ABC Ltd Has a Large Secretarial Pool on the Third Floor

question 139

Essay

ABC Ltd. has a large secretarial pool on the third floor of company headquarters where professional and lower-level managers have their reports and other documents word-processed. The tasks are received by the secretarial pool coordinator and assigned randomly (on an availability basis) to secretaries in the pool. The secretaries often do not know the managers or professionals for whom the word-processing assignment is being completed. They rarely find out about the quality of their work because revisions are often sent to other secretaries in the pool due to the rotating work assignment system. Some assignments involve simple word-processing while others require complex formatting using more sophisticated word-processing software. Some secretaries don't mind working in the pool, but most are there because it represents the entry-level secretarial position. They resent the lack of control over work assignments and look forward to being transferred to other secretarial jobs in the firm where there is more freedom to schedule their own work activities. Turnover in the pool is much higher than for other support staff at ABC Ltd. What job design strategy would you recommend to improve employee effectiveness in ABC's secretarial pool?

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Definitions:

Debt to Total Assets

A financial ratio indicating the percentage of a company's assets financed by creditors as opposed to equity.

Times Interest Earned

A financial ratio that measures a company’s ability to meet its interest payments based on its earnings before interest and taxes.

Interest Expense

The cost incurred by an entity for borrowing funds over a period of time, often expressed as an annual percentage of the principal.

Income Before Taxes and Interest

Net earnings of a company before accounting for interest and tax expenses, used to analyze operating performance without financing or tax influences.