For this assignment you are to read the case study below about Honeywell International Inc., (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell.) a US based, publicly owned conglomerate. After reading the case study from 2017, respond to the questions below. Keep in mind you are being assessed on your ability apply course material to the problem at hand. Outside research is welcome, but be sure you demonstrate competency of what you have been assigned.
Please sure to follow the very specific submission instructions at the end of the prompt here.
Case Study – Honeywell:
Honeywell has a history of evolving through acquisitions into high growth sectors of related business, and there is no indication that this trend is slowing. In fact, the company has placed increased emphasis on software and other businesses that address challenges related to energy, security, safety, productivity, and urbanization. However, while Honeywell continues to grow and evolve, the company also faces mounting pressure in some of its businesses an has reacted with initiatives intended to control costs and increase company performance. As an example, Honeywell’s Aerospace Division responded to an extended slowdown in the aerospace industry by laying off employees in 2015 and 2016. The division also implemented weeklong furloughs (unpaid time off) for employees not involved in manufacturing and sales.
Honeywell also believes that improvements in company performance require teamwork, idea sharing and faster decision making, and that this is best accomplished through face-to-face interaction among employees. To facilitate this, the company decided to end its telecommuting option for employees not involved in sales or field service. Honeywell had permitted employees to work remotely, at home if they wished, for several reasons. First, Honeywell employees are based in more than a thousand sites in over 70 countries, and they often work on important projects with other employees who may be located half-way across the world. The projects may be engaging, but trying to coordinate across time zone can be quite difficult during normal working hours. Second, telecommuting allows employees to work when and where they feel they are the most productive. Employees who work remotely can choose to avoid the daily commute, office politics and distractions, and the hassle of accomplishing non work demands. Finally, telecommuting is very popular with millennial engineers and scientists who are comfortable using technology to collaborate and who have other employment options.
The change in Honeywell’s long-standing policy will be especially difficult for employees who have built their lives around the flexibility of working remotely. As an example, choices regarding where to live may haunt employees who now face the prospect of commuting back and forth to distant Honeywell offices each day. To some Honeywell employees, however, there may be a bright side to the change in policy. After putting in their 40 hours in the office and commuting each day, employees may not feel as compelled to deal with work-related issues that come up in the evenings or on weekends.
Honeywell case study is borrowed from Organizational Behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace, by Colquitt LePine, & Wesson. McGraw-Hill, 2017
Prompt Questions:
In your reading from Communities of Practice. Wenger discussions the importance of participation. Using the definition and explanation he provides, identify and explain an advantage and a disadvantage to Honeywell ending its telecommuting option.
How did the practice of telecommuting influence the company culture, and how might culture change in the re-structuring to in person work?
In light of what we’ve learned from Stacey’s theory of Complex Responsive Processes explain how the last two of the four functions of management (leading & controlling) would change from a telecommuting culture to an in-person culture. Is increasing productivity likely to be easier or more difficult after the change?
Submission Instructions:
Quality is more important than quantity! Keep it under 750 words. There is no minimum but if you fail to answer the questions well or fully points will be deducted. You are making a case for your position using concepts and materials from class – this is not you opining about an idea you have.
CITE EVERYTHING!
