Christina Gold Leading Change at Western Union - Case Study Example

Christina Gold Leading Change at Western Union Case Study Name Course Institution Professor Date Introduction The chief executive officer of western union; Christina Gold faced quite a wide range of challenges in regards to the opposition against her ideas of defining western union from a global placement perspective. Christina presented that the international western was not quite sufficient as far as meeting the clientele globally is concerned. This is in relation to the various diverse cultures that are in existence as well as the versed geographical regions. The understanding of Gold was that the different regions should be handled and treated in different manner and with a bit of uniqueness based on the culture and needs of people in the regions. In the year 2003 gold proposed for the division of the international western union into three. This formed the starting point of the implementation process of a new structure for the organization. The change proposed encompassed the idea that the three divisions were to be Asia –pacific, south- Asia and Americas; middle east, Africa, Europe (Western union, 2006). The issue was that each of the regions was to have their own head. Gold’s strategy was that the leader in each was in a better position to manage and address the cultural needs of the people in the different regions. This would aid the entire body of western union to have a better target and focus on its consumers based in different markets with different cultural orientations (Wolff and Joshua 2008). Basically changing the organizational structure of western union demonstrated quite a high degree of concerns that Gold had in regards to the global culture. One thing that Gold noticed was that in America leaders seemed to be quite unwilling as far as giving up their control over product lines is concerned. Regionally she had support from leaders in regards to her plan of decentralization. In the entire change proposal what she wished was that right leaders were in place to effect meeting the needs of different cultures if people in the most appropriate manner. There are certain major issues that arise in relation to the proposed change by gold. To begin with in the parent company the fear of revenue getting lost as well as the control of products is an arising matter especially in terms of the corporation of data. Gold faced opposition from her colleagues who in turn supported her strategic plan in relation the western union international. They showed different stands in other areas such as those regarding the responsibility of profits and losses as well as decentralization. Undoubtedly the idea of global expansion requires that trust be put in individuals who may as well have no idea or rather are not familiar with the principles governing the operations. Despite western union being in different countries globally the United States has not yet given up control of their marketing (Wolff and Joshua, 2008). This is due to the fact the people in the senior most position in the state have not fully embraced the idea of giving up fully control of America’s projects that have been managed for quite a long time. Western union company has both internal strengths and weaknesses. The strengths include; Unique products-Western union’s unique products make the company look different for its competitors. The unique product enables the company gain a competitive edge. Innovative culture-In western union there is an innovative culture that aids the company to enhance its production of commodities that are differentiated from it competitors and that are able to meet the needs of the customers. Customer loyalty-Customers for the company have indicated quite a high degree of loyalty. In this case the company aims at targeting customers and making sure that they retain them for their business to continue growing. Supply chain-A chain of supply aids western union in obtaining the required resources sourced from the suppliers and in turn delivering the products and services to the customers in the right time. Superior technology-Technology that is superior enables western union to be a better of meeting customer needs in a manner that the competitors cannot copy. Strong brand name-A strong brand for the company is quite a key strength. In this connection the company gets the ability of charging high prices for their goods and services due to the fact that customers usually place some added value in the company’s brand. On the other hand western union has some weaknesses which include; Cost structure-for the company having a structure that is weak implies that the company’s costs are bound to rise as compared to those of the competitors. Online presence-for the western union company a weak online presence may lead to quite some negative impacts for the company which includes the company losing opportunities. The online market is quite important in relation to displaying information as well as selling of commodities. Lack of scale-by the company lacking scale the implication is that there is a high cost per unit of its output. In this case increasing the volume of production and at the same time maintaining product quality would decrease the costs. For the western union company there are some opportunities and threats that exist within its external environment. The opportunities include; Innovation that is great with the ability of aiding the company to facilitate its production of goods that are unique as well as services and which are capable of meeting the needs of the customers. Existence of new markets enables the company to expand as well as increase their business including the diversification of products and services portfolio. New products have the ability of enabling the company to expand easily as well as have diversity in relation to meeting the needs of the customers and the creation of a customer base. The threats for the western union company include; Intense competition is a threat for the company which reduces the profits that the company gets normally. This is dude to the fact that competitors are able to entice customers as they come up with products that are superior that what the company offers. Existence of substitute products- the fact that there are substitute products the western union company is not able to increase the prices of its products since customers may easily switch to other products and services that are less expensive. Changes that may occur in the rules and regulations that govern the operations of companies that maybe initiated by the government may negatively impact on the company. Currencies that are quite volatile make it difficult for the western union company to make investments. This is due to the fact that revenue and costs change in a rapid manner. The western union company under the leadership of gold had its key strategy being changing focus on America’s product line to the regional focus which meant restructuring the organization. With the strategy in place western union’s structure in regards to operational activities, the channels of marketing and culture would have to undergo some changes. Additionally change management would be of great significance in governing the entire process. This is in line with meeting challenges that would come with the change as well as the resistance from individuals to the change (Wolff and Joshua, 2008). Basically having a global structure would mean crating a wider customer base thus increasing the company’s strength and level of competition. In addition the company being structured forms a regional point of view it would be able to focus majorly on consumers from the local environment thus ensuring that globally excellent services are given to customers. Following the setting of the strategy the company was bound to experience quite some challenges in regards to stage of implementation. Despite the need to produce products and services that meet the needs of customers globally the question of coming up with a global brand arose (Western union, 2006). In connection to this it was quite important for the company to know how it would ensure that all agents located in different regions of the world provided goods and services of similar standards. This was a major challenge. Recommendations There are quite a number of recommendations for the western union if it is achieves greater success and become sustainable in the future. To begin with the company would have to develop a system of change management that would not ensure that change is properly handled. In connection this company would better be served with a style for handling change regarded as diversity management. Diversity management basically implies to the process that ensures that there is maintenance of an environment in which all people feel welcomed, respected and valued. It would encompass the idea of ensuring that all people advance. In organization that are effectively and efficiently managed the staff feel that motivation, hard work and the necessary qualifications would enable for the increased advancement which in turn improve employee morale making them develop positive attitudes as they are provided for the opportunity of being creative. For the western union creation of such an atmosphere for the employees would mean increased growth as well as sustainability. The company would have to ensure that there are proper diversity programs in place. By proper diversity programs would mean that there is recognition of the law, procedures and rules of the entire process of implementing the strategy. There will also have to be a body for managing the change that would bear the responsibility of outlining both the expectations and requirements in relation to diversification. These approaches would not only make sure that support as well participation is obtained from all corners of the company but also ensure that all departments in the company meet the employee’s needs to the point. It would as well be quite important for the purpose of diversification to undergo establishment before the training starts. Training is another crucial aspect that would be of great significance before the company diversifies its workforce. This makes the transition process for the company easy in meeting the global strategy. Conclusion Western union being a global company for money transfer has in recent years gained increased reputation through the provision of convenient and fast ways for the people to both send and receive cash globally. The company through its leaders especially Christina has had great changes that have propelled both development and growth of the company to greater heights. It has been presented that Christina Gold’s strategy for change in the company was to make the global provider of goods and services to consumers meeting their needs at a point commensurate to their cultures. To meet the global goals gold started the process of restructuring the company expanding it to meet the standards of global operations. In this case it should be the desire of any given leader in a company to expand the company for the greater good of all the customers globally. References Western union. (2006). The Western Union Story. Englewood, Colorado: Western Union. Wolff, M. and Joshua D. (2008). “The Great Monopoly: Western Union and the American Telegraph”. Columbia University. Read More