Caroline Regis at Excel Systems Case Analysis

Caroline Regis at Excel Systems Case Analysis

Core Problem Statement

• The power imbalance between Whitney and Dreanan that developed after the merger of Excel and Gemini has led to mutual undercutting, and conflicting messages from the top of the organization as each fights to steer the company in the future direction they best see fit. In doing so at the expense of their employees, they have alienated divisions, and jeopardized their organizational culture.

Contributing or Related Problems

• The organizational structure of both Excel and Gemini couldn't have been more different coming into the merger. Excel exhibited a traditional, more entrepreneurial start-up approach to management, while Gemini, under the careful eye of Dreanan was much more professional, well organized, and process oriented.

o These differences in corporate values and approaches to management failed to be addressed prior to the merger, creating a culture that bread dissent and ambiguity amongst both employees and leaders alike.

• The decision to acquire Gemini as the answer to helping Excel get passed their change in business strategy was done with little consideration to how the surviving organization would be run and who would be in charge.

o There was no vision or urgency associated with the merger, dooming the change and integration to be quick, and focused simply on implementation. This led to a number of resignations and layoffs, and less motivation on the part of the surviving employees as their traditional roles evaporated.

• When faced with the choice between adopting an outsourcing strategy, or retaining manufacturing in-house, both Regis and Ogilvie chose to dig into their respective positions, and focus more on defending their strategy rather than figuring out how they could best work together for the benefit of the company.

o This gets at Regis’ analytical nature, and her tendency to believe to strongly in her way of doing things that she may ignore the issues others may be facing, or the expertise they may bring to the table as valuable.

• Regis made several snap assumptions when it came to what would work at the new merged company for both manufacturing and engineering strategies, based simply off of what had worked at Excel itself and her past success in driving integration between the two functionaries.

o She failed to respect the expertise and judgment of Ogilvie, who was every bit as competent in her area of outsourcing, and instead focused on pursuing the agenda that would work best for her at the expense of what could work best for the company.

Recommendations

Clarify the Whitney Dreanan relationship

• Whitney, as a serial entrepreneur, and founder of the company recognizes the need to bring in more efficient management to take the company to the next level, but at the same time doesn't want to give up control of his “baby”.

• Dreanan for his part feels threatened by Whitney who he views as trying to undermine his authority, and constantly questioning his decisions. Other leaders within the company need to persuade Whitney to trust in Dreanan’s leadership ability, and persuade Dreanan to work with Whitney and not be threatened by him.

Integrate through a shared corporate culture

• One of the main reasons