Problem Solving

Situation Analysis and Problem Statement

Intersect Investment is a financial service investment company. Currently, the company is facing several situations that posse opportunities as well as problems that need to be evaluated with a critical outlook. The basis for this paper is to look at the financial services company, Intersect Investments, and its current situation and evaluate if there are suitable goals that can be met by the organization and its stakeholders.

Situation Background (Step 1)

Intersect Investment is in a state of unbelief for the organization. Currently, Intersect is undergoing a philosophy change to make for better long-term victories. Frank Jeffers, the CEO, has introduced his new vision for the company 1 year ago. The vision "provides a set of products and services to consumer and small business customers using a model of customer intimacy that will build strong relationships based on trust and value to the customers"(University of Phoenix, Scenario). Intersect's past success has lead it to be a company that is complacent in the financial services industry and at times to barely manage to survive the flux of the stock market. Frank had to replace his executive vice president of marketing and sales with someone who is well qualified to make the customer intimacy vision a reality. Janet Angelo is the new EVP of marketing and sales.

Issue Identification

There are multiple issues for Intersect to consider internally as well as externally. Some of the questions that arise are:, how does Janet Angelo get full support of the current management team, can Lyn Chen, the VP of sales, make the necessary adjustments to the sales department, what are the people of Wall Street saying about the company now that will impact the sales, and the overall issue is how does Intersect investment make the necessary revolutionary change to the present to make a greater impact on the future. There are many more issues that need to be discussed, evaluated, and dealt with in a timely manor.

Opportunity Identification

Although there are tough issues that need to be dealt with, there are always opportunities that come from making some key decisions in any organization. Intersect can look at its current state and see that there are opportunities that need to be realized in making the minor changes in the way it operates. The customer intimacy vision will allow for the skills development of the sales department, which in turn will give the sales employee the edge needed in the industry. The new vision will allow for long term success for Intersect Investment in customer loyalty, increased trust by the its customers, and the reduced turnover of the sales department employees.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

The stakeholders in the above scenario are numerous in number, thus I am only going to concentrate on 3 of them. The management, the employees, and the customers are the stakeholders I am referring to.

The management of Intersect Investment looks at this scenario as a means of unnecessary change. The management is one of the big objectors to the new vision. Lyn Chen looks at this vision as a way to make her look bad in the sales industry. She has been doing business one way for some time and now her leadership wants her to change her whole strategy in sales. The employees see the vision in a similar manor. Executive leadership has made a decision to have a philosophy change and they did not take into consideration the needs of the employee that the decision will impact. In addition to this, they are not receiving access to all the resources needed to make the change successful for the company. This leads the employee into second guessing if they are in the right company. Too much confusion leads to dysfunctional teams. The customers have to look at how their money is being used to benefit themselves. At the current state the customer is being cheated out of important information that could be an extra source of income for them. Do I want to invest my money in a company that can't keep its employees happy or better yet, give them the resources needed to help me make better decisions for me? The stakeholders invested in Intersect Investment have some serious ethical dilemmas to look at.

Problem Definition (Step 2)

Intersect investment can find a way to make changes in its business practices and organization philosophy to remain a viable leader in the financial services industry.

End-State Goals (Step 3)

The end-state goals for Intersect Investment are as follows: 1) decrease sales employee turnover by 15% within an 8-month timeframe. 2) Implement the customer intimacy model with the support of 95% of the organization. 3) Add 25% new customers, retain current customers, and increase customer spending by 25% within 12 months. 4) Roll out 8 new products with all support needed within 12 months. The above end-state goals are specific for Intersect Investment, measurable, attainable by the teams, realistic for the outcomes, and timely.

Alternative Solutions and Benchmarking Validation

In any situation there is always an alternative solution. In the case of Gene One there were 4 alternatives we looked at. 1.) Implement a performance based pay incentive, 2.) Provide the new 8 product and services to the clients, 3.) Use knowledge, skills and ability test to evaluate the current and future employees 4.) Collaborate with a competitor in order to get the new technology developed faster. In order to effectively look at the alternatives stated above we looked at what other industries have done in similar situations.

The article discusses implementation of pay-for performance plans in Mexico's schools. "Six states have launched their own performance-based systems that compensate teachers for demonstrating specific knowledge and skills in the classroom. Of those six states, four also offer programs that reward teacher's based on their students' achievements. Twenty-six states now offer incentives, such as bonuses, education aid or housing assistance to attract people to such hard-to-staff subjects as mathematics. Most pay-for-performance efforts are in their infancy, are hampered by budget constraints or involve only a few schools or selected local districts. Since conception that schools of Mexico have excelled in some of the more difficult subjects such as math and science"(McCabe, 2005). Intersect can learn from this situation that there is slow, but a good outcome to having the performance based pay incentive.