CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

1.0

CASE SUMMARY
This scenario is portraying a conflict between management (Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn
Bhd) and the employees, where in this case, the management fails to see some aspects
which consequent in massive depletion in employees moral in working subject which
cause negative effects in overall productivity. This situation can be seen in two
perspectives in which are from Managements and Employees side. The explanations
are as below:
i) Management
Basically, the management is highly focused in production and profit graph which end
up neglected some main issues which need to be regulated. In this case are, unhealthy
food in canteen and lack of uniform (only 2units)- promised 3 units. So these issues
have depleted the moral, motivation as well as enthusiasm of the employees towards
working culture which result in negative behavioural (increasing absenteeism,
malingering and production delay).
Another issue that demoralizes the employees is about the Production Bonus Scheme.
The Collective Agreement was signed under protest as no conclusion had been reached
with regard to a Productivity Bonus Scheme and considered as supplementary
agreement. So this issue cause dissatisfaction among the employees and they protested
by demonstration in working place.
ii) Employee
These working people expect some good service in their working area in sense of
communication, proper infrastructure and clear incentives. These matters can indirectly
elevate a good morale and motivation within them to work more efficiently, no
compromise on adequate production as highlighted Mt Tan See Seng (Worksite
Chairman). Thus, currently all these issues have resulted in low quality of tyres,
inadequate production, and production delay as well as bad behavioural of employees in
working period. This situation has become even worse after the conversation of Mr John
Ho (Production Manager) and Mr Tan See Seng (Worksite Chairman) where the next day
resulted in physical protest in canteen. The Management has called for a discussion

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

which consists of Mr Mathews (Personnel Director),Mr Ferns (I.R Manager), Mr Chin Tow
Chye (Welfare & Training Officer) and Company Secretary, Mr Idris Rahman, from
employees side are Mr Veloo (National Union President), Mr Nasir (National Union
Secretary), Mr Tan See Seng (Worksite Chairman) and Mr Bashir (Worksite Secretary).

2.0

PROBLEM STATEMENT
2.1 Unhealthy Working Condition
Though the Worksite Chairman, Mr.Tan has voice out the grievance of poor food and
uniform supply to the management company but no actions were taken to overcome
this situation or to improve the safety of the food supply in the canteen. Though the
management has agreed to supply 3 sets of uniforms for the safety of the employees
but only two were given out. This shows mishandling employees health and safety.
2.2 Lack of Employees Relations
Food and uniform supply to the employees are not monitored by the Industrial Relation
Manager.

Though Mr.Tan has raised this concern to the canteen supervisor but no

actions were taken by the management to solve these issues. Besides, during Mr.Tans
conversation with Mr.John, the production Manager, his grievance was not justified and
taken into considerations.
2.3 Poor Management
The management team plays an important role within an organization. Managers are
responsible for motivating employees, planning, organizing and controlling within the
organization. All the managers in Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd fail to manage and
solve the workers problem. Most of them especially Mr John Ho are only concern about
production not consider about the workers welfare. A key reason employees perform
poorly in the workplace is poor management. Managers with poor leadership skills tend
to offer little feedback on employees performances. They do not spend a quality time to
discuss with the employees to know about their problem. The Joint Consultative Council
(J.C.C) only meets bimonthly to discuss labour problems; it wont help much too
immediately solve the workers problem. Micromanaging and dictating to employees

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

instead of motivating them can cause a decrease in employee productivity. Some

organizations possess highly political cultures that tend to discourage workers from
believing the roles they fill are important to the organization. Obviously there are big
gap between managers and employees that create unhappy working environment and
lead to unproductive workers.
2.4 Misbehavior among Employees and Employer
A lack of interest in the work is another reason why employees are unhappy. The
operator in the Tyre Division is unhappy with the Collective Agreement that they are
sign last year because of there is no conclusion from top management about
Productivity Bonus Scheme would be given to employees or not. This decision does not
give any benefit to the employees and lead in increasing employees misbehaviour;
absenteeism, malingering, horse- play in plant and low productivity. Most employees
want to perform job duties that are engaging and challenging. Bored and unchallenged
employees experience little incentive to concern themselves with workplace productivity.
Furthermore the employees are de-motivated and unhappy because of the poor food
and uniform supply that company should provide to them. The employees already
brought this matter to the top management. However, management also fail to fulfil this
demand even though they already agreed before to provide it to their employees. For an
example, the agreed to give 3 sets but the only give 2 set of uniform. The employees
have the right to voice out their dissatisfaction to Union towards how the managers or
the company management treat them as a part of the organization members.
2.5 Lack of company controlling process
The effectiveness of management system its depending on controlling process by which
an organization manages its human and physical assets. Based on the case study
Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd still apply the traditional method of controlling that only
focus on management first, result oriented, no worker involvement and just a single
quality dimension. The issues of production delay on the part of the tyre operators,
failure to fulfil customers demand and high replacement scheduling due to low quality
product shows that lacking of company controlling process. The management only focus
to the task or production centred and ignores the important of multiple quality

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

dimensions that involve not only the product, services, processes and operational
quality. Mr John Ho as Production manager fails to measure the actual performance of
the workers and suit it with the establish standard. Usually managers can measure
outputs resulting from worker behaviour then take a corrective action or solve the
problem. However Mr John Ho threatened the employees, ignore their complaint and
only focus to fulfil the demand that lead to unproductive workers and low performance.
2.6 Profit Oriented Production
Based on the case study Mr John Ho are under pressure because of the high expectation
from the company conference of Department Heads whether he could adequately meet
the quotas and at the same time ensuring the quality and reliability of the products
especially the tyre. This situation leads him to be more aggressive and try to work in the
best interest of their organizations without take a considerations of workers behaviour
and their problem.
Beside that the special contract to supply 10,000 tyres to the Government that make
him more pressure. He must give a priority to the order since the Ministry of Labor had
been directed to monitor the state of labour relations in the company and there had
been constant contact with the management and the Union. Mr John Ho need to force
himself and threatened the workers to stop complaint and continue their work or
otherwise he needs to replace the workers.
2.7 Ineffective Labour Negotiation
Ineffective labour negotiation implementation and the lack of understanding or lack of
empathy towards the workers by the management is also another problem in this case.
The problem comes in the form of having a high task oriented leadership. This is seen
on how John Ho tackles the problem with not caring for what the subordinate require in
order having a productive work. This high task orientation had led John Ho to focus
solely on the demand that the company have and focus on the production aspect of the
company with little care for the lower subordinates. This high task orientation has led to
him priotizing the company to have more and faster production with little or no regards
to the employee. This later comes out as a protest by the workers demanding to have
their needs to be fulfilled as well, in which John Ho does not relate to. This can also be

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

seen as a communication barrier, where trust and credibility towards the employees are
not looked upon and that any proper feedback is shun away from disclosure, making a
barrier for communication from the other party.
2.8 Lack of Emotional Intelligence
Another problem comes in the form of lacking Emotional intelligence of (EQ, aka
Emotional quotient).

Emotional intelligence deals with the ability to understand the

people around you, to be in their shoes and to comprehend their emotion, where in this
case the people in the workforce. A good manager or leader must have a good EQ. This
is so that productivity could be sustain or improved and even more through the
interpersonal values in an organization. The company in this case lack the EQ part in
management. Where they cannot relate on how the overall production can be affected
due to the failure of understanding the need and want of the workers. This is shown on
how the organization fails to understand the relation of the canteen and uniform
problem in relation to the protest made by the workers.
2.9 Ineffective Industrial Relations Management
In terms of the ineffective council and a failure to the implementation of the workers
union and needs and wants respectively, is another problem seen in the case, where the
management has no regard to a proper implementation of the canteen and the
organizing of the uniforms themselves. This had led to a unhealthy establishment of the
canteen and an under promised uniform number. The council is ineffective because
they are unable to resolve what the workers want and needed, in which according to the
case, they are having twice a month meetings on the workers problem but have not a
clue of what is happening and no solution to give on the current or past situation.

3.0

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES
Low performance employees are not hard to find. They are always absent, or
procrastinate and malingering. They are unhappy workers that not satisfy with the
company that ignore their right and not consider about their problem. The company
should manage immediately the problems occur in the factory especially if it is involve
the important division such as the Tyre Division. The management always focus on the

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

external customer rather than the internal customer whom called as an employee.
Therefore below are some strategies to handle them.
3.1

Grievance Management

Grievance arises when employees expectations are not fulfilled from the organization as
a result of which a feeling of discontentment and dissatisfaction arises. This
dissatisfaction must crop up from employment issues and not from personal issues.
Quick response system should be adopted in to minimize the grievances and problems
of employees. Grievance procedures are formal communications channels designed to
settle a grievance as soon as possible after the problem arises. First-line supervisors are
usually closest to a problem; however, the supervisor is concerned with many other
matters besides one employees grievances, and they could be a target of an employees
grievances.

3.2

Reinforcing the role of the Joint Consultative Council (J.C.C)

Based on the case study the company has a joint consultative council, consisting of four
union representatives and four management representatives, which meet bimonthly to
discuss labour problems. The committee at the time was made up of the Union
delegation; consist of the Personnel Director, Industrial Relations Manager, the welfare/
Training Manager and the Company Secretary to the council. Based on the role of J.C.C.
committee member supposedly need to have a mutual understanding for both of the
side on how to discuss the labour problem and before they sign any agreement.
The reinforcement on the role of J.C.C should focuses on the improvement of committee
structure and committee effectiveness to help them to recognize the value of workplace
cooperation. Reinforcing the JCC can come in the form of getting the right person to
head the meeting, appoint joint secretaries from both sides, gathering agenda,
circulating meeting notice, dealing with correspondents, taking actions on what matters
and reporting the actions taken. The agreement signed by the employees before this
only benefited to one side and not to the employee side .Because of the lack of the
committee awareness and inefficient to predict and solve the problem that made the
problem worse. The collective agreement that the employees, union and company

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

signed is useless and does not help to overcome the problems that arise in the
company. Thereby with the reinforcement of the role will leads to better understanding
of the committees mandate and specific terms references for their operation.

3.3

Strong union and management relation

Both the union and management must avoid unfair labour practices. These illegal acts
involve threatening or coercive behaviour by either party designated to obtain an
employees loyalty or cooperation. For example, employers cannot threaten employees
with termination if an employee does not agree with the policies. Employees may file
grievances and get help from Union when they experience unfair labour practices and
this can affect the whole management in the company. The company should building
bonds with employees and the work associates. The manager should build a rapport and
maintain personal relationship in order to achieve the company goals.

3.4

Team based management

The poor management of Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn. Bhd could be overcome with the
team-based approach, it is a style of project management in which everyone on the
project team is held equally responsible for the quality and success of the project. The
team management is one of leadership style that identified in Managerial Grid by Blake
and Mouton. It is high concern on people and production. Manager believes that work
accomplishment through commitment of people and interdependence as well as trust
and respect. Team management of Syarikat Bagus Sdn Bhd should implement this
approach.
A whole team approach recognizes that in order for the team to be successful, members
cannot operate in isolation. Each team member must know and appreciate every other
team member's strengths and skills as well as their weaknesses. Each team member
must also be willing to switch roles when the need arises and remained focused on the
success of the project, doing whatever is necessary whether or not it's technically "their
job". For example, Mr John Ho also need to concern about the canteen problem and not
blame or just pointing fingers to the personnel department to handle the problem arise

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

in that company. They need to settle the problems together as a team for a better
performance.
3.5

Implement the High Performance Principles

The management team should re-establish their standard of performance by implement

a High performance Principles. What it is, is actually a guide day-to-day actions and
decision making and making a clear strategy and direction for the. People are viewed as
the organizations greatest asset. They understand the business, are committed to
getting results, and are given the information, skills, resources, and authority to do their
jobs. With these resources, they can make decisions, solve problems, and contribute to
the business in significant ways. People govern themselves by adherence to shared core
ideology and guiding principles instead of rigid policies and procedures. Work is
designed around whole business processes rather than narrow job functions, and people
are organized into teams responsible for managing a whole and meaningful segment of
work. Work processes and structures are streamlined and systems are aligned to
support the strategy and core ideology of the business. Research and experience show
that companies organized by principles of High Performance consistently outperform
more traditional companies. In fact, a review of 100 companies who recently redesigned
their work place using High Performance principles, showed an average productivity
improvement of 37%. So with the new principle, the team management of Syarikat
Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd could solve the problem arise because of the Collective
Agreement before. The company willingness to invest for their employees should get a
better performance for the outcome.
3.6

Emotional intelligence (EQ) Trainings

One of methods that can be used in this case is in terms of EQ trainings. This training is
targeted towards the management but is not closed to them, whereby other relevant or
interested employees may join the training. The training is basically a training designed
to introduce or increase and improve the EQ of the management, in which they are
lacking. The training will teach them on how to tackle their emotion, others and the
understanding of empathy. This will allow them to see from the perspectives of the
employees and make them understand the kind of situation that the employees are in.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

This training will give them an insight of how they are supposed to connect with people
through a proper emotional plane that would benefit the organization in terms of
productivity. This training will tackle the problem of high task orientation that is plaguing
the organization as well as the lack of emotional intelligence exhibited by the
management. Mike Bagshaw in his article entitled Emotional Intelligence- Training
people to be affective so they can be effective gave a framework for the trainers of EQ
to use in order to train people on their EQ. They are listed below:
Creative tension

This involves managing the tension between managing

the present and creating the future. It involves being able
to defer immediate rewards for future goal achievement,
and investing time now to create the future.

Active choice

This involves making decision to act when faced with

dually viable action, and living with the decisions you have
made. It involves working with your feelings to make
choices. It is being proactive and not being overly anxious
about the risks you have taken.

Resilience under

This involves managing your own stress reactions and

Pressure

destructive feelings and dealing with upsets. It means

reframing how you view adversity, and giving yourself
time to relax and renew your energy stores.

Empathetic relationship

This involves being investing in understanding before

being

understood,

communicating

authentically

and

assertively, and being able to develop relationships of

trust and credibility quickly.
Self-awareness and

This involves being aware of your inner feelings, being

self - control

honest with yourself. It is recognising when your reactions

are exaggerated and non- productive and exercising selfcontrol. It also involves feeling good about yourself and
appreciating your personal qualities.
Table 1: The CARES framework for Emotional Intelligence

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

3.7

Negotiation management

Another way the situation in the case could be resolved is in terms of having a proper
conflict negotiation. Negotiation can be defined as a process in which two or more
parties exchange goods or services and attempts to agree on the exchange rate for
them (Robbins & Judge, 2010). The case has shown to us that the council failed to give
proper adjudication towards the problem of the workers and is unable to make collective
agreement and no conclusion can be made with regards to a productivity bonus
scheme. This according to the case had led to workers protests in a number of ways
such as absenteeism. A proper conflict negation will allow both parties to seat down
together and properly discus what each other need and wants and whether those need
and wants can be bargain. A proper negotiation process will allow for such decision to
be made accordingly and affect the bargaining stance of both sides. Process is as
follows.

3.8

Healthy and safety working condition

The protection of health and safety of the worker must be taken into consideration as
this will promote better working condition. Employees food supply is also another
essential part in taking care the employees welfare. Employers are responsible for
providing a safe and healthful workplace. Company supposedly follow the mission of
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) and other relevant laws is to
assure safe and healthful workplaces by setting and enforcing standards, and by
providing training, outreach, education and assistance. Employers must comply with all
applicable OSHA standards. Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause
of the OSH Act, which requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

recognized hazards. Work health and safety aims to protect the health, safety and
welfare of workers at work, and other people affected by the work (e.g. visitors, the
general public). Besides that the company Inspectorate Unit should check whether the
company reinforcing the OSHA law and regulation to stimulate and support practical
action at all levels in order to provide a better working conditions. Decent work is safe
work.

3.9

Removing toxic and having toxic handlers

Another strategy to cope with this kind of situation is through removing toxic and having
toxic handlers. Toxic here refers towards many ill-effects in an organization such as
organizational policies and even angry bosses (Robbins & Judge, 2010). Therefore toxic
in the case would come to be as John Ho himself. John ho in this strategy is seen as
toxic because of the way he handles the employees and how he communicates with
them which are very rude, this has caused employees to feel un easy with him, in
retrospect during the protest the employees was shouting his name to go. Removing
toxic literally is a way of saying to dismiss John Ho from the organization. Meanwhile
toxic handlers are people whose skills extend to helping others deal with organization
pain or toxic. They may come in the form of a manager or even a councillor. These toxic
handlers can act as intermediaries between staff and toxic polices and bosses. The
article titled High toxicity leadership Borderline personality disorder and the
dysfunctional organization by Alan Goldman, shows how dangerous is toxic to an
organization. This is seen through his statement in his paper, the threat of highly toxic
leadership requires advanced scouts or toxin detectors within the organization who are
able to initially distinguish whether an individual may require further assessment by an
outside third party.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

4.0 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE STARTEGIES

4.1 Reinforcing the role of the Joint Consultative Council (J.C.C)
According to Article 10 the role of Joint Consultative Council, the Employee JCC provides
a forum for effective communication and consultation between all employees and the
Council to: promote good employee relations and facilitate communications between the
Council and employees in order to prevent and remove friction and misunderstanding;
consider issues affecting conditions of service and employees generally; provide
opportunities for employees to have a wider interest in, and greater responsibility for,
the conditions under which their work is performed; inform employees about the
Council's strategy; and planning and promoting their involvement in the achievement of
Best Value and the Council's core values and corporate objectives; provide opportunities
for employees to contribute to the above processes. Each side has the right to consult
further outside the meeting with their respective side before any agreements are
entered into. However reinforcing of the JCC may impact the organization in terms of
having to find new posts to be filled that may take some time and lack of experience to
properly function.

4.2 Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Trainings.

This strategy will allow for the organization to train the current management staff on
how to develop their EQ in order to perform their job better especially in dealings with
the employees in the organization. He positive aspect that can be seen here is that is
will help to make a better relation between the management and the workers. This
training will tackle the problem of high task orientation that is plaguing the organization
as well as the lack of emotional intelligence exhibited by the management. However it is
noted that such training does not come as a guarantor for a relapse in the management,
whereby the management did not really understand on the usage of the training and are
not implementing them and when a person uses too much emotion during their work
could hamper on their working standards, such as making decision to choose promotion
or even giving evaluation.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

4.3 Implement the High Performance Principles

The management role changes from controlling workers and solving day-to-day
problems to defining strategy, establishing boundaries, providing resources, and creating
an environment in which teams and workers can be effective. The organization
consistently achieves outstanding results. However the negative aspect that can be seen
is in term of having a high cost in implementing training and development.
4.4 Negotiation management
One of the way this strategy can be seen the positive aspect is that on how it will be
able to develop the negotiation between the two parties and achieve a consensus
regarding their need and wants especially in terms of the productivity scheme. This will
help to ensure good future relationship in the company as well as better performance.
However, a negotiation could always goes sour and could lead to unwanted event such
as riots due to the un acceptable terms of agreement. Even could lead to worse
condition if not properly bargained and discussed.
4.5 Removing toxic and having toxic handlers
This strategy would benefit in terms of immediately removing the toxic from the
organization. Giving a clear discussion without having to encounter the previous toxic
would allow the employees to feel free and stressed free from the noise for a proper
understanding. This removal of toxic will clear up toxic created by the person and would
try to clean it up by having a new manager. While toxic handlers can be the mediator
from the employee and the management so that both parties have an agreement of
what is happening. In light of this, removing the toxic would require the organization to
hire a new personnel that maybe not that experienced in handling technical aspect or
the previous manager specialization, requiring new capital of training and teaching.
4.6 Healthy and Safety Working Conditions
A safe and clean work environment is crucial to employee satisfaction and motivation.
Extensive state and federal regulations protect worker health and safety. Employees

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

who believe a company is following applicable regulations and guidelines may feel
motivated perform better in workplace. However implementing such conditions require
to restructure the canteen and may take time to be implemented.
4.7 Strong Union and Management Relations
Both the union and management must avoid unfair labor practices. These illegal acts
involve threatening or coercive behavior by either party designed to obtain an
employee's loyalty or cooperation. For example, employers cannot threaten employees
with termination if employees does not agree with the policies. Employees may file
grievances when they experience unfair labor practices and this can affect the whole
management in the company. However the negative aspect that can be seen here is in
term of establishing a stable relationship that is not sustainable if not properly proposed
and implemented.
4.8 Grievance management
Grievance management is a form of dispute ruling that can be used to overcome
complaints by employees against the management or to settle disputes between a
company and its employees. "The term grievance as it appears in the written contract
refers to a formal complaint by people who believe that they have been wronged by a
management decision," Vida Gulbinas Scarpello, James Ledvinka, and Thomas J.
Bergmann wrote in their book Human Resource Management: Environments and

Functions.
Grievance procedures are envisioned to allow companies to hear and resolve complaints
in a timely and cost effective manner. This often encourages employees to raise
concerns or question company policies before major problems develop. It also tends to
makes managers less likely to ignore problems, because they know that upper
management will be involved through the grievance process. In union settings,
grievance management helps to protect employees against arbitrary decisions of
management regarding discipline, discharge, promotions, or benefit. A grievance
mechanism is an early warning system, which can provide valuable data and intelligence
on how the company is operating on the grounds. Companies should keep a log of all

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complaints, identify lessons learned from all individual grievances, and feed this
information into the overall assessment of the companys impact on the human rights of
its stakeholders.
But somehow there is still some weakness in grievance systems. It usually has long
progressive steps. They tell an employee to first try to resolve their dispute with their
manager. If they cannot do this, they are told to submit their dispute in writing to the
next level of management for review. Finally, if they are not satisfied with the result,
they can submit the grievance in written form to the highest level of management or a
committee designated for that purpose. If the dispute is not resolved to the employees
satisfaction at this stage, they have no further appeal except to our legal system. For an
example, the first steps of a grievance explain that the employee is told to discuss the
problem with their manager. The flaw here is that most disputes that an employee feels
strongly enough to pursue are with their manager. Therefore, they are told to try to
work out the dispute with the person they have already been unable to work out the
dispute with. Next, the flaws multiply. The employee is told to report to the managers
boss. This has the potential of not only seriously damaging any relationship left between
the employee and her manager because she challenged her bosss authority, but the
managers boss may be a friend who will look for a way to support the managers
position. Finally, the personal element has been removed as employees are required to
communicate through written word, which is one of the least effective means of
communication, and is also dehumanizing to the complaining party since she may feel
that no one will "listen" to her.
Besides that a grievance continues to escalate the disputes. Quite often the process has
been on-going for several months by this time. The parties have become entrenched in
their positions and there has been little if any verbal communication. At this point, much
of the damage has been done regardless of the decision. If management supports their
colleague, the employee expects it. If not, there is no method to repair the prior
damage. If a grievance is not resolved to the employee likes, she has invested too much
effort and too much time to drop it. She can easily contact a plaintiffs attorney who may
be more than willing to take the case on a contingency basis. The employee has nothing
to lose at this point. At worst she can become a thorn in the employers side and at

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

best, she hopes to "win the litigation lottery". When all is said and done, the underlying
dispute driving the conflict has neither been identified nor addressed. Everyone is
unhappy, relationships are stressed and a bad situation continues to exist.
4.9 Team based management
Team-based organizations require that all employees participate in the decision-making
process. Employees feel they are part of the total organization, rather than members of
an individual department. Consequently, team-based organizations run more efficiently
and effectively, giving them a competitive edge in today's global markets. Teams of
employees achieve progress toward a common goal while completing individual tasks.
Cooperation is critical in team-based organizations, and this type of organization must
be structured to facilitate communication. Team-based organizations are less
hierarchical, and they exhibit more flexible structures that foster problem-solving,
participation in decision-making and teamwork to achieve organizational goals. In teambased organizations, labor and management must work cooperatively. Team-based
organizations exist across all types of industries in many nations. Globalization requires
people in all industries and all over the world to work cooperatively to produce goods
and services. Teams must solve production problems and market goods and services.
Manufacturing companies must work as a team with suppliers around the globe to
produce high-quality goods while keeping costs under control. Recognition for individual
achievement within a hierarchical organization is a motivator and a factor in determining
compensation. However, team-based organizations value team performance over
individual performance. This lack of focus on the individual can be a disadvantage of
team-based organizations, since participants seek recognition for their individual
contributions; thus, motivating individuals in a team-based organization can be more
challenging. In addition, team-based organizations are decentralized rather than
hierarchical. This lack of centralization is another disadvantage of team-based
organizations, because decentralization can lead to coordination and control problems
for management. Team-based organizations filter decision making down to all levels of
management, while traditionally structured organizations rely on top management to
make decisions. Team-based organizations require that all employees participate in the
decision-making process. Employees feel they are part of the total organization, rather

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

than members of an individual department. Consequently, team-based organizations run

more efficiently and effectively, giving them a competitive edge in today's global market.
However one negative aspect of team based management is that by allowing too much
decision making it may not allow a quality decision making where some decision may
take time to develop and certain decision may be stuck without any progress.

5.0 BEST STRATEGY AND JUSTIFICATION

51. Team Based Management
These strategies are very helpful in empowering the team-work inside the organization.
In terms of improving the cooperation and participation among the employees and
employer because it is more flexible structure in problem solving, in decision making and
participation. Thus, it is effective and efficient to improve the performance in the
organization based on the High Performance Principle. According to (Shipton,Fay,west,
Patterson & Birdi,2005) high performance work organization believe in the power of
teams for giving workers a voice and getting them to work with other in problem solving
and generating innovative ideas to improve the quality products and services.
5.2 Conflict Management
This strategy exactly improve the integrity and management effectiveness of Syarikat
Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd. Conflict management combine of the emotional Intelligence,
negotiation management, Health and safety Working Condition and Removing Toxic and
having Toxic Handlers. Therefore, management would be able to identify and handle
conflicts sensibility,fairly and more efficient by communicative which is the choice to
listen and having a clear communication among employee and employers. Such as, in
this case Mr John Ho should listen to Tan See Seng so that they will end up in clear
communication. In, addition, under this strategy it is appropriate to apply genuine
interest in others whereas the management should conveyed interest in the workers
need and problems. The management should being supportive,considerate and
respectful instead of being rude towards the workers or threatening them.
Measure of worker well-being which refer to worker job satisfaction, mental and physical
health and broad life satisfaction, work life balance and level of stress by Guest, 2006.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

Ralph waldo add that "trust a man and they will be true to you,treat them greatly and
they will show themselves great.
5.3 Grievance Management
Grievance Management strategy important in maintaining a harmonious and productive
work environment.

This strategy is assist to deal with grievances in Syarikat Getah

Bagus Sdn Bhd so that any small issues or problems do not escalate. Which means,
general comment or complaint or request from employee will quickly to be respon and
solve. In this case, the workers keep complaint about the the poor food and uniform to
the mmagement but none was be responded yet. Supposed the top management in this
Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd give positive feedback and try to fulfill the request before
it is effecting the operation or become worst.
5.4 Reinforcing the Role of Joint Consultative Council
Reinforcing the role give Syarikat Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd a guideline on labor
management relationship which their know what is their mandate, commitment and
know the importance of consultation of consultation and collaboration. This will increase
organization effectiveness and efficiency of Sabah Getah Bagus Sdn Bhd because it help
in collaborate the labor-management relationship. Thus, this collaboration leads to
increase employee satisfaction and empowered workforce. JCC was established to
provides a forum for effective communication and consultation between all employee
and thecouncill as well. In this case, it is already exist in the company but they should
optimize in applying and fully utilize its role within the company to help handling labor
problem and at the same time it could help to strengthen the relationship between
employee and union and union and company. Lastly, the solution of the problem will
depends very much on the relationship between management and trade union
representative and so do their respective commitment to the consultation.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

6.0 IMPLEMENTATION
SHORT TERM
In short term, the implementation will be based on the following:
6.1

Conflict Management

Whether dealing with a disagreement between co-workers or breaking through a

standstill in a job contract negotiation, conflict management is best approached through
a deliberate process that considers the different conflict resolutions. Conflict
management can save relationships, time and resources while improving productivity
and helping to move projects towards completion.
The steps to Manage Conflict are as below:
1. Set the Scene
Promoting good relationships through mutual respect and courteous behavior is most
important. Keep the problem separate from the person and debate the real issues. Pay
attention to each person's interests; listen carefully and respectfully. Be open to
exploring all options. In this phase, active listening skills are essential. Restate or
paraphrase others positions to be sure you hear and understand them correctly.
2. Gather Information
An important conflict management tool, especially in a human resources setting, is the
ability to go deeper than the surface to really get an understanding of an individuals
underlying needs, concerns and point of view. To do this effectively, the conflict has to
be objective not personal; and try to view the actions from the standpoint of the other
person.
The effective way to gather information is:
Identify the issues. Be clear and concise; dont try to solve too many problems at once.
Listen with empathy. Put yourself in the other persons shoes and try to really
understand how the problem is affecting him or her. Use I statements. Rather than
starting sentences with you, which might sound accusatory or lead to defensiveness,

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

try conveying only how you feel and what you observe: I feel that this problem is
affecting the work environment, or Im hearing that this issue is causing you stress
outside the office. Is that accurate?
Clarify feelings. For instance, dont assume that a supervisor is angry with a staff person
when he actually feels frustrated about their conflicting communication styles.
3. Agree to the Problem
Conflict resolution skills can only come into play when the true problem is identified. Be
sure everyone agrees on what the problem is before moving forward. Remember that
different roles, interests and conflict resolution styles can cause people to perceive
problems very differently. Putting aside individual goals to come to a mutually agreeable
and beneficial solution is an important step in conflict resolution.
4. Brainstorm Possible Solutions
Gathering the involved parties together for a brainstorming session not only helps to
resolve the problem quickly, but it makes everyone feel like they are part of the solution.
Here are a few tips for successful brainstorming:
5. Negotiate a Solution
By this point, its possible that all parties better understand each others positions and
have resolved the conflict. If not, it may be necessary to step in and negotiate a
mutually satisfying solution. Negotiation is a strong conflict resolution skill that
professionals can apply to countless situations throughout their careers. By learning
effective negotiation skills, human resources professionals can quickly distinguish
themselves not only as valuable HR professionals, but as true leaders.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

6.2

Grievance Management

Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints raised by a member of staff. They may
arise over issues such as terms and conditions of employment, health and safety,
relations with colleagues or management, organizational change or discrimination.
Grievances are best dealt with at an early stage, informally, with the immediate line
manager. This gives everyone involved a chance to resolve matters effectively before
they escalate. However, it is not always possible to resolve matters on an informal basis,
and this is when it becomes important to have a formal procedure for handling
grievances. This formal procedure should always be the last resort when other attempts
have failed, and not the first option.
I.

Acknowledging the Grievance

In order to manage employees grievance, managers must acknowledge the grievance

put forward by the employee as reflection of true and real feelings of the employees.
Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the
complaint impartially and without any bias. Secondly
II.

Bring the facts on the Table

The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts explaining the nature of
grievance. A record of such facts must be maintained so that these can be used in later
stage of grievance redressal.
III.

Examining the causes of grievance

The actual cause of grievance should be identified. Accordingly remedial actions should
be taken to prevent repetition of the grievance.
IV.

Action

After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions should be thought
of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on the existing and
future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and accordingly decision
should be taken by the manager.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

V.

Execution and review

The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the fact, that it may or may
not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the decision, a follow-up must be
there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved completely and adequately.
An effective grievance procedure ensures an amiable work environment because it
redresses the grievance to mutual satisfaction of both the employees and the managers.
It also helps the management to frame policies and procedures acceptable to the
employees. It becomes an effective medium for the employees to express t feelings,
discontent and dissatisfaction openly and formally. The manager should immediately
identify all grievances and must take appropriate steps to eliminate the causes of such
grievances so that the employees remain loyal and committed to their work. Effective
grievance management is an essential part of personnel management. The managers
should adopt the following approach to manage grievance effectively:
1. Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and resolved.
Training must be given to the managers to effectively and timely manage a grievance.
This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance on the employees and their
performance.
2. Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance put
forward by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of the employees.
Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the
complaint impartially and without any bias. This will create a conducive work
environment with instances of grievance reduced.
3. Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts
explaining the grievances nature. A record of such facts must be maintained so that
these can be used in later stage of grievance redressal.
4. Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should be
identified. Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent repetition of the
grievance.
5. Decisioning- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions
should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

the existing and future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and
accordingly decision should be taken by the manager.
6. Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the
fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the
decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved
completely and adequately.
LONG TERM
In long term, the implementation will be based on the following:
6.3

Team Based Management

A team-based approach encourages ideas from everyone involved, which means that
the decision-making process has to be depersonalized. Ideas should not be based on
characteristics about the individuals, but on the collective team-based knowledge and
the internal and external context team members bring to the table. The team should
include the executive directors which resembles the process followed by an ideal board
of directors. The board chair presides over regularly scheduled meetings at which the
executive director presents information about the operation of the organization.
Effective executive directors and board chairs invest a great deal of energy into making
sure board meetings are facilitated smoothly, that the data is well presented, and that
motions are followed up on between meetings. The management team must also
include executive leadership team which consists of department heads and program
managers and the front-line workers and service delivery staff. Besides, they may also
include evaluation consultants and project partners.
To become a truly data-driven team, this process should be implemented at all levels.
The new team-based performance management process will allow all staff to be
involved in developing and refining performance improvement strategies to meet those
goals. The new team-based performance management process will allow all staff to be
involved in developing and refining performance improvement strategies to meet those
goals. The process will contribute to continuous improvement and employee
engagement at all levels of the organization. It consists of setting goals appropriate to
various levels if the organization. Once a month, teams within the organization will meet

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

to analyze progress toward those goals and collaboratively determine if progress is on

track or if modifications need to be made in the strategy. Everyone within the
organization will be involved on a team that will monitor its own performance and
progress toward goals; anyone in the organization may be called on to contribute to
special projects coordinated by a goal owner. Goal owners are responsible for
coordinating activity around the goals assigned to them. The process is ongoing but
must conduct monthly meetings to monitor progress and be both proactive and
responsive to real-time changes.
The leadership team will outline a process for implementing team-based performance
management. From that meeting, the leadership team will work with program managers
to implement the process within program/project teams. Contact the executive director
with questions.
The essential steps for implementing team-based performance management are:
Prepare for Change. Lay the foundation for successful implementation by looking
ahead.
Create a change management plan that includes risk mitigation, communications,
and assessment of the knowledge and skills on the team.
Identify Goals and Strategies. Identify a limited set of initiatives for improved
performance. Get input from key team members and outside resources to refine
goals and strategies for each initiative.
Clarify and Create Accountability. Identify the people that will take responsibility for
coordinating activities related to each goal.
Obtain Analytical Support. Your team will benefit from ground-level expertise in data
collection, tabulation, and analysis. You may need help from someone with expertise
in extrapolating results from a smaller sample of results. Find someone who can
identify patterns in data and knows how to present data effectively.10
Identify and Collect the Necessary Data. Identify data that provides feedback on the
accomplishment of your goals and that can be collected in the relatively short
timeframe needed to make course corrections.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

Analyze and Interpret the Data. Before bringing the data to the team, create an
appropriate presentation method. Preliminary analysis and interpretation is needed
to create the presentation.
Implement Team-Based Data Reviews. This is the heart of team-based performance
management. At the data review, the person accountable for coordinating activities
related to each goal reports the progress on implementing the agreed-upon strategy.
The group considers the data and decides whether to continue with the current
strategy or to change course.
Reflect and Refine. You may find that the data you are considering is not as
meaningful as you thought it would be. Or that you really need to have a larger
group at the table. Dont give up! Expect that you will need to make adjustments as
you move forward.
6.4

Reinforcement the role of Joint Consultative Council

The purpose of JCC is to give employees a voice in decisions that affect them and to
make the most from employees experience and ideas for optimizing the efficiencies of
the company. Both management and unions should be keen to implement the JCC as it
is seen to eliminate unnecessary conflict by giving management and employees an
opportunity to understand each others views and objectives. These objectives clearly
indicate a willingness on the part of the management to treat its employees as
intelligent and reasonable workforces who have the capacity to make a contribution to
the efficiency of the organization.
As a result of joint consultation, management and unions are better able to minimize
misunderstandings and to appreciate some of the issues which either side may
experience. As Marchington (1992) argues; the objectives of JCC should be explicit and
publishable. This is the case in Posco, as can be seen in the Code of Conduct for
Industrial Harmony 1975 (Section Communication and Consultation, Articles 43-50). In
relation to these issues, the HR Manager emphasizes the importance of cooperation and
harmony between employees, unions and management: The primary principle is that
the company believes in JCC, the workers are not aliens who must be coerced, they are
human beings and partners in the company..

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

The main subject matters arising through JCC meetings are: output and productivity,
manpower policies, procedures, general conditions of employment, mergers, takeovers,
business strategies, educational and training, safety, and employee services. The
process of JCC meetings involves a two-way communication where both managers and
union representatives use the committee as a forum for the exchange of views. Under
Article 21.3 of the CA of UPUS Union, management issues notice of meetings at least
two weeks in advance. Staff are permitted sufficient time off work so that they may
attend meetings (Article 21.4, CA of UPUS Union, 2000-2002). The JCC is used as a
forum for management and union representatives to make decisions jointly. However,
there are certain issues which are discussed where the union has no control over the
final decision.
When setting up a JCC, a constitution should be agreed with employee representatives,
including where appropriate recognized trade unions, which lays down the rules and
procedures that will govern the committee's operation. Agreeing a constitution at the
beginning can help overcome subsequent problems and misunderstandings. As with all
meetings, the JCC needs to be well chaired if it is to run efficiently. The person selected
to take the chair should ensure that all parties have an opportunity to express their
opinion and that discussion is not allowed to wander from the subject under
consideration. The chairperson should also allocate tasks to particular people to ensure
that the views of the committee are taken into account by the decision makers.
A poor chairperson will not only lead to disorganized meetings but may be in some
instances, bring the whole concept of joint consultation into disrepute. Getting the right
person to chair the meeting is therefore crucial. In some organizations the chair is taken
by a senior manager who has experience of chairing meetings. While this arrangement
can help to emphasize the organization's commitment to the concept of consultation,
some may see it as giving management too much control over the JCC. A number of
JCCs therefore rotate the position of chairperson since this is seen as a more open
procedure to adopt. In addition to a chairperson it is also helpful to appoint someone to
act as secretary to the committee. Whether the secretary is drawn from management
or employees is a matter for discussion when setting up the committee. If agreement

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

cannot be reached, rotating the role of secretary or having joint secretaries is possible
alternative options.
If joint consultation is to be meaningful it is essential that the deliberations of the
committee are reported back to employees as soon as possible. Any delay in reporting
back is not only likely to lead to frustration but will also allow scope for rumors to
develop in the place of hard information. Reporting what happened at committee
meetings is usually the responsibility of employee representatives but management
should also help to ensure that the outcome of consultation meetings is spread quickly
and accurately among employees. Methods that might be used for reporting back
include:

briefing groups

news-sheets

noticeboards

circulation of committee minute

7.0 CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the case study shows that Syarikat Getah Bagus Sd.Bhd has very poor and
lack of consideration over employees welfare. From the above analysis, it seems that
workers and unions do engage in the workplace decision-making process, but only to a
limited extent. However there would be value in increasing the extent of equal
participation where workers and unions can play an even greater part in all policy and
process formulation.

CASE STUDY 2: LIGHTING ACTION

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