Affecting_Change

Affecting Change Leadership is “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals” (University of Phoenix, 2002, p. 1). The simulation Leadership in Action (2002) focused on a mid-size tele-shopping and mail-order network company called Smith & Falmouth (S&F) that operates in the United States and Canada. The simulation places the individual in a situation in which he or she is the new chief operating officer (COO) overseeing S&F online. S&F online has been in operation for six months and is composed of the marketing manager, project manager, logistics manager, the web development team, and the logistics team. The web development team has six employees responsible for maintaining the online sales channel composed of the website and online payment and they report to the project manager. The logistics team has three employees responsible for managing orders, customer support, and delivery operations and they report to the logistics manager. They are also responsible for reporting order fulfillment status to the marketing manager. The marketing manager coordinates product lines, marketing budgets, and promotional activities. COO is confronted with a group of unwilling employees to achieve the aggressive targets in nine months (University, of Phoenix, 2007). Established Methods of Control and Culture The goals of the new COO are to streamline online operations, increase the reach of the online sales channel, and make S&F online a profitable strategic business unit. The chief operating officer needs to learn and understand the current relationships between the different groups to achieve the goals or she will fail. The current relationships revolve around the project manager, logistics manager, and the marketing manager. The project manager, James, is known for teamwork and building relationships with the other managers. He currently influences and is influenced by the other two managers. He leads by example and has helped his team to achieve success despite adversity. He influences both the web development and logistics teams, but is only influenced by the web development team. He does not like to have his power over his teams disrupted. James is best choice for an ally in moving forward with the new initiatives for both teams (University, of Phoenix, 2007). The logistics manager, Brian, is involved with the teams but lacks charisma. He engages in large groups of employees and is involved with the web development team even though he does not supervise the team. He implemented a new order-placement and tracking solution with the logistics team, which shows his level of detail to embrace challenges. Brian may overestimate numbers causing awkward situations. The marketing manager influences him, but he influences and is influenced by the project manager. He also influences the web development team, but the logistics team shares a common relationship of influence to and from Brian (University, of Phoenix, 2007). The marketing manager, Adam, interacts mainly with the logistics and project managers but not with web development and logistics teams. He represents S&F online and does not have a team of employees who report to him. He is a natural at building relationships with his colleagues. His high levels of enthusiasm and direct approach intimidate teams like the web development group. He influences the logistics manager and shares a common relationship of influence to and from the COO and the project manager. He has no influence and is not influenced by the logistics or web development teams. The web development and logistics teams are aligned with their leaders and show no influence from the COO. All of the employees except for the marketing manager only interact on a professional level with the chief operating officer because of need (University, of Phoenix, 2007). Restructuring Strategy Three plans were decided for the achievement of the goals, which were streamlining online operations, increasing reach of online sales channel, and making S&F online a profitable strategic business unit. The first plan included creating a vision for the teams and stating individual expectations, setting up an Open Door policy and holding sessions to discuss employee satisfaction issues, and offering to take a variable salary based on the team’s performance. The project manager was used to implement the goals because of his personal rapport with all employees and the trust he has gained from them. The use of a one-on-one meeting offering higher responsibilities and promotions for meeting the targets of the organization aligned him with each of the plans. The COO has been able to influence all the managers and employees through the decisions of the first plan and they are enthusiastically working hard to achieve the target (University, of Phoenix, 2007). The second plan included identifying employee competencies and gaps, establishing productivity measures through industry figures, and hold a team meeting to take inputs on achieving the goals and establish common goals for the teams. An inventory of employee skill sets allows the COO to offer training and redesign job roles. This will empower employees to take on new challenges through the use of new skill sets. The third plan included empowering teams by allowing them mutually to decide targets, creating leadership symbols to motivate teams such as metric sheets and progress reports, and offering additional resources such as larger budgets, training, and software (University, of Phoenix, 2007). Effective Management Practices The most effective leadership practice is transformational leadership. “Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 437). The reason a transformational leader is the most effective in this simulation is his or her ability to change the perception of the employee’s issues affecting the organization. Transformational leaders motivate employees to achieve goals they feel are unobtainable and to fight through adversity. These types of leaders can gain trust and provide vision to employees. S&F online had a group of unwilling employees resistant to change from a new leader. The result of using transformational leadership practices was a group of employees willing to achieve the goals from the parent organization. A situational leadership practice is also important because it adapts to the ability and motivational levels of the employees. A mixture of the two styles would be ideal for the simulation. Affects of New Size and Structure The organizational structure changed in size through the addition of the chief operating officer and the addition of new employees in areas where skill sets were lacking. The size of an organization may affect the span of control. The span of control “determines the number of levels and managers an organization has” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 542). The addition of the COO adds another level to the organization and the more levels an organization has, the more efficient it will operate. The new COO can focus on the larger picture and give specific direction to the three managers based on the goal and area of need instead of having each manager focus on the top-level goals. New employees will be hired based on skill set needs to assist the department in achieving its goals. The employees will be empowered to complete only the tasks they are train in until training can be offered. Cross training will be part of the program within the department, which will also work to build relationships among the new team members. All of these assets will lead to the projected growth strategy over the next three years. Conclusion New leadership is met many times with unwilling employees and resistance to change. The leadership practices used by the manager can make the difference between employees working enthusiastically to achieve the goals of the organization or the downfall of the leader. Transformational leaders inspire and assist in changing the perception of the employees. A true mix of leadership practices based on the organization and situation will lead to the achievement of the best outcome for the organization. References Robbins, S.F., & Judge, T.A. (2007). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix. ( 2002). Leadership in Action [Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, LDR531 - Organizational Leadership website.