Leadership

Leadership in Action Today, we are going to discuss the established methods of control and the current departmental and organizational cultures within our subject company, Smith and Falmouth. We will also look at recommending a restructure strategy that may help improve the culture and empower the employees of S&F. And finally we will discuss which management practices would be most effective and conclude with how the new size and structure may affect the organization, individuals, groups, teams, and the organization's future. "Smith and Falmouth is a midsize tele-shopping and mail order network with operations in the US and Canada. Driven by industry forecasts, and the internal strategy road map, Smith and Falmouth started an e-tailing division, S&F Online, six months ago. The division is considered crucial to Smith & Falmouth's growth strategy over the next three years. Since time to market is a major driver, the S&F Online CEO, Irene Seagraves moved fast and put in place a web development team, a logistics team, and a marketing manager to coordinate marketing and logistics operations with the parent company. Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Irene Seagraves has directed the Chief Operating Officer to consolidate the tele-shopping and mail order network corporation with S&F online within nine months and gives the following directions; Streamline the online operations, increase the reach of the Online Sales channel, and make S&F Online a profitable Strategic Business Unit". The current organizational hierarchy within S&F Online consists of a Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Seagraves, a Chief Operating Officer, a Logistics Manager, a Marketing Manager, and a Project Manager. The Project Manager and Logistics Manager work side-by-side together to ensure the daily operations are being maintained and answer directly to the Chief Operating Officer. The Project Manager has a six member web development team that is responsible for maintaining the S&F online website and payment gateway. The Logistics Manager has a three member logistics team that manages customer support and delivery operations. This team also reports order fulfillment status to the Marketing Manager, who coordinates product lines and the companies marketing budget with their parent company. The Marketing Manager is also responsible for coordinating all marketing and logistics operations along with any promotional activities that need to occur within the company and works directly for the Chief Operating Officer. "When we talk about an organization’s culture, we are referring to its dominant culture. It is this macro view of culture that gives an organization its distinct personality. Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face. These subcultures are likely to be defined by department designations and geographical separation" (Robbins & Judge, 2007). As the simulation showed, there were many layers of subculture throughout this company. The workers on the ground floor were very resistant to change and to the new Chief Operating Officer which lead me to believe that they had possibly had a few other managers come before this one. The simulation also mentioned that "are different groups and cliques in the organization that go beyond the formal organizational structure" (University of Phoenix, 2009). This showed that there were possible problems with previous managers in that they might have had possible Human Relations issues that needed addressing or that the employees have never been held accountable with regards to the company's management hierarchy. Being resistant to changes in management is ok and will occur quite often, but management needs to remember to remain firmly in charge of the situation and not let the employees attitudes or behaviors get out of control. With regards to the current organizational infrastructure, it is felt that there is currently no existential problems within this organization. Yes, there is some rigidity within the staff regarding the new Chief Operating Officer, but many feel that this is a common occurrence until they understand their management style and how this new manager will impose his or her will. It is also felt that there is currently no need for restructuring within the company at this time. With the right amount of communications, both up and down the managerial hierarchy, and with the cooperation of the employees, it is felt that S&F Online will be a very competitive force in the tele-shopping and mail order business. If upper management can remain committed and proactive in their desire to expand their operations in this market, they can achieve their short and long term goals with few substantial problems. They will definitely need to maintain the two-way communications that was experienced during the simulation. While traversing through the simulation the three times that seemed to be effective, it was noticed that when communications going both ways seemed to produce the wanted results. It was a bit confusing running through the simulation that many times but it was thought that to really understand and obtain the desired results, it was a necessary evil. What was noticed however, was that when the same ally was chosen, and with communications channels running in both direction, that this was where the most effective management style seemed to be. There were minor hurdles to examine and overcome but overall it became clear that enabling and empowering the employees while maintaining the clear communications in both directions throughout management was the key to successfully completing this simulation. Given the small nature of this 'remote' start up of a company, it was felt that the current staffing was adequate for the duties described. When measurable success by this company can be measured and maintained, then this would be the time for examining expansion options. Attempts to increase the current staffing levels could cause problems within the company. As was mentioned above, once success is obtained, management should then conduct a feasibility study to determine future needs. If S&F Online can maintain the level of managerial competency that was observed and obtained during the running of the simulation, the company will continue to meet their goals and possibly grow into what Ms. Seagraves's envisioned. When it was over it was felt that the right thing to do for this company was to enable the employees to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, providing what they need and for management to continue to strive to maintain clear communications throughout the company. Ensuring that the employees also know what is expected of them on a daily basis and defining the company's mission statement and vision of where they need to go and what direction they are headed is just as important as showing them the layout of the building they are working in. It's an essential and critical element that cannot be forgotten by management. Should all of these things be done, S&F Online will enjoy continued success well into the foreseeable future