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By: Sabki, Harjit, Raja Khairul and Firdaus. 3 Sept 2010
Case Study 3: The International Bank of Malaysia
1.0
Summary
Mr. Ian Dankworth, General Manager of the Kuala Lumpur Branch Office of The
International Bank of Malaysia was facing a serious personnel problems in his office.
Two of his department heads, Mr. Wong Chin Poh (the Credit Manager), who is of
Chinese origins, and Mr. Zainuddin bin Abdul Wahab (Administration and Accounting
Manager), who is a Malay, were making efforts to discredit each other thus causing
disruptions to morale and performance among the employees. Mr. Ian was aware
that whatever action that he take would be scrutinized by the office employees and
the Malaysian government.
The Kuala Lumpur Regional Office employed 58 employees and Mr. Ian was
responsible for the overall performance of the bank in Malaysia. Mr. Ian, an
Australian, held the top post as General Manager. His immediate subordinates were
Mr. John White (the Senior Representative) and Mr. Cheong Shul Lee (the Regional
Manager), a Eurasian. Reporting directly to Mr. Cheong were 6 managers, including
Mr. Wong and Mr. Zainuddin. Except for Mr. Zainuddin, all of the managers were of
Chinese origin.
Mr. Zainuddin, whose father was a prominent lawyer, had worked for
International for 13 years, which included 2 years in the home office in the US. He
appeared to be a devout Muslim. Ian characterized Mr. Zainuddin as a very nice
person, with a good sense of humor, likable, but useless, and rather idle and weak
in technical areas. Mr. Ian was also was ruefully aware that Zainuddins presence
was a political necessity. His staff like him, but saw him as stupid and a bit of a
joker. However, it was also stated in the article (page 362, paragraph 2) that Mr.
Zainuddin was quite capable of handling certain procedures and had gradually
gained some measure of control over all but the largest domestic cases.
The Malaysian-born Mr. Wong, whose ancestors were from China, came from
a rich Chinese business family. He was a Buddhist, a university graduate, and had
spent a 9-month training stint in the US shortly after joining International. Both were
married and lived in the company homes in KL. Mr. Ian described Mr. Wong as
immature, with a childish sense of humor, and more given to pranks. He also
noticed that Mr. Wong, as an executive, was not getting due respect from his staff
because of his immaturity, even though he was a hard worker and technically
competent. Nonetheless, Mr. Ian acknowledged Wongs contributions and his
potential to progress.
Based on the racial riots after Malaysia gained independence from the British,
the governments policy on the percentage or distribution of posts in all levels of an
organization must follow the racial composition of the country, whereby 30-40% are
reserved for Malays, 20-30% for the Chinese and the balance for others. Mr. Ian was
in a dilemma because it was difficult to make a choice that could please everyone,
and whatever decisions he made had to be put in the context of increasingly antiexpatriate climate. He could not simply employ many Malays staff into the office
just to please the government of the day as he may not need them. Mr. Cheong
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2.2
2.3
2.4
Mr. Zainuddin would turn up late for work, disappear for hours without
an explanation or reason, and take extended lunch hours despite
repeated instructions, reminders and threats from management to
adhere to standard office procedures. However, compared to other
office staff who were being disciplined for similar matters, Mr.
Zainuddin could get away with it. This is definitely demoralizing to
other staff.
2.5
A letter from the Labour Ministry to Mr. Ian stated the racial
composition of the staff at each salary level did not reflect that of the
country, which was 30-40% for Malays, 20-30% for Chinese and the
2
3.0
2.6
Mr. Ian, aged 40 (quite young), had spent 5 years in Malaysia before
becoming General Manager. He had previously served in the Senior
Representative post. In the office he appeared totally in command,
managing people and problems with calm and assurance. However, he
had never received any specific training for his present post,
which he had occupied for 3 years, other than the 4-week
management development course in Hong Kong which he was
completing. He had learnt to speak Malaysian.
2.7
2.8
2.9
Mr. Ian was concerned about the availability of competent Malays, and
because of the shortage of teachers, this would be prolonged for some
time to come. Meanwhile, as the demand for competent Malays
increased, so would their salary. High salaried non-competent workers
may be worse.
2.10
Problem statement
The personality clash between Wong and Zainuddin, both of whom
were managers of different but interdependent departments at the
International Bank of Malaysia Branch Office were causing serious
damage to morale and efficiency of the staff.
3
4.0
4.2
4.3
4.4
Whatever decision Mr. Ian takes will have risks. But he has to take them and be
responsible for them, as each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.
5.0
5.2
The best strategy is for Mr. Ian to first make every effort possible (as
suggested in 5.1, paragraph 1, above) to reconcile the personality clash
between Wong and Zainuddin as this is the most urgent problem. If this
can be achieved, some level of harmony may be achieved in the office.
There will be less disruptions and less inefficiencies. The company image
will also be repaired. Secondly, both Wong and Zainuddin need to attend
counseling until they are able to overcome their animosity with each
other. After this is settled properly, Mr. Ian can then move on to tackle the
other problems one by one.
7.0
Conclusion
This is a classic example of a difficult situation where a wrong decision can define
the survival of the organization. There are times when government policies can be
seen as detrimental to the growth of business and suppress talent and prosperity.