BY ARIF HASSAN AND THIVAGAR VELAYUTHAM, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA Alpha Plantations Sdn Bhd is a...

 

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BY ARIF HASSAN AND THIVAGAR VELAYUTHAM, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA Alpha Plantations Sdn Bhd is a palm oil plantation located in Malaysia. It consists of a palm oil estate and one palm oil mill. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of a British multinational company and was founded with the purpose of supplying crude palm oil for its parent company's detergent-manufacturing business. Since its formation, most of the managers have been recruited from the UK with many British ex-soldiers and police officers joining up Mr Ang Siow Lee first joined Alpha Mill in 1965 at the age of 15 as a labourer and rose through the ranks to become the most senior non- managerial staff member at Alpha. Mr Ang is the senior production supervisor at Alpha's palm oil mill. His immediate superior is the mill manager and he has two junior supervisors to assist him. The mill operates on a three-shift cycle of 25 operators each, and each supervisor (including Mr Ang) is in charge of one shift Mr Ang is responsible for the smooth operation of the daily palm oil processing. He coordinates the activities of all three shifts with the two supervisors, prepares the daily production reports. deals with short-term human resources planning issues and minor discipline issues, and sets and evaluates short-term performance targets for all three shifts. In addition, he acts as the 'gatekeeper'. which means that any mill personnel who wish to see the mill manager must first see Mr Ang. who tries to solve the problem first. These problems may be anything from house repairs to a request for an advance on wages. Only in rare cases, when Mr Ang cannot resolve the issue, is the matter brought up with the mill manager. Mr Ang always ran a tight ship, and did not let anyone forget it. His superb technical competency helped him to keep the mill in top shape. He became accustomed to receiving the highest appraisal ratings from the mill manager, who appreciated his firm. methodical and almost militarily efficient way of running the mill In 1999, the palm oil industry in Malaysia faced many challenges World oil prices plunged due to oversupply, and palm oil prices hit a 15-year low. This cut the profit margins of all palm oil producers and caused Alpha Mill to post regular losses. Captain Chubb. the 54-year-old former Royal Engineer and mill manager, was at a loss as to how to improve performance. We are doing nothing wrong. and have met all our efficiency targets. It's this market that is killing us! he exasperatedly explained during the annual year-end visit of the directors from London. Very soon Captain Chubb was given his marching orders. Soon after, a new mill manager was appointed. Mr Ian Davison. a 32-year-old who hailed from Edinburgh, was very different from all his predecessors. He was not a career plantation engineer and had never managed an agricultural product-processing mill before. He was actually an electronics engineer with an Ivy League MBA on the fast track to a top management position. His previous appointment was as factory manager of a detergent factory in Egypt, where he managed to streamline and modernise operations. and increase financial performance dramatically. Headquarters in London had high hopes that he would be able to do the same with Alpha Mill and return it to profitability -23 1. Identify three main OB issues in the Case. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Analyse organisational problems using established theoretical frameworks. Discuss and critically evaluate behavioural implications arising from different managerial decisions and actions. Interpret organisational problems in terms of individual, interpersonal and group processes. Apply solutions to managerial problems through the application of organisational behaviour principles. Demonstrate information literacy and report writing skills, including correct report format. Use relevant, academic and credible sources to support the arguments. Clearly and precisely present the issues related to the organisational problems and application of solutions to manage the organisational issues of the case. BY ARIF HASSAN AND THIVAGAR VELAYUTHAM, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA Alpha Plantations Sdn Bhd is a palm oil plantation located in Malaysia. It consists of a palm oil estate and one palm oil mill. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of a British multinational company and was founded with the purpose of supplying crude palm oil for its parent company's detergent-manufacturing business. Since its formation, most of the managers have been recruited from the UK with many British ex-soldiers and police officers joining up Mr Ang Siow Lee first joined Alpha Mill in 1965 at the age of 15 as a labourer and rose through the ranks to become the most senior non- managerial staff member at Alpha. Mr Ang is the senior production supervisor at Alpha's palm oil mill. His immediate superior is the mill manager and he has two junior supervisors to assist him. The mill operates on a three-shift cycle of 25 operators each, and each supervisor (including Mr Ang) is in charge of one shift Mr Ang is responsible for the smooth operation of the daily palm oil processing. He coordinates the activities of all three shifts with the two supervisors, prepares the daily production reports. deals with short-term human resources planning issues and minor discipline issues, and sets and evaluates short-term performance targets for all three shifts. In addition, he acts as the 'gatekeeper'. which means that any mill personnel who wish to see the mill manager must first see Mr Ang. who tries to solve the problem first. These problems may be anything from house repairs to a request for an advance on wages. Only in rare cases, when Mr Ang cannot resolve the issue, is the matter brought up with the mill manager. Mr Ang always ran a tight ship, and did not let anyone forget it. His superb technical competency helped him to keep the mill in top shape. He became accustomed to receiving the highest appraisal ratings from the mill manager, who appreciated his firm. methodical and almost militarily efficient way of running the mill In 1999, the palm oil industry in Malaysia faced many challenges World oil prices plunged due to oversupply, and palm oil prices hit a 15-year low. This cut the profit margins of all palm oil producers and caused Alpha Mill to post regular losses. Captain Chubb. the 54-year-old former Royal Engineer and mill manager, was at a loss as to how to improve performance. We are doing nothing wrong. and have met all our efficiency targets. It's this market that is killing us! he exasperatedly explained during the annual year-end visit of the directors from London. Very soon Captain Chubb was given his marching orders. Soon after, a new mill manager was appointed. Mr Ian Davison. a 32-year-old who hailed from Edinburgh, was very different from all his predecessors. He was not a career plantation engineer and had never managed an agricultural product-processing mill before. He was actually an electronics engineer with an Ivy League MBA on the fast track to a top management position. His previous appointment was as factory manager of a detergent factory in Egypt, where he managed to streamline and modernise operations. and increase financial performance dramatically. Headquarters in London had high hopes that he would be able to do the same with Alpha Mill and return it to profitability -23 1. Identify three main OB issues in the Case. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Analyse organisational problems using established theoretical frameworks. Discuss and critically evaluate behavioural implications arising from different managerial decisions and actions. Interpret organisational problems in terms of individual, interpersonal and group processes. Apply solutions to managerial problems through the application of organisational behaviour principles. Demonstrate information literacy and report writing skills, including correct report format. Use relevant, academic and credible sources to support the arguments. Clearly and precisely present the issues related to the organisational problems and application of solutions to manage the organisational issues of the case.