Developmental Stages of a Company - Case Study Example

Leadership defines the company and its purported growth pattern, as leaders possess the power to make the needed strategic as well as operational decisions. The ascent to the power of a new leader in an organization either may define the growth or continual slack of the company.

At Ernst Benary, the current leadership has failed to take grasp the needed changes that will conform to the changing needs of the consumers. Though history defines the growth pattern of any organization and is an important factor in leadership and positioning, there needs to be a disintegration or shift from known ways of operations to cater to the developing market. Klaudia Benary on entering the marketing department realized the stagnation and the struggling position of the company. Family ties could be purported as determinants in decision-making within the company, taking into consideration the positions that Katrin Benary Thimm occupied, yet she did not have enough experience and education to play part in the management board. This can be defined as the beginning of the stagnation state. Failure by management to take effective and bold steps implies that the company also lacks a directional strategy. The Binary company began its failure by lacking strategizing leaders.

The current management system at Benary is taking steps towards ensuring the initial growth associated with the company exists. The current 10-year strategy plan in the increasingly concentrated industry means that this is an important growth strategy. As the assistant managing director puts it (Beyer et al, p.2), there is need to demonstrate capability to fulfill the growth strategy plan. Goal setting is an important strategy for growth but has to go hand in hand with the strategy implementation process that will define the steps toward the ultimate achievement of the organization's goal. Streamlining of the company’s resources with the strategy implementation  is another managerial tool whose adoption defines the growth pattern.

Any organization’s mission, vision, objectives, and steps taken towards achievement of these goals is also an important management tool for the growth strategy of the company. Ernst needs to have a well-defined company vision, mission, and objectives that will help in achievement of its goals.

The company was adversely affected by World War 1, where business relations were abruptly cut following the war. This emerges as a threat to the company and so does the emergence of new international competitors from the USA, Japan, and the Netherlands. The company was able to favorably build on its strengths that involved the breeding knowledge which helped introduced a new seed variety in the 1920s. Management is also defined by the ability to capitalize on its strengths as it tries to outdo the threats. More threats emerged after the country experienced a struggling economy and later the coming to power of the German Nazis also became  a threat. The company was headed by a family of Jewish origin. This stipulated challenges and threats to the organization which it was able to conquer. The managements capability to identify threats and weaknesses and devise strategies to overcome the weaknesses will define the growth of a particular company.

Motivation of employees, an important factor in any production and company dependent on employee output, also is affected by decisions of top managers. The incorporation of employees in decision-making and decentralization of power is a motivational factor that increases employee output.

The changing market and marketing needs is another challenge that managers face and the ability to conform to market requirements is an important managerial tool. Ernst  Benary is a mid-sized company that operates in a market dominated by large multinational corporations. Though its exports are received in over 110 countries, it still occupies a smaller market niche and the faltering state of the market has not been of help either. Therefore the need for extensive market research on the customer’s needs is important. Binary researches particular plants that can take up to 15 years before market introduction. This may seem like a long time for market preparation but the results will define success of the products. Therefore another important management tool is the ability to anticipate market trends and conform to consumers’ changing needs.

The best strategy that the company needs to take is that of prior market research and a long-term growth strategy pattern. This will give a directional growth pattern for the current generation of leaders and the next. The current business plan as the managing director has proposed is the first step, but so is the importance to align the capabilities to the plan’s strategy.