Jay Morgan received his MBA from University of Phoenix and is now the Vice President of Sales for VanTech Corporation. VanTech Corp. is a manufacturing representative for multiple business products, focusing primarily on residual household and business products such as cleaning supplies, chemical, tools and equipment. Morgan has just gotten a report on the past five years of quarterly sales data for the regions under his authority (Fig. 1). Not happy with the results, he got on the phone to his secretary. “Marsha, tell the regional managers I need to speak with them this afternoon. Everyone must attend.”
Marsha had been Morgan’s secretary for almost a decade. She knew by the tone of his voice that he meant business, so she contacted the regional managers about the impromptu meeting at 2pm. At 1:55pm, the regional managers filed into the conference room. The only time that they were called into a meeting together was when Morgan was unhappy. The anticipation of the meeting, and Morgan’s historic actions, created few smiles and no one was talking.
Morgan wasted no time. “I received the quarterly sales report. North East sales were fantastic! Terrie, you not only improved 17.6% in the fourth quarter, but you also increased sales a whopping 20.6% over last year. I don’t know how you do it.” Terrie smiled. Her philosophy to end the year with a bang by getting customers to stockpile units paid off again. Morgan had failed to notice that Terry’s first quarter sales were always sluggish.
Morgan continued. “Steve, South West sales were also superb! You showed an 11.7% increase in the fourth quarter and an 11.8% increase over last year.” Steve also smiled. He wasn’t sure how he did so well, but he sure wasn’t going to change anything.
“Jan, North West sales were up 17.2% in the fourth quarter, but down 8.2% from last year”, Morgan said. “You need to find out what you did previously to make your sales go through the roof. Even so, your performance in the fourth quarter was good.” Jan tried to hide his puzzlement. Although he had received a big order in November, it was the first big order he had received in a long time. Overall, he felt that sales for the Northwest were declining, but why dispute the good news from Morgan?
Morgan was now ready to deal with the “problem” regions. “Leslie, North Central sales were down 5.5% in the fourth quarter, but up 4.7% from last year. I don’t understand how your sales vary so much. Do you need more incentive?” Leslie looked down. She had been working very hard for the past five years and had acquired many new accounts. In fact, she had received a bonus for acquiring the most new business in 2009.
“Kim, Mid Atlantic sales were down 3.2% in the fourth quarter and down 2.6% from last year. I’m very disappointed in your performance. You were once my best sales representative. I had high expectations of you. Now, I can only hope that your first quarter results show some signs of life.” Kim felt her face get red. She knew that she had sold more units in 2010, than in 2009. “What does Morgan know anyway?”, she thought to herself. “He’s just an empty suit.”
Morgan turned to Dave, who felt a surge of adrenaline. “Dave, South Central sales were the worst of all!! Sales were down 19.7% in the fourth quarter and down 22.3% from last year. How can you explain this? Do you value your job? I want to see a dramatic improvement in this quarter’s results, or else!” Dave felt numb. This was a tough region, with a lot of competition. Sure, some accounts were lost over the years, but those lost were always replaced with new ones. How could he be doing so poorly?
You have been brought in as a consultant and have been asked to assist and advise Morgan, with respect to his dilemma. Using the problem solving tools discussed in class, show your analysis of the problem.
1. Complete an analysis of each region and comment on your findings. (100 pts)
2. What advice, or assistance, would you give to Morgan?, Why? Show how and why you arrived at your conclusions. (50 pts)
3. Is there a leadership issue? Explain your answer. Discuss, in detail, your conclusions. (50pts)
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