Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction To Management Mobilink
Introduction To Management Mobilink
PEOPLE
&
ORGANIZA
TION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENT.....................................................................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................6
INTRODUCTION TO MOBILINK......................................................................7
Introduction:.............................................................................................7
Mobilink Departmentalization & Functions:..............................................8
Competitors of Mobilink:.........................................................................11
Market Share:.........................................................................................12
MODULE 1: MOBILINK, A HYBRID ORGANIZATION.....................................13
OLD MODEL OF ORGANIZATION.............................................................13
NEW MODEL OF ORGANIZATION.............................................................13
TABULAR ANALYSIS:................................................................................14
REQUISITES FOR TAKING EFFECTIVE ACTION AT MOBILINK:...................15
MODULE 2: THREE LENSES ON ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND ACTION16
STRATEGIC LENS:....................................................................................16
POLITICAL LENS:.....................................................................................20
CULTURAL LENS:.....................................................................................22
MODULE 3: MAKING TEAMS WORK............................................................24
Teams:....................................................................................................24
Work in Teams:.......................................................................................26
Linking of Departments:.........................................................................26
Exposure to Environment:......................................................................26
MODULE 4: DIVERSE COGNITIVE STYLES IN TEAMS..................................27
MODULE 5: TEAM PROCESSES...................................................................28
Team membership:.................................................................................28
Mobilink context of a Team:....................................................................28
TEAM PROCESSES:..................................................................................28
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mobilink, subsidiary of the Vimpelcom, is Pakistan leading
cellular company. With more than 31.6 million subscribers,
Mobilink maintains market leadership through cutting-edge,
integrated technology, the strongest brand and the largest
portfolio of value added service in the industry
According to our analysis Mobilink is a Hybrid Organization
following few characteristics of New Model Organization and
few characteristics of Old Model Organization. It has a tall
hierarchy and a long reporting channel. Decision making is
centralized to a certain manner. Mobilink focuses on People
rather than Process i.e. if a related person is not available then
the work will remain pending till the time the person is not
present.
Mobilink has grouped the organization on the regional basis in
order to cover whole Pakistan for its services. There are three
basic regions that are further divided into sub regions too. As
the departments work in isolation so the linking mechanisms
are weak plus there are certain problems with the alignment
too.
Political index is high at Mobilink as the employees do compete
with one another because of existence of old practices. The
individuals with better networking skills and greater informal
networks are better off in many cases
The culture is strong and homogenous and compliance to it is
mandatory as the standard operating procedures are clearly
defined too. Due to repeated practices the culture became
strong and homogenous.
In Mobilink departments work in isolation to a certain manner
and departments do not see other departments their
stakeholders and follow Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
People at Mobilink do work in teams usually in Cross Functional
Teams, complementing and supplementing each other. Team
members having different skills, expertise, experience, etc. XTeams do not exist at Mobilink.
Performance is evaluated by the ultimate bosses and not the
team leader which affects the team members performance.
The promotions and incentive system is also clearly defined in
terms of slabs and usually followed accordingly.
INTRODUCTION TO MOBILINK
Introduction:
Mobilink is the subsidiary of the VimpelCom Corporation is
Pakistan leading cellular and Blackberry service provider. With
more than 31.6 million subscribers, Mobilink maintains market
leadership through cutting-edge, integrated technology, the
strongest brand and the largest portfolio of value added service
in the industry, a broadband carrier division providing next
generation internet technology as well as the countrys largest
voice and network with over 8,000 call sites. Housing Pakistans
largest distribution and contact centre networks and an
unparalleled 6,500 kilometres fibre optic backbone. Mobilink
has already invested over US $3.3 billion in the country to date
and
provides
uninterrupted
countrywide
connectivity,
unmatched customer services and international roaming in
over 140 countries. The company is also official cellular partner
of the Pakistan Cricket Board. As a responsible corporate
citizen, Mobilink also offers a range of socially inclusive
products and services dedicated to enhance access to
information. Through Mobilink Foundation, the company
supports education, health and environmental initiatives and
promotes sustainable business practices.
At Mobilink, there are over 4,500 unique individuals who make
us Pakistans largest cellular network. Facilitated by the best
practices and enabling environment, they are the best minds in
the industry today working with the leader is their sources of
pride
Mobilink is more of a Hybrid organization; some features of its
structure reflects the old model organization where as some of
its features reflects new model organization. We interview Mr.
Mirza Sohail Asghar Assistant Manager Strategy Management
department, we found out the advantages and disadvantages
of working in a Hybrid organizations. How Mobilink works in a
team, their reporting mechanism, Reward system, how politics
take place at different levels of organization and how different
Mobilinks Vision:
To be the
Pakistan by
make each
Shareholder
Mobilinks Values:
Be Passionate
People at Mobilink, are passionate about fulfilling & exceeding
customer needs and enriching their lives every day.
Be Professional
People take pride in practicing the highest ethical standards
and take responsibility for our actions.
Lead With Purpose
People are committed to lead the market through innovations in
new services, products, as well as cutting edge technologies
and solutions.
Marketing:
Anticipates, and satisfies the customers communication needs.
This includes consumer behaviour research and translating this
research into service and pricing plans. This Marketing team
helps identify new business opportunities and develops plans to
exploit these profitably. It also designs and implements brand
strategies and communication plans.
Data services
Pricing and Strategy
Brands
Market Development
Strategic Brand
Indirect sales
Distribution
Sales & Operations
Customer Care:
This department provides services to the customers pre and
post purchase to ensure that customer expectations are
exceeded. It is the largest division in the country.
Customer Operations
Support Centres
Quality Assurance, Standardization and Training
Business Planning and Customer Retention-Business Intelligence
Credit & Collection
Finance:
Prepares and monitors financial plans and budgets. Arranges
timely funding to meet business requirements and for
maintaining accounting records, Sourcing and qualification of
items and vendors, Reviews risk management procedures and
compliance with existing
Corporate accounting
Treasury
Business Support & Revenue assurance
Planning, budgeting and reporting
Supply Chain
Information Technical:
Enables secure and efficient information sharing to meet the
business needs. It facilitates conversion, storage, protection,
processing, transmission and retrieval of information to and
from various channels.
Centre of Expertise
Employee Services
Business Partnership
Administration
Facilities and Build out
Services
Corporate Affairs:
Corporate affairs constitute Legal affairs, Government relations
and interconnect. Legal affairs provide legal and corporate
support and advice at all levels to ensure effective decision
making and strategizing. The department also engages in
policy-making, overseeing contracts and transactions, ensuring
compliance with applicable rules, regulations and laws.
Regulatory matters and assistance and support to the holding
company and subsidiaries also falls within legal Affairs
purviews.
The Government Relations department liaises with Government
authorities and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on
regulatory aspects like government rules, policies and SOPs.
Government Relations
Inter Connect
Legal Affairs
Business Intelligence
Program Management
Special Projects
Security
10
Competitors of Mobilink:
Ufone
Telenor
Zong
Warid
11
Market Share:
12
13
TABULAR ANALYSIS:
Below is a tabular analysis of different traits of an organization
and practices of these traits as performed at Mobilink is
provided. Further inference regarding the way the trait is
practiced is part of new or old organization is defined.
Traits
Basic Unit
Flow of Information
Decision Making
Hierarchy
Orientation
Emphasis
Mobilink
Trait of
Team
New
Organization
New
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
New
14
Working Hours
Career Path
Reward System
Customised
Culture
Homogenous
Mindset
Ethnocentric
Boundary
Management
Value Chain
Environment
Handled by Boundary
Spanner (EPMO)
Local
(Operations only in
Pakistan)
Local
(Operations only in
Pakistan)
Organization
New
Organization
New
Organization
New
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
Old
Organization
Teamwork
(Present)
Teams
Alliances Need
Structures Have To Be Managed
15
Flat
Flexible
Diverse
Global
Room For
Improvement
Negotiation Development Of
Boundaries
(Required)
Incentive
Need To Be
System Is
Managed
Required
Multitasking
Workforce
Learning Is In
(Required To
Needs To Be
Progress
An Extent)
Managed
Listening /
Conflict
Stakeholder
Empathy
Management
Relationships
(Required)
System
Management
(Required)
(Required)
CrossCross-Border
Local
Cultural
Integration
Responsivenes
Communicati
(Required)
s (Present)
on (Required)
16
Task Variety:
Just like any other Company tasks at Mobilink varies in the
dimensions of Complexity, Routinization and Interdependence.
Complexity:
Mostly the complex tasks are a part of High level positions
including President, Vice Presidents and HODs. Their tasks
include Objective setting, Problem solving and keeping a
check on performance of every unit.
Routinization:
Routinize tasks are part of lower level management including
Seniors Managers, Managers, Specialists and Associates that
contain high level of same work to be repeated on periodic
basis.
Interdependence:
Pooled: Such types of interdependent tasks are undertaken
at the same time, such as Quarter, Biannual and annual
17
Grouping:
Mobilink has not grouped the whole organization in accordance
to a single grouping technique; they used multiple
methodologies at various levels and departments. Being a
service provider, Mobilink went for Grouping by Market (Region)
as their Primary Strategy. They divided whole Pakistan into
three regions for its operations. Each region is headed by a vice
president. Further every Region contains series of Functional
departments as per requirements that are headed by Head of
Departments more commonly known as directors. Every
department contains managers of various levels including
senior managers, managers, experts and associates.
18
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Linking:
Linking Mechanisms:
Formal Reporting Structures
As the hierarchy and chain of command are clearly defined in
the hierarchy of Mobilink, the existence of Formal reporting
structure is prominent in the strategic design.
Integrator Roles
The existence of Enterprise Project Management Office
(EPMO) as a boundary spanner and as a facilitator for
coordination between departments allows it to perform the
19
20
Alignment:
Alignment systems:
Organization Performance Measurement Systems
Annual Credibility reports are formulated in order to check
the progress of individuals and company where as weekly
Thursday meetings are arranged in every region in which
summary is formed regarding last week progress and next
week targets are determined. Vice presidents chair these
meeting.
Individual Rewards and Incentives
Extrinsic rewards are part of structure are intrinsic rewards
rarely exist. Rewards greatly depend upon the appraisal by
the manager rather than performance based incentives. A
hefty sum is rewarded to senior managers only in form of
retention bonuses and Shares as well.
Resource Allocation
Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and top
management holds the decision to allocation of resources to
different
departments.
EPMO
coordinates
with
all
departments about their requirements regarding resources.
Human Resource Development
Special emphasis is put on training and development of
employees. Inter region training sessions are programmed as
per the expertise are location of Department such as Sales
head office is located in Lahore.
Informal Systems and Processes
Some individuals directly report to Head of departments
rather than senior managers as per understandings and this
helps them pull certain favours personally.
21
POLITICAL LENS:
Organizational politics are informal, unofficial, and sometimes
behind-the-scenes efforts to sell ideas, influence an
organization, increase power, or achieve other targeted
objectives. Although often portrayed negatively, organizational
politics are not inherently bad. Instead, its important to be
aware of the potentially destructive aspects of organizational
politics in order to minimize their negative effect. As discussed
with Mirza Sohail Asghar (Assistant Manager, Office of Strategy
Management) we came to know that there was strong
organizational politics in different levels and of different types
in Mobilink.
Core concept of politics depends on two elements that are
following:
Interest:
Every individual employee in Mobilink got their personal
interest that they want to achieve the good reputation in eyes
of top management. Good relationship with managers can help
in receiving different fringe benefits like taking company
maintained vehicle for the weekends, inviting a friend or two for
lunch in Mobilinks facility etc. This situation is completely
different in Telenor where the focus is totally on process.
Whistle blowing and leaking companys information for vested
interests is quite common in Mobilink. Changes in strategy,
employees termination plans and financial reports are made
public in platforms like www.Pro-Pakistani.com etc. regularly by
internal anonymous employees.
Power:
The ability to affect the behaviour or outcome of other people is
Power. An example of power factor of Politics in Mobilink was
the decision of disbursement of Cow sites (cell on vehicles) in
recent Raiwand Ijtema. Although revenue wise this decision
lacked feasibility but many senior management still proposed it
as they were going in Ijtema and network coverage was to be
ensured for them. Similarly based on the power influence one
22
23
Sources of Power:
Mobilink has still people based management which means the
designation (formal position in the organization), contacts
(informal position in organization or social network) and
personality of an employee (personal characteristics) is the key
factors for getting the work done.
24
CULTURAL LENS:
Mobilink has a very open, collaborative and nurturing company
culture. Mobilink's corporate values serve as the foundation for
its culture, behavioural norms, and decision making. These
values have always been at the heart of their business
principles and success. The culture bears direct impact on the
companys most valuable asset that is the employees. Thus,
continuous transformation and development in organizational
culture tend to receive special attention from the management.
At Mobilink, the organizational culture and values are specially
taken care of to provide an environment based on Mobilinks
goals and vision. The goal of Mobilinks culture is to promote
self-confidence,
passion,
personal
accountability
and
professional excellence.
Values of Mobilink:
The three values are Be Passionate, Be Professional, and
Lead with Purpose. These values are then further broken down
into behaviours comprising the essential cultural elements. The
new values and their underlying behaviours have been mapped
over the previous organizational values to ensure adaptability,
while introducing a few complementary behaviours for further
consistency and higher degree of employee engagement. For
example organization wide communication and awareness
campaigns are planned for the launch of a new brand.
Performance management system have also been updated with
the new values and provided employees with a series of
customized trainings, Mobilink Behaviours Reference Guide
book, and e-learning module to help understand and implement
the behaviours in everyday work.
Mobilinks Values and Behaviours are based on the Group Value
Agenda. It is a result-driven approach and uses employee
engagement concepts to ensure consistent and successful
execution of Group and organizational strategy through an
enabling culture. Employees are made to understand and
integrate these values into their everyday tasks by providing
25
26
Subcultures:
While the culture of an organization is representative of the
company as a whole, many smaller subcultures also exist
within this structure. As an example consider Head Office of
Mobilink as being the organizational culture and the different
departments such as HRM, Finance, Marketing, Production and
Front line operations being subculture. There is fundamental
cultural differences between the departments for example
Office of Strategy Management has a very formal culture while
Marketing department has very informal culture with no tap on
dress code, office timing, use of jargons etc. Each individual
subculture has its own unique set of characteristics making it
distinguishable from the other subcultures, but together, they
still operate as a whole striving for the same overall goals.
27
Flexible Timings:
Mobilink offer flexible working hours to their employees to a
certain limit and they are monitored by the management. Few
years back Mobilink had very flexible timing (but depending
upon the departments) for their employees, even they used to
28
People Oriented:
According to Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar Mobilink is a people
oriented organization; work cannot be done if the respective
people is not available even if the work could be done without
him. The work gets pending unless that person itself does not
complete that work. It affects the work and performance which
is to be finished as soon as possible takes a lot of time.
Where as in Telenor; it is based on process means that if a
person is not available who has to perform certain task but they
have alternate people who can carry out their work and it also
saves time and the tasks are completed on time.
Tall Hierarchy:
Mobilink has a tall hierarchy though information flows vertical
and horizontal but decision resides upwards with the top
management and decisions flow downwards. Mobilinks each
department consist of cubical and telephone extensions
although they have strong internet networking in the
organization all the data, conversations are done through email
and kept in record but still Mobilink has telephonic extensions.
The size of the cubical varies according to the position of the
employee. Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar said that while he was
working in Telenor every department has big halls in it and
tables and chairs were placed in a parallel way so that
everyone could see each other, as Telenor has a grid structure.
29
Bossy Culture:
Mobilink has a very Bossy culture Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar said
Mobilink is the perfect example for the quotation Boss is
always right. In Mobilink if the person is having good
relationship with his/her boss then things are very easy for that
person and if the person is not having good relationship with
the Manager (boss) then things are very tough for that person.
Work in Teams:
In Mobilink employees work in cross functional teams
depending upon the task which is to be achieved by the team
and the team members are selected by the team leader
according to the nature of the task. Mobilink focuses on the
Team work rather than Group work.
At the year start the C.E.O along with higher management of
VimpelCom decides the objectives of the company also called
as (OSA) objective setting activity. These objectives are further
split into small task within the organization and through KPIs
evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular
activity in which the teams or individuals were engaged. And
after every 6 months these are reviewed that whether the
organization is on the right track or not.
Linking of Departments:
At Mobilink, departments are not networked but they are linked
together to coordinate with each other. As Mobilink is having a
Bossy culture therefore they follow integrator to link different
departments with each other. According to Mr. Mirza Sohail
Asghar integrators are used in Mobilink because it is quite
difficult for the people of different departments to coordinate
with other department as everyone is busy with their own work
and they have their own targets to meet so with the use of
power it makes work easier for people of different departments
to coordinate with each other.
30
Exposure to Environment:
Mobilink is densely networked to environment as the
telecommunication sector is very competitive and in order to
remain the market leader Mobilink has to be densely networked
with the environment so that they are always aware of the
customer needs and expectations.
31
Personality Analysis:
ESTJs are representatives of
tradition and order, utilizing
their understanding of what is
right, wrong and socially
acceptable to bring colleagues
and
managers
together.
Embracing
the
values
of
honesty,
dedication
and
dignity, people with the ESTJ
personality type are valued for
their
clear
advice
and
guidance, and they happily lead the way on difficult paths.
Taking pride in bringing people together, ESTJs often take on
roles as community organizers, working hard to bring everyone
together in celebration of cherished local events, or in defence
of the traditional values that hold families and communities
together.
32
TEAM PROCESSES:
Task and maintenance functions:
According to Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar although the individual
performance is evaluated by their ultimate bosses but still the
performance of the individual in the team is satisfactory. As
mentioned earlier that Mobilink has a bossy organizational
culture therefore the team leader behaviours like a boss and
the task is carried out in a proper manner and the goals are
achieved by the team. The decision making authority resides
with the team leader but still before the final decision the team
members consent is also involved. The team members often go
to a lunch or a dinner sponsored by Mobilink after the
achievement of the goal/task, which is a form of extrinsic
reward.
33
Team Communication:
Team communication varies individual to individual and position
to position. Individual who are extrovert are more
communicative and individual who are introvert are less
communicative. Position of the individual also matters a lot
because a person who is the key personal in the team has to
interact and communicate with every team member.
The team members who are managing the boundaries of the
team (inflow and outflow of information) within the organization
communicate for frequently with the team members.
Team Influence:
According to Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar at Mobilink team influence
depend upon the team members their personal characteristics,
their experience, expertise, position at Mobilink.
Team influence strongly exists in Mobilink, and most of the
people in Mobilink very Efficient in using/exercising their
powers. Most of the times a person who is the most influencing
personal in the team dominate the whole team even by passing
the team leader.
34
Team Conflicts:
Both substantive conflicts and affective conflicts occur at
Mobilink. According to Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar conflicts are
good but if they are Substantive otherwise if they are affective
then they slow down the team goal/task and team members
are carried away.
The conflicts vary from individual to individual depending upon
their level of influence. If the person is highly influential for the
team and for the organization then the conflict better needs to
be resolved as soon as possible otherwise it would lead to
unaccomplished goals.
Team Atmosphere:
Team atmosphere has a high impact on the task completion.
Every team tries to have a good, health and friendly
atmosphere.
Most of the times when teams are formed the people are
friendly as according to Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar Mobilink has
stopped hiring new employees since 5 years. So when teams
are formed then most of the times the team members know
each other as they have worked with each other at different
tasks and projects.
People usually avoid taking risk as non of the team member
wants to take responsibility of anything which go wrong
because the team members want to maintain their good
reputation in front of their ultimate bosses.
Emotional Issues:
As everyone working in the teams has clear roles and
responsibilities so they have their identity while being in a
team. Every team members know their KPIs according to those
KPIs every team member decide their needs and wants.
Control resides with the team leader as team leader will be held
accountable in particular if the task is not completed on time
and power is exercised by the individuals who have strong
network, good position, expertise, experience.
35
36
37
Task Coordination:
As there are cross functional teams at Mobilink so it is easier to
communicate horizontally. But teams or team members cannot
force the other teams or departments to carry out work faster
as each department has their own (SLAs) Service Level
Agreements (Standard Operating Procedures) which result in
slow down of team performance and team effectiveness
Information Flow:
Information does flow vertically and horizontally but in a certain
manner. Here Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar told us that when
Mobilink changed their logo only marketing department knew
that as they were the one who changed it few finance
individuals knew it and the rest of the departments do not even
know that Mobilink is changing their logo.
And on Monday when they came to office they saw that whole
atmosphere of the office was changed and New Logo was
introduced. This high lights that the flow of information exist
but where necessary.
Changing logo dramatically reduced their sales and sales
department were not able to meet their targets. So due to the
marketing people the sales people were unable to meet their
targets. At this point it was necessary to communicate with the
Sales department that they are changing the logo and their
participation was important as their targets/goal were on stake.
X-Teams:
During our interview with Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar we came to
know that X-Teams dont exist at Mobilink. Usually when teams
are formed they are Cross Functional Teams.
And Cross Functional Teams are effective, efficient as there are
team members from different departments having different
skills, expertise, and experience.
Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar also told us that during his experience
at Telenor even there Cross Functional Teams were formed.
38
39
Hierarchical:
Though in the past years Mobilink has diminished middle
managers at various levels in order to become a flat
organization but still the hierarchy is tall. Employees are
inducted at associate level and spend several years on same
level before being promoted up. The career path is well defined
as there is no lateral rotation of employees among departments
as the emphasis is on being an expert in a single domain.
Local:
Though VimpelCom is an international service provider but the
operations of under the head of Mobilink are confined within
the boundaries of Pakistan that results in less globalization in
terms of Work force. Mobilink do prefer candidates with
international background in work and education. 2 top level
management positions are also occupied by foreigners that are
President and CEO Jeffry Hedberg and Chief technology Officer
Gabriele Sgariglia
40
Diverse:
Mobilink encourages diversity among its work force as the
hiring are majorly on Merit and individuals from diverse
backgrounds and culture are inducted in offices around the
country. Employees are also sent to other cities for certain
period in order to learn the culture and work setting of that
office. Training sessions are also conducted in various cities and
employees from all around the country attend these sessions.
41
FLEXIBILITY:
Flexibility in terms of Workforce is greatly associated with
acceptance of Women at workforce. Mobilink encourages
woman to apply for the job openings as Mobilink is an equal
opportunity employer.
Flexibility is taken to next level when the womens are even
involved and welcomed at the top managerial level of an
organization. At Mobilink, the vice president of Human Resource
and administration is a Female namely Sadia Ahmed. Women
are also provided with special services such as more flexible
timing, pick and drop service right to/from door step, extra
leaves and others.
42
Flexibility Choices:
Flexible space
The option of flexible space is only provided to the top level
executives. Though they have a specified office but they are
given access to extra technological tools in order to
communicate at long distances, whereas lower level employees
have fixed and specified cubicles with no access to such
technology
Flexible time and allocation of tasks
Flex time is offered to the committed individuals with high
performance over the years but it is to a limited extent whereas
concept of job sharing is absent.
Flexible career paths
The career paths are fixed horizontally and there is no concept
of lateral career paths or job rotation to other departments
Flexible workforce size and firm boundaries
Outsourcing is done at the technological level due to the
limitation and global practice. Concept of part time is absent
where as interns are hired to assist associates and expert level
employees in their routine tasks and to learn.
People
Work
Technolo
gy
Assumptions
20th
Century /
21st
Century
20th Century
43
20th Century
20th Century
Leadersh
ip
Goal
20th Century
20th Century
44
Human Nature:
Change represents uncertainty and its human nature to avoid
risk and uncertainty. With the change implemented employee
generally feels reservation and insecure about the future
regarding their job prospect, authority, expected workload and
reporting procedures. The managers might think that theyll
lose the authority and power and the lower level employees
might get free hand to do their tasks more independently.
Organizational Inertia:
The overall organization environment is also reluctant to
change because adopting new practices and procedures
disrupts the flow of processes and information.
Unanticipated Consequences:
Change can also result in negative consequences due to
internal and stakeholders non-compliance. Often it causes loss
45
Change:
After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage, the change
stage is where employees at Mobilink will begin to resolve their
uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People will start
to believe and act in ways that support the new direction.
The transition from unfreeze to change does not happen
overnight: People take time to embrace the new direction and
participate proactively in the change. A related change model,
the Change Curve , focuses on the specific issue of personal
transitions in a changing environment and is useful for
understanding this specific aspect in more detail.
46
47
Refreezing:
When the changes are taking shape and Mobilinkers have
embraced the new ways of working, the organization is ready to
refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable
organization chart, consistent job descriptions, and so on. The
refreeze stage also needs to help people and the organization
internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making
sure that the changes are used all the time; and that they are
incorporated into everyday business. With a new sense of
stability, employees feel confident and comfortable with the
new ways of working.
With the application and integration of new mechanisms,
employees may need a little time and in some cases detailed
training sessions depending upon the complexity of the new
system installed.
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DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE:
Scope:
The change at Mobilink were about to bring is going to be
incremental in nature. Everything will be installed, initiated
and integrated from time to time rather than changing the
whole face of organization in a single night, just like that
happened in the past in the case of changing of Branding of
Mobilink.
Pace:
The pace of change is going to be punctuated rather than
continuous. At every step of change, some time will be invested
in order to make it firm into the position and then the change
will be moved to the next step. The changes in different
mechanism will be brought one by one rather than working on
all elements at once
Source:
The change will emerge bottom up because the kind of
changes we recommending are actually lacking at the lower
level and these do exist in some form at upper level that may
be in form of extra features and authority provided to the upper
tier of management
Process:
The process of change is planned as we already have a task in
hand to propose a strategy for Mobilink to make it a better
organization. The plan is to
Communicate the idea of change at all levels
Answer queries and remove barriers and misunderstandings
Integrate new methodologies for linking first and then
alignment
Work on political aspect
Work on cultural aspect
Reinforce the change with the help of trainings as required
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Input:
Human resources: The Human Resource Department of
Mobilink keeps its eyes on the requirements of the Mobilink
Head Office and recruits appropriate applicant to fill those
requirements. The process starts from the post of
announcement to market the organization and the position
to possible candidates. The applications are received and
then screened the candidates and selected through a clear
selection process. Employees are also hired through different
job fairs, visiting top universities and HR management firms.
Financial Resources: Mobilink arranges its finance through
the Parent Company i.e. AAR Consortium that has Alfa bank
and Alfa Capital. Local banking channels arent used for
financing and the company solely depends upon its own
source bank.
Technology: Mobilink has been using Teradata Enterprise
Data Warehouse technology and services since 2005. All of
the top 15 Communication Service Providers in the world use
Teradata data warehousing and analytics solutions. For
integrated silicon solution Mobilink technological partner is
Broadcom
Corporation
that
enables
broadband
communications and networking of voice, video and data
services. Mobilink has also bought Point of Sale Verification
Solution Frame Contract with Secure Tech Consultancy (Put)
Ltd. Secure Tech provides necessary hardware using its own
developed proprietary software to capture customers
designated fingerprint, convert it to a format that is
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Output:
Customers: Mobilink is the leading telecommunications
service provider in Pakistan with 38.1 million subscribers and
market share of 28% as of March 2014. Customers can be
divided into two categories: Corporate Clients and Regular
Customers. Mr. Mirza Sohail told us that Mobilink Corporate
Clients includes many famous celebrities including Shan, Ali
Zafar and politicians like Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari etc.
Retailers: Mobilink has 30,000 retailers strategically spread
in rural and urban areas to maximize financial outreach.
Distributors: Mobilink also has the largest distribution and
call centre network that enables it to offer wider accessibility
and quality customer services across Pakistan.
Regulatory Set:
PTA is a regulatory body for the telecom sector in Pakistan and
has been established under the Pakistan Telecommunication
(Re-organization) Act 1996. It has been formed to ensure and
facilitate the availability of high quality, efficient, cost-effective,
and competitive telecommunication services throughout
Pakistan and to protect the interests of consumers and
licensees. It is worth noted that in 2003, Mobilink was slapped a
fine of Rs60 million for poor quality of service by PTA with a
direction to pay the penalty by compensating its customers
within 30 days. With a customer base of one million in the
country at that time every customer got a compensation of
Rs60 each.
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Set of Competitors:
The four direct competitors of Mobilink are: Warid, Zong,
Telenor and Ufone. According to PTA consumer survey 2013;
Mobilink is number 1 in market in terms of service excellence
followed by Warid, Telenor, Zong and finally Ufone.
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Internal Stakeholders:
Interest:
Internal Stakeholders of Mobilink mainly includes the CEO, top
managers, middle managers and employees. Internal
stakeholders interest is mainly profit and revenue
maximization.
Middle
managers
main
concerns
are
compensation and job security because due to economic
downfall Mobilink frequently lays off its middle and low level
employees. To align the goals of top management (profit
maximization) and middle managers/workers (bonuses, job
security), In Mobilink the compensation (bonuses provided) to
managers depends proportionally (i.e. 50:50 or 60:40) on own
performance and companys performance. Interests of internal
stakeholders are clearly defined in job description and
performance measurement systems.
Power:
The basis of power is the formal hierarchical position as the
authorities are clearly defined. Element of informal networking
also plays a pivotal role and allows to get off the desk work
done.
External Stakeholders:
The main external stakeholders of Mobilink are its corporate
and regular clients as Mobilink has the largest customer base in
Telecom industry so the interests of customers is responsibly
addressed in terms of promotions and packages. Mobilink
ensures that the compliance of Governmental authority and its
specification are aligned with that of inputs of its technological
partners. Telecom industry has biggest chunk of tax paid to
government so regulatory authority keeps a close eye on the
revenues of different telecoms. Government also ensures that
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Parent Company:
The KPIs (key performance instructions) provided by the Parent
Company has made some practices of the culture very rigid. As
the financing including compensation and SOPs is provided by
them so the overall behaviours and work attitude of employee
is more inclined towards homogeneity.
Customers:
Mobilink has a large database of corporate clients so its culture
is a mirror image of it. It is reflected in its advertisement and
promotions campaigns.
Suppliers:
To remain competitive Mobilink has outsourced its technology
from suppliers already mentioned above in the report. This is
the industry practice to outsource the technology. So Mobilink
gives training to old employees or hire new employees who are
aware with the technology in use. This induction is making the
culture more diverse and evolving over the period of time.
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Regulatory Authority:
Regulatory Authority like PTA gives SOP and regulations in
terms of technical specifications. This makes the culture aligned
with the industry practice.
Coercive Isomorphism:
Stakeholders provide KPIS which imposes the structural and
procedural demands in Mobilink. The ARR consortium is a
multinational group which has hold on several of its business.
The key aspect is that they ensure the already defined
practices are enforced in each of its business. Hence coercive
isomorphism is deeply rooted in the culture of Mobilink.
CONCLUSION
The analysis performed on Mobilink as per the studied
knowledge of the course People and Organization gave us a
detailed and comprehensive insight about the whole structure
of Mobilink. We became able to see the things we were not
aware of before also the unseen.
The analytics part provided us the understanding of basic
practices that use to happen, that happen now a days and even
how the new ones are transforming into more advanced one
due to the changing requirements.
The team part provided us with the insight to how teams are
formed, what kind of individuals join these teams, how teams
work, what is their composition, the benefits of team over
groups and individuals and the diverse kinds of teams
The organizational part elaborated how workforce is managed,
what motivates them, how to sort out their issues, the changing
initiatives in organizations and how the environment is
changing and becoming more complex.
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57
RECOMMENDATIONS
Starting from the practices, we found Mobilink tilted toward old
practices so the organization needs to works more on
networking by as the departments work in isolation, to make
the organization flat but removing the unnecessary middle
management level, flexible toward practices as to initiate
rather than adopt and Diversity by increasing diverse
workforce.
We will start from the strategic lens. We studied the structure in
detail and we found that grouping technique (By
Market/Region) is good enough for Mobilink to continue.
Changing the design will result in huge disruptions and
business. The region segmentation is covering whole Pakistan
well in terms of service. The problem arises at the integration
between the departments (Linking) and to reinforce the links
(Alignment).
The role of Enterprise Project Management Office EPMO should
be completely refined as it acts as the boundary managers. It
must facilitate the interaction of departments in a positive way
and make decision as per requirement.
Some cross unit group needs to e permanent who work in close
coordination and more freely on the task that are integral I
nature.
The basic reason of lack of communication between the
departments
is
the
lack
of
technological
resource.
Communication systems such as VideoCon must be
implemented so that departments can come out of isolation.
All departments of organization must be involved in planning
process so that no issue would arise later about the task and
resource distribution and it will also give them a sense of
ownership.
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APPENDICES
Annex 1:
Personality Test
(From Assistant
Management)
Manager-
Office
of
Strategy
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Annex 2:
Cultural Questions:
Why did Mobilink transform its values and philosophy?
What are the values of Mobilink?
Describe the behaviours Mobilink promotes within the
employees.
Organizational values evolve over time. To what extent
was the change in the companys values natural/organic
and to what extent was it a conscious effort?
What is the role of Mobilinks values in driving a high
performance culture?
How do you motivate the employees to integrate the
values into every routine and small task, as opposed to
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Annex 3:
We asked open ended Questions from Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar
in order to get as much information as we can
Questions which were asked are as following:
Is there formal hierarchy in the Mobilink?
How Goals are set in Mobilink?
What kind of Team exists at Mobilink?
Does Politics exist at Mobilink?
Do people use Power?
What is the culture at Mobilink?
Does Team Membership exist at Mobilink?
Does X-Teams exist Mobilink?
Is there clear line of authority?
Are there formal rules which you have to comply with?
Are there set boundaries for departments?
Is there flexibility in organization?
Is the organization networked?
At Mobilink is the organizational structure is flat or vertical?
Is the organization global?
Is the organization diverse?
What is your current company strategy?
How are the employees being rewarded?
Do you have to perform same task the same way every day?
What sort of strategic grouping do u use at Mobilink?
Does Mobilink have some sort of informal structure in their
hierarchy?
Does manager act as Liaison or integrator?
Are there cross units at Mobilink permanent or temporary?
How efficiently are the resources allocated to the
employees?
What sort of human resource programs do you deploy at
Mobilink?
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TEAM ASSESSMENT
What criteria were used in selecting an organization?
After the initial group meeting, the members discussed the
choice of references on hand and the organizations that they
belong to. The references were scrutinized by the probability
that they will give us enough time and information about the
company to carry out the report whereas the organizations
were examined on their visible futures with respect to the
course. After some discussion Khyam Zikria came up with
reference of Mr Sohail Asghar who is assistant manager in
the strategic office of Mobilink and so Mobilink was finalized.
How was leadership negotiated?
Before the announcement of project we observed that
Ibrahim is an active student in class and always contributes
in lessons so we voluntarily gave the Leadership to Ibrahim
as we found him better at complementing and
supplementing.
How was work divided?
The work was divided equally and module wise and certain
changes were made according to the strong areas and
attention to a particular topic of an individual too.
What was the most difficult conflict to resolve and
how did you resolve it?
Communication, we were new to each other and it was our
first time to be a part of single team so we had a
communication gap. The issue was resolved with frequent
contact outside class and discussion on topics.
What is the team most proud about this project?
The completion of this project! The project required a lot of
effort and brain to come in this final shape. On the other
hand the effort resulted in deep understanding of the subject
along with minute details too that can help us identify even
the unseen at an organization
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INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT
MUHAMMAD EHSAN
What did I learn about working on a team?
Teams are good when they work at the same frequency and
energy level. Team inducts diversity, creativity and other
positive factor to the outcome. The members have to
complement supplement each others work in order to come
up with a better outcome.
What did I learn about myself from this experience?
I learned to compliment and supplement the work of other
group members when they have genuine reasons to lack
behind in progress. It taught me how to handle pressure,
meet deadlines and carry extra workload.
What will I do differently as a team member on future
teams?
To create an understanding before starting the task so that
all members can be at the same frequency and to emphasize
the responsibility toward the assigned task to each member
as its for their own good.
Introducing the concept of timeline is also in the list followed
by taking the responsibility to be a leader at first hand.
KHYAM ZIKRIA
In the initial stage we were totally unaware of each other so
obviously had some communication and understanding
problems. But later on through exchanging numbers, email ids
and joining the online platform for sharing information of the
group; we made good acquaintances with each other. I learnt
how to accept criticism gracefully by giving extra efforts on the
next assigned chapter. Our team members supported group
decisions even if they initially disagreed which made me learn
the importance of collective bargaining. I was never a good
listener but these team efforts made me a good listener and I
found it necessary for yielding creativity. In the end I would say
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70
IBRAHIM GHAZNAVI
My experience in working in a Team rather than a Group was
great. Me and my team members implements all the attributes
of a Team and we came to know that working in a team creates
synergy among the team members, by Complementing and
Supplementing each other helps to finish the given task before
time.
What I learnt working in a Team was that we have our Clear
Roles and Responsibility, first we figure out that what are the
Strengths and Weakness of each Team member and then roles
were further divided into the team members. I noticed that my
effectiveness and efficiency had a multiplier effect on my
performance. I really enjoyed working in the team with such a
good team members. The team environment was very friendly
and we all got to know each other very well.
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PEER ASSESSMENT
By MUHAMMAD EHSAN
Mr. X was the first class mate when I joined university for MBA.
We both, being from same locality, share a similar kind of
thoughts at many things. MR x had a better understanding with
me, though he had some time occupation but was available
when contacted. He worked sufficient in the report and is
always there to assist me.
Mr. Y has a dominating character and always comes up to fill
the gaps where we lack. Thats why we made him our team
leader as hes good at complimenting supplementing too. He
completed his work on time, lead us at the interview with
comprehensive questioning that provided us with the
information required.
After the discussion with other teams of the class I realized that
I was a part of the best group out of the whole class and thats
a blessing.
By IBRAHIM GHAZNAVI
What I learnt about my team member Ehsan, he is hard
working person with really good computer skills, he helped us
in formation of our Report in computer very well by using
various commands on MS Word and MS PowerPoint. Ehsan is a
responsible person and I never came to know that he has not
completed his task on time. He always completed the task
before time.
My team member Khyam is a very good guy and a very
supportive person. Through his reference we told the interview
of Mr. Mirza Sohail Asghar (Mobilinks employee). He arranged a
meeting with him. Khyam also played a vital role in the
completion of this project Report. He is also a very responsible
person and gives his sincere input in the work. He always
completed the given task on time.
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By KHYAM ZIKRIA
Muhammad Ehsan:
As a team member Ehsan played a very important role in this
project. He always exceeds productivity standards by applying
his well understood core concepts of the subject. I found him
always very polite and willing to help. He is a self-starter with
high motivation and constantly goes beyond call of duty. He
carried out tasks without overly depending on other team
members. His quality of work was always accurate in all areas
of contribution. Ehsan never missed a team meeting and was
always on time. During the report writing process I found his
work done ahead of schedule.
Ibrahim Ghaznavi:
Ibrahim was our team leader responsible for aligning and
coordinating all the team efforts. I found him very sociable and
outgoing. He listens and understands the situation of others
team members very well. He kept the group together and in the
right direction with his steady influence. The most inspiring
thing about his leading the team was his positive attitude and
spirit. He always contributed positively to group discussions
and was the initiator in every group working aspect (interview
with our Mobilinks reference, reports proof-reading etc). It was
Ibrahim who when conflict occur made the team confront and
deal with the issue before moving to another subject. Ibrahim
also made our different article presentations cohesive by
complementing and supplementing arguments of other team
members. His communication skills are exceptional and he
always articulated his idea clearly. I found him reacting
sensitively to verbal and nonverbal cues of other team
members.
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ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT
It was a nice experience with these gentlemans namely
Muhammad Ehsan, Khyam Zikria and Ibrahim Ghaznavi from
Bahria University whom I met at a series of meetings regarding
their Project regarding Organizational Analysis on Mobilink.
I found all these individuals dedicated to work, on time and
concerned more about knowledge rather than just wrapping up
the work as they asked very comprehensive questions at the
interview. At times even I had to think a little when they put
forward a question or request them for some time so that I can
guide them better.
The project was not only a learning for themselves but for me
too as I got to know multiple aspects about my organization
which I didnt know earlier. These full of knowledge sessions
gave me a new perspective to look at my organization and to
address the shortcomings in more effective way
I look forward for their recommendation on solving these issues
at Mobilink and expect them to get good grades too for this
project.
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