Interclean Inc.

Running head: SITUATION ANALYSIS AND PROBLEM STATEMENT: INTERCLEAN, INC.

Situation Analysis and Problem Statement

There are different ways to approach defining the problems facing an organization; the focus needs to be on defining the problem correctly. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia defines Situation Analysis as "a marketing term that involves evaluating the situation and trends in a particular company's market. Situation analysis is often termed the "three c's" and refers to three major elements: customers, costs and competition." The Problem or Opportunity Statement is described in the White Paper Defining the Problem: The Critical Step to Realizing Opportunities (University of Phoenix, 2006) as "developing a problem statement which will enable a leader to create value" and involves 5 steps: 1) Scan the environments thoroughly with the intent to move forward and create value, 2) Turn problems into opportunities, 3) Write a statement that allows for many possible solutions, 4) Make the statement motivational and 5) Make the statement clear and simple.

The context of the paper will examine the case study of InterClean, Inc. and start with a situation analysis by providing a brief background of the scenario, identify the issues and opportunities, explore stakeholder perspectives and ethical dilemmas. Continuing through the problem definition guidelines a problem statement will be developed and end state goals will be identified.

Situation Background (Step 1)

InterClean, Inc. is a major competitor in the institutional and industrial cleaning and sanitation industry. Currently they 45 employees with close to half of them being with the organization for a minimum of 11 years. InterClean, Inc. is relatively a middle-aged group with the majority of the staff having college education exposure and 21 of the 45 employees possessing an associates degree at a minimum (University of Phoenix, 2006). Increased focus on environmental safety and government regulations has left InterClean, Inc. facing an industry of consolidation and extreme competitiveness. With this in mind, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. David Spencer, has outlined and presented a strategic plan he believes will enable InterClean, Inc. to gain market share, increase profitability and position themselves as a global industry leader. The strategic plan is to implement a solutions/service model in which sales reps will be grouped into multi-functional teams prepared to support InterClean's high-quality products with high quality service (University of Phoenix, 2006).

Issue Identification

There are four primary issues outlined in Table 1 which InterClean, Inc. has encountered as they embark on the implementation schedule of the strategic plan: 1) skills, 2) structure, 3) organizational culture and climate and 4) communication.

In looking at the skills inventory of InterClean Inc. employees, over half of the staff is in the 50th or less percentile in the areas of job related training which includes: computer, leadership, customer service, communications and compliance and regulatory skills. In order for InterClean to be successful in their endeavor to become a global leader they must have the most qualified, educated and trained employees working for them.

The current structure of the organization does not support the goals of becoming a global leader. As indicated in the opening paragraphs of the scenario, with more emphasis being placed on environmental safety and government regulations the InterClean, Inc. sales staff needs to undergo a restructure which will enable them to work more efficiently and effectively thereby providing superior service to existing and new clients.

The organizational culture and climate of InterClean, Inc. does not support the strategic plan identified. While there is an emphasis on implementation of new technologies and growth of the company, the organization lacks the employee unity, skills and structure necessary to take the organization to the next level. In addition, there are numerous rumors floating around and there is a negative cloud hanging over as InterClean looks to merge with EnviroTech.

There is a great deal of "water-cooler" talk taking place and speculation of promotions and layoffs as a result of the skills audit and merger with EnviroTech. Effective communication is a primary key to any successful business transition and employee need to understand the who, what, when, where and why and how's if there is to be a successful transition whether it be in the sales organization or in the merger of InterClean Inc. and EnviroTech Inc.

Opportunity Identification

There are four opportunities outlined in Table 2 InterClean, Inc. should focus on as they begin to implement the strategic plan: 1) leadership and skill development programs, 2) restructure of sales staff, 3) marketing materials, and 4) communication.

Leadership development is one of the most important opportunities identified because organizational leadership is essential for effective strategy implementation (Pearce-Robinson, 2004). Training and educating employees to become strategic leaders will impact teamwork and collaboration between departments, increase operational effectiveness through effective communication, conflict management, motivation and empowering others. This coupled with team building programs can promote effective and efficient interaction amongst departments at all levels of an organization. Team building programs are designed to enhance performance and unity in an organization by focusing on relationships, trust, communication, goals, and even conflict. They are designed to reinforce and support teams which function without issues as well as those with varying degrees of stress and tension. The end results are improved organizational climate, reduced dysfunctional conflict, better communication and teamwork between departments and increased organizational commitment.

By restructuring the sales organization into Strategic and Technical Sales departments, InterClean Inc. can create a "tag-team" effect between the two departments and capitalize on their most important resource Ð'- employees. Some of the key advantages to this model are: developing a team environment, ability to hire talented staff into Strategic Sales and use the relationship between the two departments as a mentoring/cross-training program, provides a platform for promoting employees, allows Strategic Sales to focus on identifying new contacts and develop sales pipeline and allows for increased focus on developing existing clients through Technical Sales.