International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)

ISSN (Online): 2319 – 8028, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 801X

www.ijbmi.org || Volume 8 Issue 05 Series. II || May 2019 || PP 18-20

Case Study Training the Employees: A Case Study of Sime Darby

Group (Malaysia)
Selvam Ranganathan1, Purustaman Paramasivam2
Master of Business Administration Faculty of Management and Information System Sultan Azlan Shah
University
Corresponding Author: Selvam Ranganathan

ABSTRACT: Change in organizations is a common practice in the present world. The world is continuously
changing. Hence it is the mandate of the organizations to adapt. The research proposes that organizational
changes occur when a firm makes a changeover from its initial condition to some anticipated imminent
conditions. A company that comes in mind when discussing organizational change is the Sime Darby Group.
This is a worldwide company that is established in Malaysia and is operational in twenty-five countries. The
company has about four territories and approximately 120,000 employees. Awang, et al. 2013 indicates that the
group has four sub-groups, which are automobiles, plantations, belongings and logistics, and industrial
apparatus(Awang, et al. 2013). This paperwork looks into the steps adopted by the Sime Darby Group in
training the stakeholders in the Change Management Process.
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Date of Submission: 08-05-2019 Date of acceptance: 25-05-2019
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I. INTRODUCTION
The organization is an instrument individual organizations use to coordinate various actions aimed at
obtaining desired outcomes to meet the goals of the company. The organizations have the capability of taking
advantage of the economies of scale and scopes by using the computerized and automated company. Sime
Darby Company began its initial extensive Genome Select plantation and achieved high yields of oil palms, a
huge milestone which helped the company to manufacture oil with the prevailingland within seven years of
successful decoding of the genome.Sime Darby, in 2009, was the first company to use the second generation
technology to assembly, sequence, and explain the multifarious structure of 1.8 billion chemical components
that makes the palm oil genetic code.
For almost 200 years, the revolutionary planters inaugurated rubber estatesin Malaysia, a larger part of
it was later transformed to oil palm. The company’s top executive came roughly after two years when two high-
ranking administrators were terminated due to Sime Darby’s processing section discovered had incurred about
one hundred and twenty million ringgit fails.
The company, therefore, adopted two approaches:
1. Filling the positionswith external talents to address the short-term shortage of resourcesto make the
company the employer of choice,
2. Developing the youth, extraordinaryprobable employeesthrough job variation, coaching, project experience,
and training.

Change of Communication Strategies

Todne, et al. 2005, directs that when organizations work through significant changes, like a cultural or
leadership change, vibrant and tactical communication assists the employees’ understanding, adoption of the
adjustment, and all primary to an effective change in management enterprise. The issue of organizational
changes and the skills needed in the implementation of the changes is a concern and should be treated with great
considerations(Todnem, 2005). About eighty percent of communication attempts and their contact are
unsuccessful when measured by their influence to change the behaviors of people. Therefore, to change their
behaviors, the employees need to answer five questions:
1. Why changes? What is the importance of my role?
2. What am I required to carry out differently?
3. How will the change in me be measured and what will be the consequences of the change?
4. What support and tools do I require to assist me in making the required change?
5. What is in me for me?

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 Case Study Training the Employees: A Case Study of Sime Darby Group (Malaysia)

Majority of what is passed in change communication relies on a partial basis, that is, the employees and the
management’s understanding on why they should change or creating a shared visualization which are stages in
the negotiation procedure(Klein, 1996). Change Communication entails renegotiation on the connection
between the customer and the organization. Sime Darby Group communication’s strategy targets:
1. Creation of a business occasion for change.
2. Describing the vision through the redesigned processes.
3. Developing the modules in the reformed process.
4. Implementation of the newly designed process.
5. Measuring the changes and establishing process enhancements.
Sime Darby group defines communication for individual change to entails:
1. Key Message Communication: This is based on the delivery of information, which do not require any
reaction. It is the communication that has no discernible consequences even if it is ignored by the recipient.
2. Behavioral Communication: This entails the delivery of data, in any format or form, designed to initiate a
certain action with precise measures, tools, consequences, and rewards.
To keep every person focused and aligned, communication should follow the following strategies.
1. The emphasis that changes is inescapable: This should remind every party in the Sime Darby Group that
change is a ubiquitous part of life. Rules change, technology changes, people change, and hence the
employees should adapt well to the newly adopted conditions to providingthe best quality of service to the
customers.
2. The emphasis that change is attained incrementally: To deal with change, it is important to remember that
change never takes place instantly. SB Group enlightens the employee that even failure never is attained in
a day.
3. Develop a sense of urgency: To overcome opposition, a person should develop enough momentum. The
company should remind the team that change is not an option. However, individual persons can determine
how to react to it. Once the team develops the required momentum, tuning to the change becomes easy. The
SB Group designed a program for developing the youth, coaching, project experience, and training.
3. Elaborate what success is: For the team to accept the change and provide the momentum needed for
success, the management should clearly explain what change is and its meaning to the organization.
Additionally, the management should elaborate on the goals and the performance’s target.

Model of Change Management

Changes are common threads that run through every business regardless of the age, industry, or size.
Successful change initiators depend on various tools to achieve their mission. Kurt Lewin developed a powerful
tool used by many institutions in carrying out change management. The model carries out an analysis in what
prevents implementation of new technologies into a company(Anastasia, 2015).
These entails three processes: Unfreezing, moving, and re-freezing.

1. Unfreezing:
The current situation should be abandoned to give a chance for change to take place. When an idea has
been put in practice for a while, routines, and habits are naturally adopted. This may make processes and the
employees to stay off course. For instance, the usage of tasks that are currently relevant in the production
process. Unfreezing this, the Sime Darby Company will be aimed at getting the employees to be up to date with
the current technologies and processes of productions(Anastasia, 2015). The company should consider Lewin’s
first step of change management and adopt the use of new technologies, for instances, computers, new decision
making schemes, and re-engineered processes. The employees should actively participate in these processes and
get more information about the current situations and effectively make the best decision on what to undertake.

2. Change:
After the creation of the uncertainty in the unfreeze stage, the employees begin to resolve the
uncertainties and find new approaches to accomplishing their duties. The employees begin to act and believe in
the newly adopted ways that are in support of the new processes and technologies. This transition is a
process(Anastasia, 2015). Hence the employees should be actively involved and understand the benefit of
adopting new ways. Some section of employees should be used to spearhead the changes.

3. Refreezing:
After the changes have been embraced and the employees taken into practice the new methods of
working, the company is ready to attain its stability. The enduring changes practiced by the Sime Darby
through the various opportunities should be consistent. The changes depend on the employees being involved in
the processes and adopting structural variations that considerably refreeze the behaviors(Anastasia, 2015).

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 Case Study Training the Employees: A Case Study of Sime Darby Group (Malaysia)

Change Management Competencies

Competency is a fundamental feature of an employee, for instance, trait, motive, social role, and source
of knowledge that results in operative performance. Competencies are a set of skills, knowledge, or attributes,
which help a person to effectively perform a duty or accomplish a task within a given function(Todnem, 2005).
The Process identifies the employees’ weaknesses and strengths through the use of intuitive tools.Competency
Management processes in Sime Darby is one of the Company’s management strategic processes aimed at
retaining the present competence situations. The company continuous strive to attain reputable competency
levels. Sime Darby Company applies the following competency development processes:
1. Preparation of the employees and the executive
The management system affects all the people within an organization, the structures, systems, and tasks.
Therefore, it is important to prepare the Sime Darby for organizational changes. Implementing a CM system
should be supported by the people in an organization. In preparing the employees and the organization, the
following steps are considered:
 Build a sense of determination
 Develop a strong piloting committee and a project.
 Acquire the administration support and commitment
 Develop the plan
 Prepare means of eliminating obstacles
2. Develop the System:
The system to be adopted by the Sime Darby should be developed and well defined. The competence processes
and structures of the management system should also be developed.
3. Apply the CM System:
Rolling out the new system is very a delicate procedure;hence the project team should be in full support of the
process and be ready to react to the problems. In this stage, Sime Darby Companyapplies the following stages:
 Communicate the goal, visions, and strategy.
 Generate and communicate short-term goals
 Remove the prevailing obstacles
The employees should be enlightened to understand the whole process. The company faces competence
needs hence the urgency to share competence and communicate the issues is a designed and flexible way. This
model offers a structure and means of supporting the communication of competence issues in the company. The
employees’ participation and communication skills are of great importance that demonstrates their attitude
towards sharing, their knowledge, and teamwork.

II. CONCLUSION
It is evident from the study of the Sime Darby Group that Change Management is important in various
organizations to make them align with the current production processes and the customers’ need. However, this
change needs the necessary steps and procedure to attain. The strategies implemented by the SB Group play a
crucial role in enabling the company to achieve the required change. All the stakeholders should be incorporated
in the change process to achieve the change. Therefore, team spirit and cooperation among all persons in the
organization is very important.

REFERENCES
[1]. Anastasia. (2015, June 18). Major Approaches & Models of Change Management. Retrieved from CLEVERISM:
https://www.cleverism.com/major-approaches-models-of-change-management/
[2]. Awang, A. b., Niza, M., Ibrahim, I. I., & Fazly, &. M. (2013). Job behavioral factors and turnover intention: A case study at Sime
Darby Property Limited. . International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics, 2(6), 103-115.
[3]. Klein, S. M. (1996). A management communication strategy for change. Journal of organizational change management 9.2 , 32-46.
[4]. Todnem, R. (2005). Organisational change management:. A critical review. Journal of change management, 5(4), 369-380.

Selvam Ranganathan " Case Study Training the Employees: A Case Study of Sime Darby
Group (Malaysia)" International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI), vol.
08, no. 05, 2019, pp 18-20

www.ijbmi.org 20 | Page