Case Study on Organisational Planning and Managing Strategies

This case study discusses the importance of planning in the VUCA environment and strategies to counter the drift from bricks-and-mortar retail to online. It also explores the issues faced by Cheryl, who has recently taken over the board, and the conflicting values and competencies required to manage change and innovation.

Running head: CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Part A: Elevator Pitches...................................................................................................................2
Elevator Pitch for Topic 6 (Organisational Planning).................................................................2
Elevator Pitch for Topic 7 (Managing Strategies).......................................................................2
Part B: Case discussion activities....................................................................................................4
Case discussion activity for Topic 10..........................................................................................4
Case discussion activity for Topic 11..........................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Part A: Elevator Pitches
Elevator Pitch for Topic 6 (Organisational Planning)
Question: Is planning dead?
My response. Posted on (Date)
Although the business environment has changed considerably and in the present VUCA
environment the businesses are required to take decisions immediately with respect to the
changing factors. However, this does not mean that the planning culture is entirely dead. The
different businesses are still required to plan consistently for their different moves because the
planning tends to serve as a guideline for the firm with respect to the future moves and also
provides the essential monitoring as well as evaluation method which can be used to understand
the moves which the company can take in order to ensure the success of the plan. Without a plan,
the gathering of the resources becomes quite difficult for the organization at large which may act
as a barrier. Hence, in regard to this, my response would be that planning is essential.
Elevator Pitch for Topic 7 (Managing Strategies)
Question: What is your ‘killer idea’ to counter the drift from bricks-and-mortar retail to online?
My response. Posted on (Date)
The advent of technology has bought about a great advancement in the business domain
and the main sufferers of this advancement has been the different retailers. Hence, in order to
ensure that the different members of the retail segment are successfully able to bring their
business on track, the different e-commerce domains can be accessed and along with the e-

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commerce segment, the managers will be required to invest in a concept which will be closely
related to augmented reality in order to ensure that the importance of their store increases. Along
with this, the organizations in the retail segment can also try to make use of a competitive pricing
strategy. This way they will be successfully able to save on the different costs of operations and
attract a larger audience as well.

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Part B: Case discussion activities
Case discussion activity for Topic 10
Case name: Can a strong culture be too strong?
My response to questions. Posted on (date):
The case study relates to the scenario of the Parivar organization and primarily the issue
relates to the problem of the culture of the organization. The different managers who have been
managing the organization belong to a different perspective than that of the organizational
members and hence as a result the turnover rate of the organization has been considerably high
(Schermerhorn, 2016).
The case relates to that of organizational structure which is quite hierarchical in nature.
There exists a huge discrimination between the members of the top management and the lower
management and due to this, many employees have accused the organizational head Sudhir to be
biased in nature during their exit interviews. I believe that the organizational structure of the
company has been greatly impacted by the culture of the country, India and the clash of mindset
tends to cause differences among the members.
Answer to Question 1: Conflicting Values
The different conflicting values as present in the case study are given below:
 Culture of the organization: The largest conflicting value as present in the case study is
the culture of the Parivar. The culture is paternalistic and not accustomed to a large
number of members. According to Baker (2017), the different employees who are present
at the workplace belong to the present advanced generation which tends to conflict with

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this paternalistic culture. Along with this the mentorship culture of the firm tends to
conflict with the different hygiene factors.
 Secondly the though process of the board members are different from one another. Indira
seems to have a different though process compared to that of Sudhir and it is due to this
reason that there have been a large number of conflicting values (FitzRoy, Hulbert &
Ghobadian, 2012).
 Lastly, the positioning of the organization in the Indian market is comparatively new and
the company is quite small as compared to the larger companies and thus this can lead to
conflicting though processes in the organization.
Answer to Question 2: Advice to Sudhir
After the analysis of the case study, the given advice is provided to Sudhir:
 Relaxing with the parent culture: Sudhir seems highly consistent on the Parent culture
and believes that the culture of the organization is based on a love culture. However, this
has led to a high rate of 35% and acts as a proof that his concept is incorrect.
 Uplifting the People support program: The People support program can be developed for
the welfare of the organization so that the different employees are successfully able to
find some relief and the turnover rate of the organization improves.
 Improving the Hygiene Factors: It needs to be understood that just the motivating
organization is not enough and in order to ensure the overall welfare of the firm, the
compensation of the firm needs to be improved (Schermerhorn et al., 2015).
Answer to Question 3: Structure
Proposed structure

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After the analysis of the poor retention rate of the organization and related factors, it can
be advised that on the whole Parivar needs to adopt a flatter structure instead of the hierarchal
culture which is presently in existent (Schermerhorn, 2016). This way the different employees of
the organization will feel more valued which will then go a long way in assisting the different
members to ensure that they are at par with one another. Along with this, it needs to let go of the
mentorship and related programs which cause the paternalistic structure.

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Case discussion activity for Topic 11
Case name: Welcome aboard (But don’t change a thing)
My response to questions. Posted on (date):
One of the major problems being faced by the different members of the business
environment is the glass ceiling which exists and separates the different genders. The case study
is surrounds the problem which is faced by Cheryl who has recently taken over the board but is
finding it difficult to adjust because the different members of the organization have been
avoiding her. Moreover, she believed that Mark would support her however, this is not the case
and there has been a certain amount of resistance from his side as well. This may be due to the
glass ceiling or he may thing that she took over his post. It can be observed that Cheryl does
want to engage in an engaging work environment however, is not being able to do so due to her
authoritative nature and the lack of cooperation.
Answer to Question 1: The conflicting values
The conflicting values can be essentially described as the values which are contrary to the
case are restricting the organization at large. The different values as present in the case study that
are conflicting are the aggressive growth drive which is being adopted by Cheryl. Cheryl has
planned various expansion plans for the organization which are not being supported by the board
members (McNulty et al., 2002). She wants to adopt a differentiation strategy which tends to put
competitive pressure on the different employees and thus, their lack of pressure tends to act as a
conflicting value. As per the case study, Cheryl wants to try a cheaper quality offering whereby
the firm wants to maintain the quality and this is conflicting in nature.

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Answer to Question 2: An advice to resolve
As per the analysis, the conflicting issues may cause a drift between the different
members of the organization and thus for this reason, Cheryl will be required to adopt a large
number of strategies which will then go a long way in ensuring that the issues are resolved.
Hence, as an advise it can be suggested to Cheryl that before taking the aggressive steps for the
foreign expansion or the change in quality and others, the consideration of the organization needs
to be taken and the different employees are required to be engaged in (Waddell et al., 2016). So
as to foster an environment of growth and creativity, Cheryl will be required to engage the
employees and take in their suggestions which can then initiate cooperation from all and avoid
the current issues.
Answer to Question 3: The Management competencies
The VUCA world is highly disruptive and dynamic and for this reason the following
management competencies need to be presented:
 Conflict Manager: The leader in the VUCA environment needs to be a conflict manager
because the conflicts form an essential part of the organization.
 Team building spirit: The leader also needs to have an adequate team building spirit
which will enable them to work efficiently (de Waal, 2016).
 Change management capability: The leader should also have a change management
capability so that change and innovation can be adapted to easily.
 Problem solver: Moreover, the leader needs to be a problem solver which then helps him
to solve the various issues can be resolved.

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References
Baker, T. (2017). How can we solve the problem of harmful organising structures? Retrieved
from http://www.hrmonline.com.au/social-media/solve-harmful-organisingstructures/
de Waal, A. (2016). Searching for effective change interventions for the transformation into a
high performance organization. Management Research Review, 39(9), 1080- 1104.
FitzRoy, P., Hulbert, J. M., & Ghobadian, A. (2012). Strategic management : The challenge of
creating value. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquestcom.ezproxy.csu.edu.au
McNulty, E., Calcidise, K., Benton, D., Cohen, D &
Aversano, N. (2002). Welcome Aboard (But Don't Change a Thing). Harvard Business
Review. Oct2002, Vol. 80 Issue 10, p32-40 Available at:
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=864a96d9-
1489-40f5-92ce-
21af0ba27fe4%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d
%3d#AN=7433807&db=heh
Schermerhorn J. R., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Woods, P., Simon, A. & McBarron, E. (2014).
Management: Foundations and applications (2nd ed.). Asia Pacific Wiley: 3 Milton. Read
pages 175-195
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2016). Network structures. Management (6th Asia-Pacific ed., pp. 276-292)
[Wiley]. Retrieved from
https://ebookcentral-proquestcom.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/CSUAU/detail.action?
docID=4748100.

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Schermerhorn, J. R. (2016). Organising as a management function. Management (6th Asia-
Pacific ed., p. 279) [Wiley]. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-
proquestcom.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/CSUAU/detail.action?docID=4748100.
Waddell, D., Creed, A., Cummings, C., & Worley, C. (2016). Managing resistance and
organisational culture. Organisational change: Development and transformation (pp. 98-
116). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au