Running head: MISFIT MOTORPOOL 1

Organizational Leadership 4351 Final Artifact: Misfit MotorPool

Jonathan Hargrove

ORGL 4351 Management Theory 2

South Texas College

Professor: David Plummer

 Abstract

Starting a nonprofit organization from the ground up is one of the hardest things a person can do,
especially if it is an organization that caters to veterans. Starting a nonprofit that provides self-
service automotive repair and maintenance is something on a brand-new innovative level. Being
able to radically innovate is something that takes a lot of time and energy. Putting in place a plan
of action to get an organization off the ground takes drive and will power. Proper layouts,
incremental improvements, scheduling, community relationships and collaboration, and quality
expert employees and assistance with services are just a few of the things needed to get any
organization up and running.
 Organizational Leadership 4351 Final Artifact: Misfit MotorPool

Misfit MotorPool is a non-profit organization that I have created, in my head. The

organization is still in the “crawling” stages since its creation and I am in the processes of

crossing all the t’s and dotting the I’s on the paperwork to get things going. However, as time

goes by, there is more of a need to get the organization into the “walking” and then the “running”

stages as soon as possible. There are some very important management operations that need to

take place to be able to accomplish this.

One of my biggest concerns with this organization, since I am just starting to get the ball

rolling, is innovation management. The services that I want to provide to other veterans are not

the typical services that other organizations provide. The type of services provided by veteran

organizations are essentially social services typically dealing with counseling, housing, claims

and medical care. The problem is that most organizations only provide limited service and, from

what I have personally seen, only if it stands to benefit the organization as well, such as with

numbers and money. The only issues I can foresee with what it is that I have in mind for Misfit

MotorPool is that there is going to be a lot of issues with storage of materials, disposal of

hazmat, and inventory of equipment and tools (Leseure, 2010).

So, to combat all these issues that I may find myself facing, I have decided that to really

provide veterans with what they need, I must consider radical innovation to accomplish my

goals. The idea that I have for my organization is to provide veterans with industrial services,

specifically assistance with automotive maintenance and repairs. The plan is to eventually set up

a shop that gives veterans a place to come work on and repair their own vehicles. The shop

would provide bay space with or without lifts, tools, charging stations, fuel and oil disposal and

core buy backs as well as on hand experts if customers have any questions or need assistance.
 As I said, this is quite an ambitious endeavor and there are a lot of moving parts that need

to be coordinated, but, giving veterans a place to be able to fix and maintain their own vehicles

for a minimal cost is something that I think is needed. A lot of these veterans cannot afford to

take their vehicles to the dealerships or other mechanics to have them repaired. Most mechanics

charge anywhere from $20.00 to $40.00 per hour and on top of that there is a 10% + mark up on

parts.

Process focused measures are going to have to be put in place for us to be able to track

our success rates. As I build up my organization, there are going to have to be progress measures

to help set up for certain things. Take for example the need to have a larger facility. Once the

organization establishes itself, there may be a need to move or build a larger facility. Maybe the

organization has more veterans that come in for oil changes than anything else, the storing and

disposal of hazmat processes may need to change. There is a lot of equipment that is going to be

needed and replaced on a regular basis as well as keeping employees certified and trained up on

the latest and greatest in the automotive industry. Progress measures must be in place for the

organization to see where its going and what it does best as well as what it needs to do to stay

competitive and innovative.

Concurrent engineering is also something that I must keep in mind when building this

organization. Most non-profit organizations, especially veteran organizations, rely much more on

relationships and collaborations with others. An example would be donations from vendors to

provide food at an event or putting on fundraisers. Being as non-profits do not have a lot of extra

money, building relationships with members of the community and local businesses and working

jointly with other organizations can increase the success of an organization such as Misfit

MotorPool (Strategic Planning for Nonprofits, 2018).

 Again, since this organization is still getting off the ground, there is going to have to be a

lot of analyzing of the processes that I will use to be successful. Kaizen is one of my favorite

concepts and is most likely going to be, initially, the main improvement process that I am going

to have to utilize. Since I am essentially starting from nothing, small improvements are going to

be necessary to be able to develop the organization. Scrutinizing these improvements is also

going to be necessary. There may be times where I may try to improve something, and it doesn’t

work. In cases like this, I will have to scrap the original idea or improve upon it to make it work.

Quality of my employees and equipment is something that I am going to have to manage

very closely. Since this is a new organization, but also an organization that is here for veterans, I

am going to have to make sure that I provide quality to those I am trying to help. Most of what it

is that my organization is going to provide is going to be service based. Customer service and

automotive service are going to be what is mainly provided by my organization. Everything I do

is going to be because my organization is here to serve others. So, I am going to have to set up a

service model that will give my employees and customers the confidence that the organization is

providing the best quality service to our customers as possible (Leseure 2010).

Now, as far as putting together a plan of action goes, there is always going to be a starting

point somewhere. There are many aspects of action planning needed to reach the specified goals.

I am going to have to create a broad/overall plan of action that covers everything it is I want to

do. For every different part of the organization, there is going to have to be a well thought out

plan of action. I am going to have to make sure that each person I hire as a manager or supervisor

can implement a plan of action that will coincide with the overall concept of what my

organization is doing. The general format of the plan of action will be like this but can be
modified to fit our organizations concept. “The plan for the organization, each major function,

each manager, and each employee, might specify:

a) The goal(s) that are to be accomplished

b) How each goal contributes to the organization's overall strategic goals

c) What specific results (or objectives) much be accomplished that, in total, reach the

goal of the organization

d) How those results will be achieved

e) When the results will be achieved (or timelines for each objective)” (Basics of Action

Planning, 2018).

Once I get everything organized, I am going to have to build up my organizations name.

Fundraisers, social events, food drives and anything else I can do is going to have to be done to

let people know what the organization is about and what it is we provide to the veteran

community. This is going to be a part of the collaboration and relationships building that was

mentioned before. Once the name Misfit MotorPool is out there, and our reputation is set and

intact, I can turn it into something great.

The second part of my plan of action is to either build or acquire a facility. The layout of

this facility needs to meet very specific criteria for me to be able to reach the goals that I have

set. Being as I am going to have professional services, I am going to have to have a facility that

is either already laid out or will be able to be built to specifications. Shops are inherently loud,

and they produce a lot of smells and other debris that can cause environmental issues. Since the

layout of the facility is very specific, the only option we really have is to go with a custom

service layout design. I will need to have oil wells or oil storage capabilities. I will need space

for different kinds of repairs and maintenance such as specified areas for oil changes and other
areas for engine rebuilds and areas for tire changes. I will also need capabilities to limit the

amount of pollution in the air (e.g. large vacuums and air filters).

Once everything is laid out the way I want, and I have all the certifications, hazmat

licenses, tools and equipment, and technicians needed, I will have to set up a schedule for

everyone. With a facility like this, setting up schedules is not going to be that hard of an

endeavor. The shop will open at a set time, one or two people will be there to assist customers

will tools bay rentals and paperwork. Assignments are going to have to be given out on based on

who is available at the time. Say a customer needs help with a tire change, which ever technician

is not busy will be the one assigned to help that customer. Since I plan to have certified

technicians as employees, this should not be a problem. Scheduling of hazmat disposal or core

selling is something that will have to set up. Usually most shops do that monthly to keep costs of

shipping and fuel to a minimum.

In conclusion, there are many things that need to work together smoothly to create a

company can allow it to go from a good to great company. The ideas I have are just a few of the

things that I think are needed to reach the goals that I have set for myself. A good high speed

simple yet quality plan is needed when setting out on such an ambitious endeavor, but, that is not

all you need. Executing that plan to near perfection can be the difference between success and

failure. Many things can occur during execution that can throw a wrench into one’s plans. Over

the next several months, I plan to take everything into consideration and adjusting what it is that

needs to be adjusted to stay on track and reach the goals I have set forth.
 References

References

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(n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2018, from http://sporkforge.com/index.php

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