Sample Submitted by Professor Randy RANDALL DUNHAM Jul 25, 2012 4:55 PM Rating Current rating is 0/5 stars 1 2 3 4 5 Average Rating Average rating is 4 out of 5 (1 rating) Students here is an example submission created by a student from the OB course I teach at U. Wisconsin. Here assignment was a bit different than yours and this submission was on topics that are different than yours but this can give you an idea of what a good "OB in the News" submission looks like. This sample is longer than most of yours will need to be. I look forward to reading your submissions. Randy. Citation: Burkitt, Laurie. "Wal-Mart Picks New China Chief." Wall Street Journal [New York] 08 Feb 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577208842548320960.html? KEYWORDS=walmart china >. (Reading Citation) Wyman, O. (1998). Strategic organization design: An integrated approach. Delta Organization & Leadership, pp. 1-16. Summary: Within the past few years, Wal-Mart has ventured into the market of China. Struggling to gain ground against its competitors, the company has started the process of changing their management strategy. Greg Foran was recently appointed chief executive of Wal-Mart China, despite his lack of experience in the Chinese market. According to the article, analysts believe that Wal-Mart has intentions of conducting business according to western practices and with this new management approach they will have a closer connection with their headquarters. The company also invested in staff training and the creation of a compliance team in order to eliminate previous regulatory issues. It was emphasized that as the new manager, Foran will focus on re-building Wal-Mart’s image in China. He will also be responsible for overseeing an expansion of the number of stores in China. However, despite the expansion plan, Wal-Mart is still facing tough competition with local Chinese retailers and it is unsure whether or not their low-cost business model will work as it does in the U.S. Another aspect that the company is struggling with is accommodating customer needs in China. Wal-Mart states that the stores have Chinese managers in order to tailor to customer demand and they also carry regional specialties. The article concludes with the statement that Wal-Mart is driven to succeed in the Chinese economy and success will likely come down to the leadership involved. Course Connections: Strategy One of the main topics of this article is strategy. In particular, as described in the 9-Step Process Professor Dunham introduced in his lecture on organization strategy, Wal-Mart is focusing on the environmental analysis aspect of its strategic plan or model. The company is dealing with a changing market base, so industry, political, cultural, technical and economic research is crucial to the success of its new endeavor. Switching business to a new region of the world involves very careful strategic planning because of the drastic environmental change. As mentioned in the article, Wal-Mart is in competition with local businesses that have already established a growing base of customers. It is apparent that Wal-Mart is investing time towards competition research and evaluation, which is also part of the 9-step process Professor Dunham discussed. At this point, Wal-Mart is in the process of pinpointing aspects that their company needs to reevaluate as they enter a new management strategy. Design In order to gain a competitive edge in the Chinese market, Wal-Mart is in the process of designing a new strategy that will promote growth and fit to the new management changes. As discussed in the Wyman article “Strategic Organization Design: An Integrated Approach”, staffing changes or new management is a time when redesign might be necessary. The previous design plan might not make sense considering the new management skills, talents and capacities. In Wal-Mart’s case, one of the main issues with the old design was faulty communication between the management in China and the U.S. headquarters. It was also emphasized in the article that the new manager will be involved in the re-building of Wal-Mart’s image. As Professor Dunham mentioned in his podcast on Organizational Design, “appearance is important in an individual’s reaction and judgment of an organization”. Wal-Mart is faced with the challenge of appealing to an entirely different population than they have dealt with in the past, so the success of their strategic and managerial design is crucial to the success of their expansion in China. Change The focus of this article is on multiple aspects of change, especially environmental and managerial change. Professor Dunham’s podcast on organizational change explores a 3-stage change model that can be applied to the current situation of Wal-Mart in China. It is clear that Wal-Mart has progressed through identifying the nature of change, however the company has just begun the planning and implementing of change found in stage 2 and 3. Professor Dunham discusses the implementation of change in these stages through the words freezing, changing and refreezing. In the article, it mentions that Wal-Mart has invested in staff training and compliance teams to tighten the oversight of business in China, so rather than freezing, or lightening the situation, it appears that the company is taking a more coercive approach, which although discouraged, it is often used in business plans. Topic Relationship: Strategy, design and change are all interrelated aspects within companies. Wal-Mart reevaluated its strategy with a change in their international chief executive position. They realized that the nature of the management position needed to be in close contact with their headquarters. In order to deal with the changing environment and market, the company also needed to adjust their strategy and design to adapt to a new consumer population. It is crucial that the design of the company and also strategy can accept change. In Wal-Mart’s situation, environmental and market change caused the company’s strategy and management design to fail. Employee and Organizational Effectiveness As illustrated in this article, strategy, design and change greatly influence employee and organizational effectiveness. One of the main points of this article focuses on how Wal-Mart is dealing with a challenging environmental change. This change has encouraged the company to focus on hiring local managers in order to enhance customer relations and also to strengthen headquarters communication. The design of this strategy and hiring method has created a much more effective method of communication for employees, building better customer relations and preparing the company for expansion. Wal-Mart is also hoping that under new leadership, motivation to change will spread through the China locations and with a new strategy, the company will have a clearer path. As mentioned in Professor Dunham’s lecture on organizational change, communication and clear paths are important aspects of presenting change to employees. . Sample Submitted by Professor Randy RANDALL DUNHAM Jul 25, 2012 4:55 PM Rating Current rating is. the 9-Step Process Professor Dunham introduced in his lecture on organization strategy, Wal-Mart is focusing on the environmental analysis aspect of