Communicating and Making Decisions for Introducing New Furniture Product Line

Understanding the Need for Innovation

Task:

Be sure that you have answered the entire question! Initial Post This week's discussion continues with the Smithfield Custom Furniture case. Your posting should answer the questions posed using the course materials to support your answers. It is important to write concisely and to follow the detailed instructions provided below. Include in-text citations and references in a reference list.

Its new product line of lower-priced furniture was an immediate sensation in the marketplace. The company now has 344 stores and 21,000 employees.

She has been running the company for 3 years. Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors have been assessing an opportunity to acquire You Figure it Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. The furniture and furniture-related accessories of You Figure it Out are all made in China and sold only in the United States. Their retail stores are located in Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4). Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their 5 manufacturing plants. They are aware that producing a new line of furniture would mean retraining several hundred of their workers in the new production process. However, if this change is successfully executed it would significantly increase the profitability of the You Figure It Out brand. The company also sees a market for the ultra-modern style of furniture in Smithfield’s existing foreign markets and believe the current Smithfield stores in Spain, France, Germany, and England could display some of the new furniture along with their traditional lines of furniture and take orders that would be produced in the US plants. Other than that, the Smithfield Custom Furniture product line and the You Figure It Out brand would operate as they currently do. They have decided to conclude the purchase with You Figure It Out executives and want to announce the decision to their workforce as soon as possible. The Management Issue: Margot Smithfield is concerned she will overlook something important in her communications to employees and the decision-making of the board. Your Task for Your Initial Post Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understanding and ensure she does not overlook anything important to the success of introducing a new furniture product line to the current Smithfield product line. She has requested that you send her a single-spaced summary, using only course readings and proper citations, that addresses (in the order they are listed) the issues she believes she needs to be aware of related to communications and decision making. Explaining to her, using not more than 4 sentences, why employees need to understand the need for Smithfield to continue to be innovative. Selecting the 3 “noise” factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line. Using not more than 4 sentences for each of your 3 noise factors, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 noise factors you selected, including its potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. Identifying for Margot Smithfield the 3 most significant obstacles to change that you believe will make the acceptance of the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than 4 sentences for each obstacle to change you identified, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 obstacles to change you selected, including each obstacle's potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than 4 sentences, the one specific change management technique or tool you think is most likely to pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line. Explaining to her, using course readings on decision making and in no more than 4 sentences, the most likely decision-making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line. Note: You are expected to use in-text citations and create a reference list in answering the above 5 issues. Format for Your Initial Post You must use the following numbers and corresponding headings for each part of your response to a particular issue. 1. Understanding the Need for Innovation. 2. Significant "Noise" factors 3. Obstacles to the Acceptance of Change 4. An Effective Change Management Technique 5. Possible Decision-making Oversight Two Options for Your Required Replies to Classmates Option 1 is that you will find an issue of the classmate to whom you respond with which you disagree. You must state why you believe there is a better manner to address a particular issue that differs from your classmate’s response. You must state the major idea associated with your choice and why that idea applies to the issue more appropriately. Your reply must be supported with course materials, in-text citations, and references. Option 2 occurs if you agree with all of a particular classmate’s initial posting responses. In that case, you must expand on one issue that your classmate presented. Your reply will provide more depth or other related factors that your classmate also should consider. Your reply must be supported with course materials, in-text citations, and references. Note: You may use either Option 1 or Option 2 for each different classmate to whom you respond. Initial Post and Classmate Reply Deadlines Your initial post is due by Saturday at 11:59 PM. Your replies to your classmates are due by Tuesday at 11:59 PM (see below about how to reply). You are required to respond to a minimum of 2 classmates by the Tuesday 11:59 PM EST deadline. How Many Replies to Classmates? Read the grading rubric carefully. The rubric points out the major criteria, including response frequency and timeliness, that will be used to grade this assignment. Note that you cannot earn maximum grades for the frequency of posting by responding to only 2 classmates. Two is the minimum number of replies to receive a passing grade. You are required to respond substantively to 4 classmates in order to maximize your grade in this area. (See the explanation above regarding what "respond substantively" means in this class.) How Often Should I Reply to Classmates? Read the grading rubric carefully. The maximum credit is given for replies to four (4) classmates across three (3) different days of the class week. Less credit is earned for responses on two (2) different days and the least amount of passing credit for the number of replies is granted for making all responses to classmates on the same day. Instructions for Responses to Classmates’ Posts After you have created your initial post, look over the discussion posts of your classmates, and give at least two responses to different classmates (one per classmate) as outlined in the Discussion Grading Rubric. A response posting should be a minimum of one short paragraph. Word totals for these posts should be in the 75–150-word range. The goal of your response posts is to extend discussions already taking place or pose new possibilities or ideas not previously voiced. Your goal should be to motivate the group discussion and present a creative approach to the topic. Do not merely agree or disagree, repeating what a classmate stated or what you have already stated. Explain the ‘why or how’ with supporting evidence and concepts from the course material. Include in-text citations and associated references within a reference list. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-matters-communication/ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/adapting-and-innovating/