Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.
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Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: HARRISON-KEYES INC.
Implementation Plan and Defense
Angela Stevens
Strategic Implementation and Alignment – MBA/590
University of Phoenix
June 9, 2007
Professor Dr. Roberto Coto
Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.
Harrison-Keyes future depends on providing a high quality e-book to their consumers in order to remain in competitive in the publishing market. However, the company is lacking the strength needed in their strategic plan to make the sales of e-books possible. Their strategic plan needs to be focused more on actually getting the e-book out to the market as well as ensure that consumers receive the best product for their money. The problem is that the employees working on the project seem to have lost focus on the end goal of publishing the e-book. In order to get the e-book out to the market, many different little projects will eventually lead to the final project of the e-book. Additionally, these each project must have a clear idea of the final project. The scenario clearly illustrates that each project at Harrison-Keyes does not have a defined goal. “Strategy is implemented through projects. Every project should have a clear link to the organizations strategy” (Clifford & Larson. 2006).
An underperformance in some of their projects creates risk factors as well as negative results. Examples of the areas that are not performing efficiently are authors, vendor, diversity and employees. Harrison-Keyes failed to get the thoughts of the authors of the e-book before implementing the project. One of the companies most established authors, Will Harper, is one good example of an author that is not on board with the new e-book product. Will, like many other authors working for Harrison-Keyes is worried about their works being duplicated by customers which will lead to a reduction in their royalties. Pete Ross, production manager in charge of getting the e-book formatted is presenting a problem in the scenario. Pete did not properly plan for this project because he did not have a contingency plan in case Asia Digital did not work out with the e-book editing for some reason. Additionally, he is known for not having much tolerance when it comes to working with people from overseas although he has chosen an Indian company to work with. The last project area that needs to be re-vamped in order to perform at its maximum capability is the employees of Harrison-Ford. The employees were not made aware of the companies newest venture with the e-books. Many employees are in fear about their jobs due to the technology of the e-book. This could lead to employees seeking employment opportunities with competitors.
The first step that Harrison-Keyes needs to take is to evaluate each of the problems stated in the paragraph above and find out which of the problems has the most impact on their final project of the e-book. After assessing these projects, the project that has the most impact is in the area of vendors. With out someone to edit the e-book, Harrison-Keyes has no e-book to make available to customers.
Describe the Situation
Issue and Opportunity Identification
The most important issue in the scenario of Harrison-Keyes is Asia Digital, the vendor that Pete Ross has chosen for editing the e-book. The reason why this is the most important issue is because this project presents a few different problems for Pete Ross. One problem is that he can not communicate with Asia Digital effectively due to them being located in a different time zone than Harrison-Keyes. In effect, deadlines are not being met on time causing a delay in the production of the e-book. Another problem is that he did not have a back up vendor just in case Asia Digital does not work out. Pete did not put into perspective that when outsourcing to a company in another country there could be negative events that lead to the company not being able to produce the product promised. In Harrison-Keyes case, Asia Digital is located in a country that is located in an area prone to natural disasters. If Asia Digital is unable to fulfill their obligation to Pete, then he cannot get the e-book edited resulting in a lag time for final project.
Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas
The new project affects many different stakeholders of Harrison-Keyes. These stakeholders all have different perspective on the new project. Some examples of the company stakeholders are shareholders, customers, and authors. The shareholders see the new e-book project as a must for the company. The only way the company is going to remain profitable in the market is by increasing their technology and offering their products through the Internet in the form of an e-book. Many customers in todays society are busy with life and look for anyway to save time in their busy day. Harrison-Keyes must upgrade their products to fit in with the way of their customers. Offering their product in the form of an e-book is convenient for the consumer, not to mention a time saver. The sale of the e-book will help keep the companies existing customer base as well as well as provide means for the rest of the world to purchase their products via the Internet. Lastly, the authors do not completely agree with their works being sold over the Internet. Authors are under the impression that e-books sales carry the potential for piracy from consumers. As a result, their royalties will be affected negatively.
One author in particular, Will Harper, is furious about the new e-book. Will has challenged Meg McGill, CEO of Harrison-Keyes, stating that his contract has protection against publishing electronic materials. Therefore, exempting him from his works being published electronically. There is word on the streets that Will has been entertaining new options with other publishing companies. This creates a dilemma for Harrison-Keyes because Will has been with the company for a long time. He carries a lot of insider information regarding the company that any competitor would love to know. Consequently, if Will leaves Harrison-Keyes then he will take this information with him to a competitor, which will leave Harrison-Keyes vulnerable to the market.
Frame the “Right” Problem
Harrison-Keyes end goal is to publish the e-book on-line for sales to their customers. The company must do