Leadership and Teambuilding Generic Benchmarking

Leadership and Teambuilding Generic Benchmarking

Harrison-Keyes has faced many downfalls on its journey to transitioning into e-book publishing. The company has been through various management changes to include a new CEO and new managers working on various parts of this project. This has overall presented little hope for Harrison-Keyes to gain back its competitive edge in its industry. On the brighter side, by benchmarking other companies and focusing on key concepts that are imperative to the success of Harrison-Keyes, there seems to be light at the end of this tunnel for the company.

Some key concepts that the management team of Harrison-Keyes should focus on to regain their strength and power in their market are leadership, organizational structure, project duration, high performance teams, and managing project rewards systems. In order for any company to be successful, there has to be a solid foundation starting with a strong head and leadership/management team. Once leadership is in place, the company must be able to withstand the various processes of starting a new project, hence, organizational structure and project duration. In order for project duration to be successful, employees must work together effectively and sufficiently such as a high performance team. Ultimately, members of the company must be able to see how they will benefit from their continuous hard work on the project, and for this reason, a rewards system should be in place for the members of the company. This paper analyzes key findings and looks at various companies that have faced similar issues as Harrison-Keyes, their response, and outcomes.

Analysis

Leadership

Opportunities for leadership come into existence via brainstorming, assignments, and accountability. “Other strategies for success include: 1) Developing a network of good relationships built on trust and understanding, 2) Respect for other cultures and languages 3) Understand how diversity strengthens the team” (Grosse, 2002). The United Parcel Service has used these strategies in team and leadership training. The company has found that the strengths that each team member possesses are an important contributor to the success of the team. Leadership is all about relationships in project management. Providing influence to change or having the flexibility to explore other options will save time and money. Leadership includes providing project team members the ability to make decisions on their level. Effective leadership is essential to a project teams’ success. Changes to the process of how agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, respond to disasters have resulted in saving time, money and lives. “Leadership is all about promoting, coping, and bringing about change” (Gray & Lawson, 2006). Flexibility and empowerment is vital for leadership in project management. UPS and FEMA have responded with different approaches to the challenges, however, each approach addressed the concept of leadership.

Organizational Structure

Organizational structure is defined as “formal and informal framework of policies and rules, within which an organization arranges its lines of authority and communications, and allocates rights and duties” (Business Dictionary, 2008). Organizational structure determines the manner and extent to which roles, power, and responsibilities are delegated, controlled, and coordinated, and how information flows between levels of management. Allstate’s and Winn Dixie’s organizational structure was central to each company’s objective of being profitable. Allstate wanted to save money and reduce the number of employees. The company decided to restructure and use the independent contractor program for its agents. The reinvention program was communicated through all employee levels. In contrast, Winn Dixie’s organizational structure revolved around emerging from bankruptcy, a stronger company. The company’s reorganizing meant fewer stores and employees with more focus on improving the customer’s shopping experience. Allstate and Winn Dixie’s organizational structures were revamped and their structures depend entirely on the organization's objectives and the strategy chosen to achieve them.

Project Duration

Project duration is an important factor in introducing new products or concepts. “In recent years emphasis on time-to-market has taken on new importance because of intense global competition and rapid technological advances. The market imposes a project duration date” (Gray & Larson, 2006). Compaq was successful by watching the market for trends and quietly working on improving and introducing a product that had been previously announced by another company. In contrast to Compaq, McDonald’s strategy has been to use publicity to stir interest in their new products, usually by test marketing initially. Time and expenses are important factors to the successful introduction of new strategies. “The need for