BMGT Week 5 Discussion

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Apr 3, 2024

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Case Discussion: Smithfield Custom Furniture (Part 3) It is now 2015, and Smithfield's Custom Furniture has continued to grow. Its new product line of lower-priced furniture was an immediate sensation in the marketplace. The company now has 344 stores and 21,000 employees. The company now has a total of 12 international retail stores evenly divided among Spain (3), France (3), Germany (3), and England (3). Margot Smithfield, Jonas Smithfield III's only heir, is now running the company. She has a master's degree in design and an MBA degree. She has been running the company for 3 years. Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors have been assessing an opportunity to acquire You Figure it Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. You Figure it Out's furniture and furniture-related accessories are all made in China and sold only in the United States. Their retail stores are located in Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4). Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their 5 manufacturing plants. They know that producing a new line of furniture would mean retraining several hundred of their workers in the new production process. However, if this change is successfully executed, it would significantly increase the profitability of the You Figure It Out brand. The company also sees a market for the ultra-modern style of furniture in Smithfield's existing foreign markets and believe the current Smithfield stores in Spain, France, Germany, and England could display some of the new furniture along with their traditional lines of furniture and take orders that would be produced in the US plants. Other than that, the Smithfield Custom Furniture product line and the You Figure It Out brand would operate as they currently do.

They have decided to conclude the purchase with You Figure It Out executives and want to announce the decision to their workforce as soon as possible. The Management Issue: Margot Smithfield is concerned she will overlook something important in her communications to employees and the board's decision-making. Your Task for Your Initial Post Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understand and ensure she does not overlook anything important to introducing a new furniture product line to the current Smithfield product line. She has requested that you send her a single-spaced summary, using only course readings and proper citations , that addresses (in the order they are listed) the issues she believes she needs to be aware of related to communications and decision making. 1. Explaining to her, using not more than 4 sentences, why employees need to understand the need for Smithfield to continue to be innovative. 2. Selecting the 3 "noise" factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line. Using not more than 4 sentences for each of your 3 noise factors, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 noise factors you selected, including their potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. 3. Identifying for Margot Smithfield the 3 most significant obstacles to change that you believe will make the acceptance of the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than 4 sentences for each obstacle to change you identified, you will explain to Margot why you

selected each of the 3 obstacles to change, including each obstacle's potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. 4. Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than 4 sentences, the one specific change management technique or tool you think is most likely to pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line. 5. Explaining to her, using course readings on decision making and in no more than 4 sentences, the most likely decision- making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line. Note: You are expected to use in-text citations and create a reference list in answering the above 5 issues. Format for Your Initial Post You must use the following numbers and corresponding headings for each part of your response to a particular issue. 6. Understanding the Need for Innovation. 7. Significant "Noise" Factors 8. Obstacles to the Acceptance of Change 9. An Effective Change Management Technique 10. Possible Decision-Making Oversight Discussion Response 11. Understanding the Need for Innovation. It is crucial that Smithfield continues to be innovative to improve efficiency, productivity, quality, competitiveness, and market share. Innovative employees increase productivity by creating and executing new processes, which may increase competitive advantage and provide meaningful differentiation. Organizations that foster innovation are better equipped to adjust to changes in

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their external environment, enabling them to swiftly respond to challenges and seize opportunities. Fostering a culture of innovation not only strengthens teamwork and community but also aligns employee efforts with the organization's goals and strategies, resulting in a workplace where motivation, creativity, and proactive contributions thrive (Lumen Learning, n.d.). 12. Significant "Noise" Factors The 3 "noise" factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line would be information overload, denotation/connotation, and semantics. Information overload is when too much or too complex information is given in a short period of time causing an individual or group of people to become overwhelmed. This factor is relevant in Margots' case because mergers or acquisitions are not everyday activities within the organization and can be complex. Trying to convey all aspects of the acquisition and the changes to follow in one email is not necessary, Margot needs to be strategic with who needs what information and how. If information is not managed and delivered in a digestible, prioritized manner, critical details may be overlooked, leading to errors, inefficiency, and decreased morale. Denotation/connotation is miscommunication stemming from language use by people from different educational levels, culture, and dialect. Denotation refers to the literal, dictionary definition of a word, while connotation involves the emotional and associative meanings that go beyond the literal definition. Since Smithfield operates internationally Margot must navigate diverse cultural contexts where words and their connotations can vary significantly. The consequence of not eliminating or reducing this factor could be widespread misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and negative emotional responses to the changes. Semantics is the study of the meaning of words and phrases. Words can mean different things to different people or mean nothing at all to

another person. To essentially sell the idea to everyone even though the deal is already done semantics is crucial to ensure that the message is effectively conveyed to everyone across all branches in different countries. Again, being able to navigate cultural differences and send the same message is crucial to avoid miscommunication and misinterpretations that can have a negative impact on morale and delay the roll out of the new product. 13. Obstacles to the Acceptance of Change The first significant obstacle to change is dismantling the existing mind set. “It involves getting over the initial defense mechanisms that people exhibit to avoid making a change (Lumen Learning, n.d.). This obstacle can manifest as decreased productivity, morale, and even overt opposition to the changes. If not addressed it can sabotage the new product launch, as employees are critical to its development, production, and market introduction. The second obstacle would be fear, regarding changes to their tasks, the methods they employ to complete these tasks, or the concern that such changes might lead to job displacement. Consequently, it is crucial for managers and organizational leaders to adopt a strategic method for facilitating change to guarantee efficacy within the organization. The third obstacle would be training new skills that challenge the old way of things. Providing education and training is crucial for enabling employees to grasp and adjust to changes within the workforce. Whenever new procedures are introduced, there is a high probability that staff members will not be acquainted with this process or how it integrates into their regular tasks, this can also add to a sense of job insecurity. In such instances, training becomes vital to assist employees in becoming accustomed to the change and to facilitate a smoother adaptation. 14. An Effective Change Management Technique

The change management technique that would be most effective in Margots case would be to follow the Eights Steps to Change Model authored by John Paul Knotter. This model includes establishing a sense of urgency, building a guiding team, getting the vision right, communicating the vision, empowering action, creating short term wins, fostering and encouraging gains, and making change stick. This is particularly suited to Margot's situation because it emphasizes the importance of buy-in and participation across the organization, ensuring that the new product line is not only launched successfully but is also sustainable and aligned with the company's long-term strategic goals. By following these steps managers like Margot can mitigate the risk associated with changes that employees do not like. 15. Possible Decision-Making Oversight A possible oversight when making a decision is by not making an informed decision due to the improper collection of data. Rational decision making is characterized by logical data driven and strict processes. If Margot is following a rational approach backed by data, her decision is only as good as the research conducted to make that decision. If data is missing, incorrect or collected with bias this can lead to an informed decision that can be devastating to the organization. Bruton, B., Bruton, L. (n.d.). Principles of Management. Lumens Learning.

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BMGT Week 5 Discussion

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