erp in tosco ( b)

8/6/2019 ERP in TOSCO ( B)

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Toscos success begin by COMETS

In February 2001 Donna was very pleased with the success of COMETS. It was a

warm February day. Sunshine provided some badly needed relief from the winters

blues. Donna was sitting in her office observing the green lawn bathing in the warm

sun. It was a beautiful day for her observing the performance of COMETS.

Estimated costs of COMETS

After four-and-a-half years of implementation and approximately $40 million

excluding costs of Toscos internal staff and ongoing maintenance costs of COMETS

over the initial approved budget, COMETS was a success.

COMETS had allowed Tosco to grow through major acquisitions

Unlike many IT projects that are scrapped after millions have been spent, COMETS

worked and had allowed Tosco to grow through major acquisitions, even during the

implementation process, without adding many more personnel. However,

implementing COMETS was far from smooth or easy. The COMETS project was

finished. Donna reflected on the whole experience.

The implementation of the project

Tosco maintained a customized approach

Because of the unique business process Tosco maintained, the company decided on

the customized approach. To write the software programs for COMETS, Tosco

formed teams comprised of operational and accounting users, systems analysts and

programmers, and consultants from Aspen Consulting.

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The project people were mostly part-time workers

Most of the Tosco people assigned to the project were assigned part-time. It was for

the advantage of part-time workers who are brilliant in terms of working, so that they

can work in the firm anytime.

Formation of teams from different functional areas and locations

People, when available, were pulled off their jobs from different functional areas and

locations. The teams were made up of 70% Tosco and 30% Aspen Consulting in order

to keep costs down, obtain buy-in from upper management, and retain knowledge

within Tosco.

Tosco tracked budget every month for the COMETS project

Budget was tracked monthly within the COMETS project. The teams had to re-

examine some requirements and get additional funding, although the conveniencestores would largely continue to be run on their own system.

The major acquisition of Circle K by Tosco expanded Toscos core business

In the first year of implementing the COMETS system, Tosco had another major

acquisition that of the Circle K convenience stores, headquartered in Phoenix,

Arizona. The teams had to re-examine some requirements and get additional funding,

although the convenience stores would largely continue to be run on their own

system. The Circle K acquisition expanded Toscos core business, and adjustments

had to be made to the COMETS system.

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COMETS process was tasking longer which was doubling the initial price tag of

the task

In 1996, as Donna expected, the cost overruns on the COMETS project started to

surface. Cost growth began gradually and was mainly due to underestimating the

difficulty of the project design phase. Time and again, Donna was approached with

news that a particular process was taking longer than expected, sometimes

dramatically longer, and often doubling the initial price tag of the task. Each time,

Donna went back to Aspen Consulting and argued for them to absorb the costs. The

change orders to date were growing and she often wondered if COMETS was ever

going to materialize.

Five-person management team in Tosco

She was growing tired of the heated discussions within their five-person management

team (three from Tosco, two from Aspen Consulting). If requirements had not been

clearly communicated by Tosco or if requirements were added, Tosco would have to

pay.

The cost management of Tosco

Fortunately, Donna had kept good records of Toscos stated requirements that enabled

her to win at a 70-80% rate. Still, these change orders raised the cost of the project

from $10.5 million to $40 million, even after she cut out the fluff.

COMETS steering committee was composed of heads of different departments

In her monthly meetings with the COMETS Steering Committee, this was composed

of heads of different departments such as operations, accounting, and marketing.

The COMETS project was more complex and lengthy

Everyone realized that the project was much more complicated than previously

predicted and that changes would need to be made to the system. After Donna gave

her report on the progress of COMETS, the Committees discussions about which

reports to add or subtract would often become quite complex and lengthy.

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Donna was under stress to cope with the requirements of Commercial

department

Donna was also struggling with getting buy-in from certain key groups, primarily the

Commercial department. The traders in the Commercial department were the most

important users of the system since they initiated the input of required information

that everyone else down the process would need. If they refused to use the system and

use it the way it was designed, the whole ERP system would not function.

The traders of commercial department were reluctant to filling out on the detailsof the contracts in the computer

The traders were frustrated by the drastic change in their job duties. A few individuals

began deriding the system, calling it Vomits in private conversations. Donna was

sympathetic, realizing that while traders did their core job well as getting the deal

done, they often neglected the actual filling out on the details of the contracts in the

computer.

Donna was scared about the traders how to get their jobs done rightly which

would affect whole systems integrity of COMETS

Getting the traders to input relevant information into the new system, which was more

demanding than Toscos earlier systems, was proving too challenging to do on her

own. The system drastically changed their work requirements. Donna had to make

sure they did their jobs right or else the whole systems integrity would be

compromised. She wondered about the implications of going to upper management at

this stage, but she felt she really had no other choice.

COMETS was yet to get the trust of Commercial department

They were holding up the whole project and all the other departments. She felt she

would never get them to be enthusiastic about COMETS, but she felt there was little

she could do about that, particularly under the short time constraints. While going to

upper management forced the Commercial department to comply, she knew that a

sacrifice in employee morale, and perhaps even her own reputation, had been made.

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The requirements become bigger and complicated to get COMETS online

In March 1997, the pressure to get COMETS online dramatically increased with the

$1.4 billion acquisition of three Union 76 refineries in Los Angeles, Santa Maria, and

San Francisco, as well as pipelines, terminals, and the 76 service stations. COMETS

had not been launched, and the requirements had just become bigger and more

complicated.

The story of successful ERP projects versus unsuccessful ERP projects

True to his word, Tom OMalley was on a mission of growth. Donna was thankful

that the first part of COMETS would be launched the next month. She needed to get it

moving and get some successes under her belt. While there were many successful

ERP implementation stories and how ERP saved companies millions of dollars after

installation, Donna was well aware of perhaps as many stories of other companies

failures in installing new information systems. Hershey Foods Corporation hurried a

supposedly four-year $112 million ERP project into just 30 months and went live with

the whole system in July 1999. In the following months, the new ERP system cost the

company tens of millions in lost profits instead of providing millions in savings due to

system glitches that led to shipment delays, deliveries of incomplete orders, and

inventory pileups.

First phase of COMETS launched in 1997 to stop use of Microsoft Access in

Commercial division

In April 1997, COMETS first phase was launched, which included deal capture,

scheduling, contract issuance, and administration. This was supposed to stop the

independent Microsoft Access databases being used in the Commercial division, butthey continued as questions about the data integrity, particularly about inventory

numbers, persisted.

In 1998 Phase 2 of COMETS had some problems

January 1998 was the mini-launch of Phase 2 of COMETS, the billing module. This

installation took longer than expected, but since it was modular, it could be put in

partially. The smallest region was chosen for testing in order to reduce risk. For the

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most part, it worked despite problems with inventory data and reports needing to be

fine-tuned.

The full launch of COMETS went fine

April 1998 brought the company to a major decision point like how should the issues

brought to light in the test be fixed like entailing a delay of a few more months or

should they bite the bullet and go to the full launch of Phase 2. Donnas

recommendation that COMETS be launched was supported by the Steering

Committee. To the delight of everyone, the full launch went fine. Namely, they billed

their customers.

Still there were some problems regarding the full launch of Phase 2 for

COMETS

Again, there were inventory and reports problems due to bugs in the design, data were

not showing right, columns and details had been forgotten, user requirements had

been cut or left out, but their customers were billed. Problems were worked around

during the next several months.

Phillips a fully integrated petroleum company

wanted to buy Tosco

The operations of Phillips

As a fully integrated petroleum company, Phillips was engaged in exploration andproduction worldwide: gathering, processing, and marketing natural gas and refining,

marketing and transporting petroleum and petroleum product. Phillips also produced

and distributed chemicals and plastics. Phillips had three US refineries that produced

360,000 barrels per day and operated 6,000 retail outlets under the Phillips 66

gasoline brand and Kicks convenience store name.

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2000 1999 1998

5668

41434476

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1 2 3

Year

Total Numbers of t

station

Chart: Number of Gasoline stations at year end of 1998, 1999 and 2000 for Tosco

The acquisition of Tosco would make Phillips the second largest oil company in

the United States

In February 2001, Phillips Petroleum agreed to buy Tosco Corporation in a $7 billion

stock transaction. The acquisition would make Phillips the second largest oil company

in the United States, behind Exxon Mobil, and in the top 20 of the Fortune 500

companies, with projected sales of $45 billion per year. Toscos refining capabilities

would give Phillips a significantly expanded downstream capability. Jim Mulva,

Phillips Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said that they are acquiring the assets

and expertise of the countrys largest independent refiner and marketer, combining the

complementary skills of the two companies, including Toscos refining capabilities

and convenience store expertise along with Phillips branded wholesale skills and

expertise in refining and fuel technologies.

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Chart: Merchandise sales in 1998, 1999 and 2000

Donna was wondering about Philips SAP-based system

The purchase was expected to gain full shareholder and government approval by the

end of the third quarter of 2001. Donna was not sure how this piece of news would

impact the outlook of COMETS. Phillips used the SAP-based system. Like Phillips

will allow Tosco to keep its own information system or not and would Phillips insist

Tosco convert to the SAP system for the purpose of integration as a one system based

company.

8

2000 1999 1998

2121.6

2039.7

2097.8

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

2040

2060

2080

2100

2120

2140

1 2 3

Year

Merchandise sales(milli

of dollars)


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The successful COMETS project was system could be maintained by Toscos

own IT staff

Toscos COMETS project was largely finished. While the initial hope was that the

system could be maintained by Toscos own IT staff, attrition left Tosco with no

choice but to outsource that function largely to Aspen Consulting. The problems with

inventory were just about fixed, which would cap off the last large concerns with the

system. While Phillips Petroleum waited for the merger to be approved by regulatory

bodies, Phillips was in process of deciding whether to convert Tosco from COMETS

to its SAP-based system. Near the end of her 26-year career at Tosco, Donna was

proud of the success of COMETS. In an interview, she stated with a satisfied smile.

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After analyzing the existing situation in the case of ERP in Tosco and the whole

industry we think there are some discrepancy among the company, industry and

people associated with it-

Consulting team should be more integrated and have good understanding.

Should focus on specific objective so that dont create complexity while

taking decisions.

The acquisition should be done by keep in fix in the core business more.

Turn or keep the costs down and not to escalate so that the cost is under

control.

Not to compromise in quality and product due to minimizing costs.

Requirement from Tosco should be valid once not so much that has not so

fixed implications.

The research on the service and needs assessment of the existing system

should include all levels of employee of the organization to make it more

appropriate.

Motivate and make the employees unable to adapt with changes and new

responsibility and train them on these to make them confident.

Coordination with top level management about the profitable things about

ERP to increase its budget. Launching should be done after evaluation and

interviews with those who work on it and find out more needs within less time

possible.

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Teamwork should be more developed like the steering committee should be

more focused.

The coordination between departments should be emphasized. Workforce

should be more diversified in work processes and should adapt with changes

more.

Evaluation should be carried out as the use of new ERP system after and

before using it.

To adapt with changes and make the work done well motivation and other

programs should be done.

Interrelation among teams, peers and departments should emphasized to make

ERP more workable.

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What strategy should Donna, the 26 years experienced employee of Tosco, follow

with Phillips to allow Tosco to keep its own information system without converting

COMETS to SAP-based system?

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In this portion of the case solution, well focus on various Internal & External areas of

Tosco, where various discrepancies exist & which have the needs to be sorted out.

To assess the internal & external needs of Tosco, weve to focus on the following

questions

Does a performance discrepancy exist?

Is it important to the organization?

Is it correctable through employee development?

Is employee development the most cost effective solution that can be?

Does the Performance Discrepancy exist in the company?

Yes, there was some performance discrepancy exists in the company both internally

and externally.

The unique business process Tosco maintained.

The company decided to follow customized approach. Tosco formed teams comprised

of operational and accounting users, system analysts and programmers and

consultants from Aspen consulting to write programs for COMETS.

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Tosco people assigned project as part time.

In their project, Tosco assigned as part time, People were pulled off their jobs fromdifferent functional areas and locations. Teams were made up of 70% Tosco and 30%

Aspen Consulting to keep cost down. Budget was tracked monthly within the

COMETS project.

Tosco acquisition of the Circle K convenience stores.

In the first year of implementing the COMETS system, Tosco acquirement the Circle

K convenience stores. The team had to re-examine some requirements and get

additional funding, although the convenience stores largely continue to run their own

system. The Circle K acquisition expanded Toscos core business and adjustments

had to be made to the COMETS system.

Cost escalations of project design phase.

Donna provide information that the process of working take longer time and doubling

the price. After a management, discussion of five members still escalated the cost of

orders. After that, Donna cut out the fluff.

Struggling of getting buy certain key groups.

Donna found the need of groups, primarily and commercial Department. The traders

in the commercial department were the most important users of the system. They

initiated the input of required information that everyone would need to process. The

whole ERP system would not be function they used the previous designed system.

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COMETS launched phases.

COMETS first phase was launched in April 1997. It included deal capturing,scheduling, contract issuance and administration. This was support to stop the use of

independent Microsoft Access database in the commercial division.

The phase 2 was launched in January 1998. It was billing module and took longer

time to installation than expected. The smallest region was chosen for testing.

Phillips buying Tosco.

In February 2001, Phillips buys Tosco Corporation in a 7 billion stock transaction.

This acquisition makes Phillips the second largest oil company in the United States.

Phillips was in process of deciding whether to convert Tosco from COMETS to its

SAP based system.

Is it important to the organization?

The discrepancy company was facing was extremely important to the organization.

Toscos earlier system was too challenging.

Toscos earlier system was too challenging. After installing the new system, they

realized it is more demanding than earlier system. The system drastically changed

their work requirements. In March 1997, COMETS online dramatically with the $ 1.4

billion acquisition of three union 76 refineries in Los Angels, Santa Maria and San

Francisco, as well as pipelines, terminals and 76 service stations. So this new

improved system is important to continue system.

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COMETS phase structural problems.

COMETS first phase used in commercials division but there is questions about thedata integrity, particularly about inventory numbers, persisted.COMETS phase 2

chosen for testing in order to reduce risk. For the most part, it worked despite

problems with inventory data and reports needing to be fine-tuned. This problems

crated market competition.

COMETS was launched was supported by the Steering Committee.

The Launched of COMETS was fine in April 1998. They billed their customers but

again there were inventory and reports problems due to bugs in the design, data were

not showing right, columns and details had been forgotten, user requirements had

been left out. However, their customers were billed. This problem was long lasting for

seven months. That was why COMETS success was in question.

Is it correctable through employee development?

Management team is divided into three from Tosco and two from Aspen

Consulting.

Tosco improve their employees about the project of Tosco. The reason is if

requirements had not been clearly communicated by Tosco or if requirements were

added, Tosco would have to pay the cost. The new system is better than the previous

one. This new system develop the productivity and knowledge of employees.

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Buying new groups, primarily and Commercial department.

The traders were frustrated by the drastic change in their job duties. A few individuals

deriding the system in private conversation. They often neglected actual filling out on

the details of the contracts in the computer. This new department help to required

information and to function ERP.

Is employee development is the most cost effective solution that can be applied?

Yes, employee development program is the most cost effective solution that can be

applied at Tosco. Employee training is the responsibility of the organization.

Employee development is a shared responsibility of management and the individual

employee. The responsibility of management is to provide the right resources and an

environment that supports the growth and development needs of the individual

employee.

For employee training and development to be successful, management should:

Provide a well-crafted job description - it is the foundation upon which

employee training and development activities are built

Provide training required by employees to meet the basic competencies for the

job. This is usually the supervisor's responsibility

Develop a good understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that the

organization will need in the future. What are the long-term goals of the

organization and what are the implications of these goals for employee

development? Share this knowledge with staff

Look for learning opportunities in every-day activity. Was there an incident

with a client that everyone could learn from? Is there a new government report

with implications for the organization?

Explain the employee development process and encourage staff to develop

individual development plans

Support staff when they identify learning activities that make them an asset to

your organization both now and in the future.

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Tosco, formerly known as the oil shale corporation was formed in the mid 1950s.Atthe initial state of formation they come up as a research and Development Companywhich pioneered the technique of extracting crude oil from oil shale rock. As days

passed, Tosco construct or build them to be in the market in many ways such asacquiring refinery or by acquisition with other renowned brand like Exxon, BP,Philips Petroleum Company etc. All these things done on thinking in mind to captureor gain the market share of the company.

Tosco diversified its business in many operations such as distribution, marketing,refining, extraction process and many others. Tosco also sold its inherent business ofextracting oil from oil shale to Exxon Corporation. After ups and down they

positioned themselves in the refining industry with steady growth in around 1986.

As in with different business strategies Tosco was very much concerned or aware of

keeping cost down on the other hand making Tosco competitive and make theoperations like make the departments such as Marketing, Manufacturing, Operations,Accounting, Sales and distribution, Commercial Linked and more efficient as much as

possible.

So in the continuation of this process Donna, an attractive women in her 50s was verymuch concentrated towards her job and also in the track to implement some planningfor increasing companys effectiveness, efficiency introduced a plan to the companyand its top executives about the plan of ERP which is known as Enterprise ResourcePlanning. ERP (Enterprise resource planning) is a dynamic tool for managing multipleaspects of a firms operations. ERP is based or runs on an integrated database. This isa software. The software package includes different modules for the financial,logistical, production, marketing and planning functions.

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Specifically, product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interactionwith suppliers, providing customer service, tracking orders and many other aspects of

business are targeted or carried out by this specific customized software packagewhich facilitate the business works, save many unusual losses in the organization or inthe industry and also this is a system to increase efficiency, coordination and

profitability.

There were few benefits that were used to present ERP. Those things are reallyimportant to improve the companys effectiveness and these things includes many ordifferent aspects, which are to be integrated via this outstanding performance of thesoftware. All these features are included in the system after evaluating or taking in

depth interviews from the company people who are associated directly with each andevery department works. In the whole scenario the cost was a great matter for Toscoto go ahead. Donna presents the time frame of three years and cost of around $15 to$17 million which was so high o the company at that point of time. The feature thatincluded

A database with common data source shared among users of different

departments.

The transaction processing is organized to group related steps together.

There should be integration of different group or module to run the operations.

One of the biggest benefits is about integrating financial datas together.

Ensured standardized manufacturing or working process of each department.

Have the capacity to carry extra inventory to prepare for the worst.

In the whole it has the opportunity to save companys millions of dollars and allow itto grow at full speed. As with all the benefits but the raising cost was a barrier toTosco and that was a problem for the company to implement this software to thecompany. As the company given the green signal to start the work on it with givinglimited budget of $10.5 million and time of only 18 months. They ensured the project

but also thrown out the critical steps or programs to minimize cost.

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Then after a long process to be done Tosco come up with their initial budget andwithin their time frame they came up with a new ERP system called COMETS

System. It was a customized software system build up on assessment of companyindividuals but as it was changed in the meeting so many plans were under table andthats why Donna is worried about that. In 1994 It started to run with an estimated

budget of $7 million in staff reduction and many other aspects as well.

So in the whole system COMETS started to work and was a success after in theoperation of 4 and half year with the exceeding budget over $40 million. In the caseof projects implementation there was a few problems or few good things happened.Some development programs or initiative should be taken. So the existing

arrangements were compiled with ups and down.

Tosco maintained or decided to go on the customized approaches. Tosco includedpersonnel from different areas of business suppose accounting users, systemanalysiss, programmers, consultants to make it a effective teamwork and to find outthe needs through the needs assessment of the program.

Pros

Throughout this approach of customization the chance of wastes and unnecessaryincreasing costs has decreased. It got to know from the personnel from eachdepartment about their specific needs and ensuring ERP in each department.

Cons

Getting knowledge of various needs increases costs in the other hand and if thedemands or need are not satisfied department wise then it creates dissatisfaction to theemployees and it becomes a problem in the organizational behavior.

Tosco was highly concentrated on keeping costs down and they were more integratedto the own company management. For this reason, the teams were made up of 70%Tosco and only 30% Aspen members. Toscos budget was tracked monthly with theCOMETS Project.

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Pros

More associated with intra-organization members. Keeping costs down reduces therisk associated with the ERP. Because of Aspens involvement new ideas and solutionhelps to build the ERP structure more dependable.

Cons

To much concentrate on costs may drop down the quality of ERP. It may be createproblem in employees in terms of power because in acquisition both may deservesame positions. My create problem in decision making. It can produce complexity in

the system of work and in decision making.

Tosco run on many business acquisitions from the first. These acquisitions was doneto make them more positioned in the market with increased intelligence, efforts,money etc.In the life cycle of Tosco they had many major acquisitions with renownedcompanies like EXXON, BP etc.One major acquisition was with Circle Kconvenience stores. The Circle K expanded Toscos core business and thoseadjustments were made to the COMETS system.

Pros

Due to acquisitions Tosco didnt stand beside its core business functions which madethem more stable in the market and the use of COMET also done in the acquisition.Through this Tosco got additional funding which helped Tosco to go in the long run.

Cons

Due to acquisition there was a chance of diversified the business core position inTosco. By additional funding Tosco may be in a position to go under Circle K.Costwas escalated gradually in 1996 and those started to surface and were mainly due tounderestimating the difficulty of the project design phase. As the needs wereincreasing the cost was also increasing much Absorbing the costs was main choicethere to Donna. As Donna had kept good records of Toscos stated requirements thatenabled Tosco to win the rate around 20-30% decreased rate.

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Pros

Stating of good and valid records give the chance to absorb or reduce the total costswhich is helpful for Tosco. Due to this many things are examined before statingneeds. By this costs may drop down and also using of COMETS may be moreappropriate.

Cons

Decreasing costs more cut out many necessary and important functions of ERP, whichmay be the critical processes of ERP.Cost escalation was a tough situation for Tosco

in their cost minimizing minds and that was very much challenging and hard tocontinue for Tosco.

The steering committee, which was composed of heads of different departments suchas operation, marketing, manufacturing, accounting was concentrated and very muchassociated with the ERP systems. They were aware of the changes that need to bedone on the system. As they worked on the committee as a whole but there thediscussion often had to face complexity and lengthy.

Pros

The team can turn out new things. Many things may be considered or find out as newand the need s assessment can be productive enough and teamwork may facilitate andgroup coordination are practiced within the organizations.

Cons

The misunderstanding between groups or the steering teams in the Tosco can createorganizational or team decision complex and this complexity and it can createdissatisfaction within the company or team which may decrease the output and

productivity may decrease.

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Donna was concerned about focusing on key group matters. In the case Donna wasconcerned about commercial department. Because in the Toscos ERP system

commercial department was the most important user of ERP and if they dont useERP then the other implication of ERPs will be not so helpful.

Pros

By this coordination among groups facilitated and group dynamics worked.Interactions between groups were increased and linking of groups done in such a waythat understanding of departments was more done.

Cons

Focusing on individual group can create group dissatisfaction and may be sometimes.It means sometimes that the key department is the main department.

As new system of ERP introduced and it focused on changes in the wholeorganization structure. As those changes were knew by employees abut as the topexecutives cut down many things from the whole plan so the function was quietdifficult and the jog was changed which was drastic. Due to this drastic change the

traders were frustrated and some people claimed it as Vomits

Pros

Changes in the organization due of ERP bring out new things and was planned to dothe job more effectively, efficiently.Culture of changes and adaption with it is a greatdeal n business. Through this practice employees may be sustain with the changes.

Cons

Drastic changes without training can be a great problem. There are chances ofmistakes in the job may be in the critical stages which may create problem in thewhole work structures. Make people aware of change and implementing other thingscan create dissatisfaction and may find out unfavorable responses of work system.

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In the continuation of ERP implementations the system was quiet challenging andtough as it was going further. In the whole case letting know the upper management

that the current scenario or stages were done and all these things are done to makeCOMETS more interesting and dependable to the systems within short timeconstraints.

Pros

Challenges turn out to find good work, more productivity; new things etc.By knowingthe stages may be more budget can be gained throughout this whole process todevelop ERP at Tosco.

Cons

More challenges and tension about the return can make the work less productive. Thepressure of top management may be high that is not letting the employee to work bytheir own wishes. Short time constraint is a barrier to go ahead. So it becomes

problem to work in these circumstances.

COMETS online dramatically increased under pressure with acquisitions of threerefineries. All these were the acquisitions of $1.4 billion. As days passed the need anddemand grew on an increasing basis with the mission of growth. It come up withmany good things such as saving of up to millions due to glitches that led to shipmentdelays, deliveries of incomplete orders and inventory pileups.

Pros

As demand of ERP increased it goes more valuable in the company and the differentindustries as well. As it shows savings and improvements this helped a lot in thewhole understanding of ERP in Tosco.

Cons

Growth may not be same for the all industries. Customization should be done by keepin mind that these will help in truly by concentrating on organizational objectives.

High demand may increase the price of ERP or cost of ERP more.

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COMETS was introduced in three phases. There were rooms for improvements inevery steps and the using of modules. In the second phase many problems were still in

hand such as scheduling, deal capture, time, and cost etc.But all in all in the last thefinal launch was quiet fine but there were problems still in the ERP system. Problemswere handled for the next few months.

Pros

In the phases that were introduced in three times come up with problems and withsolutions of it. As the problems occurred that was handled and gone through nextsteps which makes the ERP perfect.

Cons

Problems were till the final phase which can create problem and it may be unusual forthe employees to work on wrong phases. It took longer time to work finally and workmay be difficult to consider.

At the last Tosco was sold and it was bought by Phillips Petroleum, a renownedexploration and production and marketing company. The company bought Tosco by$7 billion. The acquisition made Phillips to be the second largest oil company in theworld after Exxon and also one of the top 20 Fortune 500companies.That was a greatdeal and acquiring of assets and expertise said by the chairman of Phillips Jim Mulva.

COMETS were a success for Tosco. They build up their customers, runned by them,the process was showed by them and by this software many industry was gainedenough and increased their efficiency and effectiveness.

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Training and Development to Deal with Current Change

Plan #1: Training the existing employees in a continuous basis to cope up with

the changing environment and new technologies.

Employee Development Needs

Training is recognized as being vital to the success of any organization and its

employees. Having an effective training and development plan ensures that

employees are adequately trained for their jobs while maintaining a high morale

within the workplace. It is plays a significant role in service oriented job. The

introduction of the software ERP being named as COMET in Tosco will obviously

effect the efficiency of the company. All employee need to be accustomed to thesystem. The commercial department people, who face the client daily basis, should be

equipped with proper training.

In other words, companies need to be adapted with the changing global market and its

technological advancement. Therefore, to be with the same pace of global changes,

Tosco needs to implement ERP in the company. This ERP will help them to maintain

a proper and integrated Enterprise Resource, for this they needs to develop its

employees through integrated training policies on a routine basis.

Reasons

In general, it is a very fluctuating industry where business operations, methods

changes time to time with diversified features. Since Tosco is in extremely

competitive market where everything is changing within a blink of eyes as per the

needs and demands of the clients, the company should make their employees eligible

to respond according to the market demand.

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Even though Tosco is in leading position in its industry, it is heading for an alarming

situation of falling behind other companies due to the lack in utilization of advanced

technology. Philips have been using SAP system efficiently for a long time. AndTosco decided to use COMET any how. And as study shows that, COMET will save

plenty of money for Tosco. According to the case content, Tosco spends huge amount

of money in technology but they couldnt use the full potential of it that they could

have.

In other words, Oil market is growing like anything with lots of opportunities, risks

and competition for the local companies. Moreover, employees of Tosco are not

expertise enough in using the latest technological means to develop their ideas and

planning. If the employees were given proper training in advanced technology, they

would have been skilled to deal with any uncertainty and changing environment

successfully.

Since 1996, it was oil market, where the companies were going to fully automated

database system to coup up the present challenges in the large market. The clients

were demanding more sophisticated and efficient service. Therefore the company for

its operation purpose and also to retain customers needed to reshape the technological

utilization. Tosco need to shape them into more advanced and developed form, whichcan be predicted and utilized by training the in-house employees.

Potential Outcome

Obviously, this training will help the employees to a great extent in managing and

controlling the clients by providing complete satisfaction. As the employees will gain

proper knowledge about the utilization of technology in the changing and dynamic

environment like European market, they would be capable of representing the

diversified nature of their new and innovative billing system along with a superior

infrastructure to be updated of the inventory position. Thus they are capable of

retaining competitive edge of the global economy.

To be more precise, it will help the company to establish a strong communication

network among the employees and the firm as a whole. In fact, sharing of knowledge

will aid the firm to take effective and efficient decision that possesses less risk and

maximum benefit for them. As a result, in either way it be helpful to retain Toscos

premium position in the market.

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Pros

If they implement this policy, it will aid the employees by increasing efficiency and

reducing the same mistake or error done by other employees previously. Indeed, the

employees would be competent in their specialized area, which will bring success to

the organization as a whole and definitely, sales would be generated to the utmost

level. More importantly, employees of Tosco will be able to notice the overall

summary of the company position and thus will be given opportunity to take decisions

in their area of operation. This will help to give an instant response to the clients and

the environment as well in an effective and efficient manner.

Cons

However, the drawbacks of this initiative cannot be ignored even though its very

little compared to the benefits. First of all, the upper management of company might

have different reaction regarding this plan. As we know from the case that, Donna

was thinking a lot about how to convince the upper management to use the COMET

system, so the plan can create different reaction. More over the management can have

different planning, thoughts about the changing the organizational aspects. Finally,

this may lead to a conflict and mismanagement within the organization.

Training and Development to Organizational Culture

Plan #2: Arranging an experience sharing program within the employees to get

new ideas from the front line employees.


Positive business results are accomplished when organization adopt the process of

knowledge sharing through utilizing its intellectual assets and turns it out into a

synergy for the firm. Therefore, experience sharing program helps to take advantage

of an organizations most valuable asset the collective expertise of its employees

and employers as well.

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This program acts something like a library in that it provides a repository for writteninformation on a given subject, but it also tries to make available to the organization

as a whole the knowledge that is in peoples heads. This knowledge may be the mostvaluable of all because it is put in context and it is frequently more extensive and up-to-date and, therefore, more useful for decision-making. In short, experience sharinghelps ensure that the right information gets to the right people at the right time tomake the right decisions.

Reasons

As we know that experience does a lot of work, Tosco should introduce such policy

within the organization to increase its productivity and efficiency. Each of the

management have a full of potential and experiences throughout their working life

span that can be useful to the employees while implementing in their workplace

whenever needed. In other words, it will increase the proportion of efficiency and

productivity of the employees through gaining knowledge from this process.

As it is mentioned in the case that many employees are not experienced enough in

doing their job effectively and efficiently, so, there should be session of sharing the

experience among the employees about their job, activities, learning, efficiencies and

many more. Wong was not completely successful in making the contact with theclients because he had not proper competencies in doing so. That meeting could be

turned into a successful one if he was acknowledged properly before, which could be

done through employees experience sharing program.

In an organization, synergy plays a significant role in maximizing benefits and

reducing costs. At this consequence, Tosco can practice this through experience

sharing program. As there is a huge gap between the knowledge and experience

gained by sales representatives, so, it can be eliminated through implementing this

plan. In short, it will help to generate more innovative and unique ideas to attractmore clients in future.

Potential Outcome

Whenever the company shares the experience of the front line employees with the

lower line employees then the total system of the company become much more

efficient because new employees can be able to share their views with the views of

the experienced employees and those top line employees can show the lower line

employees whether they make any kindof mistakes or not and if they make any thenthe top level employees

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reach its objectives. Therefore, recruitment and selection process has a significant

contribution to lead the company towards the success at a faster pace than that of

others in the industry.

Reasons

As per the case content, the hiring process is extremely poor in quality and standard.

The candidates only need a Bachelor of Arts degree, an outgoing personality and

motivation. Definitely, this can never be sufficient to manage the job of operation in a

firm like Tosco where always the need to be prepared to handle any business

opportunity and circumstance. The sales representatives need to have educational

qualification on the area of job content. In fact, there should be an appropriate jobdescription and specification for each job area.

However, it is mentioned in the case that Tosco emphasizes highly on the hiring a

good trainer to ensure its success of the training program, the firm is not being able to

assure this aspect properly. Moreover, the firm is heading for minimizing costs and

while doing so, they are ignoring this important key issue of fruitful operation of

business in Tosco.

Potential employees will be capable of adapting themselves with any changes in the

environment and contributing to the organizational success. The selection of a

candidate with the right combination of education, work experience, attitude, and

creativity will not only increase the quality and stability of the workforce, it will also

play a large role in bringing management strategies and planning to fruition.

Therefore, redesigning the recruitment and selection process has become a vital

element for Tosco in order to survive in the competitive market and retain its position

in the oil industry.

Potential Outcome

At the end of the day, Tosco will be successfully capable to retain the one of the most

effective and efficient employees through designing the hiring process in an organized

and systematic way. Moreover, it will reduce the cost of training the new employees

by investing enormously to prepare them from the very beginning. In short, it will

help to deal daily business and to deal with clients more confidently, as the hired

employees will have strong background and expertise in their specialized area.

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Enterprise Resource Planning is a dynamic software which enables the organization to

reduce the expenses at large. So the plan of initiating implementation of COMET a

customized ERP is a great step taken by Tosco. This ERP software is sophisticatedenough to provide better customer service. Now Tosco need to redesign the employee

recruitment system to create a successful impact on the whole organization. The

outcome of this plan is obviously productive. As technologically efficient employee

will take Tosco to new arena by a successful usage of ERP system through proper

training. So recruitment system redesign will generate more productivity.

Pros

Revamping the entire hiring and selection process will benefit Tosco a lot in severalways. At first, it would help to reduce the cost of training at the very initial stage. In

addition to that, it will help to have more employees in future, if Tosco practices an

appropriate hiring process with specific job description and specification. In short, we

can conclude that through utilization of this special plan everyone will be able to

satisfy everyone.

Cons

On the other hand, it has some cons as well. One of them is the increased cost ofhiring process along with the process of examining other aspects of relevant issues.

Furthermore, existing employees will have a perception of inferior complexion about

themselves compared to the newly hired employees. These might lead to further

conflict in the company.

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Training and Development for Better Customer Relations

Plan#4: Building, Developing and maintaining good customer relationship

through broadening the service range, making remarkable customer relation,

giving the customers dimensional experiences.


If a company wants to become successful to build a good and durable long-term

customer relationship, people get loyal enough to get service from that firm for the

rest of ones life. According to the case if they serve the customers very well,

customers will always remain loyal and bring more customers to the firm.

Reasons

According to the philosophy of the Tosco, the management have been successful up

to now in maintaining successful customer relationship with customers by providingeffective services along with proper billing system. Recently, they are not being able

to maintain the relationship, as customers are not satisfied enough with their offerings

and associated benefits regarding the training program. Each customer has different

needs and preferences but the offerings are very limited and constrained to their area.

To be more specific, Tosco has not offered any customized service regarding the oil

industry.

Since the market is getting more and more competitive in nature, Tosco should be

more concerned in dealing with customers through building a positive relationship

with them. The firm should offer according to the needs of the customers rather than

emphasizing on reducing costs of services. In addition, offering products at reduced

rate is not sufficient enough to persuade the clients that are found from the case. If

this situation continues, competitors will get the opportunity to take Toscos position

within a short while.

Being successful is much easier than retain that success in the market for a long time.

Unfortunately, Tosco is ahead to loose this position due to being limited with the

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offers given to the clients in an attractive and effective way as the clients want it to be.

ERP is very efficient system to be used within the organization to achieve efficiency

along with proper inventory management and better customer service. In addition,they are stuck with the initial offering and facilities rather than generating something

new and innovative, which would persuade the clients to have the service from Tosco

and remain loyal to them for a long run.

Potential Outcome

The potential outcome may include the expansion of business to the highest level. As

clients always expect something cost effective and beneficial to them, so, Tosco

would be capable of having largest number of clients to it. As the company has beendominating in oil market in the region of America and UK for the long time, it has got

the possibility to be successful by offering something beneficial to the clients as well

as to Tosco in the long run.

In other words, it will help the company to maintain the premium brand equity of

Tosco in the market. Different range of services with lots of benefits will ultimately

reduce their operational cost, as they would reach to the economies of scale generated

by larger number of clients at the end of the day. According to Donna, the salvage

value of an existing client is very low. This can be reduced through maintaining goodrelationship with them and this can be done through continuously providing effective

training program with lucrative discounts and other benefits.

Pros

Pros of this plan refers that providing excellent service implied building and

maintaining a close relationship with customers. Tosco would be successful in

increasing the number of loyal customers and bring new customers as well. As a

result of this customer-focused strategy, customers and employees felt like part of afamily or a separate unit.

Cons

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Cons include the initial cost of maintaining the relationship with the clients. Since

customers want the things at a cheap rate, meeting their expectation will somehow

increase their cost at the beginning stage. As a result, profit might be reduced at thatpace of business.

Training and Development for Employee

Plan#5: Keeping the employee up-to-date, through proper training, garnished

salary-benefits and annual showdown.


It is not all to provide training time to time. Besides training a well garnished salary-

benefits motivates people to do a lot of work in favor of the company, which is not

possible either by only good salary or benefits. As we know that annual showdown

helps a lot in this regards.

Reasons

Regarding to the case perspective, the cost of consultants is getting higher and higher

day by day according to their efficiency level and reputation in the market.

Furthermore, it has been challenging to implement ERP to reduce the operational cost

of organization accordingly of the firms regardless the increasing cost of operation,

sales representative, consultant, customization of programs etc. At this situation, if the

firm introduces an effective training program to make the employees up-to-date, it

would reduce the cost to some extent.

It is mentioned in the case that Tosco has no permanent Human Resource Departmentwith the facility of training its existing employee and future employee to coup with

the necessary requirement. According to the current market condition, Tosco should

not depend on the externals rather it should hire trainer as well as consultant on a

permanent basis by providing garnished salary-benefits in a scrutinized process.

Otherwise, Tosco would more likely face difficulties to fulfill the need of

implementing ERP in their business and provide service to clients in a diversified and

customized way.

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Pros

The pros are unlimited in all aspects for Tosco. If the employees are motivated they

can revolutionize the company. Over time, the firm developed four corporate values

that summed up their business philosophy and defined their company. These values

played an important role in Toscos growth and success. The company culture

promotes awareness of the values and their application in day-to-day business

operations.

Cons

If the employees are not motivated enough they can create bottle neck. When

employees will become overconfident about their acknowledgement in theirspecialized area, they might abuse the power to the extent they want. As a

consequence, firm will have to suffer in managing and controlling them and get the

best out of them.

Training and Development to Technology

Plan#6: Developing and maintaining an innovative environment through TQM,

E-commerce team, Automation team, Marketing Strategic team, Distribution

team, MIS team and so on.


As we know that the new management concepts are very powerful to aid a company

to achiever it destination. It should strive to achieve such concept in wide range.

Reasons

Tosco is in the leading position in oil market. However, the situation and demand has

changed so far than that of in six years back. Tosco hasnt changed its internal system

so much adjustable with the changing environment of the global economy. In fact, the

management are still directing and managing within the same organizational structure.

According to the case content, the competitors are coming up with lots of innovative

and highly advanced technological changes and benefits for the clients. In contrast,

Tosco is still in the old system of hiring external trainers to provide new training

service to its clients. Since the firm is not organized with the new managerial concepts

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and ideas that can give a new shape to its features, clients are showing dissatisfaction

and reluctance to get service from them.

As inventory management is a new concept in the current perspective, clients are also

quite unaware, unfamiliar with the concept, however, they want to train their

employees in this concept. At this situation, Tosco doesnt have any proper planning

or team to develop the idea in a sophisticated and understandable way to its clients.

Tosco doesnt have any HR department, which is a drawback of the firm. Because of

this they dont have any proper design and planning of how to make the internal part

of the organization much more developed with new managerial concept and ideas inorder to be in the strong competitive position in the market.

Indeed, it doesnt have any proper integration of the team management, strategic

development process and many more so that a proper communication flow can be

maintained through effective knowledge sharing process that can lead to the

organizational success in the long run through assessing the needs and taking steps

accordingly to generate sales.

Potential Outcome

Tosco would become able to utilize its resources effectively and efficiently in

applying the concepts at the right place in the right time by the right people of the

organization. Whenever the company shares the experience of the front line

employees with the lower line employees then the total system of the company

become much more efficient because new employees can be able to share their views

with the views of the experienced employees and those top line employees can show

the lower line employees whether they make any kindof mistakes or not and if they

make any then the top level employees

Pros

By adopting this policy, it would be capable to aid the employees by increasing

efficiency and reducing the same mistake or error done by other employees

previously. Moreover, the employees will be enriched more through sharing their

views, knowledge, ideas and concepts. As a result, the culture of the firm will

integrated with complete and effective values, intellectual capital and advanced

technology.

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Training and Development to Deal with Current Change

Plan #1: Training the existing employees in a continuous basis to cope up with

the changing environment and new technologies.

Priority of Development Needs

Need to Adjust to the Improved Conditions

Since Tosco is in extremely competitive market where everything is changing within

a blink of eyes as per the needs and demands of the clients, the company should make

their employees eligible to respond according to the market demand. Even though

Tosco is in leading position in its industry, it is heading for an alarming situation of

falling behind other companies due to the lack in utilization of advanced technology.

According to the case content, Tosco spends huge amount of money in technology but

they couldnt use the full potential of it that they could have.

Allocation of Resources

Whom to Train

The decision makers of the company have to be sent for training to learn to adjust to

improved economic conditions. All the employees in the performance process have to

be trained to use new software tools. The aim is to increase productivity. The training

has to be tailored to fit the employees level of understanding and the companys

need. The persons who will be sent for training have to have the basic eligibility to

understand the training content.

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Type of Training

The decision makers can be sent to off-the-job training by classes. These classes can

be only technical or both technical and theoretical. There can also be on-the-job

training through Job rotation, coaching, modeling etc for the performance workers.

The management has to choose the type of training is most effective.

Performance Appraisal and Feedback

A small group can be sent for training at first. After completion of the training,

management has to check on the progress through supervisors. It can also be a

360degree one that involves peers, self and subordinates also. With both upward andpeer appraisal, the management can realize the effectiveness of the training program.

The company will decide whether to continue or not on the basis of the appraisal.

Cost

This company surely has enough monetary resources to provide these two small

trainings to its employees. Here, the better the company performs in a given year, the

easier it becomes for them to send employees for training.

Time

When training is done through off the job training, then it is best to do the training

after work, during weekends or during work consisting of a small amount of time.

This way there will be minimal reduction in the performance level. On-the-job

trainings will also require minimum time as the employee learns while he/she works

also. If the training program is properly planned, time will not be a problem.

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Working Plan

More Efficient Workers

When employees are trained to use new technology to meet the demands of a

healthier economy, they will be more efficient. Time and motion analysis can tell

them where they are wasting time and effort. Then they have to adapt to the new and

improved ways to perform the tasks. The company has to bring major changes in the

performance process, operation procedures and employee skills inventory. Increased

productivity through training of workers on new equipment and new technology can

give them an edge in the industry to be more competitive. . Time and motion analysis

can tell them where they are wasting time and effort. Then they have to adapt to the

new and improved ways to perform the tasks.

More Insightful Consultants and Decision Makers

After training the consultants and decision makers, the company will have specialist

decisions tailored exclusively for the company. Having effective economists who can

predict the aftermath of a change in policy and suggest possible courses of action to

adjust to the rapidly changing technology, can give Tosco a competitive edge. If theseeconomists are outsiders, the training that makes them aware of the internal factors at

Tosco will make them able to make the right decisions exclusively for the company.

Tosco needs to have effective economists who can predict the aftermath of a change

in policy and suggest possible courses of action to adjust to the rapidly changing

economy. If these consultants are outsiders, then they need to be given the training

that makes them aware of the internal factors at Tosco to make better decisions.

Reducing Time and Cost of training

Trainings are usually time-consuming. The company can avoid it by training a smaller

number at a time so that the performance is not badly hampered and provide

incentives for training after work. Otherwise, it would be costly to shut off

performance for a couple of days to train the workers for a big company like Tosco.

Training all the employees will be expensive. If it is done through off the job training,

then it is best to do the training after work, during weekends or during work

consisting of a small amount of time. This way there will be minimal reduction in the

performance level.

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Overcoming Resistance to Change

There are a lot of workers who are reluctant to learn new skills at Tosco. They might

want to leave the company instead of adapting to a new environment. There can also

be increased turnover of employees who dont want to or dont believe that they can

learn new skills. The company has to make the employees realize how important it is

for the company that the employees take the training. Then they have to be given

incentives to give extra effort to make the company perform better. This can be done

by tying a part of their compensation to the companys performance. If employees are

given a goal to accomplish and given bonus only if it is accomplished, then they will

be willing to give extra effort to make the company perform better. The compensation

also has to be more attractive than the competitors ones to retain the trained

employees.

Training and Development to Change Organizational Culture

Plan #2: Arranging an experience sharing program within the employees to get

new ideas from the front line employees.


Enabling Employees to speak their minds

At Tosco, the employees didnt feel comfortable to say whatever they held against the

company. They are afraid of speaking their minds. In Tosco, many employees are not

experienced enough to use a software based system in doing their job effectively and

efficiently, so, there should be session of sharing the experience among the employees

about their job, activities, learning, efficiencies and many more. Wong was not

completely successful in making the contact with the clients because he had not

proper competencies in doing so. That meeting could be turned into a successful one

if he was acknowledged properly before, which could be done through employees

experience sharing program.

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Whom to Train

All the employees have to be sent for training to appreciate each others work. The

aim is to resolve internal conflict through better understanding of others tasks. The

persons who will be sent for training have to have the basic eligibility to understand

the training content. The training has to be tailored to fit the employees level of

understanding and the companys need.

Type of Training

This can be done through off-the-job training by classes. These classes can be only

technical or both technical and theoretical. There can also be on-the-job training

through Job rotation, coaching, modeling etc. Whichever type of training is most

effective and cost effective has to be chosen for this training.


After completion of the training, management has to check on the progress through

supervisors. It can also be a 360degree one that involves peers, self and subordinates

also. With both upward and peer appraisal, the management can realize the

effectiveness of the training program.

Cost

Tosco makes huge profits. This company surely has enough monetary resources to

provide these two small trainings to its employees. Here, the better the company

performs in a given year, the easier it becomes for them to train the employees.

Time

If it is done through off the job training, then it is best to do the training after work,

during weekends or during work consisting of a small amount of time. This way there

will be minimal reduction in the performance level. Time will not create mishaps if

the training program is properly planned. On-the-job trainings will also requireminimum time as the employee learns while he/she works also.

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Working Plan

Accomplishing Better Inter-Departmental Understanding

The internal conflict about decision making at Tosco can be resolved to some extent if

the employees understand what it takes to get the job done in other departments. If

they are trained to know the basics of other departments, then they can understand

where and how mistakes happen. As they will know the basics, if they have

grievances in the future, they can suggest a way to solve it or decide not to hold

grievances, as it cant be easily solved. This will give them a better and more

satisfactory working environment.

Making Top Management Understand the Importance of Listening to Employees

and Providing Them with Job Satisfaction

If the authorities know the importance of listening to their employees and providing

them with job satisfaction, then they will try to establish an environment where the

employees feel free to speak their minds.

Reducing Time and Cost of the trainings

It will be time-consuming to train all the employees. They can avoid it by training a

smaller number at a time so that the performance is not badly hampered and provide

incentives for training after work. Otherwise, it would be costly to shut off

performance for a couple of days to train the workers for a big company like Tosco.

Training all the employees will be expensive. If it is done through off the job training,

then it is best to do the training after work, during weekends or during work taking

only a small amount of time.

Overcoming Reluctance to Learn New Skills

Workers are bound to learn new skills at Tosco. They might want to leave the

company instead of adapting to a new environment. There can also be increased

turnover of employees who dont want to or dont believe that they can learn new

skills. The company has to make the employees realize how important it is for the

company that the employees take the training. Then they have to be given incentives

to give extra effort to make the company perform better. This can be done by tying apart of their compensation to the companys performance. The compensation also has

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to be more attractive than the competitors ones to retain the trained employees. If

employees are given a goal to accomplish and given bonus only if it is accomplished,

then they will be willing to give extra effort to make the company perform better.

Training and Development for Managers Who Recruits and Selects Employees

Plan #3: Redesigning the selection and recruitment process to ensure an

intensifying success to persuade more customers by the expert and efficient

employees.


Need to develop better leadership and convincing clients

The operational segment plays key roles in order to bring the necessary changes in the

company. But there were major concerns regarding their leadership styles and

capabilities. Tosco emphasizes highly on the hiring a good trainer to ensure its

success of implementing COMET and making the present employee habituated withthe new ERP system. Moreover, the firm is heading for minimizing costs and while

doing so, they are working ahead for implementing COMET, which will help them

minimize their cost efficiently. As a result, the firm is indeed in requirement of better

leadership opportunity.


Whom to Train

All the employee have to be sent for training to develop better leadership skills. The

aim is to guide the company through these tough times. The persons who will be sent

for training have to have the basic eligibility to understand the training content. The

training has to be tailored to fit the employees level of understanding and the

companys need. The consultant has to be sent for training to understand current

systems of supply chain management. Through this training, he will be able to

provide better suggestions.

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Type of Training

This can be done through off-the-job training by classes. This type of training is most

effective. Although leadership isnt something that can be taught, classes nonetheless

provide the theoretical framework on which to build. It can also assign the trainees

with debates, role-playing etc that helps them develop their leadership skills. The

trainees will have to practice to develop their leadership qualities.


This is a very important phase that follows the training. A small group can be sent for

training at first. After completion of the training, management has to check on theprogress through supervisors. It can also be a 360degree one that involves peers, self

and subordinates also. With both upward and peer appraisal, the management can

realize the effectiveness of the training program. On its basis, the company will

decide whether to continue or not.

Cost

Tosco is a growing company with huge investment. This company surely has enough

monetary resources to provide these two small trainings to its employees. Here, the

better the company performs in a given year, the easier it becomes for them to send

employees for training.

Time

If it is done through off the job training, then it is best to do the training after work,

during weekends or during work consisting of a small amount of time. This way there

will be minimal reduction in the performance level. On-the-job trainings will alsorequire minimum time as the employee learns while he/she works also. So, the time

will not create mishaps if the training program is properly planned.

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Reluctance to accept new possibilities

There are a lot of workers who are unaware to accept new possibilities at Tosco. They

might want to leave the company instead of adapting to a new environment. There can

also be increased turnover of employees who dont want to change. The company has

to make the employees realize how important it is for the company that the employees

take the training. Then they have to be given incentives to give extra effort to make

the company perform better. This can be done by tying a part of their compensation to

the companys performance. If employees are given a goal to accomplish and given

bonus only if it is accomplished, then they will be willing to give extra effort to make

the company perform better. The compensation also has to be more attractive than the

competitors ones to retain the trained employees. This way, the employees will be

willing to accept new responsibilities.

Training and Development for Better Customer Relations

Plan#4: Building, Developing and maintaining good customer relationship

through broadening the service range, making remarkable customer relation,

giving the customers dimensional experiences.


Campaigns have to bear company Values

In order to generate enough revenues from the customer and led the company to grow

the corporation should promote more advertisement and campaign. They need to

affiliate with groups of companies to play as an important entity in the market. The

movie and television production must be made stronger to attract more customer

followed by growth in the Corporation. The corporation should promote more

advertisement and campaign so as to generate enough revenues.

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Whom to Train

The top management has to be trained to make more feasible decisions. They have to

know the new techniques of making more appropriate decisions. There are many

sophisticated software that helps to understand the impact of different variables in

decision-making. The top management has to be well trained on these to take more

feasible strategies.

When to Train

The training would have been best done before making the decision to create a service

in supply chain management. As it has already finished its first phase of service- sales

management, the second best time to train the decision-makers is right now as soon as

possible.

Type of Training

These trainings will be both technical and theoretical to get the advantages of both

conceptual framework and practical implications. The decision-makers have to know

the new techniques of making more appropriate decisions. There are many


decision-making. The top management has to be well trained on these to make

winning decisions.

Cost

Affording the money for training is not a problem for them. Tosco is a huge company.

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Working Plan

Screening

Through screening process, they should find out the strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats regarding the business environment. They will determine the

benefits and cost of running the business and depending on that should decide what

should be done. The screening process should include both objective and subjective

tests all around the corporate to bring out the true value of business and then set a

master plan to overcome its shortcomings.


Here also after completion of the training, management has to check on the progress.

A small number of mangers have to be trained first. It can also be a 360degree one

that involves peers, self and subordinates also. With both upward and peer appraisal,

the management can realize the effectiveness of the training program. Then they candecide whether they will send more managers to training or not.

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Type of Training

The top management has to be well trained on these to make acceptable rules.

These trainings will be both technical and theoretical to get the advantages of both

conceptual framework and practical implications. The decision-makers have to know

the new techniques of making more appropriate decisions. There are many


decision-making.

Cost

To afford the money for training is not a problem for them. Tosco has been enjoying a

huge profit since last six years.

Working Plan

Tosco has no permanent trainers rather it has consultants from Aspen temporarily on a

contract basis. According to the current market condition, Tosco should not depend on

the externals rather it should hire trainers on a permanent basis by providing

garnished salary-benefits in a scrutinized process. Otherwise, Tosco would more

likely face difficulties to fulfill the need of clients in a diversified and customized

way. The employees especially the people of commercial department of Tosco are not

up-to-date enough to deal with the advanced technological system and to deal with

clients and make them satisfied with the proper replies. In fact, they dont have

effective background to handle the job in a successful way.

Since the employees are the asset for the firm, it should do something to motivate the

employees and we know that incentives, bonuses can be the best motivator for them

to devote themselves into their job. Therefore, a basic training and common

compensation structure isnt enough to make them advanced and up-to-date with the

changing market condition.

Compensation Design

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In order to reconstruct its total compensation, at first, the corporation should modify

the total reparation package by offering more benefits & securities to employees. If

the employees can be convinced with higher pays and assurance of future benefitsthen they would readily agree to work. The compensation redesign should focus more

on the motivational aspect of the employees. First of all they should conduct a

compensation survey to bring out what types of direct and indirect compensations

employees desire and then redesign its compensation program.

Survey & Analysis of the needs of Employees

A thorough survey must be carried out to prioritize the opinion of the employees. The

internal analysis can be both direct and indirect and will focus on the employees

concerned. They will be asked of their opinion to state which facilities need

eliminations free of fear. After that the management will decide on which ones out of

these suggestions need updates and which ones focusing on both the parties benefits.

Various Advertisements

The management of Tosco will come up with effective advertisement of detail job

description stating the terms and conditions of the recruitments policies and therequired employee qualifications like education, age etc.

The advertisement will include thorough explanation of the job description, which

will ensure the employees to know the detailed information before joining into their

work place. The newspaper and if necessary other medias can be chosen to the put on

the statement of vacancies so as to attract a huge mass of qualified people.

The corporation is new in supply chain management and it must maintain the

business effectively. So the management should right away begin to hire the

employees for the organization.

Arrange Training Sessions for New Employees

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After hiring the people, the corporation must arrange training sessions to inform the

employees how to operate and be benefited from the objectives and planning of the

ERP system, COMET of Tosco.

The training session should be established as soon as the employees are hired because

this will require the time to train the employees. Moreover they also need to be given

immediate training once they get involved into their respective jobs.

Get Fresh Brains

The organization must hire part time employees like students with fresh views,

innovations, energy, and smartness. These employees will have a tendency to be

obedient and put their best effort in their work place so as to continue with the job in

the competitive market. Moreover they are often in need of money and can be easily

influenced to do any work through increase in payment.

By doing so the organization does not have to put an intensive effort to prepare HR

issues for those part timers. Moreover the compensation packages, rules regulations

regarding the part timers would be a bit relaxed and will not any require any tactful

concern.


After completion of the training, management has to check on the progress. A small

number of mangers have to be trained first. It can also be a 360degree one that

involves peers, self and subordinates also. With both upward and peer appraisal, the

management can realize the effectiveness of the training program. Then they can

decide whether they will send more managers to training or not.

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Training and Development to Technology

Plan#6: Developing and maintaining an innovative environment through TQM,

E-commerce team, Automation team, Marketing Strategic team, Distribution

team, MIS team and so on.


Replacing Manual Work with Modern Equipment

The competitors are coming up with lots of innovative and highly advanced

technological changes and benefits for the clients. In contrast, Tosco is still in the old

system of hiring external trainers to provide new training service to its clients. Since

the firm is not organized with the new managerial concepts and ideas that can give a

new shape to its features, clients are showing dissatisfaction and reluctance to get

service from them. Tosco is in the leading position in oil market area for last six years

along with handsome revenue. However, the situation and demand has changed so far

than that of in six years back. Tosco hasnt changed its internal system so much

adjustable with the changing environment of the global economy. In fact, the founders

are still directing and managing within the same organizational structure and older

technology.

Reducing Errors of the Sales Representatives through Training them Better

Communication

erp in tosco ( b)

Documents