dissertation ivy comptech

8/3/2019 Dissertation IVY Comptech

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1. INTRODUCTION____________________________________________21.1 Setting the Stage_________________________________________21.2 The Development of the Indian IT Industry_____________________31.3 Organisational Challenges to IT Companies____________________5

1.4 Need for the Study________________________________________61.5 Problem Statement_______________________________________71.6 Purpose of Study_________________________________________8Appendix II - Score for the factors discussed in the Questionnaire (IVYComptech Company staff)

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 Setting the Stage

In the past 45 years of the computer age, computer processing power has

increased to an incomprehensible 30 orders of magnitude, 1030, the ratio of

the diameter of an atom to that of the Milky Way. From the 1970s to the

present, computer power has doubled each year following a trend known as

Moores Law. This means computer power increases at 2year, about one million

times every 20 years. And there is no end in sight to this trend: research on

nano-computers predicts that Moores Law will apply well into the next century

(Spencer, 1995). The bottom line: we are dealing with the most amazing

ubiquitous technology, which has been and will be changing the face of the

earth, effecting humans in every possible way.

The computer industry, otherwise called as Information Technology (IT)

industry, has been described as the most dynamic, most prosperous, most

economically beneficial industry the world has ever known (Parsons & Oja,

2011). The rapid development of the industry is promoting global industrial

restructuring, optimization and upgrading, and bring about profound changes

in the human lifestyles and production patterns (Zemin, 2009). Economies of

scale and insatiable demand from both consumers and enterprises

characterize this rapidly growing sector (Economy Watch, 2010). With the

worldwide consumption of IT industry products estimated to be more than US

$ 2.1 trillion annually (Parsons & Oja, 2011), the industry has acted as a key

driver for global economic growth (Economy Watch, 2010).

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Since the beginning of the 21st century, IT has been evolving every single day

with its popularity and applications having significant impact on economic,

political, social, cultural and military development. The IT industry of a country

or region has become an important yardstick of its overall strength,

international competitiveness, and degree of modernisation (Zemin, 2009).

Considering the Indian scenario, IT industry has literally given India a place on

the world map which was otherwise considered a developing country with

inferior infrastructural reliability. NASSCOM - the apex forum for the IT

Industry in India, asserts that IT industry has played a significant role in

transforming Indias image from a slow moving bureaucratic economy to a

land of innovative entrepreneurs and a global player in providing world class

technology solutions and business services. Presently, the industry is

estimated to have grown by 19 per cent in the FY2011, clocking revenue of

almost US$ 76 billion (NASSCOM, 2011).

Poised to become a US$ 225 billion industry by 2020 (IBEF, 2011), India has

climbed 10 spots to reach the 34th ranking on the global IT industry

competitive index owing to its strong human capital and research anddevelopment (R&D) base. Compiled jointly by Business Software Alliance

(BSA) and the Economist Intelligence Unit, this IT industry competitiveness

index benchmarks 66 countries on a series of indicators covering the critical

foundation areas for IT innovation (Economic Times, 2011). Speaking about

this news, Som Mittal, president of NASSCOM , he said India (Indian IT

Industry) is gradually diversifying its services focus to innovation in new

product development and related capabilities reflecting its gradual emergence

as a lead in not just IT exports but soon also in IT products.

1.2 The Development of the Indian IT Industry

The Indian IT industry saw its birth in the 1960s. It was the time when

multinational companies originated in the 1960s, hardware was provided by

multinational firms like IBM had taken their place as global leaders in the

hardware market and the only opportunity left for Indian firms was to

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specialise in the area of IT services. Those were the days when Indian

domestic IT needs were almost negligible making the Indian IT service

companies to rely heavily on export markets. By 1980/1981 when many of

todays Indian major companies were founded, the Indian software exports

reached the 13 million USD mark and, large companies in other sectors of the

economy diversified into the IT sector (Ainavolu, 2007). At that time, the

Indian software industry heavily relied on body shopping that is, flying

professional staff to the sires of overseas clients in order to work on software

assignments. This was mainly due to the large talent pool of English-speaking

computer scientists and engineers willing to work overseas for a fraction of US

wages as well as the lack of appropriate hardware in India, caused by the

limited availability of foreign exchange to purchase computers (Henley, 2007).

Body shopping proved to be the stepping stone for the gigantic growth of IT

Industry that would be recorded in the years to come. During the 1990s, IT

industry saw the prevalence of customised and firm specific software along

with the considerable market for maintenance work and integration of legacy

software systems. It has been argued by some observers that over two-thirds

of all software development efforts are spent in maintaining and enhancingexisting software codes, rather than producing new software (Arora & Athreye

2002). Such work necessitates in-depth understand of the software functions

through face-to-face contact. The building of trust between client and software

provider that was possible as a result of face-to-face interaction on site, was

critical for the development of the software industry.

For the business relations to prosper and Indian companies to get business

deals from the west, they would have to develop strong client trust, in order

that the client shares confidential information with the information technology

provider. Indian IT companies have challenged their limitations over time by

building their infrastructural facilities, intellectual property and human capacity.

Today, India's top technology firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are

readying plans to gain a bigger share of their largest market, US, by

aggressively chasing contracts being served by multinational rivals. Analysts

expect the top IT firms to grow between 23-27 per cent in the FY2012 on the

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back of more number of discretionary projects, improved pricing, and robust

business volumes (Economic Times, 2011).

1.3 Organisational Challenges to IT Companies

An introduction to this subject could not be any better but to pen down the

following mission statement of IVY Comptech company:

While our business is not dependent on physical assets to succeed, it is

heavily dependent on intangible assets such as our brands, technology and

most importantly our people. We aim to attract and retain high performingtalent from around the world and seek to promote and develop high culture.

Our employees are both engaged and well-rewarded for their achievements

and outstanding contributions.

Two of the most important features of IT industry are (1) Unlike other common

industries, IT industry is knowledge-based and (2) Efficient utilisation of skilled

labour forces in the IT sector can help an economy achieve a rapid pace of

growth (Economy Watch, 2010). Being in a knowledge-based industry, ITcompanies like IVY Comptech have identified that the main source of their

competitive advantage is the intellectual capital consisting of human capital

and intellectual property. As seen from this mission statement, IVY Comptech

has identified that attracting, retaining and maintaining high performing talent

is necessary for the IT organisations to stay ahead in the competition.

Indian IT industry has seen several stages of transformation throughout its

history from infancy in the 1960s to the present decade. Principal factors of

transformation, apart from overall investment climate and changes in demand

and supply, have been the business processes, human resources and

institutional capabilities. (Mitra, 2010). Economy Watch (2010) maintains that

one of the most important crises facing the Indian information technology

industry today concerns the human resources aspect. The skill level of the

information technology professionals is one area that needs improvement and

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presents a considerable amount of challenge before the Indian information

technology industry.

Kuruvilla and Ranganathan (2008), stating in Indian context, claim that four

critical and interlinked HR challenges threaten the near and long-term

prospects of IT industry. Macro level HR problems include a shortage of

skilled HR and difficulty in producing high-skilled manpower. The micro HR

problems include high average turnover rates, and the rapidly rising HR costs

in the industry. According to Andersen, et al. (2010), the desired outcomes

from an HR perspective are low employee turnover, low absenteeism, high-

quality customer service and high performance. These outcomes are

achievable only through the result of an integrated and coordinated effort by

the service provider and the client. The desired outcomes can be achieved

using best-practice activities within job design, change management and

contract formulation. These activities should continuously be reassessed by

monitoring the psychological impact on the employees attitudes toward the

activities, the job, the service provider and the client.

Similarly, Meenakshi Gupta from the premier Indian Institute of Bangalore, inher article on HR Challenges in the Indian Software Industry discussed a

variety of issues hovering Indian IT Industry. They are recruitment of world

class workforce and their retention, compensation and career planning,

technological obsolescence and employee turnover, to name a few.

Apparently, the human resources perspective needs to be studied in order to

adopt an all-embracing approach to understanding organisational issues, their

effect on people and to prepare processes and solutions to improve

organisational effectiveness (Gupta, M., 2004).

1.4 Need for the Study

It is globally accepted fact that the performance of an organisation is vital for

organisations success. Armstrong, & Baron, (2004) describe management of

organisational performance as the continuing responsibility of top

management within an organisation to achieve the corporate objectives by

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planning, organising, and controlling activities with good leadership. He goes

further and states that there are various types of performance measures

however which one is used sensibly lies on the managers.

There have been various studies conducted on managing projects (Lewis, J.

P., 1999) where all the different phases of an organisations lifecycle from

conceptualisation, growth, maturity through decline and closure are looked at.

Now the top management are on an agreement that they needs to ensure that

through all of these stages planning, organising and controlling is executed

efficiently. However yet there are still organisations that underperform and fail

eventually. This shows that there are yet many other reasons why an

organisation fails to perform. These reasons shall be explored through this

research.

Organisations that close down suffer themselves from financial loss however

this also impacts on the workforce and the employment opportunities. Many

other stakeholders are affected by an underperforming organisation which is

why this research needs to be conducted as it would uproot causes which will

help execute corrective and preventive actions.

1.5 Problem Statement

Companies small or large fail due to various reasons and eventually the

cause of concern is pointed out to a single variable. Yet, organisations still do

not have enough information to work with which ensures that their

performance is of good standards and that they do not fail. Closing down ofan organisation or a division of it causes financial loss to its stakeholders, to

the economy of the country as it brings revenues and also employment

opportunities are lost.

1.6 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this dissertation research is to investigate into the factorsresponsible for underperformance of an organisation and to find out what all

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variables of an organisation need to be scrutinised to ensure the company

remains stable and its performance is improved. Potentially there are a wide

range of factors that may be responsible for an organisations failure or

underperformance for which the aims and objective of the research are:

1. To identify the cause(s) controllable and internal to the organisation.

2. To identify the cause(s) non-controllable and external to the

organisation.

3. To explore the primary cause of non-performance or closure of an

organisation.

4. To investigate into the overall performance parameters of an

organisation.

5. To examine the effects of market competition on the organisations

performance.

6. To provide recommendations for monitoring performance of the

organisation.

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1. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The issues of business failure have been perceived in different ways

depending on the circumstances that lead to the failure. Megginson & Smart(2008) view business failure as the unfortunate circumstance of a firms

inability to stay in the business. Though companies may fail due to financial

distress as pointed out by Drapeau et al. (2004), Neophytou, et al. (2001), the

present research is more into taking Greiners (1972) point of view. He

considers a business fails when companies fail to see that many clues of their

success lie within their own organisations and the evolving states of

development. Moreover, the inability of management to understand its

organisation development problems can result in a company becoming

frozen in its present stage of evolution or, ultimately, in failure, regardless of

market opportunities (Grainer, 1972). In a similar fashion, Westland, (2006),

believes that the reasons of organisations to fail would be its lack of

achievement of its predefined business goals.

While discussing on how companies financial turbulence affects their

sustenance, Platt (1999) in his book Why Companies Fail: Strategies forDetecting, Avoiding, and Profiting from Bankruptcy, argued that cash flow is

not the only reason for business failure. According to him, a companys failure

has more to it, than just its financial affairs. As discussed in the introduction,

IT success or failure primarily depends on organisations performance in the

aspect of its human resource management. It can be best theorised by

applying various management theories and concepts in the context of IT, to

assess the internal and external factors responsible for its failure. The

strength of management theories and concepts and other underlying

performance factors related to IT, as appeared in the literature, are studied in

this section.

2.1 Factors of IT Companys Non-Performance

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A keen observation at the industry reveals that IT business landscape is

characterised by significant number of mergers and acquisitions taking place

through the years, as indicated by BPO India (2011). Solganick, Aaron

(2011), founder and President of Los-Angeles based Generation Equity

Advisors, LLC, believe BPO and IT services M&A activity in 2011 and 2012

could continue its increased activity and rise above the sectors pre-recession

deal flow. Since IT is a highly competitive industry, the obvious reason for

M&A could be the need of improvement in the operations and technology or

face the risk of closure or M & A. According to Sople (2009), the IT industry is

characterized by very closely monitored service-level indicators of

productivity, timely delivery and quality related aspects. All customers in this

industry demand prompt reporting on these performance metrics. If these are

not met in time with customers expectations, the vendor has to face the brunt.

Over the years, it has been observed that many IT projects ventures proved

unsuccessful. The results of these failures, usually, tend to hit the companies

involved financially. On this subject, CIO Magazine states, numerous surveys

indicate that anywhere from 17 percent to 53 percent of customers have notrealised business value/return on investment from IT outsourcing (Kaushik,

2008).These unfortunate experiences have made organisations in IT business

approach the issue cautiously. Some organisations tend to avoid potential

failure by concentrating on tightening the contracts and Service Level

Agreements. The approach, however, has evoked mixed response, and it is a

debatable issue. In to a survey done by KPMG on IT outsourcing, 60 percent

of respondents claim that problems with their IT solution providers are almost

always people-related. In essence, successful IT outsourcing is more highly

correlated with relationships between clients and vendors than tight contracts

and SLAs (Rossi, 2007). In Soples (2009) view, accurate and detailed

performance measurement and management are pivotal to the success of

any shared service or outsourcing initiative.

Charan and Useem (2002) in their article on companies failure which was

published in fortune magazine; brought forth the reasons they believe to be

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responsible for companies fail. They concluded companies fail because they

do not have a proper vision, strategy or plan; they have weak or ineffective

management style, or due to inadequate information and control systems and

under capitalization. Other reasons discussed were lack of competitive

advantage and poor pricing. While according to Duening & Click (2005), the

BPO relationship success factors are project management, IT integration,

cultural integration, client involvement and commitment, governance, and goal

alignment. Charles W.L. Hill, a professor at University of Washington, believes

that when companies competitive advantage declines, their profitability falls,

causing organisations to fail. He recommended that a continuous

improvement and learning plans along with a focus on competitive advantage

would guide organisations to their survive (Hill & Jones, 2009).

The success of the relationship between the IT and the client depends on how

the entire lifecycle of the IT relationship is handled in the holistic manner

covering management processes, governance structures, technology usage,

monitoring, service level agreements, and commitment from all stakeholders

(Feeny et al, 2005). Feenyfocuses on three competencies that IT companies

possess. They are Delivery competency a measure of how well the supplierresponds to the clients day-to-day operational requirements;

Transformational competency this represents how well the vendor is able to

improve the offered services on dimensions of cost, quality, performance, etc.;

and lastly, Relationship competency the extent to which the vendor is willing

to invest in building a win-win relationship aligning client and supplier goals

and incentives over the longer run. Continuing the same idea, he further

states the capabilities like business management, technology exploitation,

process re-engineering, governance, program management, organizational

structure, etc., are the critical success factors for IT Companys performance

evaluation.

Be it internal or external, there could be an exhaustive list of causes for the

companies to fail. However, the point to prove lies in the fact that, there could

not be one but several factors causing a company to underperform, which if

not taken care of properly, lead to its closure. However, as Duening & Click

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(2005) rightly drives a point that the main cause of IT Company failure seems

to be the differences between customers expectations and the perceived

results to be provided by the service provider. Eventually, the objective of the

research would be to identify the set of factors representing customers

expectations and another set of factors describing the result orientation from

service providers perception. Finally, the industry-wide validity of these

identified factors over entire IT industry has to be studied.

The disappointments caused to some big names in Indian IT industry could be

best presented by a piece of news as appeared in The Guardian, titled India

Outsources Outsourcing. It states that according to Kris Gopalakrishnan, the

head of Indias giant software company Infosys, there is an economic

phenomenon engulfing the world called Outsourcers are outsourcing

themselves. According to it, once know for sucking jobs out of call centres

and IT departments in the west, Indian technology firms are re-exporting them

to wealthier nations as wage inflation and skills shortages at home reverse the

process (Ramesh, 2007). In the same context, Nasscom press (2010) admits

that the top four companies who have currently outsourced their operations

are Genpact ltd, Tata Consultancy Services BPO, WNS, and Aegis Ltd.

The list of such incidents grows bigger with organisations such as MSN, Dell,

and Bank of America are included in it as well. These increasingly widespread

trends in the industry points to the basic obvious economic reasoning of lack

of exchange of value between the IT service providers and their clients.

Driving a conclusion from the accounts presented above, it could be said that

there is a high opportunity for IT service providers to exchange valuables from

these companies however, considering the increased competition, the

sustainability of operations and the continuation of business with these

companies becomes increasingly challenging.

The literature on IT companies has brought forth list of factors required for

successful operations of an IT Service Provider. The list includes, but not

limited to Human Resource management, Finance Management,

Management style, information and control systems, Competitive Advantage,and Pricing strategies. For the research to take a practical shape the following

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factors are to be considered as the focal point of inquiry through various

methods of data collection and processing. With the intention of selecting a

proper research model that would cover all the points discussed, it is required

to dwell in the conceptual frameworks and theories appeared in business

research.

2.2 Management Theories, Models and Their

Effectiveness

The literature review on IT service providers summarise the endogenous

factors into analysing the success criteria for vendor organisation and the

elements required to achieve the end results. The other factors include the

influence of exogenous variables and the analysis of competitors. In the

subsequent section, literature of management theories and models in terms of

internal factors and external factors are presented to establish a proper

understanding on the subject concerned.

2.2.1 Internal Factors

While defining the objectives of IT organisation, it is necessary to consider the

needs of the client organisation, end consumers and IT service providers. The

essence of these objectives boils down to what the organisation would want to

achieve and to what extent. Considering the fact that each organisation is

different and has a different set of factors associated with it, the objectives

may differ from one organisation to another and may have a different impacton the overall organisations performance.

The internal dimensions or domain of organisations would be the activities

(methods, practices and procedures) performed to achieve the end result.

The end result would be the overall objective of the organisation. External

dimensions or variables may impact on organisations performance thus it may

be vital to investigate into various external factors identified by theorists. In the

subsequent section, a detailed discussion is presented on all these internal

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and external factors. The discussion would be based on models and theories

involving a holistic perspective of these factors along with the possible

conclusions that follow in respect to the objectives of organisations and their

importance.

2.2.1.1 Nigel Slacks Objectives of organisations

Cyert and March (1963) long ago pointed out that organisations are rarely

oriented towards the achievement of any specific goal. Indeed, objectives are

often absent, or ambiguous, or phrased in a general way so as to be not

operational. More likely, there will be multiple objectives that are often in

conflict (Carter, 1992). Why exactly is an organisation operational and what is

it (objectives) aiming at? are the probable questions every employee of an

organisation should identify, know and seek information for. Without the

understanding of this, it might not be sufficient for an organisation to guide or

direct the employees properly.

While giving an insight on organisations objectives, Slack, et al. (2007) states

that well defined organisations objectives primarily fall under five factors.Every organisation has to have their own objectives, and they need to be

clearly understood for the organisation to be aligned with them. Slack, et al.

(2007) asserts that it is a responsibility of the operations function to

understand the (sometimes conflicting) objectives of its stakeholders and set

its objectives accordingly. He has identified objectives as:

Quality - consistent conformance to customers expectations. For an ITcompany, this can be considered as the quality of service offered by the

company to its clients or the support provided to the clients themselves.

Speed It is the elapsed time between customers requesting products or

services and their receipt of them (Slack, et al. (2007). In a simpler context it

is the amount of time spent in delivering product or services to the customer.

The lesser the time taken to fulfil an order the customer satisfaction will be

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more which will give the speed advantage to the company. In the IT industry

scenario prompt servicing to the customer plays an important role to place a

company ahead of its competitors. So, it is very important to deliver the error

free services to the customers promptly which in turn increased the efficiency

and reliability of the product or services.

Dependability It is an attribute for the act of doing things in time for

customers to receive their goods or services exactly when they are needed, or

at least when they are promised (Slack, et al. (2007). When a customer

places an order with the company for goods or services he/she becomes

dependable on the company for the performance of that particular act, so it is

the duty of the corporation to deliver those services or products on time to

build a trustworthy and a stable relationship with the customer. It helps in

strengthening of business ties and customer base which will eventually helps

in expanding the business horizon.

Flexibility It is defined as the ability to change the operations in some way.

This may mean changing what the operation do, how it is doing it or when it is

doing it (Slack, et al. (2007). In present day scenario where competition is stiff

with many substitutes coming in, an organisation has to be flexible in its

approach to cater in the best possible way to the customers. According to

Slack et al (2007) customers will need the operation to change so that it can

provide four types of requirements:

1) Product/Service Flexibility the operations ability to introduce new or

modified products and services.

2) Mix Flexibility the operations ability to produce a wide range or mix of

products and services.

3) Volume Flexibility the operations ability to change its level of output

or activity to produce different quantities or volumes of products and

services over time.

4) Delivery Flexibility the operations ability to change the timing of the

delivery of its services or products.

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So, flexibility is considered to be an important objective for any organisation to

be successful and for creating conducive atmosphere for the customers.

Cost it plays an imperative role in an organisations objective. Every

organisation tends to keep its cost to the lower possible limit, so that its

products or services can be delivered to the customers at competitive prices

and cost advantage can be obtained. For lowering cost it is very essential to

know the operations in which the company is spending. The company has to

do a comprehensive study on all the input variables and chop out

unnecessary expenses incurred and it should also keep a check on the

pricing policies of the company.

After assessing the above objectives in the light of IT Service providers, it has

been made clear that for any organisation to succeed in its operations it

should have clear objectives and they should be communicated to the internal

workforce more precisely, so that they can be taken out with utmost care and

without any negligence.

In this section the organisational objectives are studied and their variousimplementation strategies have been academically identified, which guide us

to the probable internal and external activities obligatory for achieving these

objectives. In the coming section an in-depth analysis of these internal and

external factors will be studied with the help of Mckinsey 7s framework and

PESTAL analysis.

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2.2.1.2 McKinsey 7S Model

The McKinsey 7S Framework model is a diagnostic management tool used to

test the strength of the strategic degree of fit between a firms current and

proposed strategies. It was co-developed in the year 1978 by several

consultants at McKinsey & Co. including Robert H. Waterman, Jr., and Tom

Peters. The McKinsey 7S model addresses the need to build a tight strategic

fit between strategy, organisational structure, and five additional components

of organisational effectiveness (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2007). Among the

7S, the three core factors are considered to be Strategy, Structure and

System, which are otherwise called as hard Ss. The other four, Skills, Staff,

Style and Shared Values, are supporting factors or soft Ss (Pascale, 1981).

Waterman asserts that effective organisational change is really the

relationship between Structure, Strategy, Systems, Style, Skills and Staff.

A detailed analysis of the seven elements

suggested by McKinsey model is as follows:

1. Strategy According to Johnson strategy is the direction and scope of

an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a

changing environment through its configuration of resources and

competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. In

other words strategy plays a crucial role in achieving competitive

success for any organisation. It lays down clear objectives for directing

an organisation towards achieving its overall goal.

It was Chandler who first pointed out that structure follows strategy, or

more precisely, that a strategy of diversity forces a decentralized

structure. Strategy is the way a company aims to improve its position

vis-a-vis competition perhaps through low-cost production or delivery,

perhaps by providing better value to the customer, perhaps by

achieving sales and service dominance. (Waterman, 1980)

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Figure 1: McKinsey 7S Model


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2. Systems According to Waterman system means all the procedures,

formal and informal, that make the organization go, day by day and

year by year: capital budgeting systems, training systems, cost

accounting procedures, budgeting systems. In other words it is the

procedure followed by companies for controlling its separate activities

carried out by an enterprise like managing sales force, logistics,

services, human resource activities, Technology used, budgeting

procedures, financial policies, training activities, etc.

It is the system which is responsible for getting the things done in a

proper and effective manner by the employees. By looking at the

system of any organisation one can make out the extent to which it is

going to be successful. For being ahead of competition the company

has to monitor and bring changes to its system of operation from time

to time. Edward Deming in his PDCA cycle meaning Plan, do, check

and act has explained the ways in which a company can validate the

organisations system incessantly for eradicating deficiencies as and

when they occur, so that the system can become stable and efficient.

Samuel (2005) in his Total Quality Management has agreed that for

continuous improvements in a process proper planning has to be

conducted to achieve the desired results. Larson (2003) asserts that

improvement goals must be set, and programs must be initiated to

achieve the goals.

3. Staff According to Chandler, Staff (in the sense of people, not

line/staff) is often treated one of the two ways. At the hard end of the

spectrum, we talk of appraisal systems, pay scales, formal training

programs, and the like. At the soft end, we talk about morale, attitude,

motivation, and behaviour. In Kaplans (2005) view, the staff consists of

people, their backgrounds and competencies; how the organisation

recruits, selects, trains, socializes, manages the careers, and promote

employees. Slack (2007) in his operations management defined staff

consists of people who operate, maintain, plan and manage theoperations.

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Staff occupies a vital place in an organisation because the success

depends on the efficiency and skill set of people employed. So, it is

very essential for any organisation to take utmost care while recruiting

the workforce. If the employees are not competent then the

organisation will not be able to achieve its goals. The organisation must

employ sufficient number of staff personal because understaffing will

hamper the production and overstaffing will increase expenses which

will eventually impede the profitability of an organisation.

Staffing Policies: The companies can adopt any of the following

staffing policies for seeking best of the employees.

1) Geocentric Staffing A policy where important positions in an

organisation is given to talented people irrespective of nationality

i.e. expatriates are made managers.

2) Ethnocentric Staffing In this all the key positions are appointed

to the home country nations.

3) Polycentric Staffing In this staffing policy significant positions

in a subsidiary company are allotted by host country.

1. Skills includes the distinctive competencies that reside in the

organisation. They can be distinctive competencies of people,

management practices, system and/or technology (Vallabhaneni,

2009). Kaplan (2005) describes skills as distinctive competencies of the

organisation; what it does best along dimensions such as people,

management practices, processes, systems, technology and customer

relationships.

To achieve competitive advantage an organisation should consists of

skilled workforce. The company should take time to time initiative to

update employees regarding the necessary new skill sets and train

them as per requirement for obtaining the organisational goal. For an

organisation to flourish the given skills are required Planning and

organising skills, Directing and leading skills, controlling and measuringskills, motivation skills, problem solving and decision making skills,

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Espoused Values: represent the values people say they used

and, in many cases, think they use even if they dont. People

create a positive public image by claiming to believe in values

that other expect them to embrace (Hill, 2008). This represents

those values that are not actually practised but they portray an

image among others that they follow these values.

Enacted Values: These are the values people actually rely on to

guide their decisions and actions. These values in use are

apparent by watching people in action (Hill, 2008).

1. Structure Waterman (1980) in his structure is not organisation

asserts that structure divides tasks and then provides coordination. It

trades off specialization and integration. It decentralizes and then

recentralizes. Previously structure was divided into production and

sales teams but now the scenario has changed because of complexity

in business due to increase in organisations size and activities.

Basically, there are four structural forms functional, multi-divisional,

geographic and matrix. In a functional structure the structure of the

organization follows the obvious division of labour within the firm, with

different functions focussing on different tasks. In a multidivisional

structure the firm is divided into different product divisions, each of which is

responsible for a distinct business area. In a geographic structure the main

subunits of the organization are geographic areas, such as regions within

a country, countries, or multi country regions. With a matrix structure,

managers try to combine two different organizing philosophies in a single

design (Hill, 2008).

For the organisations success the structural chart of the organisation must

be formulated in par with the staffs experience, skills and expertise. It

should clearly define the hierarchy for reporting and controlling purposes.

2. Style In his book titled Leadership Style, Kippenberger (2002)defined style as a way of behaving. It shows the leadership styles

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followed by the top management and it also covers the attitude of the

employees in dealing with the customers and outside world. The

leaders have to be updating themselves constantly about the new skills

and new ways of thinking in terms of customer satisfaction and

continuous improvement, and they must assist employees in making

the same transition. (Larson, 2003).

Kets de Vries (2001) explains an individuals leadership style a synthesis of

the various roles that he or she chooses to adopt is a complex outcome of

the interplay of that persons inner theatre .... and the competencies that the

person develops over the course of their lifespan. According to Larson (2003)

depending on the development levels of individual employees, there are four

phases of leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating.

The common attributes for a successful leader propagated by Kouzes &

Posner (1987) are

Challenge the process First, find a process that you believe

needs to be improved the most.

Inspired a shared vision Next, share your vision in words thatcan be understood by your followers.

Enable others to act Give them the tools and methods to solve

the problem.

Model the way When the process gets tough, get your hands

dirty. A boss tells others what to do; a leader shows that it can

be done.

Encourage the heart Share the glory with your followers'

hearts, while keeping the pains within your own.

Rensis Libert in his publication on leadership styles identified four styles as

follows:

i. Exploitative Autocratic In this type leaders dont show any trust

on subordinates by giving orders and pressurize them for

performing.

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ii. Benevolent Autocratic Here the employees are trusted to

some extent and occasionally seek their opinions and idea, but

the style is paternalistic.

iii. Participative In this style the finale decision making is retained

by the leader but some amount of trust is exhibited towards the

subordinates by seeking views and opinions.

iv. Democratic In this style complete confidence and trust is

shown towards the subordinate and their views and opinions are

not only sought but acted upon. (Kippenberger, 2002)

2.2.1.3 Blake and Mouton Leadership

While studying the behaviour characteristics of successful leader, Blake and

Mouton identified two fundamental drivers of managerial behaviour: the

concern for getting the job done, and the concern for people doing the work

(Zeidan. 2009). The concern for both people on vertical axis and production

on horizontal axis is measured through a questionnaire on a scale from 1 to 9.

However, the leadership grid identifies five leadership styles: Impoverished,

authority compliance, country club, middle of the road and team leader whichare described as follows (Lussier, 2007):

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Fig 1.2: Blake and Mouton leadership grid theory.

1. Impoverished Leader (Low production/Low people) In this style

the managers act lazily showing low concern for both people and

production. They want to avoid getting into trouble and are onlyconcerned for protecting their job and job seniority. As a result,

leadership is hampered by discontent, incompetence and

dissonance.

2. Authority Compliance Leader (High production/Low people) In this

the leader is concerned more with production and less worried

about people. People are only considered as a means for the end

and they are not compensated for corporation or teamwork. Here

the production level will be more as the employees are forced to

deliver the desired results and there will be high labour turnover.

3. Country Club Leader (Low production/High people) Here

managers are more concerned with the well being of the employees

as they are not interested in endangering the relation with them.

The only concentrate on giving a friendly atmosphere to the

subordinates by giving less importance to the production.

4. Middle-of-the-road Leader (Medium production/Medium people) It

is a balanced type of leadership style. In this a perfect balance will

be achieved between company goals and workers needs.

5. Team Leader (High production/High people) In this leader pays

elevated attention to production as well as people which results in

high esteem, belief and enthusiasm among employees,

consequently leading to high production level.

Strengths of the Managerial Grid Approach:

This approach helps in measuring different leadership styles.

Helps in discussing performances and upgrading actions.

Facilitates in eliminating deceptions by rating the exact potential of

managers

Limitations of the Managerial Grid Approach:

There are more dimensions of leadership that can be relevant.

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The model basically neglects the significance of the internal and

external constraints, context, circumstances and situation (Zeidan,

2009).

2.2.1.4 Burke-Litwins Model

Burke-Litwin in 1992 published an article in the Journal of management where

they have promulgated a model for examining organisational change and

performance using internal as well as external factors. It revolves around 12

organisation dimensions by demonstrating cause and effect relationship

among them. It is a step ahead of 7 S model where only internal factors were

aligned for reaching organisational goal but in Burkes model they are

considering internal as well as external factors for ascertain the success of the

enterprise.

This model includes several key features which go beyond the previous

models:

Includes twelve theoretical constructs (i.e., organizational variables)

Distinguishes between the culture and climate of an organization Distinguishes between transformational and transactional dynamics

Specifies the nature and direction of influence of organisational

variables

Is based on previous models, empirical studies, and OD practice

(Leadersphere Inc, 2008)

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Figure 1.3: Burke Litwin

Burkes Model 12 Dimensions

1. External Environment The external factors impacting the

organisation internally and externally should be established.

2. Mission & Strategy The top management should lay down missionand strategy from the employees perspective.

3. Leadership It is concerned with the behaviour of the top

management in delegating responsibilities and authority.

4. Organisational Culture It defines the internal environment of the

company. What believes, values and conventions are followed by

the workforce as a guide in achieving organisational goals.

5. Structure It is concerned with the arrangement of tasks that has to

be carried out by the employees.

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6. Systems It includes the policies and procedures followed by the

organisation in carrying out the organisations activities.

7. Management Practices It comprises of the practices managers

follow in managing human and material resources.

8. Work Unit Climate It consist of the feeling of the staff members

while dealing with the superiors.

9. Tasks and Skills These are the skill set required by the workforce

in delivering the tasks productively.

10.Individual Values and Needs The emotional factors that stimulate

the desires and importance for employees performance or views.

11.Motivational Level It prompts the employees in moving towards

accomplish the targets set by the superiors.

12.Individual and Overall Performance Efforts that employees put in

achieving the set goals.

It can be debated that the McKinsey framework of 7S alone may not be

enough to analyse the underperformance of a company, as the 7S factors are

limited to depicting the intrinsic conditions of the company. Hence, the intrinsic

variables affecting the company, in the present case, would be studied with

the aid of external factors.

2.2.2 External Factors

The PESTEL framework is a mnemonic used in strategic management to

group macro-environmental (external) factors to help strategists look for

sources of general opportunity and risk. These factors are fundamental and

changes in them can lead to the transformation of industries, especially over

the longer-term (Witcher and Chau, 2010). Yeats and Wake (2004) asserts

that PESTEL analysis is often combined with a more general statement of an

organisations goal and objectives, which can be defined using the acronym

MOST, where MOST stands for Mission, Objectives, Strategy and Tactics.

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The pestel analysis can stand as a good gauge against which 7S factors of

an organisation can be measured with the organisations objectives acting as

a measuring scale.

One important argument worth discussion would be whether one single

external factor alone could be the reason of an organisations

underperformance or a set of factors drag the organisation towards it closure.

Considering the fact that external conditions are independent of the internal

factors, it could be quite possible that one factor can have considerable

influence over companys failure. Perhaps it could not be accepted that only

internal factors or externals factors would account for the companys downfall.

Hence, a study involving both internal and external factors should be

designed to form an effective tool to gauge companys performance.

2.2.2.1 Extension 7S and PESTEL

Academic debates over appraising the performance of organisations using

either Micro Environment variables or Macro Environment variables have

generated mixed response due to the fact that most of the researchersbelieve in any one of these variables. In order to get a detailed picture, the

present research would adopt an approach that would unite both these factors

to examine their effects in a holistic perspective. The approach, hence, would

involve the integration of McKinsey 7S model and PESTEL as seen in figure

2.

Figure 2: Combined 7S and PESTEL Holistic Approach

The controllable or inside factors of a company that would include the 7S

coupled with the non-controllable or outside factors such as political,economical, social, technological, environmental, and legal, an approach of

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this type aid to capture the holistic view of an organisation. Such an approach,

when used as a management tool to analyse the root causes that influences

the operations of a company guide the research to assess the degree of

impact each of the factor exerts on the overall performance. The root causes

analysed can be used proactively to prepare the strategic objectives of the

company that would result in increase in profits, decrease in operational costs

and better availability of resources, improvement in the quality of output and

the creation of effective processes. All this amounts to providing the company

with the much required competitive advantage to stay ahead in the

competition.

2.2.2.1 Porters 5 Forces

Arguably, the most influential contribution to thinking about competitive

strategy has come from Michael Porter who introduced the five competitive

forces framework. The forces determine an industrys intensity of competition

and the longer-term profitability of all the organisations that make up an

industry (Witcher and Chau, 2010). According to Michael Porter, companiesare affected by various different competitive Industrial factors. These factors

are segregated by Porter as: Threats to Entry, threats of substitutes,

bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and Intensity of

rivalry among established firms.

Porter argues that the stronger each of these forces is, the more limited is the

ability of established companies to raise prices and earn greater profits.

Within Porters framework, a strong competitive force can be regarded as a

threat because it depresses profits. A weak competitive force can be viewed

as an opportunity because it allows a company to earn greater profits. The

task facing managers is to recognise how changes in the five forces give rise

to new opportunities and threats and to formulate appropriate strategic

responses. In addition, it is possible for a company, through its choice of

strategy, to alter the strength of one or more of the five forces to its advantage(Hill and Jones, 2009).

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Figure 3: Porter's 5 Forces (Adaptation from Porter, 1985)


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Barriers to entrywithin a market are observed when:

a. There is a large requirement of capital or the need to gain economies

of scale quickly.

b. There is an existence of strong customer loyalty or strong brand

preferences in the existing market.

c. And/or there is a lack of adequate distribution channels or access to

raw materials.

Power of suppliers is observed to be higher when:

a. A small number of dominant, highly concentrated suppliers exist within

a market.

b. Few good substitute raw materials or suppliers are accessible.

c. The cost of switching raw materials or suppliers is relatively higher.

Power of Buyers is observed to be higher by Firms when:

a. The Customers are concentrated, large or buy in volume.

b. The products being purchased are standard or undifferentiated making

it easy to switch to other suppliers.

c. Customers purchases represent a major portion of the sellers total

revenue.

Substitute Products competitive strength is observed to be higher when:

a. The relative price of substitute products declines.b. Consumers switching costs decline.

c. Competitors plan to increase market penetration or production

capacity.

Rivalry among competitors intensity is observed as high when:

a. The count of firms within a market is increased or if their size is either

equal or higher.

b. Demand for the industrys products declines or industry growth slows.c. Fixed costs or barriers to leaving the industry are high.

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Taking a recap, Moving ahead, organisation objectives, Internal Factors (7S

framework including Blake and mouton leadership style) and External Factors

(PESTEL & PORTER) have been combined to understand the primary

reason(s) for the underperformance of IVY Comptech Company. Perhaps, it

is anticipated that there would be a multitude of factors involved, these

reasons or causes could be analysed by performing a root cause analysis.

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2.2.3 Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis also termed as the Cause and Effect diagram is said to

have originally developed in the 1940s by Kaoru Ishikawa thus giving it the

name the Ishikawa Diagram (Munro, 2003). Root cause analysis is a process

designed for use in investigating and categorising the root causes of events

such as safety, health, environmental, quality, reliability and production

impacts. Highlighting the benefits of Root cause analysis, Rooney et al.,

states that it helps to identify what, how and why something happened, thus

preventing recurrence. He believes that root causes underlie in the problems,and can be reasonably identified and controlled by the management. The

process of root cause analysis involves data collection, cause charting, root

cause identification and recommendation generation and implementation

(Rooney and Vanden Heuvel, 2004).

Anderson, et al, (2008) stated that problem solving deals with identifying the

cause of the problem while doing so, it is important to identify the different

levels of causes. Upon further investigation, one finds themselves moving

closer and closer towards the actual root cause of the problem and thus would

be able to deploy either a corrective or preventive action. Similarly, Wilson, et

al. (1993), presented the root cause analysis technique as a quality

management tool resulting in providing advantages of reducing costs,

increasing productivity and improving quality.

The graphical representation of Root cause analysis is done through cause-and-effect diagram, which is otherwise called as Fishbone or Ishikawa

diagram. The diagram depicts all the possible causes contributing to a

problem, or can be used to depict all factors relating to a problem or concept.

The shape of the diagram resembles that of a fishbone structure hence its

name (Proctor, 2010). The spine represented in the diagram is intersected

by various causes. These causes are due to their own internal causes which

are called as root causes. The head of the Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram is

the problem (or effect) and the bones are the categories for example,

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manpower, machinery, methods, materials and money, which are further

broken down to identify sources of causes or root causes (Fryman, 2010). The

graphical representation of cause-and-effect diagram is represented below in

the figure.

Environment

Measurements

Methods

Material

Machines

Personnel

Cause-and-Effect Diagram

Figure: Ishikawa Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Source: Minitab)

Limitations of Fishbone Analysis

Ishikawa or Fish bone technique is considered as a reductionist/linear

approach (Coffey, 2010) used in diagnosis of organisational problems. Being

linear in nature, it is capable of answering the list of causes behind a certain

problem, but it does not define a relation between the causes and their

quantified impact on the overall issue. Another limitation to this approach, as

pointed out by Mobley (1999), is about the sequence of causes. He states that

the fishbone or Ishikawa graph provides no clear sequence of events that

leads to failure. This technique can list out all the factors that may have

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contributed to a particular event, but does not isolate the specific factors that

caused the event.

Basically, it does not take a broader approach recognising and focussing on

the causes as with the systems thinking approach where the feedback of a

change in a variable is studied in order to understand the overall system

holistically (Anderson, 2008). For example, the root cause of an issue relating

to the lowering of productivity in a company can be diagnosed as the result of

poorly configured systems. Using this approach, it is clear that the systems

installed at the company may need an up gradation. However, it fails to give a

proper deadline as to these systems have to be upgraded not it is useful in

providing an insight into the impact on other factors that are dependent on the

systems like equipment upgrading expenses and training needs that would

arise as a result of this upgrading work.

Another limitation as quoted by IBA states that the Root cause analysis works

best when someone who has formal training or extensive experience

facilitates a team of experts. The primary concern revolves around the ability

of the facilitator to remain objective, a critical element to effective root causeanalysis (IIBA, 2009).

2.3 An Introduction to IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd.

IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd (IVY Comptech) is an eGaming company. The

company is principally engaged in providing software products and solutions

to the online gaming industry globally. Its services include softwaredevelopment such as, product development, life cycle management, system

design and architecture, business process automation, database design and

integration, e-commerce, user interface, as well as navigation and design. In

addition, the company provides IT enabled services; customer services

(contact centre); and transaction services (back office) such as tracking of

transaction processing, risk management and others to PartyGaming Group.

IVY Comptech operates as a subsidiary of PartyGaming Group and is

headquartered at Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh, India. (GlobalData, 2010)

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Software Product Development, Solutions and Services Overview

IVY is engaged in Software Product Development and also offers Business

Process Outsourcing, Product Management & Knowledge Process

Outsourcing solutions to the online gaming industry. The companys

Technology culture is focused on integrity, speed, reliability and scalability. By

leveraging the technology expertise and superior customer service, the

company claims to have ensured overall customer satisfaction and redefined

the way the business is perceived. The following are the list of services they

offer to their clients.

Software Product Development

System Design and Architecture

Product Development Life Cycle Management

Database Design and Integration

Business Process Automation User Interface, Navigation and Design

Production/Operations Support

Business Process Outsourcing Services

Customer Support Services

Technical Support Services

Risk Management Services

Product Management Services

Knowledge Process Outsourcing Services

Product Development

Java, Oracle, Flash, Flex, Linux, Tomcat, Apache, JSF

(IVY Comptech, 2011)

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1.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Paradigm

Every business has to go through peaks as well as troughs but the effects of

depression on the profitability can be avoided by proper research and timely

actions. In this case study we are attempting to know the causes for the non

performance of IVY Comptech, an Indian IT company. For reaching this

objective it is important to choose an appropriate research methodology and

design. Dr. Pattron (2009) defined research methodology as a highly

intellectual human activity used in the investigation of nature and matter and

deals specifically with the manner in which data is collected, analysed and

interpreted.

Broadly, there are two approaches to inquiry: The structured approach which

is all known as quantitative research and un-structured approach known as

qualitative research (Kumar, 2005).Here a qualitative approach will be used

because it makes feasible to collect thorough knowledge about the meansand effects of information contributed in the governance of an IT company.

Putting in Brynams (1992), a qualitative research would allow wider range of

possibilities to be explored.

As a next logical step, a combination of literature reviews and previous case

studies on IVY Comptech will be used in comparison with the present data

available forIVY Comptech, which will help in investigating and reaching at a

new hypothesis in support of reasons liable for an abridged output and

closure of an IT company. A case study, which is an in-depth examination of

one person, is a form of qualitative

research. Qualitative research is

often used as a source of hypotheses for later testing in quantitative research

(Marczyk et al., 2005).

3.2 Research Approach

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Figure 4: Research Methodology


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The research design sets out the logic of case study inquiry. It should include

the following: the study design per se and the logical arrangements that are

proposed to undertake, the measurement procedures, the sample strategy,

the frame of analysis and time frame (Kumar, 2005). Qualitative approach has

been intended for this case study as a primary research technique and the

information gathered under this approach will be translated into quantitative

figures for statistical analysis to accumulate a more systematic and organised

view on the subject.

An in-depth study is required for identifying the internal and external reasons

for the non-performance of IVY Comptech which entails meticulous

exploration about all the facets of organisations operations. By keeping this

goal in mind an action research would be conducted combined with survey

based research using interview technique and literature reviews for cramming

all the related components of organisation which influence the working of IT

sector.

Action Research

According to McTherte, Action research is organised, investigative activity,

aimed towards the study and constructive change of given endeavour by

individual or group concerned with change and improvement. The

characteristics of the action research are enumerated as follows:

1) It is a process for studying practical problem.

2) It is a scientific procedure for finding out a practical solution for current

problem.

3) The practitioners can only study his problems.

4) To improve and modify the current practices.

5) The individual and group problem is studied by action research

(Singh, 2006)

Considering the above characteristics of action research, it can be implied that

action research method perfectly suits the research objectives in the present

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case study. Action research begins with a process of communication and

agreement between people wants to change something together (Dawson,

2009). The implementation of action research in the present perspective

would take the form of a questionnaire which can be used to draw the

personal opinion of the employees regarding the possible reasons for the

companys closure.

Interview Technique

This is one of the primary data collection methods which involve presentation

of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses (Kothari,

2004).This technique will be reinforce with the help of an questionnaire as it is

regarded a form of interview on paper (Singh, 2006). A questionnaire will be

drawn and presented to employees personally or through email.

Literature Review

The researcher must examine all the available literature to get acquainted

with the selected problem. He may review two types of literature the

conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories, and the empirical

literature consisting of studies made earlier which are similar to one proposed.

The basic outcome of the review will be the knowledge as to what data and

other materials are available for operational purpose which will enable the

researcher to specify his/her own research problem in a meaningful context

(Kothari, 2004)

According to Marczyk the well-designed studies will prove useless if

inappropriate measurement strategies are used in the data collection stage.

To make this case study more effective and meaningful, primarily a general

questionnaire will be drawn for collecting the views of the majority

stakeholders regarding the reasons for the closure of the IVY Comptech

which will be further calculated statistically for identifying the factors

responsible with regards to the members opinion.

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Technique: Questionnaires will be the main method used for collecting the

data. Questionnaires will be circulates using convenience sampling to the

employees at different levels of the hierarchy in the organisation.

The questionnaire

Appendix I shows the sample of the questionnaire that will be used for

performing research on the overall practices of IVY Comptech. It consists of

identification of organisations objectives and there awareness among the

different levels of the hierarchy. It also consists of questions relating to the

McKinsey 7S framework model consisting of strategy, structure, system, staff,

style, skill, shared values and PESTEL factors.

Questionnaire Overview

The questionnaire has been divided into 5 sections along with an Introduction

and conclusive part, as follows:

Introduction:

It consists of the questions regarding personal information of the interviewer

and interviewee like asking names of the interviewer and interviewee,enquiring about the job title of the interviewee, level in organisations

hierarchy, a statement thanking interviewee for giving their precious time, etc.

Section I:

It consists of the questions relating to employee awareness of the strategic

objective and coupled with that it contains various quality, speed, cost,

dependability and flexibility objectives as defined by Nigel Slack.

Section II:

In this section questions are asked relating to the internal factors affecting the

organisations performance which are based on the McKinsey 7s framework

model. Questions are framed to know the extent to which employees are

aware of the objectives of the organisation, structure, strategies followed,

style of working, staffing requirements, skills required for carrying out tasksand shared values by the organisation.

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Section III:

This section contains question on the type of leadership based on Blake and

Moutons leadership grid. The answers to this question can be combined with

that of style from 7S framework to derive a better leadership perspective.

Section IV:

This section consists of the questions relating to external factors affecting the

organisations performance base on the PESTEL factors. PESTEL factors

helps in seeing a broader picture of the organisations working which in turn

helps in taking advantage of the opportunities and minimizing external threats.

Questions in this section throw a light on the political, economic, sociological,

technological, legal and environmental factors in order to show their impact on

the non performance ofIVY Comptech.

Section V:

In this section questions will be structured for knowing the effects of

competitive advantage on the IVY Comptech operations. This section

highlights whether the power of buyers and suppliers has an impact on themarket and industrial competition. It also studies the effects of entry threats

and threats of substitutes which demonstrate the major reason accountable

for the organisations closure.

Conclusive Questions:

This concluding section contains the questions to cover up any overlooked

information or any advice or any extra feedback interviewee is interesting in

sharing. It also asks the questions for rating the impact of 7S framework

factor, PESTEL factors and Competitive forces which in turn will help in

carrying out impact analysis for recognizing the impact they have made on the

IVY Comptech non performance.

3.3 Sampling Technique

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The research work cannot be undertaken without use of sampling. The

sample of the study will be representative of the population. The study of the

total population is not possible and it is also impracticable (Singh, 2006). So,

the present study has adopted convenience sampling technique. According to

Kothari, when population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample

based on the ease of access, it can be called as convenience sampling. In

the present scenario, IVY Comptech Company consists of a team of 600

employees out of which minimum of 20 employees or maximum of 50

employees will be selected for collecting data. For this case study a sample

size of 20 employees from all levels of management have been taken

because of the time constraint. An average of this sample size will be taken

out in order to generalise the outcomes to the entire research group. Data

Presentation

3.3 Data Presentation

Data presentation is used to depict the information gathered statistically.

There are many ways of presenting a data like charts, graphs, tables, etc. For

this case study a tabular form of data presentation will be used combined with

bar graphs or histograms which will enable the readers to understand the

overall impact of the variables collected. For creating tables and graphs MS

Excel will be used and Minitab will be used for generating diagrams.

With the help of MS Excel spreadsheet internal and external variables will be

quantified into percentages and then it will be produced in a form of diagram

representing cause and effect relationship among the variables whichcontributed in the non performance of the organisation.

3.4 Ethical Issues Involved

According to Marczyk, et al. (2005), all studies with human participants

involve some degree of risk. These risks may range from minor discomfort or

embarrassment caused by somewhat intrusive or provocative questions to

much more severe effects on participants physical or emotional well being.These risks present researchers with an ethical dilemma.

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The ethical concerns generated while collecting data for this case study are

as follows:

Reluctant of the interviewees to part with the off the record information

relating to sensitive areas like financial information

The interviewee must be held with respected and dignity

The interviewer must up hold the confidentiality of the collected data

The interviewee at the time of interview must be honest and unbiased

towards the research subject

There may be a possibility of getting the information altered because of

lack of knowledge

There are likelihood that the sources indispensable for the data

collection are not accessible

3.5 Summary

The research methodology used in this case study is interview approach. This

is done with the help of a questionnaire which is filled by employees from

different levels of hierarchy through phone, chat and emails. The

questionnaire has been designed in a manner to know the employees views

on the objectives, McKinsey 7 S framework and PESTEL factors affecting the

overall performance of the organisation and the reasons for its closure. The

findings are thus statistically evaluated to know the exact reasons for the

underperformance ofIVY Comptech.

1.RESEARCH FINDINGS

4.1 Background of Data Collection

In accordance with the data collection methods proposed by Dillman (2000),

the researcher conducted an interview with the selected members of IVY

Comptech, and the outcome of the interview has been presented in the

following chapter. The members selected for sampling included the senior

management responsible for setting companys objectives, middle

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management and lower level staff who take lead role in operations to reach

the objectives. Firstly, a personalised e-mail was sent to the entire specimen

selected for sampling. The reason behind the e-mail is to inform them about

the possible study and get their approval on participation in the survey. This

was followed by telephoning the respondents for collecting data through an

interview. The total number of respondents agreed to participate was 25,

which included 1 from top cadre, 8 from high, middle and executive cadre and

16 from the lower level employees.

With the questionnaires developed on scientific and structured approach as

discussed in the research methodology, empirical data has been collected.

The research, being based on hypothetical assumption of possible closure,

does not allow the researcher to experience the real environment that would

possibly happen when the company would shut down its business. However,

taking a solid theoretical basis, questions for the interview has been designed

to capture the real scenario of a closure. However, the reply to the

questionnaire has helped the researcher identify the key issues that would go

about in the case of IVY Comptech Company closure.

4.2 Analysis of Primary Data

The respondents have provided valuable inputs through the questionnaire andthe results of the research are as follows:

The Section 1 of the questionnaire was based on the employees

understanding of the corporate objectives of IVY Comptech Company. From

the 25 members involved in the survey, when they were asked whether they

understand the strategic objectives of the company, twelve of them knew the

important objectives very well. The table provided below has the quantified

details of the results obtained about corporate objectives from the

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questionnaire and the following figure has the graphical representation of the

same.

Question 1A

The first part of Section 1 tests the awareness of IVY Comptechs employees

about the strategic plan of the company. The interviewees are asked to

produce the overall targets and objectives as per their own knowledge.

Are you aware of the IVY Comptechs strategic plan? Y/N

Do you know what are the overall targets and objectives?

When asked about the awareness of strategic plan involving long term

objectives of the company, the top cadre was fully aware on the subject,

whereas the middle and lower cadre provided mixed response. About 20% of

the employees from middle and executive cadre were not fully aware of the

overall targets and objectives set by the company, whereas most of the lower

or frontline employees showed their ignorance on any such plans. Overall,

36% of the respondents were not fully aware of the corporate objectives of the

company.

Question 1B

The subsequent part of section 1 contains a set of questions that are in terms

of the Slack, et al. (2007) proposed objectives of an organisation.

a) Did IVY Comptech have anyQualityrelated objectives?

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Corporate Objectives related issues

Count ofEvidence (out of

25 membersinterviewed)

Impact

Percentage

Staff unaware of corporate objectives 9 36%

Unrealistic/improper quality objectives 4 16%

Unrealistic/improper speed objectives 5 20%

Unrealistic/improper cost objectives 4 16%

Unrealistic/improper dependability objectives 2 8%

Unrealistic/improper flexibility objectives 1 4%


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Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing quality of services to the

clients?

The top cadre affirm that the company has been doing its best to use the

resources optimally to offer the best service to their clients and provide good

working condition to their employees. In terms of Middle and executive levels,

the clients are served more than eighty percent to their satisfaction. However,

on account of intrinsic work pressures to the employees has created an

uncomfortable working environment. They consider the service offered to

client companies has been satisfactory as per market standards.

The lower cadre employees or the first line employees are the ones who

actually carry out the operations. It is seen that lower cadre employees were

well aware of quality standard that is expected from the client side and they

confirm that the clients expectations are partially met. They further assert that

most of the project undertaken in past one year has achieved quality levels up

to 75% of the set standards. However, they have the potential to improve

upon the quality standards if the company creates a healthier work

environment where the work pressures on the line employee are reducedconsiderably.

Hence, it can be concluded that the quality objectives are in place and the

employee are aware of the quality objectives. To add to it, employees do have

some management related issues, which, if tackled in a proper manner, the

quality of service to the Client can be increased. Therefore, the quality

parameters were specified in the organization, but there were various other

reasons why they hadnt been achieved or the level to which they were

achieved.

Question 1B

b) Did IVY Comptech have anySpeedrelated objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing services on time to the

clients?

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Upon querying on the objectives related to maintaining the deadlines and

speed of operations, the top managerial cadre proudly claims that all the

systems and people follow timelines in order to carry out the businesses

process at IVY Comptech Company. The do have strict regulations regarding

work deadlines that ensures the product and service delivery to the client on

scheduled time.

For the middle and executive cadre, the matter of speed objectives is more

complex that it appears. They agree that the company has set objectives for

timely delivery to the client. In the pursuit to achieving those objectives,

middle and executive cadre asserts that the shorter delivery times exert

internal pressures on the frontline employee. The lower cadre adds to the fact

that they are made to work on large and critical systems which involve

complex operating and timely delivery in such work environments is tough.

Question 1B

c) Did IVY Comptech have anyCostrelated objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing cost of services to the

clients?

In response to the objectives on cost, top managerial cadre was well aware

on the importance and necessity of cost objectives. According to the top

cadre, cost objectives provide a way for the company to keep a check on

operating costs so as to increase the bottom line profits for the company.

They said, maintaining operating costs under control, setting up systems that

reduces cost and provides good quality of product and service delivery on

timely manner is core to strategic plan of the company.

Middle and executive cadre managers find cost objectives as a way to

increase the owners equity for the company. Creating a cost conscious

culture at the company would differentiate profit making organisations from

their loss making counterparts.

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Lower level employees think cost reduction is a way to reap higher profits for

the owners of the company. However, they are not clear on the cost

objectives defined by the company.

Question 1B

d) Did IVY Comptech have anyDependabilityrelated objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to the

clients?

In the aspect of dependability, the top management does seem to have some

definite objective. Apparently, they accept that dependability would come from

the quality of delivery of product and service to the client, and would

encourage vendor loyalty amongst their clients.

When it comes to middle and lower cadres, they believe that their work quality

is an important factor in clients satisfaction which is directly related to the

clients dependability on their company.

Question 1B

e) Did IVY Comptech have anyFlexibilityrelated objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to

the end customers?

The top cadre served convincing replies to the flexibility aspect. They said that

the company offers their clients several flexible alternatives in terms of

product and service packaging and also the onsite and offsite delivery options

at clients convenience.

The Staff considered the flexibility objectives in terms of their work schedules

and flexi-timing offered by the company in order to provide a continuous

round-the-clock service facility to the clients. All in all, IVY Comptech

appears to put in practice the flexibility objectives; probably they do not deem

it necessary to prepare it the form of a document.

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It is commonly seen that strategic objectives either lack practicality or it is not

properly understood by the middle and especially the lower level employees.

Similar is the case with Ivy Comptech as in the present case about 36% of the

employees are probably not fully aware or totally unaware of the strategic

objectives. This strongly shows that top management has to take up the task

of making the staff fully aware of their strategic

dissertation ivy comptech

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