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Leadership: Ice Cream Division

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Leadership: Ice Cream Division
| Chattanooga Case Analysis | |
Executive Summary
This document focuses on the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division case study developed by Carl Sloane. Leadership opportunities and action are defined based on the characters in the case study. Dysfunction is evaluated both from a team aspect and from the leadership role. Specific development activities are identified to help the individuals develop emotional intelligence. Finally, recommendations will be made to guide the team forward.

Background
Chattanooga Ice Cream is a division of Chattanooga Food Corporation which is a family-controlled business founded in 1936 (Sloane, 1997). The ice cream division is one of the largest regional maufacturers of ice cream in the United States. The company’s primary focus is mid-priced basic ice cream products. The ice cream division has been experiencing flat sales and a declining profitability over the past four years (Sloane, 1997). Competitors had shown success in recent years with premium and super-premium brands with “mix-in” ice cream flavors.
The Chattanooga Food Corporation focused on leadership changes in an attempt to improve the ice cream division’s performance. In 1993, Charles Moore was promoted to head the division. The ice cream division also hired a new vice president of marketing to replace a 30 year veteran. Stephanie Krane was assigned to the division to upgrade the information systems and control function. In 1995, the original manufacturing plant in Chattanooga was closed to control costs.
The management changes resulted in a disruption to the top level management team. Three of the seven members of the management team were new to their positions. Additionally, Charles’ leadership style was very different than his predecessor. The previous general manager had been with the business for many years and had numerous networks to gather information. He made important decisions alone and rarely felt the need to consult his


References: Goleman, D. Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review. Marcy-April 2000, pg 78-90. Kilmann, R. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model. Lencioni, P. (2002) The five dysfunctions of a team. Jossey-Bass. Sloane, C. (2003) The Chattanooga Ice Cream Division. Harvard Business School. October 3, 2003. Tocci, D. Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development. JWI 510, Accessed May 2013. Welch, J. (2005) Winning. HarperBusiness. www.topachievement.com/smart.html www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot www.tenstep.com
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