Rowe Program

1. Discuss how a ROWE-type program would fit in organizations where you have worked. Explain why it would or would not work.

A ROWE type of program would fit in my current organization by implementing more stringent timelines on certain steps of the contract award and management process, and allowing employees to enjoy more time off, as it is stated in the Best Buy case. The problem with implementing these types of timelines, specifically in my organization, would be that many results are dependent on outside factors. Procurement, whether it would be for a service, a commodity, or construction, depends on other people fulfilling their end of the tasks at hand, unlike the production of equipment or sales. Furthermore, the work of contract administration doesn't really end and workloads on employees, in my specific organization, are almost never ending. For this reason I believe ROWE could have a chance to fail in my organization. However, if staffing levels went up certain steps could be accelerated and used with ROWE, but I would feel a bit uncomfortable placing a multimillion dollar negotiation on someone that is just trying to finish the task to have the rest of the day off. I also understand many other factors and proper evaluations would be needed to make such a determination. So, technically, I would say a test run of such program would determine whether it would or wouldn't work. With the people, resources, and current processes it would be impossible to correctly assess, that and the government bureaucracy would not allow it.

2. Identify factors in the ROWE program that might make using it for retail employees more difficult than using it for managers and employees in corporate offices, technical centers, and nonretail and locations.

With increased productivity, as claimed by the ROWE program, employer expectations of outcome by employees may rise, therefore, making the "results" less achievable over time. Also, the retail industry is usually dependent on when the costumer wants to purchase their product, so if the person at the retail store isn't there when the costumer is there because of "flexible time schedules" than potential sale could be lost. Another factor I see in ROWE being difficult in the retail industry would be because employees would want only certain times of the year to meet results. As far as managers go, success becomes dependent on their employees achieving results and being that employees receive payment based on this, the manager's job becomes a lot easier to measure and to accomplish.

1. Identify how some Accenture-type efforts have and have not occurred in your current and previous workplaces. Also, discuss why focusing on employee retention pays off for Accenture clients, and not just for Accenture itself.

It is imperative to analyze the different work backgrounds that some of our team members have experienced in order to find some similarities with Accenture. One team member is currently working in a small air conditioning business with less than 50 employees. According to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA.gov), small businesses employ more than 50% of employees in the United States. The company does not have a formal HR department like many of the large organizations (23). The duties