Subject:Organisational Behaviour

Section A

Read the case study below and answer All the questions that follow:

Continous improvement the Zar Holdings way

Zar Holdings is an international metals company. in 2005 it was the rights largest steelmaker in the world. The company had an annual turnover of 9 billion. The company has four divisions and global network of sales offices and service centers. The global steel industry is highly competitive with a number of large businesses. Zar has major steelworks in the UK located at Scubthorpe, Teeside,Port Talbort and Rotherham. Continous Improvement (CI) in 2004, under the new CEO, Ron van Huizhuizen, the company launched its reporting success programme aimed at closing the competitive gap between Zar Holdings and Its European ccompetitors.The objective was to make Zar holdings more competitive and to ensure the business more resilient to any cyclical downturn in the steel industry at times of economic difficulty.

Steel goes into many manufacturing projects and construction products with demand being sensitive economic growth and decline. Part of the plan involved cutting back on waste and unnecessary copying of activities and by the end of 2004, 50% of the target savings had been achieved. As a result, the company moved into profit last year for the first time since its formation in 1999. CI has become a common feature in modern business life since it was popularised by Japanese Industry, where it is known as 'Kaizen'. The goal is to improve processes and products over time, taking care to maintain improved performance levels while seeking out further opportunities for improvement. introducing CI means changing the culture of a company, which means members of the organization are challenged to change their behaviour and upgrade their work. Typical change include: Cutting our pointless activities Making products and carrying out processes more efficiently Making processes common and consistent throughout the business. CI involves the related idea of 'lean manufacturing '. This simply refers to the removal of waste. if wasteful activities are removed, employees are able to work smarter. working in a smarter way does not involve working harder. Smart work involves spending time carrying out processes that create value for customers. the best people to identify 'lean' process are those who are most involved in production activities. This is why Zar places so much importance on involving employees in CI and puts customer requirements at the heart of its business, thereby creating an ongoing culture of improvement.

Conclusion CI is an organization-wide process. it seeks to always build small changes into work practice. these result from everyone in the company being keen to develop their ideas and skills, enabling step-by-step improvement. Zar today,is a learning organization. Key progress is seen in the growth of CI coaches and the creation of a virtual Zar Academy.

As a result, best practice can be shared right accross the globe Zar Company. Best practice can become standardized, so that the best development in the UK can be applied in the Netherlands,Canada,Belgium etc, and vice versa. The CI programme will evolve by providing customers with better value, in a cost-effective way. Ourting customer needs at the heart of the business creates the Continious Improvement culture. Question 1 A successful change management process ensures that realistic, achievable and measurable changes are implemented efficiently by successful engaging all the stakeholders involved in the change process. With reference to practical examples and the case of Zar, Critically examine the best methods for managing planned and unplanned change. (25 marks)

Question 2

Groups and teams are mechanisms which an organization may employ to assist in increasing effectively and gaining competitive advantage. advise the management at Zar on the functions of different types of formal groups and justify how groups and teams can contribute to organizational effectiveness. (25 marks)