HS Engineering - Overview

HS Engineering was started around 100 years ago as a small family engineering business in Leeds, making engineering tools. Harry Smith (the current CEO) joined his father and uncle in the organisation around 40 years ago when the company began to specialise in the manufacture of bearings.

Over time the organisation and family involvement has grown. The board was made up of mainly family members until last 7 years, when the company was experiencing double digit growth and outside expertise was brought in (see separate organisation structure).

Current market

The organisation operates in two markets:

o Low end product to general and automotive industries (Leeds / Wolverhampton operations) - 2/3rd of sales mix - technology able to generate higher volumes through automation

o Precision (high quality) to aerospace market (Oldham) - 1/3 of sales mix – high profit margin, high skilled labour required.

Location of markets:

o 50% home market, some automotive / aerospace, higher proportion of general industry

o 50% overseas, Europe esp France (aerospace), USA (automotive) and Russia (general industry)

o Anticipated that the market is changing with 20% of market in Europe, a similar level in USA/Russia and the remaining market expanding into the Far East.

The general loss of manufacturing in the UK and the rise in cheaper products from the Far East has had a significant negative impact on the profitability of the firm. Simply put, many automotive manufacturers closed in UK and generally manufacturing industry has seen a decline. The aerospace industry is however steady, even buoyant in some cases.

Financial situation

The company currently has a £150m turnover with £5m net profit to June this year. Results for the next financial year are not yet available but there is expected to be a 30% reduction in Turnover to £110m and £2m profit.

Culture

Overall the company culture varies across the sites – they all have their different needs and approaches to work (see site information to follow).

HS Engineering

ur tradition is your strength

Currently the organisation operates across three locations:

Leeds

This site produced mass manufactured bearings for general industry. The site is a traditional manufacturing environment, heavily unionised. The benefits (sickness schemes, loyalty bonus and pensions) and wage rates have traditionally been very good compared to the local market and whole families work at the organisation. The structure comprises:

each area of production has a team leader team leaders reports to a unit supervisor the unit supervisor reports to the shift leader the shift leader reports to the head of production the head of production reports to the production director the production director reports to the MD the MD makes all operational decisions, but reports to the part-time CEO on major

issues / strategic decisions.

Head office operations are currently located in Leeds.

Staff are loyal and have been with the company a long time. There is a strong family feel to the Leeds operations as a number of key posts are filled by members of Harry’s family. This breadth of family relationships can sometimes create tensions between operations.

Wolverhampton

The Wolverhampton site has been in existence for around 25 years. This second site was established in the West Midlands to supply high volume engineering bearings to the car industry (hence the choice of location).

Wolverhampton has seen considerable investment in machinery, to secure the high volume required to make operations cost effective. This has led to a reduction in the staffed workforce, and more reliance on the use of temporary labour to cope with peaks in demand. There is little loyalty to the organisation, given redundancies that took place around 8 years ago following the introduction of the new equipment.

Due to the needs to cope with the fluctuation in labour, and the unionised environment (there were calls for strike action during the redundancies), the Wolverhampton site has a small HR team that reports into HR in Leeds.

Oldham

This site was established around 7 years ago. Oldham was chosen as it provided tax incentives to new industries moving into the area, was close to BAe to whom it supplied aero-engine parts, and was able to provide the ‘clean’ manufacturing environment required that the older building at Leeds were unable to accomplish without significant investment in re-building. Additionally it is within 30 miles of Leeds and on major routes to the Wolverhampton.

The Oldham operation is significantly different from other HS engineering operations. There is no formal union recognition at this site. From the very beginning it adopted a cellular manufacturing approach, where teams are fully accountable for their production, and report directly to their shift manager, who reports to the factory manager.

Wage rates are rather lower than at other sites, however, given the bonus and incentive schemes that operated within the cellular manufacturing process, the operational staff have earned good money compared to local workers. However, office and support staff are less generously rewarded than at other sites.

Current situation

Given the issue with current profitability and the long term future of the organisation urgent cost control actions are needed.

The decision has been taken to close two plants (Wolverhampton and Oldham). Leeds will take over precision manufacturing (as it is felt by some family members that the organisation needs to return to its roots in Leeds). It has been decided that the non-precision work (of Leeds and Wolverhampton) will in future be manufactured in Malaysia, where the cost of labour is much cheaper, and access to new markets much easier.

Research and development and marketing have suggested an expansion into clinical/medical precision engineering – however the Sales Director believes that this is a step too far in the change and has used family influences to stall decision making in this area.

The previous Finance Director resigned because he was not happy with these decisions. A new Interim Finance Director (Helen Lombard) has been appointed to oversee the project from the Finance and Human Resources point of view.

CEO (part time) Harry Smith*

Age 67

Managing Director James Rose

Age 48

Interim Financial DirectorHelen Lombard

Age 43

Head of HRJoyce MacKay*

Age 55

Sales Director Mark Smith*

Age 40

Production Director Fred Jones

Age 52

Head of Research and Development

Dan LucasAge 37

Production Manager, Leeds

David Smith*Age 47

Factory Manager, WolverhamptonJennifer Bound

Age 38

Factory Manager, Oldham

Frank Smith*Age 43

Marketing Director Emma White

Age 42

Organisation chartHS Engineering

ur tradition is your strength

Your task

You are a graduate trainee. You have been asked by the Interim Finance Director (FD) to join a graduate project team (of fellow new graduates appointed to the support the Interim Financial Director).

You will be organised into teams (5 or less). The role of your team is to identify, evaluate and make suggestions to address the issues that could arise as a result of the significant change project outlined in the HS Engineering brief.

Your team is required to produce a series of briefing papers for the Interim Finance Director. She will use your combined papers to produce an overall paper for The Board on the future of HS Engineering.

Each graduate trainee in the team will choose a specific topic. Within the team there must be no duplication of topics (eg you can’t have two people writing a paper about motivation), so between you it is important that you agree who will be covering which area as soon as possible. The topics to choose from are:

Change management Organisational culture Communication Motivation Group Dynamics Leadership Business Structures

Within each topic area you need to think about the following:

1. What are the implication of closing and relocating the operations, both within the UK and overseas? You need to consider all existing and potential sites.

2. You need to consider the experiences of other (similar) organisations undergoing restructuring and relocation of operations to similar overseas locations.

3. You need to use high quality sources (eg academic literature) to support the evaluation and suggestions you make. Your Interim FD must be credible when she presents her Board paper so you have to provide her with credible information to use – not just your opinions!

4. Whether the organisation has chosen the right course of action – what would you suggest, given the information you have received and the information you have obtained through research about the industry / sector?

How to improve your marks!

You will be provided with a range of opportunities to improve your paper. Your module tutor who will offer you ongoing support and feedback on its development during seminar time. Therefore attendance is essential and participation will be monitored.

One mandatory element of this development process is the project team meeting – which is a required component of your assessment – you MUST ATTEND otherwise you cannot pass the coursework. More details can be found overleaf.

Your assessments

Coursework – 50%

The coursework carries 50% of the marks for Organisational Dynamics. If you do not undertake these assessments you will fail the module regardless of your exam mark.

Your coursework assessment has a formative (where you obtain feedback to help you improve your work) and a summative (where you get a mark) component – you need to fully participate in both to gain your coursework marks.

Part A – Graduate project team meeting

Format for the assessment:

The Interim Finance Director is due to produce a board paper for a special HS Engineering Board meeting on the future direction of the company. She has asked your team to produce a range of briefing papers to help her produce the final board paper. To help you produce your component of the paper she has asked a Senior Manager (your tutor) to arrange a Graduate Project Team Meeting where you can update each other on your thoughts, progress and ideas and hopefully improve the work you will produce for her along the way.

You will be advised of a specific date and time for your meeting by your tutor in accordance with your tutorial schedule.

To gain approval to attend the graduate project team meeting you must:

Produce and submit via Turn-it-in an initial 500 word outline for your briefing paper EXACTLY ONE WEEK BEFORE you attend the Graduate Project Team meeting.

Your paper must contain details of the rest of your team and their specialist topics so that we can check that there is no duplication of content.

Your outline should contain a minimum of 5 references to high quality sources of information, up to 10 is preferred. By high quality we mean academic journals, text book data, research reports and credible case study sources. This is so that the facts that the Interim FD will represent to the board have come from a reputable source not just from your personal opinion.

Warning: If you arrive late for the project team meeting you will be excluded from the session and consequently fail Organisational Dynamics. If you have a good reason for being late you will be able to apply formally for mitigation and to resit it during the resit period without your mark being capped. If you don’t have a good reason for being late then you will be allowed to resit but your mark will be capped at 40%. Therefore we advise you to prepare in plenty of time and not to leave your departure from home, nor your printing until the last minute.

At the beginning of the graduate project team meeting:

Your team will supply your tutor with:

o An agenda for the meeting including a list of graduate project team members, their student IDs and their areas of focus based on the format below:

Each graduate project team member will also bring along:

o Copies of their 500 word outline briefing paper. o one for every team member o two copies for your tutor

This means that during the discussion you will have the opportunity to:

o Provide a brief overview (3 minutes) of the content of your outline briefing paper.o Discuss:

o how your paper fits into the papers produced by the wider team o the issues you have identified and the reasons behind your

ideas/decisions/suggestions o gather feedback from others in the team to help you improve your paper before you

submit it for formal evaluation (see Part B below).o give constructive feedback and ask useful questions as part of the team meeting

dialogue.

Agenda

Date and Time:

Names and ID numbers of team members:

Agenda:

1. Apologies for absence (those absent to be reported to Interim FD and final paper submission not allowed)

2. 3 minute overviews by each team participant of the content of their outline briefing paper

3. 15 minute team meeting discussing connections between the topics, areas of overlap, quality of sources/case studies plus any other relevant material

4. Feedback from Senior Manager (Tutor)5. Close

Feedback

You will receive formative feedback on your ideas from your graduate project team colleagues – during your graduate project team meeting. During the semester they will have been undertaking skill development work to enable them to:

give effective feedback ask effective questions think strategically

In addition you will have been equipped during your tutorial sessions with the skills you need to elicit and respond effectively to the feedback you receive.

All participants will be evaluated on their ability to elicit and offer feedback to their graduate project team colleagues. This means that when you receive feedback on your work will normally be focused and of high quality.

Evaluation criteria:

Your contribution to the graduate project team meeting will be evaluated holistically and will comprise the following criteria:

1. Clear contribution: o You all need to ensure that each briefing paper:

does not overlap with other papers forms part of a coherent range of briefing papers that cover areas

identified in (2) below

2. Clear identification of the issues that HS engineering face in the one specific content area allocated to you by your graduate project team. You need to consider the UK and International implications of one of the following for HS Engineering:

o Change Managemento Organisational Culture(s)o Communicationo Motivationo Group Dynamicso Leadershipo Business Structures

3. Critical evaluation of the decisions made concerning the content area and produces clear recommendations for the future based on:

o Options for the location of functionso Case study evidence of organisations undergoing restructuring or relocating

operations overseaso Academic theory / research – clearly referenced (Harvard approach)

4. Focused use of questions to gather feedback from others in the team to help you improve your briefing paper before you submit it for formal evaluation by the Senior Manager (Part B). Questions asked:

o Focus on subject area coveredo Are well structured and easy to understand

5. Provision of constructive feedback to fellow team members on their ideas. Feedback should:

o Focus on the subject/presentation and not the persono Offer a good mix of positive and constructive criticismo Illustrate a depth of knowledge and understanding of the case study organisation

and the specific areas under evaluation.o Be quick and simple to capture given the limited timeframe available.

Part B – briefing paper

Your deadline for submission of your briefing paper (and Feedback Integration Record) is: to be advised by your tutor in Shanghai.

All work should be submitted online ((via turn-it-in) in the Organisational Dynamics site). You must submit BOTH the briefing paper and feedback integration record as ONE DOCUMENT. Please submit your online assessment via the Organisational Dynamics site early enough for you to resolve any IT issues.

The graduate project team meeting offered you an opportunity to obtain feedback on your briefing paper outline. You need to use this feedback to appropriately enhance your materials before submission for this part of your coursework assessment. For this part of your assessment you are required to submit a full briefing paper and feedback integration record. Your paper should comprise:

1. A cover page (including your presentation content area, your name and student id, THE NAME OF YOUR CLASS TUTOR)

2. 1,500 word briefing paper covering your topic area3. At least 15 high quality sources (fully Harvard referenced)4. Appendix – Feedback Integration Record

Evaluation criteria:

Your ability to identify the issues that HS engineering faces, both in the UK and Internationally in one specific content area from the following:

o Change Managemento Organisational Culture(s)o Communicationo Motivationo Group Dynamicso Leadershipo Business Structures

Your critical evaluation of the decisions made by the organisation as they relate to the content area you are accountable for on behalf of your graduate project team and how they relate to the options for location of functions. This requires you to consider all existing and potential sites.

Your recommendations for the future, in relation to the content areas, based on case study evidence of other organisations and clearly referenced academic theory / research.

Your ability to integrate the feedback you have received from your graduate project team colleagues (as obtained during the project team meeting) and captured in the Feedback Integration record.

Clear and appropriate structure of briefing paper and Harvard referencing

WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO USE THE MARKING CRITERIA TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ASSESSMENT.

You are required to use ‘Word’ as the format for your submission. You will only be able to submit one document – so your Feedback Integration record needs to be an appendix to your Briefing Paper.

Your online submission via the Organisational Dynamics site provides the Module Team with access to ‘Turn-it-in’ which will be actively used to check that all assignments are individually produced and not plagiarised.

We recognise that in many instances you will have the same source material however your submissions should not be copied from each other. Where you do use information from external sources, you need to cite and reference thoroughly and accurately according to the Harvard methodology. There are risks of charges of plagiarism if you collaborate with your briefing papers or copy text from articles, books, the Internet etc without citing the source in your work.

Feedback

Please make use of the feedback provided. The quality of your written work will be evaluated and we will make every effort to give you some ideas on how to enhance your future performance. As this is the 2nd year of your degree, it is important that you take this learning forward if you want to achieve high grades in your final year.

FEEDBACK INTEGRATION RECORD

Use this sheet to capture the feedback you have received during your project team meeting. You should aim to capture at least three good elements of feedback (although there may be more, if there are simply extend the form). Write the feedback you received in the ‘Feedback received’ column.

Once you have captured the feedback you need to decide what to do with it – this is what you use the ‘action taken with feedback’ column for.

If you decide to make a change to your original paper then explain what you have changed.

If you decide that it would be inappropriate to make a change then explain that you have decided not to action the feedback.

What is important for your senior manager to see is the ‘rationale for action taken’. For instance if you have decided to ignore the feedback then the rationale column should contain some good reason(s) why – perhaps taken from the literature / case studies. If you do make a change – you also need to rationalise why you think it is an improvement on your work.

You need to submit this form as an appendix to your briefing paper You will be marked upon how well you have captured and managed the feedback you have received, so please make sure that you take this element of your assessment seriously.

FEEDBACK INTEGRATION RECORD

Name:

Student ID:

Project team meeting attended (date):

(NB your attendance date will be checked against the register taken during the graduate project team meetings)

Feedback received (what suggestions were made to you?)

Action taken with Feedback(what have you decided to do about the suggestions)

Rationale for action taken(Why you have taken the action you have taken eg did you go back and read some more, double check the data, find alternative evidence...)

Organisational Dynamics Student Name:

Briefing Paper – Marking Criteria Student ID:

Part A Fail Pass

Project Team Meeting 20%

Failure to comply with any of the pass components

Submitted a 500 word outline for briefing paper (through turn-it-in) BEFORE the Graduate Project Team meeting.

Briefing paper outline contained at least 5 high quality sources Paper copies provided to team and tutor at meeting as per instructions Ensured the participation of all team members in the discussion Actively participated in the team meeting discussion Asked appropriate questions and provided constructive feedback.

ESSENTIAL: Part A needs to be passed to enable progression to part B. Therefore to pass the coursework for Organisational Dynamics (which is essential to pass the module) you need to pass part A.

Part B 39% or less 40-49% 50-59% 60-69% 70% +Identify issues related to selected content area and critical evaluation of decisions made30%

Major deficiencies or omissions in the work produced. There is lack of commitment to meet the requirements of the brief and to deliver a briefing paper on on the content material. The quality is of an unacceptable standard and does not meet the learning objectives of the module.

There are no major omissions or inaccuracies in the task. However there is a limited grasp of the requirements of the work in terms of content. Limited range of material sought and/or incorporated into the work.

Demonstrates some understanding of the requirements of the task. Adequate grasp of the content. Work is of a reasonable standard however there is some room for improvement to achieve the required objectives. Needs a more developed use of sources to enhance the depth of the work.

Good grasp of requirements of the task. Comprehensive briefing paper covering the full range of the content area chosen. Clear links between the sections. Solid integration of material in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

Excellent grasp of requirements of the task. Very comprehensive briefing paper covering the specified content area chosen and demonstrating an excellent command of material. First class integration of material in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

Recommendations for the future30%

Recommendations identified are inappropriate or do not address the issues under consideration. Rationale for recommendations is not included or inappropriate.

Recommendations identified are limited in scope and do not identify all of the relevant issues. Rationale for some of the options is limited, or missing in some cases.

Recommendations that tend to support organisational thinking. Rationale for some of the options is somewhat limited.

Some useful recommendations that occasionally challenge organisational thinking. Supplies a rationale for some of the options recommended for the future of the organisation.

Wide ranging recommendations that challenge thinking and provide a clear rationale for the options recommended for the future of the organisation.

Part B 39% or less 40-49% 50-59% 60-69% 70% +Integration of feedback from Graduate Project Team Meeting10%

Feedback is not captured effectively and inappropriate rationale for use of feedback is produced

Feedback is captured but rationale explaining use of feedback is incomplete / inconsistent.

Feedback is captured and rationale completed. However, rationale is based solely on ‘opinion’ with no or very little independent evidence.

Feedback is captured in detail and reasonably evaluated using a range of sources. Rationale produced is applied well in some instances and less effectively in others.

Feedback is captured in detail and critically evaluated using an appropriate range of sources. Rationale produced is based on independent evidence and is clear and logical

Clear and appropriate structure of briefing paper and Harvard referencing 10%

Work overall is poorly presented and structured. Not of a business standard.

No referencing

The paper has some structure but it is confused in places. Presentation not of a good standard.

Deficient bibliography and inaccuracies in the referencing.

Overall presentation and structure of the paper is reasonable but some room to raise level to a more professional standard.

Referencing has some omissions

Demonstrates sound structure and presentation. Bibliography in need of development. Some slight deficiencies in Harvard referencing

Very clear links between sections and overall structure. Demonstrates professional presentation.

Comprehensive referencing that conforms to Harvard style.

General comments:

Tutor: