Initial Post
During the past seven weeks, you have been on a journey to understand better the concept of management and how today’s and tomorrow’s managers and leaders will need to navigate complexity. Among other topics, this course has focused on Planning, Leading, Organizing, and Controlling. This learning activity will help you pull together what you have learned to use it in your career.
Your posting should answer the questions posed using the course materials to support the ideas presented. It is important to write concisely and to follow the detailed instructions provided below. Include in-text citations and references in a reference list.
Case Discussion: Smithfield Custom Furniture (Part 4 Conclusion)
This case discussion continues with the Smithfield Furniture Company. (You may desire to briefly review the facts provided to you in Discussions 1—3 to address this week’s discussion.)
It is now April 1, 2020. The 2015 purchase of You Figure it Out was culminated, and the planned integration of their manufacturing and sales, as described in Discussion 3, fully completed.
The company now has 411 stores and 24,000 employees. 344 of the 411 retail outlets all sell the upscale and moderately priced lines; 51 retail outlets (Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4) sell only the You Figure it Out brand. These 51 stores employ 2,000 of the 24,000 workers.
There are 16 stores overseas, Spain (4), France (4), Germany (4), and England (4), that sell all 3 product lines. These stores employ 1,000 workers. Half of these employees work in retail stores. The other half work at various seaports in their countries, receiving furniture and delivering the furniture produced in the US to various stores and customers.
In 2015, Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors purchased 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 were all made in China. Still, with the 2015 acquisition, all furniture is manufactured at 1 of the 5 furniture manufacturing plants 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).
Financial Info:
· 2019 Gross Sales (all product lines) – $1.6 Billion US.
· 2019 Net Profit – $440 Million
· April 30, 2020 (Cash Reserves) – $2.8 Billion
· Sixty percent (60%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with the upscale product line.
· Twenty-five percent (25%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with the You Figure it Out product line.
· Fifteen percent (15%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with overseas outlets.
In other words, for this case activity, all 3 product lines are proportional in terms of revenue and expenses.
The Management Issue: Presently, it is believed that as early as March 2020, the possibility exists for the company to be in the throes of a worldwide rapidly spreading, highly contagious, debilitating, and often fatal viral pandemic. The company must plan for this eventuality to occur.
Your Task for Your Initial Post
Margot Smithfield has requested you, based on the course materials you have studied the past seven weeks related to Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling, to briefly discuss (supported by course materials. in-text citations, and references) the major impact this pandemic will have on Smithfield Custom Furniture’s Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling functions. You can assume a vaccine will be available and distributed worldwide 18 months from the start of the pandemic.
After you have discussed the major impact the pandemic will have on the company’s Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling functions, you must indicate for each of those functions the most significant action the company will need to take to ensure its survival, assuming the pandemic’s effects will last 18 months.
Format for Your Initial Post
You must use the exact numbers and their corresponding headings for your initial post. You are required to use when appropriate in-text citations and a reference list.
1. Pandemic: Major Effects on Planning for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company
1A: Pandemic: Most Significant Planning Action for Company
2. Pandemic: Major Effects on Organizing for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company
2A: Pandemic: Most Significant Organizing Action for Company
3. Pandemic: Major Effects on Leading for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company
3A: Pandemic: Most Significant Leading Action for Company
4. Pandemic: Major Effects on Controlling for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company
4A: Pandemic: Most Significant Controlling Action for Company
Read Chapters 1 & 2 ONLY of Schaveling, J., & Bryan, B. (2018). Making better decisions using systems thinking: How to stop firefighting, deal with root causes and deliver permanent solutions. Palgrave Macmillan.
*Note students may read the remaining chapters on their own, if they are interested, since the rest of the book goes into detail on the application of systems thinking to solving problems. Some students may find this useful in both their academic and professional careers.
Theme 2: Agile Management
