Singapore Publishing Company Limited

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Date

Singapore Publishing Company Limited

Singapore Publishing Company Limited is a subsidiary of Times Publishing Limited, a multinational corporation operating in the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Singapore, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. It is closely affiliated to the Marshall Cavendish, Times Publishing Group, Times Bookstores, Times Printers and Pansing companies. Today, it has become the leading media house not only in Singapore, but in the larger Asia Pacific region. This has been achieved due to its diversified interests in the production, storage, retailing and distribution of newspapers, magazines, books, directories, and DVDs. Each of these is provided both in the physical and digital versions.

As a multinational organization, the hierarchal structure of this has become veryso complex. More specifically, the management of Singapore Publishing Company is under the leadership of the bBoard of dDirectors, which is followed by the cChief eExecutive officer (CEO), then the mManaging dDirector and his assistants. Below them, are departmental heads each of whom is charged with the duties of overseeing the operations of their respective departments. Some of the major departments in the organization include the publishing, printing, distribution and retail. Each of these is further segmented into sales and marketing, production, human resource, purchasing, accounts and others.

Decision Making Process

It is important to begin by mentioning that this is one of the most bureaucratic organizations in Singapore. The decision- making process involves both centralized and decentralized structures. When decision- making process is centralized, it is only the top management who is involved. In this case only the bBoard of dDirectors, the CEO and the mManaging dDirector are involved. In such a situation, it only these officers who will deliberate on the major issues affecting the organization and make decisions to be enforced and implemented by all the workers of the company.

In case of a decentralized decision- making process, both the top management and representatives from all the departments are convened together. Here, overall deliberations are made under the agreement of all the delegates who are then expected to communicate the resolutions to the members of their respective departments. As an employee in this organization, the writerI was privileged to attend one of the decision making meetings last month. It was sovery insightful, amusing and perplexing (Kepner, C.H. & Tregoe, B.B., 2005). Therefore, the paper reports on personal reflections of the observations made during the meeting.

Key Issues

Singapore Publishing Company Limited is one of the most reputable publishing companies in Singapore. In order to achieve the successes it has recorded ever its establishment, proper organization and decision making is prerequisite. This is why the top management always convenes all the concerned stake holders to decide on the major issues affecting the organization. The following were the major issues, which arose during the meeting the attended decision making meeting.The Publishing Industry in Singapore

Just like any other business, the publishing industry is quite competitive. One of the major challenges which have been facing this company since its establishment is stiff competition. A number of local and foreign companies have been constructed to provide complementary services to the initially promising Singapore market. Such organizations include Page One Publishing Private Limited, World Scientific Publishing, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Berlitz A Langenscheidt companies. Moreover, some of these firms, especially the foreign ones, import books and other stationeries at cheaper prices. This has possesd a very great challenge to the operations of this company. It has forced it to constantly review its prices, so as to fit and cope up with the prevailing conditions (Simon, H. A., 2006).

This was one of the major issues, which brought a lot of controversies during the process. Many people had their own opinion, which was conflicting. It was very difficult to agree on the exact action to take in order to deal with this situation. The list of strategies proposed was tooso large. However, it became so challenging for those present to come up with a resolution and make an amicable agreement on exactly what to do concerning this issue. Surely, completion can be helping for such an organization ifs healthily done. It is what can help the organization to understand its immediate environment, evaluate itself and comes up with strategies to remedy the situation.

Even if the writerI never played a very big role in the discussions, themy observations were worthwhile. I wasI found out that meeting memberswe could not come into an agreement because of our rigidity, poor planning and diverse perceptions. There was no adequate time for us to prepare for the meeting. I believe that iIt would be a success if all of the membersus were given a prior notice, may be one month before the actual date of the meeting. This would give us enough time to carry out adequate research and go through the agenda. As a result, there would be amicable agreement without any tussle.

Government Regulations

The government of Singapore is deeply involved in business operations in this country. A part from owning a national printing press. which publishes newspapers, magazines and books, it directly controls the operations of all sorts of investments in this country. It does this by spelling out directives regarding pricing policies, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and taxation. At the same time, it has control in determining the content to be published by all the media companies in including this one.

Here, there was an issue of compliance. Many stake holders came up with different opinions on how to align operations in order to ensure that the business does not interfere with the said guidelines. The top management did not cooperate so much because of their tendency of trying to exert dominance over the other junior employees. In moist cases, they would reject the opinion provided by these people and compel them to abide by their own views. This was not taken lightly, because the decisions to be made would be all inclusive and binding to all the departments of the organization.

Labor Laws

There are very stringent labor laws in this country. Singapore has become one of the most expensive countries in the Asian region. The welfare of all the employees should be safeguarded to ensure that they get attractive salary packages to reflective of the cost of life here. There are, therefore, lots of efforts from the local trade unions, the government and the International Labor Organization (ILO) which keep on spelling out the minimum salaries to be paid to workers.

During the decision- making exercise, employee motivation became a controversial issue. It was so difficult to agree on exactly what to do, because each of the people had their own proposal. However, it was extremely hard to come into an agreement because of biases. Various resolutions were made, but not compromised because of the inflexibility of stake holders, who were stuck to their own opinions and could not compromise to accept any novelty. This was so challenging and had to seek for the deliberation of the board (Hayes, S.C. & Spencer, S., 2005).

When discussing most of these issues, a lot of personal problems were experienced. As already highlighted, there are bias, dominance, rigidity and individualism. Most of the decisions made were bias towards specific departments within the organization. At one time, it looked like I though we were attending there is a departmental meeting, because each of the people who were giving their presentations, was only discussing about their department. Hence, it became so difficult to create enough time for discussing about the general welfare of the company.

More over, the meeting was dominated by a small number of people who were trying to impose their thoughts on all the present stake holders. These are people who are overconfident in themselves and believe that they are the superior. They would not listen to anyone regardless of the validity of their views. They were know-it- all delegates who only perceives external contribution as an unnecessary pressure to them. This did not go well with most of the attendants.

Personal Reflections

If the writerI wereould to attend such a meeting during this time when he I hasve learnt a lot of things about decision- making process, heI would use the following theories, frameworks and models of decision -making.:Self- Determination Theory

Self- determination theory would prevail to help tame the conduct of self-centered individuals who do not regard the contributions of other participants during decision- making process. It is such people who may make the decision- making exercise be tensed for no single reason. They believe in themselves as the only intelligent people who can come up with decisions to influence others. They view others as unnecessary, because the contributions they make can thwart their own point of view (Baumeister, R.F. & Vohs, K.D., 2007).

However, in order to make decision- making process be a friendly exercise, it is essential for such people to apply the principles of this theory. It will expand them to view others as equally important people who have useful contributions to make. The inclusion of others in a decision- making process is a show of solidarity and collective responsibility, which everyone must uphold. Therefore, this theory would help to eliminate the antagonies, which were experienced during this exercise.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

This theory emphasizes the role of cognition or knowledge in the solution of a problem at hand. During certain times, an individual may be confronted with two things conflicting in his mind during the decision- making process. Such a dilemma might be so challenging to an individual, because it can create a very strong tension, which no one may find so easy to deal with. This is one of the issues, which were faced during this process. There were conflicting circumstances, which required a more thoughtful approach to tackle.

I f Ithe writer would have done this course, heI would have used this theory to appeal for change of cognition and behavior. Besides, the theory would shed light on the role of rational analysis when dealing with such a situation. At the same time, there should be change of cognition and behavior. This will help the decision makers to approach the matter from an impartial position, so as to enable them reach a consensus. Individual participants must avoid internal projections and accept to act flexibly by tolerating the contribution of others in the decision making process.

Heuristic Theory

Hieres is a decision- making theory, which advocates for the use of learning, discovery and experience in solving problems. In such a situation, people can either choose to use short cuts or heuristics in reaching a solution. The use of educated guess, rule of thumb, common sense and intuitive judgment can help in providing short cuts for a certain problem. If the decision makers focus on the merits and demerits of a problem solving technique, it will be possible to provide an attitude change to the involved individuals. As a result, they will make wise decisions based on the problem to be resolved.

Commitment Theory

According to this theory, individuals can prove their seriousness in the decision- making process in case they make commitments. These are binding agreements which once made, compels the involved parties to abide by. This theory can be very instrumental if applied in the decision making process in this company. If the parties involved in this decision were subjected to it, they would conform to it, because they will feel threatened. At the same time, making public commitments will make those involved to take it serious and abide by it, since it will enable them to receive acceptance from the rest of the stake holders (Eifert, G.H. & John, P. F., 2005).

Conclusion

In conclution would like to conclude by ,accepting that Singapore Publishing Company Limited is a could be accepted as a Reputable company. The involvement of all the stake holders in decision- making process is a pillar of any organization. However, the decision- making process can be effectively executed if the management considered the important contribution of the workers. If the above theoretical models and frameworks are upheld, decision- making will accomplish its goal. They will help in a proper planning and do all that it takes to involve the rational and just contribution of all the concerned stake holders at any given time. Eventually, the company will not only satisfy its workforce, but motivate them towards accomplishing its mission.

References

Baumeister, R.F. & Vohs, K.D. (2007). Self-Regulation, Ego Depletion, and Motivation. Social

and Personality Psychology Compass, 1, 10, 1-14.

Eifert, G.H. & John, P. F. (2005). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders:

A Practitioner’s Treatment Guide to Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Value-Guide

Behavior Change Strategies. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Hayes, S.C. & Spencer, S. (2005). Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New Harbinger Publications.Kepner, C.H. & Tregoe, B.B. (2005). The Rational Manager: A Systematic Approach to Problem

Solving and Decision-Making. McGraw-Hill.Simon, H. A. (2006). From Substantive to Procedural Rationality. In S. J. Latsis (Ed.), Method

and Appraisal in Economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: pp. 130-131.