Motorola-Penang: Quality Management - Assignment Example

CHAPTER # 6: Motorola-Penang: Quality Management What would you say in your opinion based on the reading for this case was the main management philosophy of S.K. Ko? S.K. Ko, the Vice President and Managing Director of Motorola Penang (MP) strongly believes that ‘the chief should have a heart’ – meaning, the leader should have genuine concern for his/her subordinates. She believes that the leader should treat people well so that they will do likewise. She is a people oriented leader who takes into consideration the personal and professional growth and development of her subordinates incorporating factors which affect human behavior in organizations. She believes in motivating people by acknowledging good work and by praising their development. She also believes in challenging people to hone their skills in thereby contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. 2. How did Ko encompass this philosophy into the Quality Management vision for the year 2000 at Motorola-Penang? What obstacles did she face? S.K. Ko’s vision for the year 2000 was for MP to be the designing center in Asia. Her management philosophy on emphasizing and developing the skills and potentials of people focused on five major activities which should be utilized to improve quality and productivity of MP. Given the vision and her underlying philosophy, she encouraged her personnel to brainstorm by utilizing two breakout groups. One group focused on manufacturing issues and the other group focused on research and development. With the skills developed through initiatives to encourage them to identify and execute improvement strategies, they were able to plan specific strategies to direct MP into the achievement of the identified vision. The process, although effective in designing specific plans and strategies perceived by the two groups to achieve the vision for the year 2000, S.K. Ko specifically identified that they failed to incorporate people aspects in their plans. She encourages a broader view of how they design and manufacture products with emphasis on a holistic approach; meaning, seeing the whole system together with plans on what to do with people who might be dislocated or need to be reassigned due to technological developments. 3. How should managers act according to S.K. Ko and what were her views regarding the development of Management? S.K. Ko encouraged management development, participative management process and technical skills development to ensure that managers continually strive to improve their skills and competencies. According to her management philosophy, S.K. Ko have the same expectations to her managers that they should focus on her management thoughts and have genuine concern for their people. She encourages challenges so that the managers should rise above these challenges. She encouraged training courses, cross cultural communication, cultural skills training programs, and the like, to gain additional and advanced competencies to prevent stagnation and obsolescence in the light of technological improvements. 4. What were some of the major issues regarding the empowerment of employees at Motorola-Penang? Empowerment issues in MP include deviations from the company’s policy of encouraging ‘speaking out’ versus the traditional and cultural Asian values of family life. In their corporate offices in the US, empowerment strategies include evaluating each other’s performances. With the conservative culture of MP, this type of evaluation could not be exactly mirrored due to the conservative nature of the personnel. In lieu of this, supervisor’s counseling and coaching skills were recommended to be improved. In addition, some employees perceive ‘doing a supervisor’s job’ without the necessary pay increase as not beneficial to their performance. They still do not realize the benefit of learning advanced tasks and skills. To counter this view, empowerment strategies suggest a holistic approach wherein employees are made to understand the whole system to enable them to specifically pinpoint the bottlenecks. This approach was assessed as a means for far greater productivity and quality improvement. CHAPTER # 10: Southwest Airlines: Human Resources. 1. Why is Southwest Airlines a success? Southwest Airlines (SA) has been in the airlines industry since 1963. It is considered successful due to the following factors: (1) exemplary leadership; (2) well managed people resources; and (3) strategic marketing efforts. Leadership is considered exemplary under the helm of Herb Kelleher, the Chairman, President and CEO, who believed in the following philosophies: “a visible, hands on, slightly over-the-top style— always ready to promote a party and have fun. He constantly interacts with customers and Southwest employees. He routinely visits maintenance facilities in the early morning hours. Serious attention is paid to parties and celebrations. He believes that fun is a stimulant to people. They enjoy their work more and work more productively.” P. 7 People, or human resources, are identified as part of SA’s competitive advantage. Through stringent recruitment and training policies, SA was able to manage and maintain the most professional team of airline personnel who genuinely love their jobs and who have innate concern for customer satisfaction. Strategic marketing efforts that were employed by SA are discussed in greater detail below. 2. What’s their strategy? Competencies? The strategies and competencies employed by SA are as follows: (1) low fare, fewer flights and frequent service; (2) focus and enhance customer service and satisfaction; (3) vigilance on the weakness of competitors and take advantage of these weaknesses and turn them into opportunities and strengths. SA’s strategic marketing effort started with the advertising campaign (Make Love, Not War) where SA refers itself as “Love” airline. Management encourages its employees to identify with others, deliver great customer service and have fun. The marketing service mistakes of their competitors, like USAir, were capitalized to expand in areas where they previously have no market share. They concentrated on flying to airports that are underutilized and close to a metropolitan area. They utilized the fuel efficient 737 planes contributing to substantial net incomes. Their service involves frequent on time departures as well as low cost fares. They emphasized point-to-point routes avoiding delays. Consistent with its strategy of low costs, low fares, and frequent flights, SA also keeps its fares simple. They never offered meal service on its flights and there is no assigned seating. Overall, Southwest Airlines has been profitable in every one of the last 21 years, a record achieved by no other major U.S. airline. (P. 4) 3. How does Southwest get its competitive advantage? SA has many sources of competitive advantage, to wit: highly competitive cost structure, highly productive work force, employees volunteer to help customers in need, emphasis on customer service, excellent leadership skills, philosophies, and management styles, and a well selected and managed people resources. In fact their mission is prominently displayed which states that “Recognizing that our people are the competitive advantage, we deliver the resources and services to prepare our people to be winners, to support the growth and profitability of the company, while preserving the values and special culture of Southwest Airlines.” (Pp. 8 – 9) In addition, their President and CEO averred that “our essential difference is minds, hearts, spirits, and souls”. (p. 17) 4. What issues should Ann Rhoades, Vice President for People raise at the upcoming meeting? At the upcoming meeting, Ann Rhoades should raise the following issues: (1) competitive threats and (2) succession issues. She wondered if this competitive threat could seriously damage Southwest, and what actions, if any, Southwest’s senior management should take. Could United and Continental really imitate the Southwest approach? With the increased number of personnel of Southwest, it is relevant to evaluate if this would have an effect in the family feeling of personnel. Further, she wants to determine if their success could have some negative effects to people’s attitudes and behaviors. Finally, she wanted to discuss the company’s options for succession since Mr. Kelleher had been with SA since 1963. All these issues on managing human resources should be evaluated to ensure continued success of Southwest Airlines in the midst of increasing competition. Read More