Organizational Change: A Case for Lakeland Wonders

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Organizational Change: A Case for Lakeland Wonders
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Institution

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: A CASE FOR LAKELAND WONDERS
Nature and Reasons for Lakeland Wonders Organizational Change
Hitherto, Lakeland Wonders has been a toy-manufacturing company for more than ninety
years. Cheryl Hailstrom, the company's Chief Executive Officer who has worked for the
company for many years felt that for the benefit of the company's survival and success in the
highly competitive wooden toy-manufacturing business, the company needed to change some of
its production and operation practices. The CEO, for instance, suggested that Lakeland Wonders
will highly advantage if it opened offshore manufacturing sites. According to the CEO, opening
a new manufacturing workshop would not only reduce the company's risk in operating from the
USA alone but would also reach the company to new targets markets such as Bulls-Eye Stores.
The CEO argues that opening an offshore manufacturing shop would yield many benefits to the
firm and would ensure the firm's continuity in the long-run. Moreover, the ambitious CEO saw it
prudent to hire employees from other companies to improve the efficiency of her company,
especially in packaging. The CEO believed that for the company to maintain its relevance in the
wooden-toy manufacturing industry, it needed to re-fashion its packaging methods. Moreover, to
capture a wider market, the CEO supported the change of advertisement plea suggested by one of
her juniors.
Cheryl planned management changes can be linked to the Ven de Ven and Poole’s
framework theories. According to Tessier & Otley (2012), the Ven de Ven and Poole’s
framework consists of four ideal types of developmental theories namely: life-cycle, teleological,
dialectical and evolutionary management change theories. Although teleological and
evolutionary theories have a practical sense in the Lakeland Wonders’ case, the organization

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change theory more suitable in Cheryl’s toolkit to transform Lakeland Wonders was mainly the
dialectical change theory. Many change initiators employ the dialectical theory because they
understand that organizational change is complex and dialectical by itself (Jansson, 2013).
Organizational and management change in Lakeland Wonders is likely to be appropriated by two
entities: Cheryl as the CEO and other top management company officials. Despite being the
CEO, Lakeland Wonders’ organizational change cannot be implemented without the willingness
of the company’s top managers. Dialectic organizational change theory is a management theory
that facilitates change through mutual actions by more than one stakeholder entity (Alsulami,
Rahim & Scheepers, 2013). Putman, Fairhurst & Banghart (2016) define dialectical theory as a
theory that hypothesis management change through the lens of power struggles. For the
organizational change discourse in Lakeland Wonders, there seems to be a power struggle
between the CEO, top managers, and the directors. Through the interaction of the involved
entities, management change is realized.
In the case of Lakeland Wonder, there are many arguments concerning the strategies to
be employed by the company soon. While the CEO suggests aggressive organizational change
strategies, most of the managers and directors tend to hold more conservative approaches
regarding organizational change. Contrary to the CEO, most of the managers and directors do not
see it prudent to change at all. In effect, there emerge power struggles among the management.
Appropriateness of Cheryl Hailstrom Management Change Approaches
Cheryl management change strategies could have yielded if only the managers could
agree with her. For instance, her major argument that Lakeland should open a new offshore
market could have yielded greatly for the company. Companies with a variety of offshore shops

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tend increasing their sales exponentially (Nenni, Giustiniano & Pirolo, 2013). This is due to the
new access in the foreign unexploited markets. Large and successful companies and corporations
such as Microsoft, IBM, Apple, AT & T, Sun and eBay exploit foreign markets through offshore
marketing strategies (Ford, Richard & Ciuchta, 2015). In essence, many American based
companies are considering re-shoring as their new strategy to capture the expansive foreign
markets (Tate, et al., 2014). If Cheryl would have had had a co-operative workforce, Lakeland
would have flourished in the offshore markets. However, despite her impeccable organizational
change, the managers and the directors still doubt Cheryl’s strategies. The managers, as it seems,
are too conservative to learn new opportunities that may be realized in offshore sourcing. In the
textile industry, for instance, offshore sourcing has been attributed to most of America’s most
successful companies (Su & Gargeya, 2012). The wooden-toy manufacturing industry is unlikely
to have been different. An offshore site could have increased the Lakeland Wonders’ reachable
markets and in tandem increase the company’s sales.
Furthermore, the proposal of Cheryl incorporated reducing the costs the company
incurred while transporting their products from their home country to their respective markets.
Her strategy aimed to optimize the opportunity offered by Bulls-Eye Stores. This would
significantly reduce the transport and shipping costs incurred by Lakeland Wonders. Offshore
sourcing, in addition to widening the market, reduces transport costs incurred by manufacturers
(Gonzalez, Llopis & Gasco, 2013). The scholars argue that offshore sourcing tantamount reduces
costs to international manufacturers. Offshore sourcing acts as a double-edged strategy that
increases the sales of a company and simultaneously reducing its costs (Chakravarty, et al.,
2014). Apart from shipping and transport costs, Cheryl’s approach considered the high costs