University Case Study: Molex Inc. - Strategic Analysis and Performance

This case study and individual research assignment focuses on Molex Inc., a multinational electronic components manufacturer. The assignment begins with an introduction to Molex Inc. and its history, followed by an exploration of the theoretical concepts it employs, including employee motivation theory and classical management theory. It then delves into the company's global standardization strategy, examining its implementation and the associated benefits and challenges. A financial performance analysis is conducted, using key indicators such as return on capital employed and gross profit margin. The study also touches upon the perspectives of human resource management within the company, including employee motivation and training. Finally, the assignment concludes with research findings and overall conclusions about Molex Inc.'s business development and performance. The analysis is based on data from 2010-2013, and the study also highlights the importance of financial and non-financial performance indicators.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:............................................................................................................................................2
1. Theoretical Concepts:..........................................................................................................................2
2. The strategy follows by the firm and its implementation:..................................................................4
3. Performance Analysis:........................................................................................................................5
4. Perspectives of human resource management:....................................................................................7
5. Research:...........................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion:............................................................................................................................................11
Reference Lists:.....................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction:
Molex Inc is a multinational organization that manufactures various electronic components and
further sells them. The entity is one of the largest players within this entire sector. The organization
laid its foundation stone in the year 1938 in the US. The operations of a company got started in one of
the world's preceding manufacturer Chicago. Since 1938 there has been the rapid expansion in terms
of growth the organization as an overall had experienced. In this assignment, there is the in-depth
discussion of various strategies, concepts which have been applied by entity till date. Further, there is
research based on performance aspects of an organization. Here in the topic, is all about the
importance of all various, strategies along with research and their impacts on performance in the
organization.
1. Theoretical Concepts:
The theories that are followed by Molex for the expansion of business globally are employee
motivation theory and classical management theory. It is the job of the manager of the selected
company to motivate its staffs in the workplace. In order to do this, the managers have to apply
various tactics. This is not an easy job to keep the employees happy when they are regularly shifted
from one part of the country to another. The managers have to follow various disciplines to fulfill
their employee’s needs. The main target of the firm’s superiors is to get the work done by the
employees. After the job is done it is the duty of the company to provide the staffs with rewards and
motivation. The company's HR department designs the job in such a way that the employees situated
in the foreign countries find interesting to fulfill the job (Leonidou et al. 2015). It is the duty of Molex
is to rotate the work among the employees according to their experience level. This makes the job
easy to complete and also encourages the workers to work more independently in the company. The
managers who are shifted to foreign locations often get disheartened so they are motivated by
providing them with rewards and incentives. They are even provided with regional foods and
entertainment to keep them happy (Martin, 2013). The company provides all the safety and security

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requirements that the employees ask for in the foreign country. Sometimes they are shifted to their
home countries so that they can contact their families.
The employees seek for recognition and encouragement for their personal achievements. The
studied company also encourages their staffs by providing them with proper benefits and rewards for
their achievements. They are given proper promotions and compensations when their staffs perform
well to boost their self-esteem. The employees are encouraged by allowing them to participate in
other important works that the company is going through at that moment (Musso & Francioni, 2014).
This makes the employee think that they are an important part of the company. The psychological
and physical deficiencies that the employee feels are satisfied by the company. The employees are
directed to a positive direction so that their personal attitudes and behaviors are influenced.
The other theory that the company follows to motivate their workers is the Classical
Management theory. This theory mainly directs towards the aims and objectives to influence the
others. This theory helps the company to forecast and plan the direction on which the company is
heading (Dess, Lumpkin & Eisner, 2014). This theory also assists in the proper understanding of the
job role of all the employees. They are directly benefitted from it as they get to organize, coordinate,
control and command over the different company policies. This theory is mainly applied by the
company to develop a communal harmony between the workers who are working in the same
country. The teamwork mentality between the coworkers is built because of this technique. This
ultimately benefits in the production procedure and the revenue gets increased. Employees are
provided with adequate time for them to get settled in a foreign land. The products that are
manufactured by this financial entity gets affected when the staffs are remunerated well and
encouraged for their good workings (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014). This company applies
this particular theory in a proper scientific, administrative and bureaucratic manner. The hierarchy
structure of the company is well maintained so that the workers get a clearer vision of the formal
structure and flexibility of the firm. The workers of the company are constantly shifted so some of
them get confused about the labor division procedure that the company applies. So this approach
narrows down the field of experience in the specialized area which ultimately increases the work
efficiency and productivity of the company (Smith, 2014). The employees of the company are not
hesitated to perform multi-tasking and overtime. Since by applying this technique, the company finds

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their proceedings easier to manage and control, each and every performance is rewarded and
appreciated for their hard work (Raisinghani, 2015). The autocratic formation of their leadership is
also providing them a leverage to employ this strategy.
2. The strategy follows by the firm and its implementation:
The strategy that is implemented by Molex for its business development is global
standardization. It is done by them because their conventional approach is geocentric. The company
always tries to utilize its human resource section effectively. This helps in the development of a
strong cultural bonding and informal management of networks. This also helps in the recruitment
process of the company (Espinosa et al. 2015). They are able to appoint the best employees in their
company and for that they can conduct their recruitment process globally. The company's working
environment gets a variety of new approaches and the company executives get a homely feeling even
if they are working with staffs of different cultural perspective. The company, however, faces the
negative impacts of this strategy too (Feiz et al. 2015). The main difficulty in applying this approach
is the policy is very cost effective and far more expensive.
They appoint managers in their company who are well accustomed with the working
environment of this kind of particular approach. Those persons are only get appointed who fits
perfectly and suitable to work in that part of the company management. Those employees are
recommended by the company to make a proper case study about the country in which they are
appointed so that they can deliver the best of their services. The managers who are recruited in the
company are advised by the company supervisors to do as much homework about the country as they
can. The selected firm mostly believes that knowledge and information about the cultural and
economic background would help in making the proper company's growth. They appoint a legal
expert in their firm so that all the legal and ethical guidelines about that region get maintained in an
accurate manner (Gershkov et al. 2013). Even if they hire managers from different cultural and
linguistic background, they are being housed near to each other. Those selected managers are treated
by the firm in exactly the same manner so that each of them gets accustomed to the working
principles and ethical duties of the other. This helps in proper development of knowledge when they

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are shifted from one nation to the other (Ha et al. 2013). They make sure that the managers are well
experienced while they are serving in a foreign country and helps in the proper foundation of
company culture in that country. This approach supports the development of corporate culture as well
as in the informal network management. These are required for the proper implementation of the
strategy of global standardization.
They manufacture their products by keeping in view of the needs and requirements of the
consumers worldwide. They have also extended their supply chain from local to international. This
has helped in increasing their customer base globally (Jayaram et al. 2014). They make sure that
when the managers are recruited in their company they go through proper training facilities which are
held in the USA. After that when the managerial training become over then they is again shifted to
their home country and at last to the targeted country. They are provided with proper language and
behavior related training about the country where the staffs are ultimately positioned. Jiang &
Carpenter (2013) stated that this entire process helps the staffs to acquire experience which will
benefit them in their own career development.
This technique, however, is very expensive for the company. This organization spends a huge
amount of money for the training of its employees, their accommodation in various countries and also
for their constant shifting into different countries. The organization process of the whole training
facility in various countries is difficult to implement. Besides, this technique also affects the proper
man-management process of the company (Kohl et al. 2015). It is not that easy for the company to
find employees who are ready for constantly shifting their country. The employees get frustrated due
to constant shifting process that the company follows. The company also invests much on the HR
department to have a proper scrutiny on the whole business globally. The managers of the company
always find themselves in much trouble adapting to the foreign environment. The subsidiary branches
situated in the foreign soil performs business according to the legal and ethical guidelines of that
country which makes the business proceedings difficult (Leonidou et al. 2015). Since the company
produces goods for the global use, no particular community guideline are hence followed. This is a
major drawback of the company because the regional tastes and requirements are not met even if the
product is manufactured in a particular country.

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3. Performance Analysis:
In order to continue with the research ahead, there is always sin need of analyzing a performance
of a corporation. Despite size scale of operations which the organizations undergo the performance
indicators are used by all. In general context performance indicators is nothing but a measurement
through which success of an enterprise can be measured. The performance indicators are further
subdivided into various categories.
Further in sequence with analyzing the financial performance of any company, there is a use of
financial performance specified indicators. They help in evaluating appropriate and exact results.
Thus, for analyzing the financial performance of the chosen company above there has been a use of
certain indicators such as:
Years
Particulars 2010 2011 2012 2013
Net sales 3007207
358733
4 3489189 3620447
Net Profit after Taxes 76930 298808 281377 243623
Gross Capital Employed 2259445
251585
0 2433653 2349336
Gross Profit 131489 429939 400267 348475
Shareholders Net Worth 1985131
236826
6 2436125 2523163
No of Equity share 9436 10104 7033 6101
Return on Capital
Employed 3.40482 11.877 11.5619 10.3699
Gross Profit margin 4.37246 11.9849 11.4716 9.62519
Earning per ratio 8.15282 29.5732 40.0081 39.9317
Table 1: Financial Performance

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(Source: self developed)
After reviewing above table there are various conclusions that can be easily seen such as:
Return on Capital Employed: It helps in measuring the usual relationship that exists between profit
earned by a company and capital employed. Profit, in this case, is ideally considered as net profit, the
amount of profit which is left after paying all taxes. Capital Employed is nothing but the total
investment that is made within a business. Therefore it is one of the essential performance indicators
as through this it can be easily judged the profit earned through operations and amount of a capital for
further expansion.
The chosen company has seen rapidly increase in this aspect since the year 2010. In the year 2010
the result came out as 3.40482 and then in a year there was a huge increase in the year 2011 as the
figures reflected as11.877. Thus, it can be assumed well that there was the huge increase in profits by
a company. However, in years ahead, there was a marginal decline in the year 2012 which resulted in
11.5619. This decline even continued in the year 2013 as 10.3699. With the changing market
scenario, increased competition resulted in the decline in the enterprise. However, despite the decline,
the company can still recover back its losses through its performance soon.
Gross Profit and its margin: It is considered as one of the most formative components. It helps in-
depth analysis of sales and profits. A sale of any business is always a most important component
followed by profit. It is judged well with the higher number. Higher the ratio simply indicates higher
profitability. A lower ratio indicates lower profitability. Firms have always used this as one of a key
indicator in comparing their performance in years.
After reviewing the table given above, it can be clearly found that selected entity has increased its
profitability rapidly in the year 2011 as there is a huge change from 4.37246 in the year 2010 to
11.9849 in 2011. Then there was the slight decrease in 2012 which resulted in 11.4716 and the huge
decline in 2013 which came near around 9.62519. (Welcome to Molex. 2017)
Earning per ratio: Another important indicator that is used well is ratio calculated with the help of
considering earnings and number of equity shareholders. It helps in measuring earning capacity of
any entity. In addition to measuring earning capacity, it helps in quantifying share price that an entity
bears. It is also seen as a yardstick for measuring overall performance. The selected organization has

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shown the continuous increase in all years. From the year 2010 to the year 2013, it has undergone
various changes. In 2010, it reported it’s EPs as 8.15282 which increased massively in 2011 to
29.5732 and this growth even continued next year by around 40.0081 in 2012. However, the firm
even experienced a slight decrease in this ground which came around 39.9317 in 2013.
In order to judge the operational efficiency of a company in the relative industry, it is required for the
management of the entity to compare its relative performance with that of its competitors. The
performance of the competitor companies is required to be compared with that of the entity in order
to judge the position of the company in the relative industry. This also helps the management of the
entity as well as the potential investors of the company to analyze the operational efficiency as well
as the market share of the firm in the related industry.
The performance of the competitors assists the management of the company in identifying the ways
for improvement as well as helps the management to decide the appropriate courses of action to be
taken in order to effectively cope with the increased level of competition.
In the electronics market, there is an existence of cut throat monopolistic competition. It is very
essential for the company to take appropriate measures to ensure stability and growth in the dynamic
business environment.
For the entity Molex Ltd., the related competitor in the Electronics market of UK is Amphenol Ltd.
Amphenol Ltd. is the major producers of electronic products, fiber optic visualizes, and the systems
of coaxial cables. The company of Amphenol Ltd. is a US-based concern headquartered in
Wallingford, USA. The company was founded in the year of 1932 in the pre-world war era. This
company has more than 35000 employees and also has more than 100 branches all around the globe.
The performance of the company for the last four years has been hereby stated:
Statement showing
analysis of financial
Performance
For the entity Molex
Ltd.
Years

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Particulars 2010 2011 2012 2013
Net sales 3,554,101 3,939,786 4,292,065 4,614,669
Net Profit after Taxes 700357 528842 559508 638749
Gross Capital Employed 3360867 3802810 4326949 4558150
Gross Profit 1158228 1243660 1343212 1450834
No of Equity share 13700.08772 13403.59509 14982.71166 18228.3038
Return on Capital
Employed
20.83858124 13.90661116 12.93077409 14.01333874
Gross Profit margin 32.58849425 31.56668916 31.29523901 31.43961138
Earnings per share 51.12062159 39.45523543 37.3435739 35.04160382
Table 2: Financial Performance of Amphenol limited
(Source: created by author)
It has been observed from the above analysis that the return on capital employed for the entity Molex
Ltd is lower than that of its competitor Amphenol Ltd. by a percentage of 4 % in the year 2013. It can
be thereby said that Molex Ltd is less efficient in the context of utilizing the overall capital employed
as compared to its competitor Amphenol Ltd. In this context, the management of the entity Molex Ltd
is required to make appropriate financial plans in order to effectively cope with the competition.
It has also been analyzed that the Gross profit margin of Amphenol Ltd. is also higher than that of
Molex Ltd. which depicts that the company Molex Ltd lacks operational efficiency as compared to
the market players in the same industry. The management of the concern needs to have a proper
check on the operational efficiency in order to ensure steady growth and survival in the competitive
market.
The earnings per share of the entity Molex Ltd is also lower than that of Amphenol Ltd. which clearly
implies that the entity Amphenol Ltd is much more advanced as compared to Molex Ltd. in the
context of enhancing the shareholder's value as well as attracting the potential investors into the
business.

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Therefore it can be concluded that the management of the entity needs to adhere to the basic
organizational policy in order to ensure the objective of profit maximization as well as enhancing of
the market for the purposes of growth in the industry.
4. Perspectives of human resource management:
a) Characteristics of approach:
The staff recruitment policy approach that is very well followed by Molex is generally similar
to that of other multinational conglomerate companies. They hold an innovative approach in the
selection process and their employees are also spread everywhere in the world except Antarctica. The
employees go through the company's recruitment process in a different country and for that reason;
the employees acquire the citizenship of that country (Davidson, Holmström & Lyytinen, 2014). The
employees are ensured that when they get employed in a foreign country, their headquarters are
aligned with their home country. Based upon this approach the employees are promoted to head up in
a foreign office where a better chance is offered following the corporate philosophy and cultural
perspective. With the help of this approach, the company promotes the recruitment of local
employees and they are provided with proper training (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014). After
all these, they send to the foreign country for their services. They are mainly trained through this
approach to promote their business in foreign countries. However, this approach has its own
advantages and disadvantages. The consistency of the language and ethical boundaries are
maintained.
Bracco et al. (2014) mentioned that the process of hiring from the local talent pool also helps
the company by providing a better chance for establishing a very close connection with the localized
employees and the targeted local customers. The interaction process between them is not hampered.
The targeted customers feel comfortable interacting with the company staffs. The drawbacks are also
faced by the employees through this particular approach (Chang, 2016). The staffs are shifted from
one country to another constantly gets disheartened. Their working interest in this way also gets
hampered. The company has to send observers to different locations so the company has to employ a
different staff for this purpose.

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b) Appropriate in context with multinational strategy:
Multinational HR strategy is generally known as the process of recruiting and selecting the
employees those are suitable for the firm around the world. It helps the company to flourish and
expand its company atmosphere globally. Molex mainly utilizes management approaches for the
employee motivation techniques (Clarke et al. 2013). The usage of the HR approaches is also applied
in this segment. This strategy is proving highly beneficial for the company because it helps in various
ways. A proper balance in the need of standardization for the development along with localization
approach in a case of expanding the international sales is seen with the help of the qualified managers
and also by the employees. This technique also helps in the development of various strategic alliances
with other small and medium-sized companies around the world by selecting the talented employees
and staffs (Dess, Lumpkin & Eisner, 2014). This helps in the proper understanding of the demands of
the consumers worldwide. Due to this reason, the business also gets conducted accordingly. The
distribution channel is also flourished because of the usage of internet, social media and other
electronic gadgets to perform business. The introduction of HR motivational techniques helps in the
development of the business because for the motivation of the employees’ quality of the job, rewards,
job design, job rotation approaches are conducted (Dixit & Skeath, 2015). This encourages the
employees to attract the customers in case of buying the desired products which increase the revenue
of the selected firm globally.
c) Learning’s from approach:
From the approach, implemented by enterprise above there were various learning’s that
were found by the workforce of not only by the group itself but by other corporate as well. First and
foremost observation that could be seen was that the enterprise has always been in expertise in
gathering skilled employees from all across the globe. This practice is duly based on a belief of
learning skills borne by different individuals with different countries well.
According to Njagi & Kombo (2014) has mentioned that higher level management, this leads
to an exposure of all employees in all important areas well. Further with this continuous movement of
expatriates, in order to lead a positive impact, the human resource system is designed in such a way