Multimedia University

BMG8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT

Lecturer: Dr.I.LOURDESAMY

CASES ANALYSES

ULTIMATE OFFICE PRODUCTS

Student Name: Abdulla Saeed Alhamad

Student ID: 1111800065

MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

Ultimate Office Products

Question: What is the central management issue in this case? Examine the reasons

why Richard failed at first but succeeded later in introducing change?

Summary

Ultimate Office Products was an old, established manufacturing company in the

turbulent office products industry. Discount merchandisers and office product

superstores were spreading rapidly and altering the traditional distribution channels

once dominated by wholesalers and smaller retail stores. The growing power of the

superstores was forcing manufacturing to improve customer services. Ultimate Office

Products was losing market share and profit were declining.

The central management issue in this case

Managing change and innovation is the central management issue in this case, which

was detected by the CEO who creates a new position in the company (Director Of

Information Systems) and Richard Kelly was hired for this position. The CEO

explained the needed change to Richard she clearly told him the company need to

speed up order processing and improve customer service.

Richard Failed At First

Leading change and innovation by creating new process has to be don with taking

steps after examining the existing process and identifying the current errors and

mistakes.

Richard prepared a plan to automate the order processing system and got approval

from the CEO. Hi purchased new computer workstation and a software package,

months after the equipment and the software arrived, it was still waiting to be used.

Richard did not take the necessarily steps for leading change and innovation, failing to

do so lead to generate opposition against the new process from the other managers

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MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

who were Richards peers and he had no direct authority over them, no one of the

managers sees the need for change or the urgency of the change, they don’t

understand the reasons for change and they don’t share the same vision about what

should be changed, another reason for Richards failure was that he did not include any

of the manager in the new plan by creating a coalition for getting there support for the

new process.

Richard Succeeded Later

After the failure and the did end Richard reaches with the managers, Richard decided

to take deferent approach to lead the change. The new approach none as Kotters 8

steps model which was applied by Richard as fallow:

STEP 1: Create a Sense of Urgency.

Leaders may underestimate how hard it is to drive people out of their comfort zones,

or overestimate how successfully they have already done so, or simply lack the

patience necessary to develop appropriate urgency.

Richards gather more information about the reasons for delays in processing and

filling orders and he gained the support of the CEO.

STEP 2: Creating the Guiding Coalition.

Putting together the right coalition of people to lead a change initiative is critical to its

success. That coalition must have the right composition, a significant level of trust,

and a shared objective.

Richard met with the department managers to get their assistance in forming some

cross-functional task forces.

STEP 3: Developing a Clear Vision.

A clear and powerful vision will do far more than an authoritarian decree or

micromanagement can ever hope to accomplish. 

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MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

As people began working together to understand the system, they began to realize

how serious the problems were.

STEP 4: Share the Vision.

Ensuring that as many people as possible understand and accept the vision.

Richard knew that one task force would probably be enough to determine what

changes were needed; he wanted to involve more people in the change process so that

they would understand and support it.

STEP 5: Empower People to Clear Obstacles.

Removing as many barriers as possible and unleashing people to do their best work.

Each team made recommendations to the steering committee, composed of Richard

and the department managers. When one of the department managers opposed a

change, everyone in the meeting looked at the CEO, who made it clear that she

supported the task force recommendation.

STEP 6: Secure Short-Term Wins.

Creating visible, unambiguous success as soon as possible.

Within a year, the company eliminated many of the steps formerly required to process

an order, and the average number of days to fill an order was reduced by nearly half.

STEP 7: Consolidate & Keep Moving.

Consolidating gains and producing more change. Many more orders were being made

electronically, and most mistakes in the billing process were eliminated.

STEP 8: Anchor.

Anchoring new approaches in the culture for sustained change.

As people discovered that they could actually change things for the better, many of

them volunteered to serve on teams that would continue to look for ways to improve

quality and customer service.

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