Ingersoll Rand: Creating Effective Engineering and Technology Centres (A)

In 2012, Ingersoll Rand India added the position of senior director of engineering for its engineering and technology centres, which were originally established to support the product development activities of the company. The new position was established to lead the currently low-performing engineering and technology centres to a new, more efficient and effective path. Projects had been missing their delivery targets, and there were major differences in the understanding of the requirements among the strategic business unit teams. This all led to continuous changes in deliverables and resulted in customer dissatisfaction. Key employees were unhappy, and some high-performing team members had left the organization. The new senior director of engineering needed to assess the situation and determine whether he had the right organizational configuration to grow and sustain the engineering for its engineering and technology centres in Ingersoll Rand India. <br><br>The case comprises two parts: Part A describes the challenges faced by the organization overall, and Part B discusses the progress between 2012 and 2015.

The case can be taught in various courses, including organizational change, strategic human resource management, and project management (to emphasize the relationship of process with organizational issues). After completion of the case, students will be able to<ul><li>understand the challenges that multinational organizations face when dealing with emerging market scenarios;</li><li>apply systems theory tools such as the star model for the alignment of structure, process, rewards, and people with the strategy; and</li><li>understand the alignment of business units and innovation centres in organizations.</li></ul>

• alignment, design, talent, change