Strategic International Business Management: SweDigi Case Study (RKC)

This case study analysis delves into the challenges faced by Jan at SweDigi, a Swedish manufacturing company undergoing significant changes. The report identifies people management issues such as communication breakdowns, employee turnover, the absence of a marketing manager, and increasing competition. It proposes short-term measures, including appointing a marketing manager and addressing the production manager's concerns, alongside medium-term strategies like restructuring the production process and improving resource utilization. The analysis explores suitable leadership styles, advocating for democratic and transformational approaches, and suggests decisions to improve the situation. Recommendations emphasize the importance of effective change management models like perpetual transition management and ADKAR to facilitate a successful new product launch. Desklib offers this and many more solved assignments for students.

Strategic International Business Management (RKC)
12/13/2018

Abstract
The report is proposed with the motive to explore the management theories that are used by the
company in managing the change. In this, the Jan may be encountering the difficulties which are
faced by him and with this; there are recommendations in order to implement the change
successfully. Thus, the report findings say people management issues and short and medium-
term steps that the company should for a new product. Further, the findings related to leadership
style say that democratic and transformation style is appropriate. Moreover, the effective
management of change can be done with the use of perpetual transition management and
ADKAR model.
Content
SweDigi Case study page 1

s
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
1.1 Case background....................................................................................................................4
2. People management issues......................................................................................................5
2.1 Communication issues...........................................................................................................5
2.2 The issue of employee turnover.............................................................................................5
2.3 Lack of marketing manager...................................................................................................6
2.4 Increase in competition..........................................................................................................6
2.5 Transition in old product.......................................................................................................7
3. Steps to get the launch of the new product back on track.......................................................7
3.1 Short-term measures..............................................................................................................8
3.1.1 Jan should appoint a marketing manager........................................................................8
3.1.2 Jan should take actions towards the threats received from production manager............9
3.1.3 Jan should measure the effectiveness of work................................................................9
3.2 Medium-term measures........................................................................................................9
3.2.1 Jan should restructure production process....................................................................10
3.2.2 Jan should measure the effective utilization of resources with quality........................10
3.2.3 Jan should measure the financial performance.............................................................10
4. Leadership styles...................................................................................................................10
5. Decisions that help to improve this situation.........................................................................12
SweDigi Case study page 2

6. Recommendations..................................................................................................................14
7. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................15
8. References..............................................................................................................................16
SweDigi Case study page 3

1. Introduction
In the present era, competition is increasing in the business operations are becoming complex for
which the company is supposed to make a strategy that can help in achieving the business goals
and to work effectively. The aim of the report is to comprehensively evaluate the theories related
to leadership, motivation and change management with their effective implementation in the
international context. Further, the paper will include the critical management of the diversity in
terms of the cross-cultural context. All these discussions are based on the case study, which is
related to the SweDigi Company. This report provides support in explaining the challenges
encountered by Jan and suggests recommendations on how change can effectively be
implemented within the company.
1.1 Case background
Swedish Company is a well-known manufacturing company operating its business in the
Southern region of Sweden. The company was sold to a group that include 7 similar companies
four years ago. Currently, the company has approx. 543 employees and the present CEO of the
company, who has worked with the company for 15 years, will retire in the next few months.
The company is operating as a sub-contractor to the digital music industry, which has shown a
decline in sales in the last 3 years.
Mission: - Considering the present situation, the mission of the company is to turn around within
12 months by finding the new niches for the current product range but majorly by introducing the
new product.
SweDigi Case study page 4

2. People management issues
There are many people management issues that potentially underpin the difficulties Jan is facing
in the company. These people management issues include: -
2.1 Communication issues
Communication is a key to the success of the companies in complex business structure. In an
organisation, the need for effective communication is must among the people and this is
supposed to be managed (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly and Kynighou, 2016). Jan company
is dealing with the issues related to the communication due to which the management and team
are not able to take the accurate decisions. In the competitive world, it is must for the company to
take the decisions effectively. In addition, the company include the employees from different
countries with different understanding and opinion which leads to the conflict in the team. The
team conflict leads to the misunderstanding and affects the consistency performance of people
present in the company (Marchington, et al, 2016). Further, the managers of Swedigi company
doesn’t get involved in resolving the conflict as they ignore employees issues which leads to
personality clashes and trust issues. It is recommended to the company to set a structure which
helps them in communicating with the manager and employees present in the company.
2.2 The issue of employee turnover
The leading people management problem which is currently faced by the Jan Company is the
turnover of the company. The production manager who is skilled and trained for the new product
that the company is willing to introduce in the market threaten to resign the company (Bailey,
Mankin, Kelliher and Garavan, 2018). Moreover, the manager is saying that he can leave the
company can join other multinational companies that are present in the same market. Further, he
SweDigi Case study page 5

accused of not working with the management team and neither listening to them. This made the
Jan feels that if the production manager can do the same then the other employees of the
company who are working with them are not with him. Thus, this simply shows that they can
leave the company at any point of time which shows the problem of people management as there
is a high turnover of employees in the company (Bratton and Gold, 2017). HR of the company
need to handle the problems related to the people management which can be resolved with the
use of the effective strategy of retaining the employees.
2.3 Lack of marketing manager
The marketing manager plays a vital role in the company as they are the one who can take the
products of the company on the new heights. The marketing of the Swedigi Company can help
the sales executives to perform their work in an effective manner. Currently, the sales agents
across the world who are trained in the new products seem to have the problems that access the
important prospective clients. This is taking place because of the lack of effective marketing
manager because the manager has quit. This issue is one of the leading issues because sales of
the company are the only way through which they can earn high profits and success in the
market (Albrecht, et al, 2015). Thus, it is suggested to the company to appoint a new effective
marketing manager in the company can resolve the issue related to the sales and marketing of the
products in the market.
2.4 Increase in competition
Rise in competition is one of the major issues which are faced by the Swedigi Company. Sweden
welcomes companies to perform their business operation that increases the competition. The
competitors come with the new product and services in the market which leads to the challenges
for the company as they have to prepare the operational and business strategy in such a way so
SweDigi Case study page 6

that they can face the competitors (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The company is faced issues in
identifying the talented candidates in the market because the presence of the competitors reduces
the skilled labour in the market. Moreover, the employees have a different preference when it
comes to their job which ultimately reduces the scope for the company. In addition, the
employees look for the better opportunities to switch and here the problem exists for the
company. Thus, this shows the issues related to the management of the people. Thus, it is
suggested to the company to analyse the market to make the future decisions and steps related to
the people management of the company.
2.5 Transition in old product
The transition in the old product is one of the major issues which are faced by the entire
company and majorly by Jan. The change in the old product took place because of the poor
management of the company which can be turned with the help of modification in new product.
Though, this leads to the issue for the company because the production manager and marketing
manager resits the change in the organisation. This is the reasons marketing manager quit and
production manager provided the threat of switching the company. The new product includes the
minor changes in the production equipment that are required. Thus, the changes in the operations
bring the issues related to the management of people (Hayes, 2014). Jan needs to manage the
production manager because he/she can support for the changes for the new product. Further, it
is suggested to communicate effectively with employees to aware them about the need for the
change in the company.
SweDigi Case study page 7

3. Steps to get the launch of the new product back on track
In the first quarter of production related to the new product, Jan encounters a number of
problems. This has been found that the management team found that it is hard to customize the
new product in the production plan and sales are not taking off the forecast. Considering this, the
management team has presented their different opinion which shows the progress of
development and assurance of quality which is taking longer. This section includes the major
steps which are required to be taken by the company with the motive bring the new product on
track again.
The steps that Jan should take in the short and medium term, to get the launch of the new product
back on track are as explained below:
3.1 Short-term measures
Short-term measures include the actions that are taken by the company in a short span of time to
launch the new product that is back on track.
3.1.1 Jan should appoint a marketing manager
The new product sales are not according to the forecast done by the company due to which it is
found that there is a need for a marketing manager who can conduct the marketing of the
product. The appointment of the marketing manager will promote the product in the entire
market that will contribute in enhancing the sales. Thus, this will help the company to take the
further actions which include the determination of volume of goods that are required to be
produced, the changes in product, the response of customer towards the product and many
others. The appointment of the marketing manager is considered as one of the short time work as
it doesn’t include a long time for the company to find the suitable marketing manager. The
SweDigi Case study page 8

concern related to the appointment of a manager will be resolved by the HR of company as
recruitment is considered as their practice (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
3.1.2 Jan should take actions towards the threats received from production manager
The production manager of the company is threatening for leaving the job which clearly means
that there are some issues which are faced by the manager. Thus, it is essential for the company
to resolve the issues and threats that have been received. Jan should talk with the manager for
understanding the issues that have been faced by him. These issues can be resolved by the
company so that the production managers can consistently work with the company. The issues
can be related with the work, salary, incentives, change that exists due to the new product or the
company (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The resolution of these issues will make the production
manager remain in the company and can make use of the knowledge and skills in effective
production of the new product. This particular action is required in the short span of time
because it is must to resolve it urgently.
3.1.3 Jan should measure the effectiveness of work
This has been found that the company is dealing with the different issues related to the
employee’s turnover. Thus, the company should measure the workforce and the effectiveness of
the person per unit that can help in taking the future steps for the betterment of the employees
and for managing them for their production of new product.
3.2 Medium-term measures
Medium term measures include the actions that are taken by the company need time to complete.
Jan should take some medium-term measures which help to get the launch of the new product
back on track. These medium-term measures are given below: -
SweDigi Case study page 9

3.2.1 Jan should restructure the production process
Jan should restructure the process of production for the new product which is the only way
through which the company can manufacture the products in an effective manner. This has been
found in the case study that there is a need for changes in the old production process to produce
new products. The new equipment should be used to manufacture the new products which will
clear the understanding of the employees for the work that they are supposed to perform.
3.2.2 Jan should measure the effective utilization of resources with quality
The new product includes the changes in the old product of the company which means that the
use of the resources needs to be effectively done. Jan should measure that in the production of
the product there is an effective use of the resources and the quality of the products is maintained
by the company.
3.2.3 Jan should measure the financial performance
Profit is essential for the survival of the company in the market. The introduction of the new
product is done because the sales of the company were decreasing which lead to a decline in
profit. Thus, it is essential for the company to effectively measure the performance of the
financial elements which are effective to manage by the company for the survival in the market
for the long run. In the initial of the new product, the company might not be able to manage the
effective profit but later it is required to manage financial performance.
4. Leadership styles
In the company, the leader Jan should adopt the transformational leadership style and democratic
leadership styles. These styles of leadership work effectively for the company and contribute to
SweDigi Case study page 10

the success. Below given are the explanation of leadership style and the reason behind the
selection: -
 Democratic leadership style: - This style of leadership includes the subordinated that are
involved in making the effective decisions. The leader holds the responsibility to take the
final step after conducting the discussion with the subordinates. The communication is
active in both the ways include upward and downward (Schein, 2002). The reason behind
the selection of this style is that the Swedigi company is dealing with the issues like
communication, value to the customers due to which the staff is not able to remain, the
decisions are not made with the discussion of employees and many other. Further, the
leader can make the changes in the workplace with the agreement of the views of
employees (Amanchukwu, Stanley and Ololube, 2015).
 Transformational Leadership style: - Transformational leadership style is the most
common leadership style that is all about bringing the change in the organisation, groups,
oneself and many others. This has been found that the leaders in transformational
leadership style motivate personnel to work which works as a motivation that helps them
to achieve the high performance within the company. This style of leadership is
committed and meet the needs of followers which made them satisfy due to which they
don't leave the organisation (Kotter, 1995). The reason due to which this leadership style
has been selected is that Jan will be able to bring the change related to the product like
now transition of old product for new product. Through this leadership style, Jan will be
able to bring and manage the changes within the organisation (Brisson-Banks, 2009).
Moreover, they can combine all the workers present in the company so that they can
effectively work together for accomplishing the goals of company. The employees in
SweDigi Case study page 11