Group 5 presentation final version 1

Editor's Notes

• #3: Adam has spent 30 years of his life building up his nursery businesses, motivated by his passion for gardening and the skills he knew he had, a ‘green thumb’. Adam established his flagship nursery approximately 30 years ago driven to provide quality plants and seedlings along with high quality tools, equipment and ornaments/decorative items. Continuing with these values Adam’s hard work and dedication has resulted in him owning 11 successful nurseries.   It is important to note that Adam’s motivation is absolutely not driven by financial gain, he specifically committed himself to “keeping profit margins low” (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013). As long as his business provided him with a living he didn’t focus his attention on increasing profits rather he focused on providing quality products and providing excellent customer service.
• #4: During Adam’s 30 years as a business owner he employed people who shared his passion for gardening. This shared passion allowed Adam to build individual relationships with his staff and create an environment for providing excellent service to customers. The informal nature of the monthly meetings were understood to be a open floor for sharing ideas and discussing business, were Adam promoted a relaxed environment and encouraged cohesion. Adam would make sure he worked along side the staff of each of the 11 nurseries. Taking a ‘hands on’ approach with customers and spending time sharing, using and acquiring knowledge. This was directly with the customer on site or via Adam’s quarterly newsletter which was circulated to over 5000 people! All of this behaviour Adam believed added value to the experience of the customer and lead to the success of Green Haven. Adam Cooper’s business is clearly his life’s passion and this wasn’t limited to just the produce for sale, his staff and customers were included in his passion and provide a supportive environment. Adam shared his leadership rather than taking charge and being directive, he naturally demonstrates some of the traits which form the path-goal theory of leadership, as a servant leader (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #5: Authoritarianism versus Leadership Adam visited all nurseries on a quarterly basis. Adam possessed natural talent and skills to manage the business. Why was Adam so successful with leading customers and staff members? Rather than ordering and commanding staff, Adam had a sense of equality towards leading. Adam gave staff their autonomy, encouraging their passion to naturally flow into excellent customer service. This leader style along with his ability to employ staff who shared his values lead to Green Haven operating successfully.
• #6: The monthly meetings were a great team building exercise for staff members, and they found it a relaxed environment. The meetings encouraged staff to share ideas and experiences, as the stores were closed customer dissatisfaction due to staff absences was not a concern.
• #7: Unfortunately, due to poor health Adam was forced into retirement and his son Philip an accountant by profession stepped in as CEO of Green Haven. Philip shared a fondness for gardening and inherited his father’s ‘green thumb’ from this it is clear that he did not share his father’s passion for gardening. Philip has operating experience of his father’s business from an accounting perspective, as he was involved in the establishment of the company accounting system in conjunction with the company accountant. Although he may not share his father’s passion for gardening he was very proud of his father’s achievement and was passionate to see his father’s business continue. The question is, of course, this will be discussed very soon, will Philip’s professional background which is more structured fit in with his father’s servant leadership style (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #8: Now that Philip is in charge, he has undertaken a review on how he sees the business. He has done this without the consultation of staff.
• #9: The Green Haven staff started to miss the days of communicating with others and the acknowledgement that would come from the meetings with Adam this caused their organisational learning to reduce (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #12: Not all of Philip’s changes affected just the internal interactions between the staff members at Green Haven. Some of his cost cutting measures also affected the interaction and relationships between the staff and the customers. When Adam was CEO there was major focus on a high quality of customer service. Philip’s attempts to reduce costs and increase profits by implementing changes to the style and extent of customer service that his staff were to provide resulted in negative outcomes for both the staff and the company’s revenue.
• #13: This was a practice that had been in effect for many years, however it was deemed to be an unnecessary cost with no real benefit to the company. The decision to cease this practice was made solely by Philip, whose perspective was focused on the benefits for the bottom line only. What he did not take in to consideration is the effect that this practice had on other stakeholders in the organisation. The stakeholder perspective (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013) explains the importance of maintaining relationships with anyone who is affected by the organisation’s actions.
• #14: This could have caused quite a bit of confusion for the staff. While working for Adam they were encouraged to spend time with customers, now their job was less about customer service. With this sudden change, the staff may have been struggling to understand what their duties are, and how they can perform well. Clear role perceptions are important for employees to keep them on track and completing the work that is required (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #15: In a company that has been running for 30 years, the knowledge and skills of employees can be extremely valuable. This human capital can be quite rare and difficult to imitate (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013) even by a computer. This undervaluing of employee stocks of knowledge was likely a factor in the resignation of staff members.
• #16: Philip has shown the staff that his values relate to the bottom line, whereas the staff, guided by Adam, had developed values relating to high customer service and a passion for gardening.
• #18: By looking at the execution of his changes and what could have been done better to gain organisation-wide support he may come up with the answer.
• #20: Phillip implemented so much change very quickly and without the consultation of employees. This change was prevalent, so Philip was potentially increasing stress amongst his employees by changing the organisational values without them understanding the reasoning behind this. Philip needs to provide the employees of Green Haven Nursery with a clear mission statement that sets out the values of the company, possibly though training sessions and team meetings (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #21: Research has shown that there are three points that increase the strength of the bond between an individuals personal values and their behaviour (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #23: As amendments to policies and processes have already been implemented at Green Haven Nursery, after initial employee consultation has been completed, Philip could look at putting together a small strategic team of senior staff, both management and long term employees, along with a few volunteers. This strategic team would review the comments from all employees and then work together to undertake organisational change in a positive manner, allowing the positive messages to flow through the company.
• #25: According to Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Model, Philip’s desired conditions for Green Haven Nursery push the organisation toward change, the driving forces. The forces restraining this from occurring are the employees resistance to change and the behaviour that comes with this resistance. Developed by Kurt Lewin (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #26: To assist in minimising resistance to change, there are 6 points that need to be utilised when the situation calls for it. By using an employees resistance as a resource, rather than a hindrance, the business will address the underlying cause of the resistance and move forward as a whole unit (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #27: Regarding how the organisational change will effect them within their employment will minimise the fear of the unknown. If individuals do not know what is happening they are more likely to have negative feelings towards the situation (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #28: Involving employees in the formation of the organisations direction will allow them to have ownership over the organisational changes that are taking place and reduce resistance to these changes. This can be done through the development of a strategic team of management, long term staff and volunteers, to work on a company plan (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #29: Negotiating workplace conditions such as the loss of employee benefits is an important task. It generally involves taking something away, i.e. the ability to spend two hours with each customer, and replacing it with something of benefit to the employee in another area, i.e. increased job security or training (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #30: Managing stress in the workplace will lead to more open discussions and reduce the employees fear of the unknown. This can be undertaken through avenues such as communication, learning and employee involvement (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #31: By giving learning opportunities to the employees they will obtain the knowledge and skills to move forward with the organisation through a time of change and will empower them to be part of the opportunities change brings with it (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #32: If resistance to change is still causing issues within the organisation, reminding employees of their obligation, monitoring work performance to ensure compliance to policies and processes, along with confronting staff who constantly do not meet compliance may be required. This type of strategy should only be used if all other strategies have not worked, as some employees may find this too confronting within the workplace (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).
• #33: Philip introduced computers into the nursery for customers to look up information on plants. This is a great interaction tool for customers but takes away the customer service aspect of the business and in turn takes away knowledge requirements of the employees. Whilst technology is a beneficial tool, it needs to be implemented correctly. To assist in the progression of technology at Green Haven Nursery, keeping this computer system and training employees on its use would allow the customer service aspect to re-enter the nursery. The staff would use their own knowledge as first point of contact for the customers, then during these discussions the computer system can be utilised as a joint interaction tool, making the sales process more streamlined than it previously was.
• #34: Whilst Philip believed the monthly day long meetings were too much of a social event and waste of time, these were actually a large part of the culture and success of the business, as it allowed for interaction and information sharing across all different levels of the company. This day allowed for the “Four Organisational Leaning Processes – Knowledge acquisition, sharing, use and storage” (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013). As well as providing a conflict resolution platform, “The main organisational approaches are emphasising subordinate goals, reducing value differences, improving communication and understanding, reducing task interdependence, increasing resources, clarifying rules and procedures, and establishing a positive climate” (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013). There were already good group development days in place and that with consultation from employees, ideas should be given to re-establish such a planning day on a more formal and more practical basis.
• #35: Phillip has created a hierarchical structure by no longer involving all staff in organisational meetings. Only Green Haven Nursery managers meet with Philip and it is then their responsibility to pass the information down to their teams. To remedy this, allowing a more democratised system to be implemented (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013), this will empower employees in the decision making process and re-establish the harmonious working environment at Green Haven Nursery.
• #36: Philip needs to re-engage with the employees, to do this he must make clear the values of the company, possibly though training sessions and team meetings (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013). By democratising the business, employees will have a greater sense of belongingness and value that adds to the well-being of the individual within the organisation. By giving the employees a greater allowance for decision making, they can now make the choice whether or not to give free plants to customers. Although this had not been monitored in the past, Phillip can reduce the amount by possibly allocating certain plants that can be given away. This gives the business an additional point of difference and strengthens relationships with customers. “Employee Engagement - The employees emotional and cognitive motivation, self-efficacy to perform the job, perceived clarity of the organisation’s vision and his or her specific role in that vision, and belief that he or she has the resources to get the job done” (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013). Employee engagement is driven by “Goal setting, employee involvement, organisational justice, organisational comprehension (knowing what’s going on in the company), employee development opportunities, sufficient resources and an appealing company vision are some of the more common mentioned influences” (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione, 2013).