As a leader in your discipline/organization, you will often be required to apprise stakeholders of your strategic plans. For this assignment, assume the role of a leader in your organization. You have been asked to deliver a presentation to your organization’s Board of Directors to inform them of a planned change initiative in your organization.
The Organization (Safeway Inc)
The change and decision-making process are essential for any company to evolve with time and emerge strongly in the competitive landscape. Safeway Inc is an American supermarket chain. The main products of this company are Bakery, dairy, grocery, photographic processing, produce, meats, snack food, liquor, dry cleaning, frozen foods, fuel, supermarket, lottery, and pharmacy. The firm was founded in 1915. In the retail and grocery market, the firm has to identify the changing needs and execute several strategies to sustain the business.
Overview of the Planned Change
After the expansion of western and central United States, the firm has realized that people want different products and services in different ways. Being a leader of the company, I would like to develop an online platform for customers to buy products and services online. It seems a significant change that can help the company to integrate with new retail trends. The purpose of this change process is to enhance customer traffic and accelerate sales (McIntyre, 2017).
Analysis of the Present Reality
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Factors Driving the Planned Change
Selling online is lucrative for Safeway Inc in the retail/grocery industry. People want a unique shopping experience. Big retailers like Amazon have become the world largest retailer by developing its online platforms. Thus, to make this shift, the firm has to eliminate the Brick & Mortar business model and convert into online retail sales. Apart from customer needs, high sales, revenues, brand image, business expansion, and profitability are the main drivers regarding the planned change.
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Related processes/procedures currently in place
The firm is operating with the Brick & Mortar business model. In different stores, the numbers of customers are just satisfactory for the management. Sales and revenues are declining due to traditional ways of selling products. If the firm sustains the current business model, it cannot survive or beat significant rivals in the industry.
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Assessing the preparedness to respond to the demands
The management has identified ways to convert the brick & Mortar into the online business. The firm has to decide what platform it can use in the online business process. The fully Fledged E-Commerce site, online marketplaces, and social networks are some key options. Determining and executing needs the empowerment of mid-level teams, and it can be a great response to demands (Ness, 2015).
The Vision of the Changed State
The desired end state after the change initiative
When concluding the change initiative, the desired end state of the company is global access. Apart of it, fast delivery, increase in sales, low-cost business, and high profitability are desired end states. However, it may take time to meet these end states in the competitive market.
Decision Process/Model
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Decision-making process
Safeway Inc will use the Recognition-Primed Decision Model to make the final decision regarding the change. In this contemporary era, the firm has to make some quick calls to embrace the change, and this decision model is quite pertinent. Three steps of the model are experiencing the situation, analyzing the situation, and implementing the decision. For Instance, in the first step, the firm will experience the sales decline in different stores, especially in Central America. In the second step, the firm will try to derive the impact on the firm’s image, revenues, and profitability. These steps will help the firm to navigate several alternatives and choose the best one. The best option or strategy of the company is to develop a fully-fledged website and develop mid-level teams in different divisions to operate it effectively. In the final step, the firm will aim to execute the strategy. It is a quick decision-making process for the company to make the change happen (Johnson, Kirwan, Licu, & Stastny, 2009).
Describe the Overarching Process
The overreaching processes for Safeway Inc will be continuous improvements in the online business structure. The purpose is to improve productivity and user traffic.
Role in the decision-making process for the change initiative
I want to demonstrate the democratic approach in the decision-making process. Based on ideas, concerns, thoughts, and opinions, I will delegate people or stakeholders to streamline their efforts and come up with the best options for the firm. The final call will be made through mutual concerns
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The rationale behind the proposed model
It is a low cost, sharp and suitable model to make decisions. It allows the firm to analyze the situation. The company can conduct a comprehensive analysis to observe the situation and make the practical decision at the end.
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Addressing and problems that may arise with the model
Safeway Inc may face different issues when using this decision model. For Instance, when experiencing the situation, employees from different divisions may resist the ideas and thoughts of each other. Addressing this problem is a big challenge for the company. However, it can be tackled through a better chain of command in the decision-making process. The delegating decision-making process is also an excellent technique to handle the situation.
References
Johnson, C. W., Kirwan, B., Licu, A., & Stastny, P. (2009). Recognition primed decision making and the organisational response to accidents: Überlingen and the challenges of safety improvement in European air traffic management☆. Safety Science, 47(6), 853-872.
McIntyre, D. A. (2017, January 30). Will Online Grocery Sales Cripple Kroger and Safeway? https://247wallst.com/retail/2017/01/30/will-online-grocery-sales-cripple-kroger-and-safeway/
Ness, J. (2015, December 15). How to Move Your Brick and Mortar to Online: A 5-Step Guide. https://www.ecwid.com/blog/how-to-move-your-brick-and-mortar-online.html
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