Reference no: EM133331291

Based on Lee's case study,

As our bright-red Mercedes Benz four-wheel drive screeched to a halt, Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen, the blue-eyed and blond-haired chief executive of United Plantations, leaped out of the driver's seat. He walked straight to a labourer standing next to a train laden with oil palm fruit, and rattled off three questions.

"Semua baik?" Bek-Nielsen asked the Indonesian harvester. "Bagaimana isteri? Keluarga sihat?"

The man took a step forward, nodded vigorously to all three questions, and smiled broadly.

Estate worker with a motorised cutter poses for a photograph at the United Plantations Jendarata estate. At first, I didn't think much of that exchange. Here was a CEO making small talk: how are you, and how is your family. But as I observed Bek-Nielsen talking to the rank and file in his company, I gradually realized there was something much bigger going on. In the kernel of that ordinary encounter lay a seed that reveals the greatness of United Plantations. But for you to understand the significance of that exchange, I must explain to you five things that sets UP apart from other oil palm plantations - and possibly all other companies in Malaysia.

The first thing you need to know is that this publicly listed company is led and controlled by two Danish brothers. Carl, 40, the chief executive director, is the personification of Malaysia: he speaks fluent English, Bahasa and Tamil, and understands Cantonese. He's also fluent in German and Danish. Martin, the younger brother, is executive director of finance and marketing at UP.

The brothers stand upon the shoulders of the company's founders who were among the first in Malaya to grow palm oil on a large scale in the 1920s. After the war, the company brought in superior planting materials which were used to breed improved palm varieties that enabled Malaysia to leapfrog Africa in palm oil production. By 1951, UP was producing 20% of Malaysia's palm oil.

Today, UP is a midsized company, dwarfed by the likes of Sime Darby and Felda Global Ventures. Nevertheless, UP still has the highest yield of palm oil per hectare - nearly 50% more than the average plantation in Malaysia. It has been listed in Forbes as one of the best small companies in the world; the Ministry of Plantations has also recognized it as the best managed estate.

From young, the brothers lived on the estate. Whenever they got injured by thorns or got bitten by dogs or monkeys, they were treated by the same doctors who treated the estate workers. They worked as cadet planters at UP before leaving Perak to study agriculture in Denmark. They met their respective Danish girlfriends there, and both succeeded in wooing the women back to rural Perak. The brothers rose the ranks and eventually succeeded their father, Tan Sri Børge BekNielsen, dubbed the oil palm king of Malaysia.

The strong family bonds leads us to the second reason why UP is different from almost any oil palm plantation today: the Bek-Nielsen brothers have a sense of place. Even today, their lives are rooted in rural Perak.

"I know these roads better than any manager," Carl told me as we zoomed along Jendarata estate about ninety minutes' drive from Teluk Intan. "As kids, Martin and I used to play in the estate and hunt for monitor lizards and pythons. I love this land. I spend eighty percent of my time on the plantation. This is my home. That's the key difference between us and many other plantations."

Carl told me that not long ago, he spotted a crack on the ground that snaked between a row of oil palms. Cracks are a sign of impending drought. Concerned, he followed the crack for one kilometer. I was astounded. Who on earth follows a crack on the ground? But Carl told me the story like it was all in a day's work for a plantation CEO.

Because he grew up here, Carl has done everything that needs to be done on the estate. He has done lab work, dug holes in the ground, transferred seedlings into the nursery, sprayed the

QUESTION 1

As a strategy what are the steps that United Plantations used to strategize and sustain for future development of their organization.

QUESTION 2

"Carl is a bit like Steve Jobs when it comes to obsessing about machines".

Do you agree with Carl statement? Justify your answer.

QUESTION 3

How does strategic management (United Plantation) of a for-profit and non-profit organization differ and strategist's attitude toward social responsibility affected. Describe the answer.