Strategic International Business Management: SARHS Case Study Report

This report analyzes a case study of SAR Health Services (SARHS), a multinational diagnostic equipment supplier, focusing on strategic international business management and change management. The report examines SARHS's proposed plan to restructure its operations, reduce its carbon fo...Read More

Running head: STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Factors for consideration before proceeding with the proposed plan....................................3
People Management Issues....................................................................................................5
Recommendations for proceeding with the project...............................................................8
Factors responsible for increasing change capabilities........................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The process including ongoing planning, checking and assessing the strategies and
actions for the motive of accomplishing objectives and goals is known as strategies
management (Lasserre 2017) Strategic management sets goals, helps in assessing the
competition, analyzes internal environment, and ensures management responsibilities in
alignment of the strategic implications in all across an organization. Strategic management
depicts the procedure involved in managing the institutional strategies for assisting with the
newer goals and logical decisions for maintaining the pace of the evolving market, business
conditions and technology (Andersen and Andersson 2017). Strategic management
contributes to the organization for gaining competitive advantages and in improving the
market share for planning the future. There are five standard stages of the strategic
management procedure including, the assessment of the current direction of an organization,
identification, and assessment of external and internal weaknesses and strength followed by
the formulation of the action plan (Rothaermel 2016). The procedure focuses on the
implementation of the strategized action plan with the evaluation of the degree of success of
the action plan. The purpose of the paper is to identify factors, which are responsible for
preparing for the base before the implementation of the plan. The paper will determine
concerns related to people management, which the management team will experience while
executing the plan followed by presenting recommendations for proceeding with the
proposed project. The paper will identify factors, which the company will adopt in
consideration of constructing the change capability. The paper will be based on the case study
of the company SARHS (SAR Health Services). The case depicted the proposed plan of
restructuring the operational plan of the company to satisfy its objective of cost-effectiveness
and reduction of carbon footprint in the environment. The paper will be concluded by
summarizing the process of ensuring a successful change management process.

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Discussion
Factors for consideration before proceeding with the proposed plan
The primary focus of SARHs and its management team is to enforce green initiatives
followed by reducing the operational cost of the change management. Restructuring and
reorganization in this company have been a frequent affair, marking two reorganizations
under three years. The changes in the organization have been supported by the emphasis on
environmental education and continual training for the workforce. The proposed plan is based
on the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the operational process by almost one third till
the year 2022 and to reduce the cost with the reduction of workforce and changing the office
functionalities and layout. The proposed plan is to close the Site A production site and
amalgamate the operations at Site B with redesigned floor plans and changed objectives for
operations department, drivers and sales executives under the purview of sustainability. The
factors that the management team needs to consider before proceeding with the proposed plan
are as follows:
 Holistic perspective: Before preparing or proceeding with the changes associated with
the proposed plan, the management team must overlook the plan from a complete or
holistic view through the consideration of all the functional areas of the business. The
holistic perspective at the first stage will allow the business changes to be aligned
with the ultimate or collective goals of the organization. The functional areas such as
the technical department, distribution, marketing, sales, drivers and functional
managers should be aligned with the overall motive for the successful implementation
of the plan.
 Multi-disciplinary nature: The plan will possess influence over multidisciplinary
actions in the organization. The core objectives of the change must be synchronized
with the functioning of the teams. The management team of SARHS must consider

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this factor by understanding the degree of influence or impact on every individual and
team. For instance, the home-based work in the plan will save the traveling cost of the
sales executives but the same plan also includes the shifting of sites, which will affect
the operational team. For an effective collaborative effort, the organization must
consider the nature of the plan.
 Organizational considerations: The management team should consider the internal
environment of the organization for understanding the existing system, recruitment
process, key stakeholder involvement, and satisfaction. The most significant
specification of the proposed plan is to have a collaborative effort in the
implementation process. The engagement and satisfaction rate of the employees is
very crucial for assessing the potentiality of the changed plan (Doz 2017).
 Industry considerations: Along with the internal stakeholders, the interest of the
external stakeholders should also be considered to determine the positive return on
investment. The organization, SARHS needs to consider the acceptability and cost
involved with the green initiatives amongst customers. This factor will also present
the organization with a complete view of the expectations and viability of the
offerings and costs associated with buying decisions. The relocation of the site should
not affect the buying decision of clients.
 Market considerations: Marketing consideration is one of the most crucial factors that
the management team should emphasize on. Marketing considerations should focus
on the process of decision making amongst the customer base concerning the aspect
of competition. The competitive market in the industry can affect the successful
implementation of the proposed plan as cost efficiency and changed operational
layout may result in shifting the buying decision of supplier switch amongst clients or

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hospitals. The cost-effectiveness may also influence the product quality on which
loyalty of the client base is dependent.
 Constructing a well-informed decision: A plan cannot satisfy every department or
individual, the prime consideration of the management team should be focussed on
identifying the key stakeholders, both internal and external, which will portray a
direct influence over the accomplishment of the cost-effectiveness and sustainability
plan.
 Communication and resistance to remodeling: The objectives and rationale behind the
proposed plan must be communicated individually to every team for accumulating the
feedback gained from the teams for further improvement. The most significant factor
that the management team should consider before proceeding with the plan of
sustainability and cost reduction in operations understands the causes behind the
resistance of change to frame effective training or actions before executing the plan.
People Management Issues
The proposed plan of the SARHS will be directly impacting the internal stakeholders of
the organization, which constructs the alarming situation of people management issues
arising from lack of communication or lack of knowledge of the whole plan. Managing
people during the implementation of change is very crucial for accumulating the support for
the team members. The management team will experience various people management issues
during the execution of the plan.
 Gaining approvals: The first challenge or concern for the management team
concerning people management issues is getting approvals from the senior
management, suppliers’ coordination and functional head involvement for executing
the green initiatives associated with the reduction of operating cost for a considerably
better operating system.

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 Management of multiple teams: SARHS manages multiple teams for its operational
activities such as sales, marketing, operations, management, and drivers.
Implementing the plan that will involve remodeling and green initiatives by benefiting
or not shifting the regularity or interest of every team is very challenging.
 Categorizing needs of the different sites and departments: The management team of
SARHS can experience issues in understanding and aligning the needs of people from
each site A and B with the ultimate goal of reduced carbon footprint and reduced
costs. The plan involves the shutdown of Site A for combining the operational
activities for Site A and Site B. Considering the interest of both sites’ teams will
create conflict in the workplace.
 Juggling multiple changes: Although the two constituents of the remodeling plan are
interlinked, however, needs separate attention for optimum results. The remodeling of
the layout, site collaboration, changing policies for the sales executives, reduction of
sales workforce and ultimately the green initiatives will demand equal and distributed
attention from the management team causing the state of overutilization of resources
or lack of effort. This people management issue may also demand the updated version
of technological support and infrastructure, thereby ultimately elevating the cost of
plan implementation.
 Lacking visibility: The demand for collaborating with each teams' assistance and
amalgamation of two sites' operation may direct extra efforts towards accumulating
interests, thereby resulting in the lack of visibility for the future feasibility and
accessibility of the plan (Hayes 2018).
 Maintaining interests during an ineffective change process: Reversing the problems or
the potentiality of an ineffective change process with the intact interests of the people
is one of the greatest people management challenges.

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 Conflicts: The remodeling plan of the organization, SARHS with the motive of
reducing carbon footprint and costs associated with the operational process
demonstrates involves various changes in the existing system. The uncertainty of
shifting into a new location, the fear of sharing the office space with other teams, the
fear of losing livelihood with employee layoff, the uncertainty of confidentiality in the
open office layout system, the shifting responsibilities and distance caused by the
shutdown of Site A can cause various conflicting situations in the organization,
thereby harming the implementation of the proposed plan.
 Collaborative planning: The plan regarding the execution of the change caused
through remodeling will cause complexities in a systematic approach to the ultimate
motive due to the involvement of different opinions and interests (Leroy et al. 2018).
 Setbacks: The execution of the plan will not be flawless as the management team will
witness various setbacks associated with equal and effective involvement, similar
expertise and understanding in practicing or perceiving the green initiatives.
 Lack of communication: Communication plays one of the most significant factors in
influencing the execution of a plan or implementing a remodeling plan. Failing to
communicate effectively can be the biggest issue in aligning the interests and
individual goals of the members of each department in sync with the organizational
goal or motive.
 Resistance to contribute and change: Mostly humans resist any change or remodeling
occurring in the form of compulsion or shorter duration. The remodeling of the
functional activities and layout of the organization, SARHS will stimulate resistance
to change amongst the workforce. The resistance may occur due to lack of
communication, effective management intervention and/or lack of knowledge
amongst the workforce.

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 Efforts: The management team of SARHS may experience the issue of equal and
effective efforts from all the employees amalgamated together in site B, as the
employees will be busy in facilitating their everyday operations along with the
directed efforts in managing or adjusting with the changes in alignment with the
changes.
Recommendations for proceeding with the project
The multinational diagnostic equipment supplier, SARHS constructed a remodeling
projected dedicated towards the motive of sustainability and reduced costs. The reduction of
costs is also perceived to be generated from the green initiatives strategized by the
organization. The organization must redesign its approach and actions along with the
operational and infrastructural changes for accommodating the successful implementation of
the project. The multinational organization, SARHS needs a structured and consistent plan
for ensuring the successful execution of the project. The recommended actions and plan for
proceeding with the proposed project are given below:
 Multi-channel communication: The organization should implement a multi-channel
communication approach for ensuring the effective alignment of individual objectives
and remodeling motives. The multi-channel communication approach will ensure the
stimulation of sufficient knowledge for collaborative involvement in the execution of
sustainability and cost optimization plans. The communication plan should focus both
the message of proposed initiatives and changes with the rationale behind each
change.
 Establishing a sense of priority and urgency through a well-planned coalition: The
organization needs to construct a sense of priority and urgency amongst the
departments by projecting the vision of long-term goals of reduced costs and reduced
carbon footprints concerning changing external environment and increasing

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competition (Sawagvudcharee and Yolles 2017). The coalition should consider the
factors of creating an adjusting and motivating scenario for both the workforce groups
of Site A and Site B so that they can have a common goal of participating efficiently.
 Removing the management issues and accomplishing newer vision: The organization
should focus on addressing each obstacle and people management issues by creating a
common portal of training. SARHS emphasizes largely on training its staff members
related to various trends and advancements in the external environment. This project
should conduct a different set of training programs, dedicated directly to the planning
of collaborating efforts for a greener and cost-effective supply chain network. The
training process should also include steps following which the sales team can engage
the client base in participating in the green initiatives, which will ultimately result in
cost reduction de (Oliveira, Echeveste and Cortimiglia 2018). The issues prior to or
during the implementation of the project can be identified by direct the efforts of the
management team towards seeking continual feedback through surveys and an
electronic portal. Moreover, the organization should recognize each step of the
employee in the process of reaching towards the ultimate goal.
 Consolidate gains with the production of numerous changes: The remodeling of the
organizational strategies and initiatives should also focus on changing the
organizational culture for an overall remodeling approach (Johnson 2016).
 Workload distribution: Project teams should calculate the rate of responsibilities
amongst employees in the current system and regulate the potential increase in
workload with respect within 10 percent to maintain efficiency (Trigeorgis and Reuer
2017).
 The project can be proceeded with the up-gradation of both physical and
technological infrastructure by designing change management software solutions for

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the medical device supplier as it enables best practices in managing and regulating the
efficiency of the teams (Hopkinson 2017).
 Strategic collaboration of duties: With the matrix organizational structure, the
collaboration of duties can be easily implemented. The teams can be trained to
understand the interrelation of each department and strategize assistance from every
individual and expertise (Bromiley and Rau 2016). Although, the project will require
cohesive support in a single site still the organization should implement the changes
in the implementation of the project separately for a better understanding of individual
concerns.
 Documentation and transparency: For proceeding with the project effectively, the
organization should focus on well-structured documentation of the newer policies and
programs facing the employees with complete transparency. Transparency will attract
trust and involvement (Cummins 2016).
 Harmony and visibility: The project implementation and proceedings should focus on
overcoming the potential and existing people management issues by maintaining a
harmonized procedure (Reiche et al. 2016). A controlled change process in the project
by tracking the impact and response of the key stakeholders will help in elevating the
visibility of the open tasks.
 Automation: The whole project management system should be based upon automation
starting from the process of incorporating approvals along with norms regarding the
escalations and overdue actions.
Factors responsible for increasing change capabilities
 Importance of change capabilities: The first of building change capabilities should
consider the factor of the significance of the changes. The organization or the
management team should communicate from a multi-channel approach to the

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significance of implementing the changes leading to a successful change. Building
change capability in SARHS will include a competitive advantage over the
competition; responsiveness in responding to the market challenges and stimulates
flexibility and knowledge amongst the workforce with better customer relationships
(David and David 2016).
 Structured approach: Building change capabilities should be considered as a
structured project with various steps including, understanding the existing system,
creating a vision, designing a solution, writing a charter or documentation and
applying changes with knowledgeable key stakeholders (Reid and Sanders 2019).
 Future state: The change capability potential and the outcome can be built and
assessed by categorizing various areas, project change capabilities, enterprise change
capabilities and individual change capabilities (Cameron and Green 2019).
 Multi-faceted approach: Building change capability amongst the workforce should
include several steps should be considered, training people, documentation of the
strategic change activities in the step-by-step process (Cokins 2017).
 Leadership management: In this project, for building the base for change capabilities,
an effective leadership style is very crucial (Garcia-Perez et al. 2019). The
transformation leadership style is very crucial for change acceptability and capability
of engagement.
 Vision: Building a strong and long-term outcome of the vision is very crucial for
ensuring change capabilities. Projecting the quantitative and qualitative return on
investment amongst the workforce will allow the staff members and functional heads
to involve their expertise and interests (Imran, Bilal and Aslam 2017).

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 Environment: Alongside an attractive external environment, the positive internal
environment is very crucial for organizations to ensure a sufficient rate of assistance
for availing abilities in Site B (Hodges 2017).
 Involvement: Ensuring the majority and significant level of involvement of both
internal and external stakeholders is very crucial.
 Sponsorship: Building strong sponsorship for change initiatives will elevate the
capabilities of changes in relation to the proposed project.
 Coaching: Although SARHS focuses majorly on training programs, to build change
capability, the organization needs to construct an individualist coaching approach for
ensured positive results.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded from the paper that SARHS project is based on the
motive of sustainability and cost reduction, which comprises of the green initiatives and cost-
effective changes. The project will influence the functioning of all the key stakeholders in the
organization including, the operations department, the sales department, functional
heads/managers and the drivers, which requires complete collaboration and involvement of
the workforce. The management team needs to consider various factors prior to the
implementation of the project actions such as the multi-disciplinary nature of the project,
holistic perspective, and industry, organization and market considerations. The management
team may experience various people management issues such as gaining timely and
appropriate approvals, managing multiple teams, juggling multiple changes, lack of visibility,
maintaining interests and involvement as well as managing conflicting situations. The paper
recommended various actions or strategies for ensuring successful implementation of the
project including, the establishment of a sense of urgency, proper communication, training
and motivating employees with each step of accomplishments. The organization should also

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consider various factors for the purpose of building change capabilities including, a positive
internal environment, Multi-faceted approach and effective leadership style or approach.

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