BUSS150 Case Study Analysis: Leadership & Change at Lakeland Wonders

This case study analysis focuses on the challenges faced by the CEO of Lakeland Wonders in implementing her vision for the company's future, particularly concerning a major order and the resistance from the senior vice president and other managers towards outsourcing production to China. The report identifies the primary stakeholders, explores alternative solutions such as one-on-one sessions to foster understanding and collaboration, and recommends increasing communication to build trust and confidence among the management team. The suggested solution aims to create a positive environment where employees embrace change and contribute to the company's growth. The analysis emphasizes the importance of aligning employee thinking with organizational goals and leveraging employee opinions for successful decision-making. Desklib is a valuable resource for students seeking solved assignments and past papers.

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

1ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Executive Summary
This report is based on the analysis of the case study that is related to the issues that are faced
by the CEO of the company. The various challenges have been analysed and the stakeholders
have been decided. The recommendations are also provided based on the ways by which the
managers are able to understand the need for the change and participate in the same.

2ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Primary stakeholders......................................................................................................3
Challenges......................................................................................................................3
Alternatives....................................................................................................................4
Solution..........................................................................................................................5
Evaluation......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
Bibliography...................................................................................................................7

3ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Introduction
The case study is based on the issues that were being faced by the CEO of the
company named Lakeland Wonders in the process of executing the vision that she had held
for the future growth of the company. The CEO of Lakeland Wonders Cheryl Hailstorm was
facing major issues with the senior Vice President of the company Mark Dawson. The CEO
had some views and plans for the future operations of Lakeland Wonders in the industry
(McNulty 2002). The vice president of the company was quite ready to move fast with the
various thoughts and vision that the CEO had in her mind for the company. Therefore, Cheryl
decided to take on the issue and solve it for the purpose of the providing the customers of the
company with best products. The company has more than 5000 employees in the various
facilities and the other areas of its operations (Brewster 2017).
Primary stakeholders
The primary stakeholders in this case are mainly the CEO of the company, the vice
president of the organization and the various other top management based employees who
were a part of the entire decision making process. These executives are being considered as
the major stakeholders of the company as they are the main part of the decisions that will be
taken for the company. The decision that is taken by the will help in deciding the future
operations of the company in the industry (McNulty 2002).
Challenges
The major challenge that was being faced by Cheryl in this case was the
implementation of the plans and the vision that she had for the growth of the company. The
main point of discussion in this case is the order that has been received and the ways by
which it can be fulfilled easily. The deal was of high importance for the successful growth of

4ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
the company. The organization can also gain huge amounts of revenues from the market with
the help of the order that has been placed (Brewster, Chung and Sparrow 2016). The main
suggestion that was given by Cheryl in the meeting that was held with the team was related to
the outsourcing of the production based activities so that the company can reduce the costs
that are related to the production of the toys. The area which was selected for the outsourcing
activities was China (Shields et al. 2015). The main reason behind the choice of this country
is low cost labour that is available which can further help in the reduction of entire production
based process. The vice president of the company however rejected the proposal. The reason
that was given for the rejection of this proposal was also not acceptable for the processes of
the company (Albrecht et al. 2015). The process of offshore manufacturing was proposed by
the CEO which is a process used by many organizations in the current environment. The
ways by which Mark and some of the other employees rejected this proposal was not fruitful
for the future vision of the company (Kramar 2014). The CEO did not receive enough support
for the process that was being thought to be implemented. The lack of appropriate support
and collaboration from the employees was quite frustrating for the CEO who had huge plans
for the future of the company (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014). In the next meeting that was
held by the CEO the other managers came up with more issues that were based on the
operations of the organization according to the plans suggested by Cheryl. It was quite
evident from their behaviour that they were not at all ready to enter into an arrangement that
was different from their regular operations (Conway et al. 2016).
Alternatives
The alternatives that can suggested to the CEO is based on the ways by which she can
take one to one sessions with the managers and try to make them understand the process
which can help the company to gain a strong position in the market. The employees are a part
of the organization for many years and thereby Cheryl needs to deal with them in a patient

5ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
manner. The entire work process can be communicated to them along with the vision that the
CEO has for the future of the company (Guest 2017). The ways by which the implementation
of the plan can help in the development of the employees also needs to be communicated by
Cheryl to the managers and the other employees as well. The improved communication of the
employees and the CEO will thereby lead to increase in the cooperation and collaboration
with the managers. Cheryl will thereby be successful in creating a positive and dynamic
environment for the working of employees (Rees and Smith 2017).
Solution
The ultimate solution that can be implemented by Cheryl is based on the ways by
which the managers of the company can be taken into confidence by increasing the levels if
communication between them. The meetings with the employees needs to be held every week
so that they can made aware of the trends in business in the modern environment and the
ways by which this can affect the growth of the employees in the market.
Evaluation
The plan that has been suggested to the CEO can be implemented easily in the daily
organizational processes. The employees need to join the sessions with the CEO and they can
come to know about the benefits of the plan and the contract that has been received by the
company. The confidence of the employees in the decision is important for creating trusting
environment within the company. The employees who are being considered in this case are
the top level managers. The opinions of the managers in the organizational process is
important for the purpose of taking a unanimous decision. This will help in the reduction of
the hindrance that can occur in the production based process of the company.

6ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the organizations and the employees need
to change their thinking styles for the purpose of the implementation of changes in the
various areas. The CEO of Lakeland Wonders had huge visions for the company. However,
she was not able to convince the top level managers of the benefits of the plans that have
been made by her for the future of the company. This has caused hindrance in the
implementation of these plans. The CEO thereby needs to win the trust and the confidence of
the employees and further try to operate the decisions with the help of their valuable
opinions. This process will be helpful for the proper operations of the company and the
implementation of the changes in a successful manner. On the other hand, Cheryl is also quite
new to the company. She thereby needs to give time to herself and try to understand the
organizational processes. This will be helpful for the success of Cheryl in the process of
winning the trust of the employers in an effective manner. The CEO can thereby try to
understand the nature of the company and then further decide on the ways by which her
decisions can affect the organizational operations. The main duty of Chery as the CEO of the
company is to understand the employees and create a welcoming culture. This will be helpful
for CEO to create a position of the company in the industry. The vision that has been created
by the CEO for the company can be fulfilled with the help of the managers and the
employees.

7ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Bibliography
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee
engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An
integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1),
pp.7-35.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Conway, E., Fu, N., Monks, K., Alfes, K. and Bailey, C., 2016. Demands or resources? The
relationship between HR practices, employee engagement, and emotional exhaustion within a
hybrid model of employment relations. Human Resource Management, 55(5), pp.901-917.
Guest, D.E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), pp.22-38.
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic
human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.
Kramar, R., 2014. Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human
resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 25(8), pp.1069-1089.
McNulty, E., 2002. Welcome aboard (but don't change a thing). Harvard Business Review,
80(10), pp.32-5.

8ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY
Rees, G. and Smith, P. eds., 2017. Strategic human resource management: An international
perspective. Sage.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P.,
Johns, R., O'Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing Employee
Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press.