Read the case "Turnaround at Tiger Boots." What approach would you recommend Tiger Boots take in this change effort: a planned approach, an emergent approach, or a blended approach? If you recommend a combined approach, which parts of the change should be planned and which should be emergent? Explain the choice of approach, including a draft change plan. (1000 words needed)

 Tiger Brand Boots has been manufacturing high quality leather boots and shoes primarily for use in the heavy duty and skilled trades markets since 1935. They will last for years. In addition to being durable, Tiger Boots should be comfortable to wear and work with all day long. Tiger Boots is one of only three shoe/boot companies in the United States that still conducts all manufacturing activities in the United States. This adds the distinctive benefit of an American-made label to a boot that has built a solid reputation as one of the best work boots available. Tiger currently sells its footwear through work and safety apparel and retailers, as well as its own nine factory retail stores and one online store within the United States. With 250 factory workers, 50 corporate employees, 30 distribution workers and 45 retail employees, Tiger generates approximately $200 million in revenue annually. While the cost of American labor is much higher than the labor rates available to most boot and shoe manufacturers that use foreign manufacturing, the cost disadvantage is partly offset by the fact that Tiger Boots has its own tannery. Animal skins used in the production of leather boots and shoes must undergo a long treatment process before being dyed and then used to make boots or shoes. This ancient art is performed in tanneries, of which only a few remain in North America. With so few tanneries in the world and the importance of high quality leathers in the production of boots and shoes, tanneries can have a large influence on the price and quality of leathers available to manufacturers. Therefore, the Tiger Boots tannery is an important resource for the company. Tiger Boots are priced at the higher end of the work boot and shoe market. The average price of a pair of Tiger Boots is around $300, with a range of $250 to about $450 for the company's products, while many of its competitors in the boot/shoe industry price their products at $100 or less. However, Tiger Boots claims that many of its boots that were purchased five or more years ago are still used today, and that with proper care and maintenance, a Tiger boot has an indefinite lifespan. To support this claim, Tiger's website showcases many aspects of the company's production methods, which involve a high degree of highly skilled craftsmanship and include a reworking service. Once the sole of the boots or shoes wears out, Tiger Brand Boots owners can return their footwear to the company, where the boot will be completely disassembled and rebuilt with a new sole and the leather will be restored from the equipment used to originally produce. the starter, all for a modest fee (about $125). The work boot market has remained steady over the past 25 years, and production can be forecast relatively easily using economic indicators of growth in the construction and skilled trades industries. Tiger Brand Boots has a very strong brand in these markets and its market share has remained stable at around 10 percent. However, while 80 percent of its production is purchased in the construction and skilled trades market, the other 20 percent of production goes to the men's casual fashion market, and this trend is increasing. It appears that young men are increasingly wearing high-quality leather boots and shoes as part of current fashion trends, and Tiger Brand's prestige in the construction and skilled trades market gives it added value as an option. of men's clothing. Tiger does not have the manufacturing capacity or organizational capabilities to adequately serve the growing men's casual wear market without making changes, and management is at a crossroads. Dave Davenport, the CEO, believes this represents a great opportunity for Tiger Brand Boots to create a new market and become a larger company. Preet Gupta, the head of operations is not so convinced; She notes that to develop this market, Tiger will need to adopt an entirely new marketing strategy, deepen relationships with popular retailers like Aldo and The Gap, not to mention the differences in boot and shoe design between the construction market and the men's casual clothing market. Do buyers in the casual market really want a steel-toed dress shoe? It will be necessary to hire new designers and evaluate the manufacturing needs of as yet unknown boot and shoe designs. On top of all this, the cost of leather is increasing due to the increased global demand for leather goods. Currently, Tiger's boots cost twice as much as the average shopper's boots/shoes. As the cost of production continues to rise, will Tiger have to exit the market entirely or reduce its quality to better compete with the lower end of the market? Finally, expanding into this market would require hiring and training another shift of workers. Since Tiger uses skilled workers, training will take more than a month to get a new employee to the point of being self-sufficient on the production line. Dave has responded that this expansion would take advantage of Tiger's tannery, which would protect Tiger from many of the effects of rising leather prices. Dave also believes that these other required capabilities can be developed quickly, or that Tiger could consider producing a new "budget" line of boots and shoes for the men's casual wear market that uses the same leathers as the premium footwear, but is glued together. rather than hand-sewn, so it cannot be reworked. This line of footwear would not require the level of specialized production of the premium line, but would maintain much of the Tiger look and feel that customers have come to appreciate. Cecily Wan, marketing director, gets irritated every time she hears this suggestion and warns that such a line of affordable boots would threaten Tiger Boot's value proposition and threaten Tiger's strong brand equity. However, she is excited about the possibility of expanding into a new market and the huge opportunity that an expansion could represent for Tiger Brand Boots. At the most recent corporate meeting, senior management agreed that this expansion is worth the risk. However, they are not sure how to present this idea to employees or how to proceed with the change. Some of the questions and concerns, even among senior management, have not yet been fully answered or addressed, and many issues are likely to be raised by line employees as well, especially about the ways in which their jobs may be affected as a result of the proposed changes. Although they are not unionized, the employees are highly qualified and Tiger Boots holds its older employees in very high regard. and line employees are also likely to raise many issues, especially about the ways in which their jobs may be affected as a result of the proposed changes. Although they are not unionized, the employees are highly qualified and Tiger Boots holds its older employees in very high regard. and line employees are also likely to raise many issues, especially about the ways in which their jobs may be affected as a result of the proposed changes. Although they are not unionized, the employees are highly qualified and Tiger Boots holds its older employees in very high regard.