Description

Joan Salmon is the 35-year-old daughter of Garret Salmon the owner of a medium-sized party invitation company “Invitations Inc.” Joan has recently received a degree from UMUC in Business Management and is anxious to take over her father’s company. She is a single mother, very attractive but a little retiring in her manner. She and her father have been planning her take over for several years ever since her ex-husband left the business after their divorce, an event that did not go unnoticed within the company. 

Joan has always worked in some capacity within the company but never in a serious leadership role. She is simply known as the “boss’ daughter”. Joan and her father have agreed that she will take over as CEO in the next two months. No one knows of this decision. Having taken BMGT 365 Joan realizes that she has her work cut out for her if she is to be a good company leader. The first thing she has to do is take stock of the company. This is what she sees. The company has netted 1.5 million in sales for the last two years with no growth rate. Costs have, however, increased by 3 percent. The company produces and sells a variety of invitation styles and price points but her most popular items seem to be either the “budget” invitations or the “high end” expensive paper products. Her salespeople have traditionally only sold to card stores or stationers. The company has never sought to sell directly to the customer. Joan would like to explore the online market for future growth potential. In addition to the new markets, Joan would like to revamp the company image and marketing plans. There is another issue that is on Joan’s business agenda. The company is located in Kent, Washington one of the largest lumber towns in the country. Being close to the paper source has saved money in the past for the company but now the pressure is on to seek “green” methods of production. A recent article in the Kent County Gazette challenged “Invitation Inc” to get in touch with their “green side”. The business side seems solid right now but her father has never really changed things since he started the business forty years ago. He has managed his way to success. Her father… Joan thought is another matter. What is his role going to be? He jokingly says that he wants to go into “semi-retirement” but never really says what that means. In fact Joan’s not really sure that he wants to retire. When she asks him what role he wants his reply is “I have just one request don’t make me a figurehead. I would rather retire completely. You choose the job or have me retire either way I will do what you want. It is your show now sweetheart. ” Garret Salmon is an extrovert through and through he always wants to be near the action and thrives on running the company. His open personality and hands-on style have made the business what it is now. Joan knows this but her role as the “I’ll do any job girl” growing up has made her privy to lots of company gossip. She has heard the new middle management staff of which there are three, two men and one woman, say he is nice but too controlling while others like the Vice President and CFO, men who have been with him for the last 25 years, have given up trying to think for themselves and just go with his flow. Where do I put my father? I need to establish myself and my style with these people. I want to make big changes and I have to get them on board. 

Yet, I don’t want to lose my father’s knowledge and enthusiasm. I don’t want to lose him altogether. Instructions: You are to create a leadership plan for Joan. It should address all facets of the leadership role; the leader as an individual, social architect, change agent, and relationship builder. The plan should reference the material and read covered in the course in a way that supports your arguments and recommendations. It is a formal paper and should not be written in the first person. No “I think”! Make sure your reference your text and reading material to support why you have chosen this element of your plan. I want to understand your plan and how you arrived at the elements of the plan. Required Formatting of Paper: This report should be double-spaced, 12-point font, and three to four pages in length excluding the title page and reference page. Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name. This paper is to be written in the third person. There should be no words in the paper such as “I and us.” Include references with at least one reference other than the textbook. Writing should be clear and concise. Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary. Use outside credible sources. Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.