The Momentum and Metropolitan Merger

 

Selected Cases Cultural and Organisational Integration at MMI: The Momentum and Metropolitan Merger

On an early, crisp March morning in 2017, Nicolaas Kruger, group CEO of MMI Holdings Ltd, was reminded of Charles Dickens’ book “A Tale of Two Cities,” when he arrived at the company’s Parc du Cap office complex in Cape Town. MMI Holdings Ltd employed 14,697 people in South Africa and 2,863 internationally. In 2016, its return on embedded value, a widely used industry measure of value creation, was 13 percent compared to the industry average of 10.2 percent, and the new business present value of future premiums (PVP) was R44.1 billion. (In September 2017, 1 South African Rand (ZAR) was 0.078 US Dollar; 1 US Dollar was 12.84 ZAR.)

Like the stark contrast between the strained Parisian lifestyle and the relaxed London setting of the seventeenth century, Cape Town had been the headquarters of Metropolitan, one of the two companies who merged to form MMI Holdings. Metropolitan’s culture had been characterized by a more formal, traditional management style with top-down decision-making. Momentum, the other firm in the merger, had been headquartered in the capital city of Pretoria and its proximity to the heart of South Africa’s financial district influenced its culture. The Momentum culture was considered modern and more informal, with empowered high-performing employees and less power distance between staff and management.

With Table Mountain in the background and several cyclists and runners on the road, Kruger reflected on the different locations and rich history of each organisation as well as the merger’s progress. For example, he noticed that there were no longer designated parking bays for executives in the Metropolitan building and inside, MMI and Metropolitan logos shared wall space. Before the merger, the top floor had been for the exclusive use of executives, but had been transformed into a staff cafeteria so that everyone could enjoy the view of Cape Town. To Kruger, this was significant progress towards aligning the two cultures around a common set of values. The question was, “How could they capitalize on their progress to derive even more value from the merger?”

Prelude to a Merger

Metropolitan and Momentum were two of South Africa’s top financial services companies. Metropolitan began as African Homes Trust in 1898 to help low income earners build their own homes, and few companies had a history that so closely mirrored the progress of South Africa and its people. In 1912, African Homes Trust took over an insurance company and in 1985 changed its name to Metropolitan Life. Life insurance was its primary product, sold through mass-market agents to primarily entry-level and middle-income markets. It was highly efficient at processing new business accounts, serving clients, processing claims, and generally administering its policies. Metropolitan had sufficient scale in terms of the number of public and private sector clients in retirement fund administration to provide them with scale benefits and thus the ability to price competitively. It was also the leading player in private (closed) healthcare solutions administration.

Metropolitan was proud of its special emphasis on designing products for those who had previously, especially during the Apartheid years, been unable to participate in long-term savings. In the nineties, Metropolitan expanded to Namibia, Lesotho, and Botswana, and in 2006 they acquired a 60 percent stake in a Ghana insurer. In 2010, Metropolitan had 5,500 people and a market capitalisation of R9 billion.

Momentum, on the other hand, was a progressive company established in 1966 as “Afrikaanse Verbond Lewens” (meaning “Afrikaanse Life Bonds” in Afrikaans, one of South Africa’s official languages). It acquired Monument Assurance in 1973 to form Momentum Life. Rand Merchant Bank Holdings (RMBH) invested in Momentum in 1992 and its growth benefitted from a strong focus on middle and affluent market segments. In 1998, RMBH created FirstRand Limited, the largest financial services company on the JSE. Momentum had 9,000 people and a market capitalisation of R16 billion. It had strong products in open healthcare solutions administration and umbrella retirement funds, both distributed through a strong broker channel. Momentum’s life insurance product, Myriad, was a market leader in the industry due to its comprehensive coverage.

In 2010, Metropolitan and Momentum faced similar challenges. Looking for growth, each firm had developed insurance products aimed at the markets where the other was strong, and each had struggled to gain share. Momentum’s Aspire product struggled to penetrate the lower income market while Metropolitan’s Odyssey Life Insurance product for the upper income market was unable to gain traction.

Both organisations started looking for corporate transactions as solutions to bridge these gaps. When Metropolitan’s CEO Wilhelm van Zyl and Momentum’s CEO Nicolaas Kruger talked about their respective challenges, they began to discuss whether a merger between them might solve both companies’ challenges. On its face, their products and markets were complimentary, and the operational risks from a merger were also lessened because there was little overlap in the broker and agency forces of the two companies.

Over the next three months, various discreet meetings with selected board members tested opinions about a possible merger. These meetings led to the formation of a merger committee.

The Case for Change

The merger committee consisted of balanced representation of executive and non-executive members from both companies, including the CEOs of both companies, the Chief Financial Officer of Metropolitan, the Chief Operating Officer of Momentum, and so on. The merger committee’s mandate was to formulate a clear business case for the boards. It became an important reference point in directing decision-making. Whenever there was a question or choice, the team would invoke “The business case must prevail” rule. In a time of great uncertainty, it offered direction and clarity.

The core of the business case recognized the complementary product lines and markets served. In addition, there were revenue and expense synergies to gain by integrating certain back office functions. For example, Metropolitan ran a lower cost health care insurance administration business than Momentum. On the other hand, Momentum had access to FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) asset management business, which had a much stronger third-party client franchise and could improve efficiencies in Metropolitan’s business. Finally, Momentum’s health insurance businesses and Metropolitan’s life insurance business were well represented throughout Africa. Any regional expansion strategies into Africa would thus be complementary.

The business case also helped the merger committee to focus on MMI’s long-term strategic direction, especially in the face of the immediate pressures for cost-savings. An organisation development consultant, Dr. Francois Hugo, facilitated some of the discussions to resolve differing views and offered input on building trust under conditions of uncertainty and conflicting perspectives. During several important decision points, the team members had to put the envisaged company’s combined interest ahead of their own company’s interest or their own individual interest. Nonetheless, there were still a number of occasions when the two parties had dissimilar views that could prevent the deal from going through.

An important point of contention early in the process was deciding on the combined entity’s brand. Design consultants, for example, suggested names that combined parts of the two client-facing brands, like Metrum, Magma, Meridium, and Emminent. Eventually, agreement was reached with the name MMI. MMI was positioned as the investor brand, while the strong and trusted brands of Momentum and Metropolitan would be used in client-facing businesses. This decision reflected the strong belief that the financial value of the merger would be maximized by leveraging the Metropolitan and Momentum brand names.

Competition Tribunal Ruling

The merger application to South Africa’s Competition Commission included the rationale of cost savings due to synergies from shared information technology platforms, combined locations, and approximately 1,500 (out of 13,000 positions) job redundancies. The transaction had to adhere to South Africa’s rigorous company competition laws and regulations prescribed in the Competition Act, No. 18 of 1998. The high unemployment rate in South Africa created sensitivity to layoffs, known as retrenchments in the South African environment. They were governed by strict labour laws, such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997 and the Labour Relations Act, No. 66 of 1995. The Competition Tribunal ruled that the merger between the two companies would be approved on the condition that, during the first three years, there would be no employee retrenchments, except for senior managers. From a legal point of view, MMI could have appealed the ruling. However, the two boards decided not to challenge the decision in part due to the negative publicity this would cause. Kruger recalled:

“We decided to choose our battles. Instead, we focused on cost-savings through consolidating our business units and used natural attrition to reduce staff numbers.”

On March 31, 2010, Metropolitan issued 950 million new shares to FirstRand, in exchange for Momentum shares, aiming to list MMI Holdings Ltd. on the JSE later in the year when agreement had been reached on the final terms of the merger transaction. Following implementation of the merger, FirstRand unbundled all its shares in Metropolitan and MMI was listed on the JSE on December 1, 2010. The combined entity was 15.6 percent black-owned and, given South Africa’s Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act No. 53 of 2003, it became one of the most empowered insurance companies in the country.

The Integration Process

The positioning of the transaction as a merger rather than a takeover was important in retaining key customer groups and talented employees from both organisations. However, while Momentum had more experience acquiring other companies, such as Lifegro, Southern Life, and Sage Life, this was its first true merger. The idea of balancing representation on the board, as well as the executive committee and merger committees, made the process significantly more complex, and seeking consensus between the parties led to several iterations of decisions. Momentum’s slightly larger embedded value resulted in 11 board members compared to Metropolitan’s nine MMI board members. The chairperson was initially from Momentum, but there was an agreement that after one year, he would step down and the Metropolitan chairperson, J.J. Njeke, would become chairperson of the combined entity. Despite these efforts, some financial analysts, such as Tim Cohen of Business Day, questioned whether a true merger was possible. He insisted on calling it a “soft takeover.”

Early in 2011, the two companies’ executive teams were combined to form a new structure (Figure 1). The different cultural approaches in Metropolitan and Momentum became even more apparent during this time and required rigorous debate to reach compromises. The intent of achieving cost-savings through synergies, while retaining the best of both organisations, required consultations and meticulous attention to creating space for both organisations to be heard. At times, the extensive consultation to ensure fairness in decision-making slowed the integration process down. Kruger commented:

“We learned early in this merger process that the soft people issues were actually the hardest to deal with. There were a few months just prior to the merger where the senior executive roles in the new structure were not yet final. This difficult time experienced by executives gave us more empathy with what our staff were going through during the merger process.”

Figure 1 2011 MMI Executive Committee

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As Nicolaas Kruger, Momentum’s former CEO, was appointed to the group CEO position, Metropolitan’s former CEO, Wilhelm van Zyl, was appointed as deputy group CEO. Kruger was responsible for Momentum’s and Metropolitan’s retail businesses as well as the group-wide support functions. Van Zyl was accountable for Metropolitan Health, Momentum Investments, Metropolitan International, and Momentum Employee Benefits.

The rationale for the new structure was to offer equal representation for both companies, and this structure purposefully balanced power between the two former CEOs. Moreover, a divisional structure made sense because the combined entity was too large for a functional structure and a matrix structure would have been too complex in the early days of the combined entity.

All executives were strong proponents of the long-term envisioned benefits of the merger and repeated the benefits to staff regularly. Leadership purposefully demonstrated their commitment to the merger by being highly visible and accessible during this period of uncertainty.

Formulating Integration Plans

Following the merger’s approval, the merger committee became responsible for finalizing the due diligence process and establishing an integration program to manage the transition with a project approach. The composition of the merger committee was adjusted and comprised two non-executive board members from each company, including the CEOs. Johan Burger, representing Momentum’s board, served as the committee’s chair.

The merger committee had several debates to create a clear and common picture of the future that resulted in a jointly formulated vision: “We will be a leader in meeting financial services’ needs. We will meet clients’ needs by providing a range of appropriate, value-for-money financial solutions in our market segments.” The finalisation date of the MMI Group strategy was February 2011. (See Figure 2 for a summary of the action plan.)

Figure 2 High Level Timeline of Merger Integration Proceedings

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The merger committee, in turn, appointed working groups to flesh out the details of the merger process. Danie Botes was appointed as the MMI chief integration officer to coordinate this process, based on his first-hand change management experience in the Sage and Southern Life integrations. One group, for example, focused on the integration of people processes and IT platforms. Other working groups paid attention to the combined organisational structures for the investments business unit, the international businesses, employee benefits, and the health care administration business units. Structures for the lower income market life insurance business, called the emerging market retail division, and the upper income market life insurance retail division were also developed with equal representation from both organisations. Using working groups comprising both Metropolitan and Momentum employees increased understanding of each company’s realities and aspirations.

The merger committee also retained a strategy consultancy that had worked in both organisations. The consultancy had central oversight and was ideally positioned to facilitate the working groups which utilized an inclusive bottoms-up involvement process to formulate the implementation plans. Together, they developed strategies and integration plans that were presented to the merger committee for approval. Following approval by the merger committee, the working groups proceeded to implement their plans, taking into account top-down guidance from the merger committee.

Another important role of the merger committee was coordinating the communication of integration plans. For example, the two CEOs would formulate their communication messages and confirm consistency of messaging with each other prior to sending out combined media releases or external communications to shareholders, as prescribed by the JSE. Internal communications were also sent out by both CEOs, making sure the employees of both organisations received the communications at the same time. This enabled consistency in communication and prevented, to some extent, rumours in both the Gauteng and Western Cape provinces. These communications went out weekly to instill trust in leadership. When there was lack of progress, the CEO’s gave honest feedback about unresolved issues and planned corrective actions.

In one of the first coordinated communications efforts, the newly formed executive committee in 2011 acknowledged that it would take a couple of years to bridge the vast differences in culture between the two organisations. As a result, they decided to focus on developing a common set of core values. The process commenced with an initial values assessment where all employees were invited to participate in a vote for the values they preferred. The assessment revealed that there were many similar preferred values across the two organisations. Behaviours associated with these values might differ, but the commonalities formed a strong foundation for the integration and alignment process, despite the different cultures. Six values emerged from this process, including integrity, accountability, diversity, innovation, teamwork, and excellence.

The executive team also held country-wide road shows, where as many staff as possible attended to hear first-hand what was planned for the merged entity. During these road shows, the former CEOs acknowledged the past, offered updates on merger progress, shared success stories, and reinforced the vision of the combined entity.

Finally, the merger committee initiated a Redeployment Centre (RDC) for those staff members whose jobs became redundant through the integration process. As jobs became available through natural attrition in the two organisations, employees were transferred back into these jobs. The RDC optimized resource redeployment and removed the need for layoffs. It further contributed towards MMI ultimately exceeding its annual cost savings target of R500 million on completion of the merger integration.

Strategy Reformulation

By 2014, the initial vision of the combined entity needed updating. It had revolved around meeting financial services’ needs and the strategy included such statements as, “We will use our insight into the needs of our clients, our strong client-facing brands, product innovation, and service excellence. Our game-changing strategy will establish MMI as a leader and enable us to deliver superior shareholder returns on a sustainable basis.”

The executive team embarked on a reformulation of their strategy with client-centricity as its driving force. They created a purpose, instead of a vision and mission, namely “to enhance the lifetime financial wellness of people, their communities, and their businesses.” They believed the idea of “financial wellness” was a continuous process of planning and managing clients’ money so that they could handle everyday expenses and still reach their goals over a lifetime.

As part of the strategy reformulation, MMI explicitly wanted to enhance the financial wellness of a broad range of clients, including individuals as well as small and medium businesses, large companies, and public enterprises. They also confirmed the earlier strategic focus on South Africa, the rest of Africa, and selected international countries. MMI had strong capabilities in the full range of long- and short-term insurance for individuals and corporate clients, asset management, property management, investment and savings, healthcare insurance administration as well as health risk management. They summarized their strategic focus areas as client-centricity, growth, and excellence. They defined their aspirations in both financial (growth in earnings, new business and embedded value) as well as client (financial wellness partner) terms (Figure 3). Figure 3 also illustrates that MMI’s executive team emphasised flexible and modular systems, innovation, culture, and data analytics as enablers of the strategy.

Figure 3 MMI’s Reformulated Strategy

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A Client-Centric Design

The executive committee introduced a major organisational redesign to support MMI’s client-centric strategy in 2014. The reformulated strategy demonstrated a significant move away from a product-focused and siloed set of businesses. To support the new strategy, the executive committee proposed an operating model with a new client engagement solutions group at the centre of the design (Figure 4). With the support of the centres of excellence (shown on the right), the client engagement solutions group supported all segments and channels (shown on the left) by developing engagement tools to enhance client experiences. This operating model was designed to optimise the execution of MMI’s client-centric strategy. Segment and channel businesses used their intimate understanding of clients to build financial wellness client value propositions. The value propositions would use client engagement and experience tools designed by the client engagement solutions business (in the centre), as well as products provided by MMI’s centres of excellence. Group-wide functions supported the entire organisation.

Figure 4 MMI Operating Model

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The MMI executive team consciously followed a phased approach to the merger integration. They wanted to take employees with them on the journey and sometimes had to wait for the right time and opportunity to integrate a further aspect of the organisation. For example, the structural integration kicked off in 2011 with the complete back-office integrations of employee benefits, asset management, and health insurance administration divisions. However, the retail divisions were largely untouched. The new client-centric operating model with the client engagement solutions group in the center was not envisaged in 2011. The restructuring initiated in 2014 was thus a next phase.

Cultural Integration Interventions

By 2015, Dr. Marlene Dippenaar, an internal organisation development consultant, was asked to head up the cultural integration process. She realised that the Group CEO and executive committee were invaluable in understanding the requirements of culture change and demonstrating their commitment to the process. During an executive team two-day breakaway, the executive committee acknowledged the cultural heritages of the original organisations and considered which aspects they wanted to retain. It was important for the executives that the aspired MMI culture would support the strategic direction of the organisation. They confirmed that the six values created earlier would be important enablers of living MMI’s financial wellness purpose going forward and formulated specific behaviours that would characterize each value. They created a unifying narrative called The MMI Way to explain examples of the behaviors associated with each value.

The executive committee asked Blueprint Consultants from Canada to conduct a values assessment to establish the gap between the current and desired observed behaviors. The feedback revealed each business unit’s performance on these values and action plans were formulated to bridge the gap in each area. In some instances, they initiated leadership development or team-building interventions.

A highlight of this journey was a leadership summit for the top 200 leaders from all business units in September 2016. Participants were divided into focus groups and they discussed the organisational enablers that supported living the values as well as the challenges. This facilitated process assisted leaders in taking ownership of the process towards culture change. In addition, Dippenaar and her cultural integration team followed up the summit activities with facilitated sessions that involved each business unit executive team. Team members offered each other feedback on whether they practically lived the values, for example, holding others accountable. Each executive team identified its limiting beliefs and what prevented its members from living the values. Throughout the organisation, storytelling sessions were held, during which employees shared how they were living the MMI values. These illustrations assisted in bringing the values alive.

As part of the cultural intervention, Dippenaar and her team undertook an extensive project to align Human Resources (HR) practices to the MMI values. There were vast differences across the former Metropolitan and Momentum companies and Dippenaar relied on the support of the MMI executive team because the actions created intense resistance. Their implementation required several iterative consultation processes with employees.

First, Dippenaar’s team redesigned the on-boarding process for new employees, exposing them to the purpose, strategy, and MMI way of conducting business. New employees received a document explaining each value with its associated behaviours. The team also audited whether HR policies, such as recruitment, selection, and promotion, were aligned to the MMI values.

Second, in terms of talent management, the team ensured that MMI’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) was aligned to the values. For example, the Multiply wellness and rewards programme—a fast-growing product that educated, engaged, empowered, and encouraged clients to improve their physical wellness, education, safety, and financial wellness—was made available to employees. It encouraged employees to make healthy changes through appropriate incentives. These actions contributed to establishing MMI’s employee brand rather than Metropolitan’s and Momentum’s client-facing brands.

In addition, employees could be nominated for excellent performance and living MMI’s values, and winners received an overseas vacation. The team also reviewed the bonus structure to ensure that employees were not awarded when they performed at the cost of others, as teamwork was one of the values. Employees were thus measured on task performance as well as value-aligned behaviour to influence promotion processes.

Third, the project team redesigned and renamed the MMI performance management system. The new “performance excellence system” indicated that the approach was to inspire employees towards excellence, and leaders were trained to explain how individual employees’ performance was aligned with MMI’s purpose and strategy.

Finally, an important intervention at this time helped leaders assess their level of self-deception. The program asked if there were times when they knew they were not doing the right thing but justified their behaviour. All managers had to attend the training, presented by Arbinger, to move from a default mode of “self-focus” (or in-the-box thinking) to the results-oriented and outward mindset found in a service leader culture. Another leadership development initiative, “Enabling Change,” was created to build a continuous change management capability in the organisation. Kruger believed that although corporate culture was driven by leadership, it was the actions and interactions of every MMI employee that shaped the shared culture.

Reflections, Updates, and Observations

In 2016 and 2017, MMI began to see additional benefits and results from the merger, and it continued to make adjustments. For example, 2016 was a year of several awards. Metropolitan Retail was rated the number one life insurer in the South African Consumer Satisfaction Index. Momentum Retail was rated second in this index. The Corporate and Public sector business won the Financial Intermediaries Association of South Africa (FIA) 2016 award for Product Supplier of the Year in the Employee Benefits category. MMI was the winner in the Media24 competition for financial results reporting, and its Corporate Social Investment spend reached R33 million in 2016.

As shown in Table 1, MMI’s financial performance showed steady improvement between 2012 and 2016. The value of new business was R850 million (up 13 percent on a consistent basis). The total dividend paid during the 2016 financial year was R2,519 million. Diluted core headline earnings were up compared to 2012, but down by 16 percent to R3,206 million from their 2015 peak. The contribution of each business to the diluted core headline earnings (as of June 30, 2016, comprising operating profit and investment income on shareholder assets) was as follows: Momentum Retail contributed 50 percent and Metropolitan Retail, 21 percent. The Corporate and Public sector contributed 19 percent, while International contributed a small percentage at 1 percent. Finally, shareholder capital contributed 9 percent to diluted core headline earnings. MMI’s diluted embedded value increased to R42,989 million at the end of the 2016 financial year.

Table 1 Five Year Financial Review

 June 2016 June 2015 June 2014 June 2013 June 2012

New business premiums (PVP) (Rm) 44,090 50,396 41,739 35,357 32,053

Diluted core headline earnings   3,206   3,836   3,621   3,241   2,955

Dividend paid (Rm)   2,519   2,486   2,278   2,037   1,813

Diluted embedded value (Rm) 42,989 40,330 39,675 35,148 32,472

Return on Embedded Value (%) (annualized)       12.8%         9.6%       19.0%       17.4%       11.3%

Value of new business (Rm)     850     954     779     681     536

The new operating model described above offered significant optimization opportunities, and a number of group-wide optimization projects supported the expense savings target of R750 million by 2019. Annual cost savings of R104 million was achieved during 2016 (slightly ahead of the target for the year).

Finally, the composition of the 2017 executive committee was again adjusted. It demonstrated the progress of the merger integration and pointed to MMI’s subsequent development (Figure 5). For example, where the previous structure had separate executives for the Momentum and Metropolitan Retail Channels, the new design combined these positions.

Figure 5 MMI Executive Committee in 2017

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MMI achieved a Level 2 status on South Africa’s B-BBEE labor relations’ scorecard, and MMI’s executive committee of 2017 reflected the transformation efforts of the last couple of years. For example, Nicolaas Kruger’s team includes four women, one of which, Mary Vilakazi, is the Deputy Group CEO. In addition, more than half of the executive committee is now from previously disadvantaged groups.

Strategic Choices Going Forward

MMI believed that it was critical to embrace the advances in digitalization and future-proof the organisation. An important strategy in this regard was the launch of MMI’s “Exponential Ventures” business in 2016. Partnering with leading Fintech players, they invested in innovative young businesses that held the potential to transform the life insurance industry by profitably reaching new markets, meeting new needs, or leveraging new technologies and business models. Other African regions provided opportunities with respect to innovative technology-enabled micro-insurance products. For example, MMI entered into a joint venture (JV) with MTN, a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company, to offer innovative insurance solutions through MTN’s significant telco distribution network on the continent. The JV was called “aYo,” which means Joy in Yoruba, a Nigerian language. MMI brought health, insurance systems, and expertise to the venture.

As well, India’s large population and economic growth rates were attractive and MMI received regulatory approval for its Health and Wellness JV with Aditya Birla Group, launching its first offering to a particular market segment in India. MMI will probably exit selected African countries, namely Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius, Swaziland, and Mozambique. The rationale for exiting these countries is to focus attention on more profitable countries in southern Africa with more attractive growth trajectories. MMI will also most likely scale down its presence in the United Kingdom. Going forward, MMI aimed to increase its focus on the organisation’s large existing businesses in South Africa, as well as high potential growth initiatives in the country.

this is the questions and has to be 300 words.

1.   How would you characterize the change initiatives during the MMI merger integration?

2.   How effective was the roll out of these initiatives in terms of timeline, sequence and impact?

3.   What advice would you give Kruger to derive even more value from the merger?

Integrative Cases B. R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation

Jack Lawler returned to his desk with a fresh cup of coffee. In front of him was a file of his notes from his two visits to the B. R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation. As Lawler took a sip and opened the file, he was acutely aware that he had two tasks. In a week, he was to meet with the company president, B. R. Richardson, and the industrial relations officer, Richard Bowman, to make a presentation on his findings with regard to the lamination plant and his recommendations for what might be done. Lawler knew he had a lot of preparation to do, starting with a diagnosis of the situation. It wouldn’t be easy. Taking another sip from his mug, he leaned back in his chair and recalled how this project had begun.

Making a Proposal

It was about 2:30 p.m. when the office intercom buzzed. Lawler’s secretary said there was a Richard Bowman calling from Papoose, Oregon. Lawler knew that Papoose was a small community about 150 miles south, a town with three or four lumber mills lying in the mountain range of western Oregon. When Lawler picked up his telephone, Bowman introduced himself as being in charge of industrial relations for the B. R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation. He was calling because a friend of his in a regional association for training and development persons had recommended Lawler, and Bowman had heard of Lawler’s management training and consulting reputation. Bowman said he was searching for someone to conduct a “motivation course” for the blue-collar employees of the lamination plant. Morale in the plant was very low, there had been a fatality in the plant a few months before, and the plant manager was “a bit authoritative.” Given the gravity of the plant situation, Bowman wanted to conduct the course within the next few months.

Lawler asked if the plant manager was supportive of the course idea. Bowman replied that he hadn’t asked him but had gotten approval from B. R. Richardson, the founder and president of the firm. Lawler then stated that he really didn’t have enough information on which to design such a course nor enough information to determine whether such a course was appropriate. He suggested a meeting with Bowman and Richardson the next week; he would be able to stop by Papoose in the late afternoon on his way home from another engagement. Bowman immediately accepted his proposal and gave Lawler directions.

Taking another sip of coffee, Jack Lawler continued to reminisce, visualizing the road winding past two very large lumber and plywood plants and over a small hill, and recalling his first sight of the company. It was much smaller than its neighbors, consisting of a one-story office building, a medium-size lumber mill, open storage yards, an oblong, hangarlike structure, dirt connecting roads, lumber and log piles seemingly scattered around, and cars and pickup trucks parked at random. The office building entryway was paneled with photographs showing the company buildings as they had changed over many years.

Bowman greeted Lawler, led him to a carpeted and paneled conference room, and introduced him to Ben Richardson. “BR” was a man in his late 50s, dressed in western apparel. The subsequent conversation was one in which the company as a whole was outlined and information was presented about the plant workers. Lawler described his preferred ways of working (essentially, diagnosis before training or other action). BR and Bowman shared their concerns that the plant manager, Joe Bamford, was getting out the work but wasn’t sensitive to the workers. Bowman then took Lawler on a tour of the lamination plant.

The meeting ended cordially, with Lawler promising to write a letter in a few days in which he would outline his thoughts on going forward.

Lawler opened the file in front of him on his desk and smiled as he found the copy of the letter he had sent:

Mr. Richard Bowman

B. R. Richardson Timber Corporation

P.O. Box 66

Papoose, Oregon

Dear Mr. Bowman:

When I departed from your office about a week ago, I promised a letter outlining my thoughts on some next steps regarding the laminating plant. Let me sketch some alternatives:

One is for me to put you in touch with someone in your immediate region who could design and/or present the “motivation” course for the laminating workers that you originally had in mind.

Second is for me to be engaged as a consultant. Recall the experience I described with the plywood plant in northern California in which I facilitated an approach called “action research.” You’ll remember that it basically involved a process wherein the concerned parties were helped to identify noncontrolled problems and plan to overcome them. This would begin with a diagnosis conducted by myself.

Third, you’ll also recall that I teach part-time at State University. This relationship leads to two ways graduate students might become involved:

I believe I could get a colleague in personnel management training to create a student team to design and conduct the motivation course.

I can have a student team in my change seminar do a diagnosis of the laminating plant and provide you with their analyses and recommendations.

I believe I was clear during my visit that I think a diagnosis is needed first, regardless of next steps. When you and Mr. Richardson have thought about these alternatives, give me a call. I’ll be prepared to outline what I see as the costs of alternatives 2 and 3.

Thanks for the opportunity to visit. I enjoyed meeting you and beginning to learn about your company.

Sincerely,

Jack Lawler

Partner

Oregon Consulting Associates

Visiting the Plant

Lawler remembered that six weeks went by before Bowman called. He had shown Lawler’s letter to BR and they agreed that a more adequate diagnosis was probably a useful first step. Bowman was quite clear that BR did not want to invest much money but also wanted Lawler’s expertise. In the ensuing conversation, Bowman and Lawler worked out an initial plan in which he would utilize several of his graduate students in a one-day visit to the company to gather information. Lawler would then analyze it and make a presentation to BR and Bowman. The use of the graduate students would substantially reduce his time as well as provide the students with some useful experience. They agreed that he would bill for three days of his time plus the expenses incurred when he and the students visited.

The next week when Lawler went to campus to teach his evening seminar called “The Management of Change” at the Graduate School of Business, he shared with the class the opportunity for some relevant fieldwork experience. He and four students could do the observing and interviewing in one day by leaving very early in the morning to drive to Papoose and arriving home by midevening. The information gained would be the focus of a subsequent class in which all seminar participants performed the diagnosis. When he asked his seminar who was interested in the information-gathering day, six students volunteered. When particular dates for the trip to Papoose were discussed, however, most of the six had conflicting schedules. Only Mitch and Mike, two second-year MBA students, were available on one of the days that Lawler’s schedule permitted.

Having constituted the field team, Lawler suggested that the seminar invest some time that evening in two ways. He wanted to share with the class some information he had gained on his first visit to Richardson Timber and suggested that the class could help prepare Mitch and Mike for the experience in the field. He then drew an organization chart on the blackboard that showed the various segments of the corporation and the lamination business, including the personnel and main work groups. He further drew a layout of the laminating plant on the board. (Figures 1 and 2 show these sketches.) While doing this, Lawler spoke of his understanding of the technology, work flow, and product of the laminating plant as follows:

It’s a family-held corporation. It’s composed of four small companies, divisions really, three in Papoose—a logging operation, a lumber mill, and the laminating plant—and a mill over in eastern Oregon. The head office, the mill, and the lam plant are on the edge of Papoose, which is a very small logging town about six or seven miles from the interstate highway. The lam plant looks like a long airplane hangar, the type with a curved roof. Rich Bowman took me on a tour, safety helmet on, and explained the activities as we went along.

Now, the end products are long, laminated wood roof trusses or beams like you sometimes see in supermarkets and arenas. These are built up out of many layers of two-by-fours, two-by-sixes, and two-by-eights glued together end to end and then side to side. So in one end of the plant come lift trucks of lumber, which is stacked up to a height of 12 to 15 feet. According to orders—and all beams are made to customer order—the lumber is sorted and then hand-placed on a machine that cuts deep notches in the ends of the lumber. These go along one wall of the plant where the notched ends, called fingers, are glued together to make really long pieces.

These then go on along the roller conveyor, to the other end of the plant almost, where they are cut to the correct length, and sets of these long pieces are grouped together—the right number of the right length to make up a beam. This set then goes to a work station where there is a metal jig. The pieces are put in the jig one at a time, the glue is applied, and they are tapped down by hand. When the beam is fully assembled, clamps are put on every little way. This rough, clamped beam, running anywhere from 20 to, say, 78 feet in length and from one to three-plus feet high, obviously very, very heavy, is marked, then picked out of the jig by two small hoists and stacked up to cure (dry). The curing piles have cross sticks and must be 15 to 18 feet high in some places.

These beams cure and eventually are picked out of the stack with the hoists and maneuvered so that they are fed into the planer, which is set to plane the rough beam to exact thickness dimensions. After planing, the beam is stored until the finishing crew gets to it. This crew cuts the beam to length, patches minor surface blemishes, and wraps plastic around it for shipping. These beams then sometimes go directly onto a truck for shipment or into the yard until a load is ready.

The plant is noisy from saws, conveyors and hoists, and especially the planer. There are glue drippings, sawdust, and ends everywhere. The aisles tend to disappear in tools and piles. Above the plant offices of the manager, supervisor, and secretary is a lunchroom and another office for the scheduler. The company’s head office is about 50 yards away in one direction and the mill about the same distance in another. The yard is graveled, with lumber of all kinds piled up and cars parked around the edges.

Figure 1 Organizational Chart

Details

Figure 2 Laminating Plant

Details

The class was encouraged to visualize the laminating plant and its working conditions. Lawler then divided the class into two groups around Mike and Mitch for the task of preparing for their visit to Richardson Timber. It was important to clarify what information might be usefully sought and how informal interviewing on the work floor might be accomplished.

On the next Wednesday, the trio drove to Papoose, stopping for breakfast along the way. When they arrived at the head office, they were met by Bowman. Lawler initially interviewed Juanita Yates while Bowman took Mike and Mitch to the lamination plant and introduced them to Bamford, the manager. At lunch time, Lawler and his students drove into Papoose and ate at a cafe. They summarized what they had learned in the morning. Each of them had been jotting some notes, and Lawler encouraged even more. He reminded Mike and Mitch that they would dictate their information during the drive home but that notes were needed as cues. At 4:30 p.m., the three met at Bowman’s office, turned in their safety helmets, thanked him, and left. The first hour of the drive was filled with the sharing of anecdotes from each other’s day. After a dinner stop, they took turns in the back seat dictating their notes.

Reviewing the Notes

Lawler’s reverie was broken by the office intercom. His secretary announced a long-distance telephone call from a potential client. After the call, Jack turned his attention to the Richardson file. He realized that his forthcoming meeting with Richardson and Bowman would take place before his graduate seminar met to diagnose the laminating plant situation, and so he had best get to work himself. He decided to review the notes he and his students had created.

Jack’s Notes

Current Lam schedule:Breakout crew 2 a.m. to 12 noon. Finish end 3:30 a.m. on. Joe typically works 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ben Richardson (Juanita):“In the beginning he was very authoritarian, still is somewhat. Seen as a perfectionist.” “Not quite a workaholic.” “Has been, for several years, politically active—that is to say, locally.” “When there is a cause, he throws his energies and resources behind it.” Example, workers’ compensation is currently a thorn in his side, and he has encouraged Rich to fight. “In the last few years, Ben has listened a little more and seems slightly more open.” The last couple of years has had consultant Chuck Byron from Eugene, who has pushed the idea of a management team. Rich is the first real outsider hired as a professional. Ben has a “conservative philosophy.” Will not have safety meetings on company time. Appreciates and rewards loyalty and dedication. Example, December 1978 Christmas party—a couple of 20-year men were given $1,000 checks and plane tickets to Hawaii for themselves and families—it surprised everybody.

Who’s influential (Rich):Juanita Yates, office manager and secretary, has been with Ben 10 years. When Ben is away, he calls her once or twice a day. Second-most influential is Wayne Teeterman, also 10 years with Richardson. Heads construction and truck shop. Formerly ran the sawmill. Ben’s ear to the mill. Rich is a distant third in influence. Mostly via Nita. “Ben sees Joe, manager of lam plant, as an enigma—almost canned him a couple of times.” However, Joe is seen as dedicated, mostly because of the long hours put in.

Overall business pretty good (Rich):“Ben keeps thinking the other shoe will drop one of these days.” “Ben used to be able to predict the lumber market. This is getting more difficult.” Right now the economy is stable enough regarding lumber and lumber products. Richardson mill sales of clear-cut high grade are pretty much cutting to order. Laminating plant growing ever since it was started. It’s very profitable, busy, and active—probably has the largest margin of all Richardson companies.

Laminating plant (Rich):Laminating plant has six- to seven-week delivery dates now.

Timber purchases (Rich):Timber purchases from Forest Service and BLM. One to two year’s cutting is now available. Last year needed to cut only half of year’s sales because of fortunate other purchases. Last year, half of timber requirements were from private ground. “Costs of cutting, however, go up, and it makes Ben nervous.”

Laminating plant lumber (Rich):“Approximately 70 percent of laminating plant lumber purchased outside—30 percent from Richardson mill.” This material is in the middle of the quality range. Outside purchases are primarily from Oregon companies—Weyerhaeuser, Bohemia, Georgia-Pacific, and smaller ones. Joe does the purchasing for lam plant. “He likes to do this.”

Recent changes (Juanita):“Turnover has consistently been high and continues. For the company as a whole it is around 72 to 76 percent. In the lam plant there was 100 percent turnover last year” (among operators). “Right now this year it is down 50 percent.”

Rolf (Juanita):Rolf was formerly industrial relations manager. A year ago April, he was appointed supervisor in the lam plant. Rolf’s predecessor in lam plant ineffectual; gone from company. Rolf did not do a good job with personnel. Fatality in lam plant happened two months before Rolf went down there. It was in the breakdown area—several people quit at that time. There has been a constant concern for the height of stacking in the lam plant. “Joe has had a positive impact on morale—started a softball team in a community league.”

Reward system (Juanita):“Nine paid holidays, hourly wage, liberal vacation plan, life insurance, no pension, no bonus except for those people who report directly to Ben (Nita, Wayne, Joe, and Rich). Joe has not had a bonus yet.”

Incentives for safety:Joe and Rolf have introduced incentives for safety. Competition for groups about lost time. Joe gave a fishing outfit last month for the first time that a safety target was met.

Hiring (Rich):Hiring was traditionally done by division managers. At present, Rich has taken over that. He now goes into background more deeply.

Interaction with middle management (Rich):Normally when Ben is in Papoose, he and Joe interact a couple times a week, which is about the same as Ben interacts with other division or company managers.

Ben’s style (Juanita):“He focuses on a problem. He will write a list and go over it with the manager item by item. Pretty much forcing his way. Later, he will pull out that list to check up with.” He often wants Rich to play intermediary between top management and the lam plant. Rich tries to resist.

Rolf (Rich):“Fairly introverted, basically a nice guy. He finds it hard to be tough. Doesn’t think he could do Joe’s job.” His folks were missionaries.

Dirk (Rich):“His goal is to get into sales. Ben has given okay, and he is supposed to look into local sales. Joe has agreed but has not given Dirk time to do any of this. Dirk probably has no long-run commitment to the company.” He has a degree in forestry.

John Walton (Juanita):In charge of quality control. “Very loyal to the company. Very dedicated to quality. Member of national organization. Never gets very distressed. Seems well liked by crews. Not afraid to pitch in when they are a man short or behind.”

Jim Fuller (Rich):“Ben doesn’t like him.” Had EMT training recently sponsored by the companies. Ben questions Jim’s commitment. Jim gets into lots of community activities, has been a disc jockey on Sunday mornings, and is very active in community organizations with youth. “Not perceived as a real strong leadership type, but knowledgeable and pretty well liked in the lam plant.”

John Rondo (Rich):“Dedicated, works hard. Pushes the men, too. Ben sees him as having future management promise.” From an old logging family in the area. “Much more leadership oriented.”

Ron Baker (Rich):Gluing supervisor. “Business-like, could be sour. Likes to impress others.”

John McClough (Rich):“Failing as a finishing supervisor. Originally from California. Worked in Roseburg area as carpenter; does excellent work by himself. He is a flop and probably won’t last much longer.”

Bob Bennis (Rich):Finishing supervisor. “Not really a pusher.” “Time has made him knowledgeable about the work.” “Willing to be directed.” He has had a number of family conflicts and has been in financial trouble. “Overall, a nice guy.”

Bob Griffith (Rich):Planer. Came to Richardson out of the service. Started in gluing, then in breakdown, then gluing. Finally, planer’s job opened up, and he took it. “Still learning the job. Generally a good worker; some question about his leadership.”

Supervisors summary (Rich):“In general, the supervisors all kind of plod along.”

Jim Fuller (Juanita):Is lam plant safety committee representative.

General reputation in community (Rich):“Not good from employees’ point of view. Matter of turnover, accidents, and the fatality. Seems to be turning around somewhat over the last year. The company, as a whole economically, has a successful image. It’s made money, survived downturns, and so forth.”

Summer:During summer, fill-ins are hired for vacationers—sometimes college or high school students. The supervisor spots are filled in by key men on the crew.

Communication:Bulletin board outside of lam office has safety information, vacation schedule, and production information. Blackboard in lunchroom has jokes, congratulations, etc.

Reports:Daily production is scheduled by Dirk. Daily report from lam plant to office is compared against that. Production and lam’s information reported daily. Joe keeps records on productivity by lam plant area. This duplicates Susan’s records. Quality control turns in three sheets a day: on finger-joint testing, glue spread and temperature, and finished-product tests. Also Walton keeps cumulative information on block shear (where a core is drilled and stressed) and delamination tests made (where product is soaked and then stressed).

Records:A few years ago, 18,000 board feet was the high for preglue. May 9, daily was 16,406 board feet. Swing shift is consistently higher than the day shift preglue. Gluing, Ben expects 30,000 feet. On May 9, it was 27,815 feet.

Overtime (Juanita):“Is approximately 6 percent over the year. Right now lam plant is higher than that.”

April (Juanita):Bids for the month were $8,166,000. Orders received for the month were $648,600. Shipped in April: $324,400. When $400,000 is shipped, that is an excellent month, according to Nita. Joe does all the bidding. Sue actually may do the calls, however. “The margin is significantly higher than the sawmill or planing mill.”

History of lamplant (Juanita):“In 1968 Wayne Lauder started it. He had lots of prior experience.” “The property that Richardson stands on had just been purchased. Wayne came to Joe with a proposition. Ended up with Wayne having stock in the Papoose Laminators Company.” Original crew was 8 to 10 men. “In fact Wayne taught Ben all Ben knows about the laminating plant.” “Got into lamination business at a very good time.” “In the early days, there were no accidents and no turnover.” “Wayne had hired old friends, largely married family types.” “Walton is the only one left from those days.” In the spring of 1973,Wayne went to South Africa on a missionary call. Between then and Joe, there have been four managers and four or five supervisors. Ben has an image of Wayne that successive managers cannot live up to. Joe, in Ben’s eyes, has done better than anyone since Wayne. The supervisor’s job was started under Wayne; since then it is not clear what they do. At one time, there was an experiment to move the lam office up to the main office so that the supervisor was forced to see the manager up there. This did not work. With Joe, the office moved back to the plant.

Sue (Juanita):Secretary in lam plant. Now hand-extending the data. Could use a computer. It is programmed; she has computer skills. “Computer never used for lam bidding since Sue came two years ago.” Phone coverage is awkward. To get copies of things means Sue has to come to the office.

Market conditions:Market conditions have been good since Joe became manager.

Joe’s ability (Juanita):Highly questioned around planning. Example: “Sue away; he knew it beforehand; it was a day he wanted to be away. This left the head office trying to get someone to cover for the phone.” “Clearly sales is Joe’s strong area. Get excellent reports back from customers. But Joe doesn’t follow up, so payables are very weak. We still haven’t got a 90-day payment and are likely to ship the next load to the customer anyway.”

Lack of communication (Juanita):“Lack of communication with us about cash flow is another weak spot of Joe’s. Lack of supervision over key people like Sue and Rolf. Seems to just let them go. Certainly doesn’t supervise them. Sue gets to set her own hours.” Example offered by Nita of misbidding because Sue didn’t get the bid back to the customer. “Joe just wasn’t aware of the timing—hadn’t planned for it.” Another example: “Sue runs out of invoice paper, which means we have to scurry around.”

Sue’s wages (Juanita):“At one time, Sue was all riled up about wages and upset the secretaries in the main office. She got no pay increase last year. Ben upset. Joe went to bat for her. Joe almost put his job on the line for her.”

Sue’s performance (Juanita):“Sue does sloppy work. Not very efficient. Poor letters; late; missing deadlines. Joe allows or accepts, or perhaps doesn’t know.” Nita is supposed to be responsible for Sue on quality matters. In general, to make sure that her backup is there. “Sue now works 10 to 15 hours a week overtime.” Nita cannot see the reason for this.

Rolf’s attitude (Rich/Juanita):Rolf’s attitude changing. Seems more cooperative to both Rich and Nita. Nita thinks Rolf is a very intelligent man. Neither are clear exactly on what Rolf does. Company policy is to send out invoices each workday and that invoices should be sent and dated on the day shipped. Sue doesn’t send them.

After Wayne, a lot of lam workers were hippies, had long hair, etc. Part of that is the reason why Rich now hires. Why is Ben down on Jim Fuller? Nita says because of time lost with accidents. “Ben knows his family and all about the radio station. Doesn’t think he is committed to the lumber company. There have been financial problems, too. There were garnishments in the past. He’s quit or been laid off, or was fired about three years ago. Some things stick in Ben’s throat. Now Jim is out of debt; they sold the home and moved; his wife works; they do an awful lot of volunteer work at the school. Ben sees this and wonders why he can’t give that energy to the company.”

John Rondo (Juanita):From a local logging family. He is a nephew of Butch (someone from a logging company). “Notorious redneck.” Once called Ben from a bar when he was drunk and swore to Ben about his paycheck. “Ben doesn’t forget those things.”

Sue hired by Joe:Does all the paperwork in the lam plant. Doesn’t really have to interact with any of the men except Joe. Takes care of the purchase orders, invoices, and daily records.

Glue used in lam plant:Twenty-two thousand pounds at 60 cents per pound; that’s nearly $10,000 a month.

Maintenance man:Leon replacing rails and turning chair at preglue. “Had help until noon. Don’t know where they took off to.” It’s really a two-person job. Also said that they’re probably six to eight months overdue with this job.

Hoists:Planer and helper talking at break that it is awkward and sometimes have to wait either on the finish end or breakdown side of planing because of competition for hoists. Believe the roof could hold more hoists. Can’t understand why Ben won’t spring for a couple of more hoists on each side. In the lunchroom, the planer was coaching a breakdown/finish helper on how to undo clamps efficiently. Says that the “whole operation has to be speeded up.” 1:05 p.m.—lunchroom. The planer approaches Joe: “Can we get off a little early? We’ve been working lots of 10 hour days.” Joe responds, “If you get that 57 job done, maybe we’ll see.” As Joe turns to leave, the other finish man, who helps the planer, says, “Hey, Joe, I want to talk to you later.” Joe says, “Okay.” The man turns to me and says, “He thinks we should be working harder. I want to tell him what’s what.”

Rolf put in lam plant by Ben:Probably consulted with Joe, but still he did it.

Goals for lam plant (Rich):Joe and Ben both have some goals in their heads, of course, and talk on occasion. “Probably not very systematically written down.”

Jim Fuller , preglue supervisor :Swing shift now. Three men work directly under him. First work position is a lumber grading cut-off saw. A 19- to 20-year-old tends to work here. “You need a big reach.” Then there is a cut-off saw that feeds a finger-joiner cut. Then the ends are glued. “Young men tend to be in this position, too. Need to have a lot of manual dexterity and a sense of rhythm.” Then there is the radio frequency curing machine. It gives an 8 to 10 second jolt at 109; then the hardest job comes along. The lumber is stopped, set to length, and cut three inches longer than order and then put in stacks on rollers. “You need to visually check ahead, grade lumber, and everything else.” This position has to be communicated back up to preglue line for amount.

Production scheduling (Rich/Jim):“Rolf is so-called production supervisor. However, if Joe has his druthers, he’d do that, too.” Supposed to have orders from Joe to Dirk to Jim. Needs to be scheduling. This mostly happens, but sometimes he gets a message from Joe himself. Actually Jim says, “Both Rolf and Joe more or less equally give me orders.” Jim confirms that the majority of materials come from external sources and suppliers. He thinks Joe is a “sharp bargainer.” “If he can save $100 per thousand on 8 to 10 footers, he may buy them. Of course, this means they have to do a lot more cutting and gluing.” Somehow it’s known that 30,000 feet a day per shift is what the lam plant is to produce. It takes two preglue shifts to get that. A few years ago, Jim reports, a production quota for the plant was 18,000–20,000 feet per day. “Joe is really production-minded, a real pusher.”

Asking about problems (Jim):He quickly responds with “confusion” and elaborates that it has to do with scheduling. “Sometimes Dirk has to work on the line and get inaccurate figures, or we don’t get them in time.” Nonetheless, he thinks Dirk is a good man and tries hard. Another problem has to do with stacking. There is not enough room to handle items where beams are curing, particularly in the finishing area. He makes a big point about the difference between architectural and other grades. There are 15 percent of the former in general, but it takes more layout space in the finish end to handle it.

The most inexperienced crew, in Jim’s opinion, is in the breakdown area (unclamping beams for planing). There seems to be a bottleneck around the planer. “The crew tries hard but is somewhat inexperienced. His helpers couldn’t care a damn.” Planing is to a tolerance of plus or minus 1/16-inch. He gives an example of large beams for Los Angeles that were overplaned, and those beams now sit in the yard until they can be worked into some later order for someone.

Another problem, according to Fuller, has to do with Paul, an electrician who works under Wayne. Has strong sawmill preference. Can never find him. For example, the RF machine is only half rebuilt. “People who do this work for Wayne will probably never get it done.”

Age of workers (Jim):Mostly young—“means that they don’t really care about working, aren’t very responsible. They take off when they feel like it; hence, there is a lot of personnel being shuffled around. Both Walton and Dirk, and even Joe, pitch in sometimes, not that this makes it really more efficient.” “Personnel is shuffled too much.” Fuller gives an example. He was hit by a beam and was off for seven weeks. Jay replaced him. There was stacking in the breakdown area on the main two. Jay tried to move a ceiling air hose; it came back; two top beams fell and “snuffed him out just like that.” Mainten

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