How SMC Corporation faced challenges during Covid-19 lockdowns and how the different departments could adapt to these changes.

Fenyő Natália (2025) How SMC Corporation faced challenges during Covid-19 lockdowns and how the different departments could adapt to these changes. Menedzsment Kar (2025-)-.

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Absztrakt (kivonat)

This thesis examines SMC Corporation's strategic and operational response to the systemic exogenous shock of the COVID-19 pandemic within its Central and Eastern European (CEE) operations, specifically across Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The research aims to evaluate how key functional departments—grouped into Strategic Governance, Operations, Sales, Infrastructure, and Human Resources—adapted to fulfill the company's mission of maintaining "solid business continuity" and supporting essential factory automation during the global crisis.Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, the study leverages data from 20 consultations with regional management and staff, supplemented by documentary analysis. Findings confirm that SMC’s resilience was achieved through a strategic synthesis built upon three interdependent pillars of adaptation, rather than a single technical fix:Operational Discipline and Transparency: The Operations core mitigated the destructive Bullwhip Effect (BWE) and severe logistical failures (e.g., raw material shortages, lost air freight capacity) by enforcing uncompromising physical discipline, including mandatory Dual Shift Rotations and rigorous on-site Business Continuity Planning (BCP) protocols. Crucially, this department restored commercial trust by rapidly deploying the "Traffic Light System," an innovation that provided strategic transparency to the sales force and customers, enabling immediate Strategic Product Substitution amidst material scarcity. Accelerated Digital Transition: The mandate to transition an office-bound organization to remote work forced an urgent Legacy System Migration (from systems like 3CX and Lotus) to the Microsoft O365 ecosystem. Technical Support and Administration acted as the infrastructure core, facilitating this rapid digital pivot and executing the Forced Digitalization of Administration (e.g., migrating paper-based invoicing to secure digital formats). Human Capital Strategy: Human Resources and General Management managed profound Workforce Friction and social upheaval, actively countering the Trust Deficit (Proximity Bias) inherent in remote teams through cultural interventions such as Digital Community Building (e.g., "Coffee Times"). Furthermore, HR secured organizational stability by institutionalizing psychological support (e.g., Mental Health Support Program) and executing strategic talent retention policies following the mandatory "Abrupt Switch" back to the office. The study concludes that SMC successfully leveraged the interdependence of these departmental adaptations, turning short-term, reactive changes into long-term strategic benefits, such as Accelerated Automation. The findings offer critical theoretical and managerial implications for enhancing organizational governance and building lasting resilience in multinational industrial networks facing systemic shocks.

Intézmény

Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetem

Kar

Menedzsment Kar (2025-)-

Tudományterület/tudományág

NEM RÉSZLETEZETT

Szak

Gazdálkodási és menedzsment

Mű típusa:	diplomadolgozat (NEM RÉSZLETEZETT)
Kulcsszavak:	digitalizáció, ellátási lánc - ellátó hálózat, koronavírus-járvány (COVID-19), munkaerő, távmunka
SWORD Depositor:	User Archive
Felhasználói azonosító szám (ID):	User Archive
Rekord készítés dátuma:	2026. Júl. 09. 11:03
Utolsó módosítás:	2026. Júl. 09. 11:03

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