Should Bison take a hands-on or hands-off approach to the business?

The paper entitled, ‘Leadership, Cultural And Performance Change At Meatpack’ is a case study of Meat Pack. This paper will try to so how Derek Bison, who is the founder and CEO of Meat Pack should take a more hands-on approach to his business. This paper will also try to probe how the change in leadership has been effective and suggest measures to influence more change in the future. This paper will also try to show how Meat Pack’s flatter structure has helped to create performance and cultural changes.

1. Derek Bison, who is the founder and CEO of Meat Pack should be taking a more hands-on approach to the business because unless he directly involves himself in the coaching of his team members, he will not know the strengths and weaknesses of his team members. Leaving the coaching to the senior strategy team, Derek Bison would be unaware of the weaknesses of his team members and thereby would not be able to address and mitigate them.

When Derek Bison used the Human Synergistics Circumplex to MeatPack, he found that the culture of the organization of MeatPack was red symbolizing ‘aggressive/defensive’ and he realized that he would have to convert it into blue symbolizing ‘constructive’ if his dream of achieving growth and progress of MeatPack were to be realized (Andrew  2017).  Aggressive/ Defensive style implies that people in his company, MeatPack, focuses on their own needs at the cost of the company which leads to adverse effects like turnover, inconsistent performance, anxiety and stress (Andrew 2017). If this problem needs to be rectified then Derek Bison should lead from the front and set an example on how to solve this problem, and he can only do so provided he takes a more hands-on approach to his business, rather than a hands-off approach. Blue symbolizes a constructive style which focuses on attaining goals of an organization through the development of people rather than personal goals. It also promotes teamwork and cohesiveness and improves an individual’s, a group’s and an organization’s effectiveness and their ability to adapt to a myriad range of situations that may arise at the workplace. Being the CEO of MeatPack, he can teach his employees about this, by setting an example and leading from the front for the benefit of the organization. For this, Derek Bison should adopt a hands-on approach to his business rather than a hands-off approach to his business.

The effectiveness of senior leadership change

Derek Bison should take a more hands-on approach towards his business by participating in the company wide leadership development program as that would enhance his leadership qualities and benefit his employees as well as his organization.

Since it is not clear as to which members are a part of the senior strategy team, the onus lies on Derek Bison, the founder of MeatPack to step in and drive away the confusion by hiring members in the team who would be permanent members of the senior strategy team. In order to do this, Derek Bison will have to adopt a more hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach towards his business.

In order to prevent senior leaders from leaving the organization, thus hampering the growth and progress of the organization, Derek Bison, being the CEO and founder of MeatPack, should adopt a hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach towards his business and step in. He should resolve issues so that all existing members are retained and no senior members leave the organization for this would only lead to a further loss of relationships with some of his valuable customers and suppliers.

Even though Derek Bison describes himself as not a big people person, he should continue to be the CEO and identify and address all the major issues faced by the organization.

Derek Bison should adopt a hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach and ensure that each department and each person is meeting and exceeding the deadlines and targets. In this way, the growth of the organization will flourish and excel.

Derek Bison should also adopt a more hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach and ensure that managers are changing their modes of communication. In the past, communication in the company entailed a lot of screaming and shouting and dominating aggressive behaviour. The focus was on making things happen rather than trying to understand the reason behind how things work and why certain matters were not working. The goal is to develop more empathy towards people and greater understanding of people.

Just as Derek Bison has asked his line managers to be a little more active in terms of recruiting people into the organization and oversee promotions, Derek Bison should also adopt a more hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach. Derek Bison should lead from the front and ensure that the people who are being hired by line managers into the organization are well qualified for their roles and the truly deserving people are getting incentives, rewards and promotions among other things. Since the drive in the organization has been to get individuals in the company to lead from the front rather than only manage Derek Bison should follow suit and adopt a more hands-on approach rather than a hands-off approach towards his business, and lead from the front thereby setting an example to other employees. Since this drive is taking place only in some areas, Derek Bison should set an example of leading from the front while interacting with the senior strategy team.

The impact of Meatpack’s flatter structure on cultural and performance change

Since Derek Bison’s plan is to ensure that supervisors and managers lead from the front and be more accountable in the organization, he should adopt a more hands-on approach and ensure that managers should be  provided with the opportunity to lead in the workplace.

Being the CEO and founder of the company ‘MeatPack’ it is the responsibility of Derek Bison to look after all his employees. Derek Bison should take a more hands-on approach towards his business and should ensure that the floor in the factory is not overtly cold and the work is not too demanding so that it does not take a toll on the health of the workers working in the factory.

2. The senior leadership change by Derek Bison has been effective. Derek Bison started working with a senior leadership development company in order to change the mindset and behaviour of the team members of his senior strategy team. Many employees of MeatPack said that they were getting a lot of exposure due to this endeavour started by Derek Bison. Derek Bison, inspired by a colleague and a friend has started to adapt the Human Synergistics Circumplex to MeatPack. This outlines twelve behaviours into three colours that is red symbolizing aggressive/defensive, green which symbolizes passive/defensive and blue which symbolizes constructive. (Johnson 2017).

Constructive styles encourage the achievement of goals of an organization through the development of individuals working in an organization. Constructive styles also promotes teamwork and cohesiveness, and enhances the effectiveness of individuals, groups and organizations. Aggressive or Defensive styles leads people to first focus on their own needs at the expense of other people working in an organization and lead to anxiety and stress, turnover and people performing inconsistently in an organization. Passive or Defensive styles lead people to bow down before an organization, stifle the process of initiation and creativity thereby allowing the organization to stagnate (Brown 2014). The Circumplex is extremely insightful and is a great tool for organizations who are striving towards excellence in performance in every level. Derek Bison realized that the organizational culture at MeatPack was red and it needed to be switched to blue if the growth plans that he had thought for his company were to materialize. Derek Bison further realized that his organization would need to alter its structure from a hierarchical organization to a more horizontal organization, with those working at the front shouldering a far greater responsibility and a sense of accountability for their performances (Brown 2014)

David Bison therefore introduced a plethora of changes to the human resource set-up of MeatPack. He introduced a leadership program for all the members of his company and a process of consultation that includes coaching consultation for individuals who were working in the senior strategy team of the organization. According to David Bison, these have positively influenced the members of the organization, especially the senior strategy team of the organization. The senior strategy team composing of the CEO, COO, CFO, sales and marketing head and the head who is in charge of the development of business has undergone a change (Johnson 2017).

Senior leadership can influence positive change in the future by adopting fluid and situational hierarchies. The rigid hierarchy system can be replaced by a fluid organization that focuses on greater levels of cooperation, communication and teamwork resulting in greater productivity. One can also foster change by valuing and  fostering communication skills throughout the organization. When the communication channels are open in an organization, information can travel between various departments more swiftly. Encouraging communication at the workplace is essential as it is a two way process wherein leaders convey and employees listen and vice versa. This leads employees to feel more comfortable and secure and they enjoy working in an organization. One should also be transparent in one’s dealing with people and while running an organization. This helps one to respond to the fast-changing business conditions because employees know where to find the support they need and where to find the resources they need to achieve their goals.

One should also encourage and motivate workers in an organizations in order to bring out their best. People working in an organization should be given incentives and rewarded with promotions when they meet their target or perform very well.

One should value and improvise. One should allow employees to be creative and improvise thereby bringing to the fore their creativity and also teach them to think on their feet as they solve problems and find solutions.

One should define the mission of one’s company. Defining the mission of one’s company helps one to get a clear idea of one’s goals and the means to achieving these goals.

One should also invest on workers since they are a big asset to one’s company and brings in benefits and high productivity.

One should also empower people working in an organization. When organizations allow employees the authority to take initiative in their jobs, they come up with new ideas that can make an organization more responsive and receptive to the needs of the customer and bring about a positive change.

3. Derek Bison felt that MeatPack would need to alter its structure from a hierarchical organization to a more horizontal organization, where the workers working at the front would have more responsibility and be more accountable for their performance. Since the past two years, MeatPack has integrated the various departments of the company such as business, finance, production, management and investment as a unit. The true purpose behind this is the need to be a lot more structured and efficient that each department meets as well as exceeds their targets, thereby improving and increasing the growth of the business. This system also aims to modify the behaviour of the managers and change the way they communicate with their juniors. In the past, dominating aggressive behaviour like shouting, quarrels and confrontation was prevalent. The central focus was to make things happen. Like any organization that focuses exclusively on results, this led to a culture wherein deadlines had to be met and targets had to be reached.

Influenced and inspired by all that he was taught at the Harvard Business School, Derek Bison was inspired to establish a flatter structure across the organization MeatPack, which empowers supervisors and managers to take on more responsibility and be accountable for one’s behaviour and work. For example he has requested his line managers to take on a more active role with regards to recruiting people and for performance appraisals. (Nayar 2015).

Ever since the cultural change program has been implemented, managers have started to lead their teams instead of managing them. Managers have been more approachable wherein they have sat down with their employees and talked about their problem and given the employees a patient hearing. Some important cultural changes have been taking place due to managers stepping back and reflecting on various issues concerning the team.

Derek Bison wants his employees to follow the ‘Rockefeller Habits’. The Rockfeller Habits created by Verne Harnish in 2002. , is based on the principles of leadership and management that have been applied to John D. Rockfeller (Clinton 2018).

The ten Rockfeller habits include that “the executive team is healthy and aligned,” (Clinton, 2018) wherein the members of a team understands each other’s differences, style, priorities among other things. The team meets recurrently on a weekly basis for brainstorming sessions. The team participates in the educational programs that are conducted. The team participates in healthy debates wherein all members are free to participate. Everybody is aligned and aware of the number one thing that needs to be achieved in order to move the company forward. There is open communication between team members and information flows through the different departments of the organization in an accurate manner and quickly (Clinton 2018). Every team has a meeting every week where everybody is given an opportunity to voice their concerns.  Every department of the establishment has one person who is accountable for ensuring that goals are properly met. Inputs from employees are collected to identify obstacles and opportunities. The feedback of the customer is as important as the financial data and reporting and analyzing customer feedback data is given utmost priority. To ensure that core values and purpose is alive in an organization. The core values of a company are discovered, the purpose is stated and the employees are aware of both values and purpose of the company. Employees of an organization can articulate the main components of the strategy of the company accurately. All members of an organization are able to report if they had a good day or week. The plans and  performance of the company are visible to all employees (Clinton 2018).

There has been no barrier to cultural change at MeatPack. Despite people coming from different cultural backgrounds and from different countries, there has rarely been cross-cultural clashes. Employees who have come from other organizations to work at MeatPack have said that MeatPack is more methodical, organized and collaborative in culture. Thus, cultural change has been welcomed and implemented at MeatPack.

Conclusion:

To conclude, one can say that Derek Bison, the CEO and founder of Meat Pack, should adopt a more hands-on approach to his business for it to be even more successful. Derek Bison’s idea of a flatter structure has helped create cultural and performance change and it has been welcomed and appreciated by his colleagues and there have been no barriers to the cultural change.

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