Question

Fontel Ltd is an expanding distributor of components for mobile phone and is likely to be become one of the major players in Europe. Like most organization, Fontal experienced difficulties through a period of growth, with a misalignment of systems, processes, equipment and people.

Rather than attempt to fit new challenges into the ways of old methods and structures, Fontal actively reorganized the way it functioned. It began with a new mission statement that emphasized the firm’s commitment to adding value to customers through innovation and continuous improvement. As management at examined the needs and opportunities for turning around performance, it adopted a system approach. The system model examines all elements of an organization as an interacting whole, sensitive to external pressures. Fontal managers learned that, as they changed one element, such as ways of transacting with suppliers, they would also have to change internal processes and even their relationship with customers.

What they realized that they had to shift from focusing only on results, to looking at the processes within the system that were producing those results. They also knew that a redesign of organizational systems needed to provide flexibility so that people could adapt their behavior the changing circumstances in daily activities. As a starting point for systematically learning about management and behavior with organization. Fontel identified two key mental models: one emphasizing the dynamic nature of managerial roles, and the other identifying the macro options managers have available for changing organizational performance.

Discussion questions

1. How Fontal’s manager would have measured outputs to ensure that company mission was achieved?

2. Why managers shall be prepared to engage employees in a constantly changing environment?

3. How Fontel’s transformation process affected outputs?

2

Answer 1

1. Fontal’s managers have understood that measuring output is not just about observing the results. It is more a complex process where the overall behavior of the system processing output must be monitored and analyzed. This way the company can align its business processes to the mission of facilitating innovation and continuous improvement. The feedback and reaction of the customers to the company offerings must also be analyzed so as to have an effective snapshot of the overall performance of the company.

2. The overall industry has become quite dynamic. The demand of customers keeps on fluctuating and there is no stability in the overall business environment. In such a scenario, the managers are required to engage employees. It is the basic human nature to get dejected by a change and offer resistance to the change process. To keep the morale of the employees high and maintain their alignment with the company’s mission and business objectives, the manager needs to be facilitating and come up with interesting interventions to engage employees.

3. Fontal’s transformation process will enhance the overall effectiveness of the business outputs. The company’s transformation process is aimed at making the business flexible and adaptable as per the changing needs of the environment. Hence the transformation process will enhance the overall relevancy and credibility of output and the consumers will be able to gain the most from them.