Week 6 Mba 520

Identify the Alternatives and Benchmarking Validation

Alternative A is to implement a company wide intranet that will support all departments and company communication. Benchmarking: Whirlpool:

In an effort to retain employees and boost morale, Whirlpool Corporation is providing its associates with internal-mobility programs. Whirlpool is seeing that the trend in the employee market is shifting and that employee retention is becoming a major issue. Whirlpool has implemented an electronic access program to its employees that allows them to apply for internal positions online. This program provides more opportunity for growth and larger compensation packages. "Like a growing number of companies that are giving their internal-mobility programs a much-needed boost in an effort to retain and groom top talent, Whirlpool has made it simpler for employees to access job openings. Now, with a keystroke, employees can retrieve a list of jobs that match their background and apply for jobs online." (Workforce Management 2004)

Whirlpool also uses the recruitment tool to request employees to self evaluate. "Employees at Whirlpool create profiles that detail their skills and interests for their next ideal position." (Workforce Management 2004) Application of such tools allows employees to feel self-worth and retention is reduced in the workforce. "Employee turnover is low at Whirlpool-less than 5 percent-but the key to retaining employees is helping them plan and advance their careers, and this tool allows them to do that." (Workforce Management 2004)

Whirlpool employees are sustaining their employee morale even when the company may be going through significant changes. The organization is constantly transforming but allowing new opportunities for its associates. A re-organization does not necessarily mean that the company is unstable, but moving in a new direction. Given the right opportunity, loyal employees will grow with the company.

Today, employees are looking for a career not just a job. "If employees aren't given the opportunity to move within their own company, then they'll get out in the marketplace to get new experiences," says Tim Reynolds, corporate director of talent and organization development at Whirlpool. "As long as they're developing where they are, there's no need to go someplace else." (Workforce Management 2004) The implementation of programs that cater to internal growth will benefit organizations that aspire to retain current employees and boost employee morale.

The sales staff is frustrated with lack of access to the marketing website which is leading to low productivity, moral and motivation. Each department is working independently. A company wide intranet will boost morale, enhance communication and build trust. The intranet will aid employees as they develop their career with Intersect Investment Services, which will effectively reduce employee turnover, morale issues as it is boosting customer service satisfaction.

Alternative B is the CEO and VP of sales will put together a change plan with a two-year timeline. Benchmarking: Ivey Business Journal

This article talks about one manufacturing Company that has been around for over 100 years and is one of the largest federal government contractors in the United States. Five years ago, the company tried to implement a new enterprise-wide IT system. At the same time, it developed a new planning system to streamline work processes between its sourcing, operations and manufacturing functions. Both change initiatives were deemed critical to the future success of the company's 18,000 employees--and to the firm's customers. Did either initiative succeed? No. In fact, these initiatives have come to symbolize what not to do in planning and executing change because they nearly strangled the company's ability to introduce much-needed change in its operations. Three years after the setbacks, the company experienced with IT and planning, it was ready to launch a new wave of change--this time the menu would feature process improvement (a mix of Lean and Six Sigma) and a new leadership development program for middle managers.

Instead of setting high expectations through a formal, highly visible launch, the CEO said that he wanted to get each project off the ground, spend three to six months learning what worked and didn't work, and then design a realistic plan to sustain the change effort over three to five years. With this mindset, the company's leaders and managers were able to soak up the change and assess resistance without the pressure of needing to show immediate results.

One year into this change, the company is now addressing a new set of questions: how do we accelerate change, how do we link it more clearly to what our customers want, and how do we design the right metrics to show progress and impact? Instead of expecting quick results, the company has appointed a new executive to drive continuous improvement and create training and learning events to drive change forward. Those are the right questions and the right steps to keep change on track.

Alternative C is to manage corporate change through early collaborative communication that entails explaining change initiatives followed by continued education training and skill building. Benchmarking: Edward Jones, NUMMI, and Whirlpool.

When Edward Jones, a leading privately-held supplier of financial products, decided to initiate a completely new enterprise-wide IT transformation they had to carefully plan how the impending company wide organizational change would impact customer trust and satisfaction. One of their challenges was, "Reduce system interruptions that diminish customer confidence and branch revenue per day." (Hewlett-Packard Development Co. 2005) To plan for the company wide change their first priority was to determine the requirements for change and configuration management.

Edward Jones considers themselves "customer-centric" thereby requiring high system availability to prevent damaging customer confidence. The implementation of a new IT solution demanded that it be, "a scalable and automated solution with remote management capabilities to help keep our devices up-to-date and compliant with security and operational requirements." (Hewlett-Packard Development Co. 2005)

In February 2004, Edward Jones began a transformation of their data systems using HP's OpenView Solutions. This project required a company wide change management plan since each department was using a homegrown software distribution package that was cumbersome, frequently inoperative, and affecting overall customer satisfaction.

The rollout and