Shifting Focus
Ladda ner
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Quality and operations management (MPQOM), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
Galligani Vardheim, Sara
Grönlund, Tilda
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Today more than ever, organizations are subject to continuously changing operating contexts and
requirements, and thus rely largely on their ability to change to survive. There is also a trend in the current
business environment of an increasing focus on employee well-being, which is of even higher importance
in a time of change. Employee well-being has been subject to a vast amount of business research, but in
practice it is rarely the main focus of companies’ operations. Large manufacturing companies are
employee intensive and the trend of employee well-being is therefore highly relevant in the sector. For
this reason, this study investigates a company in the ceramic sanitary ware (CSW) industry, and its
proposed restructuring project. The empirical data was collected through interviews with case company
employees and a survey of factory workers. Through applying existing theory on change- and knowledge
management on these results, the study identifies reasons for, and barriers to, implementing the case
company’s restructuring project. Using Porter’s Five Forces, the findings were generalized over the CSW
industry. Furthermore, the study combines takeaways from change- and knowledge management to
improve implementation of large change initiatives. Finally, two recommendations are given for how to
increase focus on employee well-being. First, the company should integrate knowledge management
practices into the organization’s strategy. Second, they should use the explicit knowledge to formulate a
change strategy with clear objectives and actions, which clearly aligns with the overall operations
strategy and considers employee well-being. Ultimately, this study highlights that while having received
much attention in theory, employee well-being still requires more targeted attention within
manufacturing companies. Therefore, the provided recommendations may act as a starting point for
shifting their focus.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
ceramic sanitary ware , knowledge management , change management , employee well-being , operations strategy