Assignment
I need a reply/response to these discussion board answers. Just read the discussion board answers, and respond to the information you read by also adding your own point of information about each topic itself to each discussion board answers not about how to correct the person answers by saying he or she needs to add more information or saying you agreed without stating why. Just four to six Lines response each. Please I need good and quality response to these discussion board answers. Please I need good and quality reply, and plsi want you to add more information about the their answers n your contribution to my classmates answers and topic.
Organizational Culture
Learning Activity 1
Question:
Activity #1 - Case Study
The XYZ Company was started in 1975 as a small consumer product company. During the first 25 years the company's research and development (R&D) staff developed a series of new products that proved to be very popular in the marketplace. Things were going so well for the company that they expanded the plant and added a second production shift. The company's slogan became "We don't sell our products. We allocate them." This was reference to the fact that the firm only had a staff of 25 salespeople who generated annual revenues in excess of $88 million and without any type of marketing department.
However, there was a change in the industry's environment and the company experienced its first financial setback in 1995. The company had a net operating loss of $1.8 million. Two years ago, the loss was $2.4 million, and last year it was $3.6 million. The chief financial officer estimates that this year the organization will lose approximately $7 million dollars.
Alarmed by this information, Big Bank, the company's largest creditor, insisted that the firm make some changes and start turning things around. In response to this request, the CEO (and founder of the company) agreed to step aside, although he was respected and still very popular with the employees. The board of directors selected Beatrice Malone (Consultant wizard and financial genius of the 90s).
After making an analysis of the situation, Ms. Malone concluded a number of changes must be made to turn the firm around. Four most important were:
1. More attention must be given to the marketing side of the business, although the most vital factor for past success has been the sales force.
2. There must be improvement in quality. Currently 3 percent of the company's output is defective, compared to a 0.5 percent industry average.
3. There must be a reduction in staff. Ms. Malone estimated that the company could get by with two-thirds of its current production personnel and only half of the administrative staff.
4. Hire a new CEO.
Ms. Malone has not shared these ideas yet with the board of directors, but she intends to do so. For the moment, she is considering the appropriate steps and strategy to recommend, and the overall effect that the changes will have on the employees and culture.
Discuss the following:
1. What was wrong with the organization's culture?
2. Identify some of the cultural forms (levers) that must be contended with?
3. What needs to be done to change the culture?
4. What resistance to the recommended changes do you anticipate? What strategies do you recommend to counteract the resistance?
5. What specific steps should Ms. Malone take in implementing this change?
My classmate answers to the question above
Erin Tayman
The organization's culture, I think, is stuck in the Barbarian life-cycle. They focus on bringing ideas to actions, adding a new product to the market (McNamara, n.d.). However, there have been no changes to staff in years. The process has been focused on creating products and selling them via salespeople.
Leadership is what I thought of initially. It is clear the current leader of the organization did not have a vision. With a clear vision and plan the organization will be able to better determine what is needed to move forward.
The organization needs to have a new leader that understands culture. By understanding culture, the leader will be able to learn the current culture and move forward by educating the employees and creating changes in a way the staff will best understand. It is important to communicate regularly with employees to create/build trust. Trust leads to acceptance, creating an environment that favors a change to culture.
I expect there would be resistance to all of the changes, except maybe in improving quality. The first change could be counteracted by informing the employees of the benefits of focusing on marketing. The one I foresee as having the most resistance is the reduction in staff; nobody wants to lose their job. Perhaps plans/packages, such as a severance package, could be created to assist those who are let go (SHRM, 2016). Hiring a new CEO may cause tension as the current one is well-liked. This tension may be resolved by including the current CEO on several decisions and perhaps changing positions if possible. Also, having the new CEO meet the employees and discuss any changes would also be beneficial.
The most important step is communicating with staff. Many times, a lack of communication can result in mistrust, which can be detrimental to an organization. First, she should have a clear written vision and mission statement. A detailed outline provides a resource that can be followed for future steps. She can then communicate this plan and include employees on significant changes.
Angela Davis
The organization is in the decline stage of the Organizational Life-Cycle. The organization is not performing as well as it should and could. An organization enters the decline phase when it experiences a continuous reduction in resources and revenue over a substantial period. Because of the continuous loss, it shows that problems are taking too long to solve and they keep recurring, wasting time and resources. There doesn't seem to be much togetherness, most people are excluded from the decision-making and thinking processes, therefore, limiting potential to change and adapt quickly. The CFO seems to put greater focus on failure than focusing on success.
Norms are organized and shared ideas regarding what members should do and feel, how this behavior should be regulated, and what sanctions should be applied when behavior does not coincide with social expectations. The values and behaviors of every organization are unique. The cultural norms of XYZ company needs to focus more on its mission and goals. Evaluate what the organization was doing when it was successful. It needs to have a clear mission before leadership can determine the goals of the organization. The goals also need to be measurable or the leadership will not have the ability to see the organization's progress towards completing the goals. It also seems that the leadership has created more of a friendship with the employees resulting in the employees not being held accountable. The company also needs to change with the global environment, when this happens you will experience increased performance, higher employee morale, and eventually greater profits for the company.
First, the outlook of the leadership needs to change. The leadership needs to evaluate their personal goals to align with the organizational goals and then the organization should follow their lead. Communication needs to be evident, no communication breaks down the goals. In this situation, the organization should consider making changes. Don't become complacent and don't be afraid to embrace positive changes, it could be beneficial to the organization.
I believe that there will be resistance all around. We all become creatures of habit and don't like to change. Just like the previous question, the change starts with the leadership. Leaders shape the way people think and behave. They also influence the organization's culture and in turn the long-term effectiveness of the organization.
Ms. Malone needs to model the culture she wants to be displayed for the organization. She must be patient and communicate with the organization to gain their trust. She must follow through with what she says she is going to do. She needs to create a strong team that will want to achieve the organization's goals.
Learning Activity 2
Question:
In the commentary for this week, five "value clusters" are introduced.
In your opinion, which value cluster is the most powerful force behind culture
My classmate answers to the question above
Stephanie Hernandez-Wade
In my opinion, individualism is the most powerful force behind culture when it comes to the five "value clusters". My thoughts behind this is the fact that when you bring many individuals with different ideas, thoughts, perspectives you get a more diverse working place which allows for an organization to succeed in many ways. Not only are many ideas put on the table to but when you take many ideas, and combine them into one you get a more stable, well rounded outcome.
Sarah Boltz
I would say ethnocentrism is probably what most people act on behind their culture. Most people do not like change so I think most people think one culture or their specific culture is standard over others. This may eel this way because cultures vary all across the world in different countries. To one country there culture is seen as standard bu to others it may feel/seem foreign. I also think individualism is a powerful force behind culture because everyone wants their freedom/rights, especially Americans. Although everyone (I'm sure) in most countries want their rights and equality it is not likely to be their in some countries. Not everyone is treated the same from culture to culture.
Learning Activity 3
Question:
How does ethnocentrism (within societies or organizations) influence interacting with other cultures?
My classmate answers to the question above
Michelle Curry
Ethnocentrism can create the false impression that ones culture is superior to another. This impression of superiority is usually based on superficial differences, like appearance, speech patterns or customs of that group or organization. This idea means that the individuals have a problem relating to others outside their group. An attitude of ethnocentrism can make it difficult to relate, negotiate, and come to consensus with other groups. In business the relationships that are built are extremely important to furthering the business so they must be open to other cultures, and ways of doing things. Without an open mind it will be difficult to partner with other businesses and further your interests espcially in a global business context.
Anthony Rodriguez
Ethnocentrism is the frequent judging of other cultures by using one's own culture as a constant for comparison. If ethnocentrism exists in an organization, individuals will have troubles working together which is very important in the growth of an organization. Ethnocentric individuals will tend to hold biased opinions toward ingroups and outgroups and can become competitive with those who they feel are different. This can also lead to a feeling of entitlement or authoritarianism which can conflict with corporate culture and leadership.
Marketing Research
Question:
At this point you should have an idea of the questions you are going to ask in order to answer your research question. Please fill out the following form.
RESEARCH QUESTION:
RESEARCH METHOD: Survey/Questionnaire Focus Groups Interviews Observations Document Analysis Other ( )
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS:
Questions I will ask:
My classmate answers to the question above
Mary Talbott
RESEARCH QUESTION: Are People aware of the differences between Sugar and Sweeteners?
RESEARCH METHOD: Survey/Questionnaire
Questions I will ask:
1. Is sugar better for you than sweeteners? Yes/no
2. Is there a difference between ingesting sugar or sweeteners? Yes/No
3. Are there long term effects from sugars? Yes/No
4. Are there long term effects from sweeteners? Yes/No
Mary Hilton
RESEARCH QUESTION: How do people use social media to find information about personal trainers?
RESEARCH METHOD: Survey/Questionnaire
Questions I will ask:
1. What type of social media do you use to search information about personal trainers?
2. What information are you looking for on social media about personal trainers?
3. How will you use this information to hire a personal trainer?
Fundamentals of Sales Management
Learning Activity #1
Question:
Discuss why a firm should not think of training costs as an expense but rather as an investment. Also, why is it so important for sales training to be part of a firm's culture?
My classmate answers to the question above
Marie Sabins
A firm should not think of training costs as an expense, but rather as an investment because developing employees toward long term career goals promotes greater jobs satisfaction, which leads to longer retention and higher productivity. Forty percent of employees receiving poor training leave their position within a year, citing lack of skills training and development as their reason for leaving ("Employee training is worth the investment," n.d.). It is important for sales training to be part of a firm's culture because sales organizations that are successful have a cultural attitude that sales training is important to success (Futrell, 2001). Training is a core part of hiring, retention, and engagement, so it is a big factor in company culture (Crumlish, 2014). An organization should emphasis training within their core values.
EliranHershko
Training and development initiatives that build job skills are a win-win for both employers and potential or existing employees. For employers, these initiatives elevate the knowledge and quality of the workforce (Senna, 2016). Job candidates choosing a new employer want to see that a company will give them a chance to develop their skill set and advance their career within the organization (Senna, 2016). Providing opportunities for training and development helps them visualize a possible career path. Training can improve productivity, customer satisfaction, and sales. It is an investment because it brings the best out of people's talents and, ultimately, helps with staff retention (Zahra, 2014). Trained employees will be better equipped to perform their duties and they learn to develop a rounded set of skills which will help them contribute more to the organization (Zahra, 2014). It is an important part of the culture because employees will feel engaged and when they do, their employer believes in them and keeps investing in them. This sends a reassuring message to the employees that they are valued and when they feel valued, they become more committed, loyal and motivated.
Learning Activity #2
Question:
A salesperson should ask four questions about any prospect, even before doing any recall planning. Discuss why a negative answer to each of these questions might lower the possibility of a sale.
My classmate answers to the question above
Michael Parra
First of all, any prospect must have the money, authority, and desire or MAD to purchase the company's products (Futrell, n.d.). In order to properly qualify a prospect, it is necessary to obtain this information. If the prospect lacks in any of these areas, the sale will not be possible. If the prospect does not have the funds to purchase the product, the time spent trying to sell would be wasted. The same is true if the salesperson is talking to someone who does not have the authority to make the purchase. However, it is important to identify who may have influence on the purchasing decision. Finally if the prospect has no desire for the company's products they will not be interesting in purchasing. However, it may be possible to create the desire to purchase a product unlike the other two options. Once a customer has been qualified it is necessary to put a plan together. This plan will involve four steps: features, advantages and benefits; marketing plan; business proposition; suggested purchase order (Futrell, n.d.)
Claudia Davila
The questions and the consequences of a negative response are
• Does the prospect have a need for the product? If the customer does not need the product and he only has a mild interest, it can make the sale harder, challenging, and time consuming.
• Is this a fast-track situation or not?: If the customer is just collecting pricing information it means he is not ready to buy yet and the seller will have to offer the best price or benefits if he wants to close the deal down the road
• Is the customer the real decision maker? If the customer is not the actual decision maker then the sale will take longer than expected as the customer will have to wait until the real decision gives him the green light.
• What is the status of their current supplier relationship? If the customer is currently loyal to a competitor, it will be extremely challenging to break the loyalty and bring him in into a new relationship. Customers who are happy with their current suppliers have less desire to try new things/suppliers
Leadership for the 21st Century
Question:
Learning Activity #1
Describe the Leadership Landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries then explain the types and kinds of change it engendered or engenders. Incorporate from week one some of the five ways business will change from your Learning Activity 1 assessment. Why will effectuating change be the leaders hardest and most important task in the years to come?
My classmate answers to the question above
Jake Bergman
Looking back on my Learning Activity 1 from week one, I said that leadership in the 21st century is more willing to adapt, it is not just about their idea anymore it is a collaborative effort. Going over this weeks readings, leaders have to do more than just be willing to adapt, they have no choice but to adapt if they want to remain competitive and sustainable in the global business of today and the future. Effectuating change will be the leaders hardest and most important task in years to come because they are now "operating in a bewildering new environment in which little is certain, the tempo is quicker, and the dynamics are more complex" (Barton, Grant, & Horn, 2012). Leaders will need to be able to react quickly to changes not just in the United States but around the world. In the years to come leaders need to know themselves on the inside as well as the outside. They need to really love the company and their employees, they need a "stable psyche" or risk burning out. A leader will also need energy and "the mind of a leader must be free"(2012) to dream and imagine. In addition, leaders of the future "have to be incredibly secure and sure of themselves" (2012).
Ekaterina Khmaruk
According to George (2010) leaders of 20th century try to make money only, they did not think about long-term development, and that is why people do not trust to them. But now leaders are "searching for genuine satisfaction and meaning from their work, not just money." (George, 2010) Leaders of 21st century are oriented to clients, but not to serving short-term shareholders that leaders of 20th century made. Now leaders orient their companies to constant producing by "aligning people around mission and values and empowering leaders at all levels, while concentrating on serving customers and collaborating throughout the organization." (George, 2010)
Main principles of 21st century leadership:
1. Aligning (It means that leader tries to make the team to think in one way according to company's mission and values. It is really difficult task in international organizations, but now leaders cope with it by showing right behavior on their example, while leaders of 20th century tried to make workers do it by using book of the rules.)
2. Empowering (Leaders of 21st century can make different work due to lead their team to success, but leaders of 20th century made work that they were responsible for.)
3. Serving (Leadership of 21st century is oriented to clients, but in 20th century it was oriented to shareholders.)
4. Collaborating (Leaders must foster this collaborative spirit, eliminating internal politics and focusing on internal cooperation.) (George, 2010)
I think it is because our world is changing really fast nowadays. Every company brings something new to the world every day, and leaders need to make innovations in order to surprise their clients and stay competitive in the market.
Christie Wood
The landscape for the 20th century leader was strictly structured by those who lead in a top down management style. Top-down management is lead autocratically where upper management worked independently to change or improve the workplace or business practices (Diverge, G 2015). Organizational hierarchies followed the military structure with multi-layers that controlled and ruled. Management was only worried about power, rank, status, and money. 20th Century wasn't necessarily worried about globalization, technology advancements, innovation or competitive advantages (George, B 2014). It was the status quo of who had what. However, the 21st Century is worried about globalization, the technology advancement, pace of the internet, competitive advantages, and innovation. Those are the terms that get the 21st century leader farther and faster than imaginable in today's society. Knowledge management is working its way up the chain of being a big importance in today's business leaders (Quast, L. 2015). It is how the knowledge is facilitated that means the most. It's important to manage knowledge so that knowledge is facilitated so that others can learn from it, and it stimulates cultural change and innovation in the workplace.
I personally believe that the hardest and most important task in the years to come for leaders would be to change with the environment be open and willing to embrace changes because in all honesty change is going to happen just grow with it don't work against it.
Question:
Learning Activity #2
In the McKinsey article "Leader Change Thyself", the author says that organizations do not change, people do. If the role of the leader in today's business environment is to move people and to create change, you must move followers. What strategies do you suggest the 21st century leader adopt to create and maintain effective change in the organizational culture? Identify at least four strategies of change. If you were the project director of Coca Cola and you wanted to make New Coke a success how might you have employed your strategies for change to make New Coke a successful reality?
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/history/the-real-story-of-new-coke
My classmate answers to the question above
Jake Bergman
The four strategies of change are:
Lead with culture - those leaders who are aware that the organization needs to change "always make the most of their company's existing culture" (Aguirre &Alpern, 2014). Instead of trying to change the culture, leaders "tap into the way people already think, behave, work, and feel"(2014). They also look for components of the existing culture that are in line with change, bring them to the front, and then grab the attention of their followers who will be involved with the change.
Start at the top - Yes, everyone should be involved, however the change should start at the top, "with a committed and well-aligned group of executives strongly supported by the CEO"(2014).
Engage - Assuming that people will know what is being asked of them is far from the truth. In order to sustain change leaders will be required to keep lines of communication open at all times and constantly update people with new information. "The more kinds of communication employed, the more effective they are"(2014).
Use formal and informal solutions - formal such as - "structure, reward systems, ways of operating, training, and development" (2014). Informal, such as - guidance on new procedures put in place with metrics to identify cracks in development of products and quality to control, just to name a couple.
Would it be possible to make New Coke a successful reality? It appeared from the article that many customers were not happy when the product was introduced. However, I would make sure that I had the backing and support from the top executives to include the CEO and then perhaps have several test markets before trying to launch a product with the thought that it would be widely accepted.
Ekaterina Khmaruk
According to Boot (2012) effective change in the organizational culture is really popular theme that leaders think about in 21st century. And he gives some advices how to create changing in organizational culture. First of all Boot (2012) says about changing in people thinking, and to make it leader needs to tell a lot with his/her team in order to change their mind. Then he says that creating of diversity and cross-cultural alignment is accentual nowadays. As for me, the main advice that Boot (2012) gives is that cultural changing should be begun from all steps of managers in the company, as leaders of the 21st century are expected to be a part of the team. And the last advice that he gives is that leader should not think that he/she can do changing according to some successful stories, because every team and every company cannot repeat the same behavior that is in such story, they only can take such behavior as an example. (Boot, 2012)
I suppose that to make New Coke successful it would be necessary to prepare people's mind first of all. And in this case the strategy of Boot (2012) that was mentioned first is really suited, because people were not ready to such product. (Boot, 2012) They were accustomed to drink traditional Cola and then producers offered them something new, and they did not understand what it was. Coke's director should have made somewhat as presentation where he told about new taste and recipe of New Coke.
Christie Wood
In the McKinsey article "Leader Change Thyself", the author says that organizations do not change, people do. If the role of the leader in today's business environment is to move people and to create change, you must move followers. What strategies do you suggest the 21st century leader adopt to create and maintain effective change in the organizational culture? Identify at least four strategies of change. If you were the project director of Coca Cola and you wanted to make New Coke a success how might you have employed your strategies for change to make New Coke a successful reality?
Well to begin, I would say what did our parents tell us when we were younger, to lead by example right? I feel as if this is a strong trait to adapt to when becoming a leader/supervisor/manager. Change is not something that is easily accepted in the workplace but in today's society it's almost impossible to resist it because it happens so often. Make yourself adaptable to the changes that need to happen, fully understand why the changes are being made, that way for those who you are leading can understand the change and you can answer questions when they arise.
In the article "When Leading Through Change, Adopt These 4 Strategies" it lists out 4 strategies that one should adopt these are what I would use for success of the New Coke:
1. Stay purpose Driven- stay focused remember your there to serve a purpose don't get distracted by changes, embrace them and move on.
2. Communication must be constant- I don't think I can stress this enough, when communication is poor, morale is poor, values are poor, and ethics are poor. It's a trickle effect that just flows through the business. Great communications = great relationships. Great communication = high level performance. When people are in the ‘know' they appreciate information more, it's a sense of value added. Kind of goes hand and hand with Knowledge management.
3. Invest in your people- without people there would be no business, if no one wanted to work for your business how would it run? A one man show? Most generally that is not a good practice, it takes people to run the business. The men and women are an investment use it to them to their full potential, value them appreciate them, school them, and teach them the possibilities are endless.
4. Persist until you succeed- This kind of piggybacks off of ‘invest in your people' Change is hard but don't give up on your employees. Lead in a culture of persistence, it's the backbone of an organization and it pushes people to not give up to work their hardest to vercomebarriers.