This assignment should demonstrate your understanding and give an evaluation o fleadership theories and cross cultural factors within organisations. INTRODUCTION Scenario Endon Engineering PLC is a UK owned company making a range of mechanical parts for the automotive industry. All of its infrastructure was, until recently, located inthe UK. However, due to securing a long term contract to produce spare parts for a major farm machinery manufacturer, the company has just acquired a large manufacturing facility in Romania, where it will produce all of the parts required by the new contract. The facility has an established workforce and suitable basic machinery, but it was previously part of a failing state-owned enterprise and its systems and processes are not yet fit for your purposes. Therefore, they have appointed you, a long serving Endon manager, to assume responsibility for this new facility and make it fit for purpose. You do not speak Romanian, although you are currently undergoing basic language training and the former manager of the plant, a native Romanian, will remain in post as your deputy. He speaks very good English. Amongst the changes that need to take place, is a need to switch from a single day-time shift, to 24 hour round-the-clock production using a three-shift system. The production process needs improvement so that the average rate of production rises from 150 units per day to 250 units per day within the first year. You have visited the new facility twice and have noted that the workforce do not seem to be especially urgent in their manner, they are suspicious of foreigners, and lament that the facility is no longer state-owned. You are informed by your deputy manager that the workforce is heavily influenced by the local trade-union. You have also noted that the wastage rate of faulty parts is much higher than Endon Engineering expects and so there is a need to improve quality assurance systems as part of the transformation process. Following your most recent visit, the CEO of Endon Engineering has asked you to produce a report for the Board of Directors, summarising the major challenges of the forthcoming transformation process for the Romanian facility, and possible solutions to those challenges. (Note: Endon Engineering PLC is not a real company. It is a fictional company created for the purpose of this assignment.) TASK Write a report for the Chief Executive Officer The report should cover:
Identify and evaluate the organisational and national cultural issues that you may have to deal with on assuming responsibility for the new manufacturing facility.
Identify and analyse the major obstacles to change that you might face as the manager of this new facility and consider how they might be overcome.
Identify a suitable leadership approach/style for leading change at the new manufacturing facility and clearly demonstrate how that approach would be practically applied to the given scenario.
Create and justify a list of critical success factors for successfully engaging your new workforce with the change process.
The report format should include an executive summary, introduction, main body of research and analysis, conclusion, references and appendices.
You must support all the points, arguments and recommendations you make with appropriate academic theory and demonstrate the application of theory to practice within the given scenario.