Black & Decker International's Global Expansion Strategy - Case Study Example

Black & Decker International Question Indeed, Black & Decker has been much successful in its bid to expand its operations across the world. The acquisition of the Emhart Corporation created a wave of opportunities for the organization in terms of harnessing new markets and gaining from the increased pool of employees. In any case, Grunewalds plan of creating a global business venture from this acquisition can certainly become a reality in the context of the emerging situations. It should also be remembered that the plan to expand operations following the acquisition of the Emhart Corporation brought with it a new set of challenges which had to be addressed before any positive results could be deduced. Therefore, it is imperative to note that Grunewalds plan was a positive move, considering that all organizations should always aspire to expand beyond borders. It only calls for proper and effective strategies in place in order to steer operations and realize the ultimate goals of the organization. Considering the turbulent nature of the operations in the organization, any future plans intended for the success of the organization are certainly welcome. In this regard, the acquisition ensures that operations move effectively in the expanded business. Considering that the acquisition brought eight brands into the business, the market base for Black & Decker has thereby grown extensively. It therefore means that the management has to institute measures that can enable the organization to maintain this market base without losing any clients to the competitors. Several factors certainly favor Grunewald in his decision to expand operations and establish a global venture. The lock business will enable the organization to diversify its operations and realize a wide operational base. In the same way, the globalization momentum offers a good ground for the expansion process as it will provide the basic framework for the expansion of operations (Gale, 2009). Black & Decker has a solid international base which will greatly help in building a global ground. The acquisition of Emhart creates the need for a complete restructuring of all the operations in order to facilitate progress. The door hardware industry was hitherto dominated by firms which relied on old traditions that separately emphasized security, systems and technology. In this case, the entry of Black & Decker into the market with a new set of operations will effectively enable it to win much of the market with products that are focused on the entire market segments. In order to succeed in any market, it is important to have a thorough grasp of all the operations of the market and be well acquainted with all the dimensions of competitors, customers and product needs (Laszlo & Laugel, 2000). Considering these imperatives, Black & Decker has been at the forefront in acquiring such information and will therefore effectively benefit from the knowledge. The most important aspect in this expansion is the fact that the establishment of global operations will increase the revenue base and the profit for the organization which will ultimately provide the impetus for further growth and expansion (Connor & Lake, 2002). Like any major global expansions, the global lock business will face a number of challenges in the process. One of the greatest concerns is the need for effective coordination of the acquired entities and their conformity to the state of affairs in the organization. Some of the key managers of the acquired entities could be lost in the process, and this can discredit the organization. In the same way, challenges will be realized in creating a simplified production design and in conducting effective marketing research. More importantly, a major challenge lies in overcoming the many regional differences that could hamper the operations of the business on a global scale. In the case of Emhart, each unit operated autonomously with separate manufacturing, marketing and support functions. Following its acquisition, it becomes very difficult to ensure the effective linking of all these separate units with the rest of the organization. In the same way, Emhart had its own set of expansion plans which never focused on such areas as the Middle East and Africa. Here, it is imperative to design an effective expansion plan to cover all the regions in the world and enhance operations; it is seen that Grunewald’s plan of creating a global lock business is certainly feasible and imperative. Several favors lie in the way to such expansion. In the same way, challenges certainly abound in the process. Question 2 The global expansion strategy has several implications for the organization. The major initial focus should be the integration of all the operations of the Emharts units into the organization in order to enhance the management process. The new organization structure will have to be redesigned in order to take account of the increased operations and the introduction of new units into the business. In any case, the existing structure of Black & Decker shows that much of the operations are basically classified into functions and geography. There should be a proper hierarchy within the organization in order to enhance management. The resulting organizational structure should have three main components. It should clearly outline the formal relationships between the managers and supervisors and provide a clear structure in terms of the number of hierarchies within the organization. In the same way, it should outline the levels of control within each of these separate units. In order to ensure operational efficiency, there should be a proper distribution of employees in all the departments of the organization. Departments with greater operations should be allocated more employees while those that require less human labour should not be overstaffed. The focus in this regard should be the realization of maximum output from each and every employee within the organization. Considering the importance of communication, there should be an effective communication and coordination procedure across all the departments of the organization. There should be clear options for both vertical and horizontal communication within the organization. The vertical flow of information is important, considering the many departments and units within the organization. It enhances departmental coordination and ensures easy management, and the importance of centralized decision making within the organization is very important. In the same way, horizontal communication is required in order to enhance coordination. The horizontal linkage enables managers to share ideas and information and hence achieve their goals within a short time. The action plan for implementation is therefore an effective organizational structure which has to be implemented within a specific time frame after the acquisition in order to enhance operations in the organization (Seijts, 2006). It is expected that this process will face a lot of challenges. However, all the provisions for such challenges should be addressed beforehand. In terms of organizational culture, the management should develop an effective culture that enhances loyalty, teamwork and conventions. The employees should be able to freely extend their obligation for the interest of the organization. Black & Decker follows an open systems approach which is effective in the increased scale of operations. The major focus here should be input and output in order to enhance the operations of the organization. Question 3 As an OD consultant, I would emphasize that the Lewin’s planned change model be followed effectively in order to realize positive change within the organization. This should focus of three phases of change which encompass the whole change process. The first stage is the actual awareness on the importance and need for change within the organization. This can be achieved by availing information on the desired characteristics within the organization and the actual characteristics realized on the ground (Floyd, 2002). In this case, everyone will realize the major discrepancies and hence the need for change within the organization. For instance, Emhart’s employees might display different behavior that is not within the expectations of Black & Decker. The second phase involves the testing of the new ways of operations in order to gauge their effectiveness within the organization. This exploration stage involves the shifting to new ways but on a testing basis. It does not in any way connote any finality in the change process. It facilitates the gradual change through shifting of behavior, attitudes and values while developing a new structure and manner of operations. Mr. Grunewald should therefore focus on this important stage in order to create an important structure for the organization. The third and final stage involves the application of the new operations in the organization if it has been evaluated and deemed to be effective. It ensures that the organization can realize the new dimensions and operations through the new attitudes, culture and structures. After all the changes have been effectively accomplished, the organization should be able to reach a new equilibrium level. The change process should therefore be divided into these stages in order to enhance the smooth implementation and success for the organization. In the same way, I would advise that the heads of the company should be retrained on the most effective approaches for managing the new organization and facilitating the changes required. In this regard, the new entities should still be headed by their old heads in order to enable the employees to cope effectively. It is only important to retrain these heads on the new approaches after the acquisition and the overall expectations of the organization. Marketing managers should be appointed for all the regions where the organization has not been in operation. Much focus should be placed in the emerging markets of Middle East and Asia. It would also be important to frequently undertake performance measurement in the different parts of the supply chain of the organization. Such measurements would be important in ensuring the continual success of the organization in addition to providing relevant information on the specific areas that require adjustments within the organization. References Connor, P. E., & Lake, L. K. (2002). Managing organizational change. New York: Praeger. Floyd, P. (2002). Organizational change. Oxford [England: Capstone Pub.. Gale, C. Black &Amp; Decker International: Globalization of the Architectural Hardware Line. Darden Case No. UVA-M-0375. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1419857 Laszlo, C., & Laugel, J. (2000). Large-scale organizational change an executives guide. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Seijts, G. H. (2006). Cases in organizational behavior. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Appendix The table above shows the growth in the revenue o the organization over the last 15 years and the subsequent increase in dividend to the shareholders. It is an indication of the continual growth of the organization over these years. Read More