Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.

Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.

Harrison-Keyes, Inc. (HK) is a very successful global publisher of print products such as scientific, technical and business books and journals, professional and consumer books, textbooks and other educational materials for all levels of study. As in all business, change is one of the largest factors of success, the ability to conform to the needs of customers while at the same time staying ahead of the technology curve to remain a leader with the industry. "Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand," (Putts Law, 2007, p.1). HK is in the midst of a huge transition within the company, with new technologies on the forefront and a strong base of well known publishers that are not viewing the new eBook technologies as a competent and secure method of sales and distribution. To further add to the complexities, HK does not have a clear outlook as to the direction of the company internally, and resource allocation is surfacing as an issue. Finally, there is an extreme culture gap between HK and its employees and oversees outsourcing companies, mostly which is due to communication deficiencies within both parties. The following will address these issues and lay out a recovery plan to get HK back on track to be the leader in the Publishing Business.

Issue and Opportunity Identification

There are a lot of issues occurring internally and externally throughout HK; however, by solving its internal issues the others will fall into place. The first issue is HK's lake of vision internally. Without insight to direction of all aspects of the corporation, sound decisions cannot be made to correct issues. What begins to occur is management starts to overcompensate in areas to make schedule, but without knowledge of the root issues, the reallocated resources then depleting other areas of talent schedule begins to slip in an additional facet of the business. Over time other issues begin to arise, budget overruns from overtime, employees can get run down and moral begins to decline, sick time increases, and the problem just keeps getting worse.

HK is headed in a new direction for the company by investing into new technology, bringing eBooks into the business. This is probably a great direction for HK to go, but only if it fully understands the implications of such a huge transition. What are the required resources for this type of electronic book? Are there security risks? Can outsourcing handle this new line of business? Have the Authors been brought into this process to get full buy-in? These are key concerns that management within HK should be addressing with its staff in order to be able to lay out a solid roadmap for the implementation of this new line of business.

Not to negate all of HK's work, it has put some thought into the new eBook business, it has just not been as in depth or as thorough as it should have. HK needs to take a deeper look into eBooks and lay out a plan of attack, and from there it needs to define its projects that will ensure the success of its eBook business. The plan needs to include all elements required to successfully implement eBook. Projects are the detail ingredients of the all up implementation. Projects are intricate pieces that feed each other, working towards a common goal, but in order for projects to succeed, it needs a champion, someone to guide the team towards a common goal and ensure all participants understand the end vision and the requirements to get there. This is currently an issue for HK, as there is not a solid leadership structure.

Finally, the last ingredient to ensure success is measurement, the ability to track progress and know where the project is at any given moment. It allows management to be proactive rather than reactive, and HK does not have the metrics in place to measure the health of the project or the company.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

There are many stakeholders in this scenario, there is HK the publisher, the authors, the Asia Digital Publishing (ADP), employees and management. Each one of these stakeholders has their own perspective as to what is important and how the situation project should be handled. HK has a dilemma it is facing in that if it does not advance with technology, it will not remain a leader in the publishing industry. At the same time the authors want to protect their assets, and in this case it is their writings. So the dilemma faced here is how does HK stay at the forefront of its industry while ensuring its customers that there will be no security issues with the new eBook technologies and the material cannot be duplicated?

There is also an ethical dilemma with the treatment of the Asia Digital Publishing (ADP). There seems to be a real communication issue, and it seems to begin with the production manager Pete Ross and his perception of the outsourcing part of the business. If he depicts himself to the ADP as he does to members of management, it could affect the relationship between the two companies and also affect the end product.

Problem Definition

Harrison-Keyes will become the successful force and leader in its industry by creating a strong portfolio management system to manage the business, by shaping its organizational culture, and y taking responsibility to ensure the security of the documentation its writers submit.

"End-State" Vision

Harrison-Keyes' vision is to be the world's most dynamic publishing company, packaging innovative information solutions essential to communities of interest, this will be accomplished using the technological breakthroughs to meet the ongoing demand of the customers in the technology realm.

Alternatives and Benchmarking Validation

Harrison-Keyes has many possible alternative solutions to get the new eBook project back on track. EBooks show a very positive trend for the future as technology changes and the modern world becomes more techno savvy, requiring more information in less space, which is why eBook is such a good solution for HK. It still poses a problem in that eBook only targets a portion of the potential customer base. An alternative solution to this issue would be to implement audio books at the same time as eBooks to bring in a larger audience.

A second issue is the communication gap between HK and ADP. The opportunity here is to create a solid partnership between HK and ADP. The alternative solution would be to find another company to outsource with, as the current partnership seems to be having communication issues. This is a possibility, but other issues