Case study: Global Supply Chain Transformation- Assessments and People Engagement (2nd part )
Khwanchai Phanthong on https://www.vecteezy.com/
People-centric Approach:
To address the challenges faced by the Global Transformers Manufacturer Group, understanding the stakeholders' perspectives and the cultural context was critical. I began by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the stakeholders involved, including managers and responsible roles across the Italian parent company and its Chinese and Tunisian subsidiaries. I identified individuals with seniority who possessed both managerial influence and the ability to facilitate the adoption of new management solutions. Additionally, I explored the impact of national and business culture and etiquette on managerial styles, aiming to map differences in engagement, involvement, and communication management, as well as resistance during the project. This information was crucial for shaping mutual values and developing a cohesive group identity. I compiled the inventory of managerial styles, seniority, power, and influence for each country:
As a bridge between the three companies, I started by gathering conflictual points without being influenced by the parent Company, and analysing data to capture causes and effects. I developed self-assessments for employees, managers, and responsible personnel to understand internal resource satisfaction across topics related to group relationships.
Next, I focused on Supply Chain Management with managers, employing tools such as Change Readiness and Business Readiness from PROSCI and integrating them into the 7s McKinsey model but with cause-and-effect logic across the group and proposing a roadmap and strategy.
The process was replicated for each organisational and legal entity, because of the influences of different cultures. The first successful action was managing expectations. Resistance levels due to the parent company's previous approach were diminished when I demonstrated genuine interest in resolving the issues, creating trust in in my bridge role.
Once the requirements for upgrading the Supply Chain were established and agreed upon between the parties, the project scope was defined with a score of 85% agreement. The final engagement act involved agreeing on direct and indirect necessary activities follow-up meetings with the board, and joint sessions with Italian, Chinese, and Tunisian managers following the ADKAR model: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement.
Leveraging each firm's ambitions (values) and the desire to learn (sub-subsidiaries), we created a sustainable sense of belonging with a muted vision from the parent company. In doing so, we satisfied the first two letters of the ADKAR acronym: Awareness, Desire.
