Vodafone Business analysis and Soulotions
297180922020
Vodafone Business analysis and Soulotions
Word Count: 3,328
Report summary
The following report overviews, highlights and provides insightful recommendations on Vodafones critical problems under the former management of CEO Vittorio Colao
Abdulmohsen Mohiuddin- s222217283 Angus Robert Bunker-Smith- s222222622 Giacinta Puteri Sumarlin- s222069618 Sageevan Sutharsan- s221273505
MMM308 Applied Management Capabilities Trimester 2, 202400
Vodafone Business analysis and Soulotions
Word Count: 3,328
Report summary
The following report overviews, highlights and provides insightful recommendations on Vodafones critical problems under the former management of CEO Vittorio Colao
Abdulmohsen Mohiuddin- s222217283 Angus Robert Bunker-Smith- s222222622 Giacinta Puteri Sumarlin- s222069618 Sageevan Sutharsan- s221273505
MMM308 Applied Management Capabilities Trimester 2, 2024
Executive Summary
Vittorio Colao, who was born in Brescia, Italy, has a long and varied career spanning from 1999, when he was Chief Executive of Vodafone Italy, to 2002, when he became a Board member of the Vodafone Group Plc, before assuming the mantle of the CEO of Vodafone, a worldwide telecom leader. He has been in charge since 2008, supervising activities across many countries. Renowned for offering voice, data, and phone services globally, Vodafone struggles greatly to uphold ethical standards and operational effectiveness in its several regions. Under Colao's direction, the corporation revealed significant internal control flaws and financial misreporting of 60 million and 7 million of investments, thereby casting doubt on the efficacy of her leadership in maintaining world standards. Examining these issues, this paper focuses on how cultural variations affect governance, the necessity of better leadership tactics, and the alignment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects with local and worldwide aims. To guarantee Vodafone stays a credible and efficient worldwide leader, recommendations include boosting cultural training, improving communication, and honing CSR policies.
Table of Contents
TOC o "1-3" h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc174988893 h 3Problem Identification & analysis PAGEREF _Toc174988894 h 4Ethical Conduct in Jeopardy PAGEREF _Toc174988895 h 4Leadership strategy analysis PAGEREF _Toc174988896 h 4Cultural Differences throughout the Globe PAGEREF _Toc174988897 h 5Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Alignment with Objectives PAGEREF _Toc174988898 h 7Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc174988899 h 8Managing cultural differences PAGEREF _Toc174988900 h 8Business Reasonability Approach PAGEREF _Toc174988901 h 9Training programs & system control PAGEREF _Toc174988902 h 11Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc174988903 h 12References PAGEREF _Toc174988904 h 13Appendices PAGEREF _Toc174988905 h 15Appendix 1 PAGEREF _Toc174988906 h 15Appendix 2 PAGEREF _Toc174988907 h 15Appendix 3 PAGEREF _Toc174988908 h 15Acknowledgements PAGEREF _Toc174988909 h 16
IntroductionManaging a global company like Vodafone presents major challenges in today's global economy. The world-leading telecommunications company draws attention to important problems like ethical violations, poor leadership, and the difficulties of controlling cultural variances across several markets. Under CEO Vittorio Colao's assumption of control in 2008, Vodafone struggled greatly to maintain the integrity and efficiency of its worldwide activities. A major issue was the financial misreporting of 60 million and 7 million, which resulted from the leadership team's lack of responsibility and internal control breakdowns. These problems seriously threatened Vodafone's reputation, as they endangered not only financial reporting but also confidence among staff members and investors.Furthermore, the analysis reveals shortcomings in Vodafone's leadership under Colao, especially about cultural diversity and ethical standards in its worldwide activities. Without a strong leadership structure, the leadership teamincluding important executives charged with carrying out Colao's visionstruggled to control varied cultural expectations. This resulted in communication gaps, decreased employee cooperation, and ultimately, a decline in company performance. Particularly in areas with significant power distance and collectivist cultures, where employees were less likely to question authority or embrace individual responsibility, the difficulty of juggling worldwide company values with local cultural norms was clear-cut.Starting with an analysis of Vodafone's ethical behaviour and leadership approach, this report will look at these important problems. The conversation will next focus on how cultural variations among Vodafone's worldwide operations affect the governance and operational effectiveness of the business. Finally, the report will examine how Vodafone's CSR programmes can align more effectively with local community expectations and global objectives. This study seeks to shed light on Vodafone's difficulties and offer strategic recommendations to enable the business to negotiate complexity, recover confidence, and enhance its worldwide operations under Colao's direction.
Problem Identification & analysisEthical Conduct in Jeopardy
Through the failure of the Vodafone leadership and lack of professionalism through ethical breaches faced from the employees of Vodafone when investigation revealed 60 million being misreported occurred due to a series of failures to check manual accounting processes. Furthermore 7 million are also being misreported from below the audits threshold as the individuals identified used it for self-serving purposes which breaches the accounting standards.
Similarly, another issue that is identified is the confidence in upholding leadership that is affected to make right choices and take drastic actions to align company values to maintain fairness and trust as well among employees to make appropriate decisions. However, without the commitment to these values, Vodafone would struggle to navigate these challenges and erode the trust of their employees and their target market.
Leadership strategy analysis
The implication of misreporting challenges the companys leadership as it erodes the trust of employees as well as indicates flaws in the companys internal control. For organisations to implement success it is important that leaders have faithful loyalty to company values shared to achieve their success. (Aggarwal et al., 2023) As individuals who are motivated and prepared, ensure their ideas are more straightforward regarding their leadership actions. (Aggarwal et., 2023)
Leaders are challenged to assess their organisational culture and from it their values can be incorporated as a management tool to make active change in operating through cultural differences in Vodafones operations. (Mehta et al., 2024) With Vodafone having a different organisational culture they did not find themselves fitting in well and had difficulty to promote employee collaboration. Through this it created a communication gap among employees worsening their performance hence business standards started declining which established a big issue within Vodafone. (Mehta et al., 2024)
Therefore, with this awareness Colao implies a leadership strategy of The Vodafone Way which emphasises the international values and local roots. According to Colao a key factor to operate the Vodafone Way is trust as it is a system characterised by few rules and high expectations. However, with the breach of misreport, it determined a struggle in exploiting trust leading to a critical downfall, hence with using this strategy they should imply more rules as the business struggle in operating and consequently breaching standards. Therefore, with this Vodafone Leadership strategy, Colao should be involved and indicate a more hands on approach which ensures that there is accountability in preventing such errors by following rules to improve and manage their internal control to make sure that operations are efficient and adaptable in critical situations.
On the other hand, if Colao needs to implement changes and improvements, Another Leadership strategy can be applied as under Situational Leadership, Colao should adapt to Transformational leadership which targets Colao to being characteristic and inspirational, as this is useful to motivate and build trust among employees. This way it promotes accountability among the workspace to allow employees to collaborate and to support each others ideas that navigate through the market, as well as allow Colao make an effective decision to meet company goals and to achieve their values. Overall, this strategy allows Vodafone to adjust through the challenges by establishing a strong leadership presence in being involved in improving business.
Cultural Differences throughout the GlobeOne of the significant challenges for Vodafone is managing cultural differences between various subsidiaries across the globe. Vodafones operations span across diverse cultures, a deep understanding of cultural nuances is essential to foster effective collaboration and performance. The companys leadership, including CEO Vittorio Colao, must navigate these cultural differences. According to Wale, Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions theory provide a framework for analysing these differences.
Hofstede identifies six dimensions of culture
Power Distance Index: Refers to the degree to which the less powerful individuals within organizations and institutions such as families, accept and anticipate that power is distributed unevenly (Worthy et al., 2020).
Individualism vs Collectivism: In individualistic societies, people choose their own affiliations and groups. Whereas collectivistic societies put more emphasis on the importance of relationships and loyalty (Worthy et al., 2020).
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(According to this figure, the individualist and collectivist scale measures the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups and emphasize their relationship within the group. Australia ranks second on the list with a degree of 90.)
Masculinity vs Femininity: This refers to gender role differentiation and explores the degree to which a society emphasizes traditional masculine and feminine roles (Wale, 2015). According to Hofstedes theory, the country with the highest degree of masculinity is Japan and the nations that present a high degree of femininity is Sweden (Garcia, 2018).
Uncertainty Avoidance: Addressees a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Cultures with high Uncertainty Avoidance tend to be more emotional whereas low Uncertainty Cultures feel comfortable in unstructured situations (Worthy et al., 2020).
Long term vs short term orientation: The long-term vs short-term orientation dimension considers the extent to which society views its time horizon.
Indulgence vs constraints: This dimension revolves around how societies can control their impulses and desires.
Applying Hofstede's approach to the Vodafone case highlights potential cultural challenges. These cultural differences are evident in the company's struggle to maintain consistent governance and control over its global operations. For example, when Vodafone acquired Hutchison Essar and began to expand into India, it encountered challenges with hierarchical organisational systems. Employees in high power distance nations frequently ask for clear direction from upper management and are less likely to challenge authority. With a reduced power distance and an English-based society, Vodafone had to modify its management style. Vodafone's global operations necessitate balancing individual and collective goals. Vodafone's team found that employees in collectivist nations, such as Egypt, performed better in teams and prioritised group cohesion over individual achievement. As Vodafone expanded into more uncertain regions, it faced increased bureaucratic procedures and resistance to change. Vodafone's acquisition of Mannesmann, a German telecom business, for example, required careful negotiation of complex regulations and a more stringent approach to corporate governance. Vodafone's focus on standardisation indicates a desire to reduce unpredictability. The telecommunications industry needs to have a long-term focus because it is essential to ongoing innovation. Vodafone prioritises strategic activities that align with a long-term outlook. Vodafone had to focus on long-term infrastructure and customer relationships in India since it knew it would take years to fully achieve the market's potential.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Alignment with Objectives
Vodafone confronts a significant challenge in combining its global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives with the distinct and unique demands of local communities in the numerous countries where it operates. This conflict between global-local reflects the company's requirement to maintain a consistent brand and the international values; while also allowing local CEOs to adjust their local tactics in their own market conditions This issue is further aggravated by variations in cultural attitudes regarding corporate ethics and governance, as seen by financial disparities between the two Vodafone operating businesses.
As stated by Neely, the misreporting of 60 million and 7 million in other highlights how local practices can sometimes deviate from global expectations, potentially jeopardizing Vodafones reputation and integrity. Hence, the variations in cultural attitudes towards business ethics can lead to discrepancies in how rules and standards are interpreted and implemented across different markets. For example, local norms for the separate Vodaphone businesses can use their "cultural norms". Colao attempts to comprehend the Indian people and the communities from where the participants originated. In Italy the accent is considerably different from city to city, thus the difficulties and disparities between civilizations.
Led by Colao, Vodafone's "comply or justify" philosophy, that enables local CEOs to choose to comply with global directions or explain an alternative approach depending on local factors, might result in discrepancies in strategy execution per region. While this approach encourages local entrepreneurship and adaptation, it also risks resulting in a disjointed organization with possibly contradicting practices and results.
Colao's believes in building a high-trust environment with few restraints that can empowers local CEOs, but it requires a delicate balance. An issue may occur when CEOs have too much freedom, which can lead to various behaviours that do not align with the company's worldwide goals. For example, during a new launch, a CEO may be biased against a product, resulting in ineffective efforts. Whereas excessive control might stifle local creativity and reaction. This is where management would be marketing against the local environment consequently lost sales.
RecommendationsManaging cultural differencesBased on the Vodafone case and understanding the Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory, various recommendations for managing cultural differences can be established:
Cultural training for leaders and employees
Vodafone should provide training on Hofstedes cultural dimensions and other relevant frameworks to help employees understand the cultural contexts in which they are working. Vodafone could also invest in cross-cultural training for its employees, ensuring that both local and foreign staff understand and respect cultural differences in the workplace.
Establish Clear Global standards whilst allowing Local Values
Vodafone must create a balance between global consistency and local flexibility. Vodafone should empower local subsidiaries to adapt these standards to suit their specific contexts. For example, in hierarchical cultures, centralized control and clear communication might be essential, whereas in a more democratic environment, a decentralized approach with shared decision-making could be more effective.
Open Communication Across Hierarchies
To address potential challenges arising from hierarchical cultures, Vodafone must foster an open and transparent environment. By establishing clear and concise communication channels, Vodafone can encourage employees at all levels of hierarchy to voice concerns or report issues without the fear of retribution.
Tailored Leadership Approaches
CEO Vittorio Colao should implement culturally sensitive management styles. This entails adapting leadership approaches to align with the specific cultural nuances of each subsidiary. For example, in cultures prioritizing collective achievement, leaders might emphasize team-based incentives and shared goals. Whereas individualistic cultures often respond better to leadership that prioritizes personal growth and achievement.
Overarching, Colao can respond by Focusing on upholding Vodafones core values while also being mindful of different cultures in the way the company leads and rewards their employees. Meaning keeping the companys emphasis on rewarding good performance but doing so in a way that respects the cultural backgrounds of employees. By encouraging communication, Vodafone can keep its strong culture intact while also adapting to new challenges. Furthermore, Big changes such as cutting a lot of jobs or replacing leaders, could rut employee morale. Vodafone leadership approach should be gradual and slower steps that consider the unique economic and cultural differences in the countries they work in.
Business Reasonability ApproachAccording to Luc Glasbeek, Wickert and Shaf (2024), we can determine Vodafone's position to focus on implementing Business reasonability through three key subdisciplines of Business reasonability. Therefore, it can ensure both global consistency and local relevance. The elements are business philanthropy, corporate citizenship, and social entrepreneurship can be aligned with Vodafone's "International Values, Local Roots"
Business Philanthropy (Altruism)
Vodafone can start by enhancing its commitment to business philanthropy, which involves altruistic efforts to support social causes without an immediate financial return. For instance, Vodafone could establish global partnerships with non-profits while allowing local branches to identify and support causes that resonate within their communities. This approach ensures that the companys altruistic efforts are meaningful and impactful on both a global and local scale. As stated by (Taylor, Strom and Renz, 2014), this can lead to Increased morale and workplace satisfaction via altruistic efforts.
Corporate Citizenship (Community)
Vodafone must include the notion of corporate citizenship which is their obligation to positively contribute to the communities in which it works. By encouraging its local CEOs to actively interact with community leaders, stakeholders, and consumers to identify critical local concerns. According to Appendix 2 (Aflac, 2019), Vodafone may have a strong motive to increase its community participation. Vodafone can strengthen relationships with the communities it serves by implementing localized CSR projects that meet these needs (depending on CEO's choices), resulting in increased customer loyalty and investor trust. Vodafone, for example, might create digital literacy initiatives in underserved regions or assist local environmental conservation projects, which would match with the company's worldwide CSR aims and strengthen its reputation as a socially responsible firm.
Social Entrepreneurship (Venture)
According to research (US SIF Foundation Biennial Report, 2016), Vodafone can embrace social entrepreneurship by sponsoring projects with a dual objective of providing corporate value while also having good social impact. In relation to Appendix 3, the graph shows a significant growth in sustainable investing in the United States, driven mostly by higher inclusion of enviro, social, and governance considerations, indicating a larger trend toward responsible and ethical investment practices. Furthermore, Vodafone may establish a social venture fund to invest in businesses and small enterprises within their local communities where the employees have a choice. By creating an atmosphere conducive to social entrepreneurship, Vodafone can establish itself as a leader in both commercial innovation and social responsibility.
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(Evidence Of Impact Investing Growth US SIF Foundation)
Implementation Strategy
This framework should be adaptable enough to allow for local adjustments while being consistent with global aims. Regular assessments and feedback loops may help guarantee that Vodafone's CSR initiatives are continually updated and relevant to both global trends and local requirements. Vodafone can achieve its ethical commitments while also creating long-term value for both its business and the communities it serves by incorporating Business Reasonability into its CSR strategy. This framework should be adaptable enough to allow for local adjustments while being consistent with global desired outcomes. As a result, this strategy will help Vodafone maintain its reputation as a good corporate citizen and a worldwide leader in the broadband network.
Training programs & system controlFor Vodafone to prioritise their operations in preventing breaches in the future, the company must focus on improving their internal control. Vodafone should establish a program within their operations, which may include conducting inspections regularly to review their financial performance and identify any misreports in the future. This way it allows all employees to be trained and accountable for their actions to meet the company values and ensure there is trusted to strengthen their operation.
Additionally training programs can be implemented for employees about the standards to align with the company goals daily and to report any unethical behaviour to strengthen the internal operations. Training programs are established to encourage workplace communication by balancing assertiveness and active listening to allow employees engage in a series of a workshops aiming to equip skills to address conflict, provide constructive feedback, and build stronger professional relations. (Jandhyala et al., 2024) Through this Vodafone can foster in adjusting across diverse cultural environments by creating a cultural workplace enabling to adapt both in local and global operation by the reliability for employees to follow the ethical standards. (Jandhyala et al., 2024)
Moreover, Training programs can also be implemented in improving effective leadership by having a clear guideline in preparing leaders with the right skill to manage crises and providing training to allow employees to be prepared for transitioning in the global market. Moreover, having loyalty to company values and being involved hands on with the right training can help navigate Vodafone to drive a global success by taking decisions in understanding the market. ConclusionUnder the direction of the CEO Vittorio Colao, Vodafone navigates the complexity of worldwide operations facing major obstacles that stress the balance between local adaptation and global uniformity. The company's recent financial misreporting highlight internal control system weaknesses and call attention to how well its leadership structure maintains ethical standards and controls cultural diversity. Anchored in the "Vodafone Way" of blending universal principles with local roots, Colao's leadership strategy offers a sophisticated approach to global management but takes more work to solve the variances that develop across various markets.Although Vodafone's management approach is based mostly on trust and adaptability, the study shows that better internal controls and more consistent worldwide standards are desperately needed to stop ethical violations and guarantee alignment throughout the great activities of the organisation. Establishing an environment whereby staff members feel free to act ethically and in line with Vodafone's principles would depend critically on the implementation of training initiatives to improve cultural awareness, ethical behaviour, and leadership abilities. Furthermore, using Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions theory emphasises how crucial culturally responsive leadership is for controlling Vodafone's worldwide workforce. Vodafone can close the gaps between its worldwide strategy and local operations by customising leadership styles and encouraging open communication across hierarchies, therefore making sure that cultural variations become a strength rather than a liability.Vodafone must also improve its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by matching local requirements with worldwide goals if it is to maintain its leadership worldwide. Corporate citizenship, social entrepreneurship, and business philanthropy give Vodafone ways to strengthen relationships with nearby areas and support its worldwide brand as a social conscious business. Looking forward now is ultimately one of keeping its dedication to trust, flexibility, and moral leadership while acting forcefully to improve its governance systems and promote an accountable culture. Through this, Vodafone may improve operational effectiveness, rebuild confidence among its stakeholders, and keep on flourishing in the worldwide market.
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AppendicesAppendix 1
the individualist and collectivist scale measures the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups and emphasize their relationship within the group. Australia ranks second on the list with a degree of 90.
Appendix 2
social & Business Impact 2019 Aflac CSR Survey
Appendix 3
Evidence Of Impact Investing Growth US SIF Foundation
AcknowledgementsWe Acknowledge that every team member had an equal and shared responsibility in participating in team meetings, researching, writing and designing the report above.
Signed:
Abdul Mohsen Ahson Mohiuddin, s222217283
Angus Robert Bunker-Smith, s222222622
Giacinta Puteri Sumarlin, s222069618
Sageevan Sutharsan, s221273505
Applied management simulation
You are the director of product innovation within the research and development (R&D) unit of Spectrum Sunglass Company.
While you generally feel very positive regarding the situation at Spectrum Sunglass, you have noticed that sustainable economic development and the link between sustainability and innovation is featured in many of the professional articles you read, such as Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation. You are frustrated that you dont have any new sunglass products to offer to the vocal customers who increasingly express concerns about Spectrums environmental impact. Not only does sustainable development make sense to you personally, from both a moral and an economic standpoint, you also see this as an opportunity to differentiate Spectrums products from your competitors, which focus exclusively on design and price.
At Spectrums annual executive strategy retreat, you decide to ask for a special, unplanned session to discuss the conversations you recently had with a vice president at Spectrum Sunglass Companys largest retail customer, BigMart, which comprises 30% of Spectrums annual revenues with over 1,000 retail outlets across the United States. The VP explained he was now in charge of national sunglass procurement for BigMart, and that they had recently created a policy to promote all products which bear a Green Stamp manufacturing certification for environmental friendliness. He added that, notably, BigMarts market research revealed that even its most price-sensitive consumers were starting to prefer green products within their price range. The VP explained that BigMart was now considering recommending that all of its suppliers go through the Green Stamp certification process.
Hasan Ashraf(CEO): What exactly are BigMarts terms?
You:They want us to reduce petrochemical raw materials, such as polycarbonate plastics, in the manufacturing process from 90 percent to 50 percent within two years. The VP not-so-subtly threatened that, if we dont respond within three months with a detailed implementation plan, BigMart will consider canceling all our contracts with them and shift to a competitor who will. While unexpected, this could be an opportunity to develop a unique product line for a mass market base, and I think were up to the challenge!
Leslie Harris(VP of sales and marketing): A sustainability feature will help distinguish us in the long term, and this marketing angle may open up new consumer markets, such as exporting to more environmentally conscious countries in Europe.
Paul Diaz(CFO): We cant afford to start a sustainability project just because BigMart demands it! Green material substitutes for petroleum are probably expensive. Were highly leveraged as it is, so a drop in profitability might put our ability to meet our debt covenants at risk.
Aisha Farook(VP of operations): We just spent 12 months undergoing a grueling Six Sigma quality certification process. Our plant managers will probably resist another major change in material inputs.
Mari Gopinath(VP of human resources): But we need to give this serious thought, theres a lot at stake at ignoring this. Why dont you form a cross-functional task force to come up with a compromise solution?
Hasan Ashraf(CEO): Youre right, we cant ignore this. I agree with Mari's task force idea. You should create the task force from marketing, R&D, finance, and production, and they should all dedicate 75 percent of their time to coming up with a proposal for BigMart which is acceptable to all members. You have three months.
The management team at the retreat concurs with the CEOs task force proposal. As the retreat ends and everyone heads to dinner, you start pondering the numerous issues and obstacles to overcome in developing an acceptable plan for BigMart within three months. Your central challenge is to convince your colleagues that a dramatic change in the organizations strategy and products is necessary and that environmental sustainability is critical to the companys futureno small task in a relatively short period of time. This challenge is somewhat complicated by the fact that you must influence the rest of the organization without the formal authority to command employees attention. However, when BigMart tells Spectrum to jump, the usual response is to ask, How high? Furthermore, you have a reputation for being competent and trustworthy within Spectrum, and this reputational capital will be invaluable to you as you take on this new challenge.
You are the director of product innovation within the research & development (R&D) unit of Spectrum Sunglass Company.
You have recently noticed that sustainable economic development and the link between sustainability and innovation is featured in many of the professional articles you read, such as Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation. While you generally feel very positive about Spectrum, you are frustrated that you dont have any new sunglass products to offer to the vocal customers who increasingly express concerns about Spectrums environmental impact. Not only does sustainable development make sense to you personally, from both a moral and an economic standpoint, you also see this as an opportunity to differentiate Spectrums products from your competitors, which focus exclusively on design and price.
During Spectrum Sunglass Companys annual strategy retreat, you decide to pitch the idea of forming a task force to make the company and its products more environmentally sustainable. Your vision for Spectrum consists of three specific goals:
Eliminate 25 percent of waste by redesigning the manufacturing process.
Reduce the current level of greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent.
Create a new product line based entirely on environmentally benign materials.
You argue that these goals, while aggressive, are achievable within the next two years. Based on your current understanding, the task force will need to pursue the following activities:
Conduct energy audits and set aggressive milestones for improvement on the three goals.
Redesign processes and products to be more environmentally sustainable (and scale up successful experiments quickly).
Analyze environmental life cycles throughout the entire value chain inside the firm and with its suppliers.
Replace petroleum-based materials with biodegradable materials.
After politely listening to your proposal, the team present begins to respond.
Andrew Chen(general counsel): In my professional opinion, the sustainability project opens up the company to unnecessary legal risks. If we go ahead with this, I would advise we pursue only one of the three goals, and that we not publicly announce or promise it until after a careful internal due diligence process.
Paul Diaz(CFO): Instead of focusing on a pie-in-the-sky sustainability project, the task forces time and money would be better spent on finding innovative ways for Spectrum to reduce raw material costs and counteract the seasonality of its business.
Aisha Farook(VP of operations): Im concerned about a product and process change that is likely to increase raw material costs and disrupt existing production flows.
Leslie Harris(VP of sales and marketing): This idea has considerable promise and it would be foolish to reject it prematurely.
After an hour-long discussion, Hasan Ashraf, the CEO, and the rest of the management team agree to support your proposal, with the condition that the measure of success be your teams ability to achieve the proposed three goals within the next two years. The CEO agrees to allow you and your task force to spend 75 percent of your time on this change initiative over the next two years.
Your central challenge is to convince your colleagues that a dramatic change in the organizations strategy and products is necessary and that environmental sustainability is one of the keys to the companys future. This challenge is somewhat complicated by the fact that you must influence the rest of the organization without the formal authority to command employees attention, and there is no generally perceived need to change at this moment because of the companys return to normal profitability. You do have a reputation for being competent and trustworthy, however, and this reputational capital will be invaluable to you as you take on this new challenge.
