Organizational Behavior Report: Casual Togs Case Study Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the organizational behavior of Casual Togs, a fashion apparel company. The report begins by outlining the major problems faced by the firm, including issues with returns, late deliveries, and forecasting inaccuracies. It then delves into the reasons behind these problems, such as the leadership style of Cy Geldmark, the influence of his sister, and disagreements among department heads. The report also explores ways to persuade Cy to change his leadership approach, emphasizing the importance of effective communication, confidence, and ethical practices. Furthermore, it offers suggestions for preventing future problems by addressing management practices, implementing structural changes, and adapting to changes in the competitive environment. The report concludes with recommendations for overcoming the challenges in the fashion apparel industry, providing a comprehensive overview of the company's organizational dynamics and potential solutions.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Executive Summary:
The report aims at providing an overview of the organizational behavior of a fashion apparel
industry known as Casual Togs. The report commences by mentioning the problems faced by the
company along with a mention of the reasons that led to the problem. There report also provides
suggestions on prevention of problems in the fashion industry in the context of management
practice, structural change and changes in the competitive environment. The report also provides
recommendations regarding

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
The Major Problems Facing the Firm:.............................................................................................2
Reasons for Those Problems...........................................................................................................4
Ways Adopted in Persuading Cy to Change:..................................................................................5
Suggestions for Preventing Future Problems..................................................................................6
Management Practice:..................................................................................................................6
Structural change:........................................................................................................................7
Responding to Changes in the Competitive Environment...........................................................8
Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................................................9
References:....................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction:
The report aims to provide an overview of the organizational behavior based on an
apparel company mentioned in the case. The discussion of this report revolves around Casuals
Togs that is a moderately priced shop for women’s apparel with headquarters in Midwestern city.
Close to around 80 percent of the firm‘s production sold in the larger and midsized departmental
stores in the cities whereas 20 percent gets sold in smaller shops. The products of the firms
included blouses, shorts and knit dresses. Cy Geldmark, the entrepreneur, was also an innovator
who introduced the concept of mix and match of the fashion ensembles targeting the customers
with moderate means so that they can possess a wardrobe with a combination of casual and
formal clothes. The report commences with a discussion on the major problems faced by the
firm. There would also be discussion on the reasons that led to those problems. The report also
would provide an insight into the ways adopted in persuading the president of the company to
change. There report would also put forward suggestions for preventing occurrence of future
problem in terms of management practice, structural change and response to the changes in the
competitive environment. One can also find recommendations on overcoming the challenges of
the fashion apparel industry.
The Major Problems Facing the Firm:
There are usually five different selling seasons for fashion industry when garments
produced, ordered and delivered within a very short deadline. The pilot sales for first two weeks
for each of the seasons acts as a determining factor regarding the styles and quantity that needs
production during the whole season. However if the pilot sales is unable to act as an indicating
factor for the rest of the season then the stock of the company gets saddled and can only be

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disposed off through off price outlets mostly at loss. In the context of this situation, Cy
Geldmark, the entrepreneur, felt that decisions should be made based on the situation. He
therefore undertook all the policy and operating decisions and permitted the departmental heads
to take decisions as per the situations without the need for any consultation. In spite his
exhortations, all the departmental managers and the vice president undertook daily discussions
with him on the progress of current trend of season’s products. These daily sessions were a mark
of the emotional outbursts of the various personnel belonging to the management. The meetings
were not only non-scheduled but also informal with different groups meeting Cy Geldmark at
different timings. The groups were even informal and based on the problem line of functioning.
Changes thought off and implemented instantly without thinking about its influence on the
particular department. If there were disagreement from the other departments then it would result
in shouting and rebellious attitude. Such interchanges took place in front of Cy who remained
impassive thereby giving his decisions after all the participants finished. This resulted in various
problems within the system.
There most acute of all has been the problems of the returns. This is because 40 percent
of all the shipments faced return. Some of the management personnel believed that the reasons
for the returns were mostly late deliveries whereas some believed that the inaccuracy in the
forecasting by the style line that resulted in such an erroneous scheduling of production. Others
said that there existed lack of coordination between shipping along with insufficient production
methods. However, the production manager mentioned that there was disparity between the dates
of delivery provided by the customers and the order of the salesperson that acted as the basis for
running production. The sales manager put forward that the quality issues acted as the actual
reasons for the returns. He also mentioned that the customers did not want to get into arguments

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with the personnel about issues related to the quality and chose much simpler option by terming
it as later delivery.
Reasons for Those Problems
The over leniency of Cy Geldmark and lack of capability in curbing the emotionally
charged up sessions led to the emergence of the erroneous decisions. The president of Casuals
Togs failed to create a mark with the suppliers. The company should have had assured some of
the suppliers from the older days with some orders in spite of the fact that they had higher prices
compared to the other suppliers. Another reason for the problems was th vice president of the
firm,Cy Geldmark’s sister Judy, who would intrude into the daily sessions and often proposed
the expensive changes. She wandered and initiated changes in all the departments. The decisions
made by her affected everything from the copier paper, commissions of the salespersons and the
schedules for work. She countered the instructions of the department manager along with the
procedure of hiring and firing the personnel without the knowledge of the manager. She was not
only abrasive but also took resort to vulgarity publicly. In addition to this, she was unnecessarily
loud and she received full consent from her brother on all her decisions.
The decision of Cy Geldmark’s for appointing a new person named Bill Smith as an aid
to Andy for helping him with the budgets and the forecast also resulted in disputes. Bill Smith
being an MBA with sufficient training in the Statistical analysis tried to implement newer
methods in analyzing and Andy saying that the president of the firm is not used to such analysis
blatantly rejected collating the daily print. Instead of supporting the new aid and implementing
newer and faster methods, Andy rejected them and stuck to his traditional means of analysis

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thereby giving rise to those problems. The hiring of an experienced market analysist name Stan
Levine also added to the problems as his new methods found objections for acceptance.
Ways Adopted in Persuading Cy to Change:
Cy Gledmark must possess strong leadership qualities (Northouse 2017). He must
change and portray him as a person who would know how to value goals over any sort of
unpleasantness. He should prove himself in possessing effective communication skill along with
the ability of building of a team towards a common goal in a manner that motivates the entire
team. In the fashion industry, it is impossible to sell effectively without good communications
skills. It requires selling to the potential clients and the investors (Hackman and Johnson 2013).
However, success will depend much on the ability of Cy in communicating the vision and ideas
to the people. He should also demonstrate confidence and positive qualities that would help him
in earning trust and respect. Confidence plays a vital role in determining the success of the
entrepreneur. However, Cy Gledmark should show the right amount of confidence otherwise it
could be detrimental to the business. In addition to this, he must not allow ego to enter in the way
of his success. Entrepreneur Cy Gledmark can be persuaded to change through the adoption of
integrity and ethics (Beeri et al. 2013). Proving one’s credibility is a key factor in carrying out a
business. In leading a team and in working with the clients, Cy Gledmark, should be able to
visualize the problem and asset any error observed rather than dwelling on it or blaming others.
Cy Gledmark is persuaded to possess a competitive spirit and at the same time understand that
business represents a constant war with the competitors for getting a substantial market share
(Ballaro and O’Neil 2013). Moreover, it is also a personal challenge in focusing inward and
ensuring powerhouse growth of the business. Cy Gledmark should also understand the

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effectiveness of a having a strong peer group (Estrada and Vargas-Estrada 2013). He should not
only oblige to their decision but must also be able to help them in visualizing the consequence.
Suggestions for Preventing Future Problems
Management Practice:
Casuals Togs, the women’s apparel shop, is prevented from the future problems by
implementing changes in the management practice. Firstly, it is suggested to consider how the
company will ensure management for the expansion of sales during the five different selling
seasons (Turker and Altuntas 2014). Although being an already established enterprise the firm
already has a tested market with proper identification of the top sellers. However, it is necessary
to determine whether the changes implemented because of the seasonal trends will be able to
generate and inspire the same amount of demand in the mass market. It is also necessary to
identify the advantages that the firm has over the other businesses selling similar products.
Secondly, it is also necessary to identify the adaptability of the present supply chain system from
the process of production, warehousing and shipping (Radaelli et al. 2014). The next step
includes the development of the sales and the marketing strategy. To increase marketability and
visibility of the product it is also necessary to participate in the trade shows and conferences.
Thirdly, the management should ensure coordination between the workers and the various
groups so that they can work in unison (Drury 2013). Fourthly, one should not underestimate
the influence of the various social media platforms. Having a presence in the social media not
only acts as a signal to the bigger retailers that the brand is at par with the other competitors but
also implies that the firm cares about building a relationship with its customers(Li et al. 2014).

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Lastly, it is also important for the management to choose the right model for pricing along with
the appropriate technology for supporting the growing business (Theng, Grant and Yap 2013).
Structural change:
The following steps are suggested in ensuring a structural change that will help the
company in preventing future problems (Fernie and Sparks 2014):
Decision of Changing the Direction: Transformational change does not take place
overnight and takes substantial time in bearing the fruit (Kim 2013). The change remains
embedded even after the implementation of the technology that resonates throughout an
organization thereby resulting in newer competency requirements
Decision of Changing the Ambassadors: This decision often results in benefits as the
change ambassadors are considered having higher potential in the company.
Communication of the Vision: Communications results in outlining the roadmap
towards change and clarifies the queries of each employees through measurable and clearly
defined actions.
Significance of Listening: Implementation of newer technology mostly results in
defining newer job roles and responsibilities (Kawamura 2018). Thus, careful listening to the
problem area through intensive interviews defines the best possible way in handling and
understanding the issues.
Creation of the Focus Group: Strategic creation of the focus groups, not only helps in
understanding the change team but also helps in fostering new collaborative relationships

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Checking with the Suppliers: Periodically checking with suppliers on they manage the
new system after completion of implementation is important (Caniato et al. 2015). A well-
managed implementation of change represents an opportunity for transforming the suppliers into
the trusted partners.
Maintenance of the Momentum: Momentum is ensured by focusing on the continued
success. Thus, it is important for focusing well on every little things and communicating the
short-term win to teams.
Sustenance of Change: Necessary vigilance after the implementation of the newer
system helps in sustaining the change and the middle managers considered the key people in
overseeing such a change.
Responding to Changes in the Competitive Environment
Understanding the wants of the customers and reacting according to the needs faster than
the competitors can give a firm crucial advantage for existence in a tough market. To remain
competitive the primary focus of the business should be on the customers (Macchion et al. 2015).
It is also necessary for an apparel firm in understanding the strength and weakness of the
competitors and their reaction to the customer needs and changes taking place. The firm must
also make sure that the business complies with the relevant laws of competition. The fashion
industry faces various competitive challenges from the foreign and domestic apparel producers
that changes on a day-to-day basis. However, a firm can respond to the challenges by adopting
the following means (Blázquez 2014):
 By responding and anticipating to the changing demand of the consumers on a
timely basis

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 Through maintenance of the favorable recognition of the brand
 Through development of high quality, innovative products in terms of color, size
and style for appealing to the customers
 Ensuring appropriate pricing of the products
 By failing to maintain and anticipate the proper levels of inventory
 Ensure effective and strong support for marketing
 Creation of suitable value proposition for the retail customers
 Ensuring the availability of the product along with optimization of the
efficiencies of the supply chain with the retailers and the manufacturers along
with acquiring sufficient floor space for retail for the effective presentation of the
products at the retail stores
Presently, the apparel industry also faces competition from the internet-based competitors
dealing with accessories, apparels and home product thereby reducing their margins, prices and
sales.
Conclusions and Recommendations
To conclude it can be said that, Casuals Togs have faced substantial problems and ran
into losses but the adoption of the suggested measures in terms of management practice,
structural change and response to the changing competitive environment can help the company
in regaining its position
It is recommended that the firm can effectively function by addressing the problems
faced by the designers through the means of consultation. Thorough rounds of consultation helps
in understanding weaknesses and strengths and thereby initiate a program that can accustom

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them with the trends of the seasonal changes in the fashion industry. It should be a
communicative process managed carefully involving a more educational approach. For
overcoming the challenges and in functioning effectively the firm can also implement the role of
the technology. There should be awareness amongst the designers regarding the various social
media platforms, their usage, and their impact on the business benefits.

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organizations: The impact of an ethics program on employees’ perceptions and behaviors in a
regional council. Journal of business ethics, 112(1), pp.59-78.
Blázquez, M., 2014. Fashion shopping in multichannel retail: The role of technology in
enhancing the customer experience. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 18(4), pp.97-
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