Ireka Construction Berhad Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

In Chinese family business an autocratic leadership style is followed, which plays a vital role in restricting the companies for expanding and hinders their future growth. On the other hand, this patriarchal style of leadership and management has also posed difficulties in the transition process of companies aiming to become large enterprises.  This style of management has led to conflicts that are greater in number as compared to the western style of managing a business as exhibited in different studies. On the other hand, family disputes and conflicts can also occur which can further make the situation worse and impose a negative impact on the overall performance of the company (Wee-Liang Tan, 2001).

On the other hand, some major practices followed in a small Chinese family owned firms include the unclearness of the job descriptions and the absence of organization hierarchal charts. These characteristics make things difficult to manage as people working for the firm are not aware of the task that they will be assigned, and the objectives and mission of the company are also not clear to the employees (Jun Yan, 2006 ).

Therefore, these difficulties can prove to be a crucial barrier for the transition of the firm. On the other hand, the positive feature that can support the companies in growing in Chinese family owned businesses is the financial support and capital investment which can help the companies transform into large enterprises by taking bold steps towards growth.  Besides that, communication plays a major role in the overall success of the company. Effective communication helps organizations to implement change easily and effectively and also helps in decision making. The company’s decision of going public is significant and according to the needs of modern business as it helps in fulfilling capital requirements quickly.

Question 2

Ireka has a lack of standardization among the HR procedures and no alignment with the broader vision of the company. This approach worked well enough when the company was a close knit family business; however, as the company grew and began to diversify a formal human resources department had to be established to foresee all these activities. Thus, they brought in a HR professional, who would be responsible for instilling such a department in every aspect of the company.

With the establishment of the HR department, there are a few concerns which have risen too that will have to be considered by the senior management. The first being that HR is viewed with a cynical eye as being called a “dumping ground” as stated in the case study where all the problems of the problems simply lie in without being solved. This traditional and negative approach needs to be rectified and steered towards a more positive mindset. The employees will not take the procedures or the role that HR has to play seriously and therefore, make the whole effort of the department fruitless. Another problem that has come to the surface is posed from the side of the manger who on contrary to the employee’s belief that HR cannot solve any problems believe that it is HR’s job to solve any people problems.

Thus, if any employee needs to be terminated or called for a disciplinary action then it would be the HR department that shall deal with them rather the managers taking any action. The correct mindset would be to view the HR department as facilitating department that will help standardize all the personnel related activities yet the mangers themselves should understand that they cannot distance themselves from their employees simply because a HR department has come into practice. This way the employee will come to despise the human resources department unduly and form unrealistic expectations from their managers in supporting or helping them (Jay B. Barney, 1997).

More problems that have arisen due to the establishment of the HR department include the conflicts regarding on how the actual HR systems should be set up. The mechanisms that would run the HR department and be an extension of it were not easily agreed upon as there were two different sets of views. The hired HR consultant having prior experience would suggest certain measures but the managers had an agenda where did not want to lose control. The suggestions they gave lacked HR expertise and often the systems once implemented had to be revoked as they were not the most effective systems to be placed in the first place. The managers at this point should realize that their input is necessary yet if the suggestions they make lack the basic expertise then the consultant should have the final word and that a degree of control would have to be forgone when the company becomes larger.................................

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