MCR002 Organisational Behaviour
Class Activity Week-2 Case
ANCOL PTY LTD
The following are suggested answers only.
1. Use the systems theory model to explain what happened when time clock was removed.
Answer: A system diagram revealing the subsystems, such as employees, supervisors, control
systems (time clock) and management is a good starting point. It may also show inputs (such as Paul
Sim’s entry), outputs (lower productivity), and feedback from the environment (union grievances).
The cause-effect relationships in a time sequence are worth mentioning here. This typically starts with
the poor relations, then removing the time clock, then initially increasing morale but also increasing
absenteeism, and so on. This temporal image should reveal the complexity of events in the case. For
example, poor relations were not the only cause of the time clocks being removed. Paul Sims’s entry
to the organisation and his knowledge from the seminar also contributed to this action.
This case illustrates the problems facing organisations from an open systems view. The open systems
view states that organisations are comprised of interdependent parts. We certainly see that here with
the removal of time clocks. In particular, we see how removing time clocks leads to a string of
unexpected consequences. In this case, removing the time clocks resulted in more work for
supervisors. It also affected work activities in payroll and, eventually, posed a new set of problems for
labour union leaders.
Supervisors now had to use disciplinary counseling skills, which many of them lacked. Although
students might suggest that lack of counseling training is a problem here, notice that there is no
mention that it was a problem before. It is possible in a unionised environment with process-oriented
technology for control systems to be in place which minimize the need for supervisors to discipline
employees. For example, time clocks control employee attendance behaviour or, at least, provide factbased information. The main point, however, is that one action (removing time clocks) ripples through
to other subsystems in the organisation, as predicted by the open system viewpoints.
2.What changes should occur to minimise the likelihood of these problems in the future?
Answer: One answer to this question is to help people at Ancol recognise that organisations are open
systems with interdependent parts. In other words, they need to be sensitive to the fact that changes in
one part of the work unit affects other parts of the work unit.
The second change is to apply knowledge management practices so that what was previously learned
about removing time clocks would be more quickly and readily known throughout the organisation.
The end of the case describes that another Ancol plant had a similar experience six or seven years
earlier. This illustrates the ‘silos of knowledge’ problem that exists in large organisations. If Sim had
known about the earlier incident, he might have avoided the action of removing time clocks, or might
have taken steps to correct anticipated problems. So, knowledge sharing must not be underestimated.
For example, the organisation-wide meeting would help share knowledge among plant managers,
although somewhat too late in this case. Alternatively, perhaps the company could leverage the
benefits of Intranet technology to help employees and managers share experiences more fully. Sim
could even have asked other managers through an integrated email system if removing time clocks
had been tried before, and with what consequences. Knowledge sharing requires a culture of open
communication and information sharing, not just the technology to make this possible.
Source: Organizational Behavior on the Pacific Rim by McShane & Travaglione, 2e 2007