Chattanooga Case Analysis

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The case screams that changes will have to be made. With the loss of one of their third largest will spell major negative financial implications for the company. The article states that the decision is final and the customer Stay & Shop will be gone. They do have a slim chance to make changes in hopes to maybe have the customer stay. During this window significant changes will have to be made to offset the losses. These changes would need to come from all areas of the division including but not limited to product, the manufacturing process, marketing etc. will have to be discovered as well to make sure not more bigger clients leave. In the readings the company offers a significant smaller assortment of ice-cream and is not participating in the trend in mixed-in ice-cream, sorbets, yoghurt ice-cream etc. To be competitive they should seriously considering these options. The executive team have offered several ideas, which are worthy of further discussion.

Numerous ideas are given by several subordinates. One of the proposals is to replace the volume which was lost from Stay & Shop. While on the surface this may seem like a good solution further analysis suggest that this idea will not work due to it not being a long term sustainable solution which in the future may arise since it does not answer the question why the customer Stay & Shop left.

The other idea was to reduce cut expenses with the same amount than the lost profit. Again this is a short term solution that could look well on the balance sheet temporarily. It however, does not solve the problem for long term sustainable growth. This doesn’t differentiate the company from its competitors and give the customers a reason to stay or even start a new relationship with the company. The issue still remains that the competitors offer a bigger variety and the Chattanooga Ice Cream company does not.

Stop the Bleeding

I believe in order to solve this problem the company needs to focus on “growth”. Therefore, they should invest heavily in expanding the assortment, offer mixed-in ice-cream and increase the sales and marketing program significantly. The case points out that the market changed over the last few decades with a big increase in demand for more exotic ice-cream, mixed-in ice- cream etc. Chattanooga Ice Cream clearly didn’t watch market trends or keep up with what the customers were asking for. They just kept things status quo and allowed the previous leader to make them irrelevant all along thinking they would remain a market leader in this sector.

Now the company is forced to make big investments in order to become competitive again. By increasing the assortment of ice-cream, by also offering mixed-in ice-cream and investigate further the formula of the non-fat ice-cream in hopes to regain market share. The landscape has shifted and the industry shows a big movement to the more exotic and flavorful ice-creams. If they want to remain viable they should shift focus and embrace this change to save the division.

Changing the mindset of Staff

In conclusion I would recommend that Mr. Moore implement regular team meetings, maybe twice a week from the onsite and then as things improve going to every other week. In order to build trust, respect, teamwork, and collaboration it starts with team building on a regular basis, not just during reactive situations. I believe he has to set the standard and be the standard by setting concrete expectations that, going forward, the atmosphere of all team meetings will be one of professional courtesy and respect. There will be zero tolerance for unprofessional attitudes, conjuncture or snide comments.

In all team meetings, it should be the responsibility the leader to give each team member an opportunity to alternate on who facilitates the meetings. This can be accomplished by setting up a rotating schedule and allowing each member to play the role of leader. By doing this, in my experience team members will start to develop an emotional attachment and barriers of effective communication will continue to break down. I have in the past held meetings where I given each member the “floor” at the end of each meeting to comment on anything discussed, be open and candid by the business good or bad or bring new ideas that haven’t been discussed. I have found this fosters a willingness of each individual to feel a since of pride and ownership and that their opinions and voices are not just listened to but also heard.

References

Sloane, C. (2003). The Chattanooga Ice Cream Division. Harvard Business Review

Welch, J (2005). Winning, NY: HarperCollins

Wiley. Everything Disc Management: Assessment to Action. [Measurement instrument.] Retrieved from The Jack Welch Management Institute Blackboard with Strayer University.

Lencione, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. CA: Jossey-Bass

Mehta, B. (2013, April 01). Engagement: what’s missing? Training Journal, 56 Retrieved from the Strayer Online Library

Perron, C., Blauth, C. (2010, July 01). The Basic Principles: Building Blocks of Trust.

Catalyst, The. (2), 10 Retrieved from the Strayer Online Library