How Should Lora Brill Respond To Jean
How should Lora Brill respond to Jean-Luc Michel's urgent email requesting approval to launch Healthy Berry Crunch in France? Support your answer with a sound rationale.
Jean Luc’s proposal for the Eurobrand, Healthy Berry Crunch, was a good initiative in a challenging time in Europe where customer’s choices became more abundant, cultural food habits were shifting as well as policies that regulate marketing practices.
Unfortunately, based on “Test Market and Consumer Panel Results” and Senior Executives advises, not only in EU but at Headquarters, the launch of Healthy Berry Crunch in France needs to wait. Perhaps, the product was very close to be successful in the difficult and competitive European market but it is not ready yet to be the “it” product, the “UC’s Eurobrand” so needed at that time. And as Kurt Jaeger would say it: “Our strategy of responding to local market differences was right for its time, but not necessarily today”, referring to the launch of the Healthy Berry Crunch.
Lora’s answer to Jean-Luc will have to be carefully thought if she wants to keep Michel as part of her team. A discouraged employee is always tempted to explore other professional options. But to give a “yes” to Michel would cost Millions of dollars that UC cannot afford to loose at this time.
Lora brings to her position a new vision of expansion and she is aware that she needs to rally the right troops for that task. As any company accustomed to produce in the same way for so many years, Lora will encounter opposition to new ideas and changes, as James Miller expressed to her in one of his communications: “This all sounds far too complex for me……let’s forget about all these teams and just move to a European product structure with someone clearly in charge.” In other words, do not change anything, let’s just remain as we are and Lora will continue telling us what to do; instead of moving towards a more responsible approach for each team member and more involved
Jean Luc’s proposal for the Eurobrand, Healthy Berry Crunch, was a good initiative in a challenging time in Europe where customer’s choices became more abundant, cultural food habits were shifting as well as policies that regulate marketing practices.
Unfortunately, based on “Test Market and Consumer Panel Results” and Senior Executives advises, not only in EU but at Headquarters, the launch of Healthy Berry Crunch in France needs to wait. Perhaps, the product was very close to be successful in the difficult and competitive European market but it is not ready yet to be the “it” product, the “UC’s Eurobrand” so needed at that time. And as Kurt Jaeger would say it: “Our strategy of responding to local market differences was right for its time, but not necessarily today”, referring to the launch of the Healthy Berry Crunch.
Lora’s answer to Jean-Luc will have to be carefully thought if she wants to keep Michel as part of her team. A discouraged employee is always tempted to explore other professional options. But to give a “yes” to Michel would cost Millions of dollars that UC cannot afford to loose at this time.
Lora brings to her position a new vision of expansion and she is aware that she needs to rally the right troops for that task. As any company accustomed to produce in the same way for so many years, Lora will encounter opposition to new ideas and changes, as James Miller expressed to her in one of his communications: “This all sounds far too complex for me……let’s forget about all these teams and just move to a European product structure with someone clearly in charge.” In other words, do not change anything, let’s just remain as we are and Lora will continue telling us what to do; instead of moving towards a more responsible approach for each team member and more involved