Introducing a change process to a local wholesale/retail trading company

Abstract

This project is based on a local Chinese family business - SLS Bearings (S)

Pte Ltd. SLS is a wholesale and retail trading company specialising in various

types of ball and roller bearings. It is Singapore's sole distributor of SKF, the

world's largest manufacturer of ball and roller bearings, and also deals in other

renowned brands.

The founder of the company, Mr Tan Tiong Seng is presently the Managing

Director. Mr Tan is in his fifties and is the eldest son of his family. He had only

primary school education and started to work at the age of 14. With hard work and

experience, he set up his own business at the age of 24.

SLS started as a sole proprietorship comprising the proprietor and two

assistants in 1963. It was registered as a private limited company in 1972. Over

the past twenty years, the company has expanded from one small retail shop off

Serangoon Road to its present establishment of sales, administration and

distribution offices at the Serangoon head office and two warehouses at Tuas and

Benoi in Jurong. The workforce has also increased to 80 employees. Being a

Chinese-oriented company, the working language used is predominantly Mandarin.

The company is very much a family-run business, with most key positions held by

family members and entrenched by firm Chinese tradition and values. This

attribute which is generally not addressed in most Western studies on

Organisation development, will be distinctly recognised as an important factor in

our project.