Application of Leading and Controlling Function in the Implementation of IELOOP Technology for Mazda Malaysia

MGW 1010 Introduction to Management

Table of Content Executive Summary 1.0 Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 2.0 Purpose Company Information Background of Issue Management Functions Assumptions Limitations Methodology Plan of Report iii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3-4 4-5 5 6 6-7 7 8 9 10-11

Discussion 2.1 Leading Function 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 Leading Theory Motivation Theory

Controlling Function 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Feedforward Control Concurrent Control Feedback Control

Conclusion Recommendation Reference List

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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 the company 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 funto-drive performance and handling.

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1.0 Introduction 1.1. 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 Information Mazda 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 Issue Organizational 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 Functions The 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. Assumptions For 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. Limitations This 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.

1.7. Methodology The 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 Report The 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.

2.0 Discussion The three plans discussed in this assignment are: to acquire and implement the I-ELOOP technology into Mazdas product to market this product to customers and increase sales to hire employees that are proficient in the I-ELOOP technology

2.1 Leading Function Leading is the process of influencing a group to achieve goals (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2012). For the purpose of this assignment, visionary leadership and goal-setting theory are used to measure Mazda's performance. Goal-setting theory demonstrates the importance of specific and difficult goals as motivating forces to produce high level of performance. Visionary leadership is important to create vision for the future that improves on the present situation. 2.1.1 Leading Theory The unique innovation of Mazda's regenerative braking system offers excellent environmentalfriendly performance which inspires enthusiasm and energy of the people to pursue the organizational goals. In order to acquire and implement the I-ELOOP technology to Mazda's product, managers need to create a green working environment to change the current working culture. Managers themselves have to lead by example. For instance, managers should choose to use their own companys car which promotes fuel efficiency. Managers can also set up recycle bins at their respective departments. Therefore, the morale of the company is always high as it is always ready to face problems and setbacks (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). In order to instill this green vision in employees mind effectively, Mazda can initiate new change by using energyefficient bulbs and providing paper cups instead of plastic cups. The end product of leading this green environment is employees have adapted to this new culture and has the same vision as the company. Managers must be able to explain this vision of plans to others through a general meeting by developing a partnership approach and with their subordinates which will lead to greater respect and development of team spirit and team learning. People will perform task because they are happy to do them as they are inspired by the vision. Moreover, managers must be able to express this vision though mechanisms of control such as rewards and punishments to encourage employees to do their job right by understanding it not because of some external monetary 3

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 who are first aware of them which leads to higher efficiency workplaces (Bass, 1985). To make frontline responsibility effective, managers must give workers opportunity to develop decisionmaking 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 and natural 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 4

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).

2.2.1 Feedforward control Feedforward control is also known as preliminary control (Plunkett, Allen & Attner, 2008). Its purpose is to prevent problems from occurring. Feedforward control is important in Mazdas plan of hiring employees that are proficient in the I-ELOOP technology. Firstly, the management of Mazda has to identify the necessary skills that are required to operate I-ELOOP. Then, potential candidates have to go through few test and interview to ensure that they are capable of operating and maintaining the I-ELOOP system. As this system is a new technology, potential employees should be well prepared to face any unforeseen circumstances and must possess the skills to attend to the system. Mazda can set selection criteria of hiring such as candidates must obtained a degree in the engineering field and have previous working experiences in the relevant field. Furthermore, potential candidates can undergo a trial period to find out if they can adapt to the job. Candidates will understand the job scope of an engineer and have long working hours to deal with this new technology. Candidates that successfully pass this stage will be shortlisted. Finally, drug screening can be done in order to ensure that Mazdas employees are working under safe conditions (Daft, 2003). All employees should not be under the influence of drugs as this will affect their work performance. All these forms of test and interview are feedforward controls because the intention is to prevent flaws from expected performance. Feedforward control ensures the right directions are set and the right resource input are available (Schemerhorn, 2010). The management of Mazda utilise this form of control to ensure that their employees follow accordingly to a strict set of protocols and requirements in order to achieve their goal of increasing fuel efficiency by 10%. 2.2.2 Concurrent control Concurrent control involves monitoring and adjusting ongoing activities (Gupta, 2009). It assess ongoing task to ensure that they meet the standard operating procedures. This control is in relation to Mazdas plan of acquiring and implementing the I-ELOOP system to their product. There are four aspects in which concurrent control can take place, safety, compatibility, durability and performance. In terms of safety, Mazda needs to certify that the I-ELOOP system fulfills the basic function of a braking system. If it does not decrease the car speed as effectively as a normal braking system, it is therefore futile to implement this new technology. It is also advisable to test the compatibility of this technology with their current product. If the current car is obsolete, Mazda has to design a new car that is compatible with the I-ELOOP system. For the durability aspect, Mazda needs to assure that the I-ELOOP system would still function for long term. This 6

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).

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%.

Recommendations providing trial period for potential candidates to test their ability to adapt to the job environment testing the Mazda Atenza on a automated treadmill device for a 50,000 mileage for durability 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

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, 10171028 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 edition). Retrieved from

http://books.google.com.my/books?id=RhwMpK19nj0C&pg=PT468&lpg=PT468&dq=feedforw ard+control+management&source=bl&ots=GFRISNocZf&sig=AePXI5TWPMBSW51gyPz9fiK 9sBg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XDnxUOWGN4_ZkQW9zYAg&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCDgK 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

http://books.google.com.my/books?id=58LaKhHVlmoC&pg=PA253&dq=feedforward+control+ management&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dFnxUOfGLInCkQX3qIHIAQ&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onep age&q=feedforward%20control%20management&f=false Mazda. (2008). About Mazda. Retrieved from http://www.mazda.com.my/about-mazda.aspx Merchant, A.Kenneth. (1982, July 15). The Control Function of Management. MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/1982-

summer/2344/the-control-function-of-management/ Plunket, R.Warren. , Allen, S.Gemmy. , & Attner, F.Raymond. (2008). Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations (10th edition). Retrieved from

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Robbins, Stephen. , Bergman, Rolf. , Stagg, Ian. , Coulter, Mary. (2012). Management (6th edition). New South Wales, Australia: Pearson Australia. Samson, Danny. , & Daft, L.Richard. (2009). Management (3rd edition). Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia. Schermerhorn, R.John. (2010). Exploring Management. Retrieved from

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