Systems Diagrams, Fixing Sales Processes & Analyzing Stall Points All in a Day’s Work

Systems Diagrams, Fixing Sales Processes & Analyzing Stall Points All in a Day’s Work!

Walden University

Systems Diagrams, Fixing Sales Processes & Analyzing Stall Points All in a Day’s Work!

Systems diagrams, sales process analysis and evaluating stall points as a resource for managers to operate on a day-to-day basis.  To acquire the skill set to move the mission forward requires a broad knowledge of the organization’s culture and abilities or in some cases their disabilities. As a leader it is vital to interact on a personal level with the entire organization.  For example some leaders sit behind their desk, crunch numbers and never really understand the operations side of the business.  To be effective and to move the organization forward you must be willing to learn, unlearn and relearn again and the only way to do this is by being in the thick of the business.  Try to avoid the cloud view!

Systems Diagrams

A great organization concept with poor leadership, Opportunity Consultants, INC., 2007 (OCI) is a student based pro-bono consulting services to local small businesses and nonprofits in Charlottesville, VA (Landel & Reynolds, 2007).  OCI was having many issues that faced the organization on many levels:

1. Unstable and unpredictable response rate in relation to external and internal customer needs.
2. More project requests however not quality projects for example a request is made to assist someone for their individual project however the outcome will not have an effect on the program or community.
3. Angry customers & Dis-engaged students, customer are not getting the communication needed to foster a positive relationship with the students due to the fact that the students are really not engaged in the program because of no benefit and most importantly no leadership.
4. Insufficient leadership for oversight and mentorship, leadership is disengaged with day-to-day operations and has a cloud view of what is happening.  Student has the need to be mentored in order to learn, unlearn and relearn the processes for delivering a quality project to the customer.
5. No defined expectations, Lack of organized training & No organizational policies and procedures.  Ultimately it is a free for all and this cause and effect is disastrous.

All of the above issues were inhibiting the success of OCI and damaging its relationship with the communities it served.  

So, what is the next step and how are they going to get to the root cause?  Five-why style of effect-cause-effect tree analysis will help get to the root of the situation and hopefully understand the process for the cause.

What does five-why style of effect-cause-effect mean?  It is a simple but powerful tool to use with any problem solving activity to help you get past the symptoms of a problem and to find its root (Happy Manager, 2015). The process of asking “why” up to five times to peel away the layers that envelope any problem (Happy Manager, 2015).  

1. Why is there an unstable and unpredictable response rate?
2. Why are more project requests coming in that are of poor quality?
3. Why are customers angry and students dis-engaged?
4. Why is the leadership insufficient in their ability to provide mentorship and leadership?
5. Why are there no defined expectations, no formal training and no policies?

All of these questions lead to the next stage of why and the next and so on etc…

What is the next step for OCI and how can they overcome these issues?  OCI was able to learn from the process of the 5 why effect-cause-effect analysis to understand what the extent of the current cycle needs to be broken in order to be set on the right path for a sustainable future (Landel & Reynolds, 2007).

Problem solving and using the 5 step why process can only assist in getting to the root cause of the problem an organization is experiencing. The simplicity of using a systems thinking tool can only assist in moving toward the right direction. Action straight away without fully considering whether the reason identified really is the cause of the problem can and will result in failure.  (Happy Manager, 2015).  

Systems Diagram Figure 1

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Fixing Sales Processes

Baria Planning Solutions, Inc. (BPS) a publicly traded firm with $95 million in annual sales, helped its customers reduce procurement costs and improve the performance of their suppliers which was done through a combination of software, data analysis, project management and consulting (Wheelwright & Schmidt, 2011). BPS was rapidly growing acquiring a government sector, nonprofit organization sector, manufacturing and retail sector. The company let the acquired firms continue to operate semi-autonomously while integrating parts of each operation where synergies could be achieved (Wheelwright & Schmidt, 2011).

Christy Connor, a newly hired director of North American Sales Support was in for an uphill battle due to the fact that her team had lack luster performance and was missing very important deadlines to re-sign contracts. An email from her boss indicated the following: I realize that you have inherited a bit of a mess, but it is critical that you get your arms around the situation and resolve it quickly. We appear to be digging ourselves deeper into a hole with every passing week (Wheelwright & Schmidt, 2011). With this non supportive email from her boss Christy had to do something quickly in order to change the morale of the staff and the relationships with outside vendors.

Five Cause analyses:

1. Reorganization: sales people and sales support group
2. Perceived negative perception
3. Collaboration amongst internal and external customers
4. Fragmented roles and responsibilities
5. Implement new software to track contracts and account for deliverables

Actions such as reorganization of the sales people and sales support group to foster a collaborative relationship amongst each group. One way to achieve this could be achieved would be to assign teams of mixed groups to certain divisions. For example, sales people paired with sales support group members to work in the retail sector.
         Changing the perceived negative perception of the group by increasing morale, provide mentorship and new training processes that incorporate a unified global company representation.

          Collaboration amongst internal and external customers will enhance relationships and improve timely deliverables.

There are too many fragmented roles and responsibilities. Discovery of who, what, when and how the team functions and will the establishment of accountability for their individual actions.

Enhancements of new novel up-to-date software to track when contracts are due in a timely manner to secure the funding and increase contract adherence. Incorporating the use of a Gantt chart will also improve that deliverables are met.

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All of these recommendations can lead to a successful increase in revenue, establishment of relationships and increase employee morale.

Analyzing Stall Points

Bayonne Packaging, Inc. a printer and paper converter company that for the first time in 40 years saw a drastic decline in it financial performance and product quality (Shapiro & Morrison, 2012). Problems arise from the following:

1. Leadership inability to be realistic
2. Sales Team unattainable goals
3. Customers un happy and go to competition
4. Operations and quality no standard operating procedures
5. Business sustainability reported loss in revenue

All of the issues that Bayonne packing is experiencing have happened across the globe for several years. They are not the first company to experience a systems breakdown and nor will they be the last.