Management of Organisation - Tanglin Polymers Case Study (Case Study Sample)

Management of Organisation - Tanglin Polymers Case Study
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Management of Organisation - Tanglin Polymers Case Study
Question one
The company is in a process of introducing organizational change with its purchasing procedures. Organizational change can be defined as the process through which a company makes a transition from its current state to the desired future state. When organizations are experiencing change, managers should establish an effective change management mechanism to minimize employee resistance to change and cost to the organization while maximizing the effectiveness of the organization change effort. To ensure organization's competitiveness, there is the need for the organization to undergo changes constantly. Some factors that may contribute to the organizational need to effect changes include organizational inefficiency and rapid technological changes (Carr, Hard, & Trahant 1996, p. 57-66).
A manager trying to implement change should expect resistance, however, small that change is. Resistance to change has been defined as those actions taken by groups and individuals when they perceive change occurrence as a threat to them. Often resistance to change is associated with employees when they don’t fully understand the need to change. Resistance to change in an organization is normal since people prefer status quo and clinging to old habits. Change management is, therefore, essential to change process if change implementation is to be successful. Change management is defined as a systematic approach adopted by management to deal with the change from the organization or individual perspective (Kneer, 2013, p. 18-24).
In this case, Chan Kee Tong’s decision to centralize organizations purchasing procedures may have been wrongly interpreted by the purchasing managers as encroaching on their responsibilities. Though from the majority of the plants the decision seems to have been received well by the plant managers, there is a possibility of passive resistance from the procurement managers for the fear of unknown as the organization is set to embrace the new procurement system. The procurement managers may therefore have devised a mechanism to ensure no procurement contract will exceed the HK 800,000 limit to ensure they retain their procurement powers.
For example instead of contracting supplies of HK 900,000 which would require approval from the head office and thus scrutiny by the head office on the supplies, the procurement managers contract two separate entities to supply the supplies, thus creating two or more contract of HK 450,000 or less to circumvent the policy issued by Mr. Chan. This kind of a scheme would ensure the plants are still running at full capacity while at the same going around the issued policy. This could be what is happening in the plants since the procurement managers did not understand the rationale behind the need for the head office to authorize contracts with more than HK 800,000.
Question two
The success or failure of change implementation largely depends on the manner in which change process is managed. Change process should not be rushed or forced on the employee of the organization (Hashim, 2013). Before implementing the desired change, it would be important to convene a meeting with those likely to be affected by the change. The meeting objective would be to discuss the effects and the need for change. The meeting would also be used to invite procurement manager’s ideas which could also be used to enhance the system. The participation of those affected by the change would help minimize any possible resistance and also ensure successful implementation of the new policies.
In this case, I would have convened a meeting with the procurement managers and other personnel likely to be affected by change. I would use the meeting to address any fears that procurement managers may have as well as convincing them of the importance of the new procurement policies. The fact that Clara knows most of the plant executives personally would also be an advantage as I would have asked her to assist convincing the procurement managers to embrace the desired change. The reason for using Clara in the process is because those affected by the change would easily trust her since they have worked together for some time and also know each other personally.
For example, I would have requested Clara to make a presentation on the benefits of the new policies during the meeting with the procurement managers and also on the need for adopting a computerized system. In this case, with the aim of minimizing resistance to change, I would personally interact with the procurement managers on any issues that may arise, since effective communication and interaction with staff is likely to build trust hence minimizing any form of resistance.
Question three
It would be important to appreciate that rarely people welcome change even where there are potential benefits to be derived in future since people are skeptical and often resist anything that is likely to affect the status quo (Hashim, 2013). With this in mind, the desired change should be carefully and collaboratively implemented. To ensure the success of the project and also minimize any form of resistance whether passive or active I would advise Mr. Chan to adopt the following stages in continuing with the project.
Firstly Mr. Chan should communicate the need and the importance of the change to those likely to be affected by the change. However major or small change may be, it is important to explain to the employees the rationale for the change and adequate opportunity should be offered for the employees to contribute their thoughts and to voice their concerns. For...