Management

The Future of Gene One Vision Gene One will create a passionate organization that leads the industry in cutting edge technology to provide produce for the betterment of society. The company will contribute to society by creating produce for healthy living created by the top researchers in the country. Gene one will extensively research for better and new produce for the benefit of society and its stakeholders. Don Ruiz Don Ruiz seems task oriented and focused on getting the tasks done that he believes will help with the IPO. However his relationship skills seem lacking. He doesn't seem to know how to motivate his team or control the culture as his company enters a new form. The material states that employees look to him for leadership. He has a weakness in motivating his team members and leaving his personal relationships outside of work decisions. The company will benefit by including relations-oriented leadership style. Strengthening relationships will instill trust in the followers which will minimize the loss of employees as the company approaches IPO. He is very focused on what the company's new goals are, but is his leadership style affecting the team's performance' He needs not to say things like "if you don't agree, I'll take your resignation". That discourages the team members. Still, Don's lack of motivation really hurt his team. I liked the fact that he is kind of open to suggestions, but I also agree with the personal relations issue. They have been together for 8 years, I understand that, but as a leader you need to understand that there are people that can do their best and still are not fitted for the job. Don Ruiz as the CEO decided that in order to continue the company's upward growth and to reach their conservative growth targets they need to go public within the next three years. Gene One is a very young company and the current members have no experience in an initial public offering. The inexperience of the current leadership and the apprehension of the employees make for a volatile situation. This does make him an easy target but as the CEO it comes with the territory and he should be able to adapt and go on. When firms push to go public, it is important that the CEO and other top executives conduct a thorough benchmark of industry standards and corresponding companies to evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practices. Specifically, firms use benchmarking to compare aspects of performance, identify gaps in performance, set goals, seek new approaches and monitor progress towards goals. Don Ruiz, Chief Executive officer: He became a young entrepreneur when he started Gene one at the age of 37. Don is excited and charged up to achieve new heights with a strategy in place to work toward 36 month deadline to raise IPOL capital for the company. He recognized the drawbacks of Gene one when he addressed his team during the announcement of board decision for IPO (University of Phoenix, , p. 1). But the resolution he has suggested to gain knowledge on IPO is not a possible solution. The path is not clear. Instead he should bring in an experienced person into the organization who has proven knowledge on how to manage IPO. This is essential because the people outside the organization will be watching how the issues are being addressed and who are the caretakers of the company in which they will be investing in near future. Don clearly need a direction here. (University of Phoenix, , up. 2). During the board meeting, he should have invited Teri who is instrumental in the success of Gene one, Michelle Houghton who is not only chief financial officer but also a stakeholder in the company. Chief financial officers attending board meeting is common practice because often board members don’t have the capability to assess the financial statements until unless someone is the board of directors has financial background. Mutual trust is missing here. Both Terri and Michelle are important stakeholders in the organization. When Michelle expressed concern about timing of the proposal, Don has addressed the issue positively which is expected from a good leader (University of Phoenix, p.3). Don when addressing confrontation between Teri and Michelle regrouped the team which is again a good sign of leadership (University of Phoenix, p. 7). But when Don is making his closing remarks used threatening language which is kind of not good on part of him (University of Phoenix, p. 10). I think it is critical that a leader provide constructive criticism to people under him. It’s important for two main reasons. First, constructive criticism helps people improve themselves and perform more effectively. Secondly, when people know what they need to do improve themselves it helps not just that person but the entire organization because people are constantly moving towards improvement. I put an emphasis on constructive because that’s what makes the criticism actionable and useful. When it comes to leadership style, there are so many that I will have to say that there is not one perfect style. A good leader should be able to adapt to changes and be able to cope with the circumstances. Communication is a true necessity in the work field so I do believe that upgrade and downgrade communication should be very efficient (could be lateral depending on team's relationship with management). Proposed organizational changes The leadership structure should be based on the board request for the new IPO setting. The team should be able to perform according to guidelines and time frames. The commitment should be on both ends; management and board members. Sometimes it is impossible to please both ends, but we can always find away to compromise. At the end, it is all about accomplishing the established goal. The company should create an IPO transition team to manage and communicate changes, and research any changes that are required for the company to go public. Either hire a manager with IPO experience or hire a consulting firm to assist with the process. Knowing employees will be greatly affected by the change there should be a manager in Human Resources devoted to handling the employee side of the change-over. He or she can help direct employee communication, hear employee concerns, and keep a pulse on the employee morale. A public relations / communication manager. Especially with the IPO challenge the company will need to control information that is released and be prepared to handle any controversies or other challenging situations. This person should have IPO experience. Cross-functional team that specializes in research committed to finding two new technologies. This would ensure Teri will receive help and prevent her from leaving as well as a reward system for all of the members on the team. Robbins and Judge have a list from John Kotter of the Harvard Business School. The eight-step plan for implementing change Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision Communicate the vision throughout the organization. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk taking and creative problem solving. Plan for, create, and reward short-term "wins" that move the organization toward the new vision. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary adjustments in the new programs. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success. Reading this list reinforces the changes we have recommended for Gene One. They need a transition team to lead the change. They need to have some communication meetings with the entire company to help everyone understand the vision and the changes required for the IPO. Don needs to clearly communicate why the IPO is good for Gene One and why he feels it necessary.