Case background

In the present era, competition is increasing in the business operations are becoming complex for which the company is supposed to make a strategy that can help in achieving the business goals and to work effectively. The aim of the report is to comprehensively evaluate the theories related to leadership, motivation and change management with their effective implementation in the international context. Further, the paper will include the critical management of the diversity in terms of the cross-cultural context. All these discussions are based on the case study, which is related to the SweDigi Company. This report provides support in explaining the challenges encountered by Jan and suggests recommendations on how change can effectively be implemented within the company

1.1 Case background

Swedish Company is a well-known manufacturing company operating its business in the Southern region of Sweden. The company was sold to a group that include 7 similar companies four years ago. Currently, the company has approx. 543 employees and the present CEO of the company, who has worked with the company for 15 years, will retire in the next few months. The company is operating as a sub-contractor to the digital music industry, which has shown a decline in sales in the last 3 years. 

Mission: – Considering the present situation, the mission of the company is to turn around within 12 months by finding the new niches for the current product range but majorly by introducing the new product.

People management issues

There are many people management issues that potentially underpin the difficulties Jan is facing in the company. These people management issues include: –

Communication issues

Communication is a key to the success of the companies in complex business structure. In an organisation, the need for effective communication is must among the people and this is supposed to be managed (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly and Kynighou, 2016). Jan company is dealing with the issues related to the communication due to which the management and team are not able to take the accurate decisions. In the competitive world, it is must for the company to take the decisions effectively. In addition, the company include the employees from different countries with different understanding and opinion which leads to the conflict in the team.

The team conflict leads to the misunderstanding and affects the consistency performance of people present in the company (Marchington, et al, 2016).  Further, the managers of Swedigi company doesn’t get involved in resolving the conflict as they ignore employees issues which leads to personality clashes and trust issues. It is recommended to the company to set a structure which helps them in communicating with the manager and employees present in the company.

2.2 The issue of employee turnover

The leading people management problem which is currently faced by the Jan Company is the turnover of the company. The production manager who is skilled and trained for the new product that the company is willing to introduce in the market threaten to resign the company (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher and Garavan, 2018). Moreover, the manager is saying that he can leave the company can join other multinational companies that are present in the same market.

People management issues

Further, he accused of not working with the management team and neither listening to them. This made the Jan feels that if the production manager can do the same then the other employees of the company who are working with them are not with him. Thus, this simply shows that they can leave the company at any point of time which shows the problem of people management as there is a high turnover of employees in the company (Bratton and Gold, 2017). HR of the company need to handle the problems related to the people management which can be resolved with the use of the effective strategy of retaining the employees.

2.3 Lack of marketing manager

The marketing manager plays a vital role in the company as they are the one who can take the products of the company on the new heights. The marketing of the Swedigi Company can help the sales executives to perform their work in an effective manner. Currently, the sales agents across the world who are trained in the new products seem to have the problems that access the important prospective clients.

This is taking place because of the lack of effective marketing manager because the manager has quit. This issue is one of the leading issues because sales of the company are the only way through which they can earn high profits and success in the market (Albrecht, et al, 2015). Thus, it is suggested to the company to appoint a new effective marketing manager in the company can resolve the issue related to the sales and marketing of the products in the market. 

2.4 Increase in competition

Rise in competition is one of the major issues which are faced by the Swedigi Company. Sweden welcomes companies to perform their business operation that increases the competition. The competitors come with the new product and services in the market which leads to the challenges for the company as they have to prepare the operational and business strategy in such a way so that they can face the competitors (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).

The company is faced issues in identifying the talented candidates in the market because the presence of the competitors reduces the skilled labour in the market. Moreover, the employees have a different preference when it comes to their job which ultimately reduces the scope for the company. In addition, the employees look for the better opportunities to switch and here the problem exists for the company. Thus, this shows the issues related to the management of the people. Thus, it is suggested to the company to analyse the market to make the future decisions and steps related to the people management of the company.

2.5 Transition in old product

The transition in the old product is one of the major issues which are faced by the entire company and majorly by Jan. The change in the old product took place because of the poor management of the company which can be turned with the help of modification in new product. Though, this leads to the issue for the company because the production manager and marketing manager resits the change in the organisation.

Communication issues

This is the reasons marketing manager quit and production manager provided the threat of switching the company. The new product includes the minor changes in the production equipment that are required. Thus, the changes in the operations bring the issues related to the management of people (Hayes, 2014). Jan needs to manage the production manager because he/she can support for the changes for the new product. Further, it is suggested to communicate effectively with employees to aware them about the need for the change in the company.

2.     Steps to get the launch of the new product back on track

In the first quarter of production related to the new product, Jan encounters a number of problems. This has been found that the management team found that it is hard to customize the new product in the production plan and sales are not taking off the forecast. Considering this, the management team has presented their different opinion which shows the progress of development and assurance of quality which is taking longer. This section includes the major steps which are required to be taken by the company with the motive bring the new product on track again.

The steps that Jan should take in the short and medium term, to get the launch of the new product back on track are as explained below:

3.1 Short-term measures

Short-term measures include the actions that are taken by the company in a short span of time to launch the new product that is back on track.

3.1.1 Jan should appoint a marketing manager

The new product sales are not according to the forecast done by the company due to which it is found that there is a need for a marketing manager who can conduct the marketing of the product. The appointment of the marketing manager will promote the product in the entire market that will contribute in enhancing the sales. Thus, this will help the company to take the further actions which include the determination of volume of goods that are required to be produced, the changes in product, the response of customer towards the product and many others.

The appointment of the marketing manager is considered as one of the short time work as it doesn’t include a long time for the company to find the suitable marketing manager. The concern related to the appointment of a manager will be resolved by the HR of company as recruitment is considered as their practice (Bratton and Gold, 2017).

3.1.2 Jan should take actions towards the threats received from production manager

The production manager of the company is threatening for leaving the job which clearly means that there are some issues which are faced by the manager. Thus, it is essential for the company to resolve the issues and threats that have been received. Jan should talk with the manager for understanding the issues that have been faced by him. These issues can be resolved by the company so that the production managers can consistently work with the company

The issue of employee turnover

The issues can be related with the work, salary, incentives, change that exists due to the new product or the company (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The resolution of these issues will make the production manager remain in the company and can make use of the knowledge and skills in effective production of the new product. This particular action is required in the short span of time because it is must to resolve it urgently.

3.1.3 Jan should measure the effectiveness of work

This has been found that the company is dealing with the different issues related to the employee’s turnover. Thus, the company should measure the workforce and the effectiveness of the person per unit that can help in taking the future steps for the betterment of the employees and for managing them for their production of new product.

2.2   Medium-term measures

Medium term measures include the actions that are taken by the company need time to complete. Jan should take some medium-term measures which help to get the launch of the new product back on track. These medium-term measures are given below: –

3.2.1 Jan should restructure the production process

Jan should restructure the process of production for the new product which is the only way through which the company can manufacture the products in an effective manner. This has been found in the case study that there is a need for changes in the old production process to produce new products. The new equipment should be used to manufacture the new products which will clear the understanding of the employees for the work that they are supposed to perform.

3.2.2 Jan should measure the effective utilization of resources with quality

The new product includes the changes in the old product of the company which means that the use of the resources needs to be effectively done. Jan should measure that in the production of the product there is an effective use of the resources and the quality of the products is maintained by the company.

3.2.3 Jan should measure the financial performance

Profit is essential for the survival of the company in the market. The introduction of the new product is done because the sales of the company were decreasing which lead to a decline in profit. Thus, it is essential for the company to effectively measure the performance of the financial elements which are effective to manage by the company for the survival in the market for the long run. In the initial of the new product, the company might not be able to manage the effective profit but later it is required to manage financial performance.

Leadership styles

In the company, the leader Jan should adopt the transformational leadership style and democratic leadership styles. These styles of leadership work effectively for the company and contribute to the success. Below given are the explanation of leadership style and the reason behind the selection: –

• Democratic leadership style: – This style of leadership includes the subordinated that are involved in making the effective decisions. The leader holds the responsibility to take the final step after conducting the discussion with the subordinates. The communication is active in both the ways include upward and downward (Schein, 2002). The reason behind the selection of this style is that the Swedigi company is dealing with the issues like communication, value to the customers due to which the staff is not able to remain, the decisions are not made with the discussion of employees and many other. Further, the leader can make the changes in the workplace with the agreement of the views of employees (Amanchukwu, Stanley and Ololube, 2015).
• Transformational Leadership style: – Transformational leadership style is the most common leadership style that is all about bringing the change in the organisation, groups, oneself and many others. This has been found that the leaders in transformational leadership style motivate personnel to work which works as a motivation that helps them to achieve the high performance within the company. This style of leadership is committed and meet the needs of followers which made them satisfy due to which they don’t leave the organisation (Kotter, 1995). The reason due to which this leadership style has been selected is that Jan will be able to bring the change related to the product like now transition of old product for new product. Through this leadership style, Jan will be able to bring and manage the changes within the organisation (Brisson-Banks, 2009). Moreover, they can combine all the workers present in the company so that they can effectively work together for accomplishing the goals of company. The employees in Swedigi will be able to meet their goals and objectives which make them feel motivated. The motivation to the employees will lead to the improvement in the performance which is must for the company (Asrar-ul-Haq and Kuchinke, 2016).
• Decisions that help to improve this situation

Considering the present situation of the company, the major decision that is required to be taken by the company includes the effective implementation of the ADKAR model of change management (Carnall, 2007). Swedigi Company found that the change brings the resistance from the side of the employees. This model work as the change management tool which provides the help company in implementing successful change.

Lack of marketing manager

The model includes 5 building blocks that lead to successful change which include Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.  

• Awareness: – The model shows that employees need to be aware of the changes that are taking place in the country. Swedigi Company should make the employees aware of the changes that they are bringing related to work and culture.
• Desire: – this block shows that the employees of the company must have the desire to participate and to support the change (Prosci, 2018). Swedigi should discuss the change and should educate the employees the need of change. This will make them participate and fully support the change which is must for the company.
• Knowledge: – The collection of knowledge related to the change process is the ultimate goal for the change will become clear for the employees. This has been found that Swedigi should share the knowledge with the employees who will develop their interest in the change.
• Ability: – The employees should have the ability to learn new skills and manage behaviour (Prosci, 2018). Swedigi found that their employees are not there as there is a lack of interest with the employees. The company should provide training to the employees which are the only way through which the change can be accepted by them.
• Reinforcement: – This block includes reinforcement is to sustain the changes which make it clear for the employees that they can’t turn back. Thus, Swedigi Company needs to make the employees understand that now it is the situation in which the changes are required to be done and no option is left to go back.

Recommendations

This has been found that company is dealing with the numerous issues due to which it is suggested to the company to make strategic planning which helps the company in reducing the issues which are majorly faced by them.

Further, the transition of the old product with the new product is the major issue which is faced by the company. Thus, the effective management of the transition can be done with the help of a framework related to the change management. Buchanan & Mc Calman (1989) proposed a framework which is perpetual transition management which provides the insight related to the fact which triggers the organisation and also reflects the response of the organisation towards the change (Bridges, 2009). The four layers that are required to be used by the company with the process are discussed with the help of image given below: –

Swedigi Company should apply the model which will lead to the effective planning, resource management, communication of the outcomes of change, will lead to the large-scale management and combination of all these leads to change to be successful.

Conclusion

In the end, this can be concluded that the Swedigi company can effectively manage the change with the use of the model of ADKAR. This model will help the company in implementing the change successfully and with this; the company will be able to encounter their people-related issues. In the report, there is a discussion for the issues which might be faced by the company which leads to poor management.

All these issues affect the launching of new product in the market. The company needs to take the steps to get the launch of the new product back on track which is majorly short and long-term measures. The leadership styles that have been suggested to the company include democratic and transformational leadership styles. Further, it includes the decision that can improve the decisions which are supported by the ADKAR model of change management.

References

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Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P. (2015) A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-14.

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Asrar-ul-Haq, M. and Kuchinke, K.P. (2016) Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal, 2(1), pp.54-64.

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Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A. (2016) Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.

Prosci (2018) What is the ADKAR Model? [Online]. 

Schein, E. (2002). The Anxiety of Learning. Harvard Business Review, 80 (3), 100-106.