It is now 2015, and Smithfield’s Custom Furniture has continued to grow. Its new product line of lower-priced furniture
was an immediate sensation in the marketplace. The company now has 344 stores and 21,000 employees. The
company now has a total of 12 international retail stores evenly divided among Spain (3), France (3), Germany (3),
and England (3).
Margot Smithfield, Jonas Smithfield III’s only heir, is now running the company. She has a master’s degree in design
and an MBA degree. She has been running the company for 3 years.
Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors have been assessing an opportunity to acquire You Figure it
Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. You Figure it Out’s furniture and furniture-related
accessories are all made in China and sold only in the United States. Their retail stores are in Texas (6), California
(13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4).
Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their 5 manufacturing plants. They
know that producing a new line of furniture would mean retraining several hundred of their workers in the new
production process. However, if this change is successfully executed, it would significantly increase the profitability of
the You Figure It Out brand. The company also sees a market for the ultra-modern style of furniture in Smithfield’s
existing foreign markets and believe the current Smithfield stores in Spain, France, Germany, and England could
display some of the new furniture along with their traditional lines of furniture and take orders that would be produced
in the US plants. Other than that, the Smithfield Custom Furniture product line and the You Figure It Out brand would
operate as they currently do.
They have decided to conclude the purchase with You Figure It Out executives and want to announce the decision to
their workforce as soon as possible.
The Management Issue: Margot Smithfield is concerned she will overlook something important in her
communications to employees and the board’s decision-making.
Your Task for Your Initial Post
Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understand and ensure she does not overlook anything
important to introducing a new furniture product line to the current Smithfield product line. She has requested that you
send her a single-spaced summary, using only course readings and proper citations, that addresses (in the order
they are listed) the issues she believes she needs to be aware of related to communications and decision making.
1.
Explaining to her, using not more than 4 sentences, why employees need to understand the need for
Smithfield to continue to be innovative.
2.
Selecting the 3 “noise” factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product
line. Using not more than 4 sentences for each of your 3 noise factors, you will explain to Margot why you
selected each of the 3 noise factors you selected, including their potential negative impact on a new product
launch if it is not eliminated or reduced.
3.
Identifying for Margot Smithfield the 3 most significant obstacles to change that you believe will make the
acceptance of the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than 4 sentences for
each obstacle to change you identified, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 obstacles
to change, including each obstacle’s potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated
or reduced.
4.
Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than 4 sentences, the one specific change management
technique or tool you think is most likely to pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line.
5.
Explaining to her, using course readings on decision making and in no more than 4 sentences, the most
likely decision-making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line