Group 2 - John Alho - Shelley Day - Tracy Gilson - Kyle Lewkowich - Christine Tellier Clearwater...
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Transcript of Group 2 - John Alho - Shelley Day - Tracy Gilson - Kyle Lewkowich - Christine Tellier Clearwater...
Group 2- John Alho- Shelley Day- Tracy Gilson- Kyle Lewkowich- Christine Tellier
Clearwater Fine Foods Inc. (CFFI): Using a Group Support System for Strategic Planning
Clearwater Fine Foods Inc (CFFI) One of the world’s leading seafood
producers World’s largest producer & exporter of live
lobster World’s largest producer of sea scallops Major exporter of shrimp, surf clams,
groundfish, tuna & shark. Worldwide retail & wholesale business
shipping 7 days/week, year-round to North America, Europe and Asia.
Company History 1976 - Founded by John Risley & Colin
MacDonald, 1986 - partnered with Hillsdown Holdings 1986 - parted-ways with Hillsdown Holdings 1991 - began establishing international offices 1992 - opened Grand Bank Seafoods 1995 - Partnership in Argentina to produce
Antarctic scallops 1996 - purchased controlling interest in Ocean
Nutrition Canada
Organization Structure Private & 100% owned by
management Internal Board of Directors By 1996
10 processing plants, Over 30 vessels Sales $200 million + Company employed approx. 3250 people
Corporate Strategy CFFI’s strategy has been growth oriented Company evolved into a decentralized,
vertically-integrated organization CFFI’s goal: to be a dominate player in
each of the product species CFFI Vision 2000
Established by the Board of Directors in 1995 Extensive set of 3-yr & 5-yr corporate goals
Corporate Strategy CFFI Vision 2000 - continued
Specific targets: financial, product, market & operations performance
To attain these targets, each line & support function in the organization were instructed to prepare their own strategic plan outlining:• the implications of Vision 2000 goals• actions needed to succeed
The Organizational Problem The 1996 annual “Vision 2000”
identified problems with communication & collaboration due to the highly decentralized and vertically-integrated structure
The Organizational Problem Acquisition of ships Purchase of new businesses Expansion into new markets Exporting decisions
The Organizational Problem IT/IS managers do not exist as part of
the executive decision making stream
Organizational Culture and structure make communication between silos of the company difficult.
Information Aspect of the Problem Leonard Landry, as MIS Manager, was
responsible for developing & championing the implementation of the company’s long-term IS strategy
Landry thought CFFI required an information system to facilitate complex decision-making with many interdependencies
Information Aspect to the Problem:Lack of Organizational Communication:
Many parts to the organization Silo-style management systems and hierarchy Remote geographic areas to serve and connect No concise management communications
infrastructure plan “Pie-in-the-sky” Vision 2000 set of goals are
driving agenda using a top-down approach
Current IT/IS TechnologyImplemented:
A corporate intranet Upgraded Microsoft Exchange for email Face-to-face interactions
Next step: Search for brainstorming & consensus-
building software
Trial with GSS at QueensNeeded to find a support system to enable
and promote Organizational Communication
Facilitator mediated Brainstorming management Ranking of discussion items Ranking of options Voted on priorities Anonymous input
Queens University GSS suite
Trial with GSS at Queens VP Finance, Leonard Landry and 5
others from the Accounting and Finance Group trialled software at Queen’s University School of Business Executive Decision Centre (QEDC) to draft their strategic agenda, and review the possible uses of a GSS for CFFI
Results from the Queens’ GSS Trial Case described how the GSS system
worked: GSS are “used by decision-makers in cases where a
solution may not be optimal, evident or even possible.” Intended to be used by managers meeting as a group in
order to discuss and resolve problems. A GSS met the need to get the Clearwater managers
working together - but this was not only goal Case did not describe the communication system
protocol used to take the GSS conference results and do anything with them (i.e., motivate staff, create decision follow-through protocols etc)
IT/IS Based Alternative Not Used Case did not describe the communication
systems also investigated (maybe there were none) - it almost seems as if they found a program that sounded interesting, and decided to use it;
Did not investigate the “fit” of the program to what they wanted it to do
Rated success of initial meeting was perhaps the novelty of meeting together without interruptions - not the technology
No metric created to measure or determine success No protocol created to follow through on decisions made
in the meeting.
GSS software Does NOT solve problems Assists in creating an environment
where the decision makers are supported
GSS can be seen as an enabler, not the solution
Problem Solving Options:1. Do nothing2. Improve on existing tools
Increase utilization rates Increase penetration
3. Contract Queens’ GSS (out-source)4. Purchase GSS for in-house use
Criteria for Assessment of Alternatives
Costs Financial Human Resource
Benefits Improve outputs
Implementation Feasibility of implementation
Alternative 1: Do nothing
Pro: Costs nothing Easy to implement
Con: No solution to problem
Alternative 2: Improve existing tools
Pro: Costs effective Staff already trained on use Ability to maximise current investment Easy to implement
Con: May not suffice
Alternative 3: Contract GSS (out source)
Pro: Cost effective – pay per use Use only as needed
Con: May not be necessary for their needs
Alternative 4: Purchase GSS software Pro: Always available Facilitates scheduling and ensures use
Con: GSS is a tool, not in of itself a solution to
problem Cost of implementation and training May not be required for CFFI needs
Alternative 5: Create organizational mechanism for internal communications
Pro: Addresses systemic communications
problems Follow-through, decision making structure
should improve communication between silos
Con: Will take an organizational leader to
champion Will require breaking down the silo walls Organizational inertia will prevent change
Proposed solution: Improve existing systems
Email: Create grouplists Develop email protocols
Intranet Post important company policies and documents Chatrooms Shareware Forums News and upcoming changes/events
Proposed solution: Contract use of GSS Strategically utilize GSS for particular
projects Large corporate initiatives Decisions requiring input from all levels of the
organization and across silos Can mediate top-down push of ideas
Proposed solution: develop internal communications protocols
Regular meetings Regular chain of command hierarchy
Issue resolution ladder Establish decision making protocols as a regular practice
Questions?
Arctic Endurance
Clams40 Crew
45 Sea days
Atlantic ProtectorScallops30 Crew
15 Sea days
Thank You!
Clearwater Fine FoodsVessel Tracking
Thank you to Clearwater Fine Foods for sponsoring the draw.
http://www.clearwater.ca/vessel-tracking.asp?cmPageID=348