Background

Strong-Trousers Ltd produced jeans that were loved by people and hence, the company achieved huge success in 1990s. The durability and the high tensile strength-to-weight were few of the reasons due to which people loved these jeans over anything else in the market. Looking at the demand, the management decided to increase the sales of this product and so the production. A factory was set to achieve this target. This factory was situated in the rural area. To ensure that people are productive, the management decided to pay employees based on the number of jeans that they manufacture on daily basis.

The new recruits in the team were not able to meet the quality requirements and hence, their jeans’ were getting rejected. Due to this, they weren’t paid for their production. Experienced staff rushed to produce more number of jeans to earn more and this created an impact on the quality. Due to all these factors, the quality of the product was compromised and ultimately, the market share was compromised.

Finally, the management wanted to revamp the complete business and hence, have asked the senior management, marketing department, HR department, finance department and also the operations team to come up with a solution.

Senior management in the organization will have to help each department to understand the problem. Accordingly, each department would work on the best possible solution so that the organization can start making profits. Few of the areas which the senior management should look into are discussed below.

There is a huge quality concern the senior management should advice the operations department to look for ways by defect due to manual error can be avoided. At the same time, the operations department can also explore for ways to purchase best of raw materials, at the lowest possible cost.

The senior management should advice the marketing department to look for ways by which they can improve the reputation of Strong-trousers Ltd in the market. This will allow the organization to improve the sales and it would create an impact on the organization.

The senior management should advice the HR department to look for appropriate training methods so that the employees can be trained appropriately, before they start with the production. The employee morale is very low so they will have to improve the same and at the same time, the pay structure of employees should be improved so that they can continue to stay with the organization for longer.

Roles and Responsibilities of Senior Management

Finally, the senior management should advice the finance department to look for cost control ways that will ensure that organization doesn’t spend on non-productive activities. At the same time, they should take care of accounting and all unwanted expenses should be bought to the notice of the employees.

The operations department at Strong-trousers Ltd should oversee the various activities so that the loss to the organization can be avoided. Few of the responsibilities that need to be undertaken by the operations department are discussed below.

First and foremost, they should look for the inventories that enter the organization and also finished goods that leave the organization. Tracking the goods will allow the finance department to track the expenses and income accordingly.

Strong-trousers Ltd is acquiring raw materials like cloth, buttons, zips and thread from the external vendor. It is the responsibility of the operations department to explore the various vendor options that are available in the market. The department should ensure that at any cost, there is no compromise in the quality of the product that is supplied.

Inventory management is one of the key areas that need to be looked into by the operations department. The stock of raw materials and finished good should be as per the requirement, neither less nor more. This will ensure that the organization is not burdened with push sale.

At this point of time, the production is affected due to the non-performance of the employees. The operations department should sit with the employees and understand their concerns and also the trainings required. All the training that an individual requires should be provided.

The finance department at Strong-Trousers should be proactive so that the funds can be managed appropriately. Few of the roles and responsibilities of finance department at Strong-trousers are as follows: –

The finance department should track the payment that needs to be received and also the payment that needs to be paid. Strong-trouser Ltd is going a bad phase now and it is very important for the organization to ensure that they maintain good relations with their suppliers and buyers. The payables should be paid before the credit period and at the same time, they should also follow up for the receivable so that the organization doesn’t suffer from any bad debts.

It is the responsibility of the finance department to oversee and control the expenses of each department. If a particular department is using the funds in excess, the finance department has all the rights to invade and question them. At the same time, the finance department should also ask the other departments to justify their decisions and benefits, against the money spend.

Roles and Responsibilities of Operations Department

At this point of time, Strong-trousers ltd is very dependent on the profit that they earn but this shouldn’t be a case in the near future. It is responsibility of the finance department to allocate funds so that the organization can run its operations even during difficult times.

The finance department should continuously look for opportunities to grow and hence, they should hunt for merger and acquisition opportunities. With the help of merger and acquisition, the management can access to resources which cannot be bought in directly by Strong-trousers.

Budgeting also needs to be taken care by the finance department. At the start of financial year, the finance department should allocate funds separately. This will ensure that all the departments are planning their activity with the budget allocated.

The HR department at Strong-Trousers Ltd should be very active and continuously look for ways to improve the productivity. Few of the key roles and responsibilities that should be undertaken by the HR department at this point of time, are discussed below.

First and foremost, the HR department should currently undertake salary restructuring. Currently, the employees are paid against the number of trousers that they produce on daily basis, but this should be changed. The employees should be paid a fixed salary rather than their salary being based on the number of jeans manufactured on daily basis. If the salary is fixed then the employees would be interested in quality of the trouser and not just the quantity that they product. To motivate the employees, incentives can be provided based on the error free trousers that they produce. With all these things being done, the HR department should ensure that there isn’t any compromise with the statutory laws of the country.

Employees should be trained on the various aspects of production so that the employees can explore their capabilities to the fullest. This training should be given once in a quarter so that the employees remember the basics and there will be no compromise in the quality offered.

The HR department should look for ways to improve the work-life balance of the employees. The work-life balance can be improved by way of providing paid leaves, celebration in the office and also various other employee engagement activities. This will allow the employees to develop a bond with the organization and hence, they would prefer to stay with the organization even in tougher times.

Roles and Responsibilities of Finance Department

HR department should recruit the right people at the right time. If there is shortage of manpower then the productivity would be affected and hence, it is the responsibility of the HR to ensure that there is no loss of productivity due to shortage of manpower.

During this crisis time, the marketing department at Strong-trousers Ltd can save the organization. The marketing department should undertake few roles and responsibilities so that they can reach back to their old position and also push to better heights. Few of the roles and responsibilities of the marketing department that would help the organization to grow are discussed below.

First and foremost, the marketing department should come up with banners that the problems at Strong-trouser Ltd has been sorted and now, they are back in the market to offer the best possible quality.

Strong-trousers Ltd will have to reach out to their customers and help them understand the problem and also the corrections that have been done. This can be done by way of introducing various marketing strategies which was not in place in the past. The marketing team should ensure that the end-users are able to see this product at all places so that the customers are motivated to give one final chance to Strong-trousers Ltd.

The marketing department should also collect feedback from the end-users so that the customers can develop a trust on the organization. The feedback collected should be shared with the operations department so that the weaknesses can be worked upon and improved further. Direct interaction with the customer will make the customer feel more connected with the organization.

Promotional events can be conducted by the marketing department and during the promotional events, the customers can be offered Strong-trousers at an affordable price. This will motivate the customers to give a try to this brand again. The marketing team may feel that they are running loss, but this can be beneficial in the long run.

Conclusion

All the departments at Strong-trousers Ltd need to put in efforts to ensure that the organization is able to reach back its original position. The operations department will have to ensure that there is no compromise in the quality of jeans, which leaves the factory. They will also to track the inventory so that the raw materials are not in excess and at the same time, the final product shouldn’t be short. The finance department will have to show extra care towards the utilization of money by all the departments. The finance department should understand the mistakes that were done in the past and also the rectifications required. It is their responsibility to ensure that budget controlling is undertaken seriously so that the unwanted costs can be avoided. As on date, Strong-trousers Ltd is a sick unit and hence, every penny saved by the organization would add on to the immediate benefits.

Roles and Responsibilities of HR Department

The HR department should motivate the employees to deliver quality products. At the same time, all the employees should be given the required trainings so that the employees are well aware of the manufacturing techniques. The marketing department should portray to the world that they are back with the best quality again. The efforts put in by these departments will help the organization to regain the lost position.  The task of the marketing department is not very difficult as they just have to gain back the lost reputation among the customers. The marketing team should communicate the efforts put in by each department so that the organization can be back in track. The marketing department should also come up with continuous advertisements that people can connect with. 

It is the responsibility of all the departments to ensure that they are acting as per the instructions issued by the top management so that the organization can move towards the success.

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