Introduction
Linderman Industries had acquired a subsidiary located in Mexico. The head of the firm wanted to overhaul the management and operation structure of the company and transform the organization into something that reflects the core values of Linderman Industries. In order to do this, Robert Linderman, the president of Linderman Industries appointed Carl Conway to head the project (Stevenson, 2009, p.824) Conway was given the responsibility to hand-picked the personnel that he needed and form a team laden with talented and experienced people to go with him to Mexico and focus on the project for two years. But there were a number of challenges and disappointments encountered along the way and it can be said that if given the chance to do it over again Conway may decline the offer.
Project Organization
At first glance, there seems to be no other choice. Linderman Industries had acquired control of a Mexican company. The president of Linderman Industries, Robert Linderman wanted to transform the organization and run it in the way he knows how. In order for this to happen there is a need to overhaul the company from the inside out. This is only possible by sending a company man from headquarters and initiate change.
But in the aftermath of “Operation Mexicano” after the broken promises, frustrations, and trust issues it is difficult to justify the strategy that they adopted in dealing with the subsidiary (Shinkle, Gooding & Smith, 2004, p.12).
The first thing that has to be asked is this: why is there a need to bring in Mexican mangers when the subsidiary is in Mexico, the president of the subsidiary is a Mexican and it can be said with certainty that employees and managers are predominantly Mexicans? Thus, it would be more practical to send one man from Linderman Industries to teach the subsidiary company about the core values of the parent company and there is no need to bring a team with him. If a team is needed then it should be limited to a team composed of interpreters and not those with the same skill sets brought there by Conway.
Team building
The problems encountered by Conway when it comes to building his team should not surprise a manager or strategist. This is a common problem when it comes to “special projects” that are time-bound and do not offer any substantial rewards in the long term. Most of the time when the project is terminated the team members are expected to go back to where they came from. But there is one major problem with this picture.
The passage of time means that the parent company has undergone major changes. For instance, personnel was promoted and many of them had gained experience while the person that was sent on a mission seems to have gained nothing. Thus, when they come back they would feel that they are much better than those who were left behind but from the perspective of their superiors, they were doing something unrelated to the core business of the company and so they cannot be promoted and must begin from the same level where they left off.
It is therefore understandable why Bert Mill turned down the offer. He knew that aside from the exhilaration of having an adventure there is not much that can be gained from such an experience. Consider for instance the fact that in most cases there is no guarantee that a salary increase is guaranteed. Thus, the employee is risking too much with limited returns. He has to sacrifice time with family and has to travel outside the United States.
Choosing Battles to Fight
There was an interesting side story wherein Conway was faced with the problem of having to fight for the right to build his team. He encountered problems with his need for a specialist coming from the engineering department. The engineering vice president opposed his wish to take one of his guys. Conway went over his head and complained to Linderman. The president of the company decided in favor of Conway.
However, there were two instances when Conway had to back off. It was the case of choosing the battles that you know you can win and retreat when there is much to lose than gain. The reason for backing down in the confrontation with the vice president for manufacturing and standing his ground when it comes to the engineering department can be understood by looking at the facts of the case.
When Conway knew that he can win the argument he went all the way. When Conway realized that there is much to lose if he makes enemies with the vice president of manufacturing then he decided that it was much better to give up on this particular hurdle and find another way to accomplish his goals. Another way to understand the reason for not standing up the head of the manufacturing division is the realization that the most important part of his job was to assure the smooth delivery of products from headquarters to the subsidiary company. Thus, he did not want to antagonize the people from the manufacturing division.
Job Security and Promotion
One way to assure that there is a job waiting for members of the team is to determine the current status of the personnel in the company. If there is someone who will retire in a couple of years then that information must be part of the planning process. This means that if someone is about to retire then the third person in line must be recommended to join the team.
This strategy is easy to understand considering the need for continuity and sustainability. It is prudent to allow the second-in-command to spend as much time as possible with the senior leader in order to learn as much as he could and at the same time ensure a smooth transition. But the third person in line to succeed the leader can afford to join a team and when the project is completed he can go back to his former position and the changes will be minimal and there is little probability of upsetting the status quo.
Another way to deal with this problem is for the executives of the company to take a closer look at the contribution of the team, the team that Conway built from scratch. There must be a system that will be used to record the whole process. This enables the people from headquarters to be updated on the progress of the team. The documentation process must also include their experiences and therefore the corporate leaders are made aware of the development of their skills.
Thus, when they come back, the corporate leaders, especially those in charge of evaluating the abilities of people will come to realize that they have enhanced skills. There is a connection made between their current skills and competencies and the need of the parent company for a particular expert or consultant and these jobs will be offered to those who came back.
Another way to solve this problem is to create a new department. This department will be in charge of initiating and monitoring subsidiary companies. Since team members already had experience and had come face-to-face with people from other cultures, and then it would be easier for them to deal with problems involving differences in language and customs. One can think of it as some sort of a cross-cultural liaison.
Furthermore, it is possible for Linderman Industries to invite the same members of the said team to move to Mexico and to become the top executives of the subsidiary company. The directive of Linderman was to train Mexican managers but this does not mean that members of the team cannot occupy key positions of the company. This is even a more attractive option if Linderman Industries is considering some expansion programs in the area.
Application
It is common to hear tragic stories about project teams. There are two key terms that must be considered when building this kind of team and these are none other than short-term and purpose. If one combines these terms together one will have a clear understanding of how short-lived the project can be and everything that has been done and everything that has been committed to the project hinges on something that is not permanent.
Thus, at a certain point, the team has to be disbanded and everyone is expected to return to a state of normalcy but in most instances, once the team has been created the members already went through a point of no return. The excitement of being a member of the team is balanced by the fact that team members had to pay for it with a part of their lives that they cannot take back. So in some cases, other officemates that used to be on the same level as they had already matured and advanced through the corporate ranks. It does not mean that team members are less competent but there is just no basis or no opportunity to give them a promotion. A promotion is a function of the work environment and therefore the worker must be in that particular environment in order to deserve that promotion.
Some of the most difficult barriers to overcome are short-term leadership and short-term motivation (Lock, 2007, p.140). It is easy to understand that there is no permanence to the job. This helps explain why Conway was given a free hand to build his team while at the same time Linderman knew that he would experience difficulties because he had given him full responsibility but not full authority.
It seems as if the CEO is setting up the project manager to fail. It is difficult not to think this way considering the limitations in funding, access to resources, and in the case of “Operation Mexicano” cultural and linguistic problems. There was no time to prepare Conway and his team to deal with these challenges. In this particular scenario, Conway and his team face a hostile environment because Linderman Industries took control of a company that in the not so distant past enjoyed autonomy and here they are coming in acting as if they own everything.
But the most difficult challenge of all is on dealing with “life after the project” (Lock, 2007, p.140). The impact is not diminished regardless of the success or failure of the undertaking. The tea will be disbanded and for a time the leadership and team members feel as if they have no use anymore.
This is exacerbated by the fact that when they go back to home base after working several years in a project that is unique to them and therefore no one can relate to their experience. Their previous work experience has no bearing on the present operation of the company and therefore no one is impressed by what they have done except of course the CEO who happened to know the importance of their work in a greater scheme of things.
It is therefore imperative that in the creation of project teams dealing with problems similar to “Operation Mexican” the CEO has to consider using up and coming employees. These are workers that have demonstrated great potential and do not use veterans who already spent so many years in the company that they already hold key positions.
Thus, their experience with the team adds to their expertise. It can be seen as a baptism of fire for them. So when they come back from the project they are welcomed as conquering heroes. They can be assured of a promotion and a job-ready to take them in because of the insights that they learned while working on the said project. This assures continuity and creates precedence that can inspire people to join project teams in the future.
References
Lock, D. (2007). Project Management. VT: Gower Publishing.
Shinkle, G., Gooding, L. & Smith, M. (2004). Transforming Strategy into Success. New York: Productivity Press.
Stevenson, W.J. (2009). Operations management. 10th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.