TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1. INTRODUCTION____________________________________________2 1.1 Setting the Stage_________________________________________2 1.2 The Development of the Indian IT Industry_____________________3 1.3 Organisational Challenges to IT Companies____________________5 1.4 Need for the Study________________________________________6 1.5 Problem Statement_______________________________________7 1.6 Purpose of Study_________________________________________8 Appendix II - Score for the factors discussed in the Questionnaire (IVY Comptech Company staff)

1.INTRODUCTION 1.1 Setting the Stage

In the past 45 years of the computer age, computer processing power has increased to an incomprehensible 30 orders of magnitude, 1030, the ratio of the diameter of an atom to that of the Milky Way. From the 1970s to the present, computer power has doubled each year following a trend known as Moores Law. This means computer power increases at 2 year, about one million times every 20 years. And there is no end in sight to this trend: research on nano-computers predicts that Moores Law will apply well into the next century (Spencer, 1995). The bottom line: we are dealing with the most amazing ubiquitous technology, which has been and will be changing the face of the earth, effecting humans in every possible way. The computer industry, otherwise called as Information Technology (IT) industry, has been described as the most dynamic, most prosperous, most economically beneficial industry the world has ever known (Parsons & Oja, 2011). The rapid development of the industry is promoting global industrial restructuring, optimization and upgrading, and bring about profound changes in the human lifestyles and production patterns (Zemin, 2009). Economies of scale and insatiable demand from both consumers and enterprises characterize this rapidly growing sector (Economy Watch, 2010). With the worldwide consumption of IT industry products estimated to be more than US $ 2.1 trillion annually (Parsons & Oja, 2011), the industry has acted as a key driver for global economic growth (Economy Watch, 2010).
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Since the beginning of the 21st century, IT has been evolving every single day with its popularity and applications having significant impact on economic, political, social, cultural and military development. The IT industry of a country or region has become an important yardstick of its overall strength, international competitiveness, and degree of modernisation (Zemin, 2009). Considering the Indian scenario, IT industry has literally given India a place on the world map which was otherwise considered a developing country with inferior infrastructural reliability. NASSCOM - the apex forum for the IT Industry in India, asserts that IT industry has played a significant role in transforming Indias image from a slow moving bureaucratic economy to a land of innovative entrepreneurs and a global player in providing world class technology solutions and business services. Presently, the industry is estimated to have grown by 19 per cent in the FY2011, clocking revenue of almost US$ 76 billion (NASSCOM, 2011). Poised to become a US$ 225 billion industry by 2020 (IBEF, 2011), India has climbed 10 spots to reach the 34th ranking on the global IT industry competitive index owing to its strong human capital and research and development (R&D) base. Compiled jointly by Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Economist Intelligence Unit, this IT industry competitiveness index benchmarks 66 countries on a series of indicators covering the critical foundation areas for IT innovation (Economic Times, 2011). Speaking about this news, Som Mittal, president of NASSCOM , he said India (Indian IT Industry) is gradually diversifying its services focus to innovation in new product development and related capabilities reflecting its gradual emergence as a lead in not just IT exports but soon also in IT products.

1.2 The Development of the Indian IT Industry

The Indian IT industry saw its birth in the 1960s. It was the time when multinational companies originated in the 1960s, hardware was provided by multinational firms like IBM had taken their place as global leaders in the hardware market and the only opportunity left for Indian firms was
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to

specialise in the area of IT services. Those were the days when Indian domestic IT needs were almost negligible making the Indian IT service companies to rely heavily on export markets. By 1980/1981 when many of todays Indian major companies were founded, the Indian software exports reached the 13 million USD mark and, large companies in other sectors of the economy diversified into the IT sector (Ainavolu, 2007). At that time, the Indian software industry heavily relied on body shopping that is, flying professional staff to the sires of overseas clients in order to work on software assignments. This was mainly due to the large talent pool of English-speaking computer scientists and engineers willing to work overseas for a fraction of US wages as well as the lack of appropriate hardware in India, caused by the limited availability of foreign exchange to purchase computers (Henley, 2007). Body shopping proved to be the stepping stone for the gigantic growth of IT Industry that would be recorded in the years to come. During the 1990s, IT industry saw the prevalence of customised and firm specific software along with the considerable market for maintenance work and integration of legacy software systems. It has been argued by some observers that over two-thirds of all software development efforts are spent in maintaining and enhancing existing software codes, rather than producing new software (Arora & Athreye 2002). Such work necessitates in-depth understand of the software functions through face-to-face contact. The building of trust between client and software provider that was possible as a result of face-to-face interaction on site, was critical for the development of the software industry. For the business relations to prosper and Indian companies to get business deals from the west, they would have to develop strong client trust, in order that the client shares confidential information with the information technology provider. Indian IT companies have challenged their limitations over time by building their infrastructural facilities, intellectual property and human capacity. Today, India's top technology firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are readying plans to gain a bigger share of their largest market, US, by aggressively chasing contracts being served by multinational rivals. Analysts expect the top IT firms to grow between 23-27 per cent in the FY2012 on the

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back of more number of discretionary projects, improved pricing, and robust business volumes (Economic Times, 2011).

1.3 Organisational Challenges to IT Companies

An introduction to this subject could not be any better but to pen down the following mission statement of IVY Comptech company:
While our business is not dependent on physical assets to succeed, it is heavily dependent on intangible assets such as our brands, technology and most importantly our people. We aim to attract and retain high performing talent from around the world and seek to promote and develop high culture. Our employees are both engaged and well-rewarded for their achievements and outstanding contributions.

Two of the most important features of IT industry are (1) Unlike other common industries, IT industry is knowledge-based and (2) Efficient utilisation of skilled labour forces in the IT sector can help an economy achieve a rapid pace of growth (Economy Watch, 2010). Being in a knowledge-based industry, IT companies like IVY Comptech have identified that the main source of their competitive advantage is the intellectual capital consisting of human capital and intellectual property. As seen from this mission statement, IVY Comptech has identified that attracting, retaining and maintaining high performing talent is necessary for the IT organisations to stay ahead in the competition. Indian IT industry has seen several stages of transformation throughout its history from infancy in the 1960s to the present decade. Principal factors of transformation, apart from overall investment climate and changes in demand and supply, have been the business processes, human resources and institutional capabilities. (Mitra, 2010). Economy Watch (2010) maintains that one of the most important crises facing the Indian information technology industry today concerns the human resources aspect. The skill level of the information technology professionals is one area that needs improvement and

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presents a considerable amount of challenge before the Indian information technology industry. Kuruvilla and Ranganathan (2008), stating in Indian context, claim that four critical and interlinked HR challenges threaten the near and long-term prospects of IT industry. Macro level HR problems include a shortage of skilled HR and difficulty in producing high-skilled manpower. The micro HR problems include high average turnover rates, and the rapidly rising HR costs in the industry. According to Andersen, et al. (2010), the desired outcomes from an HR perspective are low employee turnover, low absenteeism, highquality customer service and high performance. These outcomes are achievable only through the result of an integrated and coordinated effort by the service provider and the client. The desired outcomes can be achieved using best-practice activities within job design, change management and contract formulation. These activities should continuously be reassessed by monitoring the psychological impact on the employees attitudes toward the activities, the job, the service provider and the client. Similarly, Meenakshi Gupta from the premier Indian Institute of Bangalore, in her article on HR Challenges in the Indian Software Industry discussed a variety of issues hovering Indian IT Industry. They are recruitment of world class workforce and their retention, compensation and career planning, technological obsolescence and employee turnover, to name a few. Apparently, the human resources perspective needs to be studied in order to adopt an all-embracing approach to understanding organisational issues, their effect on people and to prepare processes and solutions to improve organisational effectiveness (Gupta, M., 2004).

1.4 Need for the Study

It is globally accepted fact that the performance of an organisation is vital for organisations success. Armstrong, & Baron, (2004) describe management of organisational performance as the continuing responsibility of top management within an organisation to achieve the corporate objectives by
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planning, organising, and controlling activities with good leadership. He goes further and states that there are various types of performance measures however which one is used sensibly lies on the managers. There have been various studies conducted on managing projects (Lewis, J. P., 1999) where all the different phases of an organisations lifecycle from conceptualisation, growth, maturity through decline and closure are looked at. Now the top management are on an agreement that they needs to ensure that through all of these stages planning, organising and controlling is executed efficiently. However yet there are still organisations that underperform and fail eventually. research. Organisations that close down suffer themselves from financial loss however this also impacts on the workforce and the employment opportunities. Many other stakeholders are affected by an underperforming organisation which is why this research needs to be conducted as it would uproot causes which will help execute corrective and preventive actions. This shows that there are yet many other reasons why an organisation fails to perform. These reasons shall be explored through this

1.5 Problem Statement

Companies small or large fail due to various reasons and eventually the cause of concern is pointed out to a single variable. Yet, organisations still do not have enough information to work with which ensures that their performance is of good standards and that they do not fail. Closing down of an organisation or a division of it causes financial loss to its stakeholders, to the economy of the country as it brings revenues and also employment opportunities are lost.

1.6 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this dissertation research is to investigate into the factors responsible for underperformance of an organisation and to find out what all
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variables of an organisation need to be scrutinised to ensure the company remains stable and its performance is improved. Potentially there are a wide range of factors that may be responsible for an organisations failure or underperformance for which the aims and objective of the research are:

1. To identify the cause(s) controllable and internal to the organisation. 2. To

identify the cause(s) non-controllable and external to the

organisation. 3. To explore the primary cause of non-performance or closure of an organisation. 4. To investigate into the overall performance parameters of an organisation. 5. To examine the effects of market competition on the organisations performance. 6. To provide recommendations for monitoring performance of the organisation.

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1. REVIEW

OF THE LITERATURE

The issues of business failure have been perceived in different ways depending on the circumstances that lead to the failure. Megginson & Smart (2008) view business failure as the unfortunate circumstance of a firms inability to stay in the business. Though companies may fail due to financial distress as pointed out by Drapeau et al. (2004), Neophytou, et al. (2001), the present research is more into taking Greiners (1972) point of view. He considers a business fails when companies fail to see that many clues of their success lie within their own organisations and the evolving states of development. Moreover, the inability of management to understand its organisation development problems can result in a company becoming frozen in its present stage of evolution or, ultimately, in failure, regardless of market opportunities (Grainer, 1972). In a similar fashion, Westland, (2006), believes that the reasons of organisations to fail would be its lack of achievement of its predefined business goals. While discussing on how companies financial turbulence affects their sustenance, Platt (1999) in his book Why Companies Fail: Strategies for Detecting, Avoiding, and Profiting from Bankruptcy, argued that cash flow is not the only reason for business failure. According to him, a companys failure has more to it, than just its financial affairs. As discussed in the introduction, IT success or failure primarily depends on organisations performance in the aspect of its human resource management. It can be best theorised by applying various management theories and concepts in the context of IT, to assess the internal and external factors responsible for its failure. The strength of management theories and concepts and other underlying performance factors related to IT, as appeared in the literature, are studied in this section.

2.1 Factors of IT Companys Non-Performance

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A keen observation at the industry reveals that IT business landscape is characterised by significant number of mergers and acquisitions taking place through the years, as indicated by BPO India (2011). Solganick, Aaron (2011), founder and President of Los-Angeles based Generation Equity Advisors, LLC, believe BPO and IT services M&A activity in 2011 and 2012 could continue its increased activity and rise above the sectors pre-recession deal flow. Since IT is a highly competitive industry, the obvious reason for M&A could be the need of improvement in the operations and technology or face the risk of closure or M & A. According to Sople (2009), the IT industry is characterized by very closely monitored service-level indicators of productivity, timely delivery and quality related aspects. All customers in this industry demand prompt reporting on these performance metrics. If these are not met in time with customers expectations, the vendor has to face the brunt. Over the years, it has been observed that many IT projects ventures proved unsuccessful. The results of these failures, usually, tend to hit the companies involved financially. On this subject, CIO Magazine states, numerous surveys indicate that anywhere from 17 percent to 53 percent of customers have not realised business value/return on investment from IT outsourcing (Kaushik, 2008).These unfortunate experiences have made organisations in IT business approach the issue cautiously. Some organisations tend to avoid potential failure by concentrating on tightening the contracts and Service Level Agreements. The approach, however, has evoked mixed response, and it is a debatable issue. In to a survey done by KPMG on IT outsourcing, 60 percent of respondents claim that problems with their IT solution providers are almost always people-related. In essence, successful IT outsourcing is more highly correlated with relationships between clients and vendors than tight contracts and SLAs (Rossi, 2007). In Soples (2009) view, accurate and detailed performance measurement and management are pivotal to the success of any shared service or outsourcing initiative. Charan and Useem (2002) in their article on companies failure which was published in fortune magazine; brought forth the reasons they believe to be

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responsible for companies fail. They concluded companies fail because they do not have a proper vision, strategy or plan; they have weak or ineffective management style, or due to inadequate information and control systems and under capitalization. Other reasons discussed were lack of competitive advantage and poor pricing. While according to Duening & Click (2005), the BPO relationship success factors are project management, IT integration, cultural integration, client involvement and commitment, governance, and goal alignment. Charles W.L. Hill, a professor at University of Washington, believes that when companies competitive advantage declines, their profitability falls, causing organisations to fail. He recommended that a continuous improvement and learning plans along with a focus on competitive advantage would guide organisations to their survive (Hill & Jones, 2009). The success of the relationship between the IT and the client depends on how the entire lifecycle of the IT relationship is handled in the holistic manner covering management processes, governance structures, technology usage, monitoring, service level agreements, and commitment from all stakeholders (Feeny et al, 2005). Feeny focuses on three competencies that IT companies possess. They are Delivery competency a measure of how well the supplier responds to the clients day-to-day operational requirements; Transformational competency this represents how well the vendor is able to improve the offered services on dimensions of cost, quality, performance, etc.; and lastly, Relationship competency the extent to which the vendor is willing to invest in building a win-win relationship aligning client and supplier goals and incentives over the longer run. Continuing the same idea, he further states the capabilities like business management, technology exploitation, process re-engineering, governance, program management, organizational structure, etc., are the critical success factors for IT Companys performance evaluation. Be it internal or external, there could be an exhaustive list of causes for the companies to fail. However, the point to prove lies in the fact that, there could not be one but several factors causing a company to underperform, which if not taken care of properly, lead to its closure. However, as Duening & Click
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(2005) rightly drives a point that the main cause of IT Company failure seems to be the differences between customers expectations and the perceived results to be provided by the service provider. Eventually, the objective of the research would be to identify the set of factors representing customers expectations and another set of factors describing the result orientation from service providers perception. Finally, the industry-wide validity of these identified factors over entire IT industry has to be studied. The disappointments caused to some big names in Indian IT industry could be best presented by a piece of news as appeared in The Guardian, titled India Outsources Outsourcing. It states that according to Kris Gopalakrishnan, the head of Indias giant software company Infosys, there is an economic phenomenon engulfing the world called Outsourcers are outsourcing themselves. According to it, once know for sucking jobs out of call centres and IT departments in the west, Indian technology firms are re-exporting them to wealthier nations as wage inflation and skills shortages at home reverse the process (Ramesh, 2007). In the same context, Nasscom press (2010) admits that the top four companies who have currently outsourced their operations are Genpact ltd, Tata Consultancy Services BPO, WNS, and Aegis Ltd. The list of such incidents grows bigger with organisations such as MSN, Dell, and Bank of America are included in it as well. These increasingly widespread trends in the industry points to the basic obvious economic reasoning of lack of exchange of value between the IT service providers and their clients. Driving a conclusion from the accounts presented above, it could be said that there is a high opportunity for IT service providers to exchange valuables from these companies however, considering the increased competition, the sustainability of operations and the continuation of business with these companies becomes increasingly challenging. The literature on IT companies has brought forth list of factors required for successful operations of an IT Service Provider. The list includes, but not limited to Human Resource management, Finance Management, Management style, information and control systems, Competitive Advantage, and Pricing strategies. For the research to take a practical shape the following
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factors are to be considered as the focal point of inquiry through various methods of data collection and processing. With the intention of selecting a proper research model that would cover all the points discussed, it is required to dwell in the conceptual frameworks and theories appeared in business research.

2.2 Management Theories, Models and Their Effectiveness

The literature review on IT service providers summarise the endogenous factors into analysing the success criteria for vendor organisation and the elements required to achieve the end results. The other factors include the influence of exogenous variables and the analysis of competitors. In the subsequent section, literature of management theories and models in terms of internal factors and external factors are presented to establish a proper understanding on the subject concerned.

2.2.1

Internal Factors

While defining the objectives of IT organisation, it is necessary to consider the needs of the client organisation, end consumers and IT service providers. The essence of these objectives boils down to what the organisation would want to achieve and to what extent. Considering the fact that each organisation is different and has a different set of factors associated with it, the objectives may differ from one organisation to another and may have a different impact on the overall organisations performance. The internal dimensions or domain of organisations would be the activities (methods, practices and procedures) performed to achieve the end result. The end result would be the overall objective of the organisation. External dimensions or variables may impact on organisations performance thus it may be vital to investigate into various external factors identified by theorists. In the subsequent section, a detailed discussion is presented on all these internal
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and external factors. The discussion would be based on models and theories involving a holistic perspective of these factors along with the possible conclusions that follow in respect to the objectives of organisations and their importance.

2.2.1.1

Nigel Slacks Objectives of organisations

Cyert and March (1963) long ago pointed out that organisations are rarely oriented towards the achievement of any specific goal. Indeed, objectives are often absent, or ambiguous, or phrased in a general way so as to be not operational. More likely, there will be multiple objectives that are often in conflict (Carter, 1992). Why exactly is an organisation operational and what is it (objectives) aiming at? are the probable questions every employee of an organisation should identify, know and seek information for. direct the employees properly. While giving an insight on organisations objectives, Slack, et al. (2007) states that well defined organisations objectives primarily fall under five factors. Every organisation has to have their own objectives, and they need to be clearly understood for the organisation to be aligned with them. Slack, et al. (2007) asserts that it is a responsibility of the operations function to understand the (sometimes conflicting) objectives of its stakeholders and set its objectives accordingly. He has identified objectives as: Without the understanding of this, it might not be sufficient for an organisation to guide or

Quality - consistent conformance to customers expectations. For an IT company, this can be considered as the quality of service offered by the company to its clients or the support provided to the clients themselves.

Speed It is the elapsed time between customers requesting products or services and their receipt of them (Slack, et al. (2007). In a simpler context it is the amount of time spent in delivering product or services to the customer. The lesser the time taken to fulfil an order the customer satisfaction will be
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more which will give the speed advantage to the company. In the IT industry scenario prompt servicing to the customer plays an important role to place a company ahead of its competitors. So, it is very important to deliver the error free services to the customers promptly which in turn increased the efficiency and reliability of the product or services.

Dependability It is an attribute for the act of doing things in time for customers to receive their goods or services exactly when they are needed, or at least when they are promised (Slack, et al. (2007). When a customer places an order with the company for goods or services he/she becomes dependable on the company for the performance of that particular act, so it is the duty of the corporation to deliver those services or products on time to build a trustworthy and a stable relationship with the customer. It helps in strengthening of business ties and customer base which will eventually helps in expanding the business horizon. Flexibility It is defined as the ability to change the operations in some way. This may mean changing what the operation do, how it is doing it or when it is doing it (Slack, et al. (2007). In present day scenario where competition is stiff with many substitutes coming in, an organisation has to be flexible in its approach to cater in the best possible way to the customers. According to Slack et al (2007) customers will need the operation to change so that it can provide four types of requirements: 1) Product/Service Flexibility the operations ability to introduce new or modified products and services. 2) Mix Flexibility the operations ability to produce a wide range or mix of products and services. 3) Volume Flexibility the operations ability to change its level of output or activity to produce different quantities or volumes of products and services over time. 4) Delivery Flexibility the operations ability to change the timing of the delivery of its services or products.

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So, flexibility is considered to be an important objective for any organisation to be successful and for creating conducive atmosphere for the customers.

Cost it plays an imperative role in an organisations objective. Every organisation tends to keep its cost to the lower possible limit, so that its products or services can be delivered to the customers at competitive prices and cost advantage can be obtained. For lowering cost it is very essential to know the operations in which the company is spending. The company has to do a comprehensive study on all the input variables and chop out unnecessary expenses incurred and it should also keep a check on the pricing policies of the company. After assessing the above objectives in the light of IT Service providers, it has been made clear that for any organisation to succeed in its operations it should have clear objectives and they should be communicated to the internal workforce more precisely, so that they can be taken out with utmost care and without any negligence. In this section the organisational objectives are studied and their various implementation strategies have been academically identified, which guide us to the probable internal and external activities obligatory for achieving these objectives. In the coming section an in-depth analysis of these internal and external factors will be studied with the help of Mckinsey 7s framework and PESTAL analysis.

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2.2.1.2

McKinsey 7S Model

The McKinsey 7S Framework model is a diagnostic management tool used to test the strength of the strategic degree of fit between a firms current and proposed strategies. It was co-developed in the year 1978 by several consultants at McKinsey & Co. including Robert H. Waterman, Jr., and Tom Peters. The McKinsey 7S model addresses the need to build a tight strategic fit between strategy, organisational structure, and five additional components of organisational effectiveness (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2007). Among the 7S, the three core factors are considered to be Strategy, Structure and System, which are otherwise called as hard Ss. The other four, Skills, Staff, Style and Shared Values, are supporting factors or soft Ss (Pascale, 1981). Waterman asserts that effective organisational change is really the relationship between Structure, Strategy, Systems, Style, Skills and Staff. A detailed analysis of the seven elements suggested by McKinsey model is as follows:
Figure 1: McKinsey 7S Model

1. Strategy According to Johnson strategy is the direction and scope of

an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. In other words strategy plays a crucial role in achieving competitive success for any organisation. It lays down clear objectives for directing an organisation towards achieving its overall goal. It was Chandler who first pointed out that structure follows strategy, or more precisely, that a strategy of diversity forces a decentralized structure. Strategy is the way a company aims to improve its position vis-a-vis competition perhaps through low-cost production or delivery, perhaps by providing better value to the customer, perhaps by achieving sales and service dominance. (Waterman, 1980)

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2. Systems According to Waterman system means all the procedures,

formal and informal, that make the organization go, day by day and year by year: capital budgeting systems, training systems, cost accounting procedures, budgeting systems. In other words it is the procedure followed by companies for controlling its separate activities carried out by an enterprise like managing sales force, logistics, services, human resource activities, Technology used, budgeting procedures, financial policies, training activities, etc. It is the system which is responsible for getting the things done in a proper and effective manner by the employees. By looking at the system of any organisation one can make out the extent to which it is going to be successful. For being ahead of competition the company has to monitor and bring changes to its system of operation from time to time. Edward Deming in his PDCA cycle meaning Plan, do, check and act has explained the ways in which a company can validate the organisations system incessantly for eradicating deficiencies as and when they occur, so that the system can become stable and efficient. Samuel (2005) in his Total Quality Management has agreed that for continuous improvements in a process proper planning has to be conducted to achieve the desired results. Larson (2003) asserts that improvement goals must be set, and programs must be initiated to achieve the goals.
3. Staff According to Chandler, Staff (in the sense of people, not

line/staff) is often treated one of the two ways. At the hard end of the spectrum, we talk of appraisal systems, pay scales, formal training programs, and the like. At the soft end, we talk about morale, attitude, motivation, and behaviour. In Kaplans (2005) view, the staff consists of people, their backgrounds and competencies; how the organisation recruits, selects, trains, socializes, manages the careers, and promote employees. Slack (2007) in his operations management defined staff consists of people who operate, maintain, plan and manage the operations.
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Staff occupies a vital place in an organisation because the success depends on the efficiency and skill set of people employed. So, it is very essential for any organisation to take utmost care while recruiting the workforce. If the employees are not competent then the organisation will not be able to achieve its goals. The organisation must employ sufficient number of staff personal because understaffing will hamper the production and overstaffing will increase expenses which will eventually impede the profitability of an organisation. Staffing Policies: The companies can adopt any of the following staffing policies for seeking best of the employees.
1) Geocentric Staffing A policy where important positions in an

organisation is given to talented people irrespective of nationality i.e. expatriates are made managers. 2) Ethnocentric Staffing In this all the key positions are appointed to the home country nations. 3) Polycentric Staffing In this staffing policy significant positions in a subsidiary company are allotted by host country.
1. Skills includes the distinctive competencies that reside in the

organisation. They can be distinctive competencies of people, management practices, system and/or technology (Vallabhaneni, 2009). Kaplan (2005) describes skills as distinctive competencies of the organisation; what it does best along dimensions such as people, management practices, processes, systems, technology and customer relationships. To achieve competitive advantage an organisation should consists of skilled workforce. The company should take time to time initiative to update employees regarding the necessary new skill sets and train them as per requirement for obtaining the organisational goal. For an organisation to flourish the given skills are required Planning and organising skills, Directing and leading skills, controlling and measuring skills, motivation skills, problem solving and decision making skills,
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negotiating skills, communication skills conflict management skills and technology skills. In Structure is not organisation Waterman asserts that skills enable to capture a companys crucial attributes as no other concept can do. Additionally, they frequently find it helpful to label current skills, for the addition of a new skill may come only when the old one is dismantled. Possibly the most difficult problem in trying to organise effectively is that of wedding out old skills and their supporting systems, structures, etc. to ensure that important new skills can take root and grow (Waterman, 1980).
2. Super-ordinate goals/Shared values These are the core set of

values that are widely shared in the organization and serve as guiding principles of what is important. These values have great meaning to employees because they help focus attention and provide a broader sense of purpose. Shared values are one of the most important elements of and organizations culture (Vallebhaneni, 2009). In other words these are basis ideas or outlines around which an organisation is built. These play an important role in guiding the employees and organisation in achieving organisations objectives. They are the broad notions of future direction that the top management team wants to infuse throughout the organisation. They are the way in which the team wants to express itself, to leave its own mark (Waterman, 1980). For building a sense of collective purpose in a team which is meant for increasing loyalty and satisfaction, values are very important. Socially values are considered necessary but in actual what people follow will be different from what they truly value. Because of this value has been divided into espoused values and enacted value. So, the top management must clearly mention to what type of values they are referring. Enacted values are followed by organisations for achieving companys objectives and not espoused values.
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Espoused Values: represent the values people say they used and, in many cases, think they use even if they dont. People create a positive public image by claiming to believe in values that other expect them to embrace (Hill, 2008). This represents those values that are not actually practised but they portray an image among others that they follow these values.

Enacted Values: These are the values people actually rely on to guide their decisions and actions. These values in use are apparent by watching people in action (Hill, 2008).

1. Structure Waterman (1980) in his structure is not organisation

asserts that structure divides tasks and then provides coordination. It trades off specialization and integration. It decentralizes and then recentralizes. Previously structure was divided into production and sales teams but now the scenario has changed because of complexity in business due to increase in organisations size and activities. Basically, there are four structural forms functional, multi-divisional, geographic and matrix. In a functional structure the structure of the organization follows the obvious division of labour within the firm, with different functions focussing on different tasks. In a multidivisional structure the firm is divided into different product divisions, each of which is responsible for a distinct business area. In a geographic structure the main subunits of the organization are geographic areas, such as regions within a country, countries, or multi country regions. With a matrix structure, managers try to combine two different organizing philosophies in a single design (Hill, 2008). For the organisations success the structural chart of the organisation must be formulated in par with the staffs experience, skills and expertise. It should clearly define the hierarchy for reporting and controlling purposes.
2. Style In his book titled Leadership Style, Kippenberger (2002)

defined style as a way of behaving. It shows the leadership styles

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followed by the top management and it also covers the attitude of the employees in dealing with the customers and outside world. The leaders have to be updating themselves constantly about the new skills and new ways of thinking in terms of customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, and they must assist employees in making the same transition. (Larson, 2003). Kets de Vries (2001) explains an individuals leadership style a synthesis of the various roles that he or she chooses to adopt is a complex outcome of the interplay of that persons inner theatre .... and the competencies that the person develops over the course of their lifespan. According to Larson (2003) depending on the development levels of individual employees, there are four phases of leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. The common attributes for a successful leader propagated by Kouzes & Posner (1987) are

Challenge the process First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most. Inspired a shared vision Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers. Enable others to act Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem. Model the way When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do; a leader shows that it can be done.

Encourage the heart Share the glory with your followers' hearts, while keeping the pains within your own.

Rensis Libert in his publication on leadership styles identified four styles as follows: i. Exploitative Autocratic In this type leaders dont show any trust on subordinates by giving orders and pressurize them for performing.

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ii. Benevolent Autocratic Here the employees are trusted to some extent and occasionally seek their opinions and idea, but the style is paternalistic. iii. Participative In this style the finale decision making is retained by the leader but some amount of trust is exhibited towards the subordinates by seeking views and opinions. iv. Democratic In this style complete confidence and trust is shown towards the subordinate and their views and opinions are not only sought but acted upon. (Kippenberger, 2002)

2.2.1.3

Blake and Mouton Leadership

While studying the behaviour characteristics of successful leader, Blake and Mouton identified two fundamental drivers of managerial behaviour: the concern for getting the job done, and the concern for people doing the work (Zeidan. 2009). The concern for both people on vertical axis and production on horizontal axis is measured through a questionnaire on a scale from 1 to 9. However, the leadership grid identifies five leadership styles: Impoverished, authority compliance, country club, middle of the road and team leader which are described as follows (Lussier, 2007):

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Fig 1.2: Blake and Mouton leadership grid theory.

1. Impoverished Leader (Low production/Low people) In this style the managers act lazily showing low concern for both people and production. They want to avoid getting into trouble and are only concerned for protecting their job and job seniority. As a result, leadership dissonance.
2. Authority Compliance Leader (High production/Low people) In this

is

hampered

by

discontent,

incompetence

and

the leader is concerned more with production and less worried about people. People are only considered as a means for the end and they are not compensated for corporation or teamwork. Here the production level will be more as the employees are forced to deliver the desired results and there will be high labour turnover.
3. Country Club Leader (Low production/High people) Here

managers are more concerned with the well being of the employees as they are not interested in endangering the relation with them. The only concentrate on giving a friendly atmosphere to the subordinates by giving less importance to the production. 4. Middle-of-the-road Leader (Medium production/Medium people) It is a balanced type of leadership style. In this a perfect balance will be achieved between company goals and workers needs. 5. Team Leader (High production/High people) In this leader pays elevated attention to production as well as people which results in high esteem, belief and enthusiasm among employees, consequently leading to high production level. Strengths of the Managerial Grid Approach: This approach helps in measuring different leadership styles. Helps in discussing performances and upgrading actions. Facilitates in eliminating deceptions by rating the exact potential of managers Limitations of the Managerial Grid Approach: There are more dimensions of leadership that can be relevant.
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The model basically neglects the significance of the internal and external constraints, context, circumstances and situation (Zeidan, 2009).

2.2.1.4

Burke-Litwins Model

Burke-Litwin in 1992 published an article in the Journal of management where they have promulgated a model for examining organisational change and performance using internal as well as external factors. It revolves around 12 organisation dimensions by demonstrating cause and effect relationship among them. It is a step ahead of 7 S model where only internal factors were aligned for reaching organisational goal but in Burkes model they are considering internal as well as external factors for ascertain the success of the enterprise. This model includes several key features which go beyond the previous models: Includes twelve theoretical constructs (i.e., organizational variables) Distinguishes between the culture and climate of an organization Distinguishes between transformational and transactional dynamics Specifies the nature and direction of influence of organisational variables Is based on previous models, empirical studies, and OD practice (Leadersphere Inc, 2008)

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Figure 1.3: Burke Litwin

Burkes Model 12 Dimensions 1. External Environment The external factors impacting the organisation internally and externally should be established. 2. Mission & Strategy The top management should lay down mission and strategy from the employees perspective. 3. Leadership It is concerned with the behaviour of the top management in delegating responsibilities and authority. 4. Organisational Culture It defines the internal environment of the company. What believes, values and conventions are followed by the workforce as a guide in achieving organisational goals. 5. Structure It is concerned with the arrangement of tasks that has to be carried out by the employees.
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6. Systems It includes the policies and procedures followed by the organisation in carrying out the organisations activities. 7. Management Practices It comprises of the practices managers follow in managing human and material resources.
8. Work Unit Climate It consist of the feeling of the staff members

while dealing with the superiors.

9. Tasks and Skills These are the skill set required by the workforce

in delivering the tasks productively. 10. Individual Values and Needs The emotional factors that stimulate the desires and importance for employees performance or views. 11. Motivational Level It prompts the employees in moving towards accomplish the targets set by the superiors. 12. Individual and Overall Performance Efforts that employees put in achieving the set goals. It can be debated that the McKinsey framework of 7S alone may not be enough to analyse the underperformance of a company, as the 7S factors are limited to depicting the intrinsic conditions of the company. Hence, the intrinsic variables affecting the company, in the present case, would be studied with the aid of external factors.

2.2.2

External Factors

The PESTEL framework is a mnemonic used in strategic management to group macro-environmental (external) factors to help strategists look for sources of general opportunity and risk. These factors are fundamental and changes in them can lead to the transformation of industries, especially over the longer-term (Witcher and Chau, 2010). Yeats and Wake (2004) asserts that PESTEL analysis is often combined with a more general statement of an organisations goal and objectives, which can be defined using the acronym MOST, where MOST stands for Mission, Objectives, Strategy and Tactics.

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The pestel analysis can stand as a good gauge against which 7S factors of an organisation can be measured with the organisations objectives acting as a measuring scale. One important argument worth discussion would be whether one single external factor alone could be the reason of an organisations underperformance or a set of factors drag the organisation towards it closure. Considering the fact that external conditions are independent of the internal factors, it could be quite possible that one factor can have considerable influence over companys failure. Perhaps it could not be accepted that only internal factors or externals factors would account for the companys downfall. Hence, a study involving both internal and external factors should be designed to form an effective tool to gauge companys performance.

2.2.2.1

Extension 7S and PESTEL

Academic debates over appraising the performance of organisations using either Micro Environment variables or Macro Environment variables have generated mixed response due to the fact that most of the researchers believe in any one of these variables. In order to get a detailed picture, the present research would adopt an approach that would unite both these factors to examine their effects in a holistic perspective. The approach, hence, would involve the integration of McKinsey 7S model and PESTEL as seen in figure 2.

Figure 2: Combined 7S and PESTEL Holistic Approach

The controllable or inside factors of a company that would include the 7S coupled with the non-controllable or outside factors such as political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and legal, an approach of
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this type aid to capture the holistic view of an organisation. Such an approach, when used as a management tool to analyse the root causes that influences the operations of a company guide the research to assess the degree of impact each of the factor exerts on the overall performance. The root causes analysed can be used proactively to prepare the strategic objectives of the company that would result in increase in profits, decrease in operational costs and better availability of resources, improvement in the quality of output and the creation of effective processes. All this amounts to providing the company with the much required competitive advantage to stay ahead in the competition.

2.2.2.1

Porters 5 Forces

Arguably, the most influential contribution to thinking about competitive strategy has come from Michael Porter who introduced the five competitive forces framework. The forces determine an industrys intensity of competition and the longer-term profitability of all the organisations that make up an industry (Witcher and Chau, 2010). According to Michael Porter, companies are affected by various different competitive Industrial factors. These factors are segregated by Porter as: rivalry among established firms. Threats to Entry, threats of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and Intensity of

Porter argues that the stronger each of these forces is, the more limited is the ability of established companies to raise prices and earn greater profits. Within Porters framework, a strong competitive force can be regarded as a threat because it depresses profits. A weak competitive force can be viewed as an opportunity because it allows a company to earn greater profits. The task facing managers is to recognise how changes in the five forces give rise to new opportunities and threats and to formulate appropriate strategic responses. In addition, it is possible for a company, through its choice of strategy, to alter the strength of one or more of the five forces to its advantage (Hill and Jones, 2009).
Page 29 of 84 Figure 3: Porter's 5 Forces (Adaptation from Porter, 1985)

Barriers to entry within a market are observed when: a. There is a large requirement of capital or the need to gain economies of scale quickly. b. There is an existence of strong customer loyalty or strong brand preferences in the existing market. c. And/or there is a lack of adequate distribution channels or access to raw materials.

Power of suppliers is observed to be higher when: a. A small number of dominant, highly concentrated suppliers exist within a market. b. Few good substitute raw materials or suppliers are accessible. c. The cost of switching raw materials or suppliers is relatively higher.

Power of Buyers is observed to be higher by Firms when: a. The Customers are concentrated, large or buy in volume.
b. The products being purchased are standard or undifferentiated making

it easy to switch to other suppliers. c. Customers purchases represent a major portion of the sellers total revenue.

Substitute Products competitive strength is observed to be higher when: a. The relative price of substitute products declines. b. Consumers switching costs decline. c. Competitors plan to increase market penetration or production capacity. Rivalry among competitors intensity is observed as high when: a. The count of firms within a market is increased or if their size is either equal or higher. b. Demand for the industrys products declines or industry growth slows. c. Fixed costs or barriers to leaving the industry are high.
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Taking a recap, Moving ahead, organisation objectives, Internal Factors (7S framework including Blake and mouton leadership style) and External Factors (PESTEL & PORTER) have been combined to understand the primary reason(s) for the underperformance of IVY Comptech Company. Perhaps, it is anticipated that there would be a multitude of factors involved, these reasons or causes could be analysed by performing a root cause analysis.

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2.2.3

Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis also termed as the Cause and Effect diagram is said to have originally developed in the 1940s by Kaoru Ishikawa thus giving it the name the Ishikawa Diagram (Munro, 2003). Root cause analysis is a process designed for use in investigating and categorising the root causes of events such as safety, health, environmental, quality, reliability and production impacts. Highlighting the benefits of Root cause analysis, Rooney et al., states that it helps to identify what, how and why something happened, thus preventing recurrence. He believes that root causes underlie in the problems, and can be reasonably identified and controlled by the management. The process of root cause analysis involves data collection, cause charting, root cause identification and recommendation generation and implementation (Rooney and Vanden Heuvel, 2004). Anderson, et al, (2008) stated that problem solving deals with identifying the cause of the problem while doing so, it is important to identify the different levels of causes. Upon further investigation, one finds themselves moving closer and closer towards the actual root cause of the problem and thus would be able to deploy either a corrective or preventive action. Similarly, Wilson, et al. (1993), presented the root cause analysis technique as a quality management tool resulting in providing advantages of reducing costs, increasing productivity and improving quality. The graphical representation of Root cause analysis is done through causeand-effect diagram, which is otherwise called as Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram. The diagram depicts all the possible causes contributing to a problem, or can be used to depict all factors relating to a problem or concept. The shape of the diagram resembles that of a fishbone structure hence its name (Proctor, 2010). The spine represented in the diagram is intersected by various causes. These causes are due to their own internal causes which are called as root causes. The head of the Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram is the problem (or effect) and the bones are the categories for example,
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manpower, machinery, methods, materials and money, which are further broken down to identify sources of causes or root causes (Fryman, 2010). The graphical representation of cause-and-effect diagram is represented below in the figure.

Cause-and-Effect Diagram
Measurements Material Personnel

Environment

Methods

Machines

Figure: Ishikawa Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Source: Minitab)

Limitations of Fishbone Analysis

Ishikawa or Fish bone technique is considered as a reductionist/linear approach (Coffey, 2010) used in diagnosis of organisational problems. Being linear in nature, it is capable of answering the list of causes behind a certain problem, but it does not define a relation between the causes and their quantified impact on the overall issue. Another limitation to this approach, as pointed out by Mobley (1999), is about the sequence of causes. He states that the fishbone or Ishikawa graph provides no clear sequence of events that leads to failure. This technique can list out all the factors that may have

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contributed to a particular event, but does not isolate the specific factors that caused the event. Basically, it does not take a broader approach recognising and focussing on the causes as with the systems thinking approach where the feedback of a change in a variable is studied in order to understand the overall system holistically (Anderson, 2008). For example, the root cause of an issue relating to the lowering of productivity in a company can be diagnosed as the result of poorly configured systems. Using this approach, it is clear that the systems installed at the company may need an up gradation. However, it fails to give a proper deadline as to these systems have to be upgraded not it is useful in providing an insight into the impact on other factors that are dependent on the systems like equipment upgrading expenses and training needs that would arise as a result of this upgrading work. Another limitation as quoted by IBA states that the Root cause analysis works best when someone who has formal training or extensive experience facilitates a team of experts. The primary concern revolves around the ability of the facilitator to remain objective, a critical element to effective root cause analysis (IIBA, 2009).

2.3 An Introduction to IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd.

IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd (IVY Comptech) is an eGaming company. The company is principally engaged in providing software products and solutions to the online gaming industry globally. Its services include software development such as, product development, life cycle management, system design and architecture, business process automation, database design and integration, e-commerce, user interface, as well as navigation and design. In addition, the company provides IT enabled services; customer services (contact centre); and transaction services (back office) such as tracking of transaction processing, risk management and others to PartyGaming Group. IVY Comptech operates as a subsidiary of PartyGaming Group and is headquartered at Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh, India. (GlobalData, 2010)
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Software Product Development, Solutions and Services Overview

IVY is engaged in Software Product Development and also offers Business Process Outsourcing, Product Management & Knowledge Process Outsourcing solutions to the online gaming industry. The companys Technology culture is focused on integrity, speed, reliability and scalability. By leveraging the technology expertise and superior customer service, the company claims to have ensured overall customer satisfaction and redefined the way the business is perceived. The following are the list of services they offer to their clients.

Software Product Development System Design and Architecture Product Development Life Cycle Management Database Design and Integration Business Process Automation User Interface, Navigation and Design Production/Operations Support Business Process Outsourcing Services Customer Support Services Technical Support Services Risk Management Services Product Management Services Knowledge Process Outsourcing Services Product Development Java, Oracle, Flash, Flex, Linux, Tomcat, Apache, JSF (IVY Comptech, 2011)

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1.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Paradigm

Every business has to go through peaks as well as troughs but the effects of depression on the profitability can be avoided by proper research and timely actions. In this case study we are attempting to know the causes for the non performance of IVY Comptech, an Indian IT company. For reaching this objective it is important to choose an appropriate research methodology and design. Dr. Pattron (2009) defined research methodology as a highly intellectual human activity used in the investigation of nature and matter and deals specifically with the manner in which data is collected, analysed and interpreted. Broadly, there are two approaches to inquiry: The structured approach which is all known as quantitative research and un-structured approach known as qualitative research (Kumar, 2005).Here a qualitative approach will be used because it makes feasible to collect thorough knowledge about the means and effects of information contributed in the governance of an IT company. Putting in Brynams (1992), a qualitative research would allow wider range of possibilities to be explored. As a next logical step, a combination of literature reviews and previous case studies on IVY Comptech will be used in comparison with the present data available for IVY Comptech, which will help in investigating and reaching at a new hypothesis in support of reasons liable for an abridged output and closure of an IT company. A case study, which is an in-depth examination of one person, is a form of qualitative research. Qualitative research is
Figure 4: Research Methodology

often used as a source of hypotheses for later testing in quantitative research (Marczyk et al., 2005).

3.2 Research Approach

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The research design sets out the logic of case study inquiry. It should include the following: the study design per se and the logical arrangements that are proposed to undertake, the measurement procedures, the sample strategy, the frame of analysis and time frame (Kumar, 2005). Qualitative approach has been intended for this case study as a primary research technique and the information gathered under this approach will be translated into quantitative figures for statistical analysis to accumulate a more systematic and organised view on the subject. An in-depth study is required for identifying the internal and external reasons for the non-performance of IVY Comptech which entails meticulous exploration about all the facets of organisations operations. By keeping this goal in mind an action research would be conducted combined with survey based research using interview technique and literature reviews for cramming all the related components of organisation which influence the working of IT sector.

Action Research
According to McTherte, Action research is organised, investigative activity, aimed towards the study and constructive change of given endeavour by individual or group concerned with change and improvement. The characteristics of the action research are enumerated as follows: 1) It is a process for studying practical problem. 2) It is a scientific procedure for finding out a practical solution for current problem. 3) The practitioners can only study his problems. 4) To improve and modify the current practices. 5) The individual and group problem is studied by action research (Singh, 2006) Considering the above characteristics of action research, it can be implied that action research method perfectly suits the research objectives in the present
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case study. Action research begins with a process of communication and agreement between people wants to change something together (Dawson, 2009). The implementation of action research in the present perspective would take the form of a questionnaire which can be used to draw the personal opinion of the employees regarding the possible reasons for the companys closure.

Interview Technique
This is one of the primary data collection methods which involve presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses (Kothari, 2004).This technique will be reinforce with the help of an questionnaire as it is regarded a form of interview on paper (Singh, 2006). A questionnaire will be drawn and presented to employees personally or through email.

Literature Review
The researcher must examine all the available literature to get acquainted with the selected problem. He may review two types of literature the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories, and the empirical literature consisting of studies made earlier which are similar to one proposed. The basic outcome of the review will be the knowledge as to what data and other materials are available for operational purpose which will enable the researcher to specify his/her own research problem in a meaningful context (Kothari, 2004) According to Marczyk the well-designed studies will prove useless if inappropriate measurement strategies are used in the data collection stage. To make this case study more effective and meaningful, primarily a general questionnaire will be drawn for collecting the views of the majority stakeholders regarding the reasons for the closure of the IVY Comptech which will be further calculated statistically for identifying the factors responsible with regards to the members opinion.

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Technique: Questionnaires will be the main method used for collecting the data. Questionnaires will be circulates using convenience sampling to the employees at different levels of the hierarchy in the organisation. The questionnaire Appendix I shows the sample of the questionnaire that will be used for performing research on the overall practices of IVY Comptech. It consists of identification of organisations objectives and there awareness among the different levels of the hierarchy. It also consists of questions relating to the McKinsey 7S framework model consisting of strategy, structure, system, staff, style, skill, shared values and PESTEL factors. Questionnaire Overview The questionnaire has been divided into 5 sections along with an Introduction and conclusive part, as follows: Introduction: It consists of the questions regarding personal information of the interviewer and interviewee like asking names of the interviewer and interviewee, enquiring about the job title of the interviewee, level in organisations hierarchy, a statement thanking interviewee for giving their precious time, etc. Section I: It consists of the questions relating to employee awareness of the strategic objective and coupled with that it contains various quality, speed, cost, dependability and flexibility objectives as defined by Nigel Slack.

Section II: In this section questions are asked relating to the internal factors affecting the organisations performance which are based on the McKinsey 7s framework model. Questions are framed to know the extent to which employees are aware of the objectives of the organisation, structure, strategies followed, style of working, staffing requirements, skills required for carrying out tasks and shared values by the organisation.
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Section III: This section contains question on the type of leadership based on Blake and Moutons leadership grid. The answers to this question can be combined with that of style from 7S framework to derive a better leadership perspective. Section IV: This section consists of the questions relating to external factors affecting the organisations performance base on the PESTEL factors. PESTEL factors helps in seeing a broader picture of the organisations working which in turn helps in taking advantage of the opportunities and minimizing external threats. Questions in this section throw a light on the political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors in order to show their impact on the non performance of IVY Comptech. Section V: In this section questions will be structured for knowing the effects of competitive advantage on the IVY Comptech operations. This section highlights whether the power of buyers and suppliers has an impact on the market and industrial competition. It also studies the effects of entry threats and threats of substitutes which demonstrate the major reason accountable for the organisations closure. Conclusive Questions: This concluding section contains the questions to cover up any overlooked information or any advice or any extra feedback interviewee is interesting in sharing. It also asks the questions for rating the impact of 7S framework factor, PESTEL factors and Competitive forces which in turn will help in carrying out impact analysis for recognizing the impact they have made on the IVY Comptech non performance.

3.3 Sampling Technique

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The research work cannot be undertaken without use of sampling. The sample of the study will be representative of the population. The study of the total population is not possible and it is also impracticable (Singh, 2006). So, the present study has adopted convenience sampling technique. According to Kothari, when population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample based on the ease of access, it can be called as convenience sampling. In the present scenario, IVY Comptech Company consists of a team of 600 employees out of which minimum of 20 employees or maximum of 50 employees will be selected for collecting data. For this case study a sample size of 20 employees from all levels of management have been taken because of the time constraint. An average of this sample size will be taken out in order to generalise the outcomes to the entire research group. Data Presentation

3.3 Data Presentation

Data presentation is used to depict the information gathered statistically. There are many ways of presenting a data like charts, graphs, tables, etc. For this case study a tabular form of data presentation will be used combined with bar graphs or histograms which will enable the readers to understand the overall impact of the variables collected. For creating tables and graphs MS Excel will be used and Minitab will be used for generating diagrams. With the help of MS Excel spreadsheet internal and external variables will be quantified into percentages and then it will be produced in a form of diagram representing cause and effect relationship among the variables which contributed in the non performance of the organisation.

3.4 Ethical Issues Involved

According to Marczyk, et al. (2005), all studies with human participants involve some degree of risk. These risks may range from minor discomfort or embarrassment caused by somewhat intrusive or provocative questions to much more severe effects on participants physical or emotional well being. These risks present researchers with an ethical dilemma.
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The ethical concerns generated while collecting data for this case study are as follows: Reluctant of the interviewees to part with the off the record information relating to sensitive areas like financial information The interviewee must be held with respected and dignity The interviewer must up hold the confidentiality of the collected data The interviewee at the time of interview must be honest and unbiased towards the research subject There may be a possibility of getting the information altered because of lack of knowledge There are likelihood that the sources indispensable for the data collection are not accessible

3.5 Summary
The research methodology used in this case study is interview approach. This is done with the help of a questionnaire which is filled by employees from different levels of hierarchy through phone, chat and emails. The questionnaire has been designed in a manner to know the employees views on the objectives, McKinsey 7 S framework and PESTEL factors affecting the overall performance of the organisation and the reasons for its closure. The findings are thus statistically evaluated to know the exact reasons for the underperformance of IVY Comptech.

1.RESEARCH FINDINGS 4.1 Background of Data Collection

In accordance with the data collection methods proposed by Dillman (2000), the researcher conducted an interview with the selected members of IVY Comptech, and the outcome of the interview has been presented in the following chapter. The members selected for sampling included the senior management responsible for setting companys objectives, middle

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management and lower level staff who take lead role in operations to reach the objectives. Firstly, a personalised e-mail was sent to the entire specimen selected for sampling. The reason behind the e-mail is to inform them about the possible study and get their approval on participation in the survey. This was followed by telephoning the respondents for collecting data through an interview. The total number of respondents agreed to participate was 25, which included 1 from top cadre, 8 from high, middle and executive cadre and 16 from the lower level employees. With the questionnaires developed on scientific and structured approach as discussed in the research methodology, empirical data has been collected. The research, being based on hypothetical assumption of possible closure, does not allow the researcher to experience the real environment that would possibly happen when the company would shut down its business. However, taking a solid theoretical basis, questions for the interview has been designed to capture the real scenario of a closure. However, the reply to the questionnaire has helped the researcher identify the key issues that would go about in the case of IVY Comptech Company closure.

4.2 Analysis of Primary Data

The respondents have provided valuable inputs through the questionnaire and the results of the research are as follows: The Section 1 of the questionnaire was based on the employees understanding of the corporate objectives of IVY Comptech Company. From the 25 members involved in the survey, when they were asked whether they understand the strategic objectives of the company, twelve of them knew the important objectives very well. The table provided below has the quantified details of the results obtained about corporate objectives from the
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questionnaire and the following figure has the graphical representation of the Count of Evidence (out of 25 members interviewed) 9 4 5 4 2 1

Corporate Objectives related issues Staff unaware of corporate objectives Unrealistic/improper quality objectives Unrealistic/improper speed objectives Unrealistic/improper cost objectives Unrealistic/improper dependability objectives Unrealistic/improper flexibility objectives same. Question 1A

Impact Percentage 36% 16% 20% 16% 8% 4%

The first part of Section 1 tests the awareness of IVY Comptechs employees about the strategic plan of the company. The interviewees are asked to produce the overall targets and objectives as per their own knowledge.

Are you aware of the IVY Comptechs strategic plan?

Y/N

Do you know what are the overall targets and objectives? When asked about the awareness of strategic plan involving long term objectives of the company, the top cadre was fully aware on the subject, whereas the middle and lower cadre provided mixed response. About 20% of the employees from middle and executive cadre were not fully aware of the overall targets and objectives set by the company, whereas most of the lower or frontline employees showed their ignorance on any such plans. Overall, 36% of the respondents were not fully aware of the corporate objectives of the company. Question 1B The subsequent part of section 1 contains a set of questions that are in terms of the Slack, et al. (2007) proposed objectives of an organisation.
a) Did IVY Comptech have any Quality related objectives?

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 Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing quality of services to the clients? The top cadre affirm that the company has been doing its best to use the resources optimally to offer the best service to their clients and provide good working condition to their employees. In terms of Middle and executive levels, the clients are served more than eighty percent to their satisfaction. However, on account of intrinsic work pressures to the employees has created an uncomfortable working environment. They consider the service offered to client companies has been satisfactory as per market standards. The lower cadre employees or the first line employees are the ones who actually carry out the operations. It is seen that lower cadre employees were well aware of quality standard that is expected from the client side and they confirm that the clients expectations are partially met. They further assert that most of the project undertaken in past one year has achieved quality levels up to 75% of the set standards. However, they have the potential to improve upon the quality standards if the company creates a healthier work environment where the work pressures on the line employee are reduced considerably. Hence, it can be concluded that the quality objectives are in place and the employee are aware of the quality objectives. To add to it, employees do have some management related issues, which, if tackled in a proper manner, the quality of service to the Client can be increased. Therefore, the quality parameters were specified in the organization, but there were various other reasons why they hadnt been achieved or the level to which they were achieved. Question 1B
b) Did IVY Comptech have any Speed related objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing services on time to the clients?

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Upon querying on the objectives related to maintaining the deadlines and speed of operations, the top managerial cadre proudly claims that all the systems and people follow timelines in order to carry out the businesses process at IVY Comptech Company. The do have strict regulations regarding work deadlines that ensures the product and service delivery to the client on scheduled time. For the middle and executive cadre, the matter of speed objectives is more complex that it appears. They agree that the company has set objectives for timely delivery to the client. In the pursuit to achieving those objectives, middle and executive cadre asserts that the shorter delivery times exert internal pressures on the frontline employee. The lower cadre adds to the fact that they are made to work on large and critical systems which involve complex operating and timely delivery in such work environments is tough. Question 1B
c) Did IVY Comptech have any Cost related objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing cost of services to the clients? In response to the objectives on cost, top managerial cadre was well aware on the importance and necessity of cost objectives. According to the top cadre, cost objectives provide a way for the company to keep a check on operating costs so as to increase the bottom line profits for the company. They said, maintaining operating costs under control, setting up systems that reduces cost and provides good quality of product and service delivery on timely manner is core to strategic plan of the company. Middle and executive cadre managers find cost objectives as a way to increase the owners equity for the company. Creating a cost conscious culture at the company would differentiate profit making organisations from their loss making counterparts.

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Lower level employees think cost reduction is a way to reap higher profits for the owners of the company. However, they are not clear on the cost objectives defined by the company. Question 1B
d) Did IVY Comptech have any Dependability related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to the

clients? In the aspect of dependability, the top management does seem to have some definite objective. Apparently, they accept that dependability would come from the quality of delivery of product and service to the client, and would encourage vendor loyalty amongst their clients. When it comes to middle and lower cadres, they believe that their work quality is an important factor in clients satisfaction which is directly related to the clients dependability on their company. Question 1B
e) Did IVY Comptech have any Flexibility related objectives?

Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to the end customers? The top cadre served convincing replies to the flexibility aspect. They said that the company offers their clients several flexible alternatives in terms of product and service packaging and also the onsite and offsite delivery options at clients convenience. The Staff considered the flexibility objectives in terms of their work schedules and flexi-timing offered by the company in order to provide a continuous round-the-clock service facility to the clients. it necessary to prepare it the form of a document. All in all, IVY Comptech appears to put in practice the flexibility objectives; probably they do not deem

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It is commonly seen that strategic objectives either lack practicality or it is not properly understood by the middle and especially the lower level employees. Similar is the case with Ivy Comptech as in the present case about 36% of the employees are probably not fully aware or totally unaware of the strategic objectives. This strongly shows that top management has to take up the task of making the staff fully aware of their strategic objectives to align their efforts in the direction of the companys long term plans.

INTERNAL FACTORS: The replies to the questions asked in this section are in respect to a part of first research aim, to provide an insight in the controllable or internal factors affecting the operations of the company. Section 2 deals with McKinseys 7S factors for strategic fit. The topic of internal factors concludes on section 3 which presents the Blake and Moutons managerial grid on the leadership at IVY Comptech. SECTION 2 STRATEGIC FIT AT IVY COMPTECH - (MCKINSEYS 7 S MODEL) Question 1A - STRATEGY AT IVY COMPTECH Does IVY Comptech use any planned strategy for operations? If so, what was it and was it effective? Count of evidences indicating strategy was ineffective 9 3 2 1 4 6
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Strategy Related Issues ISO Standards of operations CMMI strategy Pricing Strategy Marketing Strategy Non availability of strategy Volume vs Manpower Strategy

Total Percentage 36% 12% 8% 4% 16% 24%

The interviewees have indicated that there have been a set of varied operational strategies being in use at the company. They indicated that the company has adopted ISO and Six-Sigma based quality management standards to improve their productivity. However, the company seemed keenly implementing emerging IT product and service related standards like CMMI and Lean Manufacturing. It is seen that the company has a typical strategy called Volume vs. Manpower which is meant to improve the volume of work done with respect a fixed number of staff. The table and the graph below are used to depict the important concerns to strategy.

Question 2A - SYSTEMS AT IVY COMPTECH Does IVY Comptech employ any quality management methodology? If so, what were they? Elaborate, please?

According to the replies of interviewees, the company has ISO 9126 quality assurance standards for software products that are developed at the company. The staff of IVY Comptech has been successfully complying the ISO standards. The other standards as identified from the interview responses are Six Sigma, CMMI and Lean Manufacturing standards. Six Sigma standards helps the quality assurance department of IVY Comptech to statistically evaluate and control the operating performance which in turns effects in lowering operating costs and improve quality of product and service and improve productivity. The other standards such as CMMI and Lean Manufacturing, on one hand, are required by the company as a business standard to get projects from the clients. On the other hand they offer the company a path to improve upon its business processes by identifying and reducing the weaknesses.

Question 2B Page 49 of 84

Please throw some light on the systems designed for monitoring and measuring productivity of:

Man (HR performance management, compensation and benefit, learning and development, attendance tracking, etc.) Money (Finance management, event and activity expense procedures) Method (Quality systems, etc.) Machine (IT, admin equipment, environment equipment, transportation facility, etc ) Material (Supplies) Environment (External environment of the organisation)

It is seen that the respondents provide mixed reactions to these set of questions. They feel that strong attention has to be provided to the manpower and related issues due to the fact that employee retention rates has been suffering in the IT industry. However, there was a strong feeling that some aspects of human resources and technology are being overlooked at the expense of improving the financial management and profit making. The general response from the interviewees is in favour of need for proactive human resource management practices at IVY Comptech Company. Apart from Sales side of the business, the respondents have indicated the need for focus on quality systems. The overall findings are presented in the table below and its graphical representation follows the table. Count of evidences indicating Systems were ineffective 9 5 3 5

Systems Related Issues HR Management Sales and Marketing systems Finance Management Quality systems

Impact Percentage 41% 23% 14% 23%

Question 3A - STAFF AT IVY COMPTECH Did the IVY Comptech have any issue related to staffing? If yes, what was it? A common feature out of all the interviews indicated that the company faces human resource management issues. A majority 39% of these issues have
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been due to the shortage of staff. This increases the work pressures on the employees and hence, affects the overall productivity of the company. The respondents have realised the fact that the company lack an effective staffing procedure. They believe that the employee referral system adopted by the company to boost the recruitment process has affected the company negatively. There are signs for improvement for training and development practices at the company. The findings are presented in the table below and the graphical representation follows the table. Impact Percentag e 22% 17% 22% 39%

Staff Related Issues Recruitment Procedure Manpower Competency Training and Development Shortage of Staff

Count of evidences indicating Staffing was ineffective 5 4 5 9

Question 4A - SKILLS AT IVY COMPTECH What skills and attributes did the employees and organisation as a whole possess at IVY Comptech? Was this efficiently utilised?

Skills and attributes of the employees and organisation as a whole could not be figured out by during these interviews. Being an IT company dealing in software development, support and outsourcing business, the company is required to possess strong organisational and people capability. The overall organisations capability affects the efficiency and operating performance of a company, and in case of IVY Comptech, the evidences indicate the percentage of effective utilisation of organisations capabilities are as high as 80%. Count of evidences indicating that the skills of the organisation were effective 20
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Skills related issues Organisation Capabilities

Impact Percentage 80%

Question 5A SHARED VALUES AT IVY COMPTECH What shared values did IVY Comptech have and did it impact on the performance of the company?

The top and middle cadre have instilled their belief in a shared values system within the company. The interviewees have particularly highlighted their apprehension over the prevailing communication issues in the company. They brought forward several incidents to support their claim that 54% of all issues related to shared values are attributed to inadequate communication. They insisted on improvement of communication system and standards to deal with ambiguous and late communication through informal channels. The middle and lower level employee complain of delay in receiving instructions from the top management and sometimes they receive unclear instructions. Respondents blamed mainly to the diversity of workforce to be the reason. The findings are presented in the table below and the graphical representation follows the table. Count of evidences indicating shared values were ineffective 15 8 5

Shared Values related issues Communication Issues Culture Issues Loyalty towards job and objectives

Impact Percentage 54% 29% 18%

Question 6A - STRUCTURE AT IVY COMPTECH Did the IVY Comptech have a proper organisational structure where the job roles were hierarchically structured? The study on IVY Comptech indicates that the company possess a proper organisation structure as required by an IT company. It is observed that the company has a well structured hierarchy with the job roles defined
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appropriately. As it is a prevalent practice in IT industry, the company has adopted a flat organisation structure. The respondents claim that majority 76% of issues that are structure related are due to the roles and responsibilities in the company. Horizontal and vertical communication accounts for remaining 24%. The findings are presented in the table below and the graphical representation follows the table. Count of evidences indicating Structure of the organisation was Structure Related issues Roles and Responsibilities Horizontal and Vertical communication ineffective 19 6 Impact percentage 76% 24%

Question 7A - STYLE AT IVY COMPTECH Did IVY Comptech have any issue related to the leadership style? If yes, what was it? SECTION 3 TYPE OF LEADERSHIP AT IVY COMPTECH - (BLAKE AND MOUTON) Question 1A From a scale of 0 to 9 (9 being the highly concerned), to what extent did IVY Comptech have: (i) (ii) Concern for people Concern for Production

The results obtained from questions related to Style and Type of Leadership as presented in questions 7A of section 2 and 1A of section 3 are combined in the following explanation. From the results of the interview, it can be seen that the senior level managers are more concern towards the systems in place in the company. As implicitly said by the interviewees, the leadership at IVY Comptech Company has been robust and is responsible for counting on systems more than people. The middle and executive management believes that 38% of the impact is recorded due to the top managements strong bent

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towards systems over people (29%). Furthermore, the interviews reveal that the organisation lack in motivational activities for the employee and the company does not have a system of incentives except the variable compensation element. The conclusion derived from the research would lead to believe that leadership style at this company would stand as an important factor, in case the organisation heads for the closure. Count of evidences indicating Style was ineffective 4 8 6 3 Impact Percentage 19% 38% 29% 14%

Style Related Issues Concern for Production Concern for Systems Concern for People Leadership Style

EXTERNAL FACTORS AT IVY COMPTECH SECTION 4 PESTEL AT IVY COMPTECH Question 1A To what extent do you think the following affects IVY Comptech? (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) Political Factors (Government rules, etc) Economical Factors (Recession, etc) Social Factors (Social and cultural events, etc) Technological Factors (New improved technological advancements, reduced demand of existing technology, etc) Environmental Factors (Ecological) Legal Factors (Legislations and regulations affecting IVY Comptech) The reply to the question above would serve to attain the second research aim of identifying the external or non-controllable factors responsible in case of organisation closure. The interviewees were found to have stated the main reasons to be social and economical and conditions prevailing in the country.
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It can be observed that India is hit badly by the economic disturbances present in the country as seen through the increase in consumer price indices, stock market turbulences, weakening rupee, rise in cost of petroleum products and the inflationary pressures. These are considered to be the ripples of international economic crises including the European debt crisis. Secondly, the rapid transformation of urban culture in the past decade creating a social divided between people who are living in major cities and people living in the rest of the country. Considering the dynamic nature of IT industry, use of technology has been considered an important factor affecting the companys performance. In the present case, 20% impact on companys PESTEL related issues Technologica l Economical Social Political Ecological Legal Count of evidences indicating external factors impeding in the companys operations 5 6 8 4 0 2

Impact Percentage 20% 24% 32% 16% 0% 8%

performance is anticipated from technological environment.

SECTION 5 PORTER 5 FORCES AT IVY COMPTECH Question 1A If any, explain the challenge faced by IVY Comptech with respect to: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Industrial Competitors Power of Buyers Power of suppliers Threat to entry Threat of substitute.

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Response The results obtained from this question enable the understanding of effects of market competition on the company, the research question 5 as defined under the aim of the research. As it is a well known fact that buyers (clients) play an important role in the IT industry, the outcome of the interview proves the same point. Companies like IVY Comptech could manage to get projects from the International market due to low cost of services, and abundant availability of skilled manpower in the Indian market. Since the market is dynamic in nature, there is a considerable threat from industrial competitors nationally and internationally.

Another important issue worth considering is the growing IT market in other developing countries which is seen threat to Indian IT. Threats from new entrants into Indian IT market or from other developing countries cannot be overlooked. The respondents realised this fact and indicated that the impact percent of severe competition from new entrants could account to 26%.

PORTER 5 forces related issues Industrial Competitors Power of Buyers Power of suppliers Threat to entry Threat of substitute

Count of evidences indicating Porters 5 competitive factors impeding in the companys operations 6 8 0 6 3

Impact Percentage 26% 35% 0% 26% 13%

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Keeping in view the pricing aspects and quality aspects that the competitors in the industry are ready to offer, these aspects are indicated as the root causes for Industrial competition contributing to 30% and 35 % of the total impact, respectively. The other most important factor that has been a constant worry to the IT industry is the retention rates. Employee switching jobs in search of better pay could account to 35% of the impact generated due to industrial competition.

Industrial Competition root cause Better Price for clients Better Quality for clients Manpower moving to other companies for better pay

Impact Percentage 30% 35% 35%

Conclusive questions Question 1 What were the factors that you consider would cause the failure of IVY Comptech? Question 2 Please provide a score of 1-10 to the primary factors discussed above: Question 3 Overall comments if any? F ac to rs O bj ec tiv es St ra te gy C o m pe titi on St yl e S kil ls S ys te m s St ru ct ur e St aff P E S T E L Sh are d Val ue s

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S c or e The conclusive section is important in many respects. To take a total grasp of the situation, the reply to this question includes exploring the primary cause of non-performance or closure of the company along with the total performance parameters of the company. This includes the research questions 3 and 4 that are contained in the aims of the present case study. The respondents have asserted their concern over the internal 7S and external PESTEL variables. Some of the issues included as part of their replies indicate their worries related to the present economical and social problems that affects the IT market and their company as well. The interviewees apprehension from over the external competition created from the growing IT markets in other developing countries including China, Brazil, and Mexico is clearly identified. Other primary factors that need the companys attention would be the leadership style, strategy and shared values. The following graph presents the respondents preferences on a scale of 1-10 that would account for the closure of the company. The detailed table that consists of values recorded during the interview is attached in Appendix II.

4.3 Analysis of Research Findings

A scoring sheet of the 10 variables on the scale of 1-10 as used in the research has been tabulated statistically and presented in appendix II. The outcome the study brings forth the reasons of the performance challenges faced by IVY Comptech Company. The basic issues of the company observed from the research points to Competition, Style, Skills and Shared Values. The competition from new entrants in Indian and International arena amounts to

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11.19% while the contribution due to ineffective style skills and shared values stands at 10.61%, 10.36% and 10.23% respectively. Considering the primary objective of the study to explore the reason for failure or underperformance at IVY Comptech Company, it can be clearly observed that there can be no single factor responsible for the companys poor performance but a set of several variables. Every single element from the set of factors, in its own right, exerts pressure to pull the company towards decline. This set of factors can have its influence externally or internally to the operations of an organisation. In order to study in detail the extent of effects generated by various factors on the organisation and their possible inter-relations with one another, a scoring of all the factors on a scale of 1-10 has been conducted as part of the interviewing process. The outcome of this particular scoring can be seen through root-cause analysis done using an Ishikawa diagram, depicting the possible influence generated by all the factors considered under study. The same diagram is attached herewith in the figure below.

Summary of the findings can be: 1. Any one factor cannot be singled out as the reason for underperformance or closure. A variety of internal and external factors form the reason for a companys good or poor performance. The present research on IVY Comptech can be applied to other companies with comparable size and similar mode of operations in the Indian IT industry.
2. The set of factors that are mainly accountable for organisations poor

performance at IVY Comptech Company in India are: a. Industrial Competition b. Skills c. Style and d. Shared Values These factors vary from one company to another whether it is in Indian IT industry or IT Industry in any other country. Both the tools: 7S and PESTEL have been applied to the context of IVY Comptech in India,
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and it is noted that there is a list of issue causing concern to the company; however the effects vary in the intensity of impact generated.
3. An important conclusion that comes out from the study is that most of

the variables affecting the company have a relationship with each other. The impact generated from one factor gets altered if there is a change in other related factors and it works vice-versa. Thus upon changing one factor, the other related factors may change for good or otherwise. Apparently, companies need to keep in mind the pros and cons before trying to regulate the factors.

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Figure: Ishikawa Diagram Factors responsible for the IVY Comptech company closure

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1.CONCLUSION 5.1 Research Findings Analysed

This case study involves a qualitative approach to exploring the factors responsible for an organisations failure taking the case of IVY Comptech Company. The conceptual framework as prepared in the research methodology has been adopted throughout the data collection stage. The first step in the data collection was to conduct a detailed inquiry based on the Slack Objectives of organisations (Slack, et al., 2007). The outcome of the research brought forth the fact that though IVY Comptech Company has corporate objectives in place, but they are not well propagated amongst its employee. It can be seen other way round that the employees are either not fully aware of the corporate objectives or they do not understand their meaning and importance in carrying out the daily operations. Moreover some of the employees have hinted that the organisation needs to conduct programs to communicate its objectives clearly and make the staff able to correlate the strategic plans with their day-to-day operations. Being from a knowledge based industry, the people who work for IT companies are usually well educated to understand the finer details like planning, coordination, cooperation and organisation that goes into the performance of a company. Proper awareness and understanding of the importance of strategic objectives can help the employees align their day-to-day activities with the companys goals. The results will fall in terms of better people capability, higher productivity and greater quality of products and services offered to the clients. Nonetheless objectives are the pillars for a company and successful adhering to them would add to the competitive advantage. Perhaps the issue of creating awareness among staff is not limited to IVY Comptech Company, but applies to any and every organisation that strives to grow and sustain in the present day cut-throat competition. During the interviewing process, various techniques and steps are pointed out to improve business communication with the employees as IVY Comptech. Firstly, there is a need of pre-communication planning to make sure the effectiveness of communication. This will enable the team responsible to prepare a list of challenges
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and the arising contingencies. Secondly, it is identified that there is a need to understand the level of understanding and acceptability in the employees in order to frame the communication in clear and understandable wordings. As it is with financial and emotionally sensitive information, that the employees may either do not understand fully the effect or impact of the strategy or there is a chance that they may not digest it and get emotionally disturbed. Lastly, the objectives that are contained in the strategy should be concrete and quantifiable. There have been several other strategies studied through the survey process like 7S, Blake and Mouton, PESTEL and Porters 5 forces. Based on the overall research, the study suggests a set of internal and external factors that need to be attended in order to improve the performance of the company. Based on the core conceptual framework of McKinsey 7 S, sections 2-8 contains questions which are related to studying the 7 S variables as suggested. As discussed earlier, it can be concluded that there is not one single factor responsible for the underperformance of the company but a set of factors. These set of factors include variables that are controllable and variables that are uncontrollable, as against the notion prior to the study that only the global economic crisis has inflicted the company deeply. It is seen from the research that internal factors like style, skills and strategy cannot be considered as trivial variables as they can have a considerable impact on the organisations daily working which eventually affects the overall performance of the organisation. The respondents are of a view that the company has a well organised hierarchical structure; however they are concerned about the roles and responsibilities that are contained in the structure. This may not have been of great importance but it can have its impact on the working of the company. It is confirmed from the study that systems have their importance in the operations of a company. Though the company has implemented the ISO standards and the statistical standards of Six Sigma, it may also need to equip itself with the business process standards like CMMI and PCMMI. Presently, the company has been in the process of institutionalising these capability standards. In the process, the employees are getting the heat of the situation and are feeling pressurised, adding to the reasons of poor performance.

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As suggested by McKinsey 7S model, skill is another variable that requires special attention. In the knowledge based business of Information Technology, company possessing high intellectual capacity and maintaining this intellectual capacity by investing in training and development programs stays ahead in the race. In the present situation considerable attention is needed in this area. The research shows that one of the factors with greater impact on the companys non-performance is attributed to inadequate skills of the employees. Hence, the top management of IVY Comptech has to attend to the much required training needs of the employees, in order they attain high productivity from the staff. Another important concern has been observed in the area of recruitment. The much adopted policy of employee referrals has created a concern for the companys operations. Usually employees who tend to have some authority and position have exploited this policy and made a gang culture inside the company. These groups are more concerned towards the well-being of their fellow members and usually do find a fit between their personal agenda and the companys objectives. This amounts to increase of friction among such groups and between the groups and company management. The aspect of style at IVY Comptech Company in India comprises of leadership culture which can be characterised by male domination and high power distance with short term objective. This being a part of carrot and stick policy may not apply in the best interest of a company which is dominated by high skilled knowledge workers. This is the very reason that this leadership is unproductive in several situations since managers are not dealing with less educated rough behaved blue collared workers but people belonging to professional fraternity. The study shows that the style is one of the weak aspects of the company and it may have affected the other variables as well. The other feature of the company that came to light is the inclination of the management towards concern for systems. Considering the several areas of concern related to Human Resource management, especially the leadership style, a detailed research in this area would not be inappropriate. Although, Blake and Mouton 2 dimensional model have been applied in this case study, but since leadership is a serious subject with this company, a new diagnostic tool involving a 3rd dimension to the leadership grid. The idea of 3rd dimension was introduced by Reddin, presenting a three dimensional grid consisting of two familiar dimensions of
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task and relationship orientation being complemented by the third dimension of effectiveness (Wilkinson, et al., 1988)

5.3 Practical applications of the research

The obvious reason for the research to be conducted is that the findings can be applied to improving and structuring the operating processes and functions in the company. Companies, now-a-days, requires a proactively diagnosing the opportunities and threats they face and prepare with a solution to improve themselves so as to maintain their competitive advantage. The present research can act as basic framework to plan their strategies for improvement and growth accordingly, resulting in achieving their corporate objectives.

5.4 Conclusion
The present study examined deeply the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that cause an impact on the total performance of IVY Comptech Company located in India. There have been several factors that came to light during the course of the study that accounted to lowering the performance of the company. The study went on to find the probable reasons behind particular factors and their influence over the operations. Several actions have been recommended in order to bring the impact of those identified factors under control. For the purpose of investigating whether the company has in place a proper set of objectives, and whether these objectives are clear enough to be understood by the workforce with different levels of understanding. It has been recommended that the objectives have to be communicated to the staff in a precise and clear manner so that the staff can directly correlate the objectives to their individual and team operational plans. The objectives should be realistic, accurate, quantifiable and specific and time bound. The more clear the objectives, the easy it is for the employees to put them in practice. Furthermore, the importance of the setting the objectives as per the five objectives suggested by Slack (2007) it is clearly observed.

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Secondly, it is seen that the factors like Style, Skills, System, Structure, have an equally critical role for a company to survive and grow in the intense competitive environment. All these factors are to be examined at frequent intervals by the IT companies in order to make them ready to face the unseen challenges of the future. This leads to achieving the first aim undertaken for this research. It is clear that these factors play an important role in the growth and stability of the companies. Undermining the importance of these factors would lead a company to face the threat of underperformance. It could result in one factor getting affected due to the other and hence spreading ailment to the whole organisation. Thirdly, the external environment consisting of Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal, need to be observed and quantified at regular intervals in order to keep a check on the developments taking place externally to the company. For the company to take a proactive approach the results from the study of the external factors are to be projected in the future and the vulnerable areas needing attention are identified. This would allow a company to prepare itself to face the challenges arising in the future. The study on external factors which are non controllable for the company would constitute the second objective prepared as the aim of the research. Fourthly, the competitive forces play an important role in understanding the conditions of the company with respect to its business environment. If the forces are intense, an organisation is likely to be unable to earn attractive returns on its investment. If they are weak, then above-average returns are possible (Witcher and Shau, 2010). Understanding the role of competitive forces and its influence over the operations of the company is contained in the fifth aim of the study. Fifthly, the competitive environment is volatile and dynamic in nature. Keeping this fact in view, the company has to prepare itself to deal proactively by identifying the challenges arising from industrial competitors, supplies, buyers and substitutes. Many companies are seen to have succumbed to the pressures of the market, and thus, a company which learns to sustain and grow in this environment has the elements to perform far better than its competitors. There has to be proper systems in place to monitor and adjust the companys operations depending on the competitive environment.
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Upon conclusion, it can be said that there isnt a single reason or cause affecting the performance of the whole company, but a set of internal and external reasons that may be dependent on each other. The internal and external factors studied tend to have influence on the working of the organisation in varying degrees. Proper strategy formulation, strategy implementation and a regular investigation of all the external and internal factors studied would assist the top management in decision making.

5.5 Recommendations
The recommendations part presented here offers with the Objective 6 on the list of aims, which is to formulate recommendations to monitoring the factors of underperformance of IVY Comptech Company. The outcomes of the study indicate that the internal and external factors that affect the operations of the company rely on the industry where the company operates. The study has been conducted on IVY Comptech Company in India, and has listed the factors that cause the underperformance of the company. In order to serve the 6th objective of the study and prepare recommendations to improve the conditions causing underperformance of the company, it is suggested that the mangers involved in strategic planning and decision making has to take up the responsibility that all the internal and external factors need to be reviewed periodically and analysed. The threat arising from competitors from India and other countries needs to be regularly studied and understand the position of the company in the whole scenario. This can help the management to positioning the company rightly and preparing the company proactively to deal with the future challenges. To start with, the 1st and 2nd aim of the research contains the internal and external factors of the company responsible for the underperformance. The management needs to classify the total set of activities being executed at the company including the ones which are directly related to the operations of the company. In doing so, the management has to quantify the possible impact generated by each of the factors, measuring it statistically through conducting interviews of the staff. Such a structured approach could minimise the distorted information regarding the factors,
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and thereby ensures a proper path towards improvement.

Secondly, the

management has to make a note of any implementation failures occurring while trying to change the factors and regulate their effects. This may lower the performance further, as every factor has a considerable influence over the other. Thirdly, not to undermine the affectivity of root cause analysis and make the root cause analysis a regular feature in appraising the overall performance of the company. Recognising the factors responsible for companys underperformance may not provide the solution directly, but can work as a pathway to study the variables in detail and reach a proper solution. Fourthly, by collecting and acting upon the information on the various aspects of companys performance, the ones contained in the aims of this research, a company can make herself ready to the endure the challenges faced internally and externally. Such an activity turns the company into robust and helps in implementing sound practices that would help in aligning peoples objectives with that of the company. Fifthly, considering the first question of the research and its findings, it is apparent that every company has to have a set of clearly defined objectives. In this respect, a company needs to spend its resources in spotting the business requirements and converting them into easily understood companys objectives. These objectives have to be propagated accordingly through various business communication channels. Depending upon the employees capacity to accept and understand the information, the corporate objectives have to be communicated on a regular basis to all the employees. Furthermore, if recognition and reward practice adopted suitably, it will help in motivating the staff at the company to align in the direction of companys long term and short term plans. Sixthly, a proper performance measurement practice has to be adopted by every company to observe the performance of the employees and the operations of the company. To carry out this task, a devoted team of 10-20 members have to be formed to take the responsibility of increasing the quality of products, processes and services with the help of statistical techniques. It would add to minimising the operating costs and improving the bottom line and productivity of employees.
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Seventhly, an exclusive team needs to be set up whose task would be to diagnose the intrinsic and extrinsic variables affecting the company. This Strategy Team would help the company to develop right resources in timely manner, in order to reach the desired objectives. This team would be responsible for appraising and preparing action plans for carrying out corrective and preventive measures. Eighthly, suitable enterprise resourcing planning systems involving elements of business intelligence coupled with a robust data management system should be implemented in order to help the company with better planning, analysis, data communication and data archiving technology. This system would allow the company to improve its product and process planning and implementation and would improve the business communication inside the company. Lastly, an outcome of the research in order to handle the quality issues proactively, a company has to have a product quality methodology like Six-Sigma. As stated by Munro, (2003), this statistical methodology allows organisations to reduce costs, increase productivity and improve the quality of the produce (Munro, 2003). The other set of challenges incurring from process quality standards like CMMI, includes the continuous senior management support, assigning appropriate responsibilities, accountabilities and authorities and proper communication and detailed planning throughout the process.

5.7 Areas for further research

This study is based on a case study approach with a limited scope of identifying factors responsible for the failure of IVY Comptech. The results obtained from similar studies done at companies of identical size in the same business area may be alike, and in some cases it may be different. However, to reach to the greater depths of the problem and to reach to a solution applicable to a class of companies, a comparative study needs to be planned involving similar companies with identical operations in different geographical markets.

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Additionally, there can be another approach adopted for further research that is through applying systems thinking, a holistic approach to review all the factors involved (Anderson, et al., 2008). This is a non-linear approach for realising the causes and the implications of the solution on other variables, which can provide greater insight into the factors affecting a company. Based on this, a varied set of solutions can be developed that can fit in appropriately for the given scenario. Being able to make something no one else can, or to do so in ways which are better than anyone else is a powerful source of advantage. Similarly, being able to offer better services-faster, cheaper, higher quality- has long been a source of competitive edge (Tidd, et al., 2005). Innovation in the present scenario would be redesigning work processes and implementing necessary technological modifications in products and processes. These are the obvious choices left with IVY Comptech to gain competitive advantage. In this aspect a detailed study involving GAP analysis can be conducted to identify the strategic areas that can be improved upon to ensure the company is ready to deal with challenges in the time to come.

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APPENDICES
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Appendix I - Structured Interview (IVY Comptech Company staff)

Data Collection Technique:

Structured Interview (IVY Comptech staff)

Interviewer: Interviewee: Date: Time: Place:

Id like to thank you for sparing time to meet me and discuss about factors involved in an organisations closure. The information that would be collected would be as an input for my dissertation research aimed at identifying internal and external factors responsible for the closure of IT Company.

INTERNAL FACTORS AT IVY COMPTECH

SECTION 1 - OBJECTIVES OF IVY COMPTECH (NIGEL SLACK) Question 1A Are you aware of the IVY Comptechs strategic plan? Do you know what are the overall targets and objectives? Question 1B a) Did IVY Comptech have any Quality related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing quality of services to the clients? b) Did IVY Comptech have any Speed related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing services on time to the clients? c) Did IVY Comptech have any Cost related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing cost of services to the clients? d) Did IVY Comptech have any Dependability related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to the clients? e) Did IVY Comptech have any Flexibility related objectives? Did IVY Comptech meet the target of providing dependability of services to the clients? SECTION 2 STRATEGIC FIT AT IVY COMPTECH - (MCKINSEYS 7 S MODEL) Question 1A - STRATEGY AT IVY COMPTECH Does IVY Comptech use any planned strategy for operations? If so, what was it and was it effective? Page 80 of 84 Y/N

Question 2A - SYSTEMS AT IVY COMPTECH Does IVY Comptech employ any quality management methodology? If so, what were they? Elaborate, please? Question 2B Please throw some light on the systems designed for monitoring and measuring productivity of:

Man (HR performance management, compensation and benefit, learning and development, attendance tracking, etc.) Money (Finance management, event and activity expense procedures) Method (Quality systems, etc.) Machine (IT, admin equipment, environment equipment, transportation facility, etc ) Material (Supplies) Environment (External environment of the organisation)

Question 3A - STAFF AT IVY COMPTECH Did the IVY Comptech have any issue related to staffing? If yes, what was it? Question 4A - SKILLS AT IVY COMPTECH What skills and attributes did the employees and organisation as a whole possess at IVY Comptech? Was this efficiently utilised? Question 5A SHARED VALUES AT IVY COMPTECH What shared values did IVY Comptech have and did it impact on the performance of the company? Question 6A - STRUCTURE AT IVY COMPTECH Did the IVY Comptech have a proper organisational structure where the job roles were hierarchically structured? Question 7A - STYLE AT IVY COMPTECH Did IVY Comptech have any issue related to the leadership style? If yes, what was it? SECTION 3 TYPE OF LEADERSHIP AT IVY COMPTECH - (BLAKE AND MOUTON) Question 1A

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From a scale of 0 to 9 (9 being the highly concerned), to what extent did IVY Comptech have: (i) (ii) Concern for people Concern for Production

EXTERNAL FACTORS AT IVY COMPTECH

SECTION 4 PESTEL AT IVY COMPTECH Question 1A To what extent do you think the following affects IVY Comptech? (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) Political Factors (Government rules, etc) Economical Factors (Recession, etc) Social Factors (Social and cultural events, etc) Technological Factors (New improved technological advancements, reduced demand of existing technology, etc) Environmental Factors (Ecological) Legal Factors (Legislations and regulations affecting IVY Comptech)

SECTION 5 PORTER AT IVY COMPTECH Question 1A If any, explain the challenge faced by IVY Comptech with respect to: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Industrial Competitors Power of Buyers Power of suppliers Threat to entry Threat of substitute.

Conclusive questions Question 1 What were the factors that you consider would cause the failure of IVY Comptech? Question 2 Please provide a score of 1-10 to the primary factors discussed above:

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F ac to rs

O bj ec tiv es

St ra te gy

C o m pe titi on

St yl e

S kil ls

S ys te m s

St ru ct ur e

St aff

P E S T E L

Sh are d Val ue s

S c or e

Question 3 Overall comments if any?

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Appendix II - Score for the factors discussed in the Questionnaire

(IVY Comptech Company staff)
Each individual respondent was asked to state a score of 1 10 for the 10 primary factors with the perceived impact on organisations closure.

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