Gap Analysis: Intersect Investments
Introduction
The overall financial services industry has been in a state of turmoil since September 11, 2001. Several of the financial firms have been struggling to keep both their clients trust as well as Wall Streets credibility. Within the last year CEO Frank Jeffers has identified a new vision in hopes to steer the company in a new direction. This vision will hopefully improve its brand image and begin establishing long-term customer relationships. If successful this vision will re-establish trust within Wall Street. In the past, Intersect Investment Services has barley been able kept their head above water. Within the organization several members of the management team don't agree with the new model there for causing issues internally and externally. With implementing the right concepts Intersect Investments should be able to get back on track and become profitable again.

Issue and Opportunity Identification
Lack of client trust and Wall Street credibility are external forces that have forced Frank Jeffers to reevaluate the way his company does business. “External forces for change originate outside the organization. Because these forces have global effects, they may cause an organization to question the essence of what business it is in and the process by which products and services are produced” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004, p. 674). By implementing a new vision, Frank hopes to provide an opportunity for the company to increase revenue and improve overall brand image. Resistance to change is being exhibited at all organizational levels. The sales team has been trained on the new model but will not use it because the VP of Sales does not believe in it. “Resistance to change is an emotional / behavioral response to real or imagined threats to an established work routine” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004, p. 685). While many of the company’s employees may be resistant to this change in strategy, there are an equal number of employees who are supportive of it. As Joel Contino, Vice President of Marketing stated, “I think we need to use our allies, people like Nancy who support this change. And we should keep pumping out the data that shows it works, so that the sales staff can see how their support could pay off in their paychecks” (2007, p. 10).
Communication is ineffective between management and the employees, resulting in mixed messages and failure to convince the sales force to implement the new model. John Kotter, an expert in leadership and change management, points out that one of the reasons why organizations typically fail to implement change is that senior management “fails to effectively communicate the new vision” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004, p. 682). It will be up to the leadership at Intersect Investment to clearly and effectively communicate why change is needed and how it will be implement.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas Executive leadership is held responsible for the success or failure of a company. In order for Intersect Investment to become successful, the leadership team must promote the new vision for the company—both internally and externally—to build investor confidence and customer trust while achieving the organizations goals.
While leadership is ultimately held accountable for an organization’s success or failure, nothing is accomplished without a company’s employees getting the job done day in and day out. The highest priority for an employee in making his or her company successful is job security. If the employees are expected to support change and feel confident in their job security, they must have clear communication from management as to why change is needed and what it means to the company. Intersect Investment’s customers want investment advisors they can trust. They want to know when they hand over their hard-earned money to this company that it will be invested wisely and with competence. The customers want to be valued and seen as individuals, not just a number or a commission. In this highly competitive industry, if Intersect Investment doesn’t take care of the customer, some other financial services company will. Wall Street investors are always looking for credible companies to invest in. These investors need to witness a corporate culture at Intersect Investment that values the employees and customers to build the confidence needed for investing in this organization.

End-State Vision

Intersect Investment will become the most trusted name in the financial services industry by this same date next year. The organization will have the most credible reputation for unquestionable ethics and an enviable corporate culture that will continue to make it successful far into the future. The company’s customers will have a financial advisor they can trust and Wall Street will have a company it can successfully invest in.

Gap Analysis
In order for Intersect Investment to achieve its long-term goals, it must transform its organizational culture to align with the customer intimacy model—as outlined by the CEO—within 12 months. The company must decrease employee turnover to less than five percent within the next 12 months, while improving employee satisfaction by at least 10% during that same period. The company will also increase customer satisfaction by at least 10% and roll out at least five new portfolio products within the next 12 months. Finally, Intersect Investment must increase sales revenue by 20% without increasing the volume of sales calls within the next 12 months.

Conclusion
Frank Jeffers has a vision for his company. He has placed his hopes in achieving this vision on his leadership team, lead by Janet Angelo, the recently hired Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales. The first area Janet must address is the sales division. If the sales staff doesn’t buy in to this new vision, known as the customer intimacy model, the company will not see it come to fruition. Lyn Chen, the Vice President of Sales has been very vocal about the fact that she does not support the new model. If Janet cannot convince her to support this vision, she will need to terminate Lyn. She will have someone in Annie Sorrento, the Director of Sales Operations, who is supportive of the new model and can easily replace Lyn.
Clear, open and honest communication at all organizational levels within the company will be required for the new model to be accepted universally. The employees need to hear success stories from other organizations that have implemented this model. Everyone at Intersect Investment needs the same clear vision of the future that the CEO has if the organization is going to be successful.

References

Scenario 2: Intersect Investment. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from University of Phoenix,

Week Four, rEsource. MBA/520 Web site.

Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2004). Organizational Behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.