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FireArt, Inc.





Kimberly Herring
FireArt, Inc.
Case Study Assignment Retreat # 1















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FireArt, Inc.
Problem:
FireArts CEO, Jack Derry, realizes that there is a business need to form a team in the
organization to assist with designing a new strategic realignment plan. However the companys
managers are not accustomed to working in teams to accomplish goals, and this has a direct
impact on the success of the project.

Assumptions:
- FireArt has available funds to purchase the team building material and visual board
- There will be a group of 5-10 resources that could be used as part of the sustainability
initiative.
- Surveys were never performed at FireArt in the past
- Human Resources have role descriptions for each position
- FireArt executives will agree with the Balanced Scorecard approach
- There will be available resources to train participants who join the academy

The issues in this case are:
- Management decision making
- Interpersonal conflict
- Corporate cultural
- Teams in the work place
- Strategic planning


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FireArt, Inc.
Management decision making
Management principles and decision making at FireArt.inc appears to be that of a
hierarchy structure, in that management decisions are made at the top level and filtered down
throughout the organization. This is most evident in the case when Maureen Turner, manager of
the design division, mentions that FireArts top level management had been aware of her
proposal to increase the design staff, in order to boost the companys competitive advantage, by
introducing better designs and a wider variety. However, since FireArts top level management
is not accustomed to empowering its employees to help with strategic decision making, her ideas
were rejected. It is without a doubt that FireArt needs to reevaluate its management principles.
Managers like Maureen could in essence be the key for sustainability because of her design
expertise, which has contributed to FireArts success over the past 80 years and $86 million in
past revenues. Efficient transfer of knowledge, especially collective knowledge, is imperative
for a firms competitive advantage. (Zhao, 2012 P.14) The transfer of knowledge was
unfamiliar to the employees of FireArt, Inc, but was quickly deemed necessary for the
companys strategic realignment plan. When the CEO, Jack Derry, told Eric, strategy director,
that his task was to gather a team of managers from each division to develop a strategic
realignment plan he assumed that Maureen would be one of those managers who would resist
change. However, he later found that Maureens disposition along with others in the group had
been shaped by management decisions in the past. Carl Simmons, manager of distribution,
described as quiet and meticulous appeared to be very excited during the team meetings about
sharing his ideas, as if he had prepared to discuss them with top management before but never
had the opportunity. His suggestions were well thought out and logical, based on prior
experiences where his proposed strategy achieved positive results. It could be argued that Carls
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FireArt, Inc.
quiet nature is due solely to his personality, but it could also be due to feelings of insecurity and
not being empowered to speak freely. This mechanistic structure of management makes it very
difficult to instill collaboration and teams into the minds of employees, because freedom of
speech is not always accepted. According to Eva Selenko, it is supported that job insecurity is
directly linked to the individuals job performance, because insecurities lead to psychosomatic
strain which hinders employees from devoting enough energy to their jobs and as a result
performance is affected. (Selenko, 2013) On the surface, job performance does not appear to be
the underlying issue at FireArt. However, it is apparent that each member of the team is
apprehensive about voicing their ideas in a team atmosphere, and this will hinder the companys
ability to develop an effective strategic alignment plan.
Interpersonal conflict
Managing interpersonal relationships are crucial for any organization, especially for those
who are trying to implement teams in the workplace. There are some factors that top level
management must consider when forming teams, and that is to understand the team members
behavior type, relationships, tensions and social style. Many time organizations look to external
factors in the environment to help make strategic decisions, while most of the problems could
simply be resolved by reviewing internal relationships and how they affect business. In this case
it is clear that Jack Derry favored Randy over all other division managers in the organization.
Randys reputable experience prior to joining FireArt along with his likability, has made quite an
impression on FireArts CEO. Jack made several comments about Randys ability to perform
and get the job done. He also went far as stating that Randy was the future of FireArt. That being
said, Randy is hard working and bright, but clearly with some odd behavioral aspects in the way
he interacts with others. He can be very insightful and quick to absorb information and can be
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FireArt, Inc.
very directive and forthright particularly with the team. However he is clearly driven by a
strong personalized power motive hierarchy is everything. Randys disposition during each
meeting could easily be matched with the definition of a teachers pet, however in this case the
teacher is Jack Derry. Randy made several discouraging comments during the team meeting that
made everyone uncomfortable, because he believes that strategic issues are solved by individuals
and not teams. This belief could have easily been fostered though life experiences, but also could
be a result of constant praise from top level management. According to Tekleab, when team
members are similar to each other by agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability,
they tend to handle conflict at work better. (Tekleab, 2012) Appreciation or recognition of an
employees ability to deliver results is not a terrible thing in itself, however we can assume from
the case that this type of praise contributed to Randys arrogance. Not to mention the fact that he
alluded to his personal relationship with the CEO, in in efforts to ensure that everyone in the
group understood his place with Jack, and how influential he could potentially be with decision
making. If there are hierarchies of power and status, it is inevitable that many if not most
individuals will prefer to be nearer the top than the bottom of such hierarchies and will behave
accordingly. (Pfeffer, 2013 pg. 4) There is no doubt that Randys behavior disrupted the team
meetings and discourage participation, however there were breaking points in the meeting where
Eric, the facilitator could have interjected. Being a good leader or facilitator in a team
environment is part experience and part skill. Unskillfully or the absence of managed conflict
results in bickering, bruised feelings, wasted time, and unproductive rivalry. In contrast, when
disagreement is handled well, opportunities arise for learning, cooperative work, and creative
ideas.
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FireArt, Inc.

Corporate cultural
According to Abbas J. Ali, many companies over the years reshaped and reinvented their
industries by building a rich culture. This is because a well-grounded culture brings purpose to
the organization and boosts employee morale, which helps to achieve desired results .(Ali, 2011)
FireArts culture is one of a hierarchy structure such that its leaders in the past made strategic
decisions based on their intuition rather than consensus from other members of management. As
time evolved and the glass industry became very competitive Jack, CEO at FireArt, realized that
it is time to change the organizations method of decision making. However, since FireArts
culture remained the same for the last 80 years, its employees have merely accepted the
management style of their leaders. The cultural issues at FireArts are centered on its hierarchal
leadership style, primarily the absence of empowerment and uniformity of its managers. It is
naive to think that all managers think the same about strategic decisions. This style of leadership
has altered the managers faith in their leaders and vice versa. When Jack Derry suggested that
Randy Louderback, director of sales and marketing, be the go to person for ideas he unwittingly
overshot the ideas of all others in the team. Its is good thing that Eric Holt, the teams facilitator,
had prior knowledge of teams as a consultant and experience with unyielding clients. Had there
been another facilitator without prior experience working in teams, he or she would have buckle
or even quit as a result of Randys irrational behavior. Another aspect of FireArts culture is that
it is considered unfavorable when a strategic issue is identified and then brought to the attention
of top management for resolution. According to Maureen Turner, problems were overlooked in
the hope that they would go away on their own. She had suggested that FireArt invest in more
designers, not for her personal gain, but for the better of the organization. The team members
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FireArt, Inc.
actions suggest that prior initiatives were focused only on dealing with issues at hand, rather than
addressing the underlining cause of the issues. This could make up for more than half of the
reason why managers do not have faith in their leaders. It is coincidental that FireArts CEO has
only requested now that a team be formed, as a result of recent changes in the industry since it is
assumed to be affecting the companys profits. This reactive style of management has affected
the moral in the company over the years, because it produced repetitive initiatives with fallible
ideas that front line managers were not often apart of. During the meetings each manager
displayed characteristics that suggested that they were not happy with the companys decision
making process. Maureen Turner commented that FireArt does not care about its six designers;
Ray LaPierre showed signs of insecurity due to his lack of education, an assumption made by
executives, and Carl Simmons timid attitude suggests that he is fearful of discussing his feelings
or concerns with others in the company. The team element was missing from the six managers
because they were already divided due to the culture of the organization. All of the managers
were aware of this but was willing to give the team idea a shot, except Randy. He is the epitome
of FireArts culture and that may be why Jack Derry favored him so. However, according to
Golnaz Sadri, collaborating is the only way both parties will win and get what they want, and
avoidance of this will certainly result in a lose-lose outcome. (Sadri, 2013)
Teams in the work place
Teams are groups of two or more people who must coordinate their efforts in order to
accomplish a task. If one person can do a job, using a team is a waste of resources. We have
learnt over time that not everything needs to be fully joined up and collaborative. Some problems
only require some adjustments in the way we work, or a better alignment of our resources.
Genuinely collaborative efforts are more risky and require more effort and commitment; so they
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FireArt, Inc.
are best suited to the big ticket social change goals. (Mandell, 2012 pg 21) However in the case
of FireArt, Jack Derry understands that a team is now required in revamping the organizations
strategy, which one person alone cannot accomplish. Since Jack realizes that there is a business
need for a team to accomplish the goals of the company, he appointed Eric as director of strategy
in hopes that he could form a well-functioning team with FireArts management staff. However,
Jack was naive to the fact that FireArts managers were not accustomed to working in teams to
accomplish tasks. Eric was aware that the team members were unaccustomed to working
together towards a common goal and he had expected some resistance. However he did not
foresee the cultural and behavioral issues that came as a result of the companys management
structure. As a consultant in his previous life, Eric understood the challenges that came with
resistant clients, but he overlooked some key elements to forming an effective team. In my
experience as a consultant, I came to realize that the first part of forming an effective team is to
first identify its people and what the teams objectives are and the expected outcomes. Of course
conflict can be expected typically around how much time and energy should be allocated to
various tasks, because of different perceptions of the team goals. Much energy is wasted if
objectives are not understood and agreed to, and if priorities are not established. One reason why
the team approached failed at FireArt is because Eric neglected in the first meeting to gain
consensus and agreement on the outcomes and goals of the meetings. The second meeting should
not have occurred without a complete understanding of why the teams were being formed in the
beginning, and what were the expected outcomes. Randys attitude according to the team was
heartless, however from his comment, Brilliant ideas come from brilliant individuals.. suggest
that his experience of being alone and then building a business from scratch somehow shaped his
way of thinking. Randys way of thinking is neither good nor bad. According to Peter B.
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FireArt, Inc.
Angood, MD, many physicians have a tendency to work independently. This is both strength and
a potential weakness because this type of behavior can create misperceptions and barriers to
forming, leading or participating in successful teams. (Angood, 2014) Another key to forming
effective teams is to understand personality types of team members, to better prepare and get the
most out of the meetings. During the meetings at FireArt, Randy dominated the team with his
boastfulness and at times discouraging. However, his actions were consistent with that of an
extroverted personality profile and could have been managed accordingly to proceed with the
objectives of the meetings.
Strategic planning
The absence of dedicated and committed team members makes strategic initiatives very
difficult to implement. Human resistance to change is universal across all industries and
organizations. With Erics expertise in the consulting industry he should have identified and
neutralized these factors in the team and turned what appeared to be an obstacle into an asset. It
is indeed a very well established and understood that successful change management requires
welcoming arms and open minds. But nevertheless cynicism always exists therefore the best
practice then is to understand the various facets and components of change and accordingly
devise a strategy to accommodate it.(Pandey, 2012 pg 2). Sometimes individuals often need to
be aligned with the change efforts of the organization in order to buy into the change. This could
be done in several ways such as training and educating managers on teams, collaboration,
strategic planning concepts, costs and revenue enhancement to name a few. Jack took the first
step in the right direction by understanding the business need for a team; however the current
culture and strategy will continue to create barriers until he realizes that there are other activities
that need to occur prior and concurrently with organizing the team. Its clear that the business
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FireArt, Inc.
must re-align its priorities in order to be successful in the glass industry. However, its a waste of
time and resources to design and implement a new strategy without developing goals that can be
measured by the leaders of the organization. A good strategic plan entails understanding what the
business requirements are, and assigning the right resources to carry out the requirements. The
second step would be to measure the outcomes of the plan, and this appears to be a problem area
for FireArt. This is apparent in the case when Jack assumed that the change in the glass industry
is what was happening to the business profits. He simply based his decision to form a team on
his assumptions and not fact. Had the business managers used measurable performance
reporting, Jack could have made better decisions. FireArts leaders should be able to achieve
significant, real, sustainable results and measurable operating performance information. The
companys performance metrics could not only improve management performance, but also
energize attitudes, skills, behaviors and utilization. Performance based management ensures
adoption of new tools as well as attitudes of managers and employees in the company. (Fanlzo,
2012) In FireArt there is a lack of performance based management and Maureen confirmed this
with her statement FireArt do not care about its six artists. Rewarding employees for their
performance in the company is crucial for maintaining a positive morale and energized culture.







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FireArt, Inc.
Recommendations:
Immediate:
- Eric should schedule a meeting with Jack Derry and Randy together to discuss his
behavior in the meetings and help Randy understand the business need for forming the
team.
- Executive steering meetings need to be held with top level executives and team members.
This will allow the team members to share their ideas with the executives and vice versa.
- As the facilitator, Eric should lead the team through an exercise from one of the
bestselling books on the market for team building The 5 dysfunctions of a team by
Patrick Lencioni. This will help the team members understand the role they play in the
team.
- Purchase a team Visual Board to help with group think and idea generation. In the
consulting industry this visual board concept promotes collaboration and participation
from team members because the executive team can visit the board at any time to see
how much progress the team has made.
Short Term:
- Form a group of managers that will help sustain the results from the team initiative.
FireArts leadership style suggests that there were a lot of one-off initiatives during the
last 80 years. This has altered the managers perception of change in the organization.
- Conduct a comprehensive survey of the attitudes and behaviors of the managers and
supervisors. The strengths of the organization include the culture, its people, and
leadership. This must be leveraged to address weaknesses around direction, the need for
change, empowerment, structure, and human resources.
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FireArt, Inc.
- Define and set Key Performance Indicators to support Business Strategy and translate
Metrics throughout Company. This will promote awareness and give the managers
something to strive towards.
- Develop a hierarchical operations reporting system that will report on business
performance and get the right information to the proper level of your organization. This
will instil accountability and facilitate identification of problems, trends and actions
required, by supervision and management.
Long Term:
- Set-up a training academy, a school for future high potentials who need to be trained and
prepared for their future roles.
- Introduce and install the Balanced Scorecard and re-align the organization including
organization chart modifications with roles and responsibilities. This will help the
business by developing a common management message, a structure of accountability,
and management processes. This will allow senior management to effectively work
together as a larger operating team and executives can expand their comfortable scope of
responsibility.


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FireArt, Inc.





Dates Months Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16
Activity 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Governance of
the meetings
Meeting with
Jack Derry
5 dysfunctions of
a teamexercise
Design visual
board and install
Conduct behavior
survey
Define KPI's and
Develop
reporting system
Setup Learning
Academy
Install the
Balance Scorecard
FIREART.INC RECOMMENDATIONS
Meeting with Executives
Weekly team meetings
Discuss
Randy's
Behavior
Agree on Baseline
Install Measurement
Weekly performance and idea generation
Continuous Improvement
System Design
Install Quick wins
reporting System Design Continuous Improvement
Alignment Sessions
Follow Up & Coaching
Follow Up &
Coaching
Organizational re-alignment / Balance Scorecard approach
Continuous
Improvement
Session 1
Introduction
Define training needs
Session 2
Pre-Iaunch
Session 3 -
Launch
Session 4
Sustainability
Define Methodology & KPIs
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FireArt, Inc.
References:
1. Ali, A. J. (2011). Organizational Culture and the Rise of "Made Men. Advances in
Competitiveness Research, 19(1/2), 1-3.
2. Angood, P. B. (2014). Teams -- Pride and Passion. Physician Executive, 40(1), 4-6.
3. Fanlzo, P., Nascimento, A., Gaudart, C., Piney, C., Dujarier, M., & Germe, J. (2012).
Performance-based management and quality of work: an empirical assessment. Work,
413855-3860.
4. Keast, R., & Mandell, M. (2014). The collaborative push: moving beyond rhetoric and
gaining evidence. Journal Of Management & Governance, 18(1), 9-28.
doi:10.1007/s10997-012-9234-5
5. Pandey, M. (2012). Change Though Painful yet all Embrace: A Case Study. BVIMR
Management Edge, 5(1), 20-26.
6. Pfeffer, J. (2013). You're still the same: Why theories of power hold over time and across
contexts. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 27(4), 269-280.
doi:10.5465/amp.2013.0040
7. Sadri, G. (2013). Choosing conflict resolution by culture. Industrial Management, 55(5),
10-15.
8. Selenko, E., Mkikangas, A., Mauno, S., & Kinnunen, U. (2013). How does job
insecurity relate to self-reported job performance? Analyzing curvilinear associations in a
longitudinal sample. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 86(4), 522-
542. doi:10.1111/joop.12020
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FireArt, Inc.
9. Tekleab, A. G., & Quigley, N. R. (2014). Team deep-level diversity, relationship conflict,
and team members' affective reactions: A cross-level investigation. Journal of Business
Research, 67(3), 394-402. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.12.022
10. Zhao, Z., & Anand, J. (2013). Beyond boundary spanners: The 'collective bridge' as an
efficient interunit structure for transferring collective knowledge. Strategic Management
Journal, 34(13), 1513-1530. doi:10.1002/smj.2080