Black & Decker – Eastern Hemisphere and the Adp Initiative

In the late April 1996, Bill Lancaster, president of Black & Decker – Eastern Hemisphere, faced a difficult decision. He must choose one of two performance appraisal and management development systems for Eastern Hemisphere. One was introduced by Anita Lim, manager of Human Resources or ADP, US – who designed the Appraisal Development Plan (ADP) which provided each employee with feedback from subordinates, peers and supervisions. ADP had the positive impact on Black & Decker in the US, but some of the managers were concerned that 360° feedback might not work in Asia because of cultural differences; therefore, Lim modified ADP which contained many features that Lancaster believed and wanted to see, except for the 〖360〗^0 feedback element that had been critical in ADP. In 1910, Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker established Black & Decker which manufactured industrial machinery. By 1996, Black & Decker was in 109 countries and was the world’s largest producer of power tools, electric lawn and garden tools, and related accessories. Although Black & Decker was very successful in North America and Europe, it still met difficulty in Asia and Latin America. In 1993, the company had a major reorganization, where the International group was divided into Latin America which headquarters was in Miami and Eastern Hemisphere which headquarters was in Singapore. In the Eastern Hemisphere, power tools were the largest single business which occupied 70% sales and represented the “spiritual heart” of company. Before being appointed President of Black and Decker Eastern Hemisphere in October 1995, Bill Lancaster used to hold senior administrative positions in Australia and Vice President Marketing and Sales, Professional Products for North American Power Tools group. By the time he arrived in Singapore, the company has already set up the Singapore headquarters and built new factories in Singapore, India and China. He spent a lot of time talking to rank-and-file employees