Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho smiled at Director Kim and asked him a question, “If GH Mobile could supply its products worth more than 100 billion won to A Electronics within a year, what would happen to Dyeon Korea?”

“Dyeon Korea is currently selling 600 tons of raw materials in the Korean market. If we would increase the volume of products that we supply to GH Mobile according to their increase in their production, our annual sales volume will increase to 1,000 tons from 600 tons.”

“What would be its annual sales revenue then?”

“It will make more than 50 billion won, sir.”

“Its product price per ton for the domestic market is 4.8 million won. So, its annual sales revenue will be 57.6 billion won to be exact, almost 60 billion won.”

“Whoa! 60 billion won!”

“I’m planning to register Dyeon Korea with KOSDAQ after two years from now when GH Mobile goes public. So both companies will go public simultaneously. Until then, I will make the yearly sales revenue of this company more than 100 billion won.”

“100 billion won!”

“After two years, someone else will take my position as the president of Dyeon Korea. That’s the agreement that we made when we formed this joint venture company. I will be the chairman of the board of directors, and Lymondell Dyeon will designate one of their people to the president position. Mr. Director Kim, at that time, you will be the one who will represent our interest—Korean co-venturer’s interest. Isn’t it exciting to be a managing director of a company that generates 100 billion won annually?”

“Well… umm… that’s right, sir.”

“I’ve never seen you stammering before, Mr. Director Kim. You are an excellent speaker.”

“I’m just baffled, sir, by what you just told me. It’s huge.”

Gun-Ho went to the production site. The site was already set up with new machines in place. The raw materials that were received from the U.S. were piled up in the storage. Gun-Ho could see that the production site was packed with the old workers and the new workers who had recently been hired. It looked vibrant. The My Machine program that started by GH Mobile seemed to influence Dyeon Korea’s production site as well. There were signs and banners about the program spotted everywhere in the production site.

“Sir, you are here.”

Manager Hee-Yeol Yoo from the production department rapidly came to Gun-Ho. He was one of the people who had previously received the special training by Lymondell Dyeon in the U.S. even before Dyeon Korea was officially established.

“I thought that you would be in the compound room.”

“Our company doesn’t have a plant manager, so I now oversee the production lines as well. The production site had worked perfectly fine without constant supervision when we had a small group of production workers. Since we recently hired more workers in the production site to have 100 workers, it requires someone to oversee the site.”

“Who is working in the compound room then?”

“I’ve trained two workers for the work already. I just need to handle a few major steps of compounding.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Gun-Ho called for Director Yoon. Director Yoon used to handle the construction part when the factory was being built. Now, he was in the general management overseeing various departments including general affairs, accounting, administration, logistics, etc.

“Sir, you wanted to see me?”

“Please have a seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dyeon Korea will become extremely busy because GH Mobile received a high volume of product orders from A Electronics. The volume of raw materials that we supply to GH Mobile will substantially increase accordingly.”

“I heard about it, sir.”

“I don’t worry about the management side since we have you—Mr. Director Yoon. However, the production department is drawing my attention. I think we need a plant manager. We have now 100 workers in the production site only.”

“That’s right, sir. I was actually going to bring that up to you, sir.”

“Do you think we should hire someone from outside for the plant manager position?”

“We have hired a lot of workers with previous work experiences. They have been assigned to a position according to their work experience, such as a manager, assistant manager, team lead, etc. We surely need someone who can manage these people. And, I don’t think it would be easy to find someone new who would fit right in that job. I think we should find someone within the company.”

“Within the company? Do you have someone in mind?”

“What do you think of Manager Yoo?”

“Manager Yoo? What about the compound room then? Who’s going to handle the compounding work?”

“The compound room doesn’t require his constant presence. The workers there can be easily trained; they just need to follow the steps in the manual book. We will need Manager Yoo in the compound room when we develop a new product, but other than that, he doesn’t have to be there. Manager Yoo was one of the interviewers when we hired new experienced workers with skills. So, I believe that the workers already have respect established toward him. I believe he will be a good plant manager.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course it would have been perfect if Manager Yoo had charisma controlling the rough workers in the production site, just like GH Mobile’s Director Jong-Suk Park. Manager Yoo is a bit too soft.”

“Do you think that Director Jong-Suk Park has charisma?”

“GH Mobile has 250 workers in the production site. They all listen to Director Jong-Suk Park, and they don’t even dare to challenge him. Director Jong-Suk Park doesn’t hesitate when he has to reprimand the workers. He has no problem with using bad words if that helps him discipline the workers who are constantly exposed to an inherently dangerous factory environment. I’ve seen him even kicking in the air to warn them.”

“Do you think it’s okay for a plant manager to act like that?”

“I think it’s okay under certain circumstances, and I think it’s okay with Director Jong-Suk Park because he always keeps cordial relationships with the workers. He is gentle with them on a normal day. And, if someone is older than him, he treats them like his own older brother or sister. Also, he is an excellent engineer in the production site himself; the workers respect him and heavily rely on him.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Moreover, I’m not sure if I can say this to you, but the workers assume that Director Park is personally close to you, sir. And there is a rumor that the actual number three in the power ranking of the company is Director Park.”

“Number three?”

“Yes. The number one is President Song, and the number two is the research center’s chief officer ensuing by Director Jong-Suk Park who is the number three.”

“That’s funny. Well, let’s talk with Manager Yoo.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho had been changing himself, the way he talked and the way he looked as he was getting old and getting used to being a somewhat powerful person. He also had changed since he was married. He talked more comfortably than before with Director Yoon who was in his 50s. His belly seemed to have bulged a bit as well.

Director Yoon brought Manager Yoo to Gun-Ho’s office.

“Did you want to see me, sir?”

“Yes, please have a seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

“When I looked around the production site earlier, I’ve noticed that there are many workers working there, and I think we need a plant manager who could manage them and the site. Moreover, we will probably have an even heavier workload later on. So, we need a management system in the production department. We need a plant manager as soon as possible.”

“I agree with you, sir.”

“Mr. Director Yoon here is suggesting finding someone within the company rather than hiring someone new from the outside, and he is recommending you—Mr. Manager Yoo—as our plant manager.”

“Huh? Me, sir?”

“What do you think? I understand that you have work to do in the compound room. But, I think you can focus on managing the production site on a usual day and spend more time in the compound room when we need to develop a new product. I’m sure it will be a rewarding job managing the entire factory.”

“Are you asking me to take a dual position?”

“Yes, I am. You will take over two positions.”

“Well, umm, okay, sir. I will do it.”

“Working as a plant manager will help with your career development as well.”

“I’m not sure if I can handle the work well, but I will do my best.”

“Mr. Director Yoon here will help you. I hope you enjoy the work.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Gun-Ho looked at Director Yoon, and said, “As of today, please appoint Manager Hee-Yeol Yoo as our plant manager. Also set his salary accordingly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Director Yoon and Manager Yoo left the office after giving a bow to Gun-Ho.