Leading Through Digital Disruption Mazda Motors Case Study

Leading Through Digital Disruption Mazda Motors Case Study

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1. Introduction to the importance of digital transformation in a specific organizational context at Mazda

The corporate world has been going through an immense transformation which has made the activities more rapid and significant in terms of business approaches. The ever-evolving commercial sectors have been facing significant competitive threats from the market rivals which has contributed to the advancements of transformational attributes. The reason behind this implementation is to create a strong foundation for a sustainable business existence in the market(Warokkaetal., 2020). A well-developed strategy helps the company to grow its market consistency and become more preferred by its customers, different types of business practices are being transformed to optimise the entire system and enhance productivity which further translates into the proficiency and market reputational growth of the company. Multiple companies around the world have adopted such transformational approaches to get absolute value from their operations.

Digital transformation assists organizations to meet emerging customers’ requirements and therefore to thrive in the upcoming years (Swieckietal., 2020). It enables businesses to compete effectively in a continuously changing economic climate through the response of technological developments. A good administration of the digital transition allows organizations to gain administrative and commercial benefits. The use of digital attributes for procedures, goods and resources in order to maximize productivity, improve service excellence, assess the risks and explore additional revenue generation scopes are the significant aspects of digital transformation. The present report will explore the importance of digital transformation in a specific organizational context to provide comprehension of the subject.

2. The Case for Change

Corporate Background of Mazda Motors

In Japan, Northern America, Europe, China and the worldwide markets, Mazda Motor Corp. participates in the production and marketing of passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles (Davis, 2017). The offerings encompass four-wheeled vehicles and diesel engines, cars, different engines, transmission components, industrial machinery and casting equipment. The firm was established on 30 January 1920 and has its registered office in Aki, Japan. The concept and intent of the firm were to invent a fresh and value worthy product and service system for its consumers and to provide standard quality products to maintain its market reputation (Cherednichenko, 2018). Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is the largest company of Mazda Corporation situated outside of Japan. MNAO is headquartered in Irvine and California and operates in the United States in marketing, sales, customer parts and Mazda transport service suppliers (Ó hUallacháinetal., 2018). This covers the production of all sorts of domestic dealership operating systems including legacy and consumer servers.

Obstacle: MNAO plans to support the growth of distributors, operational considerations and applications in a digital environment. In order to accomplish this, an extremely effective and rapid dealer package processing system needs to be implemented that would run online and is planned to be a user-friendly solution to ease out the entire process (Klier and Rubenstein, 2020). The system users comprise NOR American Mazda Corporate Dealer Development, any operators with access and Mazda Regional Dealer Development, among which are bankers, accountants, lawyers and employees. MNAO required a mechanism to optimize customizable documents in a standardized and universal file format.Thousands of vendors all across the nation would generally be needed to accomplish anywhere from 150 to 200 custom forms(Warokkaetal., 2020). Popular formats are created in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. Mazda was required to seek a method to simplify and automate a manual non-structured practice of data acquiring while presenting and distributing the data in a universal file format.

3. Capturing Insights

Solution:

Based on the above-mentioned issue, the report will explore a solution that will be in line with the company’s core objective (Cherednichenko, 2018). Mazda’s online web-based system was successfully developed utilising two of the most important ActivePDF products: DocSight^TM DocConverter, which transforms the files in Word and Excel into PDF and DocGenius^TM toolkit, where numerous files are combined into one PDF document. The major element utilized as the wrapper of the toolkit object is Microsoft Visual Basic. A passport and user ID is officially granted to Mazda dealerships and candidates to access a MIDAS, a Dealer Package System (Mazda Internet Dealer Application System) (Klier and Rubenstein, 2020). Once on the system, visitors may either examine individual papers online or build an overall package that contains all documents including monitoring documentation simultaneously. They have built a DLL that exposes the proprietary calling API to ASP sites that initialize DLL, and therefore produce the PDF files as a file or as a memory streamed.

This enables them to create a file-based PDF for the final production and assembly of around 30 individual PDF files (Cherednichenko, 2018). These are then separately produced and infused into one deliverable file with separate document bookmarks.This system is anticipated to have a favourable effect on the corporation’s financial situation. The corporation may achieve its sought objectives and overcome the competition by following this approach, as most firms in this sector still function by utilizing a manual method which is often time-consuming and delay the results.

4. Making Fast Decisions

Mazda is an interesting example of the problems encountered by the 21st-century automotive company. The corporation seems to have all the required elements to be productive and equally successful as others, yet at the same time, the company is having difficulty finding a route forward into a sustainable success trajectory (Shresthaetal., 2019). This should be more than enough for the corporation to sell more than 1.5 million automobiles a year to create a viable business. It is important to keep knowledge of its rivals in order to be informed mostly about the market dynamics. The technology they use would diagnose these traits rather well. The enterprise should take account of current market developments, changes in the nation where it operates, national trade policies and the creation of new enterprises in the relevant market.

Decisions regarding the operational enhancement of approaches need to be based on appropriate and instant judgments which become very useful for an organization’s sustained growth (Shresthaetal., 2019). Especially for a brand like Mazda, keeping a strong market footprint can be a challenging factor as the competitive threats are constantly rising. In my opinion, before completely being assured of the market implications of the system, the company should have to judge other possibilities associated with the issue to find the most accurate solution. Although a highly decent variety, Mazda has struggled to reach the 200-300k threshold every year, it has managed to do this in 2014, 2015 and 2018 before slipping to below 300k in 2019 (Shresthaetal., 2019). The primary reason is that Mazda’s mainstream models have failed to connect to customers in the United States. For example, Mazda3 and Mazda6 performed quite well in terms of sales, but their sales fell to 50% in 2019.

These factors accordingly show that the brand will have to take its approaches precisely to avoid faulty moves and eliminate the possibilities of market downfall. The idea of introducing a compact documentation system might have significance in simplifying the processes among dealers and the brand yet the move needs to be judged while creating a steady approach of the adaptation (Seeberetal., 2017). The authority can delve into multiple approaches and use several tools to think and implement the transformation to reach a rational and fast-paced decision. Brainstorming can be a useful tool that can be adopted by the company to take practical decisions and integrate additional ideas to enrich the process.

Brainstorming: Brainstorming is frequently seen as an excellent approach that companies may employ to find innovative and creative concepts (Seeberetal., 2017). It is a phrase that is commonly used to fix complex issues and generate ideas in a somewhat interchangeable way. In commerce and for excellent reasons, brainstorming is becoming part of the everyday vernacular. Brainstorming is a group creative method typically employed to resolve a particular challenge. This is achieved by the free-flowing collection and documentation of fresh ideas from group members. Brainstorming groups are often defined as a collection of main team members, and are usually led by a manager (Davis, 2017). Mazda should also consider the development of a separate group of core members who will lead the digital transformation to gain more ideas about the solution and derive more comprehensive inputs to improve the predetermine processes to enhance the transformational procedures.

5. Acquire and Engage Talents

Like digital instruments and technologies are significant pillars of a modern enterprise, appropriate talent and skills are also necessary for enabling organisations (Walford-Wright and Scott-Jackson, 2018). In addition, it has become so crucial to attract and engage talented workers that technological systems are now in existence to automate and coordinate workplace programmes that are increasingly intricate to motivate digital employees.

• Developing a strategy for the acquisition of talent: A complete design to accomplish talent management is extremely essential (Walford-Wright and Scott-Jackson, 2018). The chosen firm should recruit a number of professionals who must be familiar with emerging aptitude and talents in the industry to drive competent professionals. 
• Automated Recruiting: Smart and relevant suggestions using machine learning are needed to automate applicant acquisition and assessment. The outreach of the candidate will be improved with a proper study of big data on recruitment and hiring (Westerman, Soule and Eswaran, 2019). That will enable the company to pick candidates using proactive analytics to predict who will remain in that employment for longer if hired. 
• The Need for Hard and Soft Skills: Digital transformation drives business and management competencies converging with conventional IT competencies. This digital dynamic causes firms to reconsider the structures, responsibilities and talents they need. This indicates that technical skills are not sufficient (Le Pennec and Raufflet, 2018). Companies have to incorporate more soft skills, such as collaboration, leadership, culture and teamwork capacity, to enhance recruitment and retention. Mazda needs to focus on finding talents with extended qualities.
• Millennials Are Shaping the Workplace:Recruiting the millennials is one of the important factors which develop and shape innovative workplaces (Le Pennec and Raufflet, 2018). Mazda should emphasise the recruitment of young and motivated employees to enhance company sustenance.

6. Create a Digital Ready Culture

That must be a leader’s capacity to know all aspects of his members. The majority of people desire to choose the technological and advanced approaches to make the company seamless and profitable especially in this rapidly growing world, which is advancing and technologically revolutionized (Le Pennec and Raufflet, 2018). It is necessary to create a culture of digital-ready people who do not run away from incorporating such advances. Mazda needs to focus on developing a digitalised ambience that cultivates the zeal of digital incorporation.

1. Build the practices that set digital firms apart: A culture of quick innovation and autonomous practise within a data-driven decision-making context needs to be cultivated. Such approaches may seem to contradict organizations with conservative steadiness in terms of structures, principles and governance (Walford-Wright and Scott-Jackson, 2018). However, research reveals that these approaches stimulate development and innovation substantially. In addition, without any of the data to assess change, companies cannot successfully innovate.
2. Preserve practices that promote integrity and stability: It is important to develop ways to find stability and integrity without impeding autonomous experiments that bring about innovation (Westerman, Soule and Eswaran, 2019). This is where the principles of openness, working with others regardless of position or location and responsibilities may benefit. And firms must aim to get away from an alignment of regulations where individuals may use tricks to prevent adjustments they don’t want to adapt.

7. Steer Collaboration

The emphasis is now on teamwork. A cooperative workforce can generate a range of beneficial outcomes, from higher employee engagement to an improved process of innovation. Mazda can also create such a workplace by incorporating some of the strategies. 

• Cultivate openness and transparency: Every sensitive information must not be disclosed, but it is vital that workers are kept in the circuit to foster loyalty and productivity. Making the organisation receptive to the challenges and opportunities and provide people motivation to suggest solutions is essential. As a result, everyone may work together to achieve the same corporate objectives in accordance with the strategic goals of the organization.
• Establish a judgement-free idea-sharing culture: A concern of criticism or refusal is frequently an impediment that inhibits personnel from actively engaging and advocating for their thoughts. Harassments can be a particularly frequent obstacle to the surfacing bubbling of the finest ideas in organizations. Taking over the obstacle by setting up a creative and judicious culture in which new suggestions and debates, whether little or odd, audacious and vivid, are regularly accepted.
• Offer positivity and rewards: Even the devoted staff require suitable compensation. Where needed, decompensation of the individuals, recognizing team accomplishments are equally necessary. This is essential to foster future cooperation, as the advantages of working together will boost motivation. Naturally not everything will be excellent, but it is vital to remain optimistic but to be continuous in the provision of feedback. Providing constructive feedback is essential for progress but ensuring that employee efforts are appreciated is an indispensable aspect.

8. Selection of the Leaders

Leaders are the most essential people in organisations who know the strengths and weaknesses of the employees. They clearly state the ultimate objectives of the company to the employees so that they can reach their goals properly.

A leader needs to be selected on the basis of some of the basic criteria:

1. Ability to Influence Others: Leaders should be able to influence others on a positive note so that the employees can feel motivated and perform their responsibilities with professional inclination (Sürücü and Ye?ilada, 2017). Leaders need to have the power to communicate with others and impact their thoughts and attitudes in favour of the company goals. Mazda should employ leaders who have the ability to influence the employees to adopt digital transformation.
2. Transparency—to an Extent: Leaders need to be transparent and authentic to a certain extent. They should know how much to convey and to what extent they should keep things confidential (Qureshi, 2020). Although openness is frequently designed to foster cooperation, transfer of ideas and openness, too much of it can result in the opposite.
3. Encourage Risk-Taking and Innovation:Leaders must be selected upon judging their capabilities of taking risks and assessing those accordingly to form a profound foundation for a sustained business and to assure further security of the company approaches (Qureshi, 2020). Leaders must have the expertise to identify issues and resolve them with conviction.
4. Value Ethics and Integrity: Ethical attitudes and integrated values are the key characteristics that a leader must possess in order to manage employees and drive them towards excellence in the professional sphere (Qureshi, 2020). It depends on the leaders that how they can motivate the employees to be ethical and remain integrated.

9. Conclusion

The entire report has been constructed to explore the importance of digital transformation and how a company should arrange its strategies to properly implement digital change. A range of factors is influential in the process of change incorporation. The present report has been developed in the company context of Mazda Motors. The company has aimed to adopt a digital system that will enable it to perform better by simplifying certain activities. The report has documented the essential aspects associated with the subject to represent a cohesive concept of the facts and illustrate the rationality of these elaborately discussed aspects.

References

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