Case Study On SWOT Analysis

Summary

This case presents a disagreement between the chief executive officer of Allied Industries, Mr. James Fulmer and Mr. Frank Curtis the president of one of the companies owned by Allied Industries, Lee Medical Supplies. The apparent differences in ideas emanate from their different approaches to implementing the change. Whereas Curtis has implemented a change at Lee Medical Supplies and is achieving financial results, Fulmer tends to think that such results though good, should not come at the expense of employees’ happiness and satisfaction. Curtis, on the other hand, believes that one has to do whatever it takes to achieve financially. For him, keeping employees happy is not part of his duties.

The strengths, in this case, are the facts that Curtis understands the objectives of Allied Industries, the parent company for which he works. He has the expertise and experience to implement a turnaround in an organization experiencing distress and make it profitable once more. Fulmer, on the other hand, is an aggressive, charismatic and result oriented leader with a clear vision to lead Allied Industries and its affiliated companies to achieving. It is a fact that is visible in the appointment memo he wrote to Curtis where he did not mince any words in far as his expectations on Curtis were concerned. However, a major weakness is Curtis idea of implanting the changes he deems necessary. Curtis seems to be an autocratic leader who does not care about other people's opinions as long as he feels that his approach is achieving results. His approach can lead to short term success but fail, in the long run, when employees become disillusioned and demotivated.
Given that an independent evaluation of performance is regularly done in the company, it provides a valuable opportunity for the management to review the general performance and implement changes that will bring everyone on board. It is good in management to have leaders who have different opinions and approaches and who can speak freely without fear. That is the case with Mr. Fulmer and Mr. Curtis. They are both charismatic leaders who do not shy away from speaking their minds. The threats that face the company are internal and are related to a possibility of employees' resistance to leadership ideas. Demotivation is also setting in, and that is likely to affect the performance of the organization. Employees seem to believe that the competitive approach that Curtis has implemented is negative a company that has had a close-knit relationship between employees for decades.

Significant Factors

It is common for human beings to be resistant to change and prefer status quo. As it is, Curtis’ predecessor, Mr. Lee was a less strict leader who had centralized powers and whose approach to employees' evaluation had nothing to do with performance. There was; therefore, nothing driving employees towards achieving results. Average performance was acceptable. This made difficult for Curtis when he took over with intentions of implementing a turnaround in the company. One of the significant factors that cause the problem in the case is Curtis' radical approach to implementing the change. The second factor is the resistance to change that is being implemented by Curtis. The change has been radical and implemented without the participation of the employees hence the resistance to the change. The third factor that causes the problem at Lee Medical Supplies is Mr. Curtis’ total disregard to employees’ grievances. If not addressed, the grievances will most certainly lead to more resistance and to some extent, some of the seasoned employees of the company leaving.

Major Problem

The major problem in this case it the wrong approach that has been taken by Mr. Curtis, the Lee Medical Supplies President. The president has not involved everybody in the change process which has led to resistance from some employees. It is this resistance and claims of high-handedness that have caught the attention of the Mr. Fulmer, the CEO of the parent company, Allied Industrial. The company is doing well on the financial front, and the only major problem is the employees’ complaints of Curtis’ and his managerial employees’ leadership styles.

Possible Causes of Action

Lee Medical Supplies cannot continue with the current leadership style for long. Mr. Fulmer's intervention should bring about a change in the way the company is being managed and bring everybody on board. At the moment, employees feel like they are outsiders in the organization. They need to be made to feel important and part of the company as it was before Mr. Curtis' tenure. One of the means of implementing this is through bringing a new president who will embrace participative leadership style and bring all employees on board when initiating implementing change. This may be necessary because employees have already developed a negative attitude towards Curtis' leadership style and probably Curtis himself as a leader. The second alternate course of action would be to convince Curtis to change his attitude towards employees who have worked in the company for long. He seems to believe that they are mediocre employees who only like lazing around. Curtis should change his leadership style and fully involve everybody in the change process. When employees are involved and fully made aware of the need for change they are likely to embrace the change and help implement it.

Recommendation

One of the above two causes of action would be the best for the good of the company. Since Curtis has been at Lee Medical Supplies for at least 18 months and initiated a change process that is already paying dividends, he should be left to continue under the second possible course of action as explained above. As leader, Curtis should be able to change his current leadership style and attitude and embrace all employees. It will enable him to involve them in the decision-making process through participative leadership style and earn their acceptance. It is a good course of action since the alternative course of action that involves bringing in a new president, will take a long time to take effect. That may lead to some losses being incurred by the company.

Contingency Plan

It is possible that by implementing the above recommended course of action, the employees may still resist Curtis leadership due to suspicion given the negative attitude they may already have against him. In this event, it may be essential to explore the first possible course of action as explained above. It will involve bringing in a new president who will start implementing a new change process that involves all stakeholders using Kotter's 8-Step Change Model.