Harrison Keyes Situation Analysis And Problem Statement

SITUATION ANALYSIS AND PROBLEM STATEMENT: Harrison-Keyes, Inc.

Situation Analysis and Problem Statement: Harrison-Keyes, Inc.

Troy Gordon

University of Phoenix

Situation Analysis and Problem Statement

Harrison-Keyes, Inc. had attempted to implement an e-publishing concept; Harrison-Keyes, Inc. currently has a list of problems that are plaguing this implementation, we will look at the current situation, the problems that Harrison-Keyes is faced with and what may be the best way to turn this problematic implementation around to make it successful.

Situation Background (Step 1)

Harrison-Keyes, Inc. is a current global publisher of print products and publishes about 2000 new titles each year. With more competition and low-cost retailers cutting into their bottom line profits have been on a decline. The board of Harrison-Keyes has fired Meg P. McGill due to the number of problems that has plagued the e-book implementation. William Guardo has been hired as the new CEO. He has as also announced that he is not a big fan of e-books and feels the traditional publishing approach is the way to make a company profitable. So what are the issues?

Issue Identification

One of the first major issues deals with Harrison-Keyes' foreign partner, Asia Digital. There was a once in a millennium flood that has wiped out the partner. Due to a lack of proper planning, a backup plan was never formulated nor in place so the company has lost all e-books being worked on. So now Harrison-Keyes will need to find another company to either take over or to outsource this part of the implementation. Company morale is low due to a lack of communication and a clear implementation plan in place. Currently there has been two employees leave and head over to work for a competitive company. As stated in Siorta, D. article "A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a "reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money. Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit." So a clear plan is needed. Finally marketing has not generated sufficient excitement to meet the sales forecasts, so the CEO has given Jan Peters and the implementation team 30 days to turn things around or he will pull the project.

Opportunity Identification

Some of the opportunities that face Harrison-Keyes, Inc. are the success of a fully implemented e-publishing strategy, this will give them an opportunity to be one of the first in the e-book market as well as realize the potential revenues that are available. Harrison-Keyes can improve on disaster recovery plans. As found in M. Brandel article "Disaster recovery and data protection are like parenting -- neither job is ever really finished." There is no backup plan in place and the e-book implementation can be improved with a backup plan. They can also improve company communication. Employees will have a clearer understanding of the company's goals and what they can do to assist the company. In the article by Rohde, T we find "System Context Diagrams consistent with the work of Tom DeMarco and James and Suzanne Robertson are an excellent way to get people with varying levels of technical sophistication on the same page. The great thing about their methods is that anything that flows in a direction can be modeled as a system. This level of flexibility is necessary if you're going to define the flow of information, monies and goods between your company or division and others."

"Communicators should measure their own communication effectiveness and let the company know the value of their work. Think more strategically and not so much tactically. Help others be better communicators instead of assuming the communication responsibility yourselves. Segment internal audiences as well as external--not everyone has the same communication needs and interests." as found in Rodriguez, A., (2003) article. A final opportunity is with its marketing campaign, states "A good way to measure returns is to examine the data in your Web logs, analyzing your traffic for clues to user behavior. By analyzing behavioral data, you can fine-tune your site to serve customers better and improve your own profitability." So re-analyze how the marketing is going and what can be improved.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

Looking at the current situation from a stakeholder perspective, the largest stakeholder would be the consumer. These are the people who use the products and services directly and indirectly through the purchase and use. These stakeholders have the rights to see improvements on the current products and see Harrison-Keyes, Inc. expand their current product and services base to included newer technologies. Employees have the rights to a good paying job, potential of advancing their careers and maintaining their job position. This will help strengthen the loyalty of the employees since part of their success will make the company as a whole more successful. The Executives desire the continued growth of Harrison-Keyes, Inc. and strong leadership within the company. Finally, we need to look at the current authors. This is the group of people who will provide the necessary produces to help the continued growth of Harrison-Keyes, Inc.; they desire improved security and a better understanding of changes. So how can we define the problem?

Problem Definition (Step 2)

Harrison-Keyes needs to find a fast way to successfully implement its e-publishing strategy, which can be done securely, improve the way Harrison-Keyes implements its strategies and communicates through a successful marketing campaign and quality e-books.

End-State Goals (Step 3)

At the end of 3 years, Harrison-Keyes, Inc., Inc. will have completed the e-publishing implementation through outsourcing or finding another company for e-book creation, improve the internal communication through a clear and precise implementation plan.

Conclusion

Harrison-Keyes, Inc., Inc. in a short amount of time needs to do some large adjustments and problems to solve to make this e-book implementation a success. There is information