Irwin Archer

02737073

2012

NAME: SOCA WARRIOR

FACULTY OF

ENGINEERING

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST

INDIES

REPORT TITLE:

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS THAT

CAUSE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

INITIATIVES TO FAIL

A Project Report

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements to the Degree of Master of Science

In Project Management

of

The University of the West Indies

PRMG6014

Project Management Research

Project

i

ABSTRACT

A high failure rate plagues organizational transformation initiatives. This project

report examines the implementation of such an initiative amidst turbulent

environmental conditions with the aim of identifying competencies that contribute

to their success and factors that cause their failure. The organization under study

is an electricity transmission and distribution utility that serves the nation of

Trinidad and Tobago. Strategic leadership, Project Management, Programme

Management and Portfolio Management were identified as the key competencies

required for successful organizational transformations.

Twelve objective performance measurements were compared to the varying levels

of strategic leadership that existed within the organization from 2008-2012. In

addition, the perspectives of the initiative’s key stakeholders were sought in order

to evaluate its overall success. The Project, Programme and Portfolio

Management Maturity levels were also measured to add context to the

understanding of results observed. Models designed to build these competencies

were discussed and target levels of competency maturity for the organization were

recommended based on its unique needs.

It was found that strategic leadership is related to organizational performance, but

is inhibited by the presence of strong external political influences and low project,

programme and portfolio management maturity levels. This research adds to the

field of study by proposing an ideal environment and model for the execution of

ii

organizational transformations. The recommendations of this report promise a

boost in the efficiency and success rate of these initiatives.

Keywords:

Irwin Archer; organizational transformation; project management; programme

management; portfolio management; T&TEC; strategic planning; strategic

leadership

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All praises and thanks be to Allah.

I would like to acknowledge Mr. Clyde Pilgrim, Programme Coordinator at the

Ministry of Housing and the Environment, for his help in reviewing this

manuscript at key milestones during its creation. I also acknowledge Dr. Manfred

Jantzen who sparked my interest in organizational transformation early on in my

postgraduate studies. Last but not least, I acknowledge my research supervisor,

Professor Winston H. E. Suite, for providing timely guidance that greatly

improved the quality of this project report.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................... vii

TABLE OF FIGURES ..................................................................................... viii

LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................x

PREFACE.......................................................................................................... xi

CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................1

1.0 INTRODUCTION: ................................................................................1

1.1 BACKGROUND ...................................................................................5

1.2 SUMMARY ........................................................................................ 15

CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................... 17

2.0 PROBLEM DEFINITION ................................................................... 17

2.1 HYPOTHESES: ................................................................................... 18

2.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................. 18

2.3 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 20

2.3.1 Overview ...................................................................................... 20

2.3.2 Population, sampling and instrumentation ..................................... 21

v

2.3.3 Analysis plan ................................................................................ 24

2.3.4 Assumptions ................................................................................. 27

2.3.5 Limitations ................................................................................... 28

2.4 DELIVERABLES ................................................................................ 29

2.5 SUMMARY ........................................................................................ 30

CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................... 31

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 31

3.0.1 Strategic Planning ......................................................................... 31

3.0.2 Organizational Transformation ..................................................... 42

3.1 SUMMARY ........................................................................................ 51

CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................... 53

4.0 PRESENTATION OF DATA .............................................................. 53

4.0.1 Objective 3 ................................................................................... 53

4.0.2 Objective 4 ................................................................................... 60

4.0.3 Objective 5 ................................................................................... 67

4.0.4 Objective 6 ................................................................................... 72

4.0.5 Strategic Leadership...................................................................... 76

4.0.6 P3M3 Assessment ......................................................................... 81

4.1 SUMMARY ........................................................................................ 85

CHAPTER 5 ...................................................................................................... 86

vi

5.0 DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 86

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................... 93

5.1.1 Short term ..................................................................................... 93

5.1.2 Medium Term ............................................................................... 97

5.1.3 Long Term .................................................................................... 99

5.2 CONCLUSION.................................................................................. 100

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 103

APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF ELECTRICITY RATES ............................... 116

APPENDIX B- VISION AND MISSION OF T&TEC ..................................... 118

APPENDIX C: CUSTOMER SURVEY........................................................... 120

APPENDIX D: JOB SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE............................. 122

APPENDIX E: LIST OF PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES ............................... 126

APPENDIX F: TABLES FOR GRAPHS ......................................................... 131

APPENDIX G: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ................................... 135

APPENDIX H: CORRELATION TABLE ....................................................... 140

APPENDIX I: TREND OF FINANCIAL RATIOS .......................................... 142

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AGM: Assistant General Manager

AMI: Advanced Metering Infrastructure

CEO: Chief Executive Officer

CMMI: Capability Maturity Model Integration

GES: Guaranteed Electricity Standards

GORTT: Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

HSE: Health, Safety and the Environment

ISO: International Standards Organization

OES: Overall Electricity Standards

OPM3: Organizational Project Management Model

OWTU: Oilfield Workers Trade Union

P3M3: Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model

PNM: People’s National Movement

PMO: Project Management Office

QSS: Quality of Service Standards

RIC: Regulated Industries Commission

SOE: State Owned Enterprise

SPOTS: Strategic Plans on Top Shelves – gathering dust

T&TEC: Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission

The Commission: The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission

viii

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1-1: Graph showing number of T&TEC Customers 1947-2006 .................6

Figure 1-2: Chart Showing Electricity Generating Capacity of Power

Producers in Megawatts .......................................................................................8

Figure 1-3: Graph showing number of T&TEC employees from 1949-2006 .........9

Figure 1-4: Map of Distribution Areas, Offices and Service Centres of

T&TEC .............................................................................................................. 11

Figure 1-5: T&TEC Top Level Organizational Chart ......................................... 13

Figure 3-1: Ansoff Matrix .................................................................................. 36

Figure 3-2: Diagrammatic Meta-Theory of Strategically Planned

Organizational Transformations. ........................................................................ 51

Figure 4-1: Chart showing geographic location of respondents to the

customer satisfaction survey ............................................................................... 53

Figure 4-2: Chart showing average of responses to customer satisfaction

survey ................................................................................................................ 55

Figure 4-3: Chart showing Average Score in each area ....................................... 55

Figure 4-4: Graph showing written complaints per 10,000 customers from the

periods ending Jun 2008 to Sep 2011 ................................................................. 56

Figure 4-5: Graph showing customers per employee from the periods ending

Jun 2008 to Sep 2011 ......................................................................................... 57

Figure 4-6: Graph showing current and quick ratios. .......................................... 62

Figure 4-7: Graph showing Fixed and Total Asset Turnover............................... 63

Figure 4-8: Graph showing T&TEC’s annual profitability ratios ........................ 65

ix

Figure 4-9: Graph showing Times Interest Earned Ratio .................................... 66

Figure 4-10: Chart showing gender of job satisfaction questionnaire

respondents ........................................................................................................ 67

Figure 4-11: Chart showing geographic area of job satisfaction questionnaire

respondents ........................................................................................................ 67

Figure 4-12: Chart showing tenure of job satisfaction questionnaire

respondents ........................................................................................................ 68

Figure 4-13: Chart showing average scores for objective 5 and its elements ....... 69

Figure 4-14: Graph showing recordable and reported incidents from Jan

2008- Dec 2011 .................................................................................................. 70

Figure 4-15: Graph showing the severity of safety incidents from Q1 2008 to

Q4 2012 ............................................................................................................. 71

Figure 4-16: Chart showing scores for objective 6 and its elements .................... 73

Figure 4-17: Graph showing Leadership Score of 4 General Managers of

T&TEC (question 20) ........................................................................................ 77

Figure 4-18: Graph showing scores for Strategic Leadership and its

components ........................................................................................................ 79

Figure 4-19: Graph showing leadership score from Jan 2008 – Dec 2011 ........... 80

Figure 4-20: Project Management Maturity ........................................................ 83

Figure 4-21: Programme Management Maturity ................................................. 84

Figure 4-22: Portfolio Management Maturity ..................................................... 85

Figure 5-1: Chart showing target competency maturity levels ............................ 97

Figure I-1: Graphs showing declining financial trend ....................................... 144

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1-1: Employee Analysis as at 2011-09-31 ................................................. 10

Table 2-1 Distribution of customers and employees of T&TEC .......................... 22

Table 4-1: Rating scale for questionnaire responses ............................................ 54

Table 4-2: Calculation of Frequency Rate and Incident Rate .............................. 70

Table 4-3: Profile on General Managers ............................................................. 76

Table 4-4: Turnover of General Managers .......................................................... 76

Table 4-5: Calculation of the weighted average leadership score ........................ 78

Table A-1: Summary of electricity rates ........................................................... 117

Table F-1: Table showing data used to calculate 7 financial ratios. ................... 132

Table F-2: Data used to calculate customers per employee ratio and written

complaints per 10,000 customers...................................................................... 133

Table F-3: Data used to calculate reported, recordable and severity safety

indexes ............................................................................................................. 134

Table H-1: Correlation of performance data with strategic leadership ............... 141

xi

PREFACE

The writer joined T&TEC as an administrative employee in April of 2008. As

such, it was possible to observe the implementation of the organization’s 2008-

2012 strategic plan. As a Management Professional, the writer appreciated the

quality of this strategic plan and looked forward to seeing its objectives achieved.

A proper implementation of this plan would bring about a total transformation of

T&TEC as technology, strategy, culture and the very structure of the organization

adapted to deliver higher performance in its changing external environment.

However, what transpired in the subsequent 4 years was far from what was

expected. Even though projects designed to realize T&TEC’s strategic objectives

were well financed, they seemed to have failed to bring about the improvements

they promised. The performance of T&TEC seemed to have dropped rather than

risen, and the organizational culture became even more dysfunctional.

Midway through the implementation of this plan, the writer began a M.Sc. Degree

in Project Management at the University of the West Indies. While progressing

through the course material, the writer quickly learned Project, Programme and

Portfolio Management best practices. It then became evident that a lack of these

competencies within T&TEC was affecting the organization’s ability to properly

implement the 2008-2012 strategic plan. It also became evident that strategic

planning and project management are extremely similar disciplines. The topic of

this project report therefore became an easy choice.

xii

The writer is pleased to present this unique analysis of organizational

transformation initiatives. It builds upon a common premise among authors, that

project management is a critical competency required for the successful

implementation of such initiatives. In this report, the writer describes the best

practices of Strategic Planning, Strategic Leadership, Project Management,

Programme Management and Portfolio Management; and how they must interact

to bring about the successful transformation of an organization.

Many organizations start transformation initiatives based on elaborate, well

intentioned strategic plans; but do nothing to address their shortcomings in

project, programme and portfolio management. In this research, the writer

explores models that are designed to measure and build these competencies, as

well as models that measure true organizational performance. Strategic leadership

is the thread that binds all of these critical competencies together in a meaningful

way. This competency will also be measured and compared to the true

performance of T&TEC during the strategic planning term.

Through this research, the writer will show that the competencies of the CEO and

the experienced project manager are almost indistinguishable, and how a project

management approach to strategic leadership can increase the success rate of

transformation initiatives.

Very rarely do opportunities arise that enable the analysis of the effects of

strategic leadership. However, such analysis was made possible in this research

project by the high turnover of General Managers at T&TEC. A comprehensive

methodology designed to reach a wide audience of management and technical

xiii

professionals captures the factors that cause organizational transformation

initiatives to fall short of success. Ultimately, this research project synthesizes

empirical evidence and current best practices into a dynamic meta-theory of

strategic planning and implementation that promises to boost the success rate of

transformation initiatives.

Other organizational transformation studies encountered have looked at the topic

from cultural and behavioral angles (Banish & Nawaz, 2003), (Wagner, 2006).

The writer believes that the connected nature of Strategic Leadership and Project

Management is underemphasized in existing organizational transformation

research and thus saw it fit to pioneer this much needed research project. It is

hoped that it sparks continued interest in these critical competencies and increased

acknowledgement of the suitability of the project manager for the leadership roles

within organizations.

1

1 CHAPTER 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION:

Trinidad and Tobago is a relatively young nation, having attained independence

from England in 1962. This independence meant that many public sector

organizations were thrust into the hands of local executives for the first time.

These locals were inexperienced in the art of strategic leadership and therefore

relied on inherited organizational systems and structures to keep their

establishments running. The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission

(T&TEC) is one such organization (Mitchel, 2007).

T&TEC continues to function as Trinidad & Tobago’s sole electricity

transmission and distribution utility. However, as major advancements have

occurred in T&TEC's external environment in the 21st century, the 'old'

leadership paradigm has become obsolete. There is now a recognized need for

strategic leadership as the organization must transform to survive.

Currently, T&TEC is experiencing a leadership crisis that is evidenced by a high

turnover of General Managers (Welch, 2011), (Javeed, T&TEC boss sent packing,

2011), (Kissoon, 2011). This top executive post officially changed hands 5 times

since 2008. In addition, two Chairmen of T&TEC have resigned since 2008

amidst allegations of corruption (Javeed, T&TEC BOSS QUITS, 2012),

(Hassanali & Gumbs-Sandiford, 2012), (Cornelly, 2008), and the media generally

depicts T&TEC as an organization in which corruption abounds (Lord, 2008),

(Alexander, 2009), (Julien, 2010). The industrial relations climate of T&TEC can

2

only be described as anarchic, characterized by prolonged negotiations, frequent

protests, and general antagonism between operational employees and

management. Some effects of this crisis include under motivated employees and

customers that seem dissatisfied with the quality of service they receive from

T&TEC.

As the end of the 2008-2012 Strategic Planning term approaches, it seems

appropriate to revisit this plan and evaluate its implementation. This strategic plan

was an attempt to transform T&TEC into a high performance organization.

Organizational transformation initiatives such as this bear many similarities to a

project in that they are transient endeavours with specified objectives, and budgets

and schedules within which these objectives must be achieved. However, the

magnitude and complexity of the scope of such initiatives place them in a

category above that of projects as they often comprise of several projects and

programmes. It is still believed that Project and Programme Management

knowledge can be applied in evaluating the implementation of organizational

transformation initiatives.

This research project aims to do just that, and will evaluate the implementation of

the 2008-2012 strategic plan of T&TEC by determining the progress made

towards achieving its objectives. The following six strategic objectives were set

for T&TEC in its 2008-2012 strategic plan:

3

Engineering related

1. “To ensure that the necessary generation capacity is planned and

developed to match the load demand with the desired reliability at all

times.

2. To ensure that the transmission and distribution infrastructure is

developed, operated and maintained to provide a safe, reliable electricity

supply to all customers.”

Management Related

3. “To achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction through excellence

in customer service.

4. To ensure that T&TEC attains financial viability through the application

of economic tariffs, cost consciousness, and the promotion of a culture of

revenue enhancement and protection.

5. To ensure that health, safety, security, environmental, quality and business

continuity management systems are developed and integrated in all of

T&TEC’s business operations.

6. To ensure the development of a caring and service oriented organizational

culture, that promotes trust, respect, open communication, empowerment

of employees, teamwork and a recognition and reward system for

employees’ performance.”

(T&TEC, 2008)

4

The first two strategic objectives rely upon the Commission’s technical

competency in Electrical Engineering; they are classified as engineering

objectives. The remaining four strategic objectives require high levels of

managerial and leadership competencies; they are classified as management

objectives. For the purposes of succinctness, clarity and remaining within the

scope of knowledge of the writer, only the management objectives of T&TEC

will be evaluated. The writer believes that these objectives represent the true

purpose of the strategic plan and that the engineering objectives are pursued in

order to achieve these management objectives. The achievement of these

management objectives would therefore indicate that the strategic plan was

successfully implemented.

Through this research, the writer hopes to demonstrate the applicability of project

and programme management to strategic leadership and organizational

transformation initiatives. It is hoped that this research can justify the ascent of

the project manager beyond middle management and towards the leadership

position within organizations.

5

1.1 BACKGROUND

The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission was formed by the Trinidad

and Tobago Electricity Ordinance No. 42 of 1945. Its mandate was to carry out a

nationwide electrification initiative of the then colonial government. Making use

of Trinidad and Tobago’s abundant supply of hydrocarbons, T&TEC was able to

keep abreast with the rapidly increasing demand for electricity on the islands and

has played a key role in national development.

When the nation gained independence in 1962, patriotism and nationalism

sentiments grew within T&TEC and plans were made to place locals in top

administrative positions within the organization. These plans did not sit well with

the administrators of the former colonial regime, who fled the Commission en

masse in 1964, leaving the inexperienced locals to fend for the organization and

themselves. This exodus, which was amidst the construction of the Port of Spain

B Power Station, caused the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Eric

Williams, to intervene. He procured experts from Canada and Israel to train the

local engineers and administrators. T&TEC’s has since continued its

electrification of the nation, serving its growing customer base with increased

reliability (see Figure 1-1).

6

Figure 1-1: Graph showing number of T&TEC Customers 1947-2006

Source: (Mitchel, 2007)

The level of household electrification is currently over 97%. This attests to the

extensiveness of the transmission and distribution networks and can be attributed

to the high level of technical competency of the Commission’s workforce. There

are four general classes of customers: Residential, Commercial, Industrial and

Street Lighting. The industrial customers in particular, enjoy rates that are among

the lowest in the region (see APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF ELECTRICITY

RATES). This is made possible by the low natural gas prices enjoyed by T&TEC

and plays an important role in attracting foreign investors to Trinidad and Tobago.

T&TEC purchases natural gas from the National Gas Company of Trinidad and

Tobago for use by independent power producers then purchases generated

electricity from them through long term power purchase agreements. The

Commission therefore pays an energy conversion cost to these power producers.

.

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

1947

1950

1953

1956

1959

1962

1965

1968

1971

1974

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

2004

Customers

Customers

7

Since the late 1980’s there has been a GORTT drive to privatize or close low

performing State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). 49% of the telecommunications

company- TELCO, was divested in 1987 and Trinidad Cement was divested

through a public offering in 1988. From the 90’s onwards, the Fertilizer company-

Fertrin, the Iron and Steel company- ISPATT, the postal service and the national

airline were among the many organizations privatized, and sugar manufacturing

was closed after a failed attempt to transform the struggling SOE: Caroni (1975

Ltd) (Bernal & Leslie, 1999), (Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2011). The

electrical power generation sector was also largely divested in this drive leaving

T&TEC to focus mainly on electricity transmission and distribution. Today,

T&TEC’s electricity grid is powered by Trinidad Generation Unlimited and

Trinity Power, which are independent power producers; POWERGEN, which is a

subsidiary that is 51% owned by T&TEC; and the Cove Power Station, which is

fully owned by T&TEC (see Figure 1-2).

The Trinidad Generation Unlimited Union Estate Power Station was originally

constructed to supply electricity to an aluminum smelter planned for south

Trinidad. 240 MW was intended to supply the smelter, with the extra 480 MW

going to the national electricity grid (Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs,

2009). However, this smelter project was shelved when the government changed

in 2010, resulting in a surplus of electricity generation capacity in Trinidad and

Tobago. The optimization of electricity generation through switching to combined

cycle generation and the shutting down of lesser efficient power plants is the new

strategy amidst the current surplus (Doughty, 2012).

8

Figure 1-2: Chart Showing Electricity Generating Capacity of Power Producers in Megawatts

Source: (Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, 2009)

T&TEC recruits employees to entry level professional, technical, administrative

and field positions. Higher level positions are filled primarily by the promotion of

existing employees. Staff retention at T&TEC is high due to the relatively high

salaries and wages offered to employees. The operational employees of T&TEC

are heavily unionized and are represented by the Oilfield Workers Trade Union.

Wage negotiations become due every three years and typically result in salary and

wage increases. These negotiations are often delayed and are thus typically

accompanied by industrial action. This industrial action is done clandestinely

however, because T&TEC is classed as an “essential industry” in the Industrial

Relations Act #23 of 1972 of Trinidad and Tobago. Section 67 of this Act

POWERGEN, 1344

TRINITY POWER, 225

TRINIDAD GENERATION

UNLIMITED, 720

Cove Power Station, 64

9

stipulates a fine and jail sentence for T&TEC employees that partake in industrial

action.

The workforce of T&TEC has grown considerably over the years in response to

its steadily increasing customer base (see Figure 1-3). The optimization of human

resources through the use of technology continues to be a strategy of T&TEC.

Figure 1-3: Graph showing number of T&TEC employees from 1949-2006

Note: at the end of 1994, the generation assets of the organization were divested.

Source: (Mitchel, 2007)

The Senior Staff Association is the union that negotiates on behalf of the

Commission’s Senior Staff. However, details about the compensation paid to this

class of employees are not publicized within the organization. A presentation of

the size and composition of the Commission’s workforce as at 2011-09-31 can be

seen in Table 1-1.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

1949

1953

1957

1961

1965

1969

1973

1977

1981

1985

1989

1993

1997

2001

2005

no. of employees

no. of employees

10

CLASSIFICATION TEMPORARY PERMANENT TOTAL

Executive and Managerial Staff - 166 166

Administrative Staff 112 732 844

Technical/ Professional Staff 9 454 463

Security Staff - 37 37

Hourly Rated 101 1,076 1,177

TOTAL 222 2,465 2,687

Table 1-1: Employee Analysis as at 2011-09-31

Source: (T&TEC, 2011)

The above table represents an official staff analysis done at T&TEC. At the time

of writing of this report, more recent official data were unavailable.

There is a high level of danger inherent in many of the job tasks at T&TEC. As

such, safety is treated as a high priority. Health, Safety and Environmental

management are all integrated into a single department under the Human

Resources Division of the Commission. This department ensures compliance to

the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2004 of Trinidad and Tobago by

communicating the Commission’s safety policy to employees and monitoring,

investigating and recording accidents. The department also conducts training,

inspections and events aimed at boosting safety consciousness. The organization

is monitored by the Environmental Management Authority to ensure that it

complies with the Environmental Management Act of 2000. Internal

environmental policing therefore seeks to detect and deter breaches of this Act

before heavy penalties are faced by the Commission. Transformer oil spills,

which result in the pollution of ground water and harming of humans and wildlife,

continue to be among the top environmental concerns of T&TEC.

11

T&TEC is divided geographically into Five Distribution areas (see Figure 1-4). Its

main functions include the operation, development and maintenance of its

transmission and distribution networks, and the retail of electricity to the

populations of Trinidad and Tobago. The customer service centers are the primary

interaction points between T&TEC and its customers. Customers visit these

centers to pay bills, make queries, transfer accounts, request new electricity

supplies or make changes to their existing supplies. The business hours of these

Customer Service Centres are from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM Mondays to Fridays.

Customer payments are also facilitated via online banking.

Figure 1-4: Map of Distribution Areas, Offices and Service Centres of T&TEC

Source: (T&TEC)

12

T&TEC is overseen by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Government

of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This board is led by its Chairman in

appointing a General Manager to run the day to day affairs of the organization.

The relationship between the Commissioners and the General Manager is similar

to that of a Board of Directors and a CEO of a traditional corporation. The

organization is separated into six functional areas (see Figure 1-5), each overseen

by an Assistant General Manager (AGM).

13

Figure 1-5: T&TEC Top Level Organizational Chart

(T&TEC, 2011)

14

In 2004, T&TEC began a transformation drive in response to the GORTT’s

Vision 2020 initiative. This initiative was aimed at taking Trinidad and Tobago to

developed country status by the year 2020. To support this initiative T&TEC was

required to develop its customer service, financial viability, technological

capability, human resource potential and electricity infrastructure. Various

shortcomings in each of these areas could not be allowed to continue if the nation

of Trinidad and Tobago was to be on its way towards developed country status

(T&TEC, 2004).

The 2008-2012 strategic plan continued with the theme of organizational

transformation, but with a new mission and vision. Customer Service and

Environmental Awareness rose to higher prominence in the 2008-2012 plan, each

being specially mentioned in the vision and mission statements respectively (See

APPENDIX B- VISION AND MISSION OF T&TEC). In addition, projects

aimed at obtaining ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications were included in the plan.

These international standards are aimed at developing and institutionalizing

quality management and environmental management respectively.

A major error in this new strategic plan however, was a projection of political

stability for the strategic planning term. What ensued can only be described as a

political upheaval. The PNM Government, under the directive of the then Prime

Minister Patrick Manning, called a general election 2 years early and lost. The

result was an unanticipated change in the governance of the Republic of Trinidad

and Tobago, and soon after, a change in the Board of Commissioners of T&TEC.

There was also a high turnover of General Managers of T&TEC and a resultant

15

leadership crisis within the organization. The General Manager post officially

changed hands 5 times since 2008. Never before in the history of the Commission

had the turnover rate for this post been so high.

In addition, the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC), which is an oversight

body set up by the GORTT to monitor and enforce Quality of Service Standards

(QSS) for the nation’s major utilities, had reached a major milestone at the end of

2009. Its revised QSS for T&TEC had become law. These new laws meant that

T&TEC had to automatically disburse increased compensatory payments for

breaches in more demanding Guaranteed Electricity Standards (GES), which are a

subset of the QSS (Ministry of Legal Affairs, 2009). Compliance to these new

laws was challenging, but meant that T&TEC had to treat customer service

equally as important as financial performance in order to survive.

2008-20012 strategic plan therefore faced turbulent environmental conditions. A

successful implementation of this plan demanded competent leadership, a clear

and effective implementation strategy and a workforce committed towards

achieving the vision.

1.2 SUMMARY

Trinidad and Tobago’s sole electricity transmission and distribution utility,

T&TEC, faces an uncertain future amidst a chaotically changing external

environment. Organizational transformation was deemed necessary in 2004 and

continues into the 2008-2012 strategic planning term. Political and internal

leadership upheavals during the current strategic planning term have placed the

transformation effort at even greater odds with success. The four ‘managerial

16

objectives’ of the Commission have been deemed to be capable indicating the

success of the organizational transformation initiative.

Deeper analysis of T&TEC’s internal and external environments and its history

allude to a possible divestment of the organization if its performance does not

reflect a successful transformation. The organization is closely monitored by

stakeholders such as the media, OWTU, RIC and the EMA. The GORTT also

provides oversight and control of the organization through the Minister of Public

Utilities. The organization enjoys a surplus of generation capacity and over 97%

household electrification coverage which attest to its high technical competency.

The managerial competencies within the organization, which can have a

significant impact on stakeholder satisfaction, have come under question in this

research. These issues will be elaborated upon in chapter 2.

17

2 CHAPTER 2

2.0 PROBLEM DEFINITION

During the implementation of the 2008-2012 strategic plan, the efficacy of

projects was an issue. Even though some projects were well financed, they either

remain incomplete or failed to satisfy their stakeholders. Another issue was that

problems were cited and acknowledged in the strategic plan, but no initiatives or

projects were put in place to fix them. In addition, a low level of project

management competency seemed to persist throughout the analytical period.

There was a strong political influence on the day to day operation T&TEC via the

Board of Commissioners. General Managers were not given full autonomy.

Politics therefore trickled down into the operational activities of T&TEC. General

Managers who opposed or questioned political directions were fired.

The General Managers of T&TEC seemed to be exclusively skilled and qualified

in electrical engineering, despite the fact that 4 out of the 6 strategic objectives of

the Commission were management oriented. This is evidenced by the fact that the

position requires a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, but no formal management

qualifications. Strategic leadership, a key competency required for effective

organizational leadership was not institutionalized within T&TEC.

18

2.1 HYPOTHESES:

1. T&TEC has failed to achieve the management objectives outlined in its

2008-2012 Strategic Plan.

2. The reasons for this failure are a lack of strategic leadership and low levels

of project, programme and portfolio management maturity within the

organization.

2.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

As stated in the literature, environmental scanning is required to gain a holistic

understanding of an organization’s context before developing strategy. As such, it

is an aim of this research to explore the major external and intra-organizational

forces that acted upon T&TEC prior to and during its transformation attempt.

The literature mentions the importance of strategic leadership to transformation

initiatives. This research therefore also seeks to obtain the opinions of the

employees with regards to quality of leadership they have had, and the effects of

the leadership on their behavior during the transformation initiative.

T&TEC’s project management competency was admittedly low in 2008. From the

literature, the writer deduced and conjectured that it was the absence of this

critical competency that hindered the proper execution of the transformation

initiative. As such, it is an objective of this research to measure the portfolio,

programme and project management competencies of T&TEC. A relationship

between these competencies and the success of the transformation initiative

should depict a level of causality and will be the basis of solution formulation.

19

Ultimately, this research aims to measure the success of T&TEC’s transformation

initiative. Understanding why these initiatives fail is the core purpose of this

research. An important objective is therefore to analyze the performance of

T&TEC during its transformation attempt. Such measures may allow the

researcher to establish relationships between changing environmental forces,

leadership, project management competencies and performance.

Finally, this research is aimed toward proposing solutions to the problems that are

perceived to have inhibited the transformation effort. It is hoped that these

recommendations can be extrapolated to other organizations within Trinidad and

Tobago’s public sector which grapple with difficulties in executing

transformation initiatives.

20

2.3 METHODOLOGY

2.3.1 Overview

Organizational research findings are the solutions to many managerial problems

in today’s increasingly turbulent global environment (Rynes & McNatt, 2001).

This has motivated the writer to focus on problems faced during monumental

transformation efforts that are being undertaken within many organizations in

their fight for survival. Empirical evidence shows that research based

management practices result in higher organizational performance (Becker &

Gerhart, 1996). However, organizations are hesitant to turn to academic research

findings when designing management practices due to an overemphasis on theory

and complicated methodologies within the research literature (Worrall, Lubbe, &

Klopper, 2007). It was therefore the aim of the writer to bridge the gap between

research findings and management practice by utilizing an effective research

methodology.

There is no universally correct research paradigm. Research methods should be

contingent upon the topic being studied and the purpose and objectives of the

undertaking (Walter, 2010), (Kayrooz & Trevitt, 2005). In an effort to be

comprehensive, many researchers advocate multiplism in research methods and

perspectives (Greene, 2007), (Winship & Morgan, 1999). A convergence of the

findings of multiple research methods increases the validity of a study

(Pinsonneault & Kraemer, 1993). Such mixing of research methods widens the

acceptance of the research findings and produces a greater likelihood that results

21

and recommendations will be respected and implemented (Sachdeva, Williams, &

Quigley, 2007). It is therefore important to understand the strengths and

weaknesses of available research methods so that one may ascertain the suitability

of methods for one’s research.

2.3.2 Population, sampling and instrumentation

Utilizing the concept of multiplism, this research sought to obtain the perceptions

of two populations: employees and customers of T&TEC. This was because the

management objectives outlined in the 2008-2012 strategic plan focused heavily

on the perspectives of these two stakeholders. These perspectives were gathered

primarily by using questionnaires. Analysis was also done based on observations

and pertinent documentation available such as strategic plans, performance

reports and financial statements of T&TEC, and monthly reports of the RIC.

These documents proved to be a valuable source of objective secondary data.

Lastly, the research depended upon a P3M3 assessment completed by the writer.

At the last official enumeration at the end of September 2011, T&TEC had

approximately 2,687 employees, 166 of which were management and executive;

and 422,913 customers. The following table represents the customer and

employee distribution among the areas distribution areas of T&TEC:

22

Area No. of non-managerial

Employees

No. of Customers

North 544 89,128

East 688 112,691

South 781 127,909

Central 424 69,496

Tobago 145 23689

Total 2581 422,913

Table 2-1 Distribution of customers and employees of T&TEC Note: the distribution of employees was estimated based on the actual customer

distribution.

Customers were chosen by running a “LIST OF ACCOUNTS WITH SERVICE

ORDER ACTIVITY” query on T&TEC’s ‘Ventyx’ customer database. The

search included all distribution areas, but was limited to customers who placed

service orders at T&TEC from January to June 2012. The search produced a list

of 37,598 customers. Customers were then randomly selected from the list

generated. The selected customers were then called on the contact numbers on

record and invited to participate in the short phone survey. The customer

satisfaction survey targeted customers who had interacted with T&TEC

employees in 2012 and were able to recall and evaluate their experience (see

APPENDIX C: CUSTOMER SURVEY).

A total of 57 customers were contacted via phone and 41 responded to the survey.

The phone survey proved to be a slow method of collecting the required data. As

23

such, it was supplemented with an online customer satisfaction survey. The

questions of the phone survey were published on Google Forms, which is a

groupware tool designed to obtain real-time survey feedback via the internet. This

Google Forms survey was emailed to 97 people and published on popular local

websites such as TTOnline.com and Trinituner.com. The form was viewed 196

times on TTOnline.com and 655 times on Trinituner.com. A total of 1005

customers had therefore been exposed to the survey but only 186 of them

responded. The response rate for this survey was therefore 18.5%.

A snowball sample was gathered from employees by asking participants to

forward a job satisfaction questionnaire to coworkers they believed would

participate in the study. Field employees were given a printed questionnaire while

office employees were sent the questionnaire via email. These questionnaires

were designed to evaluate strategic objectives 5 and 6, and strategic leadership

(see APPENDIX D: JOB SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE). To discourage

respondent bias, the questions were not labeled under themes or topics, they were

simply listed. Due to a slow formal data gathering process within T&TEC, the

employee feedback form was also published via Google Forms and was emailed

to known employees of T&TEC.

The writer was employed by T&TEC at the beginning of the current strategic

planning period as an entry level clerk. As such, various observations within the

organization and in its external environment were possible and were included in

this research. These observations were used to add a qualitative context to the

24

quantitative data collected, thereby aiding in the interpretation and analysis of

data.

2.3.3 Analysis plan

Due to its higher appeal and level of acceptance (Sachdeva, Williams, & Quigley,

2007), the positivistic method was incorporated. The writer developed

hypotheses to explain phenomena observed within the organization during his

tenure, and then tested them within the environmental context of T&TEC.

The structure of the strategic plan of T&TEC was conducive to this type of

research as it clearly specified broad strategic objectives for the planning term and

listed projects intended to bring about the achievement of these objectives. The

list of projects associated with the organization’s strategic objectives (see

APPENDIX E: LIST OF PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES) provided a basis for

developing a questionnaire to be administered to these stakeholders. The

questions simply sought to ascertain if the projects’ objectives were perceived to

be successfully achieved. This approach was inspired by the Balanced Scorecard

approach to performance measurement.

The success of the transformation initiative therefore depended on the acumen of

strategic planners in choosing value adding projects and the successful

implementation of these projects. However, also stated in the strategic plan was

the fact that the Project Management competency within T&TEC was the lowest

and most underdeveloped of all its competencies, scoring a meager 4 / 10 in the

pre planning competency assessment. The aim of this research was therefore to

25

demonstrate that this low project management competency was directly

responsible for the apparent failure of the transformation initiative. To establish

this causal relationship and test this hypothesis, the quantitative research method

was employed. The transformation of T&TEC is still in progress, having been

started since the 2004 Strategic Plan in response to the GORTT Vision 2020

initiative. The writer was unable to control the factors that influenced the success

or failure of this transformation. The only way to test this hypothesis was

therefore to demonstrate that if the Project Management competency within

T&TEC continues to be low, the transformation effort could not succeed. The

writer accepted the pre planning competency assessment performed by T&TEC

and reassessed these competencies using contemporary tools and techniques. This

added a longitudinal dimension to the study. In essence, the research design

utilized a causal model to explain the relationship between the variables of the

P3M3 and organizational transformation success (Hellevik, 1984).

From the literature it was learnt that project portfolio management and

programme management are also crucial to organizational transformation and

strategic plan implementations. The projects chosen to implement the

organizational strategy reflect the organization’s portfolio management

competency. The organization’s ability to realize synergy from projects with

similar objectives reflects its programme management competency. It was

therefore necessary to utilize the P3M3 to fully assess the competencies of

T&TEC that were hypothesized to have had a direct relationship with the ability

of the transformation to succeed. The P3M3 was more appealing than other

26

maturity models because it is freely available to the public and there are no

royalties associated with its use. Also, the P3M3 consists of independent

assessments of portfolio, programme and project management maturity. The

independence of these assessments allowed the writer more precision in

pinpointing and establishing causal relationships between the variables in this

study.

From the literature, it was also learnt that the presence of strategic leadership is a

critical success factor in organizational transformation initiatives. Using the

criterion and identifiers of this type of leadership from the literature, questions

were included in the questionnaires administered to employees to evaluate the

General Managers that have led T&TEC from 2008 to 2012. Employees who had

at least 4 years of service were selected for the questionnaire because of this.

Financial ratio analysis was the method utilized to measure the financial

performance of T&TEC. The writer referred to the quarterly financial accounting

statements of T&TEC from June 2008 to September 2011 in performing the

financial ratio analysis. This objective secondary data is presented graphically in

Chapter 4 and as tables in APPENDIX F: TABLES FOR GRAPHS .

A constructivist approach was necessary due to the complexity of organizational

transformation initiatives. A wide variety of empirical data was utilized to gain a

comprehensive understanding of the limitations faced in the transformation

initiative. Customer satisfaction, employee motivation and teamwork, safety and

environment performance, and financial viability were assessed objectively to

serve as a basis for deductive reasoning (Kayrooz & Trevitt, 2005). Primary data

27

was largely cross sectional in nature, but was supplemented with available

historical secondary data to add a longitudinal dimension that aided in causal

analysis.

In summary, the methodology involved an analysis of the following variables:

1. Balanced scorecard performance

2. Strategic leadership

3. Portfolio Management Maturity

4. Programme Management Maturity

5. Project Management Maturity

The Balanced Scorecard approach to performance management involves

measuring the achievement of objectives set by an organization. For this reason,

this assessment was deemed to be capable of determining the success of the

organizational transformation initiative. It was thus the dependent variable in this

research. The primary data collected was cross sectional in nature. As such,

inferences pertaining to causality were possible but were based on counterfactual

interpretations inspired by theories of best practice in the literature (Winship &

Morgan, 1999). Such inferences were supported historical data to increase their

validity.

2.3.4 Assumptions

It was assumed that the institutionalization and maturity of Portfolio, Programme

and Project Management can survive political upheavals.

28

It was also assumed that since this study evaluated the management of T&TEC,

the opinions of operational and supervisory level employees were sufficient for

determining employee satisfaction and HSE performance.

2.3.5 Limitations

Ethical issues- the researcher was a silent observer during the study. As such,

ethical issues may arise out of the decision to publish aspects of the behavior and

culture of T&TEC employees without their permission or knowledge. To

overcome this issue, the identities of employees were kept anonymous throughout

this study.

Geographical constraints- The writer is an employee of the Central

Distribution area of T&TEC. As such, it was not possible to visit other

distribution areas to liaise with employees and observe their behaviour and culture

during working hours. To overcome this constraint, questionnaires were

communicated to and from these areas via electronic means. The writer’s direct

observations therefore pertained to employees of the Central Distribution area

only.

Time constraints- The writer had to expedite the data collection phase of the

research project due to strict time constraints imposed by the Faculty of

Engineering of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine. Also, this

research project was conducted on a part time basis. As such, time consuming

research tools such as interviews and unstructured qualitative methodologies were

avoided.

29

Access constraints- The secondary data available to the writer was constrained

to those listed in compliance to sections 7, 8 & 9 of the Freedom of Information

Act 1999(see APPENDIX G: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT). Official

records were, at best, only as recent as the third quarter of 2011. More recent data

was unofficial, unpublished and estimated where possible. In addition, T&TEC’s

corporate communications policy made it difficult for the writer to approach

employees directly to obtain questionnaire feedback. The writer was required to

submit the form through official channels in the Eastern, Northern and Tobago

Distribution areas and have the questionnaire distributed to employees by

Management representatives. Feedback was slow in these areas as a result as

employees were reluctant to respond, thinking it was a T&TEC questionnaire. In

the South and Central Distribution areas however, the writer was able to approach

employees directly and obtain completed questionnaires on the spot. Time and

access constraints were chiefly responsible for the high sampling errors of 9.92%

in the job satisfaction questionnaire and 7.18% on the customer satisfaction

survey (VanAmburg Group Inc., 2008).

2.4 DELIVERABLES

1. Financial Ratio Analysis

2. P3M3 Assessment

3. Strategic Leadership assessment

4. Customer satisfaction assessment

5. HSE Assessment

6. Employee satisfaction assessment

30

2.5 SUMMARY

Cross sectional and longitudinal measurements of performance and strategic

leadership were gathered from primary and secondary sources. They were then

interpreted within the context of key competency maturity levels within T&TEC

to test the two hypotheses of this research project. A comprehensive

environmental analysis added further context to the understanding of data

collected. The writer encountered and overcame various constraints during this

research effort and is confident about the soundness of the methodology chosen.

In the following chapter, a review of the literature on strategic planning and

organizational transformation is presented.

31

3 CHAPTER 3

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

3.0.1 Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is aimed at providing a purpose and direction for an

organization. It is the undertaking of leaders who are required to chart a course for

an organization and steer it towards the destination envisaged. Strategy is

therefore the answer to the question: “how should the organization get to its

desired destination?” (Strickland III, Gamble, & Thompson, Jr., 2007), (Henry A.

, 2008). It represents a departure from the traditional notion that leaders were

administrators of passive organizations, subject to the actions of the ‘invisible

hand’ of the free market economy. It is a manager’s way of taking control of and

responsibility for the future of the organization (Ghemawat, Collis, Pisano, &

Rivkin, 1999), (Johnston, Jr. & Bate, 2003).

The strategy of an organization guides its actions at all levels. The dissemination

and marketing of a good strategy to all of the organization’s strategic business

units, departments and employees is thus the key to ensuring organizational

success (Strickland III, Gamble, & Thompson, Jr., 2007). Strategic planning is

like project management in that a definition of the successful outcome of the

undertaking is necessary from the onset. As one author puts it, leaders must ‘start

with the end in mind’ (Hobbs, 2008). This destination point or ultimate goal of

32

strategic planning is contained in an organization’s strategic vision statement. An

organization’s strategy is therefore a means toward an end: realizing the vision.

An organization’s journey towards its vision is not a perpetual endeavor as

organizations do expect to realize this vision someday. This brings into

consideration the mutability of the strategic vision. Most authors agree that the

vision statement can change in response to major developments in an

organization’s internal and external environments or upon its successful

fulfillment (Beach, 2006). One author however, wrote that the vision statement is

associated with the founder of the organization and does not change over time

(Henry A. , 2008). What is common among these views is that the organization’s

vision is a description of a future state that the organization aspires to become in

the long term. A 1992 journal article showed that there was little research being

done into management science tools that aid in planning the direction of

organizations (Ckarke, 1992). Interestingly the journal did not mention the

importance of the strategic vision.

Before this vision is known, a methodology for formulating it must be chosen. All

organizations seek success, but their focus and the factors they use to define and

measure success differ. Organizational success factors may be defined with an

internal or external focus. The external focus, i.e. a focus on the organization’s

stakeholders’ perceptions of success, is most desirable. One author describes such

success factors as ‘strategic factors’. They are the organizational factors which

customers, suppliers, owners and employees see and evaluate. Identifying key

stakeholders and the factors they use to define organizational success are thus

33

among the first steps in proper strategic planning (Kenny, 2005). The practice of

focusing solely on improving existing internal processes and procedures results in

a poor strategy. An external focus that is either too broad or too narrow can lead

to an equally poor organizational strategy. Organizations should not focus on

employees at the expense of owners (shareholders), or customers at the expense

of employees etc. A balanced and responsible approach to strategic planning

ensures that an organization’s key stakeholders all remain content with the

organization’s progress (Maak & Pless, 2006).

Once the right focus is achieved, the organization must set performance objectives

with respect to its key stakeholders. These ‘strategic objectives’ are all formulated

with the purpose of transporting the organization towards its vision. To ensure a

successful implementation, strategic objectives should be: S.M.A.R.T. (Sanghera,

2009) -adapted from (Doran, 1981):

Specific,

Measurable,

Attainable,

Relevant,

Timely

The above acronym has been cleverly expanded to S.M.A.R.T.E.R, by adding

Evaluated and Revised to the list of previously mentioned qualities (McCarthy,

2008). These additions emphasize the fact that objectives are not static and must

adapt if necessary to changes in the environments they were originally set in.

34

External (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental)

scanning and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis

are common undertakings of strategic leaders. These efforts are necessary for the

organization to objectively appraise its resources and capabilities and apply them

in an evolving environmental context (Hickman, 2010). As this environmental

evolution continues at a rapid pace, it is an organization’s ability to anticipate and

respond to change that is the formula for success (Pantaleo & Pal, 2008). For this

reason some authors add a monitoring and controlling phase to the strategy

formulation and execution process. In this process, a vision is set, objectives that

would transport the organization toward its vision are formulated and a strategy to

achieve these objectives is crafted and implemented. The monitoring and

controlling phase simply makes adjustments and adaptations to the

aforementioned phases based on developments in a firm’s internal and external

environments (Strickland III, Gamble, & Thompson, Jr., 2007). Such an approach

leads to a strategy that exploits an organization’s key strengths and resources and

develops them to better cope with emergent issues and changes in a firm’s

environments (Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 2008), (Steiss, 2003).

This view supports a study published in 2003 in the Strategic Management

Journal. The study found that environmental unpredictability is significantly

related with strategic decision speeds, which is in turn related with improved

organizational growth (Baum & Wally, 2003). Organizations should therefore

select leaders who possess the requisite amounts of entrepreneurship and

dynamism to manage within the particular environments they face. This

35

‘corporate entrepreneurship’ can lead to radical innovation that delivers a high

payoff to the firm, but due to its riskiness, it should be accompanied by polices

that afford participants a safety net (Burgelman, 1983).

In contrast, a corporate culture characterized by high amounts of coercive politics

decreases rational decision making, lowers employee morale, diverts resources

away from organizational goals, impedes strategy formulation and

implementation, and ultimately has negative effects on organizational

performance (Voyer, 1994). The support of the board should therefore be secured

by the C.E.O. before embarking on major change initiatives. It was found in a

study that strategic change initiatives that lacked board support were negatively

correlated with performance changes (Golden & Zajac, 2001). Transformation

therefore requires that an organization re-evaluates and optimizes its investment

in and application of control mechanisms (Sia & Neo, 1997).

Another study showed that radical changes in an organization’s external

environment inhibit intra-organizational transformation initiatives. Such

upheavals exceed the organization’s adaptive capacity and its ability to learn,

thereby reducing its relevancy (Newman, 2000). There is also a negative

relationship between the degree of environmental unpredictability and

organizational profitability, indicating that it is indeed difficult to manage in such

environments (Baum & Wally, 2003).

Michael Porter, a most prominent author in the field of strategic planning

(Ramos-Rodríguez & Ruíz-Navaro, 2004), developed a 5 forces model of industry

analysis that evaluates the long term profitability of industries and the viability of

36

organizations within them. These 5 competitive forces are: bargaining power of

buyers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products/ services, bargaining

power of suppliers and the degree of rivalry among existing competitors.

According to Porter, an organization’s strategy should focus on choosing

profitable industries, defending against these forces and leveraging them in the

favour of the organization (Porter, Competitive Strategy, 1980), (Porter, How

Competitive Forces Shape Strategy, 1997), (Henry A. E., 2011).

Another pioneering theorist, Igor Ansoff, demonstrated that in seeking growth and

development, organizations have four basic alternatives: market penetration,

market development, product development and diversification. This model was

summarized as the ‘Ansoff matrix,’ and provided a theoretical guideline to

organizations on the common quest of growth (Ansoff, 1957).

Figure 3-1: Ansoff Matrix

37

Modern industry analysis has shown that within industries, firms tend to follow

similar strategies in the quest for success. These ‘strategic groups’ consist of core

firms, which follow the group strategy closely; and secondary firms which follow

it less closely. Secondary firms outperform core firms in such groups, possibly

due to their increased responsiveness to environmental changes, rather than just

responding to group behavior alone. Interestingly, secondary firms outperform

solitary firms (which do not belong to a group) as well, possibly due to the lack of

legitimacy and the unconventional strategies associated with solitary firms

(McNamara, Deephouse, & Luce, 2003). Firms should thus try to maintain a fit

between their strategy and the environmental and organizational exigencies they

face. Insufficient or excessive strategic change can both have negative effects on

firm performance (Zajac, Kraatz, & Bresser, 2000), (Huizing, Koster, & Bouman,

1997).

Performance measurement has a major role to play in effective strategic

leadership. Many organizations fail to achieve their strategic objectives simply

because they do not have performance metrics established to measure the

organization’s progress towards achieving these objectives. The metrics present in

myopic organizations address short term financial targets and thus provide

motivation for employees to focus only on these targets at the expense of creating

long term value for the firm. What gets measured gets done. Performance

measurement systems should therefore be tailored to the unique strategic

objectives of an organization (Niven, 2002).

38

The Balanced Scorecard approach to performance measurement and strategy

implementation arose out of a research study conducted by two Boston scholars,

Robert Kaplan and David Norton. The study addressed the hypothesis that

financial measures provided a limited and ineffective representation of

organizational performance and that a multi-faceted approach to performance

measurement was needed. The study concluded that performance metrics should

focus on four general areas- customer issues, internal business processes,

employee activities and shareholder concerns. The resulting system of

performance metrics became widely published and adopted as a compliment to

conventional financial measures and as a driver of future success within

organizations (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). It also allowed the organization to

communicate its vision and strategy to all of its employees and provide a strategic

focus for their activities and actions. One author proposed the use of analytics

(weighted average custom metrics) to overcome the shortcomings he identified in

the Balanced Scorecard approach. The use of analytics allows organizations to

tailor their performance measurement systems to serve their unique needs and

gain a more accurate measurement of organizational health and progress (Brown

M. G., 2007). A common feature of effective performance measurement systems

is that they are based on and supported by objectives and performance targets.

Organizational strategy is typically formulated at three hierarchical levels. Long

term planning is done at the strategic level, mid-term at the tactical level and short

term decisions are made at the operational level (Mahdi Bashiri, 2012). Mintzberg

identifies the three levels of strategy as corporate, business and functional in

39

companies that comprise of several strategic business units (Mintzberg, 1994).

Researchers identify the need for the use of multiple conceptual tools in strategic

decision support systems as no single tool captures the complexity of strategic

thinking (Coleman, Belardo, & Duchessi, 1994), (O'Shannassy, 2003). It is noted

however that it is the complexity and instability of business environments that

prompt increased investments of time and resources into strategic planning. A

positive relationship has been observed between the time and effort spent

planning strategy and the empirical performance of organizations in unstable

environments. In addition, it was found that this increased planning spurs the

development and learning of new means and strategies, thereby expanding the

collection of formal planning tools (Brews & Hunt, 1999).

One journal article opined that the utilization and growth of strategic thinking is

limited by the lack of frequency with which firms must make strategic decisions.

The strategic learning curve is therefore protracted by the long term nature of

corporate strategy. Organizational myopia and difficulties in sourcing accurate

industry data on which to base strategy are other limitations to strategic planning

(Urbany, 1998). Based on their unique historical path and experiences,

organizations learn and develop unique competencies that ensure their survival in

competitive environments. Some researchers found that these distinctive

competencies are difficult for competitors to imitate and positively affect

organizational performance (Barnett, Greve, & Park, 1994), (Huber, 1991).

Others have found that organizational learning is not inherently or exclusively

positive and must be managed within its unique context (Crossan & Berdrow,

40

2003). Another researcher found that strategic learning occurs at multiple levels

within an organization. By seeking out patterns and trends at the business level of

the organization, corporate level managers can distill business level knowledge

into corporate level knowledge (Kuwada, 1998). It should therefore be possible

for organizations to supplement their strategic learning at the corporate level by

observing the more eventful business and operational levels. Such learning is

enhanced by the maintenance of an organizational knowledge base to support

managers (Thomas, Sussman, & Henderson, 2001).

In large multi-national corporations, strategic planning has become decentralized

and informal in response to growing unpredictability and dynamism within their

environments. Such moves afford large organizations increased responsiveness

and capacity to strategize on the scale they operate on (Grant, Strategic Planning

in a Turbulent Environment: Evidence from the Oil Majors, 2003). The

involvement of middle management in the championing, facilitating and

synthesizing of strategy has thus become a reality (Floyd & Wooldridge, 1992).

The practitioners of strategic planning are pioneering new methodologies

according to their empirical observations and experiences. Continued research

into these innovations is necessary in order to close the gap between academic

model building and current strategic decision making practices (Boulding, 1994).

Thus far, the consensus has been that strategy is intangible. It is the guide,

methodology and plan of action upon which an organization acts and bases its

decisions. Strategic leadership- which involves setting a vision for the future,

communicating it to subordinates and motivating actions which add long term

41

value to the organization- is the way strategy is successfully championed (Rowe,

2001), (Elenkov, Judge, & Wright, 2005), (Beach, 2006). But how is this strategy

translated into tangible initiatives and change measures that propel an

organization forward? How does an organization actually achieve its objectives?

And what process is involved in managing the journey?

42

3.0.2 Organizational Transformation

Organizational transformation is an episodic, discontinuous, intermittent

transition between states that differ substantially in crucial features such as

strategy and structure (Fariborz, 2006), (Edwards, 2010), (Oliff, 2012). It is a

purposeful and intentional change in the business model of an organization that is

aimed at increasing the organization’s relevancy and responsiveness to its

changing environment (Kotnour, 2010). Organizational transformation is thus at

the heart of strategic planning. The transition of an organization from its current

state to the future state described in its strategic vision often involves

organizational transformation. Environmental change makes intra-organizational

change inevitable. In some cases this intra-organizational change may be

incremental or impulsive in response to environmental developments. However,

there comes a time when environmental changes outpace the organizational

adjustments so much so that the organization requires a transformation to remain

relevant. Such an organization must transform or face demise (Jenkins &

Ambrosini, 2002), (Demers, 2007).

Empirically, projects and programmes are the vehicles that transport organizations

along paths of planned change and transformation (Kerzner, 2001). A project is a

temporary initiative that a company puts in place alongside its regular operations

in order to achieve a specific objective (Morgan, Levitt, & Malek, 2007) such as

the creation of a product, service or result (Project Management Institute, 2008).

Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques

43

to project activities to meet the project requirements (Project Management

Institute, 2008), (Sanghera, 2009). Project management is becoming a legitimate

management model as change and transformation must occur more frequently in

modern dynamic environments (Madter, Bower, & Aritua, 2012). It has led to the

institutionalization of the matrix organizational design which overcomes the

limitations of traditional organizational charts by allowing human resources to be

assembled from multiple functional areas and levels within an organization

(Knutson, 2001). Such teams are formulated based on their skill and expertise in

the initiative being undertaken and allow an organization to harness the true

power of its human resource.

The strategic vision serves as a tool that filters and aligns projects undertaken by

the organization. Programme management involves managing and coordinating

multiple project teams towards like objectives (Tabrizi, 2007). Many programmes

also contain aspects of ongoing operations (Morris & Pinto, 2007), (Brown J. T.,

2008). A project can either add toward achieving the strategic vision or suck

valuable resources away from this quest. Programme Managers must schedule

and prioritize projects based on their need for precedent projects, resource

limitations and their long term value adding prospects. When done properly,

Programme Management harnesses synergy that results in the creation of more

value than projects could if they were managed individually. This is largely due to

the fact that programmes comprise of projects with shared objectives that can

benefit from the sharing of resources. Successful strategy implementation requires

translating the strategy into a project and programme portfolio. Choosing the right

44

projects, investing in them in the right amounts and choosing the right priorities

and schedules are the activities that collectively ensure good strategy

implementation (Morgan, Levitt, & Malek, 2007), (Morgan, Cole, Johnson, &

Johnson, 2010). Effective portfolio management involves soliciting an array of

project proposals that exceeds an organization’s capacity, and selecting those

which promise the most progress towards strategic objectives. This surplus of

proposals allows for the elimination of low-return projects and the balancing of

risks (Moore, 2010). Portfolio performance is also dependent on organizational

learning and adaptive capabilities (Biedenbach & Müller, 2012).

Strategic Plans on Top Shelves- gathering dust (SPOTS) are those which are not

acted upon and properly executed. This is cited as a reason for the failure of many

organizational transformation initiatives (Haines, 2000). The only actions and

activities that serve to execute the strategy are the projects and programmes that

would bring the organization from its current state to its desired future state.

When corporate leaders fail to perform the important job of strategic project

portfolio management, they relinquish control of the organization to lower

managerial levels (Morgan, Levitt, & Malek, 2007). Such a leader cannot harness

the true propellants of change within the organization or guide it in the right

direction. To be successful as a strategic leader, one must thus become deeply

involved in these change propellants; indeed, one must perform strategic project

portfolio management. Research has shown that institutionalized portfolio

management and success in research and development companies are strongly

related (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2001).

45

Great strategy execution is also dependent on the project and program

management competencies within the organization. The success of strategic

project portfolio management is therefore limited by the capacity and ability of

staff to ensure that these projects and programmes achieve their objectives.

Contemporary project managers rely upon nine knowledge areas to successfully

drive projects from concept to completion:

1. Project integration management to ensure that the various project

elements are effectively coordinated.

2. Project scope management to ensure that all the work required (and only

the required work) is included.

3. Project time management to provide an effective project schedule.

4. Project cost management to identify needed resources and maintain

budget control.

5. Project quality management to ensure functional requirements are met.

6. Project human resource management to development and effectively

employ project personnel.

7. Project communications management to ensure effective internal and

external communications.

8. Project risk management to analyze and mitigate potential risks.

9. Project procurement management to obtain necessary resources from

external sources.

Source: (Project Management Institute, 2008)

46

One author describes scope, time and cost as the golden triangle due to their

higher level of importance and the triangular connection between them. One

cannot change one of these dimensions of a project without changing at least one

other side (Sanghera, 2009). However, a project can be completed within these

constraints and still be a failure if it does not satisfy stakeholder needs. There

must therefore be a strategic focus in project management (Callahan & Brooks,

2004).

Five stages are involved in managing a project from concept to completion:

1. Initiation

2. Planning

3. Implementation

4. Monitoring and Controlling

5. Closing

These five stages are referred to as the Project Life Cycle. Investments into the

first two stages are most rewarding in aligning projects to strategy and ensuring

their success (Project Management Institute, 2008).

In corporate America, 10% of successfully formulated strategies carry through to

successful implementation (Morgan, Levitt, & Malek, 2007). A 1999 article

estimates that 70% of corporate strategies fail due to poor implementation

(Charran & Colvin, 1999). This is in accordance with another study which found

that approximately 71% of CEOs departed from their offices involuntarily

(Khurana, et al., 2003). The overwhelming majority of CEO failures can therefore

be attributed to their failure to effectively implement the strategic plans they were

47

mandated to execute. The problem does not seem to be management’s reluctance

or inability to conjure up changes. Rather, the problem seems to be an inability to

successfully implement such changes (Herold & Fedor, 2008). Since projects are

the drivers of change within organizations, one can deduce that the majority of

CEO failures are attributable to poor strategic project portfolio management and/

or poor project management competency within these organizations.

Ironically, the evolution of project management typically lags behind the

development of other capabilities within an organization (Crawford, 2002). When

this lack of Project Management becomes critical, organizations are faced with an

ultimatum- transform or face demise. To be successful, this infusion of project

management competency must be executed much in the same way that

organizational transformation initiatives are executed. An assessment of this

competency must be done, a vision for the desired competency level must be set,

and strategies and measures to build the project management competency to the

level envisioned must be implemented. The Project Management Maturity Model

(PM3) aims to achieve this infusion by measuring the application of the 9

knowledge areas of Project Management within organizations. Three components

of the PMBOK® receive special interest in the PM3:

1. Project Management Office- an office that exists solely to support project

teams.

2. Management Oversight- the level of interest managers devote to projects

3. Professional Development- the development of the Project Manager’s

unique set of technical, managerial and leadership skills.

48

Five levels of maturity are derived from the measurements which facilitate the

identification of critical areas in need of development and the setting of targets

and objectives for the growth of Project Management within organizations

(Crawford, 2002), (Callahan & Brooks, 2004). These levels denote the presence

of standardization and improvement in the project management culture of an

organization:

1. Common language

2. Common processes

3. Singular methodology

4. Benchmarking

5. Continuous improvement

Source: (Kerzner, 2001)

Each level denotes a higher level of maturity with respect to the areas measured

(Crawford, 2002). Project management is best when it is accomplished through a

structured repeatable process (Brown J. T., 2008). As an organization grows in

maturity, it shifts from ad hoc management of chaotic change to the best practices

of the structured discipline of project management. This shift is typically

accompanied by increases in accountability, discipline and integrity within the

organization (Brown J. T., 2008), (Teller, Unger,, Kock, & Gemünden, 2012).

Project Management requires a level of knowledge and mastery of skills that

create and define a career path for professionals to the highest levels of

organizations (Knutson, 2001). Individuals who succeed at Project Management

go on to succeed in leading business enterprises later in their careers (Termini,

49

2009). This is because strategic planning is an essential part of Project

Management. There are many similarities between the project life cycle and the

journey of an organization toward its strategic vision. Both require extensive

planning, environmental scanning and responsiveness, and precise execution of

plans using expert technical and managerial skills. Project and portfolio

management are therefore fractals or focused subsets of Strategic Management

(Killen, Jugdev, Drouin, & Petit, 2012), (Callahan & Brooks, 2004). They

represent the manifestation of the same organizational strategy, but at different

levels of magnification and detail in an organization.

This PM3 has evolved into the Portfolio, Programme and Project Management

Maturity Model (P3M3) to address the other critical competencies required by

organizations (Sowden, Hinley, & Steve Clarke, 2010). Portfolio management

maturity in particular is required to add context to the understanding of the impact

of portfolio management on portfolio performance (Jonas, 2010). The P3M3

simplified and standardized the assessment of maturity by analyzing seven

process perspectives within each management competency.

The Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) uses a similar

methodology and is based on common premise that portfolio, programme and

project management maturity are correlated with strategy implementation

effectiveness (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2003). However, the OPM3

assessment ranks organizations along a continuum whereas the P3M3 assessment

produces an independent staged based maturity for each of its sub-units. A third

maturity model, the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®), also ranks

50

organizations along a continuum (CMMI Product Team, 2010). It bears many

similarities to the other models in that it charts a course for the development of

key competencies within organizations.

Research has shown that the formalization portfolio management and project

management complement each other in enhancing organizational performance

(Teller, Unger,, Kock, & Gemünden, 2012). The P3M3’s independent

assessments can therefore prove to be valuable in harmonizing the maturities of

these three critical competencies.

51

3.1 SUMMARY

The following diagram is the conceptualization of a meta-theory derived from the

literature about strategically planned organizational transformations.

VISION

FORMULATIONEnvironmental

Scanning (PESTLE,

SWOT,5 forces

model- Industry

Analysis)

Stakeholder analysis

Str

ate

gy

Co

rpo

rate

Va

lue

s

Mis

sio

n

SUCCESS!

VISION FULFILLED

Portfolio

Programmes

Projects

Balanced Scorecard

Performance Measurement

and Management System

and

P3M3

Strategic Objectives

Figure 3-2: Diagrammatic Meta-Theory of Strategically Planned Organizational Transformations.

Figure 3-2, which shows the strategic planning and implementation process,

summarizes the literature perused. Portfolio, programme and project management

are collectively the operationalization of a strategic plan. Their maturity provides

52

context to the understanding of an organization’s efforts to achieve its vision.

Strategic leadership is the ability to synthesize the concepts in Figure 3-2 into a

focused drive to organizational success. In the following chapter, these concepts

will be examined at T&TEC as it attempted to execute an organizational

transformation initiative from 2008- 2012.

53

4 CHAPTER 4

4.0 PRESENTATION OF DATA

Data collection focused on the selected strategic objectives of T&TEC, the levels

of strategic leadership from 2008 to 2012 and a P3M3 assessment. In the

following sections, the measurements collected will be presented, along with a

historical background on each measurement.

4.0.1 Objective 3

To achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction through excellence in

customer service

This objective was measured using a customer satisfaction survey. The

perceptions of customers regarding the targets set in this objective therefore

formed the basis of this assessment. Below are some demographic data about the

respondents to the customer satisfaction survey.

What area of T&T do you live?

North

43 23%

East

34 18%

South

35 19%

Central

44 24%

Tobago

30 16%

Figure 4-1: Chart showing geographic location of respondents

to the customer satisfaction survey

54

Score Interpretation

x<1.5 Poor

1.5<x<2.0 Unsatisfactory

2.0<x<2.4 Favourable

2.4<x<3.0 Good

x>3.0 Excellent

Table 4-1: Rating scale for questionnaire responses

On a scale from 0 to 4, the overall customer rating for T&TEC was 2.21. While

this is favourable, it is far from the excellence that T&TEC aimed for in its

strategic objective. It should be noted, however, that this survey was conducted at

a time when T&TEC was experiencing a shortage of materials (connection wire).

A lot of customers complained that they did not receive the services they

requested in a timely manner as a result. This is evidenced by the fact that

question 5 on the survey, which pertained to the speed with which customers’

concerns were resolved, received the lowest score of 1.89. This issue is systemic

in nature and is most often out of the hands of operational employees. It is notable

that the highest scores were associated with the knowledge and courtesy of

operational staff.

55

Figure 4-2: Chart showing average of responses to customer satisfaction survey

The above chart summarizes the 186 responses to the customer satisfaction

survey. Further analysis of these responses in the chart below shows the varying

levels of customer satisfaction in the 5 distribution areas of T&TEC.

Figure 4-3: Chart showing Average Score in each area

2.12

2.53 2.50

1.89 2.12 2.12 2.21

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Customer Satisfaction Survey

2.04

2.21

2.09

2.39 2.44

1.80

1.90

2.00

2.10

2.20

2.30

2.40

2.50

Central East North South Tobago

Average Score

Average Score

56

Interestingly, the Central area, which has won the “best performing area” prize for

the past 6 years in a row, received an average score of 2.04, the lowest among the

areas. These data are cross sectional in nature and must thus be interpreted in

context. In addition to a shortage of materials, the Central Area experienced a

shortage of manpower from May 2012 onwards. A contractor that provided

connection related services to T&TEC was sent on safety training and did not

return to the job. Customers that requested connection related services since then

had to wait abnormally long as a result.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of customer satisfaction, the following

objective longitudinal secondary data were utilized.

Figure 4-4: Graph showing written complaints per 10,000 customers from the periods ending Jun 2008

to Sep 2011

(Data sourced from RIC Monthly Complaints Reports and T&TEC quarterly

accounting statements)

The RIC is an oversight body that ensures that customer service at Trinidad and

Tobago’s utilities is satisfactory. Customers that have tried and failed to satisfy

0.0000

0.5000

1.0000

1.5000

2.0000

2.5000

3.0000

3.5000

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

written complaints per 10,000 customers

written complaints per10,000 customers

57

their concerns at T&TEC turn to the RIC for help. The number of written

complaints to the RIC therefore depicts the (lack of) efficacy of T&TEC in

delivering customer service. A minimization of the occurrence of these

complaints is the objective of T&TEC. In the above graph, these complaints are

shown with respect to the total amount of T&TEC customers per quarter.

Figure 4-5: Graph showing customers per employee from the periods ending Jun 2008 to Sep 2011

(Data sourced from T&TEC’s quarterly accounting reports)

The number of customers per employee shows how the human resource of the

Commission responds to its growing customer base. A lower number of

customers per employee generally depicts a higher capability to deliver good

customer service. The above graph shows the fluctuation of customers per

employee over the analytical period. The trend suggests a general increase in the

responsibilities of employees. At a strategic planning session led by management

consultant, Dr. Aubery Armstrong on 2012-07-25, employees complained about

146.00

148.00

150.00

152.00

154.00

156.00

158.00

160.00

162.00

164.00

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

customers per employee

customers per employee

58

the increasing workload they faced and the fact that staff was not similarly

increasing. Employees also complained about management’s widespread use of

contractors instead of hiring new full time T&TEC employees. The number of

customers per employee can therefore also reflect employee satisfaction. It must

be noted however, that as technology becomes more advanced, powerful and

ubiquitous, there may be an increased capacity of customers that can be

effectively served by each employee. T&TEC’s Advanced Metering

Infrastructure (AMI) project for example, which was implemented during the

analytical term, involved an upgrade of meters across the country to new models

that could transmit their readings to T&TEC servers wirelessly. This meant that

meters no longer needed to be physically read and the Commission’s staff of

meter readers were no longer required. Technology here enabled manpower

savings and an increase in the customer per employee capacity of the

Commission. T&TEC’s Service Link project is another example of technology

replacing manpower. This project involved outfitting field employees with mobile

computers that could be used to input job data in the field when completing

service orders. This meant that service order processing clerks were not required

in such large numbers as before. The relationship between this variable and

conjectured causal variables must thus be considered in this context. An increase

in customers per employee may not necessarily be a negative change. The

optimization of human resources was listed in the 2008-2012 strategic plan as an

initiative aimed at increasing financial viability. For this reason, an increase in

59

customers per employee will be viewed as favourable change in this analysis

effort.

60

4.0.2 Objective 4

To ensure that T&TEC attains financial viability through the application of

economic tariffs, cost consciousness, and the promotion of a culture of revenue

enhancement and protection

It was necessary to perform financial ratio analysis to measure T&TEC’s financial

performance over the analytical period. Using the pertinent data from T&TEC’s

quarterly financial statements (see APPENDIX F: TABLES FOR GRAPHS),

graphs showing the financial ratios for the analytical period were created. This

permitted historical analysis and was conducive to the comparison and correlation

of the variables of this study. The quarterly financial statements for the period

ending 2008-03-31was not found at T&TEC’s library in Mt. Hope. In addition to

this, the quarterly financial statement for the period ending 2011-12-31 was

unaudited and therefore unavailable for perusal at the time of this study. As such

the analysis was done from the period ending 2008-06-30 to 2012-09-30.

61

4.0.2.1 Liquidity

The current ratio shows the relationship between an organization’s current assets

and current liabilities.

A current ratio that is greater than 1 indicates that an organization has sufficient

current assets to pay its short term liabilities. From Figure 4-6 below, it can be

seen that T&TEC’s current ratio remained below 1 for the entire analytical period.

Also, there appears to be a trend of rapidly decreasing liquidity from June 2008 to

September 2009, after which the liquidity stabilizes. Overall, the current ratios for

the analytical period show that T&TEC has endured ominously low levels of

liquidity.

The quick ratio, also known as the acid test ratio, is a more stringent measure of

liquidity.

Inventory, which is less liquid than other current assets, is subtracted from the

total current assets to show the relationship between an organization’s most liquid

assets and its current liabilities. Since inventory levels have remained relatively,

constant, a similar trend in the quick ratio is seen. It is considered healthy for an

organization to maintain a quick ratio that is above 1 as well. Both liquidity ratios

therefore tell a story of poor financial management.

62

Figure 4-6: Graph showing current and quick ratios.

4.0.2.2

This low level of liquidity manifested itself in the fact that T&TEC delayed

granting due salary increases to employees for as much as 40 months during the

analytical period. This created a tense industrial relations environment and

negatively affected employee morale. Contractors also experienced long delays in

receiving payment for their services, leaving some of them no choice but to cease

offering their services to T&TEC. Liquidity is therefore essential to the operation

of any business entity. The absence of liquidity at T&TEC has been a hindrance

to the achievement of key strategic objectives.

4.0.2.3 Asset Management

The Asset Turnover ratios show the efficiency with which an organization uses its

assets to generate sales. The fixed assets turnover shows the sales generating

power of an organization’s long term assets, while the total assets turnover

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Current Ratio

Quick Ratio

63

includes current assets in the computation. These ratios vary according to industry

and ideally they should be compared to industry averages. T&TEC is a monopoly

in the local electricity distribution industry. However, in the absence of industry

averages, trend analysis can be done using historical financial data. Both turnover

ratios depict a general trend of decline in the productivity of T&TEC’s assets over

the analytical period with seasonal peaks in turnover in the third quarter.

Figure 4-7: Graph showing Fixed and Total Asset Turnover

The ratios in Figure 4-7 were derived from quarterly financial statements of

T&TEC. It was therefore necessary to annualize them to conform to accounting

standards. The annualized formulae used are as follows:

1.

2.

-

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

Fixed Asset Turnover

Total Asset Turnover

64

4.0.2.4 Profitability

Profitability is a critical measure of financial performance. T&TEC is a state

owned organization which does not seek to maximize profits, but rather to cover

its costs. Profitability still serves as an indicator of the financial viability of

T&TEC and is therefore important to this research effort.

Here, two common profitability ratios are used: the net profit margin and the

return on assets (ROA). The net profit margin depicts net profit as a percentage of

sales. The objective of T&TEC is to maintain a positive net profit margin. The net

profit margin is however seen to decline into a deficit in the 4th quarter of 2010

before quickly recovering the next quarter. The Return on Assets (ROA), which

depicts net profit as a percentage of total assets, follows an almost identical trend.

Capital budgeting is used to ensure that an organization invests in assets that are

justified by their return. This competency within T&TEC appears to have suffered

during the analytical term, evidenced by a declining trend in the ROA up till

2011.

65

Figure 4-8: Graph showing T&TEC’s annual profitability ratios

4.0.2.5 Debt Management

The times interest earned (TIE) ratio indicates an organization’s ability to service

its long term debt. Organizations seek to maximize this ratio, thereby ensuring

that bankruptcy is avoided.

-8.00%

-6.00%

-4.00%

-2.00%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

Net Profit Margin

Return on Assets (ROA)

66

Figure 4-9: Graph showing Times Interest Earned Ratio

T&TEC’s TIE ratio has fluctuated throughout the analytical period, even

declining precariously below 1 in 2010.

The financial performance of T&TEC during the analytical period is far from

ideal. From the data available, there is definitely no great sense of improvement in

the financial standing of the organization that would indicate a successful

transformation.

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

Times Interest Earned Ratio

Times Interest EarnedRatio

67

4.0.3 Objective 5

To ensure that health, safety, security, environmental, quality and business

continuity management systems are developed and integrated in all of T&TEC’s

business operations.

The job satisfaction questionnaire evaluated objective 5, 6 and strategic

leadership. Below are some demographic data about the respondents to the

questionnaire:

Gender:

Figure 4-10: Chart showing gender of job satisfaction questionnaire respondents

Area in which employees work

Figure 4-11: Chart showing geographic area of job satisfaction questionnaire respondents

*Note: Tobago employees opted not to participate in the survey.

Tenure:

Male

48 51%

Female

46 49%

North

16 17%

South

23 24%

East

25 27%

Central

30 32%

Tobago

0 0%

68

Figure 4-12: Chart showing tenure of job satisfaction questionnaire respondents 4-10 years

56 60%

11-15 years

16 17%

15-20 years

3 3%

21+ years

19 20%

Questions 2 to 7 of the job satisfaction questionnaire measured the elements of

objective 5. By scoring the responses from 0-4, it was possible to derive an

average score of 1.88. This score suggests that performance with respect to

objective 5 was unsatisfactory. At the time of writing of this project, T&TEC

employees who responded to the questionnaire perceived that the organization

had failed to achieve this objective. It should be noted however that as at 2012-

07-17, despite the best efforts of the researcher, the job satisfaction questionnaire

only attracted 94 respondents. At a 95% confidence interval, with a population

size of 2521, the sampling error is therefore 9.92% (VanAmburg Group Inc.,

2008). Also, Tobago employees chose not to participate in the questionnaire. This

introduced a non-sampling error that must also be considered when interpreting

these results.

69

Figure 4-13: Chart showing average scores for objective 5 and its elements

The above graph summarizes the responses to questions that pertained to

objective 5. Questions that pertained to Health, Safety and the Environment

received the highest scores in this category. This indicates that the Commission’s

HSE programme was more effective than the other initiatives pursuant to

objective 5. The implementation of the ISO 14001 standard and an increased

emphasis on safety during the analytical period can be seen as being responsible

for these relatively higher scores.

Objective longitudinal secondary data was needed for a deeper understanding of

T&TEC’s performance with respect to this objective. The following safety data

were derived from T&TEC’s monthly safety reports.

2.37

1.98 1.91

2.14

1.43 1.45

1.88

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

70

Figure 4-14: Graph showing recordable and reported incidents from Jan 2008- Dec 2011

FREQUENCY RATE INCIDENT RATE

The number of Recordable Cases

The Number of Reported Cases for Every

for Every 200 000 Man-hours Worked

200 000 Man-hours Worked

No. of Disabling Injuries X 200 000

No. of reports X 200 000

No. of Man-hours Worked

No. of Man-hours Worked

Table 4-2: Calculation of Frequency Rate and Incident Rate

Source: (T&TEC, Jan 2008- Sep 2011)

The above graph (Figure 4-14) shows the stabilization and control of the

incidence of safety cases from Q2 2010 onwards. Employees may have

experienced an increase in safety awareness during this time that led to their

favourable evaluation of safety performance in the questionnaires. An increase in

the prominence of safety promotion events and marketing efforts designed to

boost safety consciousness can be credited for this.

0.000

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

7.000

8.000

9.000

Q108

Q208

Q308

Q408

Q109

Q209

Q309

Q409

Q110

Q210

Q310

Q410

Q111

Q211

Q311

Q411

FREQUENCY

INCIDENT

71

The severity of accidents, measured in days lost, showed large fluctuations during

the analytical period, reaching its highest peaks in 2011. These severe accidents

took a toll on the image of T&TEC, but prompted greater safety assurance efforts.

These efforts contributed to a favourable evaluation of the Commission’s

approach to employee safety in the job satisfaction questionnaire.

Figure 4-15: Graph showing the severity of safety incidents from Q1 2008 to Q4 2012

Source: (T&TEC, Jan 2008- Sep 2011)

0.000

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000

80.000

90.000

Q108

Q208

Q308

Q408

Q109

Q209

Q309

Q409

Q110

Q210

Q310

Q410

Q111

Q211

Q311

Q411

SEVERITY

SEVERITY

SEVERITY RATE The Number of Man-Days Lost in Every

200,000 Man hours Worked

No. of Man-Days Lost X 200 000

No. of Man hours Worked

72

4.0.4 Objective 6

To ensure the development of a caring and service oriented organizational

culture, that promotes trust, respect, open communication, empowerment of

employees, teamwork and a recognition and reward system for employees’

performance.

The T&TEC job satisfaction questionnaire was the tool used to measure this

objective. Aspects of the organizational culture were not measured during the

analytical period and thus, only cross sectional data were collected. Through

analysis of the questionnaire feedback, it was therefore possible to ascertain if the

objective was achieved. Questions 9 through 14 on the questionnaire pertain to

this objective and break it down into its basic elements. This section received an

overall average score of 1.47, which suggests poor performance with respect to

Objective 6 (see Figure 4-16). Performance based rewards, which was explicitly

mentioned within the objective, received the lowest score in the entire

questionnaire. Performance appraisals at T&TEC are entirely subjective and are

based on the perspective of the supervisor of an employee. No objective

performance indicators are included in the appraisal. The result is that promotions

and perks are granted to employees who find favour with their supervisors or

management and not necessarily to those who perform exceptionally. This may be

a source of many performance related problems within T&TEC.

73

Figure 4-16: Chart showing scores for objective 6 and its elements

Operational employees are hired at entry level and higher vacancies are filled

internally. Promotions are usually based on tenure and employees are made to

wait many years for small promotions. Education does not quicken the progress

of one’s career at T&TEC. Entry level employees typically wait 3 to 4 years

before being upgraded from temporary to permanent status, then wait another two

years to get another automatic promotion, regardless of education or performance.

Typically, employees that upgrade their education while at T&TEC experience no

return on their investment.

1.09

1.97

1.48 1.40

1.93

0.96

1.50 1.47

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

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A system of escalating disciplinary action is used to discourage undesirable

employee behavior at T&TEC. To avoid such consequences, employees only need

to adhere to minimum performance standards and attendance requirements. In the

absence of rewards for exceptionally high performance, the objective of many

employees is simply to avoid disciplinary action by giving the minimum required

levels of performance.

T&TEC’s management staff are a reclusive group, hardly being seen or heard by

employees and customers. A bureaucratic and authoritative approach to

communication has been adopted by management. Employees are dictated to and

not facilitated, mandated and not guided, and driven, not led. There is a separation

between management and employees in all the literature and policies of the

organization. Management staff have positioned themselves as an elite group and

regularly exercise their power and authority but do not attempt to show charisma

or true leadership. The result is that there is a mistrust of management among the

lower level staff of T&TEC. This is admitted as a weakness in the SWOT analysis

contained in T&TEC’s 2008-2012 strategic plan.

At the strategic planning session held on 2012-07-25 at the Central Distribution

Area, employees complained emphatically about the failure of objective 6 and

identified the organizational culture of T&TEC as a major weakness. The

relationship between management and operational employees was most criticized

by the participants of the session. Excessive bureaucracy, poor industrial

relations, poor planning of jobs and communication issues were also among the

problems discussed.

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A dysfunctional organizational culture, which was the reason for the inclusion of

this strategic objective, continues to exist at T&TEC. As such, this objective

continues into the 2012-2016 strategic plan.

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4.0.5 Strategic Leadership

Strategic Leadership was measured by questions 15 to 20 on the job satisfaction

questionnaire. The questions were based on the definition of this type of

leadership in the literature. Question 20 sought the opinion of staff on the

leadership competencies of the 4 General Managers who were officially appointed

during the analytical period. The percentage tenure of each general manager was

used along with the respondent scores to derive a weighted average strategic

leadership score for the analytical period.

Below, a profile on each general manager and a table showing their tenure during

the analytical period are presented:

Name Tenure at first

official

appointment

Education

Indarjit Singh 23 Years B.Sc. Electrical Engineering, M.Sc.

Engineering

Ernest Boxill 35 Years B.Sc. Electrical Engineering

Glenford Cyrille 36 Years B.Sc. Electrical Engineering,

Advanced Diploma in Electrical

Engineering, training in finance,

business and management fields

Kelvin Ramsook 25 Years B.Sc. Electrical Engineering Table 4-3: Profile on General Managers

From To

Months Served

Indarjit Singh 1/1/2008 7/16/2008 6.6

Ernest Boxill 7/17/2008 3/31/2009 8.6

Courtenay Mark* 4/1/2009 9/30/2009 6.1

Glenford Cyrille* 10/1/2009 1/17/2010 3.6

Indarjit Singh 1/18/2010 12/31/2010 11.6

Glenford Cyrille* 1/1/2011 3/31/2011 3.0

Kelvin Ramsook* 4/1/2011 4/30/2011 1.0

Glenford Cyrille 5/1/2011 11/21/2011 6.8

Kelvin Ramsook 11/21/2011 7/17/2012 8.0 Table 4-4: Turnover of General Managers

* Acting appointment

Source: (T&TEC Watts Happening Magazines, Mar 2008 – Dec 2011)

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Figure 4-17: Graph showing Leadership Score of 4 General Managers of T&TEC (question 20)

Glenford Cyrille, who was unceremoniously removed from office in November

2011, received the highest score in question 20. After 36 years in the

Commission, he possessed a high level of integrity and a wide array of technical,

managerial and leadership skills that made him stand out from the other leaders.

What may have also been responsible for his high rating is the fact that during

tense industrial negotiations in 2011, Mr. Cyrille and the Board of Directors

visited all areas of T&TEC to have meetings with employees. These meetings

were intended to build familiarity between employees and the leadership, to

solicit feedback from employees about problems and concerns they had about the

organization; and to inform employees about the Commission’s cash flow issues.

Employees were also informed about strategies that were employed to improve

the organization’s financial viability and its ability to pay overdue salary

increases. This unprecedented gesture by the leadership of the Commission during

1.29 1.46

2.57

1.51

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Indarjit Singh Ernest Boxill GlenfordCyrille

KelvinRamsook

Leadership Score

Leadership Score

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the tenure of Glenford Cyrille was positively viewed by employees and was

reflected in the questionnaire responses.

The four scores in Figure 4-17 were used to calculate the weighted average

leadership competency score. This score was used to incorporate question 20 into

the overall strategic leadership score.

Tenure in months

% tenure Leadership Score

Weighted score

Indarjit Singh 18.1 37.0% 1.29 0.48

Ernest Boxill 8.6 17.5% 1.46 0.25

Glenford Cyrille 13.4 27.3% 2.57 0.70

Kelvin Ramsook 8.9 18.2% 1.51 0.28

TOTAL 49.0 100% 1.71

Table 4-5: Calculation of the weighted average leadership score

Note: The leadership score computation disregarded the tenure of Courtenay Mark who only acted

in the position and was not ever officially appointed.

Indarjit Singh, though reformative in his approach to leadership, had a poor

approach to industrial relations and was thus negatively viewed by staff and the

Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) (Kissoon, 2011).

79

Figure 4-18: Graph showing scores for Strategic Leadership and its components

Overall, it is apparent that strategic leadership was lacking at T&TEC. A lack of

holistic training of the managerial and executive staff may be responsible for this.

This sentiment was echoed by participants at the 2012-2016 strategic planning

session held at the Distribution Central Area on 2012-07-25.

Longitudinal data for strategic leadership was generated by plotting the leadership

score of the general managers of T&TEC against their tenure over time. This was

then correlated with the longitudinal performance data gathered in the previous

sections of this report (see APPENDIX H: CORRELATION TABLE).

1.43 1.36

1.80 1.85

1.49

1.71 1.59

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

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Figure 4-19: Graph showing leadership score from Jan 2008 – Dec 2011

Ernest Boxill’s score was inputted as an estimate for April 2009 to September

2009 as no major changes were introduced by Courtenay Mark during his short

acting tenure. The above graph serves as the means of testing hypothesis 2 of this

research. The frequency with which the leadership of T&TEC changed (see Table

4-4) provided a unique opportunity to test the effects of varying levels of strategic

leadership on the performance of the organization. The findings of this analysis

will be discussed in the next chapter.

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Mar

-08

Jun

-08

Sep

-08

Dec

-08

Mar

-09

Jun

-09

Sep

-09

Dec

-09

Mar

-10

Jun

-10

Sep

-10

Dec

-10

Mar

-11

Jun

-11

Sep

-11

Dec

-11

Leadership score

Leadership score

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4.0.6 P3M3 Assessment

A phone liaison with the Chief Manpower Officer of T&TEC guided the

following assessments. The assessment utilized the P3M3 guide, methodology,

models and assessment tools (Sowden, Hinley, & Steve Clarke, 2010), (OGC,

2010), (OGC, 2010), (OGC, 2010), (OGC, P3M3® – Portfolio Management Self-

Assessment, 2010), (OGC, 2010) (OGC, P3M3® – Project Management Self-

Assessment, 2010).

4.0.6.1 Project Management Maturity

4.0.6.1.1 Management Control

There is no centralized standard or control mechanism for project management at

T&TEC. Projects are distributed throughout the organization and are managed

independently according to the individual preferences of managers, and engineers.

Engineers, Area Managers and Line Managers are typically seconded from their

job functions and given the responsibility to execute projects. Basic protocols

such as project definition, planning and tracking are followed for high profile

projects, but in general, an ad hoc approach to project execution is taken. Key

project participants lack training in project management.

4.0.6.1.2 Benefits Management

Benefits are articulated in project proposals, but no consistent system is followed

to measure and ensure their achievement. Project information is localized, with

little information sharing. There is a discouragingly lengthy and excessively

bureaucratic process associated with accessing project information. Sharing of

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project knowledge is ad hoc, and based on social connections within the

organization. Key individuals involved in projects lack experience.

4.0.6.1.3 Financial Management

Projects utilize the T&TEC’s code of accounts and are incorporated into the cost

accounting system. Capital and revenue costs are accounted for differently.

Budgets are prepared and expenditure is tracked and reported regularly.

Authorization levels are defined and designed to discourage project fraud.

4.0.6.1.4 Stakeholder Engagement

Projects are typically designed and pushed to stakeholders. There is little

communication between project participants and end users of the project outcome.

Training of end users is often unstructured and ad hoc in nature. Trainers are

usually not experts in their field. Feedback is not sought after project closure.

There is no follow up and improvement on project outcomes.

4.0.6.1.5 Risk Management

There is no formal, quantitative risk management process for projects. Risks are

mentioned in proposals and plans but little active management exists. Managers

take a reactive approach, focusing on issues at hand only.

4.0.6.1.6 Organizational Governance

There is no centralized, strategic control of projects. Management is ad hoc and

localized, as is knowledge sharing. Activity tracking and analysis is done on high

profile projects only.

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4.0.6.1.7 Resource Management

Roles and responsibilities on project teams are generic. There is a lack of

experience among project participants.

Level 3

Level 2 Level 2 Level 2

Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1

Management Control

Benefits Management

Financial Management

Stakeholder Engagement

Risk Management

Organizational Governance

Resource Management

Figure 4-20: Project Management Maturity

The diagram above shows maturity levels of 7 process perspectives of Project

Management. A Project Management Maturity level of 1 is derived by taking the

lowest score among the process perspectives measured. This scoring

interpretation methodology is considered both a strength and a weakness of the

P3M3. It causes organizations seeking growth to develop holistically, but may

cause an organization with just a few weak process perspective scores to appear

infantile to an uninformed observer. The P3M3 Self-Assessment Guide also

demonstrates the use of an average of the process perspective scores to determine

the overall competency maturity level for an organization. By using this

methodology and rounding down to the nearest whole number, a Project

Management Maturity Level of 1 is still evident. Both methodologies produce the

same result but the writer is in favour of the lowest process perspective score

method. The strengths of this methodology outweigh the weakness and it is

therefore deemed to be most helpful to organizations seeking holistic

development. The remaining two competency assessments will be summarized.

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4.0.6.2 Programme Management Maturity

Programme Management is a vague idea utilized by a few departments that

undertake multiple projects. The HSE and Training departments of T&TEC

typically utilize this jargon to describe clusters of projects being undertaken.

There is limited consistency in the structure of programme executions.

Level 3 Level 3

Level 2 Level 2 Level 2

Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1

Management Control

Benefits Management

Financial Management

Stakeholder Engagement

Risk Management

Organizational Governance

Resource Management

Figure 4-21: Programme Management Maturity

The above process perspective scores produce a Programme Management

Maturity level of 1.

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4.0.6.3 Portfolio Management Maturity

Key individuals lack training in portfolio management. There is little centralized

management of the portfolio. Portfolio management is more commonly found at

the area management level. The definition of the project portfolio takes place at

strategic planning time and little or no changes are made to it afterwards. The

portfolio shows a lack of responsiveness to environmental changes. There are

critical issues identified during internal scanning but no initiatives are included in

the portfolio to address them. The portfolio therefore shows a lack of proper

alignment with strategic goals.

Level 2

Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1

Management

Control

Benefits

Management

Financial

Management

Stakeholder

Engagement

Risk

Management

Organizational

Governance

Resource

Management

Figure 4-22: Portfolio Management Maturity

The above scores allude to a Portfolio Management Maturity level of 1

4.1 SUMMARY

T&TEC fell short of excellence in customer satisfaction and performed

unsatisfactorily with respect to objectives 4, 5 and 6. The overall level of strategic

leadership was low. Glenford Cyrille, the only leader to possess managerial,

financial and business training, was the only leader whose strategic leadership

skills were favourably appraised by employees. The P3M3 scores were all at level

1. These findings will be discussed in the following chapter.

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5 CHAPTER 5

5.0 DISCUSSION

The previous chapter presented 12 longitudinal performance measurements as

well as a longitudinal strategic leadership evaluation for the analytical period.

Correlation of the performance variables with strategic leadership levels over the

analytical period was a means of inferring causality. 8 of the 12 performance

measurements confirmed hypothesis 2 with weak to moderate correlation

coefficients (see APPENDIX H: CORRELATION TABLE). The reported and

recordable safety incident indexes each displayed a weak negative relationship

with the strategic leadership index. The severity index however, showed a weak

positive correlation.

When compared with strategic leadership, customers per employee and written

complaints per 10,000 customers confirmed hypothesis 2 with moderate positive

and negative correlation coefficients respectively. The positive customer per

employee correlation with strategic leadership is deemed favourable because of

the Commission’s expressed desire to optimize its human resources and save on

manpower costs. The moderate negative correlation of the customer complaints

index with strategic leadership shows a decrease in the amount of customer

complaints when strategic leadership increased and vice versa.

When compared to strategic leadership over the analytical period, 4 out of the 7

financial ratios confirmed hypothesis 2, with weak positive correlation

coefficients. These were the quick ratio, times interest earned ratio, net profit

87

margin and return on assets ratio. The current ratio and asset turnover ratios

however, showed weak negative correlations with strategic leadership.

It was conjectured that low levels of Portfolio, Programme and Project

Management Maturity hampered the proper execution of the transformation

initiative. The P3M3 assessment did indeed confirm these low competency

maturity levels. It can be deduced that stronger correlations between the

performance variables and strategic leadership would be possible if there were

higher levels of organizational project management at T&TEC. The reason for

this counterfactual conjecture is that there were activities and initiatives included

within the 2008 to 2012 strategic plan to address the Commission’s shortcomings

in performance. The continued low performance shows a lack of efficacy in

implementing these initiatives. The low levels of Project, Programme and

Portfolio Management Maturity therefore acted as inhibitors to strategic

leadership at T&TEC.

In considering inhibitors, the political upheaval that occurred during the analytical

period must also be discussed. The findings of this research confirm studies that

show that upheavals in an organization’s external environment can inhibit intra

organizational transformation (Newman, 2000) and how coercive politics can

negatively affect organizational performance (Voyer, 1994). The unpredictable

external political influence on T&TEC was cited as a major inhibitor to

organizational development at the strategic planning session held at the Central

Distribution Area on 2012-07-25. The presence of these internal and external

inhibitors of strategic leadership therefore decreased the effect strategic leadership

88

was able to have on the performance variables examined. This is the reason that a

weak to moderate confirmatory correlation of 8 out of the 12 performance

variables with strategic leadership is considered a significant finding in this

research.

Performance measurement is a major issue plaguing T&TEC. The subjective

nature of employee appraisals along with the lack of performance based rewards

contributed to a dysfunctional organizational culture at T&TEC. The lack of

visibility of balanced measurements of organizational performance contributed to

a dysfunctional culture at the management level as well. Managers face a moral

hazard, in that no consequences are perceived to be associated with a lack of

performance. They continue to fail to achieve the objectives of the organization,

yet enjoy job security. There is no ownership of responsibility for the

achievement of the objectives and goals contained in the strategic plan. Oversight

bodies such as the RIC and the GORTT are not doing enough to hold managers

accountable for the continued poor performance of T&TEC.

The difficulties faced by the writer in obtaining performance data attest to the

attitude of managers towards being evaluated. Additional performance data such

as the customer average interruption duration index (CAIDI) and the number of

trouble reports per quarter were requested through formal channels in June 2012.

To date, these data were not released. Fortunately, customer service data were

available at the RIC and were used to evaluate objective 3.

T&TEC did follow through with customer service improvement initiatives such as

the AMI, Service Link and Call Center projects. However, procurement issues

89

have resulted in continued occurrences of material shortages that have prevented

customers from accessing a basic electricity service from T&TEC in a timely

manner. The Commission is overlooking fundamental weaknesses which stem

from a lack of managerial competency among its management staff. Procurement

delay was an identified weakness in the 2008-2012 strategic plan and an e-

procurement system was proposed as a solution. However, customer feedback and

empirical evidence show that to date, the benefits of this system have not been

realized.

Authors within the literature promote a balanced approach to performance

management (Maak & Pless, 2006), (Kaplan & Norton, 2001), (Brown M. G.,

2007). However, T&TEC has prioritized its transmission and distribution

objectives and has overlooked its managerial objectives. This is evidenced by the

Commission’s heavy investment in its electrical engineering competencies and its

failure to develop its human relations and project management competencies,

which were incidentally the lowest rated competencies in a human resource audit

done in 2008. The project management competency in particular was critical to

the implementation of the strategic plan. A lack of initiatives to improve this

competency has ultimately led to a failure of many objectives and projects listed

in the strategic plan.

The questionnaire feedback from customers and employees confirmed hypothesis

1. T&TEC fell short of achieving its ‘managerial’ objectives once again in 2012.

The objective longitudinal data also confirmed this, showing no improvement in

the financial performance of T&TEC that would indicate a successful

90

transformation. All 7 financial ratios analyzed depict a trend of declining financial

performance (see APPENDIX I: TREND OF FINANCIAL RATIOS). In

addition, accident severity had an increasing trend over the analytical period.

Written complaints per 10,000 customers, reported and recordable safety incident

indexes; and customers per employee however, showed slightly developing trends

over the analytical term. With 8 out of 12 performance metrics showing a

deteriorating trend, it can be said that performance over the analytical period was

less than desirable.

T&TEC’s P3M3 scores are consistent with a PWC study which showed that most

public sector organizations (56.3%) possess a level 1 maturity

(PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2004). The PWC study also showed that higher project

management maturity levels deliver superior performance in project delivery and

business benefits. This study was repeated in 2007 and showed a positive

relationship between project management certification and project performance.

Interestingly, only 3% of respondents (project managers) possessed Master’s

Degrees in Project Management, up from 2% in 2004 (PricewaterhouseCoopers,

2007). The level of project management certification at T&TEC continues to be

low. The ad hoc execution of high profile projects by unqualified personnel has

resulted in the failure of these projects to satisfy their stakeholders and contribute

to the achievement of the strategic objectives of T&TEC. The absence of an

initiative to increase this competency in the 2008-2012 strategic plan has trapped

the organization in a recurring loop of strategic failure.

91

Operational employees play a key role in executing the strategy of an

organization. Without a clear communication of the strategy and timely

motivation to work towards organizational objectives, employees have developed

an unclear vision about the organization and their role in it. The operational

employees of T&TEC have become engulfed in routine tasks and cannot identify

with the long term vision of the organization anymore. This lack of motivation,

which is a key function within the discipline of Management, is another inhibitor

of strategic growth and progress at T&TEC.

T&TEC’s approach to strategic planning is fundamentally flawed and may be a

root cause of the organization’s continued performance shortfalls. When there is

the need to prepare a strategic plan, the Commission retains the services of

external consultants. For the 2012-2016 strategic plan, Dr. Aubery Armstrong, a

renowned management scholar and former university professor was contracted.

No doubt, a well-crafted strategic plan will be produced by this consultant, as has

been in the past. The problem with this is, once the strategic plan is prepared, the

consultant leaves, and the implementation of the plan is left totally up to the

managers within T&TEC. This ultimately leads to SPOTS syndrome and/ or poor

implementation attempts (Haines, 2000). Unless the Commission boosts its

competencies in portfolio, programme and project management, strategic

planning will continue to yield lackluster results at T&TEC. This cycle of

strategic planning and failure to achieve strategic objectives has been repeated

long enough to warrant strategic learning. The existence of the same issues and

problems from the 2008-2012 strategic plan in the 2012- 2016 strategic planning

92

sessions should serve as an indicator to the leaders of T&TEC that their approach

is fundamentally flawed. It is hoped that this research project prompts a revision

in the strategy of T&TEC that stops the cycle of strategic failure that has become

a 5 year routine.

93

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1.1 Short term

The following recommendations should be implemented within one year of the

receipt of this research project.

5.1.1.1 Increase oversight of organizational performance

Proper oversight mechanisms and enforcement of performance standards must be

institutionalized within T&TEC. Managers must be given responsibility and held

accountable for the strategic objectives and projects outlined in T&TEC’s

strategic plans. Organizational performance metrics should be standardized and

made more visible to key stakeholders within and external to T&TEC.

It is a recommendation of this research paper that the Balanced Scorecard system

of performance measurement and management be adopted by T&TEC. This will

yield the following benefits:

Tracking of the true performance of T&TEC with respect to its strategic

plan

Communication of organizational progress to key stakeholders

A source of strategic direction that motivates staff toward achieving the

vision

A means of objectively appraising the performance of management staff.

Fortunately, the RIC has taken the initiative and has released a consultative

document indicating its intention to produce and publish revised reports on the

performance of T&TEC (RIC, 2011). A wide array of performance indicators,

94

including those contained in this research project will be included in the report.

This report will be published via the RIC website, social networking media and

the local newspapers. This is exactly what T&TEC needs to ensure higher

visibility and scrutiny of management’s performance. T&TEC should collaborate

with the RIC to ensure the accurate communication of the data as often as

required.

5.1.1.2 Increase human relations training

T&TEC needs to increase the human relations training of its Management staff.

The complaints throughout the organization about the poor relationship between

operational employees and management staff warrant an intervention. A staff

development programme aimed at solving this issue should be initiated and made

high priority. Expert management consultancy services should be procured to

ensure that effective solutions to the human relations issues are developed and

institutionalized within T&TEC. This will yield the following benefits:

Increased employee morale

Increased productivity

Decreased absenteeism

More efficient communication

Increased camaraderie and teamwork among staff

95

5.1.1.3 Revise the performance appraisal system

T&TEC also needs to review its performance appraisal system. The current

system has contributed to the dysfunctional organizational culture evidenced in

this research project. Appraisals should be based on objective performance data

for each employee. A review of the operational job tasks should be performed

with the aim of identifying key performance indicators for each position. These

key performance indicators should be made a major component of regular

appraisals. The presence of high levels of subjective bias in the current

performance appraisal system needs to be eliminated before steps can be taken to

institute a performance based rewards system at T&TEC. The following benefits

can be realized from these initiatives

Increased employee motivation and morale

Increased employee performance

Higher quality supervisory staff

Increased organizational performance

5.1.1.4 Develop a Project Management Office (PMO)

T&TEC undertakes a large number of projects, but there is no centralized

repository of project knowledge within the organization. Project management is

decentralized, with ownership scattered across the organization. There is little

information sharing and organizational learning with respect to project

management as a result. There is also a lack of standardization of project

management methodologies. Project managers typically lack training in the

discipline and execute projects according to their personal preferences.

96

The 2008-2012 strategic plan relied heavily upon the successful execution of

projects aimed at achieving the objectives and vision of T&TEC. The low project

management competency within the organization resulted in a lack of efficacy of

these initiatives. A Project Management Office is a much needed establishment

within T&TEC at present. Such an office can house the Commission’s project

management expertise and support project managers in key functions and

knowledge areas associated with the discipline. This office can also serve to

increase the Commission’s project management competency by providing:

Mentoring of project staff

Training of project staff

Project management oversight (real time monitoring and tracking)

Recruitment of project management staff

Project management audits

Project support services such as risk management, procurement

management and schedule management

A project management methodology and guide and a host of other

services.

97

5.1.2 Medium Term

The following recommendations should be implemented within the next 3 to 5

years.

5.1.2.1 Achieve the following target maturity levels

T&TEC’s low Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Maturity levels

were inhibitors to strategic leadership and successful organizational

transformation. As such, the improvement of these maturity levels should be

made a high priority in the 2012-2016 strategic plan. The P3M3 model provides

detailed attributes and descriptions of the 5 maturity levels for each of the 7

process perspectives of these three competencies. For simplicity the target

maturity levels for T&TEC are portrayed graphically in Figure 5-1.

Figure 5-1: Chart showing target competency maturity levels

Management

Control

BenefitsManage

ment

FinancialManage

ment

Stakeholder

Engagement

RiskManage

ment

Organizational

Governance

Resource

Management

Project 3 3 4 3 3 3 4

Portfolio 3 4 4 3 3 3 3

Programme 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

0

1

2

3

4

5

Mat

rity

Lev

el

Target Competency Maturity Levels

98

A maturity level of 3 is recommended for all 3 of these critical competencies. The

descriptions and attributes of the maturity levels in Figure 5-1 should be consulted

in the P3M3 and a gap analysis should be performed. The presence of a Project

Management Office will greatly assist in the infusion of these competencies into

T&TEC. This recommendation is therefore dependent on the establishment of a

PMO in the short term future.

5.1.2.2 Revise the qualification requirements for the General Manager

position

The General Manager position requires a high level of competency in strategic

leadership. C.E.O’s must rely on technical and managerial expertise in performing

the important function of strategic project portfolio management. As such, expert

knowledge in financial management, project management and strategic leadership

should be made a requirement for this top position within the T&TEC. Amidst the

many inhibitors to strategic leadership, this research effort still discerned a

relationship between strategic leadership and organizational performance

variables. Glenford Cyrille, the only General Manager to possess training in

engineering, finance, business and management, was highly rated by employees

and was associated with higher levels of organizational performance. The

Commission should seek to institutionalize this skill set at this very important

executive level.

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5.1.3 Long Term

The following recommendation should be implemented within the next 5 to 10

years:

5.1.3.1 Privatize T&TEC

In order for T&TEC to achieve its objectives, it must be freed from political

control. The privatization of this SOE should therefore be seriously considered by

the GORTT. Strategic leadership does not seem possible within the current

politically dominated environment of T&TEC. As seen in this research project, it

is the customers and employees who suffer as a result of this. In the interest of

achieving the vision, satisfying T&TEC’s most important stakeholders, and

facilitating Trinidad and Tobago towards developed country status, uninhibited

strategic leadership, characteristic of the private sector must be established. Such

an undertaking would be a project in and of itself. Employee concerns about

retrenchment, customer concerns about increasing rates and other stakeholder

concerns will have to be managed and controlled. The writer believes that

research can show the positive effects of privatization in other former SOE’s such

as the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Service that can easily justify such a move at

T&TEC. The nation is fortunate to have a vibrant financial market that can easily

facilitate the transfer of ownership of T&TEC to investors within Trinidad and

Tobago. The Commission’s key stake holder, its customers, could then become its

owner, thereby ensuring that customer service is treated with the priority it

deserves.

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5.2 CONCLUSION

This project report has been a comprehensive review of strategic planning and

strategy implementation. Pertinent theories and research findings were compared

to the actual practice strategic planning within the Trinidad and Tobago

Electricity Commission. Organizational transformation, which is often the goal of

strategic planning, was seen to be a conglomeration of initiatives aimed at

effecting radical and comprehensive positive changes within an organization.

Examination of T&TEC’s organizational transformation attempt confirmed the

findings of other researchers that strategic planning is not the primary cause of

failed organizational transformations or poor organizational performance. The

shortcomings lie in the implementation of strategic plans (Morgan, Levitt, &

Malek, 2007), (Charran & Colvin, 1999), (Khurana, et al., 2003), (Herold &

Fedor, 2008). There is often a mismatch of skills and competencies within

organizations that prevent the translation of strategic plans into positive

organizational change. This was the case at T&TEC, where it was found that key

personnel lacked critical skills and experience required to operationalize the

organizational strategy.

Organizational project management, which in involves strategic project portfolio

management, programme management and project management, is the model that

should be adhered to in the implementation of strategic plans and transformation

initiatives. It results in a permeation of the strategy throughout all levels of an

organization and enables leaders to focus resources on propelling the organization

towards its strategic vision.

101

The examination of T&TEC’s performance from 2008-2012 showed that low

levels of Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Maturity can inhibit an

organization’s efforts to achieve organizational transformation. Strategic

leadership, which complements organizational project management, has a low to

moderate relationship with organizational performance under these conditions. It

is clear therefore that to increase the success rate of transformation initiatives,

organizations must build their project, programme and portfolio management

competencies.

The P3M3 has proven to be an invaluable tool for measuring and building project,

programme and portfolio management competencies. The independence of the

sub-components of the P3M3 gives an organization the flexibility to develop the

competencies and process perspectives that are in most dire need of attention. The

scoring methodology suggested in this plan, may be deemed to be too vague, as it

would allow organizations with a wide array of scores in different process

perspectives to exist within the same overall maturity level. Perhaps organizations

which choose to adopt this tool can modify it for internal use, such that more

precise maturity levels are derived from the questionnaires.

Further research should focus on the effects of the competency maturity levels

within the P3M3. The P3M3 assessments should be conducted within T&TEC at

regular intervals and should be recommended to other state owned organizations.

This would facilitate longitudinal analysis of the effects of the changing

102

competency levels as well as the comparison of the scores and performance of

T&TEC with those of other public sector organizations.

This research has been an enlightening experience. It allowed the writer to see the

great value of project management in an organizational setting. The Trinidad and

Tobago Electricity Commission can benefit greatly from institutionalizing

organizational project management. The establishment of a Project Management

Office at T&TEC is highly recommended as it would result in a greater return on

the organization’s investment in strategic planning and organizational

transformation. Project Management is indeed the ideal management model for

the modern dynamic business environment. The adaptability of this discipline to a

wide range of application scenarios makes it an invaluable tool for every

organization. By utilizing the concepts and models within this project report, the

Project Manager can add great value to the management and executive levels a

great variety of organizations.

103

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A. APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF ELECTRICITY RATES

117

Table A-1: Summary of electricity rates

118

B. APPENDIX B- VISION AND MISSION OF T&TEC

119

120

C. APPENDIX C: CUSTOMER SURVEY

121

T&TEC Customer Satisfaction Survey

I am seeking feedback from T&TEC customers for my research project. This

questionnaire is targeted towards active customers of T&TEC. That is, customers

who have directly interacted with T&TEC staff recently (within the past 3

months) and can recollect and evaluate their experience. This interaction may

have been making a trouble report, paying a bill at the service center, making a

query, requesting a service to be performed at one's premises etc.

1. What area of T&T do you live

North East South Central Tobago

2. With regards to your most recent experience with T&TEC, the customer

service was

Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

3. The T&TEC employee that attended to me was courteous

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

4. The T&TEC employee that attended to me was knowledgeable

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

5. Was your concern handled quickly?

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

6. I can depend on T&TEC

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

7. I am satisfied with T&TEC as my electricity provider

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

122

D. APPENDIX D: JOB SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE

123

T&TEC JOB SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE

I am seeking feedback from T&TEC employees for my research project. This

questionnaire should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your privacy will be

protected. Thank you for your participation.

Gender

Male Female

Area

North South East Central Tobago

1. How long have you been an employee of T&TEC?

4-10 years 11-15 years 15-20 years 21+ years

2. Management is committed to ensuring and improving employee safety

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

3. T&TEC values the health and wellbeing of its employees

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

4. I feel adequately protected from criminal activity when performing my job

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

5. T&TEC conducts its affairs in an environmentally responsible manner

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

6. Management is acting to ensure the long term survival of T&TEC

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

7. Management consistently obtains and maintains high quality equipment,

materials and manpower

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

8. I trust the management staff of T&TEC

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

9. My fellow employees are trustworthy

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

10. The Managers of T&TEC respect me

124

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

11. Open communication is valued at T&TEC

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

12. I am provided with the equipment and materials to do my job efficiently and

effectively

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

13. Promotions, perks and other rewards are based on employee performance

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

14. Education is valued and rewarded at T&TEC

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

15. The leaders of T&TEC exhibit and encourage ethical behavior

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

16. The leaders of T&TEC influence me to voluntarily make decisions that enhance

the organization

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

17. The current strategy of T&TEC and my role in executing it has been clearly

communicated

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

18. Progress towards the strategic objectives of T&TEC is regularly measured

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

19. Management periodically introduces new techniques, systems and tools that

increase my productivity

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

125

20. How would you rate the following General Managers’ efforts and abilities to

transform T&TEC into a high performance organization during their tenure:

a. Indarjit Singh

Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

b. Ernest Boxill

Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

c. Glenford Cyrille

Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

d. Kelvin Ramsook

Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

126

E. APPENDIX E: LIST OF PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

127

128

129

130

(T&TEC, 2008)

131

F. APPENDIX F: TABLES FOR GRAPHS

132

Financial Ratios

Table F-1: Table showing data used to calculate 7 financial ratios.

Customers per employee and written complaints per 10,000 employees

Quarterly Financial Data

Period Ending Jun-08 Sep-08 Dec-08 Mar-09 Jun-09 Sep-09 Dec-09 Mar-10 Jun-10 Sep-10 Dec-10 Mar-11 Jun-11 Sep-11

Inventories 536,498,584 544,034,989 498,193,011 429,545,685 411,286,447 389,686,895 380,389,508 360,770,278 347,713,915 369,046,563 368,486,214 363,322,448 362,484,461 399,355,329

1,797,107,472 1,741,840,537 1,788,129,262 1,698,780,905 1,518,946,048 1,551,034,360 1,775,494,820 1,705,829,902 1,884,640,472 1,892,322,083 1,892,490,910 1,915,216,992 1,977,176,767 1,985,530,018

Fixed Assets 4,152,668,886 4,300,372,419 4,526,189,313 4,702,081,134 4,877,167,354 4,923,320,782 6,646,144,486 6,061,752,720 6,110,442,205 6,034,926,147 6,897,677,146 6,845,405,360 6,800,193,470 6,738,307,731

Total Assets 5,949,776,358 6,042,212,956 6,314,318,575 6,400,862,039 6,396,113,402 6,474,355,142 8,421,639,306 7,767,582,622 7,995,082,677 7,927,248,230 8,790,168,056 8,760,622,352 8,777,370,237 8,723,837,749

Interest and Finance Charges 51,342,435 51,356,488 44,222,376 43,428,826 43,227,123 43,229,178 56,368,028 70,115,299 70,236,382 27,950,514 137,642,883 77,611,192 76,980,700 77,471,323

Net Income 45,207,175 82,882,377 101,002,140 71,402,438 42,560,353 44,272,889 74,314,701 64,524,035 18,540,799 53,145,695 (106,709,851) 112,395,186 38,455,575 85,016,137

EBIT 96,549,610 134,238,865 145,224,516 114,831,264 85,787,476 87,502,067 130,682,729 134,639,334 88,777,181 81,096,209 30,933,032 190,006,378 115,436,275 162,487,460

2,257,962,007 2,317,676,174 2,634,914,218 2,687,675,433 2,672,641,019 2,768,321,534 2,998,304,499 2,894,254,662 3,116,098,063 3,323,752,990 3,293,236,412 3,228,567,434 3,273,611,522 3,200,586,242

Sales 1,621,925,252 2,015,780,041 2,140,633,326 1,621,554,790 1,692,126,469 1,845,454,481 2,137,341,144 1,965,243,951 1,884,089,690 2,151,005,184 1,910,374,762 2,033,160,144 2,007,362,070 2,189,378,148

0.80 0.75 0.68 0.63 0.57 0.56 0.59 0.59 0.60 0.57 0.57 0.59 0.60 0.62

0.56 0.52 0.49 0.47 0.41 0.42 0.47 0.46 0.49 0.46 0.46 0.48 0.49 0.50

Times Interest Earned Ratio 1.88 2.61 3.28 2.64 1.98 2.02 2.32 1.92 1.26 2.90 0.22 2.45 1.50 2.10

2.79% 4.11% 4.72% 4.40% 2.52% 2.40% 3.48% 3.28% 0.98% 2.47% -5.59% 5.53% 1.92% 3.88%

3.04% 5.49% 6.40% 4.46% 2.66% 2.74% 3.53% 3.32% 0.93% 2.68% -4.86% 5.13% 1.75% 3.90%

Fixed Asset Turnover 1.56 1.87 1.89 1.38 1.39 1.50 1.29 1.30 1.23 1.43 1.11 1.19 1.18 1.30

Total Asset Turnover 1.09 1.33 1.36 1.01 1.06 1.14 1.02 1.01 0.94 1.09 0.87 0.93 0.91 1.00

Total Current Assets

Current Liabilities

Current Ratio

Quick Ratio

Net Profit Margin

Return on Assets (ROA)

133

Table F-2: Data used to calculate customers per employee ratio and written complaints per 10,000 customers

Period Ending Written Complaints Number of employeesNumber of

customers

Customers per

employee

Written complaints

per 10,000

customers

31-Mar 80

Jun-08 80 2589 393155 151.86 2.0348

30-Sep 104 2613 395849 151.49 2.6273

Dec-08 118 2622 399092 152.21 2.9567

31-Mar 75 2610 401995 154.02 1.8657

Jun-09 113 2623 404573 154.24 2.7931

30-Sep 81 2649 406771 153.56 1.9913

Dec-09 79 2667 408826 153.29 1.9324

31-Mar 101 2679 411005 153.42 2.4574

Jun-10 110 2680 409676 152.86 2.6850

30-Sep 96 2659 414796 156.00 2.3144

Dec-10 111 2689 417108 155.12 2.6612

31-Mar 57 2583 419023 162.22 1.3603

Jun-11 93 2680 421122 157.14 2.2084

30-Sep 96 2687 422913 157.39 2.2700

Dec-11 74

Estimated figure because this document was missing from the records at T&TEC's library

134

Reported, recordable and severity safety indexes

Table F-3: Data used to calculate reported, recordable and severity safety indexes

Period man hrs recordable reported days lost FREQUENCY INCIDENT SEVERITY

Q1 08 1325.565 9 16 79 1.358 2.414 11.919

Q2 08 1325.555 15 22 345 2.263 3.319 52.054

Q3 08 1325.55 30 35 191 4.526 5.281 28.818

Q4 08 1641.818 9 13 220 1.096 1.584 26.800

Q1 09 1464.485 8 23 69 1.093 3.141 9.423

Q2 09 2433.467 14 33 90 1.151 2.712 7.397

Q3 09 1594.67 6 26 33 0.753 3.261 4.139

Q4 09 1509.706 8 17 118 1.060 2.252 15.632

Q1 10 1510.984 45 61 397 5.956 8.074 52.549

Q2 10 1540.819 12 26 187 1.558 3.375 24.273

Q3 10 1586.179 13 19 314 1.639 2.396 39.592

Q4 10 1591.553 5 17 494 0.628 2.136 62.078

Q1 11 1516.552 17 27 177 2.242 3.561 23.342

Q2 11 1456.023 7 19 324 0.962 2.610 44.505

Q3 11 1538.186 9 16 438 1.170 2.080 56.950

Q4 11 1517.691 8 18 589 1.054 2.372 77.618

135

G. APPENDIX G: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

136

137

138

139

(Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, 2011)

140

H. APPENDIX H: CORRELATION TABLE

141

Table showing correlation of performance data with strategic leadership

Table H-1: Correlation of performance data with strategic leadership

Legend (negative or positive) 0<x<0.4 weak correlation, 0.4<x<0.7 moderate correlation, 0.7<x<1 strong correlation

PeriodLeadership

scoreFREQUENCY INCIDENT SEVERITY

Customers

per employee

Written

Complaints per

10,000

customers

Current

RatioQuick Ratio

Times

Interest

Earned Ratio

Net Profit

Margin

Return on

Assets

(ROA)

Fixed Asset

Turnover

Total Asset

Turnover

Mar-08 1.29 1.358 2.414 11.919

Jun-08 1.29 2.263 3.319 52.054 151.86 2.035 0.796 0.558 1.881 0.028 0.030 1.562 1.090

Sep-08 1.41 4.526 5.281 28.818 151.49 2.627 0.752 0.517 2.614 0.041 0.055 1.875 1.334

Dec-08 1.46 1.096 1.584 26.800 152.21 2.957 0.679 0.490 3.284 0.047 0.064 1.892 1.356

Mar-09 1.46 1.093 3.141 9.423 154.02 1.866 0.632 0.472 2.644 0.044 0.045 1.379 1.013

Jun-09 1.46 1.151 2.712 7.397 154.24 2.793 0.568 0.414 1.985 0.025 0.027 1.388 1.058

Sep-09 1.46 0.753 3.261 4.139 153.56 1.991 0.560 0.420 2.024 0.024 0.027 1.499 1.140

Dec-09 2.57 1.060 2.252 15.632 153.29 1.932 0.592 0.465 2.318 0.035 0.035 1.286 1.015

Mar-10 1.52 5.956 8.074 52.549 153.42 2.457 0.589 0.465 1.920 0.033 0.033 1.297 1.012

Jun-10 1.29 1.558 3.375 24.273 152.86 2.685 0.605 0.493 1.264 0.010 0.009 1.233 0.943

Sep-10 1.29 1.639 2.396 39.592 156.00 2.314 0.569 0.458 2.901 0.025 0.027 1.426 1.085

Dec-10 1.29 0.628 2.136 62.078 155.12 2.661 0.575 0.463 0.225 -0.056 -0.049 1.108 0.869

Mar-11 2.57 2.242 3.561 23.342 162.22 1.360 0.593 0.481 2.448 0.055 0.051 1.188 0.928

Jun-11 2.19 0.962 2.610 44.505 157.14 2.208 0.604 0.493 1.500 0.019 0.018 1.181 0.915

Sep-11 2.57 1.170 2.080 56.950 157.39 2.270 0.620 0.496 2.097 0.039 0.039 1.300 1.004

Dec-11 2.11 1.054 2.372 77.618

Correlation

Coefficient -0.152 -0.178 0.171 0.642 -0.553 -0.216 0.034 0.114 0.370 0.269 -0.381 -0.327

customer service datasafety data financial performance data

142

I. APPENDIX I: TREND OF FINANCIAL RATIOS

143

Liquidity and Debt Service Ratios

0.000

0.100

0.200

0.300

0.400

0.500

0.600

0.700

0.800

0.900

Mar

-08

Jul-

08

No

v-0

8

Mar

-09

Jul-

09

No

v-0

9

Mar

-10

Jul-

10

No

v-1

0

Mar

-11

Jul-

11

No

v-1

1

Current Ratio

Quick Ratio

Linear (Current Ratio)

Linear (Quick Ratio)

0.000

0.500

1.000

1.500

2.000

2.500

3.000

3.500

Mar

-08

Jul-

08

No

v-0

8

Mar

-09

Jul-

09

No

v-0

9

Mar

-10

Jul-

10

No

v-1

0

Mar

-11

Jul-

11

No

v-1

1Times Interest Earned Ratio

Times Interest EarnedRatio

Linear (Times InterestEarned Ratio)

144

Profitability and Asset Management Ratios

Figure I-1: Graphs showing declining financial trend

-0.080

-0.060

-0.040

-0.020

0.000

0.020

0.040

0.060

0.080

Mar

-08

Jul-

08

No

v-0

8

Mar

-09

Jul-

09

No

v-0

9

Mar

-10

Jul-

10

No

v-1

0

Mar

-11

Jul-

11

No

v-1

1

Net Profit Margin

Return on Assets(ROA)

Linear (Return onAssets (ROA))

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

1.200

1.400

1.600

1.800

2.000

Mar

-08

Jul-

08

No

v-0

8

Mar

-09

Jul-

09

No

v-0

9

Mar

-10

Jul-

10

No

v-1

0

Mar

-11

Jul-

11

No

v-1

1

Fixed Asset Turnover

Total Asset Turnover

Linear (Fixed AssetTurnover)

Linear (Total AssetTurnover)