¶ … businesses strive to be successful in the markets and industries, it is the level of efficiency of the top management in the corporation that normally determines whether the business is able to achieve its mission and objectives. Most of the objectives and values set by a company encompass conceptions covering quality products and services, invention, togetherness of the team and a level of management that is effective. Nonetheless, an aspect of change from these set goals and values as well as practices can cause a disconnect in a number of these areas and departments which in turn can instigate conflict, communication issues and problems within the organization. This paper will discuss the case of Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer, Inc. where a sudden and unanticipated change within the organization brought about conflict and caused communication barriers within the company. Question 1

The interaction and management of the recipients of change is an important aspect and can be done using different models, processes, and techniques. For instance, to start with, there are four stages of change for the recipients of change and these include shock, defense retreat, acknowledgement and finally adaptation and change. There are strategies not only for the individuals but for the management as well that can be employed for coping with change. These are accepting and embracing the feeling as natural, managing the level of stress and exercising their level of responsibility. On the other hand, some of the strategies for managers include providing first aid, creating capability for change and rethinking resistance.

It is imperative to understand the reason why more and more companies continue to change their structure and organizational system from a vertical integration to horizontal integration. The objective is to avoid or decrease vertical structures in the sense of ranking individual and departments and also to avoid economic slowdowns. Another reason is to ensure that there is no impediment to upward mobility. The companies also seek to develop professionals who are generalists and can operate in any department or division rather than having functional specialists who operate and function in one specific department. The advice given to managers who hail from different backgrounds is that first of all, they ought to appreciate and be aware of their own capabilities and competencies. This is to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses. They are also required to engage with professional associations and stay in touch and have frequent communication with one another. With the advancements in technology and with businesses embracing these changes, managers should ensure that they are computer literate and not become obsolete as times change. International experience and exposure is also another advice given and becoming proficient in another language is always an added advantage to managers as it widens their scope of capabilities.

An important aspect is communication in management and also proper management in order to have good communication. For instance, in the case of Dubinsky, there was lack of proper communication from the management. It is emphasized to have face-to-face communication- an open two way form of communication. This makes it easy to make both parties to understand the influences of the changes the organization is going through and how to manage it effectively. Both management and employees ought to devise a positive, proactive way of dealing with bad news that may lead to any communication breakdown or any kind of conflict within the organization (Powerpoint Slides).

Question 2: Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer (A) case

a) Why was Dubinsky initially so successful at Apple?

There are a number of reasons as to why Dubinsky was successful initially and advanced in her first four years at Apple.

i. Her division delivered proper results

The sales division delivered strong and outstanding results and Donna Dubinsky was perceived to be a string contributor to these results. In particular, her group had a strong performance on key metrics that included facilitating fresh product launches professionally-devoid of any delay, satisfaction of the dealers, and scaling up business operations as Apple grew and developed. In addition, Dubinsky's group did not receive any kind of issue with other divisions concerning costs or any complaints from the dealer/consumer regarding availability of inventories. Further, the group showed a string performance on logistics.

ii. She had a strong individual performance

Dubinsky's performance as an individual was very good. Her superiors described her in a positive and constructive...

The author mentions that Dubinsky is talented with a practical intelligence that can transform imprecise directions from products and advertising into executable delivery approaches. In the case study, seniors as well as team members compliment Dubinsky for her commanding and forceful presence. She employs this attribute to convince colleagues that she has the power and authority to act on matter in spite of her lack of formal authority to ensure the job and task is done. In addition, Donna Dubinsky maintains a good and positive relationship with the dealers and is aware of their needs. This in fact goes hand in hand with the first core value of Apple, which is consumer empathy. In general, Dubinsky is regarded as an outstanding individual and a good team player, too.
iii. The environment at Apple facilitated rapid advancement

Another aspect that brought Dubinsky such success is the conducive environment at Apple. At the time, Apple was a young and growing company that barely had any formalities and more often than not experienced restructuring and reorganization. The company could not rear on or steer itself ahead easily through its procedures. Rather, the company depended on individual professionals who were talented and skilled such as Dubinsky to take initiative and undertake actions. The fast growth rate of Apple, its slack organizational structure and organizational culture enabled Dubinsky to make decisions that were beyond her level and status. This in turn showed her capability to act and perform at higher levels of accountability.

iv. Assistance from her boss

Another aspect that can be tied to Donna's success at Apple is at the time she got assistance from her boss. For any kind of position, support from your superiors is a constructive aspect as it gears one to work much harder and better without any negative remarks.

b) Why did she respond the way she did to the JIT proposal? (Put yourself in her situation, intellectually and emotionally)

Dubinsky could not possibly get herself to comprehend the reason as to why the discussion of the JIT proposal was being considered, that too, without her express involvement. This is because Donna did not perceive or detect any issues or problems in the prevailing distribution division and considered it to be a cost saving and diversionary measure by Steve Jobs since the Mackintosh Division had a below par performance. In addition, Dubinsky could not understand why the "authority" had been taken from her and handed on to the taskforce. In turn, she considered it to be a personal, direct assault on her employment and position as she states in the case study, "I didn't know why there should be a taskforce at all. Distribution's our job." From her own perspective, everything was going very well and therefore there was no issue to solve.

c) What do you think she should have done differently? Be specific.

The response by Donna Dubinsky to the JIT proposal was not her usual collected and confident way. Donna took it personally and became defensive about her position on the issue. She had largely criticized and responded to the proposal by Coleman but not at any time had she gone any further. One aspect that should have been done differently by Donna is that she needed to have given a rebuttal to the proposal by placing the facts and figures along with communicating the fact clearly about her perceived notion that caused Steve Jobs to opt for the radical step. In its place, Dubinsky could never place a proposal on her own that was extensive and thorough enough to offer alternative solutions to Apple. She stuck to her stand obstinately instead of convincing the management of the merits of her deliberations; she had adopted a line of confrontation and rebuttal. In the course of the taskforce meeting, she failed to provide any kind of alternative solutions. Donna's perception of the JIT proposal as a personal attack made her fail to understand that she could have been of assistance in bringing about and effective positive change to Apple by noting that at times one needs to enhance procedures and practices even when they are going on just fine. In the instance, Dubinsky ought to have focused on setting up and proposing a new distribution plan. It was quite clear that Apple needed to reduce the cost incurred in distribution by instituting a new structure or system. However, Donna failed to propose any changes or alterations. She could have given a proposal of making use of the JIT system for a number of products of the company and the prevailing distribution system for products that are not suited for the JIT system. As a result, this could have decreased…