Management report on Mazda Malaysia

7/29/2019 Management report on Mazda Malaysia

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Application of Leading and Controlling

Function in the Implementation of I-

ELOOP Technology for Mazda Malaysia

MGW 1010 Introduction to Management


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Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to investigate how Mazda should stay ahead as the leader of engine

and fuel efficiency innovations by utilizing two managerial functions which are leading and

controlling. One of the major problems that the firm is experiencing is that currently there are no

environmental-friendly car to act as a buffer solution for the global fuel crisis in the future.

Unlike Toyota's and Honda's hybrids automobile cars, Mazda will implement a new initiative

change in technology known as the I-ELOOP system to instil a green mentality. This report

includes investigation of the relevant theories and concepts selected from leading and controlling

functions to improve fuel efficiency by 10% in the year 2015. Based on the investigation,

recommendations would be provided for Mazda to perform.

Selected theories and concepts from leading include the application of visionary leadership and

goal-setting theory as a source of motivation. It is clear that cultivating a green vision in thecompany is essential to enhance the energy and morale among employees to produce outstanding

performances. This green vision drives employees mind set to produce the most fruitful working

environment because they are not affected by petty issues and have a bigger picture to look up

upon. It is concluded that by carefully motivating employees drives their attention to respond and

learn to accept more responsibilities as well as building a high self-efficacy spirit to take on any

challenges to achieve the desired goals.

Mazda has implemented a set of controlling tools such as feedforward, feedback and concurrent

controls. These controls can occur before, during or after a process. Based on the analysis,

feedforward control is important to hire the right employee for right job to prevent problems from

occurring during a process. Concurrent control would be vital in monitoring ongoing activities to

produce the desired results and feedback control ensures employees are motivated and tracked

based on their performances in order to establish successful marketing plans.

In a nutshell, this report concludes and recommends several suggestions which includes (1)

creating a green working environment; (2) treating employees as a family; (3) allows employees

participation in decision-making processes; (4) providing a trial period for potential candidates; (5)testing the Mazda Atenza on a automated treadmill device for durability; (6) implementing a

mentor-mentee system to train junior employees. The main mission of these recommendations is

to aim for the ultimate optimization in energy and fuel efficiency without compromising on fun-

to-drive performance and handling.

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1.0 Introduction1.1. Purpose

The purpose of the assignment is to consult Mazda about the change in technology of

implementing the I-ELOOP system in terms of the leading and controlling function. The

goal of Mazda is to increase fuel efficiency and sales by 10% by 2015.

1.2. Company InformationMazda started out as a manufacturing tools company in 1920 and soon launched its first

car model in the early 1960s. Mazda has been exporting cars to Europe and United

States of America for over 40 years. Mazda is proud of their engineering innovation,

symbolized by the rotary engine. Mazda is the only manufacturer that makes gasoline,

diesel and rotary internal combustion engines. Mazdas mission is to create cars that are

fun to drive but also affordable (Mazda, 2008).

1.3. Background of IssueOrganizational change is the framework of managing change in the organizational

structure or culture. This change is important to ensure that organizations can keep up

with their competitors. Mazda has introduced a new technology change involving a

regenerative braking system which aims to increase fuel efficiency to help reduce

pollution of the environment.

1.4. Management FunctionsThe two functions that will be discussed are the leading function and controlling

function. Leading is the process of influencing a group to achieve goals (Robbins,

Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2012). Leading consists of two parts, the leadership theory

and the motivation theory. Controlling involves monitoring, comparing and correcting

work performance (Robbins et al. , 2012). The three forms of control are feedforward,

concurrent and feedback.

1.5. AssumptionsFor the purpose of this assignment, it is assumed that the sources found are accurate and

relevant. It is also assumed that Mazda has not implemented the proposed solutions

indicated in this report.

1.6. LimitationsThis reported is limited to the discussion of two functions only, leading and controlling.

This might not reflect the true problems of Mazda and does not provide a clear and

thorough solution due to the lack of the other two functions.

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1.7. MethodologyThe information used for this report consists of academic sources such as the prescribed

text and other relevant textbook. Mazdas website and other relevant articles online are

also used in this report.

1.8. Plan of ReportThe first part of discussion deals with the leading function, which includes the leadership

theory and motivation theory. The second part of discussion focus on the three types of

control method, feedforward, concurrent and feedback. These functions illustrate how

the plans can be carried out. Finally, a conclusion is made and some recommendations

are derived from the earlier discussion.

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rewards, social commendations or promotions because "virtue is a reward in itself" (Dweck &

Leggett, 1988). Managers must also treat employees as family, such as having regular luncheon

and company trips because good relationships are the heart of effective visionary leaders

(Corinne McLaughlin, 2001). As a result, employees will treat customers the same way.

In order to hire a professional who are capable of maintaining the I-ELOOP system, managers

must change their subordinates attitudes. If managers want subordinates to change their attitudes,

they must first change their own attitudes and develop quality visionary leadership skills because

attitudes are the reflections of leadership. Managers need to bring out the best in people and make

them perform beyond their imagined limitations (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). People will be happy

not only because their leader is the best but because they have become their best selves because

of their leader. The management also need to allow decision-making responsibility all the way

down to the frontline with limited supervision so that minor problems can be solved by those whoare first aware of them which leads to higher efficiency workplaces (Bass, 1985). To make

frontline responsibility effective, managers must give workers opportunity to develop decision-

making skills and learn to trust them. As a bonus, employee motivation is high when they feel

what they are doing makes a difference. Therefore, employees at all levels have the opportunity

to discover and develop their unique skills which inspire them to become quality decision-makers

that can only be achieved with visionary leadership. Employees may discover talent they did not

know they had until they are given opportunity and responsibility. By granting employees with

decision-making responsibility, efficiency of the company will increase when unique skills andnatural talent are recognized and in harmony with the assigned task.

2.1.2 Motivation Theory

The intention of the company to introduce the I-ELOOP system to the market by advertising is a

major source of job motivation. The rewards both the organization and the employees make it

worthwhile for managers to implement a goal-setting structure (Binswanger, 1991). Mazda must

ensure that all forms of communications and advertising messages are carefully linked together to

inform, persuade and remind customers about their products as well as influence them to behave

in a particular way. Managers need to ensure that their subordinates have relevant skills necessary

for promotion and advertising in order for them to perform properly. Managers can allow

employees to participate in setting strategies for advertising and assigned the tasks to the right

person to accomplish the desired goals (Bandura & Cervone, 1983). These practices encourage

employees to have high self-efficacy when their ideas and strategies are self-set rather than

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assigned. Managers need to ensure that the goal is both challenging and achievable within a set

time frame by carefully monitoring employee's progress, answer questions, coaching and support

because employees with high self-efficacy will try to master the challenge. After sending the

message, the manager must gauge its effect on the customers based on its advertising campaign,

known as copy testing. This involves collecting feedbacks from customers whether they

remember, recall or felt about the advertising message in order to measure the desired responses.

This is why Mazda will implement self-generated feedbacks where employees are able to monitor

their own progress and performance towards their goals as it is a more powerful motivator than

externally generated feedback (Robbins et al, 2012). Even when dealing with negative feedbacks,

employees with high self-efficacy will respond positively with increased effort and motivation to

do better. Therefore, employee's performance data will be reviewed at the end of the specified

time frame to identify and seek opportunities for improvement as well as expressing their work

concerns and ask questions. If the desired goal is achieved, employees achievement will be

recognized in a positive way such as incentives, promotion and bonuses which eventually leads to

higher level of motivations.

2.2 Controlling Function

Controlling is the process of monitoring, comparing and correcting work performance (Robbins,

Bergman, Stagg, & Coulter, 2012, p. 650). For the purpose of this assignment, the feedforward,

concurrent and feedback controls are used to measure Mazdas performance. These controls can

occur before, during or after a process. Control is important because it provides a standard of how

people should act and how certain procedures should be kept up to standard. Sometimes,

organizational goals and individual goals may not coincide perfectly. Therefore, control is

important to prevent employees from acting in their own way but acting in the interest of the

organization (Merchant, 1982).

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can be tested by putting the system under a trial run of 50,000 mileage on a treadmill like device.

The device operates automatically for a duration of 3 weeks until the car reaches the 50,000

mileage. Then, the results will be reported and any defects will be corrected. The performance of

the I-ELOOP system can be measured by its effectiveness, which is the duration it takes to

achieve the goal of 10% fuel efficiency. A test can be conducted by driving the car for a period of

5-7 days to see if it actually improves fuel efficiency. A shorter duration indicates that the system

is effective and has a better performance. The aim of concurrent control is to assure that the

ongoing activities produce the correct results (Samson & Daft, 2009).

2.2.3 Feedback Control

The feedback control occurs after an activity had taken place. It consists of four steps: establish

standards, measure performance, compare performance to standard and taking corrective action

(Samson & Daft, 2009). This control method has close relations to Mazdas plan of marketing

their new product and increasing sales by 10%. Firstly, the marketing manager has to define the

goal of increasing sales by 10%. Thus, the standard of performance is increasing sales of their

latest product, Mazda Atenza by 10%. This can be monitored by a real time sales data

electronically. Secondly, the marketing manager needs to measure the actual performance by

reviewing sales report that is prepared fortnightly. The manager needs to ensure that his/her

employees hit the target by reviewing their individual sales data. Thirdly, managers have to

compare the actual activities with performance standard. When the manager reviews the sales

report, he/she will identify if the actual performance meets or fall short of standard in terms of

quality (customer satisfaction) and quantity (revenue). The comparison can be done by reviewing

the actual amount of sales by the perceived standard. If the actual performance is below standard,

manager can adopt sales incentive program which rewards employees according to their

performance. The last step is to take corrective action. Managers can encourage employees or fire

them if they do not make improvement. Furthermore, managers can implement a mentor-mentee

system where a senior can guide a junior and give them advice on how to improve their job

performance. Feedback control provides information to employees on their performance and acts

as a motivator (Gupta, 2009).

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Conclusion

Visionary leadership has been shown in Mazda that the manager take an active role in all

aspects of the company to achieve the desired organization goals. Managers must highlight the

importance of visionary leadership to subordinates and create possibilities that are inspirational to

produce organizational distinction (Robbins et al, 2012). Managers must ensure that employees

are motivated because having a motivated mind state is vital in the process of pursuing any great

decisive goal. Behind every goal, motivation has been the influence behind it because motivation

is the force of life and drive of all actions. Yes, motivation is the driving force towards a goal or

dream but without courage, inspiration and a positive attitude, motivation is nothing more than a

vehicle without a motor (Early, Connolly & Ekegren, 1989).

Effective control will all improve an organizations performance and set a bright pathway for

its future (Samson & Daft, 2009). By applying the feedforward control, concurrent control and

feedback control, Mazda can monitor the before, ongoing, and after process of implementing the

I-ELOOP technology. The feedforward control helps the management to select the best

employees to be in charge of this new technology. The management uses the concurrent control

to assure that the implementation of the I-ELOOP system is in accordance with strict rules and

procedures. Finally, the feedback control allows the managers to keep track of sales record and

help them achieve their goal. In conclusion, the leading and controlling function helps Mazda in

achieving their goal of increasing fuel efficiency by 10% and also sales by 10%.

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Recommendations

providing trial period for potential candidates to test their ability to adapt to the jobenvironment

testing the Mazda Atenza on a automated treadmill device for a 50,000 mileage fordurability

implement a mentor-mentee system to train junior employees create a green working environment to promote the importance of green living treating employees as a member of big family to ensure close relationship allows employees to participate in the decision-making process

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Reference List

Bandura, A. & Cervone, D. (1983). Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the

motivational effects of goal systems.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1017-

1028

Bass, B. (1985).Leadership and performance beyond expectations.New York: Free Press

Binswanger, H. (1991). Volition as cognitive self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and

Human Decision Processes, 50, 154-178

Corinne McLaughlin. (2001). The Center For Visionary Leadership. Retrieved from

http://www.visionarylead.org/articles/vislead.htm

Daft, L.Richard. (2008). New Era of Management (2nd

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Dweck, C. S. & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.

Psychological Review, 95, 256-273

Gupta, Meeknashi. (2009) Principles of Management. Retrieved from

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Mazda. (2008).About Mazda. Retrieved from http://www.mazda.com.my/about-mazda.aspx

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Management report on Mazda Malaysia

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