Sustaining Competitiveness In The Market Place By Using Technology

Executive Summary

There is no denying how technology is fast becoming indispensable in the business strategy where many successful organizations rely on technology for sustaining competitiveness in the market place. Technology has enabled internal and eternal integration thus creating value in the organization where it may lower labor costs and increase higher profits.

Technology should not be regarded as an obstacle or barrier; instead, it is a tool for progress that would lead to higher value for the organization. Globalization and the borderless world have created more challenges where technology acts as a mechanism to enhance quality performance.

Likewise in Genting Sanyen Industrial Paper Sdn Bhd, the evolution of technology, among others, has helped lower production costs, prevent environmental pollution and introduce health and safety issues that would make that organization sustainable. Every organization has its own need for new technology in the creation of products and services therefore the various tools of technology used in Genting Sanyen Industrial Paper Sdn Bhd has created positive and negative impact to the organization.

However, Genting Sanyen Industrial Paper Sdn Bhd has crafted and executed strategies as the need to see beyond technology is critical. It involves the “know-how” in people, sharing information and knowledge that would increase human capital as well as sustaining long-term needs and the well-being of the organization.

Overview of the organization

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Genting Sanyen is a subsidiary of the Genting group companies. Genting Group of Companies was established by Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong in 1965 for the development of the area around Genting Highlands. It has been expanding since from its primary resorts and hotels into plantation, properties, paper manufacturing, power generation, and exploration of hydrocarbons; which makes it the most successful groups in the country.

It is the largest integrated paper and corrugated carton manufacturer in Malaysia. Genting Sanyen paper mill has been established in 1992 in Kuala Langat, Selangor and it is situated around 5-minute drives from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. They convert recycling wastepaper into new paper. Also, it extended his business activities and opens its packaging division. The packaging department was opened to manufacture corrugated carton boxes, and they are converting their own 100% recycled paper into boxes.

(Genting Group, 2007)

1.1 Products

Among its products collection, the Genting Sanyen paper mill produces Testliner, K-Liner, Corrugating Medium Paper, Whiteliner, and Coated Whiteliner papers. For their packaging division, they provide boxes with flutes A, B, C, E and any combination of two and they also produced the nestings, dividers, layer pads and foam that can be used with the cartons boxes.

(Genting Sanyen, 2007)

1.2 Vision

The mission answers the organization’s basic question of “What business are we in?” It is basically what the company wants to become or achieve. In the case of Genting Sanyen, their mission is: “To care all customer's packaging needs drives us to continuously find ways to improve our products and services”.

(Genting Sanyen, 2007)

Overview of the organization

1.3 Previous issues of traditional paper manufacturing industry

They are all critical issues faced paper manufacturing industry and will determine the industry’s development in long-term as explained below:

• Limited forest resources

Countries with large forest resources (such as the United States and Canada) dominate the paper industry; the United States is by far the largest producer and consumer of paper products. The forest resources are so limited for the majority of countries in the world. However, the forest is the main original material of paper manufacturing industry. Based on the limited forest resources, paper industry has to pay more attention to how to recycle the wastepaper and turn to advanced-technology for help.

• High production cost

Nowadays, the modern paper industry is capital-intensive with manufacturers undergoing constant investment in new plants and the latest high-tech equipment. Advance technologies have led to lower production costs, with automation replacing many production employees; industry employment has decreased over the past several years even as productivity has increased. On contrary, for the paper plants without high-tech equipment, the production cost is much higher due to the low productivity and heavy human power invested.

• Heavy water consuming

Due to a large amount of water are daily used to making paper, the cost of water takes a large part of total cost of paper manufacturing industry. For the reason that the water scarcity becomes a common issue in the world, heavy water consuming imposes more impacts on paper manufacturing industry. How to reduce the quantity of water consuming is the main problem should be thought about by paper manufacturing industry.

(Eldred, 2000)

Overview of the organization

• Environment pollution

As we known, the paper manufacturing industry is almost the most harmful industry to the environment. A large quantity of water with chemical additives is used to make the paper pulp. If the waste water can not be properly treated by the high-tech refining equipment, it is very harmful to the environment.

• Safety and Health

Papermaking, conversion and paper recycling have traditionally suffered from high accident rates. The Paper and Board Industry Advisory Committee (PABIAC) targeted accident reduction programmed that have seen rates in paper and board mills reduce significantly in recent years. Without using of automatic machines, more employees should be involved in the manufacturing process. Due to fewer machines used and more employees involved, employees more easily suffer from the unsafely environment and get injury.

(Health & Safety Executive, 2007)