Three Main Change Objectives At White Cap example essay topic

Question #1: What was Browning's predicament at White Cap? From the very start, Browning recognized two major obstacles that he would have to address. First, three were only a few people at White Cap that would acknowledge the need for change because business results had been quite impressive for last 50 years and slumps were perceived as cyclical and transient. Second, there was a family-style culture well known for long-term loyalty from the employees, long-standing traditions of job security, liberal benefits, and paternalistic management.

Browning had almost a feeling that attempts to alter these traditions would not be welcome. Browning's assignment was to revitalize and reposition the division to remain market leader in the face of changes in the competitive environment. There were by then five significant manufacturers in the national marketplace and 70 worldwide. The advantage White Cap had maintained in the market made it difficult to effectively stay competitive with drastic price-cutting of its main competitors (National Can Company).

Browning realized that without production of a plastic cap closure, White Cap would continue to lose customers. Senior management at White Cap, however, had been reluctant to allow R&D to commercialize plastics developments because such plastic threats in the past had never materialized. Question #2: What should his change objectives and time frame be? Browning received his reassignment orders from the executive officers of the Continental Group who thought White Cap had been stagnating and not responding to new market challenges. They supposed Browning would certainly be a person to bring fresh energy and stamina and make necessary changes. In my opinion, Browning should set three main change objectives at White Cap.

First of all he should try to rejuvenate the company by implementing new strategy which would emphasize open communication with his subordinates in order to respond to the changed market conditions (need for plastic cap closure). It is certainly feasible to implement this objective immediately or in very short time after his appointment. Second, he should attempt to change the division's culture. This objective is definitely very hard to achieve in the short run. To change the corporate culture can sometimes take years, however, even the fact that something new is happening can positively affect the performance of the company. Third thing he was aiming to change was the company's performance.

Long-time success, coupled with benevolent paternalism of the White family management, had led to inflated administrative staff. Browning's task should be to communicate a sense of impending crisis and reduce redundant administrative staff without threatening White Cap's image as soon as possible. However, Browning was also aware of some obstacles he had to overcome if he wanted to be successful in implementation of his strategy. Firstly, it seemed inevitable to make some gesture with regard to Bob White (retired head and owner of White Cap) because he was still alive in the hearts and minds of White Cap employees.

The majority of White Cap's managers and employees were used to Bob White's formal and restrained management style, which inhibited cross-communication and lacked confrontation. Although White represented many of the values and the style Browning hoped to change, he was also a key to pride and morale that Browning wanted to preserve. The second problem Browning was facing was White Cap's marketing department. Browning found that marketing and sales departments were simply administering existing programs. They were not spending time with customers who had built the business nor were they aggressively addressing new competitive issues. Finally, Browning faced problem, which related to human resources department.

This department seemed to be very inflexible since it was offering few surprises to employees and helped maintain all the traditional and popular benefit policies, which led to a lack of motivation of White Cap employees. At White Cap the majority of managers had been with the firm for over 25 years and most of them had very little intention to change things or move beyond their current positions. Question #3: What should he do specifically in dealing with White and Lawson; Stark and Green? Bob White! V a problem with Bob White was that even though he retired he had large influence on White Cap and its employees. He was remembered by the people due to his friendly and employee-oriented management style.

Contrary to that Bob White liked to make decisions on his own, which meant that whoever was coming with different strategy and management style had to count on negative response from within the company. In dealing with Bob White's legacy, Browning should, on one hand, underline his past achievements to make himself well accepted from the current employees. On the other hand Browning should explain that the situation in the market changed (new competitors, new technologies used, etc.) and for that reason he needed to implement changes. Art Lawson!

V succeeded Bob White in his managerial position and was simply a caretaker manager, maintaining things as they had always been. Browning knew he had to give some strong messages about new directions if he was to shake up the comfortable division, but he had to do it from below Lawson. I think the best way how to deal with Lawson is to approach him directly with new ideas for change. It is nor really possible to try to circumvent Lawson since he is Browning's direct superior. They had known each other for 20 years so I think it is very probable Lawson would trust Browning enough to accept his proposals for change. Jim Stark!

V had been director of marketing for previous 5 years and a regional sales manager for another 25 years at White Cap. He had a fine track record with White Cap customers and maintained strong relationships in the field. In his prior position, Stark's strength had clearly been his ability to deal with customers as opposed to his people managing skills. Despite his strong outside presentation and selling ability, his internal relationships with his marketing staff were not ideal. Team spirit was not in evidence. Even though Stark's boss, the general manager for sales and marketing, urged Browning to avoid any sudden personnel changes and!

SS to give Stark a chance!" I would suggest that Start should definitely be moved from his position (most likely back to sales department). I also believe Browning should keep him in the company (instead of firing him) because of his valuable client relationships. Tom Green! V had been a manager of human resources for 5 years and 20 years at White Cap. Browning found Green had very few constructive ideas to offer. Browning even found himself involved in decisions that Green should have been taking care of himself.

In contrast with a lack of management skills, Green was a valuable information source and potential middleman between Browning and White Cap employees. In my opinion, in dealing with him Browning should not hesitate to fire him and replace him with the human resources manager from Bond ware division (where he worked before coming to White Cap) who had helped him with the changes he had made there. Browning would also not need any middleman to facilitate contact with employees since was going to directly approach employees and openly communicate with them. Question #4: What qualities are most needed to become a successful change agent?

In my opinion the successful change agents must have the following qualities: "h Good at Diagnosing Problems (Analytical skills)! V Understanding both the business drivers and the organization well enough to identify performance issues and analyze their impact on short and long term business results. "h Having Vision! V Predicting future developments of the company, competitors and markets, which enables to identify what exactly needs to be changed. "h Leadership Skills! V Defining the role of leaders, such as communications, role modeling, reinforcement of desired behaviors etc. "h Excellent Problem Solver! V Recommending solutions, possessing the insight to recognize the problem. "h Good at Implementation of Plans to Achieve Change Goals!

V Successful organizational change can be attributed to the right strategy and appropriate change in organization culture. "h Superb Communication Skills! V Every change must be clearly communicated and explained to everybody involved. "h Knowledge of the Business, Products and Services "h Planning and Project Management Skills "h Risk Taker! V Implementing change means taking some level of risk. "h Good at Conflict Management! V Changes very often create conflicts that can be positive for the company in case they are managed well.