The following case study is fictional however modelled on real companies. It is the basis of your assessments, in-class analysis and application of the theory that will be applied in HRM302. Your role is as a change agent in the merger of these two companies, you will complete an analysis and apply the theory you study through a project management framework. Takara Takara is an ASX200 publicly listed Australian company, employing 1,400 people with their head office based in Sydney. Takara is the number one vitamin and supplement brand in Australia which combines traditional naturopathic expertise with scientific research to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. It also has operations in countries such as New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. The company has built a brand presence in Japan, China, the USA, Canada and Cambodia and is looking to develop stronger markets globally. Takara’s values include a passion for natural health, integrity, respect, leadership and social responsibility. Their purpose is to deliver the best natural health solutions in high-quality products and with a major focus on operating under self-sufficient, sustainable manufacturing. To do this they support strict Australian manufacturing standards and rigorous quality checks within their own operations, as well as those of their supply chain networks. Takara supports research and education through partnerships with several Australian universities to be recognised as providing a quality product. As a health care product, there are several key elements that Takara feels strongly about including: • Opposing the use of genetically modified produce, chemical fertilisers and sprays in the ingredients they source. • Use of fresh ingredients, the rejection of sugar and understanding of the role of vitamins and minerals in supplementary nutrition and vitamins. • Clean and green Australian manufacturing of products and not outsourcing to overseas companies. • Focus on producing recyclable packaging and divert landfill waste to recycling. • To operate their manufacturing with the best practices to reduce waste and harm to the broader community. 2 As a public company Takara follows sound corporate governance practices with a committed senior executive team and Board of Directors. They had good net profit growth of 19% in the past financial year resulting in a 13% financial dividend increase for shareholders. There is a solid operating cash flow and the Board is committed to allocating capital and other resources to growth and investment opportunities. Takara’s culture is one that supports growth and encourages the right behaviour throughout the business. They have a strong commitment to employee education, with a focus on continual improvement and quality management, employees feel empowered and experience high levels of engagement The culture supports the philosophy which focuses on environmental sustainability within the manufacturing plant and distribution centre. This also includes how they encourage consumers to think about their own waste and the influence that packaging also has in the broader scheme of sustainable practices. Illoura Group Illoura Group is a United States manufacturing company, with a global network of 35 manufacturing facilities. The Group has developed partnerships with a number of global healthcare companies, providing medicines for cancer treatments, respiratory, cardiovascular, and other critical patient needs. They also include a broad range of new consumer health products for customers and markets around the world. Illoura group employs more than 10.000 people globally and has a commitment to corporate responsibility. The size of the organisation means there is a strong leadership team that makes many of the corporate decisions with very little consultation. Their research is independent and in partnership with other healthcare companies. They have a team of scientists that are constantly focused on sourcing grants for their research and this drives the organisations culture. The competitive nature of sourcing funding benchmarks the rivalry and even cutthroat attitude of many of the research team, as a result there is a division between the research and development team and the manufacturing division. The competitive nature to develop medicines that are recommended by doctors and included on pharmaceutical benefits schemes around the world makes this very challenging for researchers and as a result creates a stressful environment that at times can be difficult to work in. 3 Employees in the manufacturing business feel the pressure that comes from the researchers and at time struggle with disagreements that can arise between the research teams. These teams tend to think the medicines they are developing are the most important, especially if a global epidemic occurs and there is increased demand on one specific medicine. Merger between Takara and Illoura Group Illoura Group has a $43 million tablet and soft-gel capsule manufacturing plant in Victoria employing 265 people. Takara has experienced supply shortages for some of its products over the last six months. This has been due to not having the facilities to manufacture at a rate which keeps up with the growth Takara has experienced. With an opportunity to expand even more, especially into China, means Takara needs to evaluate how they plan to resolve this issue. Takara has been in negotiations with Illoura Group and as a result they have announced there will be a merger between the two companies. The terms of the merger works well for both, as Takara will take over the manufacturing operations in Victoria, which will give them greater control and flexibility. Illoura Group has been a supplier of Takara for about 30 years but only manufacturing about 15% of Takara’s products. Acquiring the manufacturing plant in Victoria means that Takara will be able to increase their manufacturing to 50% of their product line and ensure improved quality control on all their supply chains. Illoura Group also identifies a benefit from the merger, as it is wanting to expand its operations into the healthcare market. Takara is a leader in this domain and positioned well for global expansion therefore the decision to merge is logical. However, Takara has a couple of concerns as the culture of the two organisations is very different and this has an impact on the staff moral at the manufacturing plant. Takara is also concerned about the pressure and constraints Illoura Group’s research team places on the manufacturing division as this is the opposite to that of their own research team. The Board of Director at Takara has decided they need to employ a change agent expert to help structure and manage the acquisition of the Victorian manufacturing plant as part of the merger agreement with Illoura Group

- Write a report of 1000 words base on the above case study.

- Assessment Description
Sometimes in situations where change is needed in an organisation conflict can occur. Based on a range of contemporary examples, you will take on the role of the ‘Change Agent’ to assess the conflict and identify potential interventions. You think everything is flowing smoothly but at a recent management meeting, you discover that some of the staff are not happy with the change process and feel they have lost their social identity within the organisation. As a result, there is a lack of synergy between the different workgroups. The staff are finding the relationship with the leadership team confusing, as employees feel they are not sure who they report to. There appears to be a lack of clarity around expectations, and they are not sure who can be trusted. There has been a perception for some time, that the leadership team is not openly communicating with staff and that there is:
• A loss of control as staff are no longer clear of the organisational structure and who report to.
• Confusion in relation to overall organisational culture, values, and ideologies.
• A lack of clarity in the objectives as to why the change is happening.
• A lack of understanding as to the benefits the change may bring.
• Misunderstanding as to how resources are being divided and applied, some groups feel they now have a lack of or limited access to different resources.
• Difficulties in integrating the business units and they are struggling due to lack of procedural and management processes.
• A feeling of complete exhaustion, as there have been so many changes so quickly.
In your role as a ‘Change Agent,’ you need to evaluate the situation and recommend some intervention
strategies.

- Assessment Instructions
• Introduction (100 words) – Outlines the aim and structure of the report.
• Provide an overview of the diagnostic concepts defined/explained (200 words) – this could
include ONE (1) of the concepts such as the Seven-Lever Model, identifying and applying the Objective and Integration Framework, the Integration Desired Model or Cultural Profiling (you will draw on content from Weeks 4, 5, 7 and 8).
• Analysis of how the model applies to support choice of intervention strategies (300 words)
Apply the diagnostic concept you have discussed to help explain how it supports your analysis of the conflict situation and how it can apply to the intervention strategies.
• Recommended intervention strategies - (300 words) based on your research explain TWO (2) key interventions that might work and why (these could be based on people management or organisational response to change).
• Conclusion and outcomes (100 words) – a summary of the key theory discussed and outcomes you are hoping to achieve.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

10 Introduction This report will aim to provide an overview of the diagnostic concepts definedexplained in the context of a case study The case study revolves around a conflict situation within an org... View the full answer