Jinnah Engineering Works and Foundries had been a prominent foundry and machining business in Pakistan since its inception in 1950. In early 2018, it was struggling with internal inefficiencies caused by a lack of formal workforce planning. The company hired temporary workers almost daily—with no long-term planning and a high attrition rate—and the company’s board was worried about the mounting inefficiencies and financial costs. The company had taken a positive step toward resolving the many human resources problems by partnering with human resources consultants from the business school at the National University of Sciences and Technology. These consultants undertook a thorough analysis of the company and its workforce and presented recommendations that would benefit the business but could be difficult to implement in the context of the company’s existing processes. The board had to make a decision: how could it implement changes regarding how the workers were managed without demoralizing the staff or causing delays in production?
On February 1, 2013, the managing director of software development firm SYIT, sat in his office and gathered his thoughts on his new organization. Based in Islamabad, Pakistan, SYIT was a new entrant in the offshore software development industry. Its managing director had expended months of effort to move the entire project team from his previous employer to his newly formed company, but the real challenge lay ahead. SYIT needed to reduce the cultural gap between its team and its primary client, one of Denmark’s largest publishing houses. The managing director’s ultimate goal was to create an organization that was flexible and innovative—like the European clients that he wanted to continue to attract. How could he implement a strong company culture to ensure that all employees projected one consistent and effective working style across SYIT’s different projects and clients?
In 2014, the chief executive officer (CEO) and owner of Pak Sweets was worried about diversity issues in his organization. The sweets-making factory, once a one-room business and now a full-fledged factory in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, was highly dependent on blue-collar workers. Each production process required workers with diverse skills, so the company hired employees from different provinces of Pakistan, representing multiple ethnicities. The ethnicities were fundamentally diverse with different languages, cultures, and codes of conduct. As the company grew, conflicts increased between employees of different ethnicities. This everyday minor problem turned into a major challenge when it caused property damage, financial losses, and a decline in productivity. Pak Sweets was unable to meet demand, and the company’s reputation was at stake. The CEO believed that firing the troublemakers was not an option; it would only address the problem temporarily and might result in union strikes and lockouts. The CEO needed a plan to resolve the ethnic-based conflicts in the factory and their negative impact on the company.