International Bank of Malaysia

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Unpleasant Working Environment

Decreasing office morale and efficiency due to the emotional problem of Mr. Zainuddin and Mr. Wong which add wounds to the current low staff morale resulted from backlog of information flow among department which delays credit decision making.

The administration department which is lead by Mr. Zainuddin was required to provide several detailed reports concerning loan performance, deposited account balance and so on. This meant that the administration group had to deal with the branches in drawing the pertinent records together; occasionally a competitive situation arose where the Credit Department which was headed by Mr. Wong, required precise costing information to assist in pricing an attractive loan opportunity administration might then hinder a rapid turnaround citing branch tardiness as the cause.

On top of the work tension existed under the existing workflow, Mr. Zainuddin’s behaviour of discrediting Wong in front of the staff at the office may translate into even more tensed up working relationship between Credit and Accounting department. Furthermore, by virtue of the job nature where Zainuddin is empowered with critical decision making on exception credit application, any unfavourable decision made by him. even though is derived on genuine ground may be perceived and interpreted as personal revenge against Mr. Wong. In the long run, the unpleasant working relationship between two personnel, in turn, lead to distortion in delivering customer service due to turn around time issue.

The main problem statement is Ian has a challenge to quickly and effectively resolve the ongoing conflict issues between his two managers to avoid any potential departure of his staff, especially Zainuddin which may hinder the management’s effort in delivering their commitment to progressively improve the bumiputra quota for their workforce within the next 1 year.

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Alternative Strategies

Counselling session

It is assessed that both managers’ interpersonal difficulties had since existed but was further intensified due to the recent conflict triggered by the misunderstanding in the recent incident of bidding for carrom board. While Mr. Ian as the club advisor, has stepped in to intervene and calm the situation, the hard feeling continued to persist leading to the unharmonised working relationship. A Counselling Strategy would aim to deal with the emotional problem of his employees in order to resolve their unpleasant working mood which would otherwise have a considerable impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation operation.

Through an effective counselling strategy, Mr. Ian should be able to assist both managers to deal with the emotional problem due to tension in the work-related interpersonal relationship. Counselling serves as an effective communication tool to achieve the following desirable outcome:

- Quickly restore the office working mood

- Allow both parties an opportunity to clarify their issues

Most importantly, Mr. Ian as the General Manager shall leverage on the counselling to restore Mr. Zainuddin’s morale issue hence serving as a proactive approach of retention effort to avoid any surprise resignation from Mr. Zainuddin.

Enhancement of the Employment Policy and Guideline

As the regional manager for Malaysia operation of International Bank of Malaysia, Mr. Ian has honored the task of improving their workforce’s bumiputra proportion at all levels in accordance with the latest government direction. This commitment can only be delivered via a comprehensive HR guideline and procedures together with both short and long-term initiatives to be implemented on a consistent basis which is essential to avoid any unfavourable or punitive action by the Malaysian government.

It is no doubt that the Malaysian culture and ethnic composition coupled with the Government Initiatives had caused an impact to the business practice, amplified by the political sentiment in this nation. In order for the International Bank of Malaysia to be able to operate effectively and competitively, the key success factor in the given business and political context would be a comprehensive human resource planning and execution to drive towards a much stable and desirable workforce, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Without a proper and structured approach in managing the talent pool, the Bank may end up losing the deserving staff, despite the quota set may be complied. A right HR strategy in its employment approach will lead to long-term sustainability of a right mix of the workforce with the best quality which in turn translates into positive business performance and market position.

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Set Up of Mediation Committee

A mediation committee should be set up with an objective to bring both disputing parties to an agreement. As conflict may continue to be an issue in the business context of this organization which may be further tensed up due to diverse value and perception along with the move to bring up the racial composition, the HR personnel should be entrusted to work towards proactively managing employee conflicts by setting up a mediation committee which consist of representatives from various departments with equal composition of races and genders.

This approach serves as a long-term solution towards resolving the differences in value, perception, and priorities amongst workers. This is also to give assurance to all employees that their need and voices are heard and fairly treated.

Reorganisation Exercise

As observed by Mr. Ian, Mr. Wong is capable and committed to his work, however, is lacking of maturity and managerial skillset. It is deemed an appropriate option to be offered to Mr. Wong. By transferring him to HQ, Mr. Wong will be assured of his career path which is beyond the boundary of domestic market.

Reorganisation is proposed as the exercise may serve to further improve the racial composition threshold particularly on the executive levels of the company. Through the internal promotion of another capable bumiputra employee as a manager, Mr Zainuddin will feel the pressure for improving his attitude in view of the competition from peers in the same race.