Human Resource Management Case Study

Case Title:

ISO 9000 Implementation: Can System Improvement Lower role Stress?

Abstract:
Based on the professional experience and true incidents, the case relates to a public sector manufacturing industry that flourished in the protected Indian market. After liberalisation of the economy, survival of the company came under threat due to fierce global competition. The company implemented ISO 9000, the international standard for quality management system, to streamline the systems, processes and procedures for improving the quality of products and services. Successful implementation of ISO 9000 resulted in system improvement. Since systematic working reduces difficulties encountered in role performance, it was expected that ISO 9000 implementation would result in lowering the stress experienced in organisational roles. Role stress was measured, before and after ISO 9000 implementation, followed by statistical analysis of the pre and post ISO 9000 samples. Contrary to the expectation, the relationship between system improvement and role stress had manifested itself in three different ways, presenting a dilemma. The case illustrates how the change was successfully managed to arrest the downtrend for the company.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand about the rise and fall of public sector; how globalisation challenged its survival
• To understand how the right kind of leadership by a functional head in the organisation can enable the process of organisational renewal
• To demonstrate how change can be successfully implemented through Creative Employee Involvement, in the face of stiff Resistance to Change offered by large traditional organisations
• To learn about the strategies for the survival and renewal of organisations
• To develop an understanding about different kinds of stress experienced in organisational roles
• To illustrate how ISO 9000 Implementation leads to System Improvement
• To understand how ISO 9000 Implementation works as a Stress Leveler in the organisation
• To demonstrate how a Contingency Variable alters the relationship between the given independent and dependent variables
• To understand how ISO 9000 Implementation emerges as a Structural Intervention for Organisational Development.

Keywords :  Structural Theory, OB, Contingency Theory, Resistance to Change, Managing Change, HRM Case Study, Role Stress, OD, OD Process, Work Redesign, System Improvement, Structural Intervention, Employee Involvement, Operations, TQM, ISO 9000, Strategic Management, Impact of Globalisation, Public Sector Downfall, Public Sector Revival, Strategy for Survival and Turnaround