Macoda adapts a customer service-oriented culture where employees provide

warm, genuine care for clients that effectively resolve disputes, answer questions, and
ensure total customer experience. Response time to emails is strictly monitored and
tracked easily since emails are installed on their mobile and clients send their email to
one email group. For most cases, it is mandated to communicate via phone to
customers for faster resolutions and feedbacks. With a large number of customs broker
resources, the company can attend to customer requests swiftly because they can
directly resolve issues at the first level.
Conclusion: Effective and must be improved
The company regularly applies negative reinforcement for any misses or delays
in deliveries that are caused by slow response time. For gaps that involve financial
losses, disciplinary actions to termination are strictly applied. This approach has been
very helpful in positioning its customer service as supply chain experts. In contrast,
Logistics Cargo, GTLI, and Cyrus Logistics has a minimum number of customs broker
resources.
1.1.1. Style
Authoritarian
With the top managements hands-on approach, it adapts an authoritarian
leadership style that instills discipline while promoting close supervision, coordination
and cooperation among teams. Since the top management values customers and
shipments the most, any violations that can negatively impact these conditions are
subject to penalties and sanctions.
Conclusion: Helpful, but not entirely effective
Though this promotes cooperation and discipline, it limits the engagement of
employees and they can become resistant to change because they were taught to follow
and were never used to thinking outside the box. With a growing workforce, it is
recommended to establish industry standards and a new organization structure that will
fully utilize the potential of its workforce.
1.1.2. Staff
a. Employee Development and Training Program
The company firmly believes that in this industry, employees learn and develop
their skills through hands-on experience. In fact, the management consists of purely

customs brokers and most of them have more than ten years of practical experience
prior on becoming part of the management team. For new hires, they are partnered with
experienced staff where they are trained for four months. Onboarding process starts on
handling minor tasks such as assisting in trade documentation, onsite support of clients
and processing clearances in Bureau of Customs.
Conclusion: Helpful, but can be improved
This has been helpful especially that the training does not involve additional
costs, but this will result to recurring mistakes if employees were not properly trained by
the mentor. Learning without proper documentation, knowledge management, and
training process will make activities prone to errors. It is recommended to utilize
technology that store the best practices and make them accessible to employees
through online trainings.
b. Succession Program
The owner, prior to building her company, moved through the ranks on her
previous work without going through proper training. She believes that it all boils down to
hard work and performance. This indicates that the training for potential leaders in this
enterprise is measured by loyalty and performance. The longer and valuable the staff is
to the company, the higher the probability that the staff will be promoted.
Conclusion: Not effective.
The company adapts a flat-based organization, which limits the growth of its
employees. Aside that the managers assigned have no plans of resigning, upper
management positions are already reserved for the owners family members. Despite
this, the company compensates employees based on commissions and cash
performance, which has been effective since employee turnover rate is consistent at 2%.
1.1.3. Skills
a. Functional Skills
The managers and staff have sufficient capability to perform their roles, which
starts from the vessel landing at port to delivery of goods to warehouse. Logistics
requires a lot of coordination that is why employees fully utilize face to face, telephone
conversation, and email information channels to get things done. The required traits to
be capable on these roles would be effective problem solver, attention to details, good at
coordination, can multitask, and resourceful enough to meet expectations.
Conclusion: Good

Staff with above average skills will be valuable to the company since this
translates to faster delivery of goods. Being a go-to-guy when the situation requires it is
a plus to the management since that has been part of their standards.
b. Technical Skills
The minimum qualifications required to be accepted include being able to finish a
degree in college, and computer literate with basic knowledge in MS office. Trade and
operations staff should be graduates of Customs Administration with or without
licensure. Human resource and accounting staff should be capable of performing tasks
required by their departments such as payroll, payments, and collections.
Conclusion: Good and efficient, but it sales and marketing needs to improve.
Meeting the required qualifications and being familiar with basic office programs
will assure the resources capability to perform the tasks assigned by managers. In
addition, having a Customs Administration degree for its trade and operations will
enable the resource to perform transactions in Bureau of Customs, work with logistics
channels, and act as a logistics expert for the customers. The marketing and sales
carried out by the president on occasional basis must be outsourced or transferred to a
dedicated sales and marketing manager.
1.1.4. Shared Values / Superordinate Goals
a. Objectives and Goals
The mission-vision statement of the company lacks direction and is not enough
to guide the employees. As observed, this has not been given much focus because this
was not displayed in their office and included in the onboarding process. Since its
creation in 2009, it has never been changed.
Conclusion: Not effective
Not giving importance in the vision mission statement has limited the company in
seizing new opportunities because it is preoccupied on what needs to be done at
present. With no goal in mind, its employees potentials will be limited in the long term
due to lack of company direction.
b. Shared Values
The shared values of the company are earning the trust and confidence of
customers, perseverance in everything we do, and honesty in dealings. The company,
especially the owner, communicates these values very often during meetings and
events. These had been the guiding principle of the owner when she moved up the

career ladder until she started her own company. She believes that these are the main
ingredients that can establish long-term relationships with customers.
Conclusion: Helpful, but needs improvement
The shared values have an impact to the employees because it shows how they
performed well in providing quality in customer service and aggressiveness in securing
approvals from customs. Employees understand how it is important to always please the
customers and deliver goods on time. Improvement part is in obtaining approvals and
negotiating with vendors since not all staff possess interpersonal skills.
1.1.5. Alignment with Strategy
a. Structure: Good
The company adapts a flat organization, which makes it easier for strategies
such as marketing penetration and cost improvement to be deployed swiftly. Given the
few hierarchy levels, employees will be productive since they are directly involved in the
decision-making process.
b. Systems: Good
The core business processes are able to fully support the market penetration
strategies since the processes, such as customer service and delivery handling, have a
direct impact on total customer experience. The success of market penetration
strategies will highly depend on the effectiveness of the aforementioned processes.
c. Style: Helpful, but can be improved
Marketing penetration and cost improvement strategies will undoubtedly benefit
from the leadership style of VP and managers since they are in the position to
implement, and mandate everyone to follow. Given the authoritarian style, cascading
policies has never been an issue since employees are very attentive when it comes to
new rules.
d. Staff: Helpful but can be improved
The thorough and practical trainings to different departments are beneficial to the
development of employees. With improved skills, employees will be able to contribute
and support the market and cost improvement strategies of the company. However, the
development is concentrated on trade and operations. Improvement area would be to
add other departments to cover the whole company
e. Skills: Helpful, but can be improved

Functional and technical skills are aligned with market penetration and cost
improvement strategies. To elaborate further, market penetration involves bargaining and
negotiating of prices that requires practical skills, while cost improvement requires filing
of legitimate expenses via computer that demands technical skills.
f.

Shared Values / Goals: Not helpful, needs improvement

The vision and mission of the company are not given importance and not

communicated appropriately in contrast with the core values. Hence, employees

understand that there are strategies to be implemented and work to be performed well,
but they do not have any idea on whether the strategies are aligned or not with the
overall goal.