Maureen Frye at Quaker Steel and Alloy Corporation Essay Example

this situation, one potential option for Frye is to request that Israel issue a direct order to the entire department, ensuring compliance with her proposals. While this strategy may benefit from Israel's direct line authority over the sales representatives and ability to monitor implementation, it does not address concerns around soliciting feedback or the importance of influencing through persuasion rather than formal authority. Moreover, this approach does not address a key challenge faced by salespeople when dealing with large accounts - inconsistencies in service quality from the Technical Service team depending on the sales representative involved.Although Frye may notice a change in behavior, she may not see increased sales due to lack of commitment from the Technical Services Department. One possible solution is to implement Frye's proposal and adjust the compensation policy. This would involve a fixed salary and a large variable component determined by sales commission. However, this alternative requires a major shift in corporate culture, and its success is unlikely given the demotivation of sales representatives in Chicago and New York. Additionally, this solution does not address the issue of ensuring that the Sales and Technical Services Department work towards the same goals. Our preferred alternative involves: Frye gaining support from the VP for Technical Services through a meeting with Salk, Bethancourt, and Israel; Frye obtaining feedback on her proposals from the sales force through visits to regional offices and interviews with General Sales Managers, DSMs, and as many sales representatives as possible.The objective of Frye's meetings with the sales representative is to establish a collaborative relationship, which should be informal and friendly rather than formal. As meeting every sales representative is not

feasible, she should strategically select those who have the greatest influence on their co-workers. Frye must clearly explain the rationale behind her proposals and take into account any feedback provided. Feedback should not only be given at a specific point in time but also be continuous. The case reveals that there is one senior sales representative who has embraced the project and partially implemented it, and Frye should leverage this individual's credibility to serve as a liaison between her and the other sales representatives. She should emphasize that while monetary rewards may not be a top priority, the effort and time invested will ultimately result in higher sales revenue.Furthermore, it is important for Frye to emphasize that the interim period provides an opportunity for valuable cooperation with clients to identify their needs. In addition to receiving input from the sales force, Frye must establish credibility with them before implementing her proposal. This can be achieved by improving collaboration between the Technical Services Department and all sales representatives. By doing so, she can assist them in reaching their goals by providing guidance and credibility. As a result, VPs for Technical Support Service and Sales should send a memo to their subsidiaries that details Frye's proposals, explicitly stating that she should be granted all possible assistance in their implementation. The memo must highlight the company's strong philosophy of providing customers with the best technical service and aid available and demand that each DSM deliver a weekly progress report to ensure greater accountability. Lastly, gratitude should be expressed to staff for their excellent performance thus far. By considering the above points, Frye can address the issues identified when

answering the first question, namely a lack of empowerment and understanding of the sales division.To address the lack of empathy and failure to prosecute General Sales Managers, it is crucial to implement close monitoring to identify and correct any deviations in a timely manner. Frye should utilize the monitoring process to gather continuous feedback and evaluations, assessing the impact of sales behavior change on both sales and employee satisfaction. Frye must establish an ongoing, collaborative relationship with the sales force, ensuring that they view her as an accessible colleague working towards the same goals instead of a demanding taskmaster. It is essential for Frye to have a contingency plan in place, and if complaints arise between the Sales Department and Technical Services Department cooperation, she should escalate this to the VP in charge immediately, as well as Israel and Bethancourt. If Frye continues to encounter resistance from the Sales side, she should escalate it to Israel for prompt action. If Frye's proposals prove successful - increasing overall sales through a greater emphasis on larger accounts - we recommend establishing a more formal relationship between the Technical Services Department and the Sales Department when rolling out this scheme to other products.As part of the process, it is recommended to use a 360-degree feedback approach, where employees are compared to their peers. Frye must acknowledge that feedback is not an interpersonal process, but rather a self-initiated process in which one examines the impact of their actions on others. Therefore, after the implementation plan has been carried out, it would be useful for Frye to request 360-degree feedback from all stakeholders involved in the reallocation process and conduct

a comprehensive self-assessment to address areas of weakness.