Question

In 2014, Heidi Ganahl sold Camp Bow Wow to VCA Animal Hospitals, a leading animal healthcare provider. VCA Animal Hospitals was, in turn, purchased by Mars, Inc. The candy maker has a large pet-care business, which is why it was interested in acquiring VCA Animal Hospitals. Now Heidi, who stayed on as CEO of Camp Bow Wow, needs to make sure her franchise owners successfully change their organizations to match the culture of Mars, Inc. Which of the following actions should Heidi take in order to make this change occur? a) She should announce changes to the entire company at once, and get everyone to change at the same time. b) She should look at her organization as a whole - how will the change affect the existing culture of the organization? c) She should reward those franchise owners that contribute to making the change. d) She should restrict communication and only give information about the change to her immediate reports.

Answer 1

Heidi should analyze the existing culture, announce changes to the entire company simultaneously, and reward franchise owners that contribute to the change.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to successfully change the organizations of her franchise owners to match the culture of Mars, Inc., Heidi should take the following actions:

1. She should look at her organization as a whole and analyze how the change will affect the existing culture.
2. She should announce changes to the entire company at once and get everyone to change simultaneously, ensuring a consistent and unified transition.
3. She should reward those franchise owners that contribute to making the change to motivate and incentivize positive behavior.

By following these steps, Heidi can effectively facilitate the cultural change within her franchise owners' organizations.

Answer 2

b) She should look at her organization as a whole - how will the change affect the existing culture of the organization?

Step-by-step explanation:

This is the best approach that Heidi can follow in this example. Heidi has the task of making sure her franchise owners successfully change their organizations to match the culture of Mars, Inc. However, this process should not be undertaken without first reviewing the organization as a whole. It is important to think of how the change might affect the existing culture of the organization. This is because the culture of each franchise might in turn have something to contribute to the culture of Mars, Inc.