Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy Mathe

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Skills

Because of the absence of widespread training and support, the majority of stuff lack the basic knowledge of the Brand Stewardship. Thus, when Beer tried to communicate the blueprint, the stuff can not receive it effectively.

Staff

There is a big crisis of confidence among employees. Many managers left Ogilvy Mather while the some of existing staff threw up their hands and said, "This place is falling apart."

When spreading the new Vision, a big issue also comes up: Only a minority of the population truly understands and embraces the Brand Stewardship concept. Some employees refuse to accept the concept since they regard it as "an indictment of what they have been doing". Some of them are lack interest and feel the new Vision wastes their time. They are busy in meeting deadline and think this new vision is useless for creating advertising.

Style

The style of the management of Ogilvy Mather is decentralization. The executives in local office have high level of autonomy while the Central Headquarters take charge of allocating the key capital and appointing local executives to ensure consistency. When it comes to working climate, the staff of Ogilvy Mather is "Grotesquely Polite". The communication is "very guarded" and little open disagreement among executives happens. Everyone tries to be nice and friendly.

I think "staff" should be changed first in terms of priority as well as practicality. First, clients view employees in Ogilvy Mather as "uninvolved, distant and reserved". Companies are represented by their employees. Beers should find the way to stimulate all staff especially those who keep in touch with clients to retrieve their confidence. Second, company’s image depends on how staff understand and implement the new Vision. Only through the staff’s supporting of shared values, Ogilvy Mather can build a value brand. Third, changing the employee’ attitude to Brand Stewardship will establish a solid foundation for the following steps. With the support from staff, the new shared values will be accepted; the improper structure and systems can be changed easier; the company’s style will be unconsciously influenced.