Alpha Cement Manufacturing

Background
Alpha Cement Manufacturing is one of the main industry players. The company has proven successful and
profitable over the years since its establishment. However, during the past period, the company started
facing some challenges that are hindering its efficient operations and might jeopardize its competitive
position in the market if not effectively and promptly tackled.

You have been called as an external HR consultant to analyse the situation and recommend appropriate
course(s) of action based on objective justification and a comprehensive assessment of the situation.

Company Introduction
Alpha is a cement manufacturing company that is known to be a significant player in the Egyptian cement
market as it plays a significant role in the country's construction industry, supplying high-quality cement
to meet the nation's growing infrastructure needs. Although the company is newly emerging in the
cement and construction material industry, producing the best quality of cement products through its
new and first greenfield cement plant located in Aswan governorate, it proved to have a strong presence
in the domestic market, catering to the demand for cement in Egypt. The company's products are widely
used in construction projects, including residential, commercial, and infrastructure developments.

Alpha's Vision is inspired by the enduring quality of its product. Cement, serving as a binder and adhesive
for construction, offers long-lasting solutions. Alpha’s mission is to leverage continuous investment in
state-of-the-art technology to establish the most environmentally friendly manufacturing processes,
emphasizing the reduction of emissions and waste. The company's proactive measures include the
creative recycling of waste by-products and the adoption of alternative energy sources to decrease
dependence on conventional fuels. Alpha aspires to be recognized as a leading eco-conscious provider of
building materials in the North African region, renowned for its commitment to environmental protection,
innovation in technology, and contribution to community prosperity.

Alpha operates multiple cement production facilities across Egypt and has over 1,000 Employees. Alpha
Cement plant aims to produce 7,000 tons of clinker on a daily basis equivalent to 2 million tons per year
of gray cement. The main departments that are reporting to the CEO (Mr. Salah) are Project Management,
Planning Management, Treasury, Finance, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing, Corporate Services and the
Technical sector.

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 ‫‪Government Relations‬‬
‫‪Director‬‬
‫مدير العالقات الحكومية‬
‫‪Mr. Ramy Okasha‬‬

‫مدير أول الشئون االدارية‬

‫‪Mr. Ahmed Hassan‬‬

‫رئيس قسم الموارد البشرية ‪-‬‬

‫المصنع‬
‫‪Ms. Rasha Salah‬‬

‫رئيس قسم الموارد البشرية‬

‫‪Ms. Fatema Mohamed‬‬

‫مدير تكنولوجيا المعلومات‬

‫‪Mr. Omar Kamel‬‬

‫مدير الشئون االدارية ‪-‬‬

‫المصنع‬
‫‪Mr. Abdelmonem‬‬

‫مدير عام االمن‬

‫‪Mr. Omar Kandil‬‬

‫‪Page 2 of 5‬‬
Current Challenges
As the company expanded, some challenges emerged. For example, it became evident that its
organizational structure needs revisiting in order to further enhance efficiency, coordination, and
accountability within the organization, and that some changes were necessary.

Looking closer to each department, some departments like, the Finance, Sales and Marketing, Supply
Chain, HR, and IT departments, are facing some challenges regarding the complete and effective execution
of their relevant tasks and accountabilities.

The Finance Department favors investment in current assets, thus increasing the financial liquidity at the
expense of sustainability. Furthermore, the company lacks a protocol of corrective actions to handle
fraudulent accounting practices and shareholders often engage in disputes and are taking it upon
themselves to take risk mitigation steps such as hiring their own private audits prior to investing in the
company. In addition, Alpha lacks a system to monitor treasury procedures and foreign currency exposure.
Moreover, there are no guidelines for the preparation of a budget and price evaluation for new products.

The Sales and Marketing team, in conjunction with the Customer Service, are unable to fine tune the
timing of their initiatives according to the trends associated with each season. Furthermore, their efforts
are overly optimistic, and they run the risk of falling into the dynamic obstacles of the market. The current
process of launching new products is rushed, does not consider how the product holds up against
customer expectations, and does not incentivize customer loyalty. Additionally, the Customer Service
department possesses the autonomy to adopt a customer-centric approach, encouraging independent
problem-solving. While this autonomy facilitates quicker resolution of short-term problems, it also results
in solutions that do not consistently align with departmental objectives in the long term.

Members of the Supply Chain department experience a bottleneck in work-related tasks and their system
of reporting is redundant. This complexity hinders the department's ability to concentrate on its primary
objective, which is to add value to its products and focus on customer satisfaction in a competitive market.
Instead, team members find themselves preoccupied with managing the flow of materials, as well as
overseeing transportation and storage logistics.

Members of the HR department tend to solve problems as they arise and are not orienting their
organizational structure towards the policies, procedures and the daily challenges facing Alpha. This often
leads to a cycle of unsustainable recruitment followed by layoffs. Furthermore, employees are unable to
accurately evaluate their growth and the value they provide to the company. As a result, employees are
unmotivated and cannot picture their career progression at Alpha leading to a high turnover. Additionally,
many employees are asking for more clarity in terms of their salary structuring and compensation.
Furthermore, the employees resent their training sessions and view them as irrelevant to their aspirations
and potential areas of growth. Additionally, the lack of an overall structure makes it difficult to develop
metrics and analyze workforce data to provide key insights to aid with human capital programs.

As for the IT department, the IT Manager (Mr. Omar Kamel) is only operating within the scope of
Corporate Services and there is a lack of an IT department within the Plant Manager’s (Mr. Ramy)

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organizational structure. For example, (Mr. Mohab) is lacking the support of an IT specialist to maintain
and update the existing operating systems of Automation and Power. And there is no official role
designated with the accountability of the IT management process. This causes the Plant Manager’s
organizational structure to be misaligned with Alpha’s business objectives of continuous innovation and
investment in technology. Additionally, Alpha runs the risk of having an unpredictable downtime and
maintenance of the production cycle.

As for the senior financial manager, he is doing the role of two managers, the Financial Director and the
Planning Director. A similar concern arose with the Factory Manager's supervision of various specialized
departments within the technical sector. For example, (Mr. Othman) is in charge of overseeing the quality,
research, and innovation at Alpha’s plant. He manages a diverse team of specialists, including chemists
and engineers.

Moving forward, employees possessed great knowledge of the channels of communication with their
direct supervisors, which facilitated smooth operations. However, they noted a need to clarify the
reporting structure. There were incidents where employees received conflicting orders and directives
from different managers.

It shows that some areas of confusion and overlap exist between departments. There is confusion
between the roles of Supply Chain and Finance department with regards to reviewing some invoices. Also,
between Supply and Sales regarding its problems and registering the work of carriers on the SAP system.
Furthermore, Contract follow-up is sometimes a shared responsibility between procurement, government
relations, and projects.

The Sales department was divided based on geographical scope, enabling smooth information flow and
the seamless implementation of work systems and procedures. However, as time went on, it became
apparent that there was room for improvement in communication and collaboration between the
departments within the Technical department and the Support department. It was acknowledged that
enhancing communication and collaboration between these areas would further enhance coordination
and integration within the organization. By fostering better communication and collaboration, the
organization could strengthen its overall effectiveness and efficiency.

As the organisation took a step back to consider the bigger picture, they realized that the current
organizational chart did not fully represent all the necessary functions of the company. Functions such as
Quality Assurance, Materials Planning, and Internal Audit were not adequately accounted for.
Additionally, incomplete or unapproved regulations and policies may fail to address legal requirements
and compliance obligations. This can expose the organization to legal and regulatory risks, including
potential violations, penalties, lawsuits, and reputational damage.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the management team of Alpha Cement recognized the need for improvements in their
organizational structure to enhance efficiency, coordination, and accountability within the organization.
Through their analysis, they identified areas of confusion, overlap, and lack of clarity in the reporting
structure. They also realized the importance of defining the essential functions for each position,
improving communication and collaboration between departments, and addressing delays in
appointment processes.

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Next Actions
As an external HR consultant hired by the HR director to pinpoint problems and recommend HR
interventions, please consider the following while doing your analysis.

 Identify the problem(s)

 Find HR solutions
 Evaluate the solutions
 Recommend the best solution
 Construct an action plan for the recommended solution

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