Joseph Dunn’s Ski Emporium, Essay Example

Problem Statement

Both the Deli that Joseph Dunn is looking to acquire and the Emporium are facing several challenges related to changes in the workforce, goals, and competition. The goals of the organization and employees are not aligned, therefore, there is a need to create a shared vision. As the case study states, there are several cultural conflicts and vision misalignments present within both companies. As an example, John Levitz and the new general manager of the deli do not agree on innovation. At the same time, the old and new (South American) employees of the Emporium have a cultural gap that prevents effective communication. The management, and the leader, Dunn will need to work on aligning personal and organizational goals, implementing a new approach towards leadership, and creating a shared vision for both companies.

Leadership Challenges

According to Barsh, Capozzi & Davidson (2008, p. 26) found that “people and corporate culture are the most important drivers of innovation”. This indicates that creating a culture that is able to support innovation is one of the most important steps. Further, creating and aligning the culture is important for creating innovation networks within the company. Making sure that there is an agreement among employees calls for creating a vision within the company. Communication challenges based on language barriers does not only affect the culture, but also the overall performance of Emporium. Making sure that errors and expensive mistakes are minimized is in the interest of employees and the management as well. The segregation of South American employees in the workforce creates a hostile environment and reduces the organization’s ability to create competitive advantages. The organizational structure needs to be revisited in order to create a company that has an effective communication system, based on collaboration along cultures.

Cultural Alignment

Crews (2013, p. 71) states that an organization’s culture defines a “shared understanding of the organization’s mission”, the values that guide decisions, the leadership style of upper and middle management, the way employees think, and the day-to-day operation of the company. This indicates that the organization’s culture needs to be accepted and embraced by all employees. This creates a leadership challenge for several reasons. First of all,  the employees’ attitude towards innovation is different within the Deli. The young Ice Cream Manager has new ideas that are not welcomed by the older managers. Further, there is a difference between the mission and vision of the two companies that are about to merge: the Emporium and the Deli. Dunn needs to find a common goal and vision that both company’s employees are ready to embrace. As the Emporium and the Deli’s operation are based on serving customers and dealing with them in person, it is advisable that Dunn builds the new mission and vision of the new company around customer service, excellence, and collaboration.

There are several ways that Dunn can strengthen cultural cohesion using inclusive approach. A recent White Paper by “What we Do” (2012) highlights the main differences between changing the organization’s culture and aligning it. According to the authors, the company’s culture should be built from the bottom up, and not from the top down. This requires both collaboration and a democratic approach towards leadership.  Dunn is able to create a better cohesion within the Emporium between the two ethnic groups. He needs to facilitate communication between South American workers and older employees. Indeed, the reason why the new employees do not mix with older ones is their assumption that their language skills would create a barrier. However, by socializing with native speakers of English, they would be able to improve their language skills, reducing the number of problems occurring when communicating orders and dealing with common issues. By creating a brainstorming session for a new direction within the Emporium, involving both new and old employees, for example, Dunn could help employees overcome the barriers of communication, and involve all workers in creating a new vision. For an effective leader, it is extremely important to understand his employees’ values, culture, and fears. By creating the session, asking for help rewriting the mission and vision of Emporium, in the light of the merger, Dunn could involve managers and workers in sharing their views and experiences. Likewise, creating an informal meeting where employees of the Deli and the Emporium are invited to would certainly help building effective communication channels.

Transformational Leadership

In order to deal with the challenges of cultural and view diversity, the author of the current study believes that implementing tools of transformational leadership would create the most positive results for the merged company. The substance of transformational leadership with regards to organizational culture is best summarized by Bass and Avolio’s (1993) definition. Transformational leadership involves inclusiveness of cultures, creating a common sense of purpose, and the alignment of personal career goals and visions with the central culture of the organization. It has been stated in the case study that many of the older employees of the organization have not been happy for a long time. According to Yeh (2008), transformational leaders can create and effectively communicate a shared vision in order to help all employees understand their importance within the system. According to Bass (1985), transformational leaders engage in utilizing the following leadership behaviors: inspiration/charisma, intellectual stimulation, and the individualized consideration, in order to make all workers feel valued and respected. This inclusive culture can result in changes that are not initiated from the top, but are embraced and supported by all employees. Therefore, Dunn will need to act as a change agent, instead of a change initiator.

Cultural Diversity

According to Stevens et al. (2008), most organizations face challenges of the demographic shifts in their workforce. The challenges are clearly demonstrated in the case study. First, there is a vision misalignment among older and newer generation of the Deli staff, and within Emporium’s two  cultural groups of employees. According to the authors (Stevens et al., 2008), the organization’s culture and structure should be receptive to diversity in a way that it minimizes resistance and maximizes inclusion. The key here is collaboration and communication. There is a clear resistance to blending in with older employees among the South American workers of Emporium. At the same time, there is a resistance to listening to more experienced managers and staff from the Ice Cream Chef within the Deli. The General Manager also shows resistance to new ideas.

Stevens et al. (2008) lists two different approaches to cultural diversity: the colorblind approach and the multicultural approach. In the case of the merger between the Deli and the Emporium, it is recommended that Dunn utilizes the multicultural approach, focusing on recognizing cultural, value, and ability-based differences of employees. The newly merged company should focus on promoting diversity, in order to make minority and diverse workforce recognized and respected. Some examples of promoting diversity can be: culturally diverse work meals, networking programs involving different demographic groups, coaching initiatives, providing diversity training for employees, and increasing collaboration in general. The study created by Stevens et al. (2008) states that the way  forward for multicultural companies is to embrace all-inclusive multiculturalism. The main benefit of this approach, according to the authors (Stevens et al., 2008, p. 126)  is the “facilitation of high-quality relationships across difference”.  Therefore, it is recommended that Dunn creates a diversity plan for the entire (merged) organization and creates a working group that includes minority and non-minority groups to propose ideas. These employees should also receive advanced workplace diversity training, in order to carry out the project supervised by the general manager.

Decision Making Based on Transformational Leadership

One of the main dilemmas that Dunn is facing regarding management decisions is appointing the new second shift manager. He could assign the role to Esteban Enrique, who comes from a diverse workforce population. However, this decision would create resistance among older, non-minority employees. He could also decide to trust his nephew, which would also create a hostile attitude, and many employees would believe that Dunn is engaging in nepotism. The solution to the problem would be to assess both applicants based on their performance, and ask them to create a long term plan to improve the organization’s performance, and its competitive advantages. The decision needs to be democratic, according to the principles of transformational leadership. However, one of the most effective ways of integrating minority groups in a multicultural organization is to utilize one of the main transformational leadership traits: inspiration and empowerment. By providing  Esteban Enrique, an ambitious, experienced employee a leadership training, Dunn’s organization could benefit in several ways. First, by providing Esteban training in leadership, he could show his respect for his ambition, and recognize his abilities and value for the company. In case Esteban gets promoted to the role of night shift manager, he will be able to communicate effectively with minority and non-minority employees alike, while focusing on the organization’s vision and mission. If Esteban is not promoted to be a leader, he could still become a deputy shift manager, assisting the leader in communicating with minority employees, building bridges. This way, he would still feel respected and valued by the organization.

Further, Dunn’s nephew will also need to receive training, while being judged based on his merits and abilities. This way, the leadership can avoid appearing biased, and can involve managers in decisions. It is also important that Dunn consults with immediate supervisors before appointing a new member of staff in leadership position. He should also involve the supervisor in coaching and supporting the new manager in order to help them align their goals and collaborate effectively.

Leadership and Change Management Plan

After the merger, it is important that the leadership looks into changing the organization’s structure. The merger will result in the need of appointing a new general manager for the joint organization, a separate operational manager for both business areas, and creating a team that works on collaborating ideas from the ex-Emporium and ex-Deli employees and managers.

Further, the following groups (called committees in larger organizations) will need to be created in order to promote diversity, new ideas, collaboration, and defining the new direction of the company, including creating a vision, mission statement that reflects the goals and aspirations of employees, as well as the company itself.

1. Diversity working group (one South American and one non-minority member) working on training, collaboration, and communication improvement
2. Innovation team (involving John and one member of the management team)
3. A mission and vision alignment team
4. A training team that arranges coaching, assigns trainers for new employees and helps them with integration.
5. A human resource review team that creates policies for open communication and diversity promotion.

Based on the principles of transformational leadership, Dunn should act as a change agent, and facilitate change, instead of giving out directives and setting goals. All committees and leaders (new and experienced) will be expected to create their own plans for improving thee culture, communication, and the overall performance of the company, and their plans will be reviewed by Dunn.

Conclusion

Based on the above reviewed case study, it is recommended that Dunn uses the tools provided by the transformational leadership approach to manage change and diversity within the organization. According to Yeh (2008), transformational leaders are able to gain commitment by effectively communicating their vision and setting clear guiding principles. They involve employees in making decisions, and adapt a democratic approach to leading people. They create a sense of community by setting a common goal that is well aligned with employees’ personal aspirations. They inspire  and empower employees, and this results in improved overall performance.

References

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. Public administration quarterly, 112-121.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. NY :Free Press

Barsh, J., Capozzi, M. M., & Davidson, J. (2008). Leadership and innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, 1, 36.

Crews, D., & Richard, S. (2013). Aligning Culture with Human Resource Strategies. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(15).

Stevens, F., Plaut, V. & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2008) Unlocking the benefits of diversity all-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change. The Journal Of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 44 No. 1, March 2008 116-133

What We Do. (2012)  “Replacing Culture Change with Culture Alignment for a Corporate Win.”

Yeh, H. R. (2008). The effects of transformation leadership, organizational culture, job satisfaction on the organizational performance in the non-profit organizations.