Affecting_Change

Affecting Change Angela DeLorme LDR531-Organizational Leadership May 9, 2011 Jim Severnak Affecting Change The term leadership has various definitions to many individuals. The one aspect of leadership most agree on is influence. Leaders typically must have influence over groups, which often include subordinates as well as leaders in other departments or areas within a company. During times of restructuring, a new leader may face many difficulties in establishing himself or herself with existing departments, as is the case with the new chief operating officer (COO) of S&F (Smith & Falmouth) Online. This paper is an explanation of the demands on leadership personnel with respect to control, culture, restructuring, effective management practices, size, and structure. S&F Online Smith & Falmouth developed its e-tailing division, S&F Online, six months ago to augment its tele-shopping and mail-order company. The current company structure consists of Irene Seagraves, chief executive officer; James Argyle, project manager; Brian Kervor, logistics manager; Adam Searle, marketing manager; a logistics team; and a web development team. Until now, the marketing manager handled operations of this division with the help of the logistics manager and the marketing manager. However, to consolidate operations, the CEO has decided to add a chief operating officer to oversee S&F Online. The problem with adding a COO position to an already functioning structure is that many employees are reluctant to answer to a new leader. However, the CEO has set challenging goals for the COO to streamline online operations, increase the reach of the online sales channel, and make the division a profitable strategic business unit (University of Phoenix, 2002). Therefore, the new COO must tailor her leadership style to gain acceptance, analyze group structure and culture, and lead the department toward reading demanding goals. Control and Culture The current culture represents a team that work fairly well together. The project manager has official, formal, and weekend recreational relationships with everyone in the division. The logistics manager has official and weekend recreational relationship with the project manager and marketing manager. Unfortunately, the marketing manager is the only department manager showing acceptance of the new COO. The project manager, logistics manager, marketing manager, and their teams currently work well together, and they have a large amount of influence over each other, but most within the division are unenthusiastic toward the new COO. After a couple of weeks on the job, the COO realizes that she must work to understand the culture of the different cliques if she is to have any control over the division. Ultimately, the COO must win over the decision makers and department managers within these cliques to gain control and motivate the teams toward set goals. Restructuring According to Robbins and Judge (2007), “There are six key elements that managers need to address when they design their organization’s structure. These are: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization” (p. 538). S&F Online’s organizational structure puts the CEO in charge of the organization, followed by the COO. The department managers will report to the COO, with the logistics team answering to the logistics manager, and the web development team answering to the project manager, which seems to work well. The project manager’s web development team currently maintains the Website and handles online payments. The logistics manager’s logistics team currently deal with orders, customer support, and delivery functions. The marketing manager takes care of product lines, marketing budgets, and promotions. An effective restructuring strategy may better fulfill work specialization ideals with a shift of online payment operations to the logistics team and add research functions to the web development team. The new COO should receive each department’s status reports for review with the department managers, and as the division grows, the company would also benefit from adding a shipping department to lessen the burden on the logistics team. Effective Management Practices To enhance the culture and relationship between the new COO and the department managers, the COO must work on the dynamics between herself and the project manager and the logistics manager. However, the COO must understand the best way to address her concerns without appearing either too autocratic or too lax. The COO must stress the importance of reaching goals while remaining open to suggestions. With respect to the project manager, James, the COO must appeal to his devotion to teamwork and his competitive nature, but she must also show respect for his influence over the division. The COO must meet with James to obtain his opinion on a vision for the team as well as expectations of the team. The COO must also stress an open door policy and express her respect for James’ opinions about production and employee satisfaction. Additionally, the COO should work with James directly to implement a performance management system that rewards top performers in his department. With respect to the logistics manager, Brian, the COO must work with Brian to determine employee strengths and weaknesses, and should determine if job redesigning is necessary. The COO should also encourage a mentoring program and determine any types of training necessary to enhance the skills of the division. The COO should also work with the department heads to increase team morale. Finally, an effective leadership practice for the new COO would include empowering the teams to allow them to have some input regarding areas in which changes must occur. Size and Structure The size and structure of the newly developed S&F Online has a significant effect on Smith & Falmouth as well as its individuals, groups, and teams. According to the University of Phoenix simulation (2002), the S&F Online division “is considered crucial to Smith & Falmouth’s growth strategy over the next three years” (p. 3, Ground situation). For that reason, the COO and department managers should employ the above management practices to empower the teams and help the division grow but remain independent. Summary In conclusion, effective leaders must have influence over their groups, which may be extremely difficult in times of restructuring, as realized by the COO of S&F Online. To overcome resistance and motivate the division toward challenging goals, the COO must tailor her leadership style to gain the acceptance and trust of the teams. The COO must understand the culture of the different cliques and expand her working relationship with the logistics manager and the project manager. The COO can improve these relationships by stressing the importance of reaching goals while remaining open to new ideas, showing respect for the individuals, rewarding top performance, determining team strengths and weaknesses, offering training and mentoring, and empowering teams to share their opinions and suggestions. References Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2007). Organizational behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Available from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. University of Phoenix. (2002). Leadership in Action simulation. [Computer Software]. Retrieved May 2, 2011, from University of Phoenix, Simulation, LDR531 – Organizational Leadership Course Web site.