Goodwin & Co. employs a ten-strong sales team who are seen by senior managers as being central to the organisation's success and future survival. Their role is to maintain good relationships with established customers, to seek out new business wherever possible, to ensure that clients are happy to invest in new versions of software packages as they come on stream and to liaise with the 'user group'. The latter involves running formal meetings which are always followed by social events at which SME managers entertain their clients late into the night in pubs, clubs and restaurants. 

Geoff McVitie has been the Sales Director at Goodwin & Co. for as long as anyone can remember. He is widely considered to have managed the sales team very effectively, while also maintaining excellent relations with major clients. Despite attempts to persuade him otherwise he has now decided to take early retirement. He and his wife plan to use the substantial commission he has earned over the years to travel the world in style. A replacement therefore has been found through an internal recruitment process. 

The decision is made to appoint Wendell Brathwaite to succeed Geoff. Wendell is 40 years old, very professional and has long been considered a possible future senior manager. He has plenty of interesting ideas about how to develop both the role and the team. The fact that he is married to the Finance Director's niece and regularly plays golf with the MD is not considered to be problematic. After all, why should he be prevented from being promoted simply because of these relationships? It would be unfair to exclude him on that account, particularly when he has the innovative ideas required to take the sales team forward and improve its performance.

Among Wendell's ideas are the following:

• Move to a payment arrangement that is wholly commission-based. At present the sales team add, on average, 25% or so to their monthly salaries in commission payments. Wendell would like all pay to be at risk so that 100% of earnings were dependant on sales targets being met. Wendell plans to introduce this new system with immediate effect.
• Dismiss, as a matter of policy, the poorest performing members of the sales team each year and replace them. The identity of the leavers should be determined purely on the basis of the value of new sales achieved (or not achieved). Not only should this policy result in poorer performers being replaced over time with stronger ones, but it should also boost energy-levels generally and increase the hours the team puts in.
• To require all members of the sales team to undergo regular medicals with the company doctor with a view to establishing their fitness levels. Those who are overweight would then be required to diet until they reach a target weight, while smokers would be required to attend classes aimed at persuading them to give up.

Critically analyse Wendell's proposal  with pluralist theory .

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The pluralist theory takes into account the different interest groups in an organization and how they collectively contribute to its functioning More ... View the full answer