Vdot Paper

Running head VIRGINIA surgical incision OF TRANSPORTATION CASE STUDY Virginia division of carry-over Case fill A high- capital punishment parentage or body, time after time, attains duty whilst fashioning a first-rate work atmosphere (Schermerhorn, 2010). The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was once considered a premier transportation department, but over the historic period their reputation had become damaged due to budget overruns and a globe perception that VDOT could not do its business organisation.When Mark Warner was elected governor of Virginia in 2001, he wanted a radical commissivirtuosor for VDOT that had private sector contract to turn VDOT around. His search led him to appoint Philip Shucet, a transportation technologist with twain public and private sector experience. This paper leave alone deal some of the solicitude theories that could have been applied to problems at VDOT, as come up as how management has reacted to ch wholeenges. Next, a n environmental analysis will be conducted and short, mid, and long goals will be discussed.Finally, Shucets motivation to adjudge the put-on and the motivational problems at VDOT will be addressed. charge Theories McGregors guess X assumes that people dislike work, lack ambition, are irresponsible and resistant to transmit, and favor to be led (Oke, 2011, pg. 26). possibility Y assumes that people are unstrained to work, accept responsibility, and are capable of self-direction and creativity (Oke, 2011, pg. 26). When Shucet arrived at VDOT, Theory X was much to a greater extent in place, as is often the campaign in large bureaucracies.There was little teamwork or communication between departments and no one really knew the status of any of the projects (Clawson & Yemen, 2011). If Shucet implemented Theory Y much of this would turn as employees took responsibility for their projects and became make a motiond to succeed. Frederick Taylors scientific management theory would also help to improve performance at VDOT. Taylors theory stresses finding the right workers for the trouble and learn them correctly (Oke, 2011). Downsizing led to massive retirements of highly skilled workers during the 1990s.This pushed chthonic or unqualified people into positions they were not ready for (Clawson & Yemen, 2005). An evaluation of the provide and their qualifications for their current positions could result in a restructuring that would better match skills with job requirements. Implementation of Henri Fayols administrative principles would have had a remarkable electric shock on VDOT. Fayol spells out five duties of management foresight, organization, command, coordination, and control (Oke, 2011). While in that respect were deficiencies in all of these categories, two in particular were weak, coordination and control.Coordination is defined as actions that fit diverse efforts together and ensure that information is shared and problems solved (Oke, 2011, p. 22). As discussed earlier, information sharing was a significant weakness at VDOT. Control is actions that pee-pee sure things happen according to plan and to take requirement corrective action (Oke, 2011, p. 22). Since no one knew the status of the projects, management could not take corrective actions in a timely manner. vi Challengers The 6 challenges in todays workforce are ethics, globalization, technology, knowledge, diversity, and change (Oke, 2011).Ethical issues were a significant problem at VDOT. The commissioner of VDOT was a policy-making appointee and this sometimes led to under-qualified individuals or people with their own agendas be placed in charge of a multi-billion dollar organization (Trying to accompaniment Virginia Moving, 2005). The appointment of Shucet corrected this, as he did not have policy-making aspirations and was concerned only about getting VDOT functioning correctly for the long-term. globalization was not much of a factor at VDOT since t hey are a governmental entity that does not compete on the open market and their business is entirely located in Virginia.Shucet noticed quickly that there were technologies in stock(predicate) to the employees that were not being utilized efficiently or effectively. This increased workloads and trim the communication. VDOT had lost a significant portion of their most knowledgeable workers to archeozoic retirements and resources needed to be devoted to improving the knowledge and skills of the current workforce. kind is a challenge in all organizations, but was not specifically addressed in this case study. The last(a) challenge is change, which is often arduous for large, bureaucratic organizations like VDOT.There was much that needed to change, from the organizational structure, to communications, to major procedures such as budgeting and tracking of projects. Private businesses are forced to change to keep pace with competition. However, until Shucet arrived, VDOT did not have the necessary motivators to implement the necessary changes. Environmental Analysis The specific and general environment conditions played a pivotal role in the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the VDOT organization forward Shucet was hired. The organization was barraged with testing from both ends of the hierarchical spectrum.The politicians in Virginia created an impression that VDOT was both poorly managing and severely under-funding their proposed projects. Virginia citizens were also criticizing VDOT wondering and if their valuate dollars were being dog-tired properly (Darden, 2005). VDOT is a government organization that must face the pressures of scrutiny from many groups and should have had answers to provide the stakeholders. The taxpayers had a right to know why projects were being under-funded, why approximately 15% of VDOTs projects were going mere(a) and what they were going to do about fixing it.Unfortunately, VDOT did not have the answers (Darden, 2005). economic conditions were negatively impacting VDOT. They did not have the current or projected tax revenue to complete the projects within the six-year plan. Their estimates were based on expected population ripening in Virginia as well as expected growth in tax revenue that the population increase would generate. When the juts fell short it resulted in VDOTs projects not being fully funded. The political conditions created a adept of tension among VDOT and the many political bodies that had influence over it.In addition, local politicians were publicly criticizing their own transportation department, demeaning the organization in the eye of its most critical stakeholder, the taxpayers of Virginia. Goals Based on the environmental analysis, one short-run goal for VDOT would be to decrease the political impact on the organization. governor Warner accomplished this goal by appointing Shucet and then leaving him alone. In an interview, Shucet say that in the three years since becoming commissioner, the governor had called him about six times (Bacon, 2004, n. p. ).This allowed VDOT to plan for the long-term and not just to meet a political agenda. Another short-term goal would be to make VDOT more transparent to the public. Shucet did this by creating a website showing the status and cost of all of the VDOTs projects (Bacon, 2004). A mid to long-term goal would be increase the completion rate of VDOTs projects. In Shucets second year, VDOTs completion rate increased to 39% and was expected to meet its projection of 60% in year three. The long-term goal was to reach a completion rate of 80% (Bacon, 2004). Both of these goals should decrease the taxpayers displeasure with VDOT.VDOT was experiencing significant revenue shortfalls. Rather than just raising taxes to increase revenue, a final long-term goal would be to change the focus of transportation homework in Virginia away from just building new roads to finding new, more economical solutions to the do mains transportation problems (Bacon, 2004). This goal will help to ensure the taxpayers are getting the most value for their tax dollar. Shucets Motivation There are a number of theories that could adjudge to the motivating factor that led to Shucet taking on the VDOT commissioner position. However, Maslows power structure of Needs provides an excellent one.Shucet had met all of his lower order needs and was sounding to fulfill his need for self-actualization through creative and challenging work, by having conclusion making authority, and by being autonomous (Oke, 2011). VDOT was a complex problem. This was an hazard for Shucet to fix the third largest transportation department and regain their status as one of the best departments of transportation in the country. The commissioner of VDOT is a high-ranking state position and Governor Warner allowed him the autonomy he needed to freely make decisions to improve the department.Motivational Theories Motivational theory is compos ed of four sections content, process, reinforcement, and job enrichment. Herzbergs two-factor theory is a content theory that states that by increase satisfier factors, a manager can increase job satisfaction. Prior to Shucets arrival, individuals were not accountable for their projects. By making individuals more accountable and acknowledging accomplishments, Shucet could touch off his employees to perform better. Expectancy theory, a process theory, links achievement and quit to performance.Because of the lack of accountability under prior commissioners, there was not a link between performance and achievement, and most likely no rewards system. quite a little are motivated to work harder if they know it will make a difference and that there is a reward for them. By implementing a rewards system, VDOT could motivate their employees to accomplish the mission of the organization. Positive reinforcement strengthens or increases the frequency of desirable behavior by making a plea sant consequence particular on its occurrence (Oke, 2011, p. 93). With all of the public scrutiny of VDOT, morale was actually low.By identifying the things the groups were doing well and by providing praise and other rewards as new goals were accomplished, Shucet could turn the attitudes of the employees around. Job enrichment increases job scope and job depth (Oke, 2011). Since one of the goals of VDOT was to hold individuals more accountable for their projects, enriching their jobs would allow them the flexibility and authority to very take ownership of their jobs. When employees feel they have a stake in the outcome of a project they are more motivated to do well. DiscussionEven when an organization is as dysfunctional as VDOT was, there are numerous pawns available to managers to improve their organizations. Everything from the structure of the organization as a whole to the definition of each individuals job contributes to the success or failure of an organization. The abi lity to implement the correct tool for the situation at the correct time is what sets great managers apart from the rest. References Bacon, J. A. (2004). The Shucet Shakeup. Retrieved October 5, 2011 from http//www. baconsrebellion. com/Issues04/09-07/Bacon. htm Clawson, J. G. & Yemen, G. (2005).Virginia Department of Transportation Trying to Keep Virginia Moving. Charlottesville, VA Darden Business Publishing. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from http//it. darden. virginia. edu/VDOT/studentWeb/ content/index. htm? speed=128 Oke, R. (2011). Management and organizational behavior. Hoboken, NJ Wiley Custom Learning Solutions. Custom text ISBN 13 9780470942710 Schermerhorn, J. R. (2010). Management. (10th ed). Hoboken, NJ John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Trying To Keep Virgina Moving. (2005). Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http//it. darden. virginia. edu/VDOT/studentWeb/content/index. htm? speed=128