Reference no: EM133971484
Discussion Post
Case Discussion: Smithfield Custom Furniture
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). Get the instant assignment help.
Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their five manufacturing plants. They know that producing a new furniture line would mean retraining several hundred 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 believes 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.
Task
Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understand and ensure she does not overlook anything important when 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.
A. Explain to her, using not more than four sentences, why employees need to understand the need for Smithfield to continue to be innovative.
B. Selecting the 3 "noise" factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line. Using not more than four 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.
C. For Margot Smithfield, identify the 3 most significant obstacles to change that will make accepting the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than four 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.
D. Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than four sentences, the one specific change management technique or tool you think will most likely pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line.
E. Explain to her the most likely decision-making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line using course readings on decision-making and in no more than four sentences.