Jeanne Lewis at Staples Inc. (A) Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Jeanne Lewis at Staples Inc. (A)

Question: Discuss the nature of the change Lewis was trying to achieve. Was it a strategic repositioning of the company or a tactical implementation of a strategic plan?  Or, was it something else?

The change that Jeanne Lewis is trying to achieve or implement at Staples Inc. is the strategic repositioning of the company. The change was a strategic reposition because first of all it was a long term plan, which the company had planned well in advance. Along with this, the decision by the company to focus on the strategic business unit was also a part of the long term plan. These plans included the retail, commercial and the international units. Lewis along with the idea of managing the transition of merger with Office Depot was also considering aligning its internal departments to one another. The vision of the CEO of the company was to increase or in fact double the revenues by 30% every year. Although this was a tough task but not something that is entirely unachievable. Along with this, building an internal relationship within company employees was also a part of the current system where the teams work in correspondence to one another.

Question: Did she have a clear understanding of why a change was needed (i.e.; the problem to be solved or the goal to be met)?   What were the problems and goals?

When Jeanne Lewis was appointed as the Executive Vice President of Marketing Department at Staples Inc.; she wanted to change the overall structure and wanted departments to interact with each other. She wanted the marketing department, merchandising department and the operations department to interact with each other and work on similar lines. Jeanne Lewis wanted to improve upon the marketing integration at Staples Inc. After the merger with Office Depot, Lewis has to determine the ways in which marketing department can efficiently and effectively correlate with each other and maintain a competitive advantage in the ever increasing competitive and complex market.

Did Lewis use change tactics that were appropriate for the situation?

Jeanne Lewis did use the change tactics quite effectively. She was quite keen to integrate all the three departments at Staples Inc.  to work as a team. Lewis basically developed a strategy for turning around the departments at Staples Inc. She basically replaced around 75% of the product assortment and in fact she even tripled direct product profitability. She basically led by example at the company. Lewis had this opportunity to lead marketing department where she not only served as the architect but also driver of Staples Inc., which meant a balance between long term and short term objectives. Along with this, she was keen to develop a strong interaction among all the departments and in fact wanted to create a sense of eagerness to support each other.

While the being head of merchandising and marketing department, Lewis also incorporated that idea of “take the pulse of the floor”. She also began to promote the style of leadership that she possessed. Although the initial look or behavior of Lewis with the employees was to misinterpret most of the times, but as the time passed employees eventually realized the friendliness in Lewis. She was a target oriented person and believed in sharing ideas and views.

Along with this, she made a friendly environment within the organization that reflected in the performance of departments. Her point of view was that people should be given the freedom to raise their voice. Therefore, the change tactics that Jeanne Lewis implemented under her regime were quite effective and resulted in improved results for Staples Inc.  before and after merger. This quality of Lewis made her grow within the ranks of the organization at a rapid pace by allowing her to become the Executive Vice President of Marketing Department at Staples Inc.

Did she choose a fast or slow paced change strategy?

The change strategy adopted by Lewis was quite a proactive one. In fact she was quite quick in her response while dealing with different departments and interacting with others within the organization. Once she was appointed as the in charge of the two departments of merchandising and marketing, the first thing she did to actually bring in the changed work behavior and improved results was the fact that the company under Lewis leadership went straight to work. Along with this, she made the tough situation where the choices made were also tough.  As the case states, she replaced 25 store associates in a year round period. She developed aggressive and rigorous store stands while launching a training program with rejuvenated performance. This fast pace strategy to bring in the change made Lewis the director of 150 stores in the Eastern Coast. ...........................

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Joan Lewis, after six years with Staples, Inc appointed as Senior Vice President of Marketing. It should work for fifteen months along with his predecessor, a legacy in the organization, "thoroughly" before he goes. This case is set nine months after she began working with the marketing department. Staples has just come out of a long period of judicial around FTC antitrust lawsuit challenging the merger attempts Staples "from Office Depot. Following the merger, Lewis needs to determine how the marketing department can most effectively and efficiently help the company maintain its competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive and complex market. It looks like a problem, middle manager is faced with "take responsibility" and change management in the revitalization of the situation in which more evolutionary approach is appropriate. "Hide
by Linda A. Hill, Kristin C. Doughty Source: Harvard Business School 16 pages. Publication Date: November 18, 1998. Prod. #: 499041-PDF-ENG

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