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The Environment
The problems in this division were
many. Sales had shown only small increases for the two years prior to
the initiation of the project and the division was experiencing its
third vice president in six months. Vice President #1 in his position
for many years had taken on a new assignment and then his replacement
was transferred six months later to a new division. Adding to the
confusion was the fact that there was no National Sales Manager since
the prior one resigned shortly after the appointment of Vice President
#2. The sales force was demoralized, demotivated and wondering about
the future of the division. The situation was a corporate disaster
waiting to happen. In this case it was clear that if change was to
take place, management would have to take aggressive action.
The situation was tailor-made for the
new vice president, for he viewed the situation as a personal
challenge that could significantly affect his future if it could be
successfully addressed. Within this framework, the company and
Sterling Institute decided upon a demonstration project which included
the following steps.
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The implementation
of Sterling Institute's Management Practices Survey (MPS)
with the entire sales staff. The purpose was two-fold: to
pro-vide a baseline against which to measure change and to
pinpoint the areas requiring improvement. The survey was, in
fact, going to serve as a road map for the division.
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A divisional
meeting, chaired by the new Vice President to debrief the
MPS. To bring everyone on board and to communicate the
company's commitment to change, the vice president held two
meetings-one with the sales managers and the second at the
National Sales meeting with the entire sales staff.
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A report
detailing the above, submitted to the corporate office and to
the Divisional Vice President.
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A re-administration
of the MPS one year later to see what, if any, change had
taken place. The MPS was eventually administered on three
separate occasions over a two-year period. |
The changes wrought within the
two years are significant and warrant careful attention. The following
describes how the Management Practices Survey was used in this
situation to improve individual and team performance.
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Introduction
The
Environment
Management
Practices
Survey
The
Process
Follow-Up
Year
2 Data
Year
3 Data
Summary
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