Creative Change and Innovation in Super Seven Stars Group of Myanmar

This article discusses the post-pandemic position of Super Seven Stars Group of Myanmar, the role of change management model in innovation and growth, and the significance of corporate governance in preventing environmental issues. It also covers the challenges faced by the automobile industry due to Covid-19 and the strategies adopted by the company to cope up with the situation.

CREATIVE CHANGE AND
INNOVATION

Table of Contents.
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Reconfiguring the position of the company post pandemic.........................................................3
Role of change management model required for innovation.......................................................5
Significance of corporate governance to prevent the environment.............................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Innovation refers to the process of implementing new ideas or practical situation either
by offering creative goods & services or by modification in the existing one (Roblek and et.al.,
2021). In today's world, technology and innovation plays a key important role to face the
challenges which helps in achieving organisational as well as economic growth. It is said that
stagnation could be hazardous for the business. Report will discuss the Super Seven Stars (SSS)
Group of Myanmar which mainly deal into three aspects i.e. manufacturing, trading and services
being incorporated in 2001. This case study will describe the post-pandemic position of the
quoted company and elaborate the role of change management model in innovation and growth.
Further, case study will determine the importance of corporate governance.
MAIN BODY
Reconfiguring the position of the company post pandemic
Automobile sector was bracing and dealing with a challenging year even before the
pandemic. The sales had been constantly low from last one and half years. Revenue and liquidity
are one of the biggest concern for the industry. By monitoring the risk and opportunity the
company could enable to identify the change in the value of the employees and customers.
Because of the pandemic, there were restrictions as well as change in the working environment
within an organization (Homma, 2020). The people are more aware about the situation by
conducting research of the market. They would compare the culture of an organization and figure
out which corporate is offering more perks. SSS Group in Myanmar had to dealt with various
problems and hurdles such as unemployment is one of the biggest reason which propel the idea
of value shift.

Figure 1: Car manufactured in the United Kingdom
On the basis of above image, it can clearly be said that Covid-19 hit to automobile industry to the
great extent. As before covid-19, UK’s car manufacturing industry has manufactured around
1,122,311 and after covid-19, it has manufactured only 743,003 cars. There was 33.8% of
decline in car manufacturing and it was the biggest value shift in this industry.
Purchasing power of customers witnessed a significant fall which badly affect the
businesses within the Myanmar. Covid-19 impact was huge in specific reference to the human
beings (Belton and et.al., 2021). The deadly disease had killed many loving ones and even the
sole earner of the family resulting them to face mental as well as monetary problem. Post-
pandemic, employees are cautious about the health factor because of the fear of being
transmitted (Alam, 2022). The quoted company had provided its employees better working
environment where they minimize the direct contact and provide essential PPE kits and masks to
prevent them for the disease. They also adopted the virtual mode for the continuous working
during the time of pandemic. Crisis of unemployment within Myanmar as well as high
percentage of lay-offs build a threat among the employees that they might be the next one

(Mitkova and Mlynarovič, 2021). Due to this the financial anxiety among the workforce was
comparatively high which basically affecting the efficiency and productivity of the employees
within an organization.
Digitalization helps the company to remain competitive post-pandemic and the
innovative strategies helps them SSS Group to cop up the situation in a faster and quicker
manner (Atkinson, 2020). New social environment changes the consumer behaviour as they
prioritize for affordable products rather than luxurious one. The company should manufacture
vehicles which doesn't have high price range and must be electric in nature. As there is a gradual
shift towards the use of EV vehicle. Due to the job losses and low financial ability, the company
should ensure innovative & leasing schemes. SSS Group could also enter into two-wheeler
market, second-hand car selling business which could rebuilt the badly impacted sector. The
customers have relied on less direct contact therefore, creating an opportunity for the company to
shift towards online model of booking, appointment, payment and doorstep delivery. The
company should start online booking for test drives eliminating to visit showroom. Stakeholders
accelerated towards the digital marketing and the quoted company should focus on the virtual
auto shows and exhibitions rather than offline one. The quoted organization has also
implemented various strategies for the better health and atmosphere within the firm for the
employees & staff. SSS Group is the distributor as well as manufacture of the KIA company
which added features like enhanced air-purification, anti-bacterial material and in-built
sanitization.
Embedding innovation for cost-effective method provides an upper hand in terms of
sales. Building partnership and creating ventures with Kia, Peugeot, King Long and DS motors
provides a competitive edge and dominate the Myanmar market. Apart from country like
Myanmar the SSS Group operates in various international borders which creates a reputation and
brand name. The consumers are also being aware of the position of the company as they are
running wide variety of companies under the group i.e. Super Seven Stars Co. Ltd, International
Trading Co. Ltd, Dynamic Industry Co. Ltd, Safhi International Pte. Ltd, Golden Hill Finance
Co. Ltd etc. The quoted company always relied on the quality by setting high standards and strict
internal QA/QC process for the products and services. Therefore, the given company never
compromise with the product quality resulting in better experience to the customers.

SSS Group was including talent management activities which is one of the priority for the
CEO to become critically developed. Suppliers of the automobile industry witnessed huge
disruption due to the shutdown of many businesses. Due to the changing business models and
taste of the consumer the suppliers had to face various difficulty because their materials are of no
worth if not purchased by the automobile sector. This sector has a futuristic perspective and
technology plays an important role to cop up with the recent trends. Competition from big tycoon
i.e. Tesla and even Apple is entering into fully automatic motor vehicle has drastically changed
the trends of the customers by providing advanced features in the vehicle. SSS Group following
the recent trends, technology and innovation could again increase the market share and slowly
increase the sale of the products as well as providing maintenance services.
Role of change management model required for innovation
Change management is an integral part for the development and growth of the company.
This could be evaluated by applying McKinsey 7S Model which is a tool to determine the
company's organization design with the help of internal elements i.e. strategy, structure, system,
shared value, staff and skills (Jurevicious, 2021). This model was come into force in 1980 by
McKinsey to evaluate the strategic planning which results in achieving the productivity of an
organization. The aim of this framework is to facilitate the organization change which would
assist in implementing new strategy, figure out the area where to amend changes and to identify
the merger of company. The above three are the hard elements whereas remaining are the soft
elements which helps to manage the competitive advantage. The given company is one of the
leading organization in Myanmar which becomes the inspiration for others to dream high
therefore creating a legacy. They deal in a wide range of vehicles i.e. from utility vans to buses
and also the sole distributor of renowned brands such as Peugeot, King Long, DS & KIA. The
hard elements like structure, strategy, system of the company are easy to manage & identify
whereas soft elements which are difficult, but they are the foundation of the enterprise creating
an edge in competitive market. Structure of an organization expresses the manner how they are
going to function and organize its units providing a proper chart or channel framework to
communicate the responsibility. Super Seven Stars structure is further divided into three main
departments: service, trading & manufacturing and quoted Group constantly monitor the external
and internal elements to anticipate the market trends which helps the company to satisfy the
potential audience. They have a robust organizational structure which helps them to

communicate in a better way. During the time of pandemic, the company survived due to strong
base of technology and innovation. They believe consistent innovation is the only possible way
to ensure progress in the fast-paced world. Differentiation product strategy which helps them to
launch diversified products with an advanced technology and also planning to become a
manufacture as well as distributor of latest KIA vehicles. System defines as daily activities
within an organization which are being carried by the employees to accomplish their job role.
For the SSS teamwork is the key to success as diversified and cooperative team create the
sustainable business environment (Pirasteh-Anosheh and et.al., 2021). Core values of the
company helps to govern the organization's health and having strong corporate culture which
could assist to implement the change easily. The style of SSS determine the level of employee
productivity and style which aids the company to achieve its goals & objectives. Human
resources are the lifeline of every firm and the quoted company by training, programme,
certificate courses improves their knowledge and skills. Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS)
enhance the employee's efficiency which benefit the auto mobile sector. Due to the big market in
Myanmar, the strength of the staff is around 1000 and because of lack of experience,
infrastructure, knowledge, modern skills of the local employees in Myanmar, the company was
not fall back and made huge investment in time, energy, resources to make an impactful change
(Kurtenbach, 2021). SSS Group teach skills to its staff and employees as they are into diversified
activities and need to bridge the gap as this industry required experts and advanced mechanical
engineers (Dean, 2020). The challenges which the SSS Group currently facing was due to the
worldwide factory closures because of the Covid-19 pandemic & labour strikes, massive lay-
offs, increase in automatic mobility, driverless vehicles, ride sharing are some primary threats
which are being faced by the auto mobile companies.
While, to overcome the above challenges utilizing advance technology with the process
of digital supply chain which aids the company in reducing monetary cost and improves
decision-making capabilities. This would help to determine the consumer pattern and allow a
quicker reorientation regarding the service and product of the company. There focus on KIA cars
help them to establish market in the e-vehicle, and they should install better diagnostic
maintenance centres. To cop up with the latest innovation in automobile sector, reskilling
method is necessary which helps the employees in learning new capabilities and preparing them
to be ready in change. SSS company had around nine years of working for Toyota firm in Japan

and had returned Myanmar with an aim to share the experience to the native country (Hofstatter,
2020). The approach and experience which was being learnt from Japan has been conveyed to
the employees of an organization in Myanmar. To achieve greater the company has always relied
on the development of its employees by following international quality standards within the firm.
The quoted company is looking to build gigafactories to launch new EV motors as well as
providing the proper infrastructure for the charging points (Miller, Cardell and Batra, 2021).
Significance of corporate governance to prevent the environment
Corporate governance is the systematic approach adopted by the company which direct
or control the functioning of an organization. In other words, these are the rules, processes and
practice being utilized to dictate the company in achieving the goals and objectives of the firm.
Transparency, security and accountability are the three pillars of good corporate governance
which form the solid relationship among the stakeholders such as managers, employees,
shareholders and most importantly BOD. The role of organisational governance is significant to
maintain the cohesiveness within the company by applying policies and rules. It assists the
enterprise to have clear financial, legal and ethical function which held the company being
accountable for the acts done. For any organization, the four Ps of corporate governance are
purpose, process, people and performance. Board of Directors of the SSS Group had clear
mission of becoming a market leader with the help innovation and technology in the sector of
business by dealing in variety of products and services to the potential customers.
Board of Directors of the SSS Group played an important role in the rise of the company
as apart from domestic business they also focus on the international aspect which provides them
knowledge about the recent trends of the industry, what customers are being expected and the
internal & external elements of the given environment. The subsidiary company of the Group
i.e. Star Service is well-known preventive maintenance and repair centre which provides high
quality service in speedy manner with an affordable charge. Apart from this, they deal in car
modification with a source of finance which provides hassle-free purchasing of vehicle. The
BOD had recently faced many consequences because due to pandemic crisis Myanmar's military
invasion took over the government to control the extreme situation. The anti-cooperation protest
were being started in 2021 which add towards the bad impact on the country's growth. The
existing Rohingya issue was the major contribution to the political instability and had increased
the burden on the limited resources of the country. These problems had drastically impacted the

corporate governance of the SSS Group as the employees in an organization had to face the
effects which reduce the efficiency and productivity of the company. There human rights are
being terminated as with the involvement of military control. Company factories and distribution
channel with the service centre had been temporary shutdown. Rohingya problem forces the
company to think about whether to invest in the projects within the country for the betterment of
the customers.
The quoted company relied on the international standards for the manufacturing, service
and other parameters which are being prescribed under the company's rules. SSS Group has basic
perspective regarding their organizational governance which is to earn the faith of the customers
by providing better experience to them. They rely on the traditional working style within the
company to improve the efficiency and transparency of an organization. There is a system to
respond flexibly to the changes which are being foreseen or sometimes not, could be conveyed to
the workforce through a proper communication channel to disclose the information (Bae, Lund‐
Thomsen and Lindgreen, 2021). They organize monthly, quarterly as well as annual meeting to
monitor and resolve the significant matters relating to management and functioning of an
organization. BOD considers the needs and wants of all the stakeholders which have interest
embedded in them. Post-pandemic stage for the quoted company was relatively difficult as the
income loss due to the many factors which reduce the economic activity in Myanmar. The
country's population was struggled for basic necessities like food insecurity, water supply,
shelter, lay-offs etc. The SSS Group contributed towards the social responsibility by fulfilling
their employees basic needs in the worldwide crisis. The directors were aware that if they want
to move forward then they need to think innovatively my amending minor changes in the culture
and structure of the company rather than indulging in the idea of value trap (Edinger, 2018).
Company has its own internal rules and policies for smooth functioning as well as providing
direction to the employees to complete their tasks. Apart from CSR activities they also
formulated and opted for effective strategies which are eco-friendly (Shen, Cao and Xu, 2020).
Reducing the carbon emission is the prime aim of the SSS Group which helps in achieving UN
environmental protection goals.

CONCLUSION
The report has been concluded by explaining the importance of innovation and
technology in the auto mobile sector. There was a rapid change in the taste of the customers as
they are highly dependent on the EV vehicles rather than traditional concept of motor. SSS
Group focused on drivers of change i.e. health concern for employees, fiscal anxiety and
embedding digitalization. With the help of McKinsey's 7s model, it identified the changes
required to be competitive in the market. Digital supply chain and KIA electric cars are the
future development which should be followed. The case study has been summarized by
describing the roles of Board of Directors with proper rules and policies governing the company.

REFERENCES
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