Ben Santos Case Analysis

CASE ANALYSIS

BEN SANTOS

INTRODUCTION

        “I have been doing this for four years and so far, I have been able to hit the forecast even allowing for the 10 percent growth rate targets for certain products coming from West Germany. My method works. So what more do you want?” one manager replied.

        Adapting to change is the most difficult thing to accomplish because it makes one person get out of its normal norms and way of life. Rosabeth Kanter of Harvard Business even elaborated on her list the reasons why people resist change. She stated that as the change progresses, the discomfort of the people grows with it. Change brings up uncertainty, more work and effort and the idea of losing control of one’s territory and comfort zone. These kinds of concern take people by surprise hence their usual reaction is to desist and defend their ground by any means.

        In today’s business environment, more than in any preceding era, the only constant is change. Successful organizations effectively manage change, continuously adapting their bureaucracies, strategies, systems, products, and cultures to survive the shocks and prosper from the forces that decimate the competition (Waterman, 1982). However, many go down the hill not only because of resistance to change but because the competition can outrun you if a grizzly bear attacks.

        “How can we manage this company effectively if we do not have clearly stated strategies to guide us?” due to the surge of strong competitors in the market the President of H. Braun, Philippines proposed a new corporate planning system for the company.  

        With the desire to better the operations of the HBP Company, a Corporate Planning System (CPS) must be institutionalized to the entire organization. Upon the initial approach to the Division Managers the problem of resistance and defense mechanisms arise. Due to those negative reactions the President suggested a one-day workshop to discuss the proposal.

        This strong resistance are due to the fact that through the years of existence of the company in the Philippines the division managers and all other personnel got away with their own ways of doing the job due to the lack of strong strategic management background both in the internal and external operations. The lax way of managing the company made change the enemy.

Upon proper scrutiny of the case, the main issue is towards the lack of management direction of the company. For one, ROE had been set uniformly at 20 percent throughout the entire division hence hindering the sales growth of specific products especially those that are newly introduced in the market. Also, all management action plans are benchmarked from the West Germany headquarters which is far from the standards and culture of the locals. Adapting certain strategies in an international landscape is not as good as adapting to the norms of the Philippine market. Another issue is that although the company provides bonuses and recognition to the managers and employees they fail to put heavy sanctions when they cannot hit their targets hence develops lack of accountability in the organization. Most importantly, the company faces a dilemma due to the lack of support from the managers towards the strategic change that will soon be implemented.