Part A- Case Analysis What's Wrong with the Team
Assignment: You will prepare a 4 page paper for your instructor to grade. A page is considered 300 words. The paper will include a title page, research page and follow APA format.
Develop a response that includes examples and evidence to support your ideas, and which clearly communicates the required message to your audience. Organize your response in a clear and logical manner as appropriate for the genre of writing. Use well-structured sentences, audience-appropriate language, and correct conventions of standard American English.
Step 1: Use the given Case Scenario-Whats Wrong with the Team. This will provide the background information necessary for the case analysis.
Step 2: Read the case scenario
Step 3: Great companies are often defined by the cohesiveness and willingness to work together to achieve a common set of goals. The foundation of these relationships is built upon trust and an acute awareness of needing each member to go the extra mile in order to make their co-workers' job that much easier. It often takes an "it takes a village" approach to create company-wide success. This approach is certainly lacking in the case of Reflex and the attitude of Rankin.
The Chicago and L.A. sales associates sent the following email to the CEO, Dyer:
"We as the sales teams would like to request a training session to better understand the uses of the CRM system as we are all in the dark as to how this works from a functional and technical aspect. When we are approached by vendors and have to use the system we are unable to assist them in anyway. We are hoping that you will reach out to Rankin to schedule this training as we feel his leadership style and communications with us are creating internal conflicts."
Considering the case outline and the above comments, address the following:
1: As the CEO, document the leadership style of Rankin in terms of his individual style, motivation, and self management skills. You will need to be precise as this will be shared with Rankin. Your emphasis should be on areas that will be used to help Ranking in becoming a more effective and efficient manager?
2. Put yourself in the position of Rankin. You have just received the assessment of your leadership style by the CEO. In some respects you are quite taken aback but see this as an opportunity to become more aware of your actions as the sales manager.
Create a plan of action to enhance your personal attributes as the sales manager in the following areas:
• Self-Aware
• Personality and Behavior
• Stress Management
• Clarity of Mind
• Clarity of Objectives
• Clarity of an Organized System
3: Considering the attributes listed in number 2 (how would each of these apply to your career goals at this point in time?
Part B- Change Management?
In a 2-page paper respond to the following:
What is change management? Is it important to an organization? Why or why not? What might an organization go through if change management is not a priority?
Part C- Case Analysis The Need to Explain
Assignment: You will prepare a 3-4 page paper for your instructor to grade. A page is considered 300 words. The paper will include a title page, research page and follow APA format.
Develop a response that includes examples and evidence to support your ideas, and which clearly communicates the required message to your audience. Organize your response in a clear and logical manner as appropriate for the genre of writing. Use well-structured sentences, audience-appropriate language, and correct conventions of standard American English.
Step 1: The office of Dr. Figgy Jenkins has been treating patients for over 20 years in her internal medicine practice. It is a small practice which includes herself, a nurse, her husband Jason, who works as the office manager, and the front desk receptionist Jemma Morrow. The majority of patients are older and are comfortable with the practice being small and the caring service Jemma has offered. Jemma has been with them since she was 19 and has only worked this one job. She is the breadwinner as her husband is disabled and unable to work. She relies on this job for the health insurance. Jason is an assertive manager and has to be in control of all situations dealing with the office. The local hospital approached the Jenkins' about merging the practice and the staff to be under the control of the hospital. Employee oversight will come mostly from hospital management.
The change is very appealing to the Jenkins' as they would not have to pay for the conversion to electronic health records at a cost of $30,000. Dr. Jenkins would receive additional pay and fringe benefits would be paid to her husband. It has been rumored that other practices going this route have resulted in most of the employees loosing their jobs. Let's assume that the Jenkins have decided to merge with the hospital.
Step 2: Considering the above, answer the following:
1: What do you see as the Jenkins' approach to each strategy to communicate this change to Jemma? Which one do you see as being the most and which one the least effective and why?
2: Organizational change is a natural progression that can help a company grow and prosper. However, unplanned changes can result in life altering experiences. What do you see as the potential problems with this change from the patients' and Jemma's perspective?
3: Assume Jemma has just been told of the change and it is quite emotional. She is not happy with how the Jenkins' sprung this on her. The change will take place in two weeks. What types of support do you see Jemma needing and why?
4: Considering work changes or potential work changes that you have or could face, what advice would you give Jemma to cope with these changes?
Part C: Perceptions
This is a 1 page paper which is 300 words. What is your perception of a poorly written communication from a business? How might that perception affect the overall success of that business?
Case Scenario- "What's Wrong With the Team?"
What's wrong with the team? What's wrong with the team? Nichole Dyer's words repeated over and over in Henry Rankin's head as he boarded the plane from Los Angeles to Chicago.
Rankin is responsible for the technical implementation of the new customer relationship management (CRM) software being installed for western and eastern sales offices in both cities. The software is badly needed to improve follow-up sales for his company, Reflex Systems. Reflex sells exercise equipment to high schools and colleges, as well as to small to midsize businesses for recreation centers, through a national force of salespeople. The company's low prices have won a lot of sales; however, follow-up service is uneven and the new CRM system promises to resolve those problems with historical data, inquiries, reminders, and updates going to sales reps daily. The CEO of Reflex has ordered the CRM system installed with all possible haste.
Rankin pulled a yellow pad and pen from the side pocket of his carry-on bag and tossed it in the seat beside the window, stashed the bag in the overhead compartment, and sat down as other passengers filed past. In an effort to shut out his thoughts, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the muffled voices and low whooshing sound of the air vents. He wrote,"What's wrong with the team?" three times and began drawing arrows to circles bearing the names of his team members: Barry Livingston and Max Wojohowski in L.A., and Bob Finley, Lynne Johnston, and Sally Phillips in Chicago.
He marked through Sally's name. She had jumped ship recently, taking her less-than-stellar but still-much-needed talents with her to another company. It was on a previous L.A.-to-Chicago flight that Sally had pumped him for feedback on her future with Reflex. She had informed him that she had another job offer. She admitted it was less money, but she was feeling under pressure as a member of the team and she wanted more "quality of life." Rankin told Sally bluntly that her technical expertise, on which he placed top importance, was slightly below her peers, so future promotion was less likely despite her impressive people and team skills.
He wrote "quality of life," circled it, and then crossed it out and wrote "what the hell?" Why should she get quality of life? he mused. I've barely seen my wife and kids since this project started. Rankin's team was under a great deal of pressure, and he had needed Sally to stick it out. He told her so, but the plane had barely touched down when she went directly to the office and quit, leaving the team shorthanded and too close to deadline to add another body.
What's wrong with the team? Rankin furiously scribbled as his thoughts raced:
1. The deadline is ridiculously short. Dyer had scheduled a ten-week completion deadline for the new CRM software, including installation and training for both cities. He suddenly stopped writing and drew a rider and horse, then returned to his list.
2. I feel like some frazzled pony-express rider running back and forth across the country, trying to develop, build, set-up and work the kinks out of a new system that everyone at 3.
Thank God for L.A. From the outset, Barry and Max had worked feverishly while avoiding the whining and complaining that seemed to overwhelm members of the Chicago team. The atmosphere was different. Although the project moved forward, meeting deadlines, there appeared to be less stress. The L.A. team focused tirelessly on work, with no families to consider, alternating intense work with joking around. Those are my kind of people, he thought.
4. But there is Chicago, he wrote. Earlier in the day, Sam Matheny from sales had e-mailed, then called, Rankin to tell him the two remaining members of the Chicago team appeared to be alternating between bickering and avoiding one another. Apparently this had been going on for some time. What's with that? Rankin wondered. And why did Sam know and I didn't?So, that morning, before his flight, Rankin had to make time to call and text both Finley and Johnston. Finley admitted he had overreacted to Johnston.
"Look, man. I'm tired and stressed out," Finley said. We've been working nonstop. My wife is not happy."
"Just get along until this project is completed," Rankin ordered.
"When will that be?" Finley asked before hanging up.
Rankin thought about Dyer's persistent complaints to him that the team appeared to have a lack of passion, and she admonished him to "get your people to understand the urgency of this project." Her complaints only added to his own stress level. He had long considered himself the frontrunner for Dyer's job when she retired in two years. But had his team ruined that opportunity? The sense of urgency could be measured now in the level of stress and the long hours that they had all endured. He admitted his team members were unenthusiastic, but they seemed committed.