Problem Solution: Intersect Investment

Problem Solution: Intersect Investments

The financial services industry has not been the same since September 11, 2001. Many financial firms have struggled to retain clients and Wall Street’s credibility. To be successful in the investment-industry, investment companies need to offer services that are competitive along with offering professional, skilled advice. Intersect Investment, a financial services company, has been struggling in the industry due to internal and external forces for change (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2003). Intersects’ Chief Executive Officer, Frank Jeffers, has announced a new corporate vision to turn the organization around. The Intersect Investment Company is in a situation where it has seen decreased sales, and increased turnover in its employees and customers. Frank Jeffers vision is to move the company to a “customer intimacy” model of doing business. In order for Intersect Investment to be successful in a change initiative, leadership must analyze the situation, identify the problem, and envision the company’s end state. Leadership must then determine and analyze alternative solutions, mitigate risks, chose and implement an optimal solution, then decide on the project’s success by they end of one year.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

If it were not for preparations for Y2K, the financial industries would have suffered greatly do to the effects of the events of September 11, 2001. Although prepared to prevent the loss of data (Makinen, 2002), “many financial firms [are still] struggling to keep both their clients’ trust and Wall Street’s credibility” (University of Phoenix, 2006).

Over the span of Intersect Investment’s history, there have been periods when the company has barley managed to stay solvent. In an effort to become more successful, Frank Jeffers has identified a new vision: "Provide a broad set of products and services to consumer and small business customers using a model of customer intimacy that will build long-term relationships based on trust and value to the customer” (University of Phoenix, 2006). The customer intimacy model of business “is based on getting to know what your customers want and then delivering” (Smith, n.d. ¶ 5)

In order to realize Frank’s vision, there must be changes made within Insect Investment. Although there have been changes made, they were done haphazardly and without commitment by the senior management. If for Frank’s vision is to come to fruition, there must be greater changes and a better implementation process set into place.

With change come resistance, Kinicki & Kreitner, (2004) suggest that “resistance to change is an emotional/behavioral response to real or imagined threats to an established work routine” (2004, p. 685).

At Intersect Investment there has been substantial resistance to the change initiative to the point that the Frank has replaced his Executive Vice President (EVP) of sales and marketing. The replacement was made because the previous EVP did not support Frank’s new philosophy. Frank is presently asking the new EVP to consider letting other “key resistors” (University of Phoenix, 2006) go, including members of management which do not support the new vision. One of the key resistors includes the Vice President of Sales, Lyn Chen and a few of her subordinates. Lyn Chen and her subordinates are in disagreement with the new model because the present model has been successful in the past.

Although Frank is in favor of replacing Lyn, the new EVP, Janet Angelo is not. Janet believes that Lyn is brilliant and capable, and losing