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1. Indian Metals Corporation (Case 10)
MGT 314; Section:15, Group: 04
Submitted To:
Raihan Sharif
Department of Management
North South University
Submitted By:
Team Members Name ID & Contribution
Yasin Arafat 1822047630 (Question no-1)
Nusrat Marzia Momo 1821508630 (Question no-1)
Jubaer Islam 1921654630 (Question no-2)
Debobrata Das 1921010630 (Question no-2)
Jihanur Rahman Mahin 2021046630 (Question no-3)
Namira Samrin Aroshikha 2021532630 (Question no-3)

2. Contents
Summary:...........................................................................................................3
Q1: Evaluate the ethical issues concerned with the operations management
decisions of the IMC plant...................................................................................4
Q2. Comment on the maintenance strategy at the plant. Are there any alternative
methods that would be suitable? ..........................................................................6
Q3. ‘John wondered, realistically, if the plant could ever be changed.’ If you were
to carry out improvements at the plant, what would your ethical priorities be?.......7

3. Summary:
The operation management of a refining plant in North India, as well as the company's
maintenance strategy, are discussed in this case, "Indian Metals Corporation." The facility, as can
be seen, faces a number of ethical challenges related to operations management decisions. They
were mostly having difficulties with the refining process. As a result, the plant could only
function at half capacity. Indian Metals Corporation built a lead and zinc processing factory,
which went into service in the 1990s. Despite the fact that the facility was initially equipped with
high-quality technology, it has had to deal with the "Indianization" of some of its operations over
time.
The plant was constructed in a distant location and extracted lead and zinc from mined ore using
a revolutionary Dual Refinery Process. This procedure had been devised in collaboration with a
United Nations organization. The mine had been a huge success for the corporation, but the
refining process was proving to be extremely difficult. As a result, the plant could only function
at half capacity.

4. Q1: Evaluate the ethical issues concerned with the operations management
decisions of the IMC plant
1. To begin with, the firm puts workers in threatening circumstances with little concern for
their safety. ICM totally disregarded any safety concerns for its employees. Employees
were seen working in a hazardous situation with no protection safeguards. Inside the
plant there was piles of toxic lead and zinc dust everywhere. Also, Zinc buffer supplies
were also kept close to machinery, and frequently across pathways and emergency exits
that means the people working there will have a very hard time escaping the facility in
case of a catastrophe such as earthquake or fire. More horrific scenario was observed
when an employee was seen working on a girder of just 50mm above 2500 Celsius hot
molten zinc without any means of protective equipment. If the worker slipped down over
the block due to a lack of balance, he could very well burn to death before anybody could
rescue him. Furthermore, the provided protective clothing and equipment are insufficient.
In addition, repairing would only be done in the case of a catastrophic equipment failure.
2. The ICM revealed a great deal of inequality and unethical working practices. Employees
at ICM are required to work for unusually long periods of time. For example, the shift
manager must work 14-hour shifts seven days a week. ICM's planning is also
problematic, since the management sets unreasonable goals for the staff. "The production
targets are perceived as a joke that isn't humorous at all," one employee said. They're
plainly aware that they won't be met, but there's a cover-up going on. If they fail to meet
their objective, which happens frequently, it is reset for the next month. As long as the
factory is running, there are no consequences. Besides that, as comparison to other
factories, the salary for such long hours of work is quite low. Employees' physical and
mental health may be compromised as a result of the excessive workload and inadequate
pay.
3. Furthermore, Despite the fact that half of the personnel has a university degree and a
higher education certificate the majority of the employees and workers are slackers,
defectives, illiterates, and ineffective and they have no hands-on experience. So, the
general manager has to take all the decisions since he can't trust anyone. Therefore, the

5. other managers at the plants cannot take any instantaneous decisions in case of an
emergency. Even if a malfunction is found, as in the case of the furnace, Top
Management will refuse to shut the plant down for maintenance. Employee safety is
jeopardized by this method, which adds to a high percentage of injuries and accidents.
4. The authorities then discovered that half of the contractors were women because they
were less expensive. Women, on the other hand, are not legally allowed to work in lead
mines or processing plants due to regulatory restrictions. IMC considers moral standards
in the workplace to be of minor relevance. The human right to work in a safe
environment, as well as workplace safety, is underestimated. Workers are not provided
enough safety guidelines, and even when limits are put in place to protect workers, such
as the use of respirators, they are not enforced and obeyed. Regular equipment
maintenance and safe working techniques are also regarded as high expenditures and
activities.
5. As the case shows, the IMC facility has encountered several ethical issues related to
environmental deterioration. To begin with, the plant does not have adequate pollution
control, resulting in excessive carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. Furthermore,
IMC's waste management techniques are subpar. Without an appropriate recycling
method, waste was dumped in a landfill. In addition, the plant's inefficiency uses more
energy, resulting in the emission of several pollutants into the environment. Furthermore,
the lead residue is disposed of in the water, resulting in pollution and ecological damage.
Pollution and waste control are also not major priorities for IMC.

6. Q2. Comment on the maintenance strategy at the plant. Are there any alternative
methods that would be suitable?
The plant's policy was to keep running until anything went wrong. The utilization of the plants
was as low as 50%. Instead of shutting down the facility, the leaders of the pre-product, furnace,
and refinery saw malfunctions as an opportunity to rebuild their own equipment. The plant was
meant to have its own power plant, but it was never completed. A process known as
'Indianization' had had an impact on the plant's equipment. The plan's maintenance strategy is too
explicit and practical. The plant's management is now utilizing a low-cost, low-quality machine
spare parts maintenance strategy. Maintenance is only started when there is a major disruption in
the plant, such as a full breakdown of a machine or its component. Regular maintenance is
considered a costly strategy; thus, it is avoided. Even if the operations department discovers a
problem in the plant, the paperwork required to obtain approval for the maintenance procedure
takes time. In the majority of cases, such delays result in mechanical breakdown, lowering
production. Moreover, poor maintenance exposes staff to potentially hazardous circumstances
within the plant, as well as increased pollutants. Instead of being an expense strategy, such a
procedure adds to the plant's costs. The installation of a 'Preventive Maintenance Policy' is one of
several potential ways that is acceptable for the plant. With that kind of a policy in place,
management will be able to conduct routine inspections of the plant and its machinery,
identifying any issues and taking prompt corrective action. Management can also assign
responsibility for policy execution to the operations and maintenance departments. The adoption
of condition-based maintenance is another alternate strategy offered for the plant. This comprises
the training of a group of people who are equipped with the necessary abilities to handle
maintenance difficulties. Yet, such a strategy may be incompatible with an organizational culture
that heavily relies on centralized decision-making. In order for the preventative approach to be
more appropriate for the plant's organization

7. Q3. ‘John wondered, realistically, if the plant could ever be changed.’ If you were
to carry out improvements at the plant, what would your ethical priorities be?
The Plant was subject to a number of issues and with the most basic requirements and functions.
So, if the plant could ever be changed there would be need of fundamental safety features, health
and quality norms. The problems faced can be classify into some basic categories and would
require changes and major improvements on this. This are operational Problems and
organizational problems. Firstly, unorganized storage of raw materials i.e. zincs and lead near the
river and production area caused the river poisoned. Secondly, lead poisoning was common
among the workers and alteration of the medical reports by the company and local doctors. It
was a common occurrence wherein the amount of lead was shown up to 30 PPM rather than
60PPM which was actual life-threatening levels. Thirdly, the machines had international
standards but the maintenance efforts and use of low-quality spare parts which caused frequent
breakdowns and decreased the life to nearly 3 years. The Low quality of pre-product led to
longer processing times was another issue. Fourthly, there were unequal safety norms for the
employees and the contractors. There was no advance training and no license to any safety
equipment. Using dangerous chemicals while loading and dangerous chemicals was another
issue. So basically, we would have need to carry out improvements in each and every problem I
shared here.