Plastico
Case Study – PlastiCo
This case study is taken from an interim report to the CIPD prepared by the Kingston Business School PlasticCo is a leading plastics manufacturer producing blow-moulded plastic bottles for the UK food and drink industry. The company grew in the 1990s from the merger between several medium-sized manufacturing businesses. The company operates from seven sites across the UK and has a turnover in excess of £100 million. It currently has a workforce of around 650 employees and is part of a multinational packaging group of companies. The leadership style at PlasticCo has traditionally been described as ‘top–down’ with an autocratic approach to problem-solving. However, recent changes in senior management have led to a new strategic direction for the company. A new managing director was appointed in 2007, bringing a more participative vision. With full board support, a business case was made for a three-year transition towards an involvement-oriented culture. At the heart of this approach are people development, teamwork, communication and a more open leadership style. The new management team made clear that the company was profitable and performing well and that the change was part of a new strategy of continuous improvement towards greater performance. PlasticCo joined the Kingston Business School Employee Engagement Consortium at the start of this transition to help assess the levels of engagement in the company and identify potential avenues for improvement. The majority of PlasticCo employees work within the bottle-producing factories operating the blow-moulding machinery. There are head office functions such as personnel, managerial and administrative roles outside of the factory, but these are relatively small in number. The factory work setting presents many challenges for managers trying to increase employee engagement. Many of the jobs require a relatively low level of skill and are repetitive, with tasks including transporting materials
This case study is taken from an interim report to the CIPD prepared by the Kingston Business School PlasticCo is a leading plastics manufacturer producing blow-moulded plastic bottles for the UK food and drink industry. The company grew in the 1990s from the merger between several medium-sized manufacturing businesses. The company operates from seven sites across the UK and has a turnover in excess of £100 million. It currently has a workforce of around 650 employees and is part of a multinational packaging group of companies. The leadership style at PlasticCo has traditionally been described as ‘top–down’ with an autocratic approach to problem-solving. However, recent changes in senior management have led to a new strategic direction for the company. A new managing director was appointed in 2007, bringing a more participative vision. With full board support, a business case was made for a three-year transition towards an involvement-oriented culture. At the heart of this approach are people development, teamwork, communication and a more open leadership style. The new management team made clear that the company was profitable and performing well and that the change was part of a new strategy of continuous improvement towards greater performance. PlasticCo joined the Kingston Business School Employee Engagement Consortium at the start of this transition to help assess the levels of engagement in the company and identify potential avenues for improvement. The majority of PlasticCo employees work within the bottle-producing factories operating the blow-moulding machinery. There are head office functions such as personnel, managerial and administrative roles outside of the factory, but these are relatively small in number. The factory work setting presents many challenges for managers trying to increase employee engagement. Many of the jobs require a relatively low level of skill and are repetitive, with tasks including transporting materials