The case of James Hardie

Résumé du document

Purpose and authorisation of this report- The purpose of this report is to analyze and recommend organizational change processes for James Hardie Industries NV. This report has been commissioned by Monique Beedles.

Limitations- The analysis report and proposed Change Management Plan are limited to a theoretical overview and recommendation based on the available literature regarding James Hardie Industries. A more practical proposal would only be possible through direct access and interviews with the relevant stakeholders.

Scope of the report- The following report explores organizational change process and the various areas that impact on the successful implementation of organizational change process in relation to James Hardie Industries NV. The following recommendations for a new organizational change process will be provided based on the research undertaken and presented throughout the report.

Method of Gathering Information- Information was gathered from a variety of sources including; prescribed readings, online databases such as; Google scholar, ProQuestand scholarly paper based sources which are presented in the reference list.

Extraits

[...] 3.). The difficult market conditions have led to an adaption of James Hardie´s strategy. Initially, James Hardie reduced their production capacity by suspending production in Blandon in 2007 (James Hardie Company Statement p.1), in Summerville and Fontana in 2008 to cope with falling demand for their products (The Gold Coast Bulletin 5 November 2008, p. 1). This also includes a reduction of the workforce from 2882 employees to 2306 in the last year (James Hardie Annual Report 2009, p. 125). [...]

[...] For this reason, James Hardie established the Medical Research and Compensation Fund (MRCF) in 2001. This foundation was created by using funds generated from the sale of assets of the corporate subsidiaries that had produced the asbestos which came to a total of A$293 million (Hills 2005 p. 213). However, it has been said that James Hardie knew that this figure was not enough to cover their liabilities (Hills 2005, p. 213). It was later discovered that sections of the report of financial claims and projected future claims was not fully disclosed (Sheppard & Macdonald 2009). [...]

[...] As well as changing the behaviour of James Hardie, an organisational culture change process was necessary. Within the organisational change process, there were cultural issues which became prevalent and needed to be analysed and resolved. Cummings and Huse (Burnes p. 172) theorised four major elements of culture; basic assumptions, values, norms and artifacts. It could be stated that employees had basic assumptions surrounding the issue of compensation, that James Hardie Industries would ensure sufficient compensation funds were made available to present and future claimants. [...]

[...] The new established companies: James Hardie International Finance BV (Besloten Vennootschap) and James Hardie Industries NV (Naamloze Vennootschap) are currently registered in the Netherlands which, as a public limited liability company, has similar legal status as a incorporated company in Australia, making it difficult for third parties like Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund (AICF) to execute judgement against James Hardie which is protected by Dutch laws (Kitney 2004). The problem is the moral aspect, which was also paid attention to by some shareholders. These shareholders started a judicial process after James Hardies management's statement, "we've got no obligation to fix up any of the Australian company's money" (Mahne 2004). This lay in line to what former CEO Peter Macdonald expressed in an interview in 2001 and the same information that was given in official presentations for shareholders and the NSW supreme court. [...]

[...] BRICT) with a concentration on job creation; 9 The Case of James Hardie HRM 321 Assignment 2 Launching a fully integrated marketing communications campaign to promote the rebranding of the company and its move towards greater social responsibility. Improve upon relationships with all stakeholders including the public, the shareholders, the trust, outside vendors and, more importantly, company employees Stakeholders') by: Obtaining genuine and honest intelligence reports; Improving upon customer service, Accurate messaging and marketing, The complete integration of all communications, and Reinforcing a reputation management strategy throughout the entire organisation. [...]