Case Study – Case Study: “I JUST CAN’T WORK WITH HER:” TEAM CONFLICT IN THE NORTHEAST SALES DIVISION’ (pp. 98 – 102)

1 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Case Study 1: Sarah’s Snacks

ORGD 6360 Leading Change

University of the Incarnate Word

Dr. Garza

Presented by: Student

11 September 2022

2 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

How well did Sarah’s Snacks fit Nadler and Tushman’s congruence model before it

began its organizational change?

Nadler and Tushman’s congruence model is a tool for leaders to evaluate how well an

organization is aligned with its core mission, vision, and values. The congruence model is

concerned with four fundamental elements of a given organization: the work, the people, the

culture, and the formal organizational structure (Deszca et al., 2019, p.71). The better aligned all

four of these elements are with the organizational strategy and external market pressures, the

more successful the organization is likely to be.

Before its organizational change, Sarah’s Snacks executed a few of these fundamental

elements well. The tasks and culture of the organization were in congruence with its vision of

providing healthy, organic, environmentally conscious snack options. However, the most

important thing leadership at Sarah’s Snacks got right was to have the self-awareness and

humility to admit that they needed to change and that they couldn’t do it alone. When a company

finds itself in a changing environment, it must also change how it diagnoses itself to properly

identify the need for change and realign itself more clearly with the four elements of the

congruence model to reach its goals (Deszca et al., 2019, p.76).

Sarah’s Snacks was also lacking in a few key fundamental areas of the congruence

model. The people were not integrated well across the full spectrum of the work due to

inefficiencies within the formal structure of the organization. With different functions being

responsible only for their modular contributions to the finished product, each department had

little need or desire to integrate well with their coworkers along the various stages of completion.

3 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Presumably a sense of “that’s not my job” was pervasive in this kind of environment and is a

challenging norm to overcome once it takes root.

Why have the changes at Sarah’s Snacks not produced the expected results?

The changes at Sarah’s Snacks have not produced the desired results because of an

incoherent change implementation strategy, which did not establish a firm foundation from

which to properly organize, train, and equip its staff. The policy changes at Sarah’s Snacks were

hastily executed without the requisite training or communication to ensure their success and

proper implementation. An unorganized rollout of the change implementation led to multiple

lines of effort confusing and frustrating the staff. Rolling out change processes before the

prerequisite process had been firmly put in place created confusion and a reluctance to commit to

the new changes.

Furthermore, change implementation was severely impeded by a lack of a formal training

plan to adequately prepare their employees to use the new IT system. This shortcoming, coupled

with the availability of the old, disjointed, and unstandardized system meant employees

predictably reverted to what they knew and used the old inefficient methods. Additionally,

employees were reticent to accept the proposed changes when they were still unclear about how

they would be evaluated since the old performance management system was still in place. This

uncertainty created a risk-averse mentality among employees trying to maintain some sense of

normalcy and predictability.

4 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Sarah’s Snack’s change efforts were significantly stunted due to its inability to develop

capabilities and competencies among its employees that were aligned with the change strategy

being implemented (Deszca et al., 2019, p. 76).

Ultimately, each of these seemingly small failures contributes to the broken trust between

the organization and its employees. Foremost among these failures were the short-notice layoffs

of longtime loyal employees, all while continuing to recruit outside hires.

Change requires trust between change agents and their recipients. Frequent and clear

communication of ground rules, values, customer focus, the forecast impact on employees, and

reiteration of continuing values and mission will help to relieve some anxiety and enable the

adoption of change more quickly. Addressing these key areas candidly with employees will

assure organizational members who feel they may have little to no control over these changes

that the organization is still fundamentally the same even if certain tasks are changing (Hindle,

2010).

What do you recommend Woodley do? Which of your recommendations can be

implemented in the short term, and which are longer-term solutions?

First, reassure her team that they were right in identifying the need for change despite

imperfect implementation. Secondly, as CEO, she should take ownership of the current state of

the company, not pass the blame to the consultant or employees reluctant to change, and admit to

any missteps over the last 18 months. This is foundational to establishing a sense of trust and a

safe organizational environment where employees won’t need to fear being assigned blame.

5 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Transparency between management intentions and the concerns of employees helps to

build trust and undermine rumors and suspicions that inevitably circulate; Trust makes the

change process much easier (Hindle, 2010). This can be done in the short term.

Next, establish an organizational training plan that will allow employees to build

competence and confidence with the new IT system. This is likely a medium-long term solution

when considering time to train and equip employees, but this is a vital pre-requisite and should

be begun as soon as possible.

Then, establish organizational metrics that will data capture what is working and what is

not working with the new change being implemented. Additionally, prioritize making a

transparent evaluation system to eliminate uncertainty and employee anxiety. Monitoring

progress during the transformation will help change leaders address what is working and what is

not, as well as acknowledge when change has been fully incorporated into the organizational

fabric (Deszca et al., 2019, p.54).

Finally, Woodley should continue to scan her internal and external environment for

indicators of future change requirements (Deszca et al., 2019, p.52).

How does the Change Path Model help you analyze what should have happened at

18 months and what should happen now?

The Change Path Model provides a practical framework that lays out a linear process for

change. This helps to organize in a change leader’s mind the order of events or processes that

should be implemented first to bridge the gap between the current and desired end state. (Deszca

et al., 2019, p. 56)

6 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Using the Change Path Model, I’ve assessed that what Sarah’s Snacks should’ve done 18

months ago is focused on establishing a shared vision for change among management and

employees and encouraging others to share their viewpoints on what they think needs to be

changed before implementing a strategy. Once aligned Sarah’s snacks management and

employees could’ve enacted an effective Mobilization period that would likely have been more

productive than their current predicament.

Sarah’s Snacks would’ve benefitted from engaging others at all levels and soliciting their

input regarding what needs to change and as a result enabling others to take ownership of the

change process. Leaders sometimes assume the need for change is obvious to everyone simply

because its obvious to them; this is rarely the case and requires proactive dialogue to encourage

participation in the change process (Deszca et al., 2019, p.52). This is due to the lag that often

exists between what change leaders know and what is known by others in other departments of

the organization, which requires multiple communication channels of engagement to convince

change recipients of the importance of the proposed change and to resist the temptation of

continuing to operate as they have in the past (Deszca et al., 2019, p.52).

Additionally, I think Sarah’s Snacks leadership team could make changes now that would

help to get the change process back on track. First, leadership should pause and perform a

current-state gap analysis of where they are and where they want to go—incorporating an honest

assessment of successes and failures of formal structures and processes, identifying cultural

dynamics that are resistant to change, assessing how the recipients of change view the progress,

and producing a shared vision between management and employees (Deszca et al., 2019, p. 53).

7 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

Once this gap assessment is complete, leadership should overcommunicate with its

employees taking ownership of any shortcomings and encouraging their participation in creating

the vision and processes necessary to achieve their now shared desired end state.

8 Running head: Sarah’s Snacks

References

Deszca, G., Ingols, C., & Cawsey, T. F. (2019). Organizational change: An action-oriented

toolkit (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://full-

bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781544351391

Hindle, K. (2010). 14: Implementing business change (2nd ed. ed.). BCS Learning &

Development Limited.

Running head: NETFLIX 1

Case Study Number One: Netflix

Organizational Change

University of the Incarnate Word

Dr. Garza

Presented by: Student

23 January 2022

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Case Study: Netflix

Netflix is a popular subscription-based streaming service with hubs and subscribers

across continents. However, Netflix is also a company that has successfully shifted its business

model over the years. This is evident when it went from DVD-based distribution to solely

streaming. As of 2019, Netflix faced several challenges, ranging from internal decisions to other

streaming competitors. Though environmental factors, internal drivers, competition, and

organizational culture all affected Netflix, it remains steadfast in its product delivery and

organizational values.

Environmental Factors

Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings because of a fine from Blockbuster, the original intent of

Netflix was a DVD rental service conducted by mail, fueled by the desire to be an “Amazon of

something” (Rodriguez, 2017). It soon evolved into a subscription-based service, with price

points dependent on DVDs rented per month. Eventually, just before 2010, streaming became a

popular modality of video consumption, and Netflix moved away from the DVD model to

become a streaming service. Each of these swerves in their business model highlights various

environmental factors, particularly in social, technological, and political realms (Palmer et al.,

2022, p. 42). Netflix’s shift from DVDs to streaming came when household internet became

more readily available, with faster connection speeds, the dawn of “Smart” technology, and

DVDs became increasingly obsolete. This rapid shift in technological factors presented an

opportunity for Netflix to shift its product delivery to its customer base.

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In addition to technology shifts, social and political factors have influenced Netflix

(Palmer et al., 2022, p. 42). As recently as 2020, the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act was

enacted to provide legal coverage to legitimate streaming companies or those that distribute

media online. This law helps target platforms that steal content to profit from it. The political

shifts in streaming regulation, global and national Internet regulation, and telecommunications

are all factors driving Netflix and its decisions. Additionally, socially, Netflix was utilized

during the initial lockdown phases of COVID as a popular refuge while also introducing social

viewing with friends, where groups could collaborate and watch Netflix shows together. The

social factors of need for connectivity during an isolating event drove this feature.

Finally, Netflix was affected by an extreme example of Environmental pressures from the

COVID-19 pandemic (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 67). Just as Netflix was shifting to focus more on

its production rather than restreaming shows it had gathered rights to, production was more

difficult due to public health concerns, shifting local and national government regulations and

lockdown mandates. This impacted the current internal driver of Netflix’s goals to develop its

own content, like similar competitors like Amazon Prime or Disney+. Collectively these factors

highlight disruption, or “critical foundations of industry structure – the economic fundamentals,

the power balance between buys and sellers, the role of assets, the types of competitors, even the

borders of industries- are rapidly shifting” (Palmer et al., 2022, p 67).

Internal Drivers

There are many internal factors that affect Netflix and its current state. Specifically, these

internal factors include new product and service delivery, accidents, scandals, and internal

organizational politics. At Netflix, an internal driver was their shift from DVD delivery to

streaming (Palmer et al., 2022, p 65). In addition to new delivery methods, Netflix also decided

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to create content – a new product – for its subscribers. Recent hits have included “You” and “The

Squid Game,” garnering international acclaim and buzz. However, there have also been some

shifts in the relocation of key offices and facilities, with production hubs in London, Marid, and

Toronto (Palmer et al., 2022, p 64).

Another internal driver unique to Netflix is its flat organizational structure. While pay is

above the standard and there is no dress code, the CEO of Netflix claims he makes fewer and fewer

decisions, focusing instead on empowering his employees, remnant of a coaching role while

encouraging shifting mindsets for employees to embrace and think about change. This unique

culture may provide a different decision-making process than a traditional hierarchical structure is

used to. With four hundred content employees worldwide, that can provide a challenge to ensure

each employee has the space to provide input and insight into a decision-making process. Without

a true “director” to drive intended change, it is difficult to management images as the text describes

applied (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 37). However, the flat organizational structure is a culture that has

attracted talent and “has a reputation among arts and viewers for its willingness to develop

specialist content” (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 93).

Competition

Several services can be called a competitor with regards to Netflix. Amazon Prime,

Disney+, Paramount, and even YouTube offer competition to the streaming market network.

While Netflix previously relied on popular content like The Office or Friends, once licensing

rights were no longer available, Netflix lost viewers of those beloved classics. However, one area

that Netflix has not focused on is divesting itself into anything but streaming entertainment.

Peacock is an NBC-owned company with studios in New York City and traditional television

providers. Disney has theme parks, an animation studio, and an entire empire of books,

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products, and even cruises. Amazon Prime encompasses basic books, music, and a variety of

other products. Netflix’s approach to competition is one of focus (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 93).

This allows control over internal drivers to forge steadily through a shift to more content

creation.

Specifically, Netflix has focused on diversifying its content creators to cast a wide net in

its content. Its target demographic is all demographics, to include international audiences and

films, exemplified by the recent wildly popular The Squid Game. While the case study does not

indicate a clear outcome to this approach, competitors have noticed and indicated that the focus

of the company is the key to the company. Marc Randolph noted, “Netflix always behaves like a

startup, which means it’s always willing to do what it has to do to make sure it meets customer

needs. This ability to forge change, respond to environmental factors, and tackle emergent and

internal change is a strength, with limited impact of various disruptions throughout its existence

as an entertainment company (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 74).

Organizational Culture

Because of its unique internal drivers, Netflix’s organizational culture is its key to

competitive advantage. “The way they do things around here” is what attracts creatives who

want artistic freedom to pursue meaningful projects that do not shy away from tough stories and

topics (Palmer et al., 2022, p. 154). While niceties like no dress code and unlimited vacation

time provide an autonomy that many cannot imagine, they may provide a lack of direction if the

intent is not carefully curated by the organizational leaders. Thus, like the Starbucks scenario,

slight changes to free up creative budgets and content creation opportunities may be ideal. As

the global market continues to evolve and popular culture transcends continents, continued

investment in K-Dramas, for example, and other diverse content from a range of ethnicities,

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races, and sexual orientations, in addition to international perspectives, will set the bar for

attracting talent and providing the customer with content they care about.

Netflix’s culture can certainly capitalize on diverse social, environmental factors, as they

are invested in creating content available for many niche markets rather than specific general

populations. While decision-making is decentralized, those making decisions are closer to the

customer on many levels therefore their empowerment has a profound influence on the

company’s outcomes. Collective, Netflix’s organizational culture does what it is supposed to do

– shapes a positive public image, influences effectiveness, provides a direction, and attracts,

retains, and motivates staff (Palmer et al., 2022, p 145). There is no need to change.

Conclusion

Despite a noted loss of subscribers in the United States in mid-2019, Netflix has taken

that feedback from those lost viewers to navigate environmental factors, internal drivers,

organizational culture, and various competitors to create a culture employees want to work in

and for, while devising creative solutions to provide viewers with what they most desire – a

variety of available content via the storied streaming service. While their methods may seem

unorthodox, Netflix has a strength in its focus and ability to constantly shift with each challenge

– whether it be product delivery, environmental factors, disruptive environments, or feedback

regarding content. Netflix adapts and overcomes, providing their customers with a service that is

constantly adjusting itself.

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References Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Buchanan, D. (2022). Managing organizational change: A multiple

perspectives approach (4th ed.). McGraw Hill.

Rodriguez, A. (2017). Netflix was founded 20 years ago today because Reed Hastings was late

returning a video. Retrieved January 23, 2022. https://qz.com/1062888/netflix-was-

founded-20-years-ago-today-because-reed-hastings-was-late-a-returning-video/