Strategic Audit for the Wallace Group

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common trend is that top leadership is the main problem; namely Harold Wallace.

4. Hiring policies currently prohibits the company from attracting quality candidates to fill the open positions. Because of this, groups have to share staff to resolve internal issues.

iii. Opportunities

1. Because of the company’s vertical structure, creating synergies between Electronics, Plastics, and Chemicals will be very easy.

2. The Wallace Group can diversify their portfolio to other businesses and markets.

3. Plastic and Chemical products can be purchased cheaper from other suppliers.

4. Increasing the starting pay for positions will attract a larger pool of candidates.

iv. Threats

1. The Wallace Group brand name and reputation could take a negative hit if bid requests continue to take long to answer or go unanswered altogether.

2. If the company continues to miss deadlines or push them back, customers will start to look elsewhere.

3. The Chemicals group had an unsatisfactory year and shows little upside without the support of additional capital.

VI. Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy

a. Strategic Alternatives

i. A corporate restructure is needed to stabilize the organization from the top-down. Reorganization is not always a bad thing, and in this case, it shows the employees that the organization wants to move to a more structured atmosphere with defined roles and responsibilities. Part of this process is to define the accountabilities of the recently created positions of the Vice Presidents of Finance, Secretarial/Legal, Marketing, and Industrial Relations.

ii. Another alternative is to hire an outside company specializing in management training. All managers would attend the yearly seminar with the agenda being vetted by the Human Resources Department. Training videos and documentation should be made available for any manager’s that are promoted or hired on throughout the year.

iii. With minimal profit in the Chemicals group combined with the higher than average cost for supplies, divesting this group could work in favor for the overall health of the organization.

b. Recommended Strategy

i. My first recommendation is to create a specific mission and vision for the company starting at the top. Input from all three groups is needed so that every part of the organization has a say into the future and eventual success of the company. From there, each group will create their own mission and vision that filters up to the overall mission and vision.

ii. The next step is to separate Harold Wallace from his role as President but keep him as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. This will allow for decisions to be made based on what are best for each group rather than what is less risky as well as give more control to the Vice Presidents of each group. The new CEO would run have each Vice President report to them and oversee the day-to-day objectives of each group.

iii. The Wallace Group should do away with the policy of purchasing parts internally. It is in the best interest of The Wallace Group to have each group be as profitable as they can be so if they are able to get a lower price from other suppliers for the same materials as they would from their sister groups.

iv. A new Sales Director should be hired with direct reports in each of the three groups that will concentrate on business development; primarily business outside the current market.

VII. Implementation

a. The Wallace Group needs to implement regularly schedule update sessions with each group sending a representative or two. I would suggest sending a management level employee as well as a non-manager so that all aspects of the group can provide insight. This also gives the employees a voice in decision making and strategic planning. The organization has to start rebuilding trust throughout, and open communication is the first step.

b. A new HRIS system should be developed that provides a higher efficiency in the hiring process. Recruiters should be in communication with the hiring manager’s throughout the process so that each party is on the same page.

c. The Human Resource Department should conduct a complete audit of every job title to ensure the responsibilities are accurate and relate to the current workload. Following the audit, a new pay scale should be established that is based on comparable job titles in the same industry.

VIII. Evaluation and Control

a. The Information Technology team should develop a Sharepoint site accessible by all three groups listing out the current projects worked on and the progress of each. This ties in to the open communication and breeds continuity throughout the organization.

b. A Quarterly newsletter should be created and sent out to all employees with updates on the health of the organization. This would be similar to the annual report sent out by Harold Wallace, but would focus on the current projects and highlight