Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH
Individual Questions
Explain why Jess Westerly is experiencing so much resistance to her idea, and why her initial attempt to change sales call patterns failed.
In doing so, clearly state the problem(s) Westerly faces in implementing her idea and diagnose why the problems you identified exist. What is/are the key issue(s) that obstruct Westerly’s ability to accomplish her goals?
Was she persuasive?
Consider any themes that emerge from Exhibit 2
Team (culture, change)
Describe the organizational culture at Kauflauf GmbH What can she do regain her credibility in the company?
Robin Ash has been given the assignment to reposition Printzhof so it would remain a major player in the complex and rapidly changing industry of higher education publishing. At the end of the case (“Doing the Groundwork for Change”), Robin identifies three key priorities: gaining buy-in, product development, and human resources.
Clearly state the problem(s) Robin faces for each of these priorities, and diagnose why the problems you identified exist. What is/are the key issue(s) in each of these priority areas that obstruct Robin’s ability to accomplish her goals?
What options are available to Robin Ash to address these three priorities? For each priority, identify the one most impactful action she could take.
In doing so, first adequately describe the option with enough detail so that it could
actually be implemented, and draw from course concepts when developing and
justifying your recommendations. At this point you are not able to fire anyone.
Second, assess the risks and benefits of the option.
Essays should be organized with this template (Do not use bullet-points in your essay):
Priority #1
Identify problem(s) and why it exists
Option A
Action to take, with rationale
Risks/Benefits
Priority #2
Identify problem(s) and why it exists
Option B
Action to take, with rationale
Risks/Benefits
Jess Westerly Case Study
Student’s Name
Institution
Jess Westerly Case Study
Jess Westerly’s change initiative was informed by facts and logic, yet she was unsuccessful in influencing the field consultants to accept and commit to the change. In her email, she provided the field consultants with results from her simulation and used logic to defend her proposed change. The use of facts and logic to convince people to commit to a request is a common influence tactic in organizations (Chapter 9: Power and Influence in the Workplace, n.d.). Her unsuccessful attempt at change was caused by both individual and organizational factors. Her failure in this initial effort to change the sales call patterns can be attributed to her source of power, lack of leadership support, and the organizational culture at Kauflauf GmbH.
Jess Westerly’s Source of Power
Jess Westerly’s source of power was her expertise and success in increasing market shares at her previous place of employment. She was able to simulate and forecast sales margin if certain changes were made in the company. This ability to forecast is an important element of expert power. However, her power within the organization was not as strong. First, her power was substitutable. As indicated in the case study, Westerly was not the only product owner who could guide the development group and collaborate with the field consultants. She worked with other product owners as well. Second, she lacked discretion. This happens when a person with a certain degree of power still needs to seek permission from someone else before making a decision (Chapter 9: Power and Influence in the Workplace, n.d.). Westerly had to seek permission and support from Tim Roeder.
Further, Westerly did not have any positional power over the field consultants. The field consultants, as revealed in Kauflauf GmbH organizational structure, worked in the sales department while Westerly worked in the marketing department. She did not have any authority over the field consultants. She did not have the legitimate authority to request the field consultants to commit to the change, neither could she coerce them nor promise to reward them if they followed through with her request.
Lack of Leadership Support
Initially, Westerly only had the support of her immediate boss, Tim Roeder. When the feedback from the field consultant came and it was negative, Roeder took a back seat for a while and did nothing to help her resolve the situation. Westerly did not have any support from the leaders in the sales department, yet this is where the change was expected to happen. Yet, leadership support is instrumental in the success of a change initiative (Ford, Lauricella, Fossen, & Riley, 2020). The only support that Westerly had was from her immediate boss, which was probably not enough to help her push her idea. Another leadership aspect that affected the success of Westerly’s initiative was the lack of encouragement from the leaders for employees to experiment with new ideas. Leaders at the company are not transformational. Part of transformational leadership is to encourage employees to try new ideas (Chapter 11: leadership in Organizational Settings), something that lacks at the company, hence the high resistance to change. Most of the field consultants were adamant that middle- and small-market were the most suitable markets for the company. Their unwillingness to explore new ideas and markets reflects on the organization’s leadership. Ideally, leaders have the responsibility of influencing their followers and changing their attitude and behavior to achieve the organization’s objectives. In the absence of this influence, followers remain stuck in their old attitudes and behaviors and are more resistant to change. Westerly could not influence such a change because she did not have the support of the organization’s leadership. By herself, she did not have the power or the leadership position necessary to drive such a change. However, if she had garnered the support of the head of marketing and the head of sales in her initial attempt, she would have had a strong backing. The head of marketing and sales can influence the field consultants better than Westerly and her immediate boss.
Organizational Culture at Kauflauf GmbH
The organizational culture is characterized...