Details

Case

SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS ENTERPRISES LIMITED (SPEL) - THE ORGANISATION THAT DRIVES INNOVATION

Kamran Ali Chatha, Faheem Ahmed

INDUSTRY : Engineering

AREA : HRM/OB, Production & Operation Management

ORGANIZATION :

LENGTH : 25

LUMS No : 03-861-2017-1

PUBLICATION YEAR : 2017

KEYWORDS:

Synthetic Products, Innovation Culture, standardization and Innovation/flexibility in an Organization,

DESCRIPTION:

The case is set in the year 2010, when Synthetic Products Engineering Limited (SPEL) had made substantial progress in its industry and had to decide a strategy for the future. The company had been in the light engineering sector of Pakistan for thirty years, and had developed a strong internal culture for innovation. The case focuses on various practices implemented by the company to develop a culture of open-mindedness for its employees and in the manufacturing process. The interplay of concepts such as organisational culture, employee empowerment, innovation culture, open systems, open problems, creativity and productive work environment has been explored from the lens of a real-life company. It is important to understand the role of an "innovation leader" in shaping up a company¿s philosophy and internal practices. The case asks readers to decide whether the company was ready to go for an IPO given the repercussion of this decision would be to add external directors to the company's board, something which could significantly affect the company¿s future direction. The directors would also be prone to dictating their own terms in the company. This would consequently affect the internal culture which took over three decades of perseverance and commitment to reach its current form.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. To understand the elements of `innovation culture in an organization and how they can be realized; 2. To understand how innovation and creativity is internalized in an organization through various practices by top management; 3. Discuss contrasting effects of standardization and innovation/flexibility in an organization; 4. Understand how open-mindedness in an organization can enable employees to be better decision makers; 5. Assess the impact of innovation on an organization's future growth;

SUBJECTS COVERED:

Operations Management, Organizational Behaviour, Strategic Planning, Operations Strategy, Product Development