Leadership And Change Management

Leadership and Change Management

Team C

John Blauvelt, Frank Czajka, John Gustafson, Jason Miller, Patrick Simpson, Cathy Wess

University of Phoenix

MBA 520 вЂ" Transformational Leadership

Mr. Leonard Shelton

April 7, 2008

Leadership and Change Management

Summary of Key Concepts

The Intersect Investments simulation is not unfamiliar territory to big business there have been many organizations that have gone through or are going through a similar reorganization structure and culture. The CEO, Frank Jeffers, has made it clear to his team what the vision is for the company and how to go about getting to the end result. Mr. Jeffers wants to implement a trusted advisor model into his organization. A program that will help increases the customer base and their credibility with Wall Street.

The plan includes growing a customer base by 25% and increasing the product line for consumers and small businesses. The program will add trust and value to the company’s services. He believes this is the way to reach the objectives and goal the organization. Frank Jeffers is an agent of change for the company and sees this plan and direction as the new future for the company. He will need to be able to communicate this vision to the team if he wants to be successful. He will need to get support from upper management staff to get the message out about this new direction he has chosen.

Both Merrill Lynch and Tata Motors recognize change is necessary if each organization is to realize the mutual goal of customer satisfaction and therefore the growth of its business. Both companies also demonstrate an understanding of the techniques available to build consensus amongst its stakeholders. One of these techniques employed by both companies is creating urgency for change, which is driven by the customer’s perspective. In the case of Merrill Lynch, communicating to its employees how the customer views Merrill Lynch creates a sense of urgency and therefore a better chance employees will support the organizations vision for the future. Tata Motors took the concept of creating urgency for change by having its employees communicate with its customers to better understand their point-of-view. Additionally, both Merrill Lynch and Tata Motors use transformational leadership as a means to formulate, communicate, and initiate the organizations vision. According to McShane and Von Glinow (2004), “Transformational leaders do make a difference, according to organizational behavior studies. Subordinates are more satisfied and have higher affective organizational commitment under transformational leaders.” (p. 431).

The financial services company "Intersect" has been adversely affected with volatility and apprehension since September 11, 2001. Furthermore, since the industry as a whole is struggling with maintaining trustworthiness with Wall Street, paramount thinking has shifted from customer acquisition to customer intimacy. In order for Intersect Investment Company to survive the fiscal year, radical changes within the organization are vital. Chief Executive Officer, Fran Jeffers, has assembled his top executives within the company to illicit change.

Any successful leader in today's business world must be able to embrace change and transition from one leadership style to the next as needed. The Target Corporation, formerly Dayton Hudson's Target Stores, has been critically acclaimed for their ability to adopt and adapt different leadership styles. In fact, according to Greg Steinhaffel, president of Target Stores, "Some leaders become over dependent on one particular type of leadership style and that' won't work." (Kusy and Essex, 2005) Since 1987, Chief Executive Officer Robert Ulrich has built upon Target's success by motivating and empowering his employees. His plans for the company were contingent upon employee acceptance of his vision. Prior to Ulrich's promotion, Target had more of a leadership style, which was directive, a style, which emphasized micro management and negative reinforcement. Leadership versus management has often aroused the interest of scholars in defining what particular role was more suited for creating change. According to Bernard Bass an expert leader, "managers typically perform functions associated with planning, investigating, organizing, and control, and leaders deal with the interpersonal aspects of a manager’s job. Leaders inspire others, provide emotional support, and try to get employees to rally around a common goal." (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2005) Robert Ulrich is the epitome of a true leader a leader that has the attributes, which have been defined as "Charismatic." According to researchers Kreitner and Kinicki, "The first set of charismatic leader behaviors involves establishing a common vision of the future. A vision is “a realistic, credible, attractive future for your organization". (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2005) Furthermore, according to Burt Nanus leadership expert, a leadership expert, the “right” vision unleashes human potential because it serves as a beacon of hope and common purpose. It does this by attracting commitment, energizing workers, creating meaning in employees’ lives, establishing a standard of excellence, promoting high ideals, and bridging the gap between an organization’s present problems and its future goals and aspirations. In contrast, the “wrong” vision can be very damaging to an organization. (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2005)

Intersect Investment Company is at a pivotal time within the company's history and unless leadership can invoke and implement its new strategic vision, additional setbacks and investor instability are perceived to be inevitable.

Compare and Contrast

Though Merrill Lynch and Tata Motors are clearly different industries they share similar challenges, not the least of which is organizational change and managing the resistance to these changes. The way in which each company address issues related to change is slightly different, but the end goal remains the same вЂ" create an environment in which employees understand and appreciate the needs of the customer, and hence create an organization designed to promote customer-centric initiatives. The way in which organizational change is realized is accomplished through