Total Transformation Process for MCA
Background
After the Party election of 328, MCA has a new leadership. The party had gone through an internal conflict for months after GE308. After the party election, it needs for a total transformation. The main purpose of a total transform is to gain back people confidence towards the party. The party needs to do a better job to reduce voters’ dissatisfaction. Many voters are dissatisfied with the government. Policy of the government not favors certain group of people. In addition, in order to gain more support, MCA has to work harder to show its sincerity to help and fight for them.
New political roadmapping
The country has emerged to a new political situation that has never happened before. Basically the changes are from two perspectives. The first one is from the environment. The second is from the rival parties (they have gained acceptance). The following point justifies the reasons of why:
The change in political environment:
- The political roadmap has changed
- A gap exists between what the voters’ expect and what the party could perform
- Expectations from the voters have changed
- New media has emerged (i.e. internet)
The change of rival parties:
- The rival parties offer a new hope to voters
- The rival parties are gaining governing experiences
- The rival parties are good at publicity and adopting offensive strategy
- The rival parties are to certain extent merging into a large and congruence coalition
Eliminate unhealthy culture
But the existing organizational structure, the bureaus, the areas and branch leaderships as well as the services provided by the party and their total delivery systems are too rigid for the new changes in the environment and rival parties. The party has approximately 190 branches. But leaderships at the branch and area level have little knowledge about the changes and show no urgency for further improvement. Many of the local giants are strong and holding power. The obvious rush for higher posts in the party have reflected that the focuses of the leaders are in gaining more power and better position, and wait for a better future in the party (eg. Business opportunities, chances to be appointed as high office posts in the government, or chances to run for next election, etc). Another is the sharing of power among the local giants has brought in a very bad image to the party. The people will have a very bad impression that the party is belong to a couple of local giants; for the benefits of their small groups of people only, and not to serve the general public. These serious problems and unhealthy culture within a large party cannot be easily eliminated without an effective Total Transformation Process.
MCA has internal strength
No matter how bad or worst the situation of the party is in the current political situation, looking back to the internal aspect of the party, MCA has their own internal strength. They have a strong human resource base. Their members have many talents and are from diverse expertise. They have many professional and experts. Their organizational networks are widely connected. They have multiple resources available, their grass root members are full of field service experiences, their state and area structure are strong, and most members have large networking capabilities. If these internal strengths are not utilized and managed effectively, if their talented people, professional and expertise are not being adopted and utilized to strengthen their position, then, this is really a huge waste to the party as well as to the country.
MCA has many resources and talented people
MCA has to reform. They have to transform themselves into a stronger and more reliable organization. The party leaders need to make right decision. They have to assess the current political environment and the country situation. MCA has to plan strategically. They have to identify the most important tasks to be completed in a short period of time. They have to set priority among all tasks that need to be completed. They shouldn’t just rush for higher position and sit there waiting for the opportunities. They can no longer move without direction. Their activities cannot have no focus. Otherwise the resources and talents will be wasted. At the end, no objectives is achieved. In order to achieve its objectives, MCA needs to reform. A Total Transformation Process is necessary and timely.
MCA is in need for a Total Transformation Process
First of all, the party has to look into a better process for transformation. To do that, the party needs to identify a process strategy for transformation. The process strategy is the pattern of decisions made by party leadership in managing processes so that they will achieve their competitiveness in the country general election compare to rival parties. Process strategy is the selection of the human resources, talents, tasks, work flows, methods, system and procedures that transform inputs into outputs. It begins with identifying what need to be done internally and externally.
To begin, the leadership needs to underlie all total work structure and work breakdown activity throughout the organization. Then, they have to identify the flow of the work activity, their inter-connectivity and the processes needed to achieve those activities. The most important thing here is to ensure that all those activities and processes are along with the party’s objectives that need to be achieved.
Set short term and long term objectives
The party needs to set both long term and short term objectives. The long term objectives are those listed in the constitutions. It will take a longer time and more resources to achieve. A lot of ground work need to be done and most has no immediate effects. Nevertheless, due to the current political situation, the party needs to focus more resources to improve their short term objectives to gain back voters support before the next general election. As far as short term objective is concerned, the priority now is to see how fast the party could provide a new image to their voters. To change to a new image, branding strategy is important. Marketing consultant is needed to draw a complete plan to rebranding the party image.
Rebranding the party image
The first step of rebranding is probably to change those frontliners and restructure the whole service delivery process. We need more new talents and professionals in the fore front of the battlefield. These people are the first group of people the voters will meet. They should be trained on how to handle voters. They should know how to educate the voters, to change the voters thought, and to convert voters to MCA supporters. Resources should be diverted to support these important tasks.
New professional and talented faces
Next, a total revamp in middle and lower level of the organisational structure is needed. New faces means new image. This is an absolutely effective strategy for a fast change. Older generation are associated with older images. When you see your primary school teacher, you will always can recall your old school days, both good and bad memories and images will appear in your mind. Apparently, MCA need to decide, they really need to seriously decide to make a strategic manoeuvre. Failing to do this, the party will face a serious disaster. In order to totally change to a new image, everything associated to old problems has to be eliminated.
Focus on voters’ needs
Next, the party need to consider an effective service delivery process that link frontliners to the important leadership/management group of the party. However, the leadership needs to prioritise a set of service that they can offer to the voters. A political party is to provide what services they can offer to their voters. In other words, what they can fight for the voters, what the voters can get as a result of supporting the party. However, the party leadership should identify what services are regarded as acceptable by all and what services are regarded as wasting of time. If the party is concentrating on doing something not what the voters want, more resources will be wasted for unwanted services and this is normally due to bad leadership.
Action, action, action
Next the party leadership needs to look into the process of providing those services effectively. Without a proper and effective implementation plan, the objectives of the party can never be achieved. We do not want to be regarded as a talk-only-no-action party like some rivalry parties. The party needs to draw a complete and effective implementation plan to realise all the objectives.
How to draw an effective action plan
Assuming the party leadership already has a set of prioritised goals that need to be achieved in the near future, the next thing would be to finalise an action plan. The recurring question is how to provide a workable and effective process that can ensure the implementation of the party’s plan is effective and thus the objectives of the party can be achieved. This plan needs to be completed by the party themselves. No body can help the party in this work. They are a lot of internal structure and unique relationships need to be sorted out by its leaders first. Professional advice from consultants can only be treated as guideline.
New collaborative style leadership and cross functional team
In order to achieve a total transformation, the party need to detail a couple of important points. To transform MCA into new MCA, the leadership needs to identify and address core aspect of changes that can bring back voters’ confidence.
The new transformation process requires a new collaborative style of leadership, in which the leaders at all level act as partner rather than rivals. Teams are composed of individuals with broad process knowledge, and they are measured on performance. The transformation processes cut across boundaries between bureaus, they have cross functional team, and cross functional coordination is very important to the success of transformation process.
Full support from leaders
The transformation process needs a systematic procedure as well as full resources and full support from the party leadership. The first step is to look into the following aspect of resources:
- Process structure
- Voter involvement and participation
- Resource flexibility
- Capital intensity
Strategic move
Many issues from services to voter direct contact need to be looked into. The whole transformation process and its related action plan need to take the following strategic moves into consideration. These are:
- Strategy development
- Policy research
- Publicity
- Satisfaction survey
- Deliver promises
Guideline for total transformation
However, before we can achieve the total objectives, we need to look into the detail structure and system and identify areas for improvement. Among the areas that are important and can be top priority of the party leadership are:
Nature of Transformation processes
A good strategy for a service transformation process:
• Depends on the type and amount of voter contact. Direct Contact to Voters
• Voter contact: the extent to which the voter is satisfied, is positively responded, and receives personal attention during the service process.
Dimensions of voter contact
• Physical presence (face-to-face interaction is sometimes called a moment of truth, or service encounter)
• What is processed
People-processing services
Possession-processing services
Information-based services
• Contact intensity
Active contact: the voter is very much a part of the creation of the service, and affects the service process itself.
Passive contact: the voter is not involved in tailoring the process to meet special needs, or in how the process is performed.
• Personal attention
When contact is more personal, the voter “experiences” the service rather than just receiving it.
• Method of delivery used
Face-to-face or telephone versus regular mail or standardized e-mail message
Voter-contact matrix
(fitting the service processes with voter contact)
Voter contact and customization
• A key competitive priority is how much customization is needed
• Competitive priorities require more customization, the more the voter is present and actively involved.
Process divergence, and flow
• Process divergence: extent to which the process is highly customized with considerable latitude as to how it is performed
High divergence involves much judgment and discretion. Consulting and law, for example
Low divergence is more repetitive and standardized
• Process flow, closely related to divergence, may range from highly diverse to linear.
Flexible flow means movements in diverse ways.
Line flow means movement in fixed sequence.
Service process structuring
Two process structures should be formed:
Front line office: a process with higher voter contact where the party representative interacts directly with the voters
Back office: a process with less voter contact and standard services with some options available. Effective marketing and advertising are important. Back office is a process with low customer contact where the party frontliners interact very little with the voters
Process reengineering for MCA
a. Critical processes
• Emphasis is placed on core processes and critical areas.
• Processes are broadly defined in terms of costs and value.
b. Strong leadership
• Party leadership must provide a strong leadership for the reengineering success
c. Cross-functional teams
• Reengineering works best at high-involvement of total party resources.
d. Information technology – used to facilitate the whole process of transformation
e. Clean-slate philosophy
f. Process analysis. Understanding current processes can reveal areas where new thinking will provide the biggest return
Improvement of the Transformation Process
i. The systematic study of the activities and flows of each process to improve it.
ii. The purpose is to understand the process.
Transformation process analysis across the organization
How can transformation processes be analyzed, understood, and redesigned so they are providing the most value to the voters as well as the people.
1. Emphasize that transformation processes are everywhere, in all bureau and area office nationally of the party and process analysis focuses on how work is actually done, how services are delivered, and voters’ requests are documented and periodically reviewed and checked by party higher leadership.
2. Service offices are often the first areas that come to mind because they are closely related with the transformation processes.
3. Bureau at the national, state and area are crucial to the party’s success.
Disconnects are often the worst and opportunities for improvement the greatest.
A six-step action plan for MCA Total Transformation
A six-step blueprint transformation process analysis
Step 1: identify opportunities.
• Give particular attention to important processes
Voters complaints
New policy change and publicity
Request fulfillment
Voters relationship
• Look at strategic issues.
• Encourage party frontliners who perform the transformation process to the voters to continuously bring forward ideas (also known as a feedback suggestion system).
Step 2: define the scope
• Establish the boundaries of the transformation process to be analyzed
• Assign resources that match the scope of the transformation process
• Design teams may be established for large projects
Facilitators
Steering team
Step 3: document the transformation process
Step 4: evaluate the transformation process performance
• Identify metrics: performance measures or KPI that are established for the transformation process and the steps within it
• Create multiple measures for such things as
Quality of services
Voter satisfaction
Time to perform each step or whole transformation process
Cost
Errors
Effectiveness
Success rate
On-time delivery of services
Flexibility of resources
Step 5: redesign the process
• Uncover disconnects or gaps between actual and desired performance
• Find root causes of performance gaps
• Design and document new process
Step 6: implement changes
• Widespread participation from all over the country in analysis is essential, for commitment and expertise
• View and manage implementation as a project
Redesign a new process for all bureaus
1. Generating ideas: questioning and brainstorming
A questioning attitude: ask six questions about each step in the process
• What is being done?
• When is it being done?
• Who is doing it?
• Where is it being done?
• How is it being done?
• How well does it do on the various metrics of importance?
2. Creativity can be stimulated by having a brainstorming session: a time when a group of members, knowledgeable on the process propose ideas for change by saying whatever comes to mind
3. Benchmarking
4. Four basic steps of benchmarking
• Planning: identify process, leader, performance measures, KPI
• Analysis: measure gap, identify causes
• Integration: establish goals and resource commitments
• Action: develop teams, implement plan, monitor progress, return to step 1
Managing transformation processes effectively
Seven mistakes to avoid in managing processes:
1. Not connecting with strategic issues
2. Not involving the right members/grass root leaders in the right way
3. Not giving the design teams and process analysts a clear charter, and then holding them accountable
4. Not being satisfied unless fundamental “reengineering” changes are made
5. Not considering the impact on voters and the country
6. Not giving attention to implementation
7. Not creating an infrastructure for continuous improvement
Adopting effective tools and systems for the transformation processes
Adopting effective tools and systems for MCA total transformation process is important. Experts are needed to help select the right tools. They needs to study the current structure at national, state, and area level, to understand their processes, activities, and systems, and then identify areas for improvement and areas for change. Select the right tools to be installed or implemented. Train and educate their members to use the tools. Monitor and control the performance.
• Flowcharts
- Diagrams that trace the flow of information, voters, facilities, or resources through the various steps of a process.
- Flowcharts show how the party create their outputs through a myriad of cross functional work processes, allowing the design team to see all the critical interfaces between bureau and branches.
• Service blueprints
- A special flowchart of a service transformation process that shows which of its steps has high voter contact and high success rate of services provided.
- Special feature: line of visibility that identifies which steps are visible to the voters.
• Process Charts
- Concentrates in more detail on a smaller number of steps than does a flowchart.
- It is an organized way of documenting all of the activities performed by a person or a group of people at a service centre, with voters, or working with certain documents or policy.
• Time study method
- Selecting the work elements within the process to be studied
- Timing the elements
- Determining the sampling size
- Setting the final standard
• Elemental standard data approach
- Database of standards compiled internally for basic elements
- Works well when work elements within a certain jobs are similar to those in other jobs
- Sometimes the time required for a work element depends on variable characteristics of the jobs
• Predetermined data approach
- Published database that divides each work element even more, into micromotions
• Work sampling method
- Estimates proportion of time spent on different activities
• Learning curve analysis
- Takes into account learning that takes place on ongoing basis
- Learning curve and concept of doubling
• Data analysis tools
a. Checklists: a form used to record the frequency of occurrence of certain process failures.
b. Histograms and bar charts
• Histogram: summarizes data measured on a continuous scale, showing the frequency distribution of some process failures.
• Bar chart: a series of bars representing the frequency of occurrence of data characteristics measured on a yes-and-no basis
c. Pareto Charts: a bar chart on which the factors are plotted in decreasing order of frequency along the horizontal axis.
d. Scatter diagrams: a plot of two variables showing whether they are related.
e. Cause-and-effect diagram: relates a key performance problem to its potential causes (sometimes called a fishbone diagram).
f. Graphs: representations of data in a variety of pictorial forms, such as line and pie charts.
• Line charts
• Forecasting
• Data snooping
- The power of the data analysis tools is greatest when they are used together.
- Data snooping is the use of the tools to sift data, clarify issues and deduce causes.
• Simulation
- The act of reproducing the behavior of a process using a model that describes each step of the process.
- Shows how the process performs dynamically over time.
