Furnish Incorporated

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Communication networks, consistent patterns of communication within the organization (Griffin, 2008, p.439), of Furnish Incorporated will also remain the same; employees of one division will continue to manage all functions of a product line. The company will stay organized along product lines if a new form of communication is not found to understand clients’ needs. Furnish Incorporated will continue to conduct business in North America, Asia, and Europe with Theresa’s leadership. In addition, the same products will continue to be offered to all markets without alteration. The North American line is strong although customers in Asia and Europe demand modifications to the products. Theresa will continue with her duties as CEO without addressing Asian and European customers’ needs if a way to communicate to understand these desires is not determined.

Pros

Cons

- Additional money will not have to be spent by Furnish Incorporated.

- Theresa will remain as CEO.

- Furnish Incorporated will maintain its powerful presence in North American market.

- Time will not need to be allocated to modifying products.

- Furnish Incorporated can continue its use of a hierarchical system.

- Furnish Incorporated will continue to lose employees.

- The needs of Asian and European customers will not be met.

- Potential sales revenues will be lost.

- Interested customers will resort to buying from other producers.

- Furnish Incorporated’s reputation in the European and Asian markets will suffer.

- Frustration will continue among the Furnish Incorporated’s sales forces.

Analysis

If a way to understand through communication is not determined, Theresa will remain CEO of Furnished Incorporated and will not have to work towards allocating resources to implement a new communication model. In addition, Furnish Incorporated will not have to modify any product lines. Product lines will not be changed however clients are demanding modifications. If Theresa does not determine a way of communication that allows her to understand customers’ needs for different products, Furnish Incorporated will not be able to satisfy the clients. This is a no-cost alternative however Matt Moloney states “successful entrepreneurs must continually innovate solutions that their customers value” in order to keep their business (Moloney, 2012). Customers’ wants continually change and organizations must be able to accommodate these changes to gain the customers’ future business.

Organizations need to consider consumer behaviour, the reasoning behind customers’ purchases, influenced by psychological, personal, social, and cultural factors (Griffin, 2008, p.542). Furnish Incorporated has interested customers however these clients are being forced to buy from competitors who are meeting their needs. Theresa should consider how customers’ wants vary; for instance, the North American, Asian, and European cultures have different “ways of living” which will alter what customers want from their products (Griffin, 2008, p.542). If Theresa does not find a way to communicate to determine Asian and European customers’ needs, the product lines in these continents will continue to suffer; additional customers, sales revenues, and employees will be lost.

Customers will have to continue to purchase from other producers if Furnish Incorporated does not provide a product line that satisfies clients’ wants. The Asian and European lines will suffer; however Furnish Incorporated will maintain its powerful presence in the North American market as these clients’ needs are being satisfied. Despite the continued success in North America, Furnish Incorporated’s reputation will be negatively affected. Customers, especially in Asia and Europe, will stop coming to them for products as they know Furnish Incorporated products are not desirable. If Theresa does not determine how to communicate to understand clients’ wants, the company will continue to fail to meet customers’ needs. It will result in the loss of Furnish Incorporated’s reputation, employees, sales revenues, and customers.

Alternative 2 - Decentralization of the Organizational Structure

An organization with a decentralized structure is related to the “delegation of power in which decision making is not limited to a few top executives, but rather is spread amongst the organization” with managers at various levels making key operating decisions relating to their range of responsibility (Vitez, 2009). This will fade its current line of authority in the organization. Furnish Incorporated can become more effective in the methods of communicating needs and demands of customers if the hierarchy of power is decentralized. This alternative will allow the company to overcome its organizational barriers of communication. Organizational barriers can “interfere with communication between individuals or groups from two different organizations or between two entire organizations” (Griffin, 2010, p.447).

The basis of these barriers usually lies within the hierarchical structure of organizations. Furnish Incorporated has a complex structure where they have specialized functions and numerous levels of authority. This specialization creates a situation that is vulnerable to communication issues. For example, one person might come from marketing and the other from research and development. “The person in marketing might think nothing of exaggerating while the person from research and development always understates her points” (Griffin, 2010, p.447). Consequently, the marketer might see the research and development scientist as “unimaginative and boring, while the scientist might view the marketer as superficial and careless” (Griffin, 2010, p.447). In addition, the two parties might come from different levels in the organization. The differences between responsibility and level of authority could cause senior executives to expect an explanation of the broad impacts of a proposed project on the entire organization and a junior technical expert to focus on the detailed schedule of the project (Griffin,2010, p.447). Decentralizing the hierarchical structure at Furnish Incorporated will allow the company to have effective communication and to successfully deliver the needs