Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 37

[Name of Student]

[Course ID]
[Date]
TASK-1
Executive Summary
The following report will be based on the strategic planning, management and control within an
organisation and through knowledge and relevant framework usage; the report will contrast on
MICROSOFT one of the leading Information Technology companies within the globe. The structure
of the report will begin with the identification of the strategically placed objectives over the
structuring of the selected organisation to its critical evaluation, personal reflection and the possible
solutions including a proposal for change management. The report will also be subject to certain
assessment tests to identify possible weak and strong areas within an efficient management. The report
will also provide an understanding of the frameworks and identification tools to its readers through a
critical evaluation and detailed description; literature review.
Table of Contents
TASK-1....................................................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................2

Introduction..............................................................................................................................................4

Company Overview.................................................................................................................................4

Literature Review.....................................................................................................................................4

Business Needs for Restructuring/ Scope of Restructuring.................................................................7

Proposal For restructuring..................................................................................................................10

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................14

TASK-2..................................................................................................................................................15

Strategic Professional Development...................................................................................................15

Critical Reflection of How do you fit in?.......................................................................................16

Area of Interest and Critical Evaluation.............................................................................................17

Personal Action Plan...........................................................................................................................18

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................21

References..............................................................................................................................................22

Appendix................................................................................................................................................25
Introduction
This report will first provide a brief overview of the company where the organisations profile along
with the current structure of the organisation will be mentioned. In addition, the rationale behind the
restructuring, the major issues and implication of restructuring will also be mentioned. This report will
compare and contrast the research of prior authors before, during and after the structuring process to
use their finding as a guidance for this report. Finally, the proposal of restructuring will be provided
with clear arguments and sound reasoning. The literature will be wrap about the topic to provide solid
justification. This report will be helpful in providing an in-depth analysis of the strategic management
and restructuring process.

Company Overview
This report is based on the restructuring of a multinational I.T company, known as Microsoft. Paul
Allen and Bill Gates, 42 years ago in the year 1975, founded this company in the US. The main
motive of the company at the time of formation was to sell basic interpreters for the device, Altair
8800 (Microsoft, 2017). Gradually, both individuals were subjected to prove successful and innovative
enough to make way into the personal computers, operating software industry through the
introduction of MS-DOS in the early 1980s and after being successfully sold, they introduced
Microsoft Windows with different versions each year, which is being used widely used. The company
now deals in manufacturing, selling and support of consumer electronics, computer software, and its
famous operating system knows as Windows etc. (Livingston, Sebastian and Decker, 2012). The
company follows a divisional structure with a focus on innovation. The major weakness of division
structure is the lack of strategic decision-making and office politics. In the year 2010, the business
division of the company develop social connector in Microsoft outlook 2010 but unable to connect
with LinkedIn and MySpace due weaknesses and incompatibilities in the internal business unit.
Currently, the company is going towards downsizing its sales department and utilise the remaining
resources towards its cloud computing to focus on innovation and achieve greater profitability.

Literature Review
The sole purpose of the literature review is to provide understanding to the analyser of an organisation
and to assist the general topic and theories in a way made easier to adopt. This section will compare
and contrast the literature present of change management, corporate restructuring and frameworks
related to the subject. Since the company aims to lay out its employees most of the literature will be
focused on downsizing during the whole process of restructuring. Relevant theories and models
related to the downsizing will also be compared.
Change Management and Corporate Restructuring
Change management is the adoption of a new ideology, thinking, behaviour or process within an
organisation. According to Ronnenberg, Graham and Mahmoodi, (2011), change management is
defined as an ongoing process which aligns the organisation with the market in order to remain
competitive and sustainable. Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, (2016) argued that change
management is a complex process which encompasses three stages: reorganisation, tension and new
configuration. It is viewed as an adaptation process to meet the need of market and become profitable.
Organisational restructuring is a process where the organisation changes its existing structure, process
or activities. Shirey (2013). explained that organisational structure consists of multiple activities and
process which include task allocation, assigning, direction and supervision. When the organisation
feels the need of change of its activities and task the process is referred to as restructuring
Organisational Restructuring Strategy

This selection first compares the views of different authors on restructuring strategy and also identify
the strategy used by Microsoft which will help the company to implement the restructuring process.
There are different types of restructuring which include personal and departmental changes, change in
the reporting order as well as departmental restructuring due to expansion or elimination. The type of
restructuring used by the organisation depends on the existing structuring and the purpose of
restructuring. Business grouping, decentralisation outsourcing, entrepreneur resource planning are all
forms of restructuring. On the contrary (Anderson and Anderson, 2010), argued that most of the
restructuring employed in the company are departmental are compose of either downsizing, business
regrouping or decentralisation.
Organisational Restructuring at Microsoft

This section will discuss the literature pertaining to the restricting strategy used in Microsoft. In July
2017 Microsoft fire thousands of employees in the sales department. The purpose behind this layoff is
the downsizing of the sales department and utilise the revenue towards cloud computing. The purpose
behind this restricting is the redundancy in the sales department and the change in leadership in the
past year. The section will provide before, during and after the process of downsizing in terms of
authors reviews and prior result.

Downsizing

Organisational downsizing suggests that it is an intentional decision made by the organisation to


reduce the number of employees Casey et al (2012).The purpose behind downsizing is organisational
efficiency. Nograek, (2011) argued that there are certain implications of downsizing can be positive
or negative. It depends on the strategy used by the organisation and how it performs the downsizing.
Downsizing can be effective and successful if four factors are considered during the process. Battilana
and Casciaro, (2012) identified four factors which segregate downsizing from decline. These factors
include that the downing must be a deliberated and well-coordinated effort. The organisation must
plan it in advance and propose the necessary strategies which can manage the workforce through the
process. The second factor involves that downsizing not always include employee reduction, however,
in most cases, this is the case. The third factor is related to the purpose of downsizing, it must be
aimed to improve the organisation and lastly, the work process of the organisation will be affected
intentionally or unintentionally, irrespective of the fact that whether organisation wants it or not.
The different between downsizing and layout is important. Ireri (2011) explained that these two terms
are used interchangeably. Downsizing is bigger in scope and it may involve different department or
the complete department. However, the layout is performed at the individual level and is related more
to the employees. In addition, the layout does not necessarily mean that the employees must be fired.
They can be utilised in other department or trained according to their new roles and duties. Microsoft
aimed to implement the strategy of layoff. Although workforce will the downsized in the sales
department due to redundancies. However, some of the workforces will be utilised in other
departments.

Downsizing Before After and During the Process


Microsoft downswing is related with innovation, it needs revenue to work on its new cloud projects. It
is important to compare the views of different authors during the process of downsizing to learn some
insights and assist the organisation to effectively perform downsizing.
Tsai et al (2015) argued that the process of downsizing can hamper the performance of organisation if
not managed properly. The effect of downsizing at the individual can be multiple. Initially, the process
of downsizing as affects the manager or the leader. The process directs his efforts from its main roles
and project to employee management. Initially, the news of downsizing create panic in the employees
and restrict them from performing the retune duties effectively. It is regarded as the threat to their job,
which subsequently affects their performance. Mkel and Nsi, (2010) stated a leader can manage the
process which properly communication the risks and implication of downsizing to the employees and
give them a period to absorb the information as it minimizes the impact resulted from the news.
Another important strategy can be effective for both the employees and the organisation is that the
workforce can be utilised in another sector as far the as the departmental layoffs are concerned. The
effective utilisation and processing of resources are also important during the downsizing process and
after the downsizing has been completed, the company also has to make sure that the proposed
changes and cut down remain beneficial for the organisation.
Chipunza and Berry, (2010) commented that downsizing result in loss of knowledge due to workforce
reduction. He explained that organisation reputation becomes threaten after the announcement of cut-
off. It consequence pertaining to the stakeholder such as employees and suppliers are profound.
However, managers must protect the reputation of the organisation. At this stage, proper
communication is very important. This communication encompasses external and internal sharing of
information. Internal communication involves giving proper information to the employees about the
changes and plans of the organisation and the reason behind the cut-off of workforce whereas;
external communication involves accurate and timely information about the strategic decisions and
the reasons for those decisions. Similar findings were showed by the research of (Johns, 2010).
According to the research, management of acute closure is also important. It involves managing the
vision and purpose of layoff, time information of downsizing, determining the size of employees
needs to be reduced and the policy of the company regarding the clarification of the process and the
decimation of information. Proper preparation is the key to effective downsizing. Many restructuring
processes are not very effective because the management does not prepare in advance.
Sitlington and Marshall, (2011) on the other hand stated that the downsizing has a great impact on the
employees emotionally. Not considering the emotional aspect of employees can be both costly and
difficulty for the organisation. It is not only important to train the employees for disclosure and give
suitable separation package, which takes both effort and time. People who are displaced into another
department must be given counselling to rebuild their trust and ensure the commitment to the
organisation. Their motivational level is also important as it which can be rebuilt with the passage of
time and support of organisation (Datta et al, 2010).

Business Needs for Restructuring/ Scope of Restructuring


Microsoft is a big IT company. It is one the most renowned, which deals in technology. An important
aspect about IT companies is that they have to adapt continuously according to the advancement of
the new technology, the market trend and the competitor's strategies (Wixom and Watson, 2012). The
same goes for Microsoft. To remain competitive, sustainable and profitable, Microsoft needs to come
up with improved and update to date technology to give its consumer value and maintain the edge. It
is not a matter of choice for IT companies as their major source of revenue comes from innovation and
valuable product.
Recently the companies believe that it needs to work on its cloud computing project knows as
Microsoft Azure. The platform is expected to boost the performance of the company and bring
fortune. This being the central reason for the restructuring of Microsoft. The capital needed for the
project is generated from the layout of sales department particular employees linked with the physical
sale of the software. This section will analyse the need for restructuring in terms of relevant models
such as Porter five force model, Daft structural dimension and contingency approach.
Porters Five Force Model

The strategic issues of Microsoft are important to discuss while downsizing. Porter Five Force model
is an important tool to discuss the external factor during downsizing and in general. The external
factors affect the activities of the company.
Competitive Rivalry (Highly Strong)

All the big giants in the market including Google, Microsoft and Amazon are working on cloud
competition. Therefore, the level of rivalry is very high. To remain successful, Microsoft needs to be
competitive and consider there important aspects: switching cost, aggressiveness of firms and
diversity of firms. The consumer can easily switch to another software platform due to moderate
switching between different another platform such as Amazon AWS and Google. Moreover, all these
companies are aggressively working on its marketing and improvement of platforms (Vining, 2011).
Finally, due to a lot of firms and IT companies in the market the level of diversity is very strong.

Bargaining Power of Customers (Moderate)

Consumer satisfaction directly influences the performance of the company. Over the years the
company have built a strong brand image and this software platform of the company is also proving
some unique feature such as large data base and affordability which cannot be substituted easily by
other IT firms apart from Google and Amazon. However, a consumer who prefers Microsoft is
expected to stick to the company. Therefore this force is moderate.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Moderate)

The business of the company depends on supply conditions in general. The amount of supplier dealing
in IT are not abundant but moderate enough to switch the suppliers. If the suppliers change the price,
Microsoft also needs to vary the price of its cloud platform. However, the impact would not be drastic.
Therefore this force is also moderate

Threat of Substitute (Weak)

When it comes to the substitution of Microsoft, it is hardly possible that can another firm can
complete substitute because it is a big IT giant with strong market reputation. The low performance of
substitute and the low availability of substitute make it very less likely to replace the company.
However, other tech giants like Amazon and Google can lower the share of the company if the
performance of its cloud platform is not up to the mark.

Threat of New Entrant (Moderate)

Due to moderate of doing business and moderate switching any new company and lead the market.
However, the development of cloud platform as vast as Microsoft requires a high amount of capital. In
addition, the company has had a strong reputation. Therefore this force is moderate.

Referring to the above details that evaluate the structure of Microsoft, there are certain key points that
need to be studied and evaluated before restructuring can be designed and implemented.
Daft Organisational Theory

Richard Daft explained the organisation in terms of dimension. The dimensions are segregated into
two distinct categories: Daft structural dimensions and Daft contingency dimension which is also
known as Daft contingency factors goals (Daft and Albers, 2013).
Structural Dimensions

Structural dimension includes the formalisation, centralization, specialisation and hierarchy of


authority. Formalisation refers to the amount of documentation company keeps in written form.
Microsoft is highly formalised and company maintain all the required documentation necessary for its
routine process. The royalty and copyright documents of the cloud are all performed in written form.
However, the basic routine functions are not paper based as it requires cost and is not efficient. When
it comes to specialisation, all the activities in the company are specialised and dedicated.

Microsoft has separate teams who continuously work on different domains of cloud such as
development team, quality assurance, management team etc. All the work in the company are highly
specialised. Being an IT Company it is essential for Microsoft to perform the dedicated task.
Centralisation refers to the authority of decision-making, it is also related to the hierarchy of authority
which is the level of control and distribution of roles (Park and Nahm, 2011). In Microsoft, the
hierarchy of organisation is based on a divisional structure and the level of control is distributed
accordingly. The decision-making is not centralised and every division/department has the autonomy
to make their own decision. However, the approval of decision remains in the hands of senior
leadership.

The Current Hierarchical Structure of Microsoft


Referring to the picture illustrated above, the current hierarchical state of Microsoft is represented to
be in a fine position, which demonstrates that all decisions from the upper management are passed on
to the relevant departmental managers of each region that are responsible for a workforce under-
reporting to them directly.
Contingency Factors

Contingency factors include size, technology, organisation, strategy, goals and culture (Koch, 2012).
When it comes to size, it is the largest software making company and always working towards
innovative technology. The goal of the organisation is to sustain the position of market leader and
through innovative technology and culture. This being the central reason for its restructuring. The
company central focus is innovation, therefore it structured its sales department, downsize it and shift
the revenue towards cloud platform. Restructuring especially downsizing is common in IT
organisation because the technology develops very fast and the continuous continuously have to adapt
and direct their resources towards innovation (Huang, Rode and Schroeder, 2011).

Proposal For restructuring


This section will serve as a draft of restructuring design. Comparison between the current structural
and the new proposed structure will be made in this section. The current hierarchical structure of
Microsoft is based on 15 departments including sales. The list of the departments are given below:
1. Finance
2. Business Intelligence
3. Marketing
4. Sales
5. Design and Engineering
6. Operations Planning
7. Purchase
8. Receiving
9. Warehouse Activities
10. Production
11. Shipping
12. Service
13. Resource Planning
14. Project Management
15. Human Resources

All these departments have distinct roles and functions. This restructuring proposal discusses the
restructuring of sales department because the downsizing is performed in the sales department to
generate revenue which will be utilised in cloud computing platform. Dynamic NAV is used by the
company to manage all aspects of its sales such as order, return and quote. There are also different
tools used by Microsoft for managing information and customer transaction (Kelliher, 2012). The
sales department has three major functions which are Listed below:

Configuring Sales Process: In this process, the policies regarding the sales, regulations, as well
as payment are set up
Establish Sales Forecasting: in this sub department forecast, figures related to the sale and
purchase of products and product licences
Sales Goods: This sub department creates and process quotes and manages sales order.

After the change or organisational leadership last year, the company felt that it has redundancies in the
sales department. Since all the system is completely automated, the workforce only performs decision-
making process. A large amount of workforce in the sales department have no definite purpose or
rationale to be there. Moreover, the increasing developing market of cloud computing made it
necessary for the company to invest in its cloud.

Sales Departmental Restricting


As it is mentioned that Microsoft aims to restructure its sales departmental to focus on cloud
computing. It is important to note that departmental restructuring is most beneficial when it is
proactive. A proactive restructuring consists of the smooth transaction with a gradual shift of roles and
responsibly. The existing infrastructure of Microsoft sales department is to provide services related to
Windows and office software. For the last several decades the team of Microsoft has been trained for
the selling and marketing of Windows and office related software, their licencing and support.
However, due to recent changes, the company want to shift the sales forces towards the selling,
promotion and marketing of its cloud platform. The difference in the nature of products leads to
different kind of marketing as well as sales approach which definitely needs the change in the number
of workforces required, the changes in the job responsibilities and a change in the sales restricting
(Kwoka and Pollitt, 2010).

New Structure of Sales Department


The company divided the commercial sales department into two segments. One of the department will
target consumers particularly low scale consumers and users, whereas the other portion focus on big
clients and consumers (Biemans et al, 2010).
Sales with low-end consumers: This includes whole hold consumer and SME (Small scale
Enterprise) who aims to shift their system to cloud. The existing portion and sales staff consist is
redundant for cloud promotion. For this reason of the existing lower staff such as sales support of a
prior version of windows and office platform will be dismissed in an appropriate manner. A short team
of staff will be retained for marketing and support of cloud platform to the low-end consumers
(Maksimovic et al, 2011).

Sales with high-end consumers: This includes big clients including multinational organisation which
aims to improve their existing structure and use the service of the cloud. The existing sales staff it not
trained to deal with high-end consumers and big organisation with the selling and promotion of cloud
services. The technical promotion of cloud platform requires expertise. For this reason the, the
company will lay out most of the stuff in their department. The remaining staff will be trained
according to new roles and responsibilities (Islam and Daud, 2012). Following are some of the major
points, the company can consider while assigning new roles and duties for effective restructuring
which is based on the Kotter 8 step change model.
Kotter 8 step change model.
Create Urgency: The cloud market is one the biggest and most effective of generating revenues
nowadays (Cortez and Penacerrada, 2010). With all the major companies such as Amazon, Google etc.
are now focusing on their cloud platforms. The company needs to communicate this need for a shift
towards the cloud software. This will involves the needs and reasons to convince the sales staff
towards the shift and duties and explain the layoff candidates regarding the reason why the company
no longer need their services. It is also important that Microsoft should communicate the prompt need
and urgency to shift towards cloud platform.

Create A Coalition: Taking in confidence the top management regarding the change and updating
them about the existing situation is essential (Cortez and Penacerrada, 2010). The company should
focus on technical skills required to effectively sell and market the cloud software Azure to maximise
the efforts.

Develop A Vision: At the step, the company will focus on the strategy and rationale behind the change
process (Kelliher et al, 2014). The new strategy will focus the sales teams on six industries: financial
institutions, manufacturing, retail, health and education. Since cloud platforms have no restriction.
Every industry can utilise the storage and databases of the cloud. Therefore, the company will focus
on all the three industries. The will focus on four categories: Business benefits of cloud, modern
workplace, and infrastructure benefits. Moreover, the staff will also focus on data and Artificial
intelligence.

Empower Action: At this step, Microsoft will focus on removing barriers. The company main
barriers are its revivals. Microsoft is battling with organisations including Google, Amazon and
Alphabet Inc. The existing teams no experience regarding cloud platform and its offered benefits.
Consumers who aim to improve their workforce application and shift their data to cloud needs sound
reasoning about the features of Microsoft Azure and the uniqueness of the competitors products. They
should also be communicated properly about the benefits of advances in AI. These barriers will be
removed by tailoring the sales staff about cloud software instead of servers and desktop solutions (Lin
and Chen, 2012).

Generating Short Terms Wins: The cloud software has a huge market of $4.5 trillion globally in
consumer and commercial business. Microsoft will boost the new sales teams by showing the
immediate results in cloud software.

Consolidating change for more productive changes: The existing changes will be used to boost the
performance in the six regions namely office 360 cloud software, Windows 10 and Surface hardware,
Xbox console, Internet of things (IOT), augmented reality and AI. Hiring limited but skilled
individuals will boost the sale and promotion in these areas. The company leadership will reinvigorate
the structure with new themes and project (Wu et al, 2015).

Embedding New Approach in the culture: In the end, the company will build a culture of trust
through communicating that IT is dynamically changing the industry and the need for change and
adaptation is essential for the survival and sustainability of the company. The purpose behind
restructuring is not a layoff, which will result in downsizing but the need of time and market. Properly
communicating the reasons, explaining the rationale will develop a culture of trust, performance and
productivity, which will motivate and encourage the employees for work with dedication (Sultan et al,
2012).
Benefits of the new Approach
Following are the prominent benefits of the new proposal:
Increase in the sales due to shift towards cloud platforms
Improve profitability and brand image due to cloud software
Reduction in cost due to layoff and downswing the redundant staff

Conclusion
The proposal clearly highlights the new structure of sales department while simultaneously comparing
it with the existing structure to create a rationale behind the approach and the effectiveness of the new
system. Due to the inception of cloud platforms, IT business particular Microsoft need to direct it sales
staff towards the sales and portion of cloud software rather the windows. The restructuring will be
beneficial for the company as it maintains a competitive edge in the market in terms of innovation and
advancement in the IT and gives Microsoft better opportunity for sales.
TASK-2

Strategic Professional Development


Introduction

Strategic goals and the objective setting are known to be the primary motive of nearly all higher
management. However, a critical examination and identification of skill set is the key to design the
right outline, which is regarded to be followed by the responsible personnel. Being the unit head of the
sales team of Microsoft, it is necessary for me to develop skills for the smooth transition and
restructuring of the sales department. This will not only assist in effective decision making as unit
head but also contributes to building a better confidence level and enhances the expertise of leadership
(Nahavandi, 2016).
The following assessment report will enable me to identify the possible areas where I lack compliance
and identify the reason for my lacking. This will enable me to focus and think on a wider angle, search
for possible solutions to direct the sales staff towards their new roles and duties regarding sales of
promotion of Microsoft cloud platform Azure and enhance my strategic management abilities to lead
the sales department successfully with benefits and maximised profitability.
Referring to the personal strategic development programme, it is a tool which will enable me to
identify areas that I have a strong command as well as areas which need improvement and then initiate
relevant measures to throughput change management to the organisation I work for. However, the
change that I require to implement within the organisation is related specifically to the sales
department and the way I can communicate and lead the team. Effectively Managing and Controlling
is the key to successfully implement a change plan within my organisation, I am likely to adopt the
right management tactics, which will enable me to effectively coordinate, assign and monitor the tasks
being performed by the workforce responsible for reporting to me. I need to plan their motivational set
to ensure the remaining employees, as well as the new workforce, has no job security issues, their
quality is not compromised, and effectiveness is achieved.
Personal analysis is also regarded highly which will identify where I stand and which areas do I need
to improve before applying my skill set over the workforce. Employee attitude and feedback can be an
assessing tool for me who further can be idealised through training and continuous career
development courses.
An appraisal is a primary element within personal development plan. I require appraising my
responsible workforce, similarly, my appraisal is due from the higher management to keep morale
high within the work environment and motivation maximised.
Critical Reflection of How do you fit in?
I have performed all the thirteen test to fit the design. The results of the rest and along with the
selection options are provided in the appendix. Evolution of style is the first test in the book of Daft,
the rest identifies a personal managerial style and highlight the prime characterises of a managers
personality with regards to the mental frame of reference. The rest score reflects that my personality
of opts for human resource frame of reference where a manager views a workforce as individuals with
empathy, emotions and desires. This indicates that manager supports the employees when they needed
and views the employees a conscious being rather than just an element of the organisation.
Performance of strength is the second test which identifies whether a manager is a better implementer
or a formulator. Both of these qualities are important in corporate. However, my result signifies that I
am more inclined formulator mindset, which is characterised with creative and out of the box things.
In comparison with implementers, my skills are far better in developing strategies and dealing with
the situation in unconventional manners.This will help me in managing the change process and
restricting in a dynamic and creative way rather than a conventional approach.

The third test is the referred to as the The pleasure and pain of working in a team. I points out
whether a manager prefers to work in a better and work effectively alone. The result reflects that I can
work in teams as well as alone, however, I prefer to work alone. As a unit manager must be able to
lead a team and collecting work with his team members as a single unit. It identified that I need to
work on this skill and prepare myself to interact with others and lead them effectively throughout the
restructuring process. The fourth test is the mind and environment test which identifies the preference
to work in a stable vs. unstable environment. This test reflected that I prefer to work in the stable
environment. However, change management is exactly opposite to the stable environment and
managers must be mindful and able to manage a chaotic situation effectively. This reflects that I need
improvement in this area. Being the unit head, it is essential to manage the employees whose work has
been distributed through the change process. More importantly, the restructuring creates a panic
situation, which would require a manager to calmly manage the workforce and maintain a steady flow
of work.

Personal networking is the fifth test. It depicts the ability of a manager who makes contact and
relationship within as the organisation as well as outside the organisation. Network and personal
relationship are very important in business. It keeps the manager up to date on the organisation
environment, the market as well as aid in building a strategic relationship with other organisation
which is beneficial for both the organisation as well as the managers. The result showed that my level
of the personal relationship needs improvement. As a unit head, I must be aware of the current
situation and perspective of employees regarding the restructuring. This, in turn, will be helpful to
understanding employees and managing them accordingly. After personal networking comes to the
cultural intelligence test which assesses the suitability of managers and his intelligence regarding three
aspects: emotional, cognitive and behavioural. My results showed that I have a high level of emotional
cultural intelligence. The sales department of Microsoft constitutes of employees from the diverse
cultural background, understanding the emotional response pertaining to layout and downsizing will
assist me in making informed and accurate decisions.

Manufacturing vs. service test enables the manager to understand its suitability with regards to
manufacturing or service. My inclination is towards manufacturing side. I am better at measuring data
physically and analytically and more inclined towards logic and empirical reasoning. The eighth test
evaluation the goal setting level of a manager. Managers who have goal setting approach can improve
the performance of their department. As per the results, I have a low level of goal setting approach,
which needs improvement. The ninth test is related to the size of the organisation. The Large
organisation has proper hierarchies structure and clear policies. On the other hand, in the small
organisation, a manager has to perform a variety of duties. This result reflects that I prefer to work in
the big organisation. Corporate cultural intelligence is the tenth test, which showed my preference of
clan and adaptability culture which is good for the restructuring process. Moreover, the innovation test
showed that I am not very innovative but my decision-making skills are good. Finally, the last test,
assess the political skills, reflects that I have a low level of political skills and needs improvement.

Area of Interest and Critical Evaluation


Through the above-provided description, there are certain areas, which represents my interest and
which are subject to motivate me within myself to achieve maximum objectives through highest
concentration on the respected areas. These areas are selected keeping in mind the restructuring of the
sales department.
Creating, structuring and leading teams sales department

As a unit head, I am motivated and eager to excel in the areas of restructuring, creating and leading
organisation. In the IT sector and especially in an organisation like Microsoft, dynamic changes occur,
especially in the sales department. Due to the continuous advancement of technology such as cloud
computing, the workforce needs to sell different products, which require quick learning, and
addressing technical concerns of consumers. This requires a manager to adapt to the changes, create
and restructure the organisation according to the consumer preference and market demand. Trying to
adapt to the changes and transforming the workforce is a complex task require skills. I am keenly
interested to develop this skill through persistence and dedication. Leading the structuring the
organisation enable me to develop as managers and make me a better leader. In addition, these skills
will help in the performing
Managing Organisational culture, workforce diversity and communicating with the Stakeholder
and sales improvement

The main purpose of sales department is to sell the products. The company sells product throughout
the work and customers from all race and culture. For the reason, the sales department of the company
also has a diverse workforce to deal with consumers from a different culture. However, it can lead to
clash due to workforce diversity and employees react differently due the layoff process due to diverse
background and ethnicities. I, therefore, would like to develop cultural intelligence to manage people
effectively during the process and will also be able to bridge the gap between the stakeholder and the
employees.

Personal Action Plan


Goal: short term
To strengthen my leading and restructuring skills

Activity/ Personal Specific Approaches to Start Date Completion


Action Performance Challenges Overcome Date
Indicator Challenges
Improving Change in Resistance and Communicating April 2017 April 2017 (1
communication attitude, hesitation in the need for week)
with the improved employees industry and
employees and communication during explaining the
leading them and trust level communication situation from
throughout the as well as the perspective
change process reluctant of organisation
behaviour
Performing Performance Difficulty in Providing April 2017 April 2017
restructuring monitoring and assigning new assistance to (1 Week)
and assigning benchmarking job employees and
new roles and responsibilities guidance over
responsibilities and and over
maintaining regarding their
work life new roles and
balance conducting
training
sessions
Goal: medium term
Managing workforce diversity and improving organisational culture
Activity/ Personal Specific Approaches to Start Date Completion
Action Performance Challenges Overcome Date
Indicator Challenges
Improving Better Difficulty in Leading about a May 2017 May 2017 (2
cross culture understating interacting different weeks)
communication level and no with diver culture and
skills compliance individuals and adjusting them
issues understanding according to
regarding sales their values their values.
Managing Healthy Clashes in Hosting July 2017 August 2018
diversity in the relationship employees and seminars and (2 weeks)
workplace between tensed sessions
employees, environment regarding
supporting and quality and
accepting
difference

Goal: Long-term
To boost sales and improved communication with the stakeholders
Activity/ Personal Specific Approaches Start Date Completion
Action Performance Challenges to Overcome Date
Indicator Challenges
Increase the Increase in Loss of Constant March 2018 March 2018
sales through profitability, potential learning and (4 weeks)
proper morale of consumer adapting
communication employees, job due to new according to
with the satisfaction approach, market needs
consumers and level of harsh
acquiring employees behaviour of
technical skills low-end
regarding the consumers
cloud platform
Stakeholder Improved Leadership Thorough April 2018 April 2018
satisfaction communication, and investors risk to (4 weeks)
(investors) due Easy approval pressure at benefit ratio
to good of new project the initial calculation,
strategic regarding level, developing
decisions cloud, increase pressure risk taking
investment regarding ability
performance
Conclusion
The professional development plan act as a guideline which will assist in achieving the short, medium
and long term goals with respect to the area of interest. In addition, the result of the tests highlighted
my personal abilities and the areas, which need improvement. The personal development is
constructed according to the results of the test to excel me as a unit head of sales team.

In general, this assignment act as a guiding document to perform the restructuring process according
to the internal and external analysis of the environment. In addition, they provide a rationale behind
the restructuring process, the benefits of restructuring and the strategies that can benefit an
organisation while performing restructuring
References
Casey, C., Fiedler, A., and Erakovic, L. (2012). Liberalising the German model: institutional change,
organisational restructuring and workplace effects. Industrial Relations Journal, 43(1), pp.53-69.

Coffield, F. (2012). Why the McKinsey reports will not improve school systems. Journal of Education
Policy, 27(1), pp.131-149.

Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., and Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking
Kurt Lewins legacy for change management. human relations, 69(1), pp.33-60.

Daft, J., and Albers, S. (2013). A conceptual framework for measuring airline business model
convergence. Journal of Air Transport Management, (1)28, pp.47-54.

Dang, Y., Wu, R., Zhang, H., Zhang, D., and Nobel, P. (2012) A method for clustering duplicate crash
reports based on call stack similarity. In Proceedings of the 34th International Conference on
Software Engineering, pp. 1084-1093

Huang, X., Rode, J. C., and Schroeder, R. G. (2011). Organisational structure and continuous
improvement and learning: Moderating effects of cultural endorsement of participative
leadership. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(9), pp.1103-1120.

Koch, A. H. (2012). Authority and managing innovation: a typology of product development teams
and communities. Creativity and Innovation Management, 21(4), pp.376-387.

Livingston, M. A., Sebastian, J., Ai, Z., and Decker, J. W. (2012). Performance measurements for the
Microsoft Kinect skeleton. In Virtual Reality Short Papers and Posters, pp. 119-120

Park, Y., and Nahm, A. Y. (2011). Classification of mass customisation: A sociotechnical system
perspective. International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 8(3), 322-334.

Polidoro, F., and Toh, P. K. (2011). Letting rivals come close or warding them off? The effects of
substitution threat on imitation deterrence. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), pp.369-392.

Porter, M. E., and Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). How smart, connected products are transforming
competition. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), pp.64-88.
Ronnenberg, S. K., Graham, M. E., and Mahmoodi, F. (2011). The important role of change
management in environmental management system implementation. International Journal of
Operations and Production Management, 31(6), pp.631-647.

Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewins theory of planned change as a strategic resource. Journal of Nursing
Administration, 43(2), pp.69-72.

Sitlington, H., and Marshall, V. (2011). Do downsizing decisions affect organisational knowledge and
performance?. Management Decision, 49(1), pp.116-129.

Vining, A. R. (2011). Public Agency external analysis using a modified five forces
framework. International Public Management Journal, 14(1), pp.63-105.

Wixom, B., and Watson, H. (2012). The BI-based organisation. Organisational Applications of
Business Intelligence Management: Emerging Trends, Hershey, IGI Global, pp.193-208.

Datta, D. K., Guthrie, J. P., Basuil, D., and Pandey, A. (2010). Causes and effects of employee
downsizing: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 36(1), pp.281-348.

Sitlington, H., and Marshall, V. (2011). Do downsizing decisions affect organisational knowledge and
performance?. Management Decision, 49(1), pp.116-129.

Johns, G. (2010). Presenteeism in the workplace: A review and research agenda. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 31(4), pp.519-542.

Chipunza, C., and Berry, D. M. (2010). The relationship among survivor qualities-attitude,
commitment and motivation-after downsizing. African Journal of Business Management, 4(5), p.604.

Mkel, H., and Nsi, S. (2010). Social responsibilities of MNCs in downsizing operations: A Finnish
forest sector case analysed from the stakeholder, social contract and legitimacy theory point of
view. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 23(2), pp.149-174.

Tsai, P. C., and Yen, Y. F. (2015). Development of institutional downsizing theory: Evidence from the
MNC downsizing strategy and HRM practices in Taiwan. Total Quality Management & Business
Excellence, 26(3-4), pp.248-262.

Biemans, W. G., Breni, M. M., and Malshe, A. (2010). Marketingsales interface configurations in
B2B firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(2), pp.183-194.

Islam, S., and Daud Ahmed, M. (2012). Business process improvement of credit card department: a
case study of a multinational bank. Business Process Management Journal, 18(2), pp.284-303.
Maksimovic, V., Phillips, G., and Prabhala, N. R. (2011). Post-merger restructuring and the
boundaries of the firm. Journal of Financial Economics, 102(2), pp.317-343.

Kwoka, J., and Pollitt, M. (2010). Do mergers improve efficiency? Evidence from restructuring the
US electric power sector. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 28(6), pp.645-656.

Anderson, D. and Anderson, L.A. (2010). Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough
results through conscious change leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Nograek, J. (2011). Change management as a critical success factor in e-government implementation.
Business Systems Research, 2(2), pp.13-24.
Battilana, J. and Casciaro, T. (2012). Change agents, networks, and institutions: A contingency theory
of organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), pp.381-398.
Ireri, J.K. (2011). Effects of mergers and acquisitions on the financial performance of oil companies in
Kenya (Doctoral dissertation).
Kelliher, C., Clarke, C., Hailey, V. H., & Farndale, E. (2012). Going global, feeling small: an
examination of managers' reactions to global restructuring in a multinational organisation. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(11), 2163-2179.
Cortez, M. A. A., and Penacerrada, N. T. (2010). Is it beneficial to incur the environmental cost? A
case study of Toyota motors corporation, Japan. Journal of International Business Research, 9, p.113.
Lin, A., and Chen, N. C. (2012). Cloud computing as an innovation: Perception, attitude, and
adoption. International Journal of Information Management, 32(6), pp.533-540.
Wu, D., Rosen, D. W., Wang, L., and Schaefer, D. (2015). Cloud-based design and manufacturing: A
new paradigm in digital manufacturing and design innovation. Computer-Aided Design, 59, pp.1-14.
Sultan, N., and van de Bunt-Kokhuis, S. (2012). Organisational culture and cloud computing: coping
with a disruptive innovation. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 24(2), pp.167-179.
Nahavandi, A. (2016). The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson.
Appendix
Evolution of Style

3+3+3+3+4+3=19 Structural

3+3+3+4+4+4=21 HR

2+2+2+3+2+1=12 Political

1+2+3+2+3+2=13 Symbolic

Strategy/performance strength
1- A
2- B
3- A
4- B
5- B
6- A
7- A
8- A

Strategic formulator strength 1+1=2

Strategic implementer strength = 1

Personal networking
1- T
2- F
3- T
4- F
5- T
6- F
7- F
8- T
9- F
10-F
Score 4

The pleasure/pain of working in a team


1- T
2- F
3- T
4- T
5- T
6- T
7- T
8- T
4+1=5(score) Result: conform working alone as well as in team

Mind And Environment


1- T
2- T
3- T
4- F
5- F
6- F
7- F
8- F
Score: 3 ( suited for an organisation in a stable environment rather than an unstable
environment)

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
1- T
2- T
3- F
4- T
5- T
6- T
7- T
8- T
9- F
10-F
11- T
12-F
Cognitive cultural intelligence

Emotional cultural intelligence 4/4

Behavioural cultural intelligence

MANUFACTURING VS SERVICE
1- A
2- B
3- B
4- B
5- B
6- B
7- B
8- A

Score: 6 (use left brain which is associated with logic and more inclined towards
manufacturing)

Is goal setting your style?


1- F
2- F
3- T
4- T
5- F
6- T
7- T
8- F
9- T
score 3 (not goal oriented)

What size organisation for you?


1- T
2- F
3- T
4- F
5- T
6- T
7- T
8- T
Score: 4+2=6 (Preferred To Work In Large Organisation)

CORPORATE CULTURAL PREFERENCE


1- 8
2- 8
3- 5
4- 6
5- 6
6- 6
7- 5
8- 5
Clan culture: 14

Adaptability culture: 14

Mission culture: 10

Bureaucratic culture: 11

More inclined towards mission culture

ARE YOU INNOVATIVE ?


1- F
2- F
3- T
4- T
5- F
6- F
7- F
8- F
RESULT: More inclined toward tried things .. in worldly sense (not innovative)

MAKING IMPORTANT DECISIONS


1- T
2- T
3- T
4- F
5- T
6- F
7- T
8- F
9- T
10-F
SCORE: +4 (MORE INCLINED TOWARDS RATIONAL DECISION MAKING)

POLITICAL SKILLS
1- T
2- F
3- F
4- F
5- F
6- F
7- T
8- F
SCORE: 2 (LOW LEVEL OF POLITICAL SKILLS)

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi