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1 Introduction
Managing a small based energy firm like ABC Energy Limited (ABCEL) with
a small number of employees to run a big project ahead is a bit of challenges even for
most of the new companies around the globe in order to meet demands in electrical
power supply. Being the fifth-largest nation in the world in terms of electricity
generation capacity and the third largest in terms of transmission and distribution
network1, ABCEL has already in the pipe-line to pursue one step ahead to tripling its
capacity by 2015 to 30,000 MW and 70,000 MW in 2020. That’s going to be a big
climb from one capacity to another. Nevertheless, its way ahead definitely required
support from both higher management i.e the boards themselves to agree upon and
also the employees that would consider changing their conservative culture prior to
formalization as desired by its CEO, Mr. Shivam Kumar. The CEO himself has made
a right move by hiring third party i.e Srividya, a research scholar from Management
Development Institute in Gurgaon, India to assist him assessed the firm’s culture and
the level, extent, and process of formalization. Based on the assessment processes, we
have identified issues that need to discuss further and looked into in accordance with
management approach.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this report is to discuss and comments the effectiveness in
getting assessment details by ABCEL to adapt changes in culture prior formalization
of its organization.
3. Scope
The scope of this study focuses on aspect of management practices with regard
to area of assessment focused by ABCEL which covers the following:
a. Organization.
b. Assessment of culture.
c. The interviews.
d. The Observations
4. Methodology
Prior to this we have made some comparison in between the methods used by
ABCEL in conducting its assessment process and with other disciplines. We therefore

1
“Indian Infrastructure – Electricity” www.knowindia.net/infraindia2.html, assessed May 20,2010.
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use Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (OCAI) as tool for assessing

culture and empirical approach to define our findings.
5. Background
Incorporated in New Delhi, India in March 2007, ABCEL was a two-year old
organization then expected to grow and excel in power generation sector together with
other major companies in the electrical generation field such as National thermal
Power Generation (NTPC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC),
Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI), and Tata Power as its’ competitors.
Being new in this industry, ABCEL CEO convinced that the company could
achieved a growth target by 2015 by tripled its capacity to 30,000-MW after
successfully materialized prior projects.
a. 1,500-MW Ganges hydroelectric project.
b. 3,140-MW Everest thermal power project.
c. 1,200-MW Willrock thermal power project.
d. 1,200-MW Willside thermal pwer project.
e. 1,450-MW Nile hydroelectric project.
f. 1,665-MW Thames hydroelectric project.
In order to achieve its objectives, ABCEL may have to expand its size which
would involve hiring of new employees, expansion of office area, new facilities and
equipments, wages, training and so on. The CEO himself was very optimistic that a
successful organizational functional need changes from present norms to more rigid
rules, regulations, and processes. During that particular time, ABCEL had only 12
employees to manage the firm. The company also envisioned to be a world-class
energy major with operations in India and neighboring countries. Since the
incorporation of it, the company had grown through Greenfield projects investment
and acquisition of existing operations.
6. Problem Statements
The CEO envisaged the potentiality of ABCEL to expand the number of
employee to 40 or more by 2015 and subsequently to 150 by 2020 in order to manage
the portfolio projects. In this case, he has to identify what best approaches to apply for
that particular need in order to come up with relevant suggestions to the board.
Despite of assessment made for him by Srividya, could he really assure that the
information sufficient enough to convince the board to agree? That would certainly
depend on how well he presented his points.
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Based on the case finding by the authors, the study limited to culture and did
not explain further on concept of formalization. Should there be clear evident for
formalization, this case would have been more tangible in its cause. Therefore we are
not able to make any comparison with regard to formalization in this case but we
would like to include some explanation and method on how formalization should be
implemented based on ideal concepts.
7. Discussion
7.1 Organization
In their case study, the authors mentioned the assessment process for
culture done by Srividya covered firstly on the firm’s culture and the level,
extent, and process of formalization required. Both Kumar and Srividya
identified were to map the organizational life cycle in order to be in line with
ABCEL growth projection that included the following:
a. Start-up growth.
b. Diversification.
c. Consolidation.
d. Decline etc.
Srividya focused on data compilation through observations, interviews
and cognitive mapping of organization from the employee was well done in
accordance with management theories. Before we elaborate more on culture
we realized that there is minor hiccup in the statement with regard to ABCEL
background on employees. By referring to the number of employees presented
in Exhibit 1 of the case finding, 12 employees distributed over four
management ranks are contradict compare to remarks and figures. What really
shown in Exhibit 1 described 8 management ranks instead of 4 as mentioned
in the case.
7.2 Assessment of Culture
In this process, Srividya used frameworks for culture assessment based
on psychometric tool developed by Cameron and Quinn, 2008 or known as
Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (OCAI)2. The OCAI
instrument is built on Cameron & Quinn's competing values framework which
rooted in considerable research in the field of organizational culture and aligns
with well-accepted cultural categorical themes – the way people thinks, their

2
Using The Organizational Cultural Assessment (OCAI) as a Tool for New Team Development by Jeff Suderman,
Journal of Practical Consulting, Vol. 4 Iss. 1, Fall/Winter 2012, p. 52-58.
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values, assumptions and how they process information. The research revealed
six key dimensions which formed the basis of their framework on
organizational culture: dominant cultural characteristics, organizational
leadership, managing employees, organizational glue, strategic emphasis and
criteria for success.
Beside of using the fore mentioned method, cognitive mapping used to
understand the way individuals perceive an entity believed to be effective
because this would allows freedom to think without any external influence. A
cognitive map (also: mental map or mental model) is a type of mental
representation which serves an individual to acquire, code, store, recall, and
decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in
their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment. The concept was
introduced by Edward Tolman in 19483.
7.3 The Interviews
There were nine out of twelve employees of ABCEL interviewed by
Srividya. Based on transcripts analysis, it was revealed that more positives
rather than negatives feedback from the participants which were presented
according to the following levels.
a. Management. In general, the management levels are very
open-minded to the employees for their contribution in new ideas and
immediate feedback. This would create positive ambiance within the
organization where both levels able to achieve common goals.
b. Employee Relations. Inversely as mentioned earlier, the
employees would feel that they are not alien in the company. The
employees have given the freedom to decide among themselves on the
division of work as it was mentioned that the company is output-
oriented. This practise considered non-bias to the employees as it will
allow competitiveness in the organization thus motivating employees
to perform better.
c. The Firm. The organization said to have planned for training
sessions and given allowances for individuals to set their career path.
ABCEL also sets its own culture and practices that what is best for
itself although it may pick up some ideas from its holding and sister

3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_map
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organization. Policy is decided by the CEO and sometime if required,

the board will be consulted. However it is evident as mentioned that
the company’s policy needs to define and documented. It was clearly
proved that it was yet to be promulgated but already in the pipeline.
There were somehow still flaws that need attention before
formalization begin especially with regard to work distribution in the
company, pre-set goals for performance appraisal, incentives and also
welfare. These aspects are critical for employee sustainment with the
company.
d. Other Aspects. Srividya also found that there were issues with
regard to respect, orientation and treatment. The employees in ABCEL
compared between themselves and their peer organizations about
respect given to them by the company. It shows that there were gap
existed in that sense. As Confucius mentioned “Without feelings of
respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”. By showing
respect to the employee, it will show that the company is ethically
valuing them and their thoughts. The employees were also disgruntled
about various “bases of success” across sister organizations and had
the perception that they received different treatment despite of same
posts. This statement clearly shows that the ABCEL unfairly treated its
employees with regard to success criteria.
7.4 The Observations
Observations’ finding by Srividya were deemed to be quite random but
comprehensively done. We will discuss the finding according to sequent for
better view and understanding.
a. Working Hour
It was stated that the employees reached the office between
9.30 a.m and 10.00 a.m and worked untuil 6.00 p.m. Some of the
employees stayed beyond 6.00 p.m depending on their work load.
Timing for entry and exit were recorded at the gate and maintained by
the guard. That shows the company was yet to set a proper regulations
and attendance system to enforce good discipline and punctuality to the
employees. The guard could stay focused on security in and out of the
company perimeter instead of logging attendance.
b. Attires
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It was observed that the male employees were normally smart

casuals either on pants or jeans with shirt whereas the female
employees usually in salwar suits, traditional Indian attire to reflect
traditional customary ambience. Otherwise the women would wore
sari for important meetings as to looked more formal and reflecting a
conservative culture. Whether it is casual or business, a person’s looks
play a large part in forming the initial impression about them. This
goes far beyond just clothing and includes grooming and unconscious
body language. Impressions formed by the first few glances of a person
impact thoughts about their personality, diligence and intelligence.
First impressions tend to last a while and can be hard to shake off.
When it comes to work and business, it definitely pays to find out
about the company’s culture and dress code and determine how people
at your level dress.4
c. Working Area and Environment
Working area setup was an open-cubicle arrangement, except
for the top management which was allocated with own cabin. Eight
employees were provided with cubicles arranged in six parallel rows
where each of the rows occupied by at least one employee. All in all
there were five cabins in the office. This type of office setup is quite
common in most corporate offices depending on workspace but
sometime can become uncomfortable for some that prefer open
interaction with working peers. Nevertheless, for ABCEL working
environment was found very cordial where even the top management’s
cabins were always open which truly signified openness, transparency
and empowerment to the employees.
The furnishings were of traditional designed to bear an aura of
wealth and with simple and traditional lifestyle ambience. This style
may not portray corporate culture style where it should be more
conventional. “The spaces we occupy shape who we are and how we
behave. This has serious consequences for our psychological well-
being and creative performance. Given that many of us spend years
working in the same room, or even at the same desk, it makes sense to

4
A Guide for Corporate Attire and Apparel, Landau Uniforms, Inc. 2009. iD By Landau.
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organize and optimize that space in the most beneficial ways

possible”5.
d. Interactions
The interactions among the senior management and employees
were observed to be friendly and in cordially atmosphere especially
when talking about common interest. That showed a family-like’s
interactions which could help easing some burden from work-stress.
This culture could be an example of best practices in an organization.
Our study found that good interactions among employees could help
ABCEL achieves its formalization once legitimate company’s policy
takes place because regulations can be easily cascaded down to the
most junior level.
e. Facilities
Every employee was provided with a telephone on their desk
and access to a printer and biometrics. All intra-organization
communication was through e-mail, internal telephones and IPMSG
(Internet Protocol Messenger). Although the working facilities were
not at state of the art but there were systematically organized and
centralized for common used. This way would allow togetherness in
sense of belonging.
Beside of office equipments and facilities, the company did not
have a canteen of its own to cater place for employees to have their
meals. Instead, the company provided a coffee machine and snacks
through a caterer at a subsidized rate. Most of the time, the employees
brought their own foods from home and allow to eat in the office as
described in the statement. This practice may not be suitable as it
would deprive clean working environment. The company should
provide canteen or at least allocate dedicated conducive dining room
for the employees to have their meals.

f. Gender
Only two women were hired to work in the company as a
company secretary and mostly dominated by men. Regardless what

5
The Perfect Workspace, Dr Christian Jarret on twitter@Psych Writer.
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kind of discipline an organization is in to, female should not be

excluded and deprived of their capability to contribute for the
company. We believe some of the reason where fewer women were
hired in ABCEL because of culture and nature of job. Sometime it is
also depends on a country policies or societal acceptance. Since there
were two women over twelve men employees in ABCEL, the two of
them rather hang out together to maintain work ethics and their
integrity.
g. Relationship
ABCEL employees casually organized treats on special
occasions such as birthday and anniversaries celebration among
themselves. Even social or informal events were conducted in the
office which participated by the CEO like having a small and simple
games to break from monotonous work routine. These social activities
allow the employees bond their relationship better with the top
management. It showed healthy relationship existed in the company.
h. Malpractices
Srividya found out during her observation that one of the
superiors would seek personal assistance from his subordinates to do
his errand and it was not appreciated by the subordinate. By utilizing
working hour for personal thing is unethical for the organization. The
superior should have find appropriate time out of working hours to do
his personal admin instead.
i. Basic Policy
The company had a clear set of policies on appointments at
different management grades which included the fixation of Cost to the
Company (CTC) at various levels, recruitment process and
appointment letters that were all standardized. Others policies
including travel, mobile phone, per diem allowances and performance
management system were also made available to Srividya to view
beside of an orientation process that specified training to new recruits.
This indicated that the company was already prepared to embark into
formalization by just revising and updating the existed policies.
j. Management System
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The operational of the performance management system was

not considered transparent by the employees based on observation
report. There was no human resource person nominated to handle
employees’ issues. In general, there was no administration on human
resource. In order to reach for a growth, the company should have a
dedicated human resource department to manage recruitment, training,
career development, human capacity and labor laws.
k. Growth Path
It was a beginning stage of growth for the company and still
functioned more on norms rather than indentified processes, roles and
responsibilities. The CEO was still figuring out what was the level and
extent of formalization necessary to sustain the organization. One
could use simple method to identify the processes through goals or
objectives projection by SMART.
 S – Specific. The goal must be clear and concise.
 M – Measurable. Easy to obtain measure to understand
whether the goal has been reached. Maybe a date or a
number, or a formula (but keep it simple!).
 A- Agreed-to. The goal must be specific enough that the
team can agree on.
 R – Realistic. Goal must be realistic.
 T – Time-bound. Must have a beginning and an end.
8 Conclusion
We conclude that the finding made by Srividya as reported by the authors was quite
comprehensive in general. That gave the CEO some salient points to gather for his
preparation to brief the board for organizational changes in order to achieve a growth target
by 2015. Nevertheless, there are few points that should also be included and considered as
suggested by our group in the earlier discussion that we think would add some strength to
support the CEO’s proposal later.

References
1. “Indian Infrastructure – Electricity” www.knowindia.net/infraindia2.html, assessed
May 20,2010.
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2. Using The Organizational Cultural Assessment (OCAI) as a Tool for New Team
Development by Jeff Suderman, Journal of Practical Consulting, Vol. 4 Iss. 1, Fall/Winter
2012, p. 52-58.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_map
4. A Guide for Corporate Attire and Apparel, Landau Uniforms, Inc. 2009. iD By
Landau.
5. The Perfect Workspace, Dr Christian Jarret on twitter@Psych Writer.