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SYNOPSIS

CREATION OF A WORLD CLASS TEAM OF SUPPLY CHAIN

NEED FOR THE STUDY

With the globalization, most businesses are exposed to international


competition. Advantages of protected economy can no more protect
complacent practices and methods. Efficiency in any function can only be
brought if people selected for the purpose have the required basic ingredients
which can be improvised with the right environment and training. Most of
today’s business establishments had started as the small and family run
businesses in the last few decades. So their core competence developed is
either in manufacturing or marketing. Supply chain function has traditionally
been handled by a faithful & trusted employee or a family member.

It is being said that this decade is going to be of supply managers who will
work like links of a chain (supply chain) around teeth of a rotating wheel
(business).

The flawless uninterrupted dynamism of the wheel would depend upon the
quality and hardening of links and its synchronization with the wheel
sprockets.

Hence there is a pertinent need to understand and evaluate the basic


ingredients and traits required in an ideal supply chain team member, assess
the process of further refining it by way of training or working exposure, so
that chances of his failure under any circumstances could be minimized.

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The key objectives of the study would include:

To understand the various levels in a supply chain and traits/skills


requirements of each level.

To evaluate and define ideal model of supply chain organograms across the
industry.

To understand different sub functions under the supply chain and sub
function specific traits/specialization required for the same.

To provide an ideal combination of traits/skills to be identified at entry level


for each sub function and create organization structure on this basis.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the initial stage details of traits required for various level and functions of
supply chain would be studied from various references and thereafter a
questionnaire would be prepared and circulated thro e-mail/post to various
supply chain professional across the industry to have the feedback.

Some professionals might be interviewed also to have interactive data in the


initial stage.

Data to be compiled and structured to understand how a world class supply


chain can be created.

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To have wider base of data, industries like engineering, chemical, power,


infrastructure, service as well as small scale businesses will be covered.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Results so obtained would be useful to identify personality traits and other


attributes required for functional perfection of employees to be recruited,
promoted or transferring in the supply chain.

It would also be useful for identifying training needs of employees in the


function.

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INTRODUCTION

Research project has been divided into 6 chapters. The brief detailing of
each chapter has been described as follows.

CHAPTER-1: SKILLS & TRAITS COMBINATION: The objective of this


chapter was to list down all the skill and traits essential for SCM
professionals. The requirement of these traits may differ in various sub
functions of SCM.

Listing was mailed to various professionals in the field of SCM and HR to


have an aggregate view across the various business segments.

CHAPTER-2: John L Holland's vocational typology and personality theory:

Once we know broadly the skill/trait combination next step is to find out
personality type. Holland’s classification of vocational typology and
personality theory was found to be most appropriate and is used worldwide
as a tool for selecting vocation for students on the basis of their personality.
Dr. John L Holland classified these personality types into six types which he
labeled realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional

Again a questionnaire was mailed to several professionals to know their


personality type and to understand their detailing of ideal personality for
various sub function.

CHAPTER-3: TEMPARAMENTAL PROFILE: In the last Two centuries


various theories were developed and built on diversity of Psychological
aspects of human beings by numerous psychologists.

To differentiate this diversity David Keirsey in 1978 divided into four


Temperaments types as artisans, guardians, idealists & Rationals.

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Purpose of this study was to have in depth understanding of various


temperamental types and their psychology while selecting/grooming the
people in various functions of supply chain

Based on that theory differentiations were studied to find what suits the
SCM best at various levels and functions.

CHAPTER-4: THE LEADER: It is critically important to have the right


Supply Chain Management leader to implement any supply chain strategy
and create and lead a balanced SCM team.

The leader should be blend of several basic ingredients naturally inherited in


traits, psychological & temperamental profile and acquired skills thro
education and training & experience. A lot depends on leader for the
performance of the function. Also the support from the top management is
essential for this function expected to provide highest service levels at
lowest cost.

CHAPTER-5: TEAM FORMATION: This chapter deals with the team


formation as a complex process of Forming Storming, Norming and
Performing. It shows the importance to build a critical mass of
motivated and committed core team members initially on the
basis of functional core competencies, personality type and commitment to
succeed. Then the core teams should be surrounded by supporting
professionals having complementary skill sets and temperaments.

CHAPTER-6: CASE STUDIES FOR PROCESS VALIDATION: Although


professionals from diverse industries were studied and surveyed but holistic
study was done of complete SCM process for two companies as case studies
for the validation of the research carried out. Findings were encouraging and
found to be in line with the Research.

CHAPTER-7: CONCLUSION: Conclusion is about findings of the study. It


also goes into details of work done by others researchers in this field .This
also emphasize that what further can be done in this area on the basis of the
details collected and concluded.

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CHAPTER-1

SKILLS & TRAITS COMBINATION

Every job require certain skill set which are combination of individual’s
personality traits, the cultural values and the background , education and
training .The high expectations from the SCM professionals today call for
certain Personal qualities which will strongly influence the his personality
and thus his Work. A few are identified after the personal discussions with
the professionals and readings the articles of renowned supply chain
professionals.

- Integrity

An essential precondition for a SCM today is his integrity, which will


manifest itself in a strictly ethical way of thinking and working. This applies
particularly to giving absolute priority to treating bidders, customers,
suppliers and Colleagues objectively, equally and fairly.

- Intelligence

Only an intelligent person who is capable of comprehending complex


contexts quickly and who can subsequently make targeted decisions is
suitable for the SCM profession.

- Positive Thinking

In any walk of life, positive thinking comes from a positive perception of the
world as well as a positive attitude. This is important for being able to tackle

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problems actively and with a positive approach, so as to develop suitable


solutions and surmount any difficulties that may arise in the process.

- Logical and analytical aptitude

Logical thinking is one of the foundations of modern economics. It is the


prerequisite for the required power of judgment. In addition to the necessary
aptitude for logical, i.e. consequent thinking, the SCM professional also
needs analytical skills as a basis for taking decisions.

- Entrepreneurial capabilities and target-oriented approaches


The development of the profit-oriented function of SCM calls for
entrepreneurial capabilities and target-oriented approaches. This applies
particularly when decisions have to be made whether to build a product in-
house or to outsource,

- Dedication

Being involved in production and the value-added process, the SCM


Professional in his function has to fulfill important tasks in his company. It
is therefore crucial that he has a sense of corporate identity and is dedicated
to his work & his dedication would be rewarded.

- Talent to conduct negotiations

The SCM professional has to conduct many negotiations. To be able to lead


a successful negotiation, he needs some fundamental skills and knowledge
such as: Technical/specialist knowledge; the ability to present one’s own
point of view clearly; factual and objective argumentation; different ways of
reacting to suggestions of One’s counterpart; the ability to refute arguments;
understanding and staying power; power of persuasion; creativity; the ability
to accept a compromise as well as the determination to make decisions.

- Receptivity and adaptability

An important prerequisite for receptivity is the ability and willingness to


listen. Fast economic and technological changes in all corporate sectors call
for a high degree of adaptability. An aptitude to recognize and understand

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new technologies, markets and products is a prerequisite for the swift


adjustments which are vital for the success and future survival of a company

- Communication and presentation skills

For successful operations in the modern business world it is often decisive


how well a person presents himself or his topic. The corresponding skills
should therefore be familiar tools for the SCM professional.

- Power of persuasion

The SCM professional must be capable of persuading and convincing people


(his colleagues, superiors, suppliers, etc) of his sound opinion.

- Flexibility

Both in general conversations and business negotiations a certain level of


flexibility – without giving up one’s objectives – can be advantageous.

- Ability to reach a compromise

It is often necessary to negotiate a compromise to complete difficult


business
transactions. A good compromise offers both parties a fair share of the
success, without having to give up one’s position completely.

- Strength and determination to make decisions

Working in today’s business environment often calls for fast and clear
decisions which may have to be made at short notice. This requires special
strengths and determination.

- Team skills

For handling modern purchasing processes as well as ensuring optimum


cooperation and motivation of both in-house staff and outside suppliers, the
SCM professional needs team building and team working skills to be applied
throughout the value-added chain

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- Leadership qualities

Companies expect from their SCM professionals to be capable of leading


their colleagues and staff, and also to have the ability to establish long -term
supplier relationships and lasting networks.

- Creativity

New markets, products and suppliers as well as the need to resolve complex
Problems call for a certain level of creativity in the SCM professional’s
thinking and approaches. Creative new ideas may lead to promising results
where traditional practical thinking possibly might not succeed.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED


The Profile of the Purchasing Function and its Future Challenges (Nov. 2002)
Author: Dr. Josef VLCEK Secretary General of ERPS European Center for Research in Purchasing and supply Vienna, Austria

METHODOLOGY

A survey questionnaire (Annexed below) was mailed to several


professionals at various levels in SCM function working in variety of
industry like Energy, IT, Pharmaceutical, Engineering, Process etc to know
their comments about the skill sets. The hard copies of questionnaire were
also circulated personally at IIMM Ahmedabad, s seminars to obtain wider
response.

The questionnaire was also mailed to several HRD professionals to


understand the how the recruiters think.

The results so obtained were tabulated as per (Appendix-1) attached. The


summary of the survey result is as under:

Survey results

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Survey results on skill-sets were divided into four categories as under The
questionnaire was mailed to aprox 200 professionals Reply was received
from 47 respondents as follows:

Departmental Heads 5
Middle managers 13
SCM executives 18
HRD Managers 11

Departmental Heads: Since this category is influential in decision making


on selection, career advancement of professionals in the function and is a
link between management and the SCM professionals so their opinion is
important in overall direction setting.

As we can see from table average rating for the most important factor they
have chosen is 9.2 for ethical conduct followed by intelligence (8.8), attitude
(8.8) and analytical skills (8.8) .Least they have chosen is experience with an
average of 5.4.

Middle Managers : Middle Managers as are in the middle of skill set


muddle have not opined very differently from the HOD ,s

They have also found ethical conduct at top with average rating of 8.5
followed by intelligence (8.1), attitude (8.0) and analytical skills (8.0) and
knowledge (8.0). They have given better weightage to experience (7.2)

SCM Executives: They have given top score to intelligence (8.5) followed
closely by ethical conduct (8.4). Other factors they have found important
are analytical & dedication with 7.8 each.

HRD Managers: HRD professionals are looking for intelligence factor (8.7)
as most wanted followed by analytical (8.5). They have given fewer score to
dedication (6.4), flexible (6.5) and creative (6.6).

Overall averages are higher for intelligence, Ethical values & being
analytical and are lower for pay driven and experience. The analysis of
survey is given in Annexure 1 A

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QUESTIONAIRRE-1
Please rate following statements on 1-10 scale. 1 being the lowest and 10 the

highest.

1) Ethical values are most important factor in relation to a good

Supply chain manager?

2a) Purchase Professional is required to be an intelligent person.

2b) Purchase Professional is required to be a Methodical person.

3a) Supply chain Professional’s attitude plays most vital role in solving a

critical SCM problem.

3b) Supply chain Professional should be system driven in solving a critical

SCM problem.

4) A Supply chain manager needs to be an analytical person.

5a) Dedication to achieve target is prime mover.

5b) self drive will come from pay packets.

6a) Knowledge on the subject is a tool for effective .negotiation.

6b) hand on experience will be enough for effective .negotiation.

7) Adaptability and flexibility in business decision is a deciding factor to

select a good Supply chain manager.

8) A good communicator is a good Supply chain manager.

9) Team building skill and power of persuasion is important for an effective

Supply chain manager.

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10) Creativity in thinking is an added qualification for a Supply chain

manager.

Name Designation Company

CHAPTER-2

John L Holland's vocational typology and personality theory

Dr. John L Holland suggested that "people can function and develop best
and find job satisfaction in work environments that are compatible with their
personalities. Holland based his theory of personality types on several
assumptions. He classified these personality types into six types which he
labeled realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional
(often referred to by the acronym RIASEC). He suggests that the closer the
match of personality to job, the greater the satisfaction.

All types are part of each of us. However, one type is usually evidenced
most strongly. We may even resemble up to three of the types. Holland
developed a hexagon model that illustrates some key concepts: consistency,
differentiation, identity, and congruence.

JOHN HOLLAND'S PERSONALITY TYPE DESCRIPTIONS

Personality Self-Perception Personality Traits Representative


Type Values Occupations

Realistic Have mechanical and Stable, materialistic, Architecture,


athletic abilities, persistent, practical, Mechanical
lacking human uninvolved, engineer, drill
relations skills. Values Uninsightful, press operator,

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money, power, and conforming Shy, aircraft


status. genuine, mechanic, dry
cleaner, waitress
trades (plumber,
electrician),
forest ranger,
truck driver,
laborer

Investigative Have math and Analytical, critical, Physicist,


science abilities, curious, intellectual, Economist,
lacking in leadership Rational, introverted, actuary, surgeon,
ability. Values science pessimistic, precise, electrical
unpopular., cautious, engineer
independent anthropologist,
chemist,
mathematician,
biologist

Artistic Has artistic and Emotional, idealistic, Poet, novelist,


musical abilities, imaginative, musician,
Values aesthetic impulsive, sculptor,
qualities, lacks clerical introspective, playwright,
skills intuitive, composer, stage
nonconforming, director,
Disorderly, Journalist, drama
teacher,
advertising
manager, interior
decorator

Social Has teaching ability, Cooperative, friendly, Professor, Inter


lacking mechanical sociable, viewer, history
and scientific ability. understanding, tactful, teacher,
Values political and generous, insightful, counselor, social
economic persuasive. helpful, worker, clergy
achievement. psychologist,
counselor,
missionary,

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teacher

Enterprising Has leadership and Adventurous, Manager,


speaking abilities. ambitions, energetic, salesperson,
Lacks scientific optimistic, self- politician,
ability. Values confident, talkative, lawyer, buyer,
political and economic pleasure-seeking, real estate
achievement domineering, salesperson,
market analyst,
attorney,
personnel
manager

Conventional Has clerical and Conscientious, Certified public


numerical ability. obedient, orderly, self- accountant,
Values business and controlled, efficient, statistician,
economic achievement persistent, bookkeeper,
unimaginative administrative
,practical, calm, assistant, post
office clerks

METHODOLOGY

Another survey questionnaire (Annexed below) was mailed to several


professionals at various levels in SCM function working in various
industries. Several responses are received and some more are expected.

This questionnaire was also mailed to several HRD professionals to


understand their views.

Following were the results of the survey based upon maximum ticks
obtained in personality type . 12 responses were received and plotting of
points revealed the majority in each type in following order.:

Procurement: enterprising
Warehousing/inventory control: conventional

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Logistics/distribution: realistic
Planning / strategy: investigative
Systems/erp: investigative

Questionnaire-2

Please tick * in an appropriate column where each of the following major


functions of a supply chain match/most compatible with the personality type.

JOB TYPE> PROCURE- WAREHOUSING/ LOGISTICS/ PLANNING/ SYSTEMS


-------------- MENT INVENTORY DISRIBUTION STRATEGY /ERP
Personality CONTROL
Type
Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional

The following questions are optional to reply however complete


confidentiality is assured of identities in case of replies.

a) What personality type you find yourself matching with.

b) what had been the personality type of your favorite superior(at

present or in past)

c) what had been the personality type of your favorite subordinate

(present or past)

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Name Designation Company

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED

Holland, J. L. 1994. SDS: Self-directed search, Form R. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

Holland, J. L 1997. Making vocational choices. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

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CHAPTER-3

TEMPARAMENTAL PROFILE

Purpose of this study was to have in depth understanding of various


temperamental types and their psychology while selecting/grooming the
people in various functions of supply chain.

People are different from each other, and that no amount of getting after
them is going to change them. Nor is there any reason to change them,
because the differences are probably good, not bad.

People are different in fundamental ways. They want different things; they
have different motives, purposes, aims, values, needs, drives, impulses,
urges. Nothing is more fundamental than that. They believe differently: they
think, cognize, conceptualize, perceive, understand, comprehend, and
cogitate differently. And of course, manners of acting and emoting,
governed as they are by wants and beliefs, follow suit and differ radically
among people.

Differences abound and are not at all difficult to see, if one looks. And it is
precisely these variations in behavior and attitude that trigger in each of us a
common response: Seeing others around us differing from us, we conclude
that these differences in individual behavior are but temporary
manifestations of madness, badness, stupidity, or sickness. In other words,
we rather naturally account for variations in the behavior of others in terms
of flaw and afflictions. Our job, at least for those near us, would seem to be
to correct these flaws

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People can't change form no matter how much and in what manner we
require them to. Form is inherent, ingrained, and indelible. Ask a person to
change form--think or want differently--and you ask the impossible, for it is
the thinking and wanting that is required to change the thinking and wanting.
Form cannot be self-changing.

Of course, some change is possible, but it is a twisting and distortion of


underlying form. Remove the fangs of a lion and behold a toothless lion, not
a domestic cat. Our attempts to change spouse, offspring, or others can result
in change, but the result is a scar and not a transformation.

The belief that people are fundamentally alike appears to be a twentieth


century notion. Probably the idea is related to the growth of democracy in
the Western world. If we are equals then we must be alike. Freud believed
we are all driven from within by Eros, and that what seem to be "higher"
motives are merely disguised versions of Eros. His colleagues and followers
took issue with him, though most retained the idea of singular motivation.
Adler (1956) saw us all seeking power (and later social solidarity). Sullivan
(1940) took up the later Adlerian theme and put social solidarity as the basic
instinctual craving. Finally, the Existentialists--e.g., Fromm (1941)--had us
seeking after the Self. Each appealed to instinct as purpose, and each made
one instinct primary for everybody.

Jung (1923) disagreed. He said that people are different in fundamental ways
even though they all have the same multitude of instincts (archetypes) to
drive them from within. One instinct is no more important than another.
What is important is our preference for how we "function." Our preference
for a given "function" is characteristic, and so we may be "typed" by this
preference. Thus Jung invented the "function types" or "psychological
types."

At about the same time (the turn of the century) another European
psychiatrist, Kretschmer (1925), said that there are very basic differences in
temperament. We are divided into two opposed temperamental camps, the
"schizoid" and the "cycloid." In saying this Kretschmer was getting at pretty
much what Jung was, although their terminology and emphasis completely
obscured this common ground. Both Jung and Kretschmer were ignored as
far as their typologies were concerned, while those who spoke of sameness
dominated both clinical and lay thought.

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The differences of which Jung and Kretschmer spoke were known long ago.
The Greek Hippocrates (McKinnon, 1944; Roback, 1927) told of four
temperaments, easily recognized as schizoform and cycloform: Sanguine,
Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Melancholic. Many since have proposed basic
differences in personality, temperament, or character, each in turn ignored.
There would seem to be a kind of built-in reason for us to believe we are all
alike. Yet there is so much advantage to thinking of people as different from
each other in valuable ways, why neglect this approach? Typology is no less
and no more "scientific" than the (fruitless) efforts of academic psychology
to handle the problem of human differences. Science, after all, is no more
than careful study, with self-imposed safeguards to keep from presupposing
what one is setting out to prove.

Isabel Myers (1962) must be credited with bringing Jung's typology to life.
Her creation and refinement of a procedure for determining type in
individuals opened the theory of types to research. Her invention, the Myers-
Briggs Type Indicator, made possible the decades of research by Educational
Testing Services (a Research Institute) and the amassing of vast amounts of
information regarding the behavior and attitudes of the types in a wide
variety of enterprises and walks of life. The Myers-Briggs Type indicator
makes the Function Type theory of Jung available and personally significant
to any individual.

Suppose it is so that people differ in the ways that Jung and Kretschmer
believed. Then we do violence to others when we assume their differences to
be flaws and afflictions. In this misunderstanding of others we also diminish
our ability to predict what they will do. Likewise, we cannot even reward
others should we want to, since what is reward to us is a matter of
indifference to the other: "to each his own" is the old saying, now
modernized as "different strokes for different folks." To achieve the intent of
these sayings will take a lot of work in coming to see our differences as
something other than flaws.

The payoff of such work is that you can look at your spouse, for example, as
a different person; someone you don't quite understand, but someone that
you can, with a sense of puzzlement perhaps, gradually come to appreciate.
Similarly, you can gain an appreciation of your offspring, parent, superior,
subordinate, colleague, and friend.

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To differentiate this diversity David Keirsey in 1978 divided into four


Temperaments types as artisans, guardians, idealists & Rationals.

What is the "temperament," and what relation does it have to character and
personality? There are two sides to personality, one of which is temperament
and the other character. Temperament is a configuration of inclinations,
while character is a configuration of habits. Character is disposition,
temperament pre-disposition.

Thus, for example, horses are predisposed -- born -- to run fast, ants to team-
up, and owls to hunt alone in the dark. Each type of creature, unless
developed in an unfavorable environment, matures with the habit
appropriate to its temperament. We human beings are no exception.

Put another way, our brain is a sort of computer which has temperament for
its hardware and character for its software. The hardware is the physical base
from which character emerges, placing an identifiable fingerprint on each
individual's attitudes and actions. This underlying consistency can be
observed from a very early age -- some features earlier than others -- long
before individual experience or social context (one's particular software) has
had time or occasion to imprint the person. Thus temperament is the inborn
form of human nature; character, the emergent form, which develops
through the interaction of temperament and environment.

Here it is to be emphasized that temperament, character, and personality are


configured, which means that, not only are we predisposed to develop
certain attitudes and not others, certain actions and not others, but that these
actions and attitudes are unified -- they hang together.

David Keirsey divided Temperaments into 4 types is as under:

Artisans, Guardians, idealists, rationals

David Keirsey further divided these Temperaments into The 16 Subtypes:

Performer (ESFP) Supervisor (ESTJ) Field Marshal (ENTJ) Teacher (ENFJ)


Composer (ISFP) Inspector (ISTJ) Mastermind (INTJ) Counselor (INFJ)
Promoter (ESTP) Provider (ESFJ) Inventor (ENTP) Champion (ENFP)
Crafter (ISTP) Protector (ISFJ) Architect (INTP) Healer (INFP)

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The letter names of the sixteen types ("ENFJ," for example) are based on
four pairs of letters -- E-I, S-N, T-F, and J-P -- that represent the four Jung-
Myers dimensions of personality. Each pair of letters forms a spectrum, and
thus no single letter should be taken as naming a type of person (there are no
"Extraverts" or "Thinkers," etc., as such). A personality is a complex unity
of traits, and these letters merely suggest stronger or weaker tendencies in a
person's overall makeup. The pairs of letters stand for the following
concepts: E = Extroversion I = Introversion S = Sensation N = Intuition T =
Thinking F = Feeling J = Judgment P = Perception

A detail of each temperament type is as following.

Artisans value freedom and spontaneity. They want to be without


constraint, at liberty to act on their impulses, play, and create.

Thus, the Artisans base their self-image on graceful action, bold spirit, and
adaptability to circumstance, these three traits evolving together of necessity.
Artisans are found in many places where the action is, out of total population
they could be between 35% and 40%

They are not only concrete in speech and utilitarian in achieving their goals;
they are also directive and expressive in their social interactions. They have
no hesitation at all in approaching strangers and persuading them to do
something. And others do their bidding, even on slight acquaintance.

They are men and women of action. When someone of this personality is
present, things begin to happen: the lights come on, the music plays, the
game begins. In a sense, they are able to handle people with much the same
skill as crafter handle tools, operate machines, or play musical instruments.
You might say that people are instruments in the Artisans' hands, and that
they "play" them with great artistry.

Life is never dull around them. Witty, clever, and fun, Artisans live life with
a theatrical flourish which makes even the most routine events seem
exciting. Not that they waste much time on routine events. Artisans have a
knack for knowing where the action is. They always seem to have tickets to
the "hot" show or "big" game (or can get them when others can't), and they
usually know the best restaurants, where the headwaiters are likely to call
them by name. To be sure, Artisans have a hearty appetite for the finer

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things of life, the best food, the best wine, expensive cars, and fashionable
clothes. And they are extremely attentive to others and smooth in social
circles, knowing many, many people by name, and knowing how to say just
the right thing to most everyone they meet. None are as socially
sophisticated as Artisans, none as suave and polished-and none such master
manipulators of the people around them.

India’s 1st Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Clinton, Kennedy were


example of Artisans.

David Keirsey further divided Artisans into The 4 Subtypes:

Performer, Composer, Promoter, Crafter

Guardians value belonging to a group or community. They maintain


stability through responsible, conservative, traditional behavior.

The Guardians base their self-image on reliability, service, and


respectability, these three traits emerging together as a unified structure of
personality

GUARDIAN SJs, being CONCRETE in communicating and


COOPERATIVE in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in
LOGISTICS. Thus their most practiced and developed intelligent operations
are often supervising and inspecting (SJT administering), or supplying and
protecting (SJF conserving). And they would if they could be magistrates
watching over these forms of social facilitation. They are proud of
themselves in the degree they are reliable in action, respect themselves in the
degree they do good deeds, and feel confident of themselves in the degree
they are respectable. In search of security as they are the "Security Seeking
Personality" -- trusting in legitimacy and hungering for membership. They
are usually stoical about the present, pessimistic about the future, fatalistic
about the past, and their preferred time and place is the past and the gateway.
Educationally they go for commerce, avocationally for regulations, and
vocationally for materiel work. They tend to be enculturating as parents,
helpmates as spouses, and conformity oriented as children.

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There are even more Guardians than Artisans around, at least 40% and as
many as 45% of the population.

Mother Teresa, Dr. Manmohan Singh Are examples of guardians.

Guardians take it upon themselves to arrange for the health and welfare of
those in their care and thus are the great nurturers of established institutions
such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups.
Wherever they go, Guardians take up the role of social contributor, happily
giving their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met,
that traditions are supported and developed, and that social functions are a
success.

Highly cooperative themselves, Guardians are skilled in maintaining


teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the
details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons
in charge of social events. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies,
able to approach others with ease and confidence, and seemingly aware of
what everyone’s been doing. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses,
able to remember people’s names, usually after one introduction, and always
concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to insure that all are
involved and provided for.

Guardians are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes


them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves
them rather self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of
them. Because of this Guardians can be crushed by personal criticism, and
will work most effectively when given ample appreciation both for them
personally and for the service they give to others. This is not to say that
Guardians are afraid to express their own emotional reactions. They are
quick to like and dislike—and don’t mind saying so—tending to put on a
pedestal whatever or whoever they admire, and to come down hard on those
people and issues they don’t care for.

In their choice of careers, Guardians may lean toward sales and service
occupations. They have such pleasant, outgoing personalities that they are
far and away the best sales reps, not only regularly winning sales contests,
but earning seniority in any sales group within an organization. Observing
Guardians at work in a sales transaction reveals clearly how this type
personalizes the sale. They are visibly—and honestly—concerned with their

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customer’s welfare, and thus the customer is not simply buying the product,
but is buying personally from the Provider. This same characteristic causes
them to be good in many people-to-people jobs, as teachers, clergy, coaches,
social workers, office receptionists, and so on. Guardians seldom become a
source of irritation in the workplace; on the contrary, they are unflagging in
their devotion to their company, and show such personal loyalty to their
immediate superiors that they make invaluable personal secretaries.

David Keirsey further divided guardians into The 4 Subtypes:

Supervisor Inspector, Provider Protector

Idealists value personal growth, authenticity, and integrity. They yearn to


develop themselves fully as individuals and to facilitate growth in others.

These traits, developing together as if out of a single seed, preclude the


emergence of a self-image based on, say, empathy, benevolence, and
authenticity, which are characteristics of the Idealists

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal


growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how
they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-
knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want
to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working
with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or
personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping
others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and
to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to
achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they
seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating
harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent
for helping people get along with each other and work together for the
good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but
then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might
be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for
Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be

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realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a


mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet"
that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more
important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict


standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to
others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest,
or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the
very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists
are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving
of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive
friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in
marriage they wish to find a "soul mate," someone with whom they can
bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their
complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up between 20 and 25 percent of the population.


But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism
has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

David Keirsey further divided Idealists into The 4 Subtypes:

Teacher, Counselor, Champion, Healer

IDEALIST NFs, being ABSTRACT in communicating and


COOPERATIVE in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in
DIPLOMATIC INTEGRATION. Thus their most practiced and developed
intelligent operations are usually teaching and counseling (NFJ mentoring),
or conferring and tutoring (NFP advocating). And they would if they could
be sages in one of these forms of social development. The Idealist
temperament have an instinct for interpersonal integration, learn ethics with
ever increasing zeal, sometimes become diplomatic leaders, and often speak
interpretively and metaphorically of the abstract world of their imagination.

They are proud of themselves in the degree they are empathic in action,
respect themselves in the degree they are benevolent, and feel confident of

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themselves in the degree they are authentic. Idealist types search for their
unique identity, hunger for deep and meaningful relationships, wish for a
little romance each day, trust their intuitive feelings implicitly, aspire for
profundity. This is the "Identity Seeking Personality" -- credulous about the
future, mystical about the past, and their preferred time and place are the
future and the pathway. Educationally they go for the humanities,
avocationally for ethics, and vocationally for personnel work.

Social relationships: In their family interactions they strive for mutuality,


provide spiritual intimacy for the mates, opportunity for fantasy for their
children, and for themselves continuous self-renewal. Idealists do not
abound, being as few as 8% and nor more than 10% of the population.
Mahatma Gandhi, Princess Diana, Mikhail Gorbochev, Roosvelt , Gautam
Budha were belonging to idealist category

Rationales value competence and intelligence. They strive to learn, know,


predict, and control the resources in their environment.

The unfolding of these traits together weighs against developing a self-


image based on ingenuity, autonomy, and willpower, which is characteristic
of the Rationales

Rationals being abstract in communicating and utilitarian in implementing


goals can become highly skilled in Strategic Analysis. Thus their most
practiced and developed intelligent operations tend to be Marshalling and
planning and they would if they could be wizards in one of these forms of
rational operation. They are proud of themselves in the degree they are
competent in action, respect themselves in the degree they are Autonomous,
and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are strong willed. Ever in
search of knowledge, this is the "Knowledge Seeking Personality" -- trusting
in reason and hungering for achievement. They are usually pragmatic about
the present, skeptical about the future; solipsistic about the past, and their
preferred time and place are the Interval and the intersection. Educationally
they go for the sciences, vocationally for technology, and vocationally for
systems work. Rationales tend to be individualizing as parents, mind mates
as spouses, and learning oriented as children. Rationals are very infrequent,
comprising as few as 5% and no more than 7% of the population. Bill gates,
Margaret Thatcher are examples of Rationales

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Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition, it is marshalling or


situational organizing role that reaches the highest development in Field
marshals. As this kind of role is practiced some contingency organizing is
necessary, so that the second suit of the Rational's intellect is devising
contingency plans. Structural and functional engineering, though practiced
in some degree in the course of organizational operations, tend to be not
nearly as well developed and are soon outstripped by the rapidly growing
skills in organizing. But it must be said that any kind of strategic exercise
tends to bring added strength to engineering as well as organizing skills.

As the organizing capabilities the Rational increase so does their desire to let
others know about whatever has come of their organizational efforts. So they
tend to take up a directive role in their social exchanges. On the other hand
they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to inform others.

In some cases, Rationals simply find themselves in charge of groups, and are
mystified as to how this happened. But the reason is that Rationals have a
strong natural urge to give structure and direction wherever they are -- to
harness people in the field and to direct them to achieve distant goals. They
resemble .Rationals search more for policy and goals than for regulations
and procedures.

They cannot not build organizations, and cannot not push to implement their
goals. When in charge of an organization, whether in the military, business,
education, or government, Rationals more than any other type desire (and
generally have the ability) to visualize where the organization is going, and
they seem able to communicate that vision to others. Their organizational
and coordinating skills tends to be highly developed, which means that they
are likely to be good at systematizing, ordering priorities, generalizing,
summarizing, at marshalling evidence, and at demonstrating their ideas.
Their ability to organize, however, may be more highly developed than their
ability to analyze, and the.

Rationals will usually rise to positions of responsibility and enjoy being


executives. They are tireless in their devotion to their jobs and can easily
block out other areas of life for the sake of their work. Superb administrators
in any field -- medicine, law, business, education, government, and the
military -- Rationals organize their units into smooth-functioning systems,
planning in advance, keeping both short-term and long-range objectives well
in mind. For the Rationals, there must always be a goal-directed reason for

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doing anything, and people's feelings usually are not sufficient reason. They
prefer decisions to be based on impersonal data, want to work from well
thought-out plans, like to use engineered operations -- and they expect others
to follow suit. They are ever intent on reducing bureaucratic red tape, task
redundancy, and aimless confusion in the workplace, and they are willing to
dismiss employees who cannot get with the program and increase their
efficiency. Although Rationals are tolerant of established procedures, they
can and will abandon any procedure when it can be shown to be ineffective
in accomplishing its goal. Rationals root out and reject ineffectiveness and
inefficiency, and are impatient with repetition of error.

David Keirsey further divided rationals into The 4 Subtypes:

Field Marshal, Mastermind, Inventor, Architect

.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED

html version of the file http://nasw.org/users/RobWallace/making_team_work.pdf. Making teamwork work importance diverse
psychological types

Teamwork Work the Importance of Diverse Psychological Types by Robert W. Wallace Posted September 28, 2001 ·

More6 of 61/28/02 2:22 PMMagazine: Adapt or Die http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle/111/

Excerpted from Please Understand Me and Portraits of Temperament by David Keirsey

A New Look at David Keirsey's Temperamentsby Roger E. Bissell http://hometown.aol.com/REBissell/indexms2.html

Temperament: The How of Behavior (from The Center of Family and Community Partnerships)

The Practical Importance of Temperament (from bi.com; publisher for The New York Longitudinal Scales and Carey's Temperament
Scales)

The Practical Importance of Temperament (from bi.com; publisher for The New York Longitudinal Scales and Carey's Temperament
Scales)

About Temperament (from The Preventative Ounce)

Different Drummers (a look at temperament from David Keirsey) (from The Keirsey Web Site)

Assessing Temperament in Children and Adults (from bi.com; publisher for The New York Longitudinal Scales and Carey's
Temperament Scales)

Assessment of Temperament (Article by Hedwig Teglasi; ERIC digests)

Myers Briggs Types- a brief description of the 16 different types as determined by the MBTI.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - a skeptic's view of the MBTI, from The Skeptic's Dictionary, by Robert ToddCarroll.

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Association for Psychological Type - train and maintain standards for professionals who use type instruments.

Application of Jung’s theory of psychological types.

TRI-Network - site of the Type Research Institute, a consulting firm that helps organizations recognize the value of diversity.

Consulting Psychologists Press - publishes the MBTI and other type instruments.

Temperament and Personality - examines insights into the functional organization of the brain systems underlying

Higher cognitive processes. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 1994, 4:266-273.

CG Jung Page - extensive information, many online articles, and some intriguing links.

A Brief Introduction to C.G. Jung and Analytical Psychology - an introductory article on Jung, analytical Psychology, and Jungian
analysis.
.
Discover Your Personality - take the Myers-Briggs test online

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CHAPTER-4

THE LEADER

Having the right Supply Chain Management leader is critically important to


ensuring the success of any supply chain strategy. This individual should
understand the overall business objectives as well as have a superior grasp
and understanding of the fundamentals of supply management. Having the
full range of knowledge in supply chain from purchasing through logistics is
a key enabler for the leader to perform this job efficiently. Also, a good
working knowledge of the technology that is available is a must. Most good
supply leaders are able to move between industries and apply the skills
needed to get the job done. This leader should be a good judge of people and
have great sales and communication skills. Ultimately, what this individual
spends a great deal of time doing is selling the value of the organization. He
or she also needs to be a visionary and one that is tuned in to the changing
business climate. Great supply-side leaders are innovators and not afraid to
take a risk. Being able to gain the respect of critical business leaders as well
as having credibility with the supplier community will cause this leader to be
effective.

The supply chain chief has to interact with the seasoned sales and marketing
personnel from the industry and trade so must have an influencing
personality to make the things happen .

SCM is a top management issue

Top management formulates supply chain overall performance objectives


derived from corporate strategy and corporate objectives. In addition top
management supports a break down of overall supply chain objectives on the

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functional level and is aligned with functional goals and supply chain
strategy.

Ideally the chief Supply Chain officer (CSO) should report directly to the
chief executive officer and even be considered for board status. The
important issue is to make sure that the chief Supply Chain Management
officer should be in next one level from the CEO and has regular access to
him. In a well-run company, you would expect the chief Supply Chain
Management officer also to make presentations at the board level. You
should have scheduled meetings with your chief Supply Chain Management
officer at least quarterly and on-demand access either way as needed.

Everything he does and don’t do sends a powerful signal throughout the


enterprise. For example, do he subject the purchasing department to an
annual, tactical budget debate with every location in the company, where the
opportunity to optimize the whole company’s performance is lost in local
“service charge” arguments? Or does the head of purchasing present his or
her business case to the executive team, outlining purchasing commitments
for the coming year in exchange for a strategic decision regarding
purchasing resources and budget? Even if he just say supply side is
important, that’s a positive start. It is not advocated here that one learn
strategic sourcing or contract management. But at least he should know the
concepts and the right questions to be asked. Incorporate the sourcing into
the strategic plan. Set at least one or two measurable goals related to
sourcing, and then measure them. Quarterly is fine as long as the Supply
Chain officers have access to his office. It is also important to show interest
in the most powerful allies of the supply base. Make sure that business unit
leaders have a personal relationship with the CEOs of two or three most
important suppliers. Participate personally in annually recognizing the very
best suppliers. Let them know we value their role in our success.
Organizations go through phases as they move toward outstanding supply
management.

Now let us evaluate the essentials ingredients of a CSO.

Strategist & visionary

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CSO should have the capability to look into the future and could predict
with higher level of accuracy that what way the world will move in short,
medium and long run. He is to evaluate the environment and its constraints
and accordingly decide what will work in his organization and what will not
work.
In today’s global economy he is to establish a global supply management
strategy. This will essentially require integration of people, processes,
resources, technology and information across the organiosation to achieve
optimum operational as well as financial performance.

A good example is recent upturn (in 2005-2006) of world economy whereas


all the commodity prices have touched the roof. There had been
unprecedented increase in all metals and other commodities like cement,
coal, crude etc. These are the times when there is a real test of capabilities
of the leader who could see the bigger picture rather than spending valuable
time in routine transactions. The strategists who booked these resources just
at the beginning of the upturn are mining the gold.

A change manager

Today the systems and technology is changing fast and any CSO has the
responsibility to persuasiveness to sell whatever is required to be change
with time. There is resistance not only from the employees who are used to
work in a particular way for years together but the managements also
sometimes are not updated on latest trends and its gains in future so
unwilling to spend on technologies.

Technology solutions require an open mind to resolve technical challenges


to be addressed at the time of implementation so leaders should be updated
what is available to fit the organizational needs. example is Adoption of e-
auction has changed fortune of some of the biggest public sectors in India
who till now had been in red despite monopolistic business.

Similarly application of GSM in courier & transport business has improved


their efficiency to higher level.

Service Oriented

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Present business scenario requires high service orientation by most of


businesses itself. the impact goes further several folds to the service function
like SCM. So the leader is required to work tirelessly in improving the
processes and systems that serve and delight the ultimate customer be it
internal or external. He should not be a slave of the system which makes him
defunct but should have the ability to establish efficient and flexible
systems.

This essentially requires great balancing skills between customer


expectations and cost. Today when the world is moving with zero
inventories in the supply chain the risks due to delays and opportunity costs
due to sudden demands are required to be given due weightage and unless
CSO is an empowered person to take quick and professional decisions in
such instances rather than spending time in preparing justification notes and
waiting for the approvals and sanctions the whole supply chain system will
become inefficient despite best of the people and resources deployed.

Relationship oriented

CSO needs to maintain good relationships with key business partners be it


suppliers, service Guardians or customers. There can be situation of glut or
scarcity in the market depending upon several internal or external factors.
Business today is highly dependent on the key suppliers particularly when
the companies are reducing their vendor base.
A personal rapport with the business partners is ultimately helpful in
securing a favor in organization’s interest. This is specifically more
important in case of monopolistic supplier or a major customer disruption
with whom could affect the company’s financial performance adversely.
In the business deals too ideally there should be win-win situation rather
than sucking the last penny out from the opposite party. Most of the deals
eventually fail when done on one upmanship, unjust pricing or manipulation
on indirect commercial impacts. A good example in this case is ENRON, s
Dabhol project which ultimately failed after huge investments due to
unviability of price built on the basis of smartly drafted parameters of costs.

Ethics and personal values

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When it comes to the personal values and ethical behavior of the leader to
stand tall like a tower. His character should inspire others in the system as a
role model. He should be beyond any doubt. He should not only be doing
right but should look right also. With effective spend management there is
no scope for dubious business practices. We have seen collapse of some of
the major companies (among the world leaders in energy and
communication) in this decade due to unethical behaviour of their leaders.
As written by Ashok Sharma the ethical management of supply chain is not
an optional extra, but an integral part of brand management. A study by
Roman, Hayibar and Agle (Business & Society) examined 51 research
studies done over the past25 years- and found that in 33 cases there was a
positive relationship between ethics and corporate financial performance.

Effective Communicator

One of the preambles for any SCM top boss is he should be excellent in oral
communication although written communication is also important but it can
be substituted by a specialist assistant. Major portion of his time is spent in
interacting with the people

He is to interact with top brass of vendors, marketing chiefs, economists, top


bureaucrats and tax officials and may be some time with the politicians and
administrators. In the global economy he may be required to visit/work on
foreign assignments or may invite foreign delegates/designatories at his
place. His exposure and understanding of foreign culture and business
practices are important while interaction with different nationalities and
cultures. For example overcomitment and delays may be a norm in Asian
countries but affect business prospects adversely in European or North
American countries. Similarly talking of reducing cost by saving taxes may
be a tick off point with Japanese or Singaporean business partner but will be
no problem with south Asian, Chinese or Hong Kong dealer.
Americans/Europeans will be centralizing on legal aspects of a deal whereas
Asians/Jews will stress on relations in the business deals.

His personality and etiquettes are also important as he is representing the


organization to the outside world and is helpful in improving the image of
the company.

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Team Leader

Essentially the SCM requires scores of personnel with variety of skill sets
for each sub-function as well as level. The skill sets/specialization required
for planners, buyers, warehouse personnel, logistics, distribution and
systems personnel are all different. The leader essentially should have
enough knowledge (if not specialization) of each sub-function.

CSO is not only expected to build and strengthen the team on the basis of
core competencies required for each job but also provide them motivating
environment and impartial reward system where they can give the superior
performance in their respective specializations.

Conclusion

It is not easy to find a person with of all the above ingredients but once
identified internally or externally organizations should ensure to prepare
a performing platform for such individuals. They should be given
adequate resources and appropriate authority to operate efficiently.
Above all the there should be recognition of supply chain as boardroom
function rather than backroom function.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED

What is leadership by Richard Bolden

.Business Ethics in Procurement-more than just a catchphrase by Ashok Sharma

The privilege of leadership - Anthony S Nieves in Supply Chain Management Review May 1, 2005

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CHAPTER-5

TEAM FORMATION

Once the team leader is in place the next job is to form the team.

Team here in SCM can be defined as a Small group of people with broadly
Common goals & complimentary skills.

As No single person can be an expert in all parts of the complicated


processes of SCM business functionalities, it is essential to build a team on
complimentary skill sets and traits.

Whether one is heading up a SCM division of a major corporation, leading a


governmental agency, coaching a sports team, starting a new company, or
just took the position of President from your local Toastmasters, one need to
know the secrets to building an ideal SCM team.

Questions you will likely to face are:


• How do we get people contributing unselfishly?
• How do we create unity, a sense of community, and wanting to be part
of the team?
• What can be done to make an immediate impact?

Here are our five stages to build a great SCM team:

1. Build the core team.


2. Build teams with complimentary skill set people around the core
members
3. Set the clear functional goals

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4. Provide facilitating environment to excel


5. Reward performing people

Build the core team

It is necessary to build a critical mass of motivated and


committed core team members that would help to carryout
the fuctionional responsibilities and lead the change
management process. The selection of core team should be on the
basis of functional core competencies, personality type and commitment to
succeed.

The most important aspect of any successful teams is its ability to attract key
players who are committed to the success of the team. These key players
need to demonstrate high levels of ability, leadership, loyalty and integrity.

Identify these key players, and bring them at one platform thro close
interactions, training and competency development
programme designed to equip them with the skills for
demanding SCM roles.

The SCM setup could vary depending upon nature of business and type of
industry. SCM Roles may also vary accordingly. However following are the
five basic SCM roles for any supply chain management to create the core
team.

1. Planning -This is the strategic portion of supply chain management.


You need a strategy for managing all the resources that go toward
meeting customer demand for your product or service. A big piece of
planning is developing a set of metrics to monitor the supply chain so
that it is efficient, costs effective and delivers high quality and value to
customers. Supply chain management is the art and science of
managing uncertainty. If everything were known, there would be little
need for supply chain management. A lot of things aren’t known. You
know something is going to happen, but you aren’t sure what. You have
to be prepared,

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Experience shows that there is little percentage of people capable of


proper and seamless planning. Planning is an intellectual process and
planners are normally not suitable for fire-fighting or daily routine
operational jobs so to the extent possible these jobs profiles should be
designed separately

Planner personality type essentially is investigative and temperament


type is Rational

2. Procurement- The job description here is to choose the suppliers that


will deliver the goods and services you need to create your products or
services. Negotiation skills, integrity, entrepreneur capabilities,
communication skills, intelligence, ability to take decision etc are the
other qualities are the mainly requirements for the core position

The person should fall into enterprising personality type and may be
temperamentally a guardian

3. Warehousing- Traditionally major function of warehousing is schedule


planning, receipt, /dispatch/issue of goods and proper
preservation/storage of material. However with the changing time there
are several technological attributes which make warehousing a
specialized job. ERP integration with up and downstream functions and
usage of computerized automated shuttle storage system to save on time
and space.

The personality type may be conventional and temperament type is


Rational

4. Logistics - Coordinate the movement of supplies received and


dispatches made. Also coordinate receipt of orders from customers,
develop a network of warehouses, pick carriers to get products to
customers and set up an invoicing system to receive payments. Return
of rejection belonging to suppliers or to be received from customers is
the part of the any supply chain. Create a network for receiving
defective and excess products back from customers and supporting
customers who have problems with delivered products. The personality
type may be realistic and temperament type is Rational.

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5. Systems/ERP - the integrated supply chain as it serves as the integrated


planning and control system. Also Supply chain technology offers a
unique opportunity to look at your business in a new way and change it
for the better. Designing and operating such system require creativity
and in depth knowledge of SCM processes. Supply chain technology
offers a unique opportunity to look at your business in a new way and
change it for the better

The personality type may be investigative and temperament type is


Rational.

Scope of any supply chain starts from suppliers and ends at customers so
whatever comes in between is part of supply chain be manufacturing or
sales. Core competencies of these function would be different and can be
added in case of integrated approach.

Build a team of complimentary skill set people around the core


members

The core teams should be surrounded by supporting professionals having


complementary skill sets and temperaments.

It is in built in human nature that they take pride of themselves and


appreciate people who are similar to themselves. This creates similarity bias
and they feel more secure in an environment of similarity. They rate and
rank high to people from their own gender, nationality, region, race, tribe,
culture or religion. In professional life such similarities bias could further
get extended to educational institutes, functions (i.e. technical/accounting),
working backgrounds (Army, civil services) and traits etc.

So managers unconsciously and unintentionally select and reward people


similar to them in any working environment which actually is detrimental to
the organizations as it limits the intellectual and operational capability of the
team. They all try to think and function in same style as their leader and
there is a little the team can think beyond. There is tendency to create an
army of clones.

People from different cultures , backgrounds and professional experience


brings something new in the team which increase the shared learning of the

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teams .Complementary skills increase the efficiency of the teams to close to


perfection level.

So while selecting supporting staff more weightage should be given to


variance rather than similarity. For example an aggressive extrovert and
enterprising person should be better supported by a thorough and analytical
assistant so that at least one of them should go into the details of issues and
other could sail it through.

Sometimes we cannot find from within. Either we are growing quickly or we


must bring in new people, or the people previously in our organization left
for other opportunities. Either way, we must grow from an atmosphere of
success.

Set the clear functional goals

The next step is to assign the job roles. Job roles are to be
defined and simplified around the ‘core’ activities on the
basis of synergy and similarity of efforts. There could be
several sets of arrangements possible and it is required to
select one with optimum resultant output.

For example similar items or same suppliers are to be dealt


by one set of buyers. Inbound logistics and outbound
logistics could be clubbed together to bring in to & fro freight
economics or can be separately handled looking to the
variation in volumes and destinations.

Once job roles are defined set the functional goals in quantitative measurable
terms. The goals should be realistic and achievable with efforts.

Procurement team can have a goal of Year-on-year cost


reduction in the region of say 5 %, measured by price
variance and adjusted for inflation factor.

Similarly Delivery reliability target can be to improve upto


95% on time.

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Or Product lead times to be improved by 10 percent every


year.

Provide facilitating environment to excel

Leader is to create an atmosphere of fun, success, and unique mission (being


part of something special).

If you want to win, you have to have fun. People don't have fun when they
are losing. They also don't have fun if they are blamed for failures,
backstabbed in communication, or treated poorly. So, eliminate poor
methods of management and replace them with empowering methods of
communication. People will rise to the occasion when you empower them.
How do we empower others? Let them know the expectation, create a sense
of fun, urgency, and doing something special, and then coach them by
letting them know they are believed in, supported, and will be looked after.
Love your employees, it goes against popular human resource opinion, but if
we are to create more abundance, we must create more love. And love is an
action word. What actions do we show? Care? Concern? Do we listen and
know what makes our team want to perform? What are individual needs?

This is also exactly the same what we are taught in Indian or broadly oriental
joint family system where facilitating environment is provided to get
participation/contribution from younger/elderly/sick/less performing
members of family rather than throwing them out as they might be drag on
family resources.

As a leader, one needs to show his own employees that they are part of
something special. If you are a new manager or have an organization where
you want to create a great team, you have these tools to add to your bag of
success.

Best practices are driven by three elements in a company - extremely strong


performance culture, setting up very ambitious objectives and inspiring
leadership. This leadership has to be all at levels and not only at CEO level.
One should look at capabilities and bundling of these capabilities for
enduring advantage

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Did people fail before you? Is your organization in chaos? This is a good
time for you to implement your program, as people are looking for
leadership in times of chaos. In times of failure, we must learn. In times of
chaos, we must lead. Leaders raise the bar of expectations. Winning is the
objective. Building upon success is usually the strategy. So, find a small
goal, set it, and achieve it at all costs. But raise the bar. The first year, set a
goal for 30% improvement. The second year, raise it again. The third year,
set a goal for 100% success, with 200% effort, and watch your success grow.

Then come the consistency in approach.

In consistency, there are three components to success:


• Consistent habits
• Consistent location
• Consistent people

Consistent habits are important for individual performance, and also


important for team performance. If you hold a meeting for your organization
on Tuesday at 10 AM, keep it at that time and don't change it unless
absolutely necessary.

Consistent location is also important. Take an example of sales manager


who frequently pulled salespeople out of one territory, then assigned them to
a different geography. The team remains struggling under his poor
leadership. The new manager assigned both geography and vertical markets
to his team, and kept those territories 80% in place for three years. His team
succeeded dramatically higher than the previous manager's team.

Consistency in people is the biggest problem organizations face. The


pressure to succeed is enormous, especially when you have been failing
(missing quotas, missing playoffs, blowing budgets, etc.) New leaders often
have such enormous pressure to win it all in their first season as coach.
There are two reasons why relationships fail:

• Inability to communicate and


• Unrealistic expectations.

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It is no different in leadership. Reasonable expectations, clearly


communicated, should result in higher success over time. However,
organizations with consistently poor performance usually have an unusually
high record of firing or replacing their top leaders. Organizations that
succeed keep their top leaders, keep their top players, and through that
loyalty attract others to their winning ways.

Reward performing people

Promote and reward your performing and successful people. It will create
several leaders and would have a cascading effect of harvesting further
success.

For example in the case of successful sales setup. If you wish to achieve
sales success, give each salesperson an equal territory. See which one
performs the best during a test period of time, and you likely have your
nucleus of performers. Or, if the nucleus is established, the way to figure out
who will rise above the pack is to encourage each person equally, and place
them with mentors. Make sure the mentors are informed as to how to
‘coach’ their mentored team mate. The mentors will then let you know if
their team mate will make it, and also help them succeed by teaching them
their own secrets to success. If people do not succeed with mentors, they
might require special handling, but promoting people who repeatedly fail is
not likely to result in success. Learn from failure, promote from wins.

By rewarding the performance you create several entrepreneurs within an


organization which inspires others also to perform. Rewarding the winner
should be unbiased as was mentioned earlier in similarity error and solely
should be dependent upon an employee’s performance. Another factor
which creates bias is educational qualification which is more important at
entry level as a trainee. Performance at later stages is more dependent on
one’s capabilities, attitude and quality of experience gained in given
environment. Performance of a manager with 20 years of experience will
have more bearing of these factors rather than the quality of education he got
from a premier institute 20 years back. Updation of knowledge and skill sets
are more important in today’s age of fast changing technology and
obsolescence of even knowledge gained 20 years back.

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How many of us who are in their forties and fifties remember importance of
computers and systems taught to us as at that time. Today these technologies
have changed the face of the business be it manufacturing, service industry
or banking.

So performance of an employee is clear indication of how he is keeping


pace with the new technologies and skills.

Promotions and monetary rewards are very important as these increase the
stature and status of an employee. Promoting an employee is sometimes
organizational requirement too so that a performing employee should start
performing at higher platform where his output will add further value to the
organization.

Another powerful reward is recognition apart from the money. If you're not
convinced of this, start ignoring one of your highly paid stars, and watch
what happens. Most managers are aware that employees respond well to
recognition. Great managers refine and extend this insight. They realize that
each employee plays to a slightly different audience. To excel as a leader,
you must be able to match the employee to the audience he values most. One
employee's audience might be his peers; the best way to praise him would be
to stand him up in front of his coworkers and publicly celebrate his
achievement. Another's favorite audience might be you; the most powerful
recognition would be a one-on-one conversation where you tell him quietly
but vividly why he is such a valuable member of the team. Still another
employee might define himself by his expertise; his most prized form of
recognition would be some type of professional or technical award. Yet
another might value feedback only from customers, in which case a picture
of the employee with her best customer or a letter to her from the customer
would be the best form of recognition.

Given how much personal attention it requires, tailoring praise to fit the
person is mostly a manager's responsibility. But organizations can take a cue
from this, too. There's no reason why a large company can't take this
individualized approach to recognition and apply it to every employee. A
person's strengths aren't always on display. Sometimes they require precise
triggering to turn them on. Squeeze the right trigger, and a person will push
himself harder and persevere in the face of resistance. Squeeze the wrong
one, and the person may well shut down. This can be tricky because triggers

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come in myriad and mysterious forms. One employee's trigger might be tied
to the time of day (he is a night owl and his strengths only kick in after 3
PM). Another employee's trigger might be tied to time with you, the boss
(even though he's worked with you for more than five years, he still needs
you to check in with him every day, or he feels he's being ignored). Another
worker's trigger might be just the opposite -- independence (she's only
worked for you for six months, but if you check in with her even once a
week, she feels micromanaged).

Apart from the above steps to create a world class team for supply chain we
also require to identify their needs of training to have an competitive edge in
this era of fast changing technology.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED

The Dynamics of Team Formation by Robert W. Wallace

The Human Resource Practices Development (HRPD) by Joan F. Rice, V.P. for Human Resources

How to Build A Great Team By Scott Andrews

Team Technology - articles, exercises, and links on team building using the Myers-Briggs test
.The Journal of Supply Chain Management :A Global Review of Purchasing and Supply
One on One ..An Interview with Kathleen R. Fuller
The Payoff Potential in Supply Chain Management (4/15/1999) Ascet Volume 1 By Frank Quinn, Cahners Communications
Career development Theory "Many things difficult to design prove easy to perform."by Samuel Johnson

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CHAPTER-6

Case Studies for Process Validation

SCM case studies in two different business segments were done in the
process of validation on all the parameters . The names of the companies are
not revealed here and symbols are used for those .The outcome of validation
are as under.

G Chemicals Ltd is a large capital intensive chemical company having one


of the largest plant of its kind in india. While restructring Planning,
Materials, Logistics and stores and Cordination functions were brought
under one head. The leader was brought from outside as none from the
present set of employees was found qualified/experinced to be leader of all
the functions.

The team forming was done by professional HR consultants and present set
of people were evaluated for their core competencies.Most of them were
found to be suitable for Materials and Stores. Core team was formed of eight
Groups. Three Group Heads were selected from internal persons and
balance positions were filled by bringing experts in the area of Planning,
logistics, coordnation ,stores and commodity buying.

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The SCM leader helped the company to be profitable from loss making unit
by bringing professionalism in the function and cutting the wastes and
inefficiencies by delegating to the performing professionals . The leader
built an excellent team and scored very high on all the parameters. The team
worked well for Five years and set new performance standards in materials
and logistics. The detailing chart for the team formed are given in Annxure
6 A.

As we can see from Annexure 6 A , The team at company G seems to be


close to perfect, Tle leader is a good in almost all the parameters listed, his
personality type is enterprising, and temprament type is artisan. He leads a
team having complimentry skill set more appropriarte to kind of function
being handled by them. The team is spending almost two third of total
turnover of company towards Materials and logistics Management. Hence
approach of efficient handling of resources could turn the company a
profitable venture.

N auto Ltd was a medium scale loss making engineering company in the
business segmnt where the market leader(competetor) was making huge
profits due to demand supply gap. It was taken over by a large profit
making company in their efforts to diversify.SCM function was spending
almost three fourth of company,s turnover being a material intensive
business where market fluctuations also played a uncontrollable factor.
SCM leader was a professional skilful manager scoring high on several
counts except ethics and personal values. As the people look towards their
leader for values where the leader was scoring not very high hence not
proved to be a good leader.. The skill/trait detetais of the team are given
in.Annexure 6 B

Also the function was kept low profiled and lacked the support of CEO.It
could be the possible reason of selecting a SCM leader which was at best a
compromise candidate. The team consisted of young and dynamic people as
we can see from Annexure 6 B ,but got entangled in buerocratic delays due
to vested interests in highly polarised pillars of top management, although
The team selected was consisted of best performing professionals most of
them left demoarlised after spending some years ( several of them reached
unprecedeted heights in subsequent jobs).The company made huge losses
and failed and got closed in subsequent years.

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The above examples show how one company was turnaround with the help
of a balanced SCM team and the other although in good business segment
where the competitors were making huge profits failed misreably in lack of
cordinated efforts of SCM and support to the function by top management.

CHAPTER-7

Conclusion

The ultimate objective of the study was to find an ideal SCM team which
was achieved, going step by step starting from the broader traits and skills
of the leader and various sub-functional team members and thereafter going
into their psychometric categories and profiles.

The first step dealt with the skills and traits combination. There was an
excellent paper on The Profile of the Purchasing Function and its Future
Challenges authored by Dr. Joseph VLCEK Secretary General of Euoropian
Centre for research in Purchashing and supply Chain Vienna, Austria which
elaborates extensively Personal qualities and skills of buyers. The contents
mentioned in the paper were used as base material for the the 1st survey to
reach to conclusion that how these qualities are perceived by SCM
stakeholders as well as Human Resource experts in order of preference.

It is widely found that for most nos of SCM personnel the selection of
occupation was either due to somebody’s influence or it was incidental.
While in long term people with personality traits in line with SCM continue
to rise in profession and others either remain stagnant at lower rung or quit.

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However while building the best SCM team it is worthwhile to select the
people having personality traits required in profession. So several topics on
personality vs. occupations were studied. In that respect basic research by
John L Holland on vocational typology and decision on occupation selection
was found to me enlightening. Holland’s theory is used to classify
occupations; the distribution across the six RIASEC categories varies in
relation to the level of cognitive skill and ability required by the occupation.
In other words, occupations differ according to level. G. Gottfredson and
Holland (1996) created a Complexity Rating (Cx) to estimate the cognitive
skill and ability associated with an occupation. Further to go deep into the
personality aspects of various subsets of SCM categories questionnaires
were sent and analyzed to find guidelines towards studying of various kind
of personalities.

Then came the next building block of Psychological aspects of people to be


groomed in the function. Several authors of human psychology like Adler,
Jung, Kretschmer, Isabel Myers, David Kiersy and their research work were
studied to analyse the character and temperament profiles of people and it
was found that David Kiersy’s research and theory was most relevant to our
study on temperament as inborn form of human nature; whereas character,
the emergent form, getting developed through the interaction of
temperament and environment. The theory beautifully divide all human
beings in four basic types and sixteen subtypes making easier for selector to
find a correct combination for each profession.

Decision on selection leader of leader is half battle won. So several research


topics on leadership were read but what is leadership by Richard Bolden was
quite enlightening as it systematically goes into ingredients of a leader.
Another article written by Jackie Damrau, president of the Lone Star also
goes into details of change management, trusting relationship, feedback for
improvement, creating enthusiasm, ensuring growth and development etc.
Ashok Sharma with his long experience in SCM has also emphasized on
business ethics in his paper Business Ethics in Procurement-more than just a
catchphrase was also used to build on what a leader should made of.

In building the team article How to Build a Great Team by Scott Andrews
was about steps to be followed for building a team. He went step by step to
build a core nucleus of key persons first and the build the team around them
with complimentary skill sets. The Dynamics of Team Formation by Robert
W. Wallace was also a good source to understand formation of a team. Dr

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Bruce Tuckman published his Forming, Storming ,Norming, Performing


model in 1965. He added a fifth stage, adjourning, in the 1970's. The
Forming Storming Norming Performing theory is an elegant and helpful
explanation of team development and behavior.
Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability,
relationships establish, and the leader changes leadership style. Beginning
with a directing style, moving through coaching, then participating, finishing
delegating and almost detached. At this point the team may produce a
successor leader and the previous leader can move on to develop a new
team. This progression of team behavior and leadership style can be seen
clearly in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum - the authority and
freedom extended by the leader to the team increases while the control of the
leader reduces. In Tuckman's Forming Storming Norming Performing
model, Hersey's and Blanchard's Situational Leadership model and in
Tannenbaum and Schmidt's Continuum, we see the same effect, represented
in three ways.

The research paper has slightly gone further to start from the core that is
leader and then goes further building the rings around the core.

An effort was made to integrate the knowledge obtained from various


sources towards creation of an ideal SCM team; however the technological
advancement and changing business environment in every field require
continuous updation of knowledge so there is an ample scope of building
further and refining on the competencies sub-functions of SCM.

The study can also be used to build various application tools by designing
psychological tests and questionnaires to find the trait-skill-temperament
combinations which will be helpful to find and develop employees as per
prescribed parameters or to allocate them responsibilities as per their
competencies.

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