked with the enactment of the Agrarian Reform Law of 1950, which aimed at dismantling China’s feudal system (Shen 2000, p.3). After land reforms, individuals were able to produce more and the increased production provided enough raw materials for industrial development. Thereafter in 1958, Mao introduced the Great Leap Forward under which high targets were created for industry and agriculture. Mao hoped that China could catch up with Britain in steel and other industries, and so he introduced the collectivization of agriculture under which individuals were t o leave their land and join cooperatives. However, this policy failed and had catastrophic impacts as individual’s working incentives declined leading to food shortage. About fifteen million Chinese people lost their lives due to

Justice, Gender, and Affirmative Action Essay Example for Free

Justice, Gender, and Affirmative Action Essay Affirmative action Introduction                   Affirmative action is a policy that is aimed at providing positive measures to remedy effects of past discrimination against members of certain groups (Clayton Crosby 1992, p.2). One of the areas that suffer underrepresentation of the diverse, underrepresented individuals and minority group in colleges is the laws schools and subsequently in the legal profession. The questioned posed is â€Å"Is affirmative action the best solution to alleviating this crisis or is it the major cause together with other practices that have contributed to these underrepresentation?                   First of all is the admission procedure. Admission selection considers those with a bachelor’s degree for an accredited university or college. Few underrepresented minority students are able to attend college and obtain the relevant qualifications. Moreover, there are disparities in number of applicants and the number who get enrolled. For example in 2000, 74500 individuals submitted their application to ABA- approved school and an estimate of 67% of the total were admitted (ABA/ LSAC Pre-Conference Report, 2005, p, 4). This illustrates a flaw in the acceptance procedure that focus on higher merit in which its well document trend that underrepresented minorities score less on the Law Schools Admission Test (LSAT).                   Secondly the individual state bar exams are a severe impediment. â€Å"While the LSAT remains a reliable predictor of success in law school and the Law School Admission Council (makers of the LSAT), warn against over-reliance on numerical qualifiers alone† (ABA/ LSAC Pre-Conference Report, 2005, p, 5). Raised cut off points detriment the minorities who are disproportionately at the bottom in addition the bars are also misapplied. The percentage of residents in a state should have a proportionate percentage at the law school. The lack of a national bar does also contribute to this issue.                   The above two examples illustrate why affirmative action is needed in leveling admissions. Higher merit and higher cut off points are serving to lock out minority groups from accessing law education. In coming up with a criteria for selection, the selection board should put into consideration performance of minority groups which is at the lower end of the spectrum.                   Terry Eastland suggests that affirmative action promotes discrimination. He argues that there is nothing like positive or negative discrimination. In Higher education for example, when the institution sets a lower grade for color students, the act in itself creates discrimination. These groups of students who will be enrolled under affirmative action are well aware that they are in that position due to their race. It is a negative experience that is not easy to erase. Sometimes attitudes from the majority students will affect the students from the minority. The majority students may not look at the minority as equals.                   Affirmative action leads to stigma. Eastland says that very few people are aware of the abilities and potential of the marginalized groups. In this case they are likely to be less respected and less valued. This can end up psychologically affecting these groups and it can be worsened if they fail to perform. Terry end believes that an environment should an equal working basis. If students have to be enrolled for higher education, it should be based on merit and not race. This will create an equal working environment of mutual relationship.                   Furthermore, Eastland equates ‘Affirmative action’ to ‘lower standards’. The rationale of having a policy that sets asides positions after a normal criterion creates a barrier between quality and less quality. By having this policy, institutions are accepting that results posted from minority groups are of lesser quality and lesser magnitude to that from the majority. Policy makers argue that the minority are affected by certain factors that make them not to equal results of the majority. It then beats logic that it would be easier resolving factors that make minority perform lesser than providing a criterion that guarantee certain results.                   Terry Eastland comments and views in regard to affirmative action tend to disapprove use of affirmative action against underrepresentation based on color. His views do not factor underrepresentation due to gender. However the logic behind his reasons and those of other scholars can equally be equated to affirmative action on gender and sex segregation                   Gender affirmative actions have shown to improve the status of women in the society. In fact advocates for gender affirmative actions have sprung from various women activists and organizations. Women have gained access to representations in legislative organs, various courses in colleges that stereotypically were set for men. However it is urged that continuous paying attention to a group of people will result in then differences becoming more salient than the commonalities among people (Clayton Crosby 1992, p.11). This statement thus emphasizes Terry Eastland’s arguments against affirmative action.                   To conclude, the benefits of affirmative action are actually visible. Moving forward however, the fundamental principles of affirmative action seem to have been overtaken with time. Putting into consideration Terry Eastland arguments in regard to affirmative action, the negatives of affirmative action outweigh the positives. Affirmative action has led to lower productivity, increased segregation and stigmatization. The call to end affirmative actions thus is justified. References Clayton, Susan D, and Faye J. Crosby. Justice, Gender, and Affirmative Action. Ann Arbor, Mich: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1992. Print. Law Schools Admission Council. Pre Conference Report (2005) Collaborating to Expand the Pipeline. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/op/pipelineconf/PipelinePostReport.authcheckdam.pdf Source document

Description of a Maintenance Organisation

Description of a Maintenance Organisation Description of a Maintenance Organisation with Suggested Developments to Improve Cost Effectiveness    Table 1: Key Terms and Abbreviations Term / Abbreviation Definition CM Corrective Maintenance CMMS Computerised Maintenance Management System DCC Dublin City Centre FM Facilities Manager FT Facilities Technician GO General Operator HR Human Resources IFM Integrated Facilities Management IR Industrial Relations IT Information Technology KPI Key Performance Indicator NSC National Services Centre OCS One Complete Solution or Outsourced Client Solutions PM Preventive Maintenance RIME Ranking Index for Maintenance Expenditures TUPE Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) WIOF Water Industry Operating Framework WO Work Order This report provides analysis of the Ervia Facilities department and investigates options for improving cost effectiveness. Ervia is Irelands biggest utility provider and has 2,000 office based employees in 19 locations across the country. Ervia has availed of the Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) model for delivery of maintenance with OCS Management Services being the chosen provider. The cost to Ervia of this service is  £3,000,000 per annum. This 3 year contract is set to expire at the end of 2017. Industrial relations (IR) Mention overall savings expected.  £500,000 in total with a  £100,000 reduction of the IFM contract value. The Maintenance Organisation that I have chosen to base this report on exists within the facilities department of Ervia. Ervia is Irelands biggest utility provider. It is a semi-state body, formed in 2014 and is the parent company of Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland. Through its business, Aurora Telecom, it is also a provider of dark fibre broadband infrastructure. A Shared Services business unit was created within Ervia that comprises of Facilities, Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), Accounts Payable, Procurement and Major Projects departments. Shared Services would count Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland as de facto customers. The Facilities department are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of 19 offices throughout Ireland. There are some 2,000 employees working from these offices. Site security, cleaning, catering, capital projects and fleet management also fall within the remit of the department but for this report, we will focus solely on the maintenance of the office buildings. The maintenance or hard services of the offices is outsourced to the IFM company, OCS Management Services as part of a 3 year contract that is due to expire at the end of 2017. OCS Management Services is part of the wider OCS group. The acronym was originally defined as Office Cleaning Services but is now interchangeably explained as being either One Complete Solution or Outsourced Client Solutions. It has a truly global reach with operations in over 50 countries and provides a full range of facilities related services. For simplicity, we will refer to the OCS Management Services team as OCS for the remainder of this report. The changes I suggest will be recommended for implementation at the beginning of the next IFM contract in January, 2018 and will involve structural overhaul of both Ervia and OCSs facilities maintenance teams. This next IFM contract is set to last 5 years. 2.1 Office Locations One of the main challenges for managing maintenance on the Ervia contract is the geographical spread with offices dotted throughout the country. See Figure 1 for all office locations. It would be far easier to deliver Facilities service if the office staff were more centrally located but being a national utility, Ervia must tie in with the multitude of county and city councils spread throughout the country. Figure 1: Ervia Offices Locations Figure 1 shows the locations of Ervia offices throughout Ireland. 2.2 Contract Value The hard services maintenance contract comes at a cost of  £3,000,000 per year to Ervia. It is based on a Cost Plus model i.e. all Preventive Maintenance (PM) is delivered as part of the contract value with Corrective Maintenance (CM) activities charged as additional costs. Additional costs can accumulate up to a value of  £500,000 per year. 2.3 Work Quantities and Types Facilities maintenance differs from industrial maintenance in that items that require attention may be observed by either office or maintenance staff. Office staff will generally tend to report less serious matters, while maintenance staff typically report the issues which require more urgent attention. In order to separate the noise of often trivial matters observed by office staff from the technical issues observed by maintenance staff, Ervia has developed an Incident Management process. Issues are raised by the office staff using an online incident management system. The raised incidents are dealt with by the maintenance staff along the following lines: If the item involves a non-technical fix e.g. increase in room temperature or lubricating a squeaking door hinge, the incident can be closed once this action is completed. If the item requires a technical fix e.g. a water leak or failed light fitting, the incident is escalated by raising a CM Work Order (WO) in the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS). Equipment running issues or breakdowns are raised directly as CM WOs in the CMMS by Facilities staff. In terms of PM, there are 903 schedules across the Ervia office portfolio. These in turn generate multiples of weekly and monthly PM WOs. The following charts break out the annual mix of maintenance activities by types, quantities and whether they are actioned through self-delivery or out-sourcing. Figure 2: Quantities of Maintenance Activities by Type Figure 2 shows the various types and approximate quantities of Maintenance Activities that are raised annually within the Ervia Facilities department. Figure 3: Self Delivered v Outsourced Maintenance Activities Figure 3 shows the percentage split in terms of delivery of Maintenance Activities. Figure 4: Ervia Organisation Chart Figure 4 displays the Ervia maintenance team Organisation Chart. The 6 employees in the above chart are the Ervia staff in the Facilities department that have responsibility over the maintenance function. There are other staff in the department but we will only consider the above for this report. The Systems Engineer, despite the implication in the job title, sits at a middle management level and is considered to be a peer of the Facilities Managers. The General Operator (GO) stands out as being the only person of that rank that is a member of the Ervia team. The GO in question is a long serving staff member of Gas Networks Ireland and chose not to transfer to OCS when the first IFM contract was awarded. This situation presents a complication as the GO will not take direction from OCS staff and instead all orders have to be channelled through the NSC Regional Sites Facilities Manager. Figure 5: OCS Organisation Chart Figure 5 displays the OCS maintenance team Organisation Chart (based on the Ervia FM contract). The 24 employees in the above chart are the OCS staff that are embedded on the Ervia IFM contract. All roles are subject to Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations and will move to the new service provider should OCS not be successful in their efforts at contract renewal in 2018. As with Ervia, the OCS Systems Engineer sits at a middle management level and is considered to be a peer of the Facilities Managers. We can see from the above chart that the DCC Facilities Manager has a far bigger team at his disposal than the other mangers. This is because over half of the Ervia office staff are situated in the buildings within his remit. In isolation, the Ervia and OCS organisation charts seem to represent an acceptable scenario. However when we combine them in Figure 6, we can instantly see that improvement steps need to be taken. There is obvious duplication of roles at Facilities Manager and Systems Engineer level. Dual reporting is also apparent with the OCS Facilities Managers and Systems Engineers having to answer to both Ervia and OCS management. Figure 6: Combined Ervia and OCS Organisation Chart Figure 6 displays the Combined Ervia and OCS maintenance team Organisation Chart. The above Organisation Chart may in parts seem both confusing and utterly unbelievable, especially when linking the OCS structure to Ervia. The aim of Table 2 is to further explain the duality of the reporting structure. Table 2: OCS to Ervia Reporting Structure OCS Staff Members Report To OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia National Facilities Operations Manager NSC Facilities Manager OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia NSC Regional Sites Facilities Manager Regional Sites Facilities Manager OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia NSC Regional Sites Facilities Manager DCC Facilities Manager OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia DCC Facilities Manager Southern Region Facilities Manager OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia Southern Region Facilities Manager Systems Engineer OCS Senior Key Account Manager Ervia Systems Engineer The most remarkable fact about this combined structure is that, somehow, it actually works. It can be safely said that it is both collaborative and operationally effective. Even though each mid-level manager has two persons to report to, somehow the contract proceeds with very little conflict to the extent that at times the relationship between Ervia and OCS has been described as incestuous! However it is clear that it could not be effective from a cost perspective. For instance there are more managers than technicians. The superfluous layer of middle management will be the initial focus when it comes to suggesting improvements in cost effectiveness. From the above we can also conclude, with certainty, that operational efficiency requires improvement. For example, if any of the OCS Facilities Managers or Systems Engineer needs approval to take an action, they will have to seek this from two persons. This can turn into a game of ping-pong as the approving managers may not initially agree on the same course of action. Usually in this scenario, the Ervia approving managers opinion will prevail due to the customer is always right philosophy. The structure as portrayed in Figure 4 is not unknown in the Irish semi-state/public sectors where there have long been accusations by print and broadcast media of wasteful spending (McConnell, 2015). It is a fair question to ask as to how this situation developed. Among the reasons are: As Ervia came into being by virtue of decisions made at government level, the result was the virtual overnight creation of the biggest utility company in Ireland that had rapidly expanding responsibilities. Employees transferred from the Gas Networks Ireland Facilities department to Ervia without an assessment being made on whether they were required or not. Because of the above, it was more pressing at the time to simply get a Facilities department up and running without considering the most efficient means of doing so. 6.1 Phase 1 Development Losing Fat in the Midsection Figure 7: Proposed Phase 1 Combined Ervia and OCS Organisation Chart Figure 7 displays the Proposed Combined Ervia and OCS maintenance team Organisation Chart at the Phase 1 level of development. We can see in Figure 7 that the structure looks less convoluted and is starting to develop a balance. The first task in this development will be to remove the duplicate layer of middle management. The second task will be to change who the Ervia GO reports to. The following two actions will have to be taken to enable this: The Ervia Facilities Managers and Systems Engineer roles will have to be made redundant. The Ervia GO will have to transfer to OCS. 6.2 Phase 2 Development The Rise of the Systems Engineer Figure 8: Proposed Phase 2 Combined Ervia and OCS Organisation Chart Figure 8 displays the Proposed Combined Ervia and OCS maintenance team Organisation Chart at the Phase 2 level of development. We can see in Figure 8 that the maintenance organisation now looks to be much more ordered and has a well-balanced structure. Duplication of roles and dual reporting has been removed. To enable this change, the role of the Systems Engineer will have to be considerably expanded. Up to this point the focus of this role was to collate asset data, install both a CMMS and an incident management system. The Systems Engineer can now fully take the reins regarding a systematic approach to improving work management. To do this, the support of an administrator will be required once the system becomes operational. Once fully realised, this system will negate the need for the 3 administrators that report to the Facilities managers. The reduction in administrators is possible because the new CMMS is configured for paperless WOs and much increased automation of reporting. The maintenance staff will now carry tablet computers to execute completion of WOs. From this point onwards, the Systems Engineers office will become the nerve centre of maintenance activities for the Facilities department with the following items featured prominently: Planning and scheduling of maintenance activities will be managed from there in conjunction with the site based technical staff. This is detailed further in Section 7. The CMMS will be fully managed from there with PM WOs for all sites generated by the administrator on a weekly basis. Reports from the Incident Management systems and CMMS will also be compiled at this office. These will be channelled directly to senior management at OCS and Ervia. The Systems Engineer will chair a monthly meeting with the Facilities Managers and cover upcoming works and resources requirements/availability. Implementation of work prioritisation. Again this is drilled into further in Section 7. 6.3 Phase 3 Development Breaking Down the Barriers Something that is not visible from the above organisation charts is the discreet walls that exist between the various site teams. It could even be said that they operate almost as autonomous groups. It is hoped that Systems Engineers increasing prominence will organically bring about change in this area and pull the teams together. There is much to be gained by sharing both knowledge and resources when possible. For instance one of the Facilities Technicians in the Dublin City Centre (DCC) sites is a qualified refrigeration engineer, he could provide technical assistance and advice regarding air conditioning equipment to the other sites. In the longer term, once the maintenance organisation has settled following the period of enforced change, consideration should be given to reviewing how maintenance activities are performed. There are likely to be opportunities for improvement of cost effectiveness in this area also. 7.1 Ranking Index for Maintenance Expenditure (RIME) It is envisaged that a system for prioritisation of maintenance activities will be introduced to the Facilities organisation. In RIME, expenditure refers to both time and cost. RIME works by assigning scores for the following factors: Asset criticality. WO criticality. Amount of time a WO is open. These scores are then multiplied which will, if the system is configured properly, ensure the most important work gets the highest total score. The newly installed CMMS at Ervia supports RIME and automatically provides total scores for WOs. This will allow maintenance staff to see a list of activities assigned to them in high-to-low order of priority. 7.2 Developing the Planning Function Sound planning practices are essential for any maintenance organisation and implementation of such is considered best practice. In the Ervia Facilities department, the OCS Systems Engineer will lead the charge in rolling out planning across the maintenance team. As detailed earlier, The Systems Engineer will chair a monthly meeting with the Facilities Managers and work planning will take centre stage at this meeting. A further aim of these meetings will be to knock down the discreet walls that exist between the different site teams. There should be opportunities to share both learning and indeed resources but proper lines of communication need to be established first. The changes that can be implemented have now been suggested but what are they going to achieve in terms of improving cost effectiveness? The bullet points below will attempt to quantify expected savings: Removing Layer of Middle Management The Facilities Managers and System Engineer each come at a cost of  £100,000 to Ervia. Removing the 4 as proposed, will bring a saving of  £400,000. Reducing Number of Administrators Each administrator comes at a cost of  £50,000 to Ervia. Removing 3 as proposed, while transferring 1 to support the Systems Engineer will bring a saving of  £100,000. Introducing RIME Any savings to be generated here are difficult to quantify at this juncture but a system for prioritising work can only be a good thing and will surely result in at least some cost avoidance by getting the important work done at the right time. Developing Work Planning Again any savings garnered by taking this measure are difficult to quantify at present but will help ensure maintenance best practice is followed. It is worth noting however that the rule of thumb in industry is unplanned maintenance can cost at least 3 times as much as planned maintenance (Strawn, n.d.). Points to note In terms of staff resources, savings are calculated based on the cost to Ervia which takes into account such items as Pay Related Social Insurance and Management Fees charged by OCS as part of the IFM contract. Detailed resource costs are tabulated in Appendix A. It must be noted that only the savings in relation to reducing the number of administrators will impact the IFM contract costs. The removal of the Ervia middle management does not impact the IFM contract value. To quote Jack Welch (2001), the person regarded by many as the greatest company leader of his generation Change before you have to. Ervia needs to get its house in order if there are external changes introduced such as reduced budgets and/or an increase in the number of sites to maintain. At present there is much volatility in Irish political circles with funding of public/semi state companies a constant hot topic. Ervia could be faced with the possibility of having its funding slashed at government level and in tough times the maintenance department of any organisation is often seen as a soft target. Since there is an IFM contract renewal coming at the beginning of 2018, this could be used as an opportunity to begin the implementation of changes. It would mean that the proposed structures could be built in to the new contract which would avoid having to use the change control process that applies during contract run time. Again, to draw from the famed former head of General Electric (GE), Jack Welch, Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while (Slater, 1998). Lets consider, in the following sub-sections, the two main points of impact as a result of implementing the proposed changes. We will also consider on how to mitigate the effects. 10.1 Staff Reductions and Transfers These decisions will not be easy to implement. There will be considerable resistance from the Ervia Facilities Managers and Systems Engineer. Should the situation become intractable, it may be necessary to remove the layer of middle management from OCS instead. The Ervia staff would then transfer to OCS and report to the Senior Key Account Manager. The path of least resistance may have to be followed. It could well turn out that the Facilities Managers and Systems Engineer team are made up out of a combination of OCS and former Ervia staff that have transferred. The Ervia GO may take umbrage at having to transfer to OCS. The last time these attempts were made resulted in failure. The shakeup at administration level could also cause rancour. Because the Systems Engineer is based in one of the Cork offices, the administrator that supports this role will likely come as a transfer from the Southern Regional Sites Facilities Managers team. The two Dublin based administrators will have to be made redundant. Willing to make changes is one thing but successfully managing the change will be crucial. A rocky road will have to be travelled with the possibility of staff morale taking a hit. Potential resentment from the soon-to-be unemployed staff towards retained staff is also likely during the transition phase. The strength that Welch speaks of will have to come from senior management in both Ervia and OCS. Considerable resolve will have to be displayed when communicating to employees that they no longer have a job. A silver lining can be added to the cloud by ensuring favourable severance packages for those made redundant and committing to TUPE regulations for any employee that transfers to OCS. 10.2 Introduction of Work Management Systems It could be perceived by the Facilities Mangers that a power grab is taking place by the Systems Engineer. The onus will be on the Senior Key Account Manager to sell the benefits of the changes in practice. Over time, the benefits should then start to become self-evident as management of work improves, shared learnings disseminate and client contentment increases as a result of a better run contract. 10.3 Industrial Relations Concerns The changes proposed above will not be encumbered by IR action. Neither Ervia nor OCS staff are union affiliated so as long as the employees legally held rights are observed, there should be no issue. The Facilities department could be presented with a dramatic widening of its scope in the next number of years. It is envisaged that Ervia, through Irish Water, will eventually absorb all county and city council staff that are currently involved in maintaining the water services infrastructure. This could involve the transfer of up to an additional 2,500 staff. The knock-on effects for the maintenance team within the Facilities department would be considerable. The multitude of premises that house all these employees would then be in scope for upkeep and repair. There is currently a team charged with developing a plan to allow for the transfer of these staff and premises to the Ervia parent utility group. The Water Industry Operating Framework (WIOF) will contain the new obligations that the Facilities department will be required to meet. Both Ervia and OCS, should they retain the IFM contract, will have to ready themselves for the huge challenges coming down the tracks. The best way to achieve this is to allow for scalability in the systems that are designed and built. While extra staff will no doubt have to be recruited, duplication of roles as per the current situation will have to be avoided. The time is right at present to ensure a solid foundation is laid to accommodate this forecasted expansion. In the predicted scenario, additional costs are going to be incurred. The measures proposed in this report, if implemented, will serve to keep these extra costs to a minimum. At a higher level, there are additional changes that could be made to improve cost effectiveness. As mentioned earlier, the current IFM contract with OCS falls under the Cost Plus model. Detailed below is an alternative to this contract type known as Fixed Price/Output Based. The author of this report has previous experience of this type of IFM contract. The bullet points below show advantages and potential shortcomings: Headline Information (based on example): 10% up-front savings guaranteed over costs incurred by client to deliver maintenance. Built in glide path which consisted of a 1% year-on-year reduction in cost of overall contract. IFM absorbed costs of up to  £5,000 per breakdown. IFM had full authority on staff numbers and how maintenance was delivered. Contract was 5 + 5 i.e. initial duration of 5 years with option by client to extend for a further 5 years without re-tendering. Advantages: Costs for client are tied down. Incentive for IFM provider to implement cost effective maintenance. Disadvantages: Instead of what Emmet and Wheelhouse (2011) describe as collaborative, the relationship can instead become transactional and often even adversarial. Risk that IFM may cut corners regarding maintenance in order to deliver on-budget. Race to the bottom mentality can pervade during tendering where prospective service providers will submit unrealistically low pricing in order to win the contract. Requirements to make it work: Watertight contract with relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to accurately monitor IFM contract compliance. Condition of equipment in contract scope needs to be thoroughly evaluated during the tender process and the client must have an open book policy regarding historical failure data. Enough financial head room in the contract to allow the IFM provider to make a profit. If this is not present, the contract will inevitably collapse with possible adverse consequences for business continuity. In the example above, the contract was terminated by the client after 2 years due to poor service delivery and repeated KPI failures. The main cause of this, in the authors opinion, would be that the IFM provider submitted such a low price at tendering that they could not meet the agreed contract conditions while generating a profit. To open the conclusion, its fair to say the above analysis may seem cold but it is approached from a business perspective with a view to achieving a sustainable maintenance organisation that is capable of surviving more stringent cost controls that may lie ahead. On the face of it, it would seem that the maintenance organisation within the Ervia Facilities department is ripe for change. And to sustain the analogy, there may even be some low hanging fruit! Listed below are the positives that will come with introducing change: Staff reductions alone will bring  £500,000 in savings and if all goes according to plan, there will no reduction in the level of service to the wider organisation. The introduction of advanced Work Management systems should also improve cost effectiveness but its hard to quantify the level of such at present. Ultimately what is required is to achieve the same level of performance for reduced expenditure or in the utopian situation, an increas