Fontel Ltd is an expanding distributor of components formobile phone and is likely to be become one of the major players inEurope. Like most organization, Fontal experienced difficultiesthrough a period of growth, with a misalignment of systems,processes, equipment and people.
Rather than attempt to fit new challenges into the ways of oldmethods and structures, Fontal actively reorganized the way itfunctioned. It began with a new mission statement that emphasizedthe firm’s commitment to adding value to customers throughinnovation and continuous improvement. As management at examinedthe needs and opportunities for turning around performance, itadopted a system approach. The system model examines all elementsof an organization as an interacting whole, sensitive to externalpressures. Fontal managers learned that, as they changed oneelement, such as ways of transacting with suppliers, they wouldalso have to change internal processes and even their relationshipwith customers.
What they realized that they had to shift from focusing onlyon results, to looking at the processes within the system that wereproducing those results. They also knew that a redesign oforganizational systems needed to provide flexibility so that peoplecould adapt their behavior the changing circumstances in dailyactivities. As a starting point for systematically learning aboutmanagement and behavior with organization. Fontel identified twokey mental models: one emphasizing the dynamic nature of managerialroles, and the other identifying the macro options managers haveavailable for changing organizational performance.
Discussion questions
1. How Fontal’s manager would have measured outputs to ensurethat company mission was achieved?
2. Why managers shall be prepared to engage employees in aconstantly changing environment?
3. How Fontel’s transformation process affected outputs?
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