Unit V Case Study

food and consumer products. Like many small firms, the company grew

quickly in the “high-flying” 1990s, but its administrative costs to obtain

and serve businesses also skyrocketed. And, as with many businesses, the

agency’s business was greatly affected by the terrorist attacks of September

11, 2001, and the economic downturn that followed. Clients’ shrinking

budgets forced them to scale back their business with Hernandez & Associates,

and staff cutbacks meant that clients needed more marketing

support services as opposed to full-scale campaigns.

Hernandez & Associates now faced a challenge—to adapt its business

to focus on what the clients were asking for. Specifically, clients, with their

reduced staffs, were looking for help responding to their customers’ requests

and looking for ways to make the most of their limited marketing

budgets. Its small, cohesive staff of 20 employees needed to make some

fast changes.

As president of Hernandez & Associates, Marco Hernandez knew

his team was up for the challenge. He had worked hard to create an

environment to support a successful team—he recruited people who

had solid agency experience, and he consistently communicated the

firm’s mission to his team. He made sure the team had all the resources

it needed to succeed and constantly took stock of these resources. He

had built his team as he built his business and knew the group would

respond to his leadership. But where to start? Getting the team to understand

that growth depended on a shift in how it served its clients

was not difficult—each of the employees of the small firm had enough

contact with the clients that they knew client needs were changing. But

making significant changes to the status quo at Hernandez & Associates

would be difficult. Group roles had to change—creative folks had

to think about how to increase a client’s phone inquiries and Web site

visits; account people needed a better understanding of the client’s

desire for more agency leadership. And everyone needed a better sense

of the costs involved. The company as a whole required a more integrated

approach to serving clients if they hoped to survive. Marco

needed a plan.

1. Like many leaders, Marco has a team in place and does not have the

luxury of building a new team to adapt to the changing business

environment his firm now faces. Use the TLM to help Marco diagnose

the problems faced by the firm and identify leverage points for

change.

a. Consider the major functions of the TLM—input, process, and output.

Where do most of the firm’s challenges fall?

b. What are the team’s goals for outputs?

2. Identify potential resources for Marco and his team in implementing

a strategy to change the way they do business at Hernandez &

Associates.