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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 located 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.
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. Those obstacle are as follows:
- Employees are not aware of the importance of innovation
- Get ready for the market to cope with the product
Please 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.
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