Problem Solution: Intersect Investments

Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: INTERSECT INVESTMENTS

Problem Solution: Intersect Investments

University of Phoenix

Problem Solution: Intersect Investments

In today’s global marketplace, an organization must be able to progress using a change management process to meet the changing needs of the various customers of the company. For an organization, change management means defining and implementing procedures and or steps to deal with changes in the business environment and to profit from changing opportunities. The change process is a necessary aspect of business survival for an organization similar to that of the human population. Intersect Investment has been reluctant and slow to embrace a change management initiative for the company consequently the financial performance is suffering and the company is losing customers. Therefore, Intersect Investment is a financial services company struggling to survive in a competitive industry. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, the financial services industry has been in a constant state of flux and struggle. The purpose of this paper is to use steps in the problem solving process to build a foundation for a profitable change management plan.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

The situation is Intersect Investment needs to handle successfully organizational change, competitive pressures, and increasing profitability as well as building trust with customers while reducing the costs of doing business. Intersect Investment needs to become an agile and premier financial services organization by revolutionizing the products. Intersect has decided to introduce a broad set of new products to consumer and small business customers using a model of customer intimacy and anticipating customer needs for a more profitable future. This initiative is designed to build long term relationships based on trust and value to the customers. The change management model will create an improved relationship with employees and put in place a process of ongoing change using a “continuous improvement process.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frank Jeffers shared his vision of the future for Intersect Investment to the leadership and employees without a plan for the change. While the CEO has expressed his ideas, the employees and leaders are not completely aligned with this vision due to a lack of true understanding. An opportunity exist for the new Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales needs to provide a detailed organizational change model to leaders and employees who inspires the employees to support the change and make the change process successful. The company needs to use a matrix approach to the change process. This means combining the benefits of two change process to achieve the CEO’s vision and regain customer loyalty along with trust. Therefore, using “a systems model of change offers managers a framework to understand the broad complexities of organizational change” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 679 while providing employees with the necessary information to begin to understand the urgency for the changes that needs to take place at Intersect Investment to ensure the company’s viability. The systems change model should establish a sense of urgency, identify a strong coalition for leaders for the change, effectively communicate the vision, remove obstacles that impede success, and recognize the importance of anchoring the change success when achieved by the employees according to John Kotter an expert on leadership and management. This model could be used in conjunction with Kurt Lewin’s change model that has three stage model of planned change which explains how to initiate, manage and stabilize the change process through unfreezing, changing and refreezing.” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2003, p. 677)

The next opportunity for the leadership of Intersect Investment will be in the area of overcoming the resistance to change in order for the planned change initiative to be success. A key to the resistance to change is participation in the change process. Today, there is new thinking around this concept that indicates an alternative to overcoming resistance to change is “a contingency approach because resistance can take many forms and, furthermore, because situational factors vary.” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2003, p. 689) This approach encourage the leader to be ready for change, do not assume people consciously resist change, radical innovation can be very successful with middle level managers and the perceptions of the employees are key to the change process. This means employees may not resist change once they understand the benefits and the benefits out way the cost of not changing.

Intersect Investment is properly positioning itself to be a stronger competitor in the local marketplace by offering new innovative products and services. The issue for the company is communicating this message effectively to the employees so that the employees embrace the concept and apply the concepts consistently with each customer interaction. The concept of trust and customer intimacy appears to appeal to the customer yet the employees are not totally sold on the concept since the concept takes additional time to explain which means an impact on sales and revenue. This is an excellent opportunity for a transactional leader to create a process that would be a win-win for the employees, customers and company. The transactional leader could easily create procedures for the new process that allow target customer goals be met while introducing the new products to the customer. Transactional leadership “helps organizations achieve their current objectives more efficiently, such as linking job performance to valued rewards and ensuring that employees have the resources needed to get the job done.” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2004, p. 428) This leader could introduce a reward and recognition program that helps to sustain the planned changes.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

There are different stakeholders involved with the Intersect Investment financial services company. The stakeholders are the stock holders, leadership, employees and customers. Each group is looking for ways to look out for the best interest of the company and the perspective of each group. This