Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.

Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.

University of Phoenix

May 22, 2006

Situation Analysis and Problem Statement

Over a century old, Harrison-Keyes was founded in 1899 and made its early money publishing the works of literary giants. Throughout the years, the company‘s focus shifted to meet demand and by the mid-1950s, it was regarded as a leading publisher of business, scientific and technical information. (University of Phoenix, n.d., Scenario Harrison-Keyes, p. 1).

Harrison-Keyes in an effort to remain competitive in the publishing industry has attempted to initiate the new e-commerce strategy. They have complied numerous problems with the new implementation plan and have replaced CEO, Meg McGill with William Guardo.

A few of the departments that are part of the e-publishing process cycle seem to lack integration. Either they do not understand the process or they just do not want to cooperate. There are quite a few staffers who seem unhappy with our e-publishing plan. Whether this is due to lack of understanding about what they are trying to accomplish or it is just a matter of miscommunication is something that needs to be determined and acted on. They have had more than their fair share of production hiccups leading to missed deadlines. The biggest of these is the loss of Asia Digital to the floods. They have yet to find an alternative. Their rather tepid marketing campaign failed to drum up enthusiasm for their product. Although this needs some study, the leadership team seems to think that the major problem lies in the interfaces between copyediting and typesetting, and typesetting and proofreading. These concerns are now in the hands of Jan Peters, Senior Vice President, Business Development, and Head of the Implementation Team. She needs to re-evaluate the current market and industry conditions and show some progress in the right direction to salvage the current strategy.

Situation Background

Harrison-Keyes Inc. is a global publisher of print products specializing in scientific, technical, and business books and journals, professional and consumer books, textbooks and other educational materials for all levels of study. The company publishes about 2000 titles each year and holds about 22,700 active titles. With about 3,500 employees worldwide, Harrison-Keyes has operations in the United States with sales offices in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Approximately 40% of the company's revenues are generated outside the United States.

Harrison-Keyes has suffered the woes plaguing the entire industry. As competition from low-cost retailers eats into profits, publishing companies are finding success -- or even survival -- a challenge. Technology is making print content more accessible to customers worldwide and is adding value for them by delivering it in interactive and/or fully searchable formats. Harrison-Keyes has recently fired CEO Meg McGill in favor of new CEO, William Guardo. William is