Dolphin Logistics Company

Question:

Dolphin Logistics Company is preparing to enter the Singapore and Hong Kong logistics markets in 2018. You have been hired as a HR consultant to advise the company on the

performance management system it should put in place to ensure its management team and employees contribute substantially to the performance and success of the business. You

have been given the following brief by Dolphin Logistics senior management:

a) Present your case to senior management as to why it should pay sufficient attention to its performance management process.

b) Develop a comprehensive performance management process for Dolphin Logistics Singapore or Hong Kong operation.

Answer:

Introduction:

Headquartered in 1995 at Taipei the Dolphin Logistic Company has completed its journey of 20 years in last year. As our company is related to the business activities like logistic strategies for the international market, air freight, courier services or sea freight etc. so the decision of expanding the business in the Singapore market will be fruitful as far as I have researched. We are upgrading ourselves day by day and this will be an important step for us to the ultimate expansion. As we all know that the human resource is the only resource in this business which can make it even stronger than before. The Dolphin is famous for paying special attention to its manpower management system as we all know (Dolphin, 2016). 

So I have made a brief action plan in order to organise things in the appropriate way. The idea of expansion business into these bigger market are expected to be executed in 2018 (Giap & kang, 2009). First of we need a huge improvement to be added in performance management system of the organisation. The company believes that only a good manpower can expand the area of business of an organisation (CIMA, 2016). 

This action plan report deals with the relevancies or the needs that I felt are important to improve for expanding the business in the markets of Singapore and the Hong Kong. Along with this factor, the report further provides a useful and comprehensive process of managing performance for our company, Dolphin Logistic. Hope this will make the process of performance management smoother in due courses.

Present HR and Performance Management Status of the Company:

As our company is over concentrated on its Manpower management systems in order provide best possible qualities so used to provide highly effective training to the employees (Cardy & Leonard, 2014). Providing highly effective training has proved that this is one of the correct ways to encounter an efficient employee team. Moreover, this process of training and development enhances the capability of new talents (Dolphin-GP, 2016). A most appreciable activity that is located in the process of organisation training system is their way of training fresher and experienced employees. We treat different departments in different ways. I am coming to those process one by one.

However, both of department is being taught both of internal and external way but the pattern of teaching is bit different (Jenkins, 2012). 

Internal training session: For Fresher

• Firstly, all the new employees are being taught about the cultures of the company, the core business areas and the way they deal with their customers etc. This training session only provides learning orientation theoretically (Dolphin, 2016). 

• The internal training session also includes lessons based on the internal fundamentals of the organisation like the way company manages things, prospects of the body, achievement, style of innovating things, the way it upgrades itself etc. 

For Experienced:

• Through some competitive exams, we enhance their existing experienced employees (International Enterprise Singapore, 2002). Through providing association course we teach the breathing techniques etc.

• Similarly, the experienced candidates are being taught through some questionnaire through which authority can assess whether this employee needs more learning sessions or are capable enough to continue with his practical job.

External Sessions:

The external training courses are fully work oriented and need practical orientation. This course includes training session like warehouse training, language training, etc. Also, the organisation provides a detailed orientation regarding information related to the market and the industry in order to make them understand the ways that the company is following to sustain in this highly dynamic market. Although the company is marked as five-star logistic service supplier in the market.

Reason to upgrade performance management system:

The last challenge clearly states that the main reason behind performance management system. Our operational zone is very limited and related to narrow part of the market. Now, expanding the business to the Singapore and Hong Kong market, it is one of the biggest reason for upgrading the present human resource or performance management system. 

The Singapore is identified as the no 1 logistic market in the Asia zone (Ayupp & Chung, 2010). So basically it is normal that the way it operates in a small market will not be applicable in a marketplace like Singapore. So it has to put some improvements and it also has to accumulate knowledge regarding the market, where they want to expand. According to the evidence, the Singapore and Hong Kong logistic market is a bit volatile and dynamic in nature. In order encounter in this market, a small corporation like Dolphin Logistics has to pay sufficient knowledge (Guest, et al., 2012). The way the business should be handled in this market will not be the same as of now. The well-developed Singapore logistic market includes sufficient amount of logistic companies for which the market is known as the best logistic marketplace in the Asia. Dell, HP, Avaya, Diago etc. (Lachowycz, 2014) are some globally situated logistic companies are the customers of the logistic materials. These are some giant companies and use the best material in their production process. 

All of the other competitors in this market are small and medium. All of these companies are habituated in dealing with them. So the company needs to manage their talent and acquisition team because they need to enhance them according to the market needs of Singapore and Hong Kong. Pressure is very strong in this competitive market and some of them really experience in handling business in this marketplace. So in order to compete with those organisation, Dolphin Logistics needs to set them accordingly (Lachowycz, 2014). The reason behind implementing a better performance management system is closely related to the human resource factors. This system teaches about the changed pattern of jobs, variations in the workplace, new techniques adopted etc. 

Why is performance management system required? What are its main uses?

Communications between Managers and Employees can be better Training and development 

Both of the manager and employee become more concerned about the company Provides a review of performance and provides rewards, incentives etc.

In a way, we can assess the areas which need development Jobs can be promoted and feedbacks can be given time to time

Motivation can make employees more dedicated to their work

In order to upgrade, the company needs to upgrade themselves in every aspect. Innovating new ideas and formulations, the company need to enhance their performance management system. Some excellent employee needs to be hired in their marketing department to emphasise on those ideas. Training and development system needs to upgrade because the market is totally new for them (Poon, 2016). The organisational survey team should accumulate information from Singapore market. In order to upgrade the supply chain operation including operations, controlling management etc. (Ivancevich, 1992). 

Proposal for a comprehensive performance management system for the organisation:

The performance management system can be upgraded if a proper process can be followed. However, the following process can be proposed and suggested in order to upgrade the system. The action plan has been divided into 8 different phases. The performance management system will be designed in each phase systematically. 

Phase 1; Research and Development to identify the challenges and its solution (4 months):

The Singapore and Hong Kong market is a well-established and one of the biggest logistic market in Asia. In order to operate in this market a firstly a vast knowledge has to be covered.

Research and Development

The pattern and style of the business in this particular market segment should be identified

Bulk orders have been assigned to this Singapore market and each year this market earns a higher revenue.

Labour shortage is one of the most important problems that always occurs in this industry. 

However, as we are operating in a small market presently, so expanding in a market like Singapore and Hong Kong may bring few challenges. Problems Identified

The organisation along with the whole industry now face severe challenges in their way of growth. 

Huge investment is required to complete the research and development process thoroughly.

This present process of the logistic service system is too labour intensive and slow in nature. 

In order to maintain the service delivery time of the client, the organisation need to prepare beforehand. 

Transportation cost is huge in the industry etc. (Rolstadas, 2012).

Due to excessive labour intensive business, the organisation need to focus on its human resource management system more than it requires. 

However, there are some solutions through which the problems can be solved. Employing experienced individual can solve the needs of labours. 

Phase 2; Setting Goals (1 Month)

Proper goals should be set by the company before proceeding any further. The goal should be SMART and follows every element of SMART.

Smart Goals

S Specific (Goal needs to be clear and concise)

M Measurable (Not only in numbers but in quality)

A Achievable (The goal should be clear and achievable)

R Realistic (Should be realistic, should not be impractical)

T Timely (At least achieved within  proper time) 

So after R and D process, the goals of the company should be developed and promoted. The goals can be divided into three different sections that are, short term goals, mid-term goals and lastly long term goals. 

Short Term Goals

Researching about the pattern of the business in the Singapore and Hong Kong logistic market 

Mid-term Goal Enhancing the performance of the management team of the company will come as a mid-term goal.

Long Term Goal The ultimate goal of the company is to establish itself in the Singapore market. However, these are designed as per the industry’s need.

Through the process of MBO, a subordinate employee can set their own goals. These small goals of each individual will make the organisation stronger and it will bring to their achievement.

Phase 3; Employing Manpower (2 Months):

It is already been discussed that the Singapore and Hong Kong market faces a lack of labour resource. Logistic Business is highly oriented with labour-intensive technologies. So, skilled and trained labours are heavily demanded in this sector. The third step that the Dolphin Logistics should follow is to higher some excellent labours. They should be taken through a proper interview and examination process. Each labour should be taken based on their skills and ability and no partial decision will be taken during the session.

Phase 5; Implementing the Process

This phase is all about implementing the process.

1. Employee Improvement along with Training and Development (4 Months):

This is the most important phase in the whole procedure of enhancing the system of performance improvement. In this phase, after accumulating several employees and forming a strong team, now the company should brush up their strengths. 

• An appropriate training and development session should be provided to those fresh employees. At least minimum of 3 months training and development sessions should be provided to those employees. Through the practical training sessions, the employees can understand the process that should be followed in the industry. 

• Besides the improvement of the existing employee is also and significant factor. There is the best way to achieve this two outcome at the same time. All the fresh and the experienced employee will be segregated into small groups. 

• Some well-trained employees need to be selected

• Each group will consist two experienced trainees with three fresh trainees. This group of five people will be trained by the trainer. The trainer must have a good knowledge and understanding about the process that should be followed after entering in the Singapore and Honk Kong market. 

• The trainer will instruct those experienced staffs to train their fresher on a particular matter and if any mistakes will take place then that will be rectified by his own self.  If an individual does some mistakes and somebody rectifies it then his/her understanding of that particular thing gets cleared. Also, as this work needs huge physical strength to be provided, so each of the employees should be given a proper diet chart. 

Also, workshop training will be effective in order to enhance the skills of the trainees. Some experienced individual should be hired who will only demonstrate the facts and procedures. Some It techniques should be used to attract clients. 

2. Rating:

Based on the performance of the employee during a training session, the management can provide a rating to their existing employees. Based on the Ratings Company can judge their employee and provide a suitable designation to each of them.

3. 360o Feedback:

In this phase, the feedback of ongoing process should be given to the higher authority for assessing how things are going (Jackson, 2002). The feedback regarding the employee improvement should be reported to the management team. Assessing that whether the improvement process is going well or not is very important because the feedbacks may bring many changes. Depending on the feedback, the timeliness of the workers, their works accuracy, the progress of their learning process will be understood.

4. Motivation:

In order to acquire best possible productivity from the workers, the organisation has to motivate them through several processes. The motivational process includes meeting expectation and needs of the employees according to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Also appreciating the work of the individual can motivate them to the next level (Ivancevich, 1992). If the process should be done through forming small teams then the advantages of the multicultural theme will add extra essence to the team empowerment. So the person who will be responsible for managing the teams, he/she will keep motivating their people time to time.

Phase 6; Reward System:

In order to motivate the people and providing them best job satisfaction, the organisation should generate reward system. The reward system will simply provide money or gifts or incentives as a reward to motivate the people. When an individual will exceed the level of the outcome of himself which was expected by the company, then he/she will be awarded by different ways. This is kind of ethical pressure. It pressurises the people who are not working properly to think that he/she might be penalised if he/she do not complete his/her work properly. The individual who will be awarded, he/she will be hugely motivated and exert extra effort and dedication to his work.

Phase 7; Monitoring and Meetings:

There will be one person who monitors the employees and provides feedback to the managers. This particular individual will monitor whether the worker will shirk or not. A person will be penalised if he/she shirks in his working time. Monitoring will rectify many areas that need improvisation. Through Board meeting and general meetings the employee’s performance and reviewed and feedback can be given. It will recommend if any changes required in the training and development system.

Conclusion:

Enhancing the performance of the employees in Dolphin Logistics needs huge time. Also, proper planning is very important. After putting all efforts there will be some drawbacks like monitoring each and every employee is not practical. On the other hand, forming a team may provoke people to shirk more. Shirking will hamper the productivity of the people. This is to be concluded that there is some more area which needs improvisation. Without the help of the higher authority, this process cannot be completed.

Recommendations:

Throughout the report, I have recommended how the performance management system can be improved so that the company can upgrade itself to enter in the Singapore and Hong Kong market. I have recommended 7 different techniques through which the performance management system can get improved. Research and development, identifying problems during R & D, Training programmes, reward systems, monitoring employees and arrange meetings tie time to time to assess whether the system is running smoothly or not.  I have recommended emphasising more on the training process because train employees can emerge the quality factor of the company hugely.

Also, I think that there are some other minor ways that can improve the system. Along with the training and development session, we can let the employee assess himself by providing employee forms. This may help them to identify the area that they should improve. I also suggest motivating employees by showing them that their output is the only way to achieve company’s vision. The formulas and the process which have been stated above are sufficient to bring a huge change in the company. If the things are monitored properly, then following the process the company can upgrade themselves at the international level. 

References

Ayupp, K. & Chung, T., 2010. Empowerment: Hotel employees’ perspective. Journal of Industrial engineering and Management, 3(3), pp. 561-575.

Cardy, R. & Leonard, B., 2014. Performance Management: Concepts, Skills and Exercises. London: Routledge.

CIMA, 2016. Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_Mgt_with_Balanced_Scd_July_2005.pdf

[Accessed 09 06 2016].

Dolphin, 2016. About Us. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.dolphin-gp.com/about/us

[Accessed 09 06 2016].

Dolphin-GP, 2016. Global Logistics Services. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.dolphin-gp.com/global-logistics-operations.php

[Accessed 09 06 2016].

Giap, T. & kang, C., 2009. Singapore’s Dichotomized Financial System. A study of Financial Market, pp. 82-140.

Guest, D., Paauwe, J. & Wright, P., 2012. HRM and Performance: Achievements and Challenges. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

International Enterprise Singapore, 2002. Developing Singapore into a globally integrated market. [Online] 

Available at: https://www.mti.gov.sg/researchroom/documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/pages/507/doc/erc_svs_log_mainreport.pdf

[Accessed 09 06 2016].

Ivancevich, J., 1992. Human resource management.. Boston: Irwin.

Jackson, .., 2002. International HRM: A Cross-Cultural Approach. London: SAGE.

Jenkins, D., 2012. Global Critical Leadership: Educating Global Leaders with critical Leadership Competencies. Journal of Leadership Studies, 6(2), pp. 95-101.

Lachowycz, P., 2014. Japan’s Hidden Unemployment Problem. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/japans-hidden-unemployment-problem-cm395873

Poon, D., 2016. Economic and Trade Information on Hong Kong. [Online] 

Available at: http://hong-kong-economy-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Market-Environment/Economic-and-Trade-Information-on-Hong-Kong/etihk/en/1/1X000000/1X09OVUL.htm

[Accessed 09 06 2016].

Rolstadas, A., 2012. Performance Management: A business process benchmarking approach. London: Springer Science & Business Media.

BoomGrades.com is
a name in assignment writing services that
students trust. We offer our assignment writing services for a wide variety
of assignment including essays, dissertations, case studies and more. Students can place
their order with us anytime as we function 24×7, and get their copies at
unbeatable prices. We guarantee that all of our solutions are plagiarism-free.