CEMEX Company’s Learning Plan

Abstract

CEMEX is a world leader in the cement industry. The paper discusses the creation and implementation of the organizational learning strategy plan for CEMEX in order to contribute to the company’s further progress in the industry. To become a learning organization and to implement an effective learning strategy, CEMEX managers should develop training programs for all the employees and include a different component in courses to address the issue of diversity.

CEMEX Learning Plan

Cementos Mexicanos (CEMEX) is a world leader in the cement industry. The company was established in Mexico in 1906, and today it is one of the most successful cement companies in the world. Changes in the business environment make the company’s leaders pay more attention to contributing to the company’s growth supported with the use of a lot of technologies and to overcoming challenges associated with flexibility, successor selections, and decreases in operational effectiveness (Abair, 2012). Thus, the paper discusses the creation and implementation of the organizational learning strategy plan for CEMEX in order to increase the company’s effectiveness.

CEMEX’s Current Mission, Vision, and Core Competencies

CEMEX’s current mission is to commit to the customers’ needs and be responsive to the customers’ demand by providing high-quality solutions in an environmentally friendly manner. The main focus is on the efforts of a competent, inspired, and motivated team (CEMEX Annual Report, 2002).

CEMEX’s current vision is to become the world’s most efficient and profitable cement producer and support the reputation of the global leader in the industry that provides high-quality products and services to customers from many regions.

CEMEX’s core competencies include the focus on teamwork, creativity, respect, passion for work, the focus on stakeholders, the accentuation of strategic thinking, integrity, the focus on providing efficient services, professionalism, and learning (CEMEX Annual Report, 2002).

Internal Analysis (SWOT)

In order to discuss the CEMEX’s potential for implementing the learning strategy, it is necessary to conduct the SWOT analysis for the company.

Strengths related to the company’s development include the company’s status of a leader in the cement industry, rapid growth, focus on using the latest technologies, intensive investment in the company, focus on reinvestment and diversity, and operational effectiveness.

Weaknesses that can prevent the company from further progress include the lack of training and education for employees, lack of flexibility, and weaknesses in the current communication technologies.

Threats are the increases in the customer’s dissatisfaction, increases in the percentage of late deliveries, increased costs, and the intensified competition in the industry (CEMEX Annual Report, 2002).

Opportunities include the implementation of effective communication technology, the use of effective employee training, the use of updated communication devices and software, improvement of the connection between CENEX’s plants and offices, and the focus on diversity.

External Analysis

Having conducted the remote analysis, it is important to note that the activities of CEMEX are dependent on the changes in the political, economic, social, technological, and environmental spheres. In Mexico, there are changes in the political regulations of industries, and this fact can influence the CEMEX’s operations. Moreover, the deregulation in foreign investments in Mexico is observed in relation to the economic environment (Abair, 2012). CEMEX’s activities also depend on changes in regulating environmental issues because of the company’s focus on producing cement. However, changes in the social and technological spheres can contribute to the organization’s progress positively because CEMEX is oriented to use advanced technologies and new organizational strategies in the corporate environment.

Referring to the industry analysis, it is important to note that CEMEX remains to be a financial leader in the area while working in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. However, the problem is in the increased foreign competition, which stimulates the company to find more ways to grow continuously (CEMEX Financial Report, 2011).

Focusing on the operating environment analysis, it is necessary to state that CEMEX refers to the suppliers and creditors with whom the company works for a long period of time. Moreover, relationships with customers are also based on the principle of building long-term commitments. As a result, the company’s competitive position increases.

Recommend Strategic Choices

Strategic choices are decisions to improve the strategy followed by the company, which are based on the available resources. CEMEX’s strategic choices are associated with the determined challenges in the company’s activities. The first strategic choice is based on the necessity to improve flexibility and guarantee the effective successor selections with references to the effective learning strategies proposed (Deiser, 2009, p. 54). The second strategic choice is the focus on improving the organization’s operations with references to increasing the employees’ competence in working with new technologies according to the requirements of a streamlined digital company. The third strategic choice is the focus on improving customer services and delivery.

Generic and Grand Strategies

Being the third-largest cement company in the world, CEMEX mainly refers to cost leadership as an effective generic strategy because the company’s focus on developing the corporate structure and on owning petrochemical plants and mining companies does not allow speaking about the use of the developed differentiation strategy. However, it is possible to speak about the mix of both generic strategies to increase the company’s competitive advantage (Kachaner & Deimler, 2008, p. 40). Referring to the grand strategies, it is important to note that CEMEX is oriented to market development, diversification, and to increase the market share.

10 Long-Term Objectives

1. Increase the customer’s satisfaction improving the quality of services.
2. Promote innovation and improvement in all areas.
3. Focus on the employees’ engagement and commitment.
4. Concentrate on the principles of sustainability and social responsibility.
5. Contribute to improvement while focusing on knowledge management and continuous learning.
6. Promote employees’ learning and development.
7. Manage diversity in relation to human resources and other corporate strategies.
8. Focus on the use of technologies to improve production and delivery processes.
9. Promote learning, training, and development at CEMEX plants.
10. Use the advantages of teamwork and cooperation for improving performance.

Implementation and Control Plan for the 10 Long-Term Objectives

Recommendations for Restructuring, Reengineering, and Refocusing CEMEX

It is important to restructure CEMEX while focusing on providing the regional plants with more space for independent activities and for making independent decisions on using training and learning programs appropriate for certain regions. Thus, both central and regional managers should be responsible for completing the training courses. While reengineering CEMEX, it is important to pay attention to the implementation of the new communications technology, which can centralize the high tech systems used in the company (Kontoghiorghes, Awbre, & Feurig, 2005, p. 185). Moreover, it is also important to refocus CEMEX while shifting the focus from creating the industry, and market leaders used the traditional technologies to building an effective learning organization. Much attention should be paid to the employees’ continuous learning and development.

Recommendations for How to Conduct Continuous Process Improvement at CEMEX

To conduct the continuous process improvement at CEMEX, it is necessary to follow several recommendations:

1. It is necessary to focus on effective leadership as the key requirement to promote improvement, the reformation of the company’s management is possible.
2. The next step is the focus on the successful strategies and planning followed in the company.
3. One more step is the optimization strategies to promote the employee’s involvement in the company’s activities.

Comprehensive Learning Architecture for CEMEX: Needs Assessments

Learning dimensions that are associated with the process of learning and development are the following ones: topical, analytical, emotional, social, political, and ethical learning. Specific needs assessments which are associated with these dimensions should be incorporated at the individual, organizational, and strategic levels. Thus, topical needs assessments should be used at the individual level to check the employees’ knowledge related to working with advanced technologies. Analytical and political needs assessments should be used at the strategic level to evaluate the company’s readiness to restructure and refocus in order to meet the requirements of the learning organization (Deiser, 2009, p. 68). Emotional, social, and ethical assessments can be used at the organizational level to understand what changes should be made in the corporate culture in order to promote growth and improvement.

Curricular and Implementation Guidance for Learning Objectives

To increase the customer’s satisfaction improving the quality of services, it is necessary to educate employees on the effective use of systems to promote ordering and billing processes and delivery. Promote innovation and improvement in the company means to focus on the employees’ understanding of their jobs’ role in making final products with the help of the advanced technologies. Focusing on the employees’ engagement, it is necessary to use many topics in training in order to educate the candidates effectively and promote their career development (Elkeles & Phillips, 2007, p. 112). Referring to the fourth objective, it is important to note that employees should focus on creating supportive relationships with the stakeholders.

The fifth objective is associated with using knowledge management systems to promote the employees’ continuous learning. The employees of different levels should participate in effective centralized training programs. Training programs should be developed according to the principle of diversity. The guidance for the eighth objective is correlated with the first one. Individual training programs should be implemented at regional plants (Deiser, 2009, p. 68). The focus on teamwork and cooperation should be the important factor to develop the training and learning programs.

Differences in Learning Objectives and Technologies of Various Regions, Businesses, and Operational Processes

CEMEX works in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The company’s plants are located in different regions. As a result, much attention should be paid to the notions of culture and respect for diversity. Depending on the plant and department’s operation processes, the proposed independent training programs should address the needs of the employees working at these plants (Deiser, 2009, p. 89). More attention should be paid to respecting the diversity and cultural differences while promoting teamwork and cooperation in the company. The nature of actively used technologies at plants also influences the topics learnt by employees during their training programs.

Recommendations for How to Manage the New Learning Strategy

To manage the new learning strategy effectively, it is necessary to differentiate between its components. Thus, it is important to control topical learning, acquisition of skills, and the work of seminars and workshops separately from controlling the successes in the company’s change and transformation (Elkeles & Phillips, 2007, p. 56). To restructure and refocus the company effectively in order to increase the market share and respond to the customers’ demands, it is necessary to monitor strategic changes separately from controlling the learning programs implemented in CEMEX.

Conclusion

CEMEX is a leader in the world cement industry. However, to promote the market development strategy, it is necessary to focus on innovation and improvement as the basic objectives followed in the company as the learning organization. To become the learning organization and to implement the effective learning strategy, CEMEX leaders should develop training programs for all the employees and include different component in courses to address the issue of diversity. The development of the learning strategy is an effective method to contribute to increasing the company’s competitive advantage.

References

Abair, P. (2012). CEMEX case study: Developing a learning strategy to compliment a high growth global corporation. Web.

CEMEX Annual Report. (2002). Web.

CEMEX Financial Report. (2011). Web.

Deiser, R. (2009). Designing the smart organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Elkeles, T., & Phillips, J. (2007). The chief learning officer: Driving value within a changing organization through learning and development. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kachaner, N., & Deimler, M. S. (2008). How leading companies are stretching their strategy. Strategy & Leadership, 36(4), 40-43.

Kontoghiorghes, C., Awbre, S., & Feurig, P. (2005). Examining the relationship between learning organization characteristics and change adaptation, innovation, and organizational performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 16(2), 185-211.